Cipher Digital (CIFR) Q4 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

What is the status of leases for Stingray and Reveille, and what is the demand environment for Ulysses, McLennan, Mikeska, and Colchis?

Stingray is in advanced negotiations with a preferred tenant, expected to finalize soon. Reveille (70 MW) is attracting neoclouds and investment-grade participants, but will take longer. Ulysses (200 MW, Ohio) has significant hyperscaler interest and is in diligence. McLennan, Mikeska, and Colchis are awaiting final ERCOT interconnects but are confident in early batch inclusion, preserving timelines.

“on Stingray, we are well along in that process. You're never done until you're done, but we do have an anticipated tenant there, and I think that will be done reasonably soon if everything stays on track.”

asked by Mike Grondahl · answered by Rodney Page

Can you elaborate on the new hires made to shift the team's focus towards HPC and data centers?

The company hired Lee Bratcher for regulatory expertise in Texas. The primary focus is adding 'depth of excellence' to construction, engineering, and operations teams, often recruiting senior talent from hyperscalers like Google and Apple, to enable building multiple data centers simultaneously.

“what we've really been adding is depth of excellence to the team. So we have always had a very, very strong construction engineering and operations team. But I think as we evolve towards this new model that we want Cipher Digital to become, we want to be a company where basically, in addition to the very steady cash flows coming in from our already signed leases, we are finding a couple of new sites a year, signing a couple of new leases a year and building a couple of new data centers per year to continue to stack up on those recurring cash flows.”

asked by Christopher Brendler · answered by Rodney Page

Will the new ERCOT batch process increase visibility and reduce headaches for interconnection approvals, or is there still significant uncertainty?

The new ERCOT process is a 'good thing' for serious operators like Cipher, as it aims to bring order to the queue and filter out less serious developers. Cipher is confident its sites will be in early batches or receive approvals, preserving energization timelines, despite the batch process not being fully finalized until summer.

“I think this advancing scene in Texas is a good thing for us. It's a good thing for serious operators and developers because at a high level, what they are trying to put in place and finalize is how to navigate this interconnect queue that is stretched out for hundreds of gigawatts of requests where everyone in the world knows some of those are duplicative or less serious, et cetera.”

asked by Christopher Brendler · answered by Rodney Page

What are the next steps for the 207 MW Odessa site, and its suitability for HPC conversion?

Odessa is a containerized Bitcoin mining site with a fixed-price PPA ($0.028/kWh) until July 2027, making Bitcoin mining economics strong. Conversion to HPC is an option if a lucrative deal and PPA renegotiation with Luminant can be achieved. There is no immediate pressure to convert due to strong Bitcoin mining cash flow, with the PPA expiration in July 2027 being the outside date for a decision.

“Odessa, which is a site we built like 5 years ago with an eye towards having a 5-year PPA at the site. And so it's a containerized data center that works fantastically well for Bitcoin mining. We have an amazing low fixed price there, roughly a little bit less than $0.028 a kilowatt hour.”

asked by John Todaro · answered by Rodney Page

Is the recent ERCOT 'noise' causing hyperscalers to shift focus away from Texas or increasing hesitation for commitments?

Management has not seen any decrease in hyperscaler interest in Texas. Hyperscalers understand interconnection complexity and are focusing on behind-the-meter solutions, for which Texas is uniquely suited (e.g., natural gas access in West Texas).

“What I'd say is I have not seen any decrease in interest. There is a ton of interest. I think -- the thing to keep in mind that we've been very active on, and we mentioned briefly on the call is that all of the hyperscalers are also looking at behind-the-meter solutions now as a way to faster power.”

asked by Brett Knoblauch · answered by Rodney Page