Hut 8 Stock Soars On Mega Data Center Lease With Fluidstack

Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT) stock rose Wednesday after the company announced a long-term lease agreement that solidifies its position in the fast-growing AI data center market.

The company has signed a 15-year lease valued at $7.0 billion with Fluidstack for 245 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend data center campus in Louisiana.

The triple-net lease includes a 3.0% annual base rent escalator and carries a potential total value of up to $17.7 billion if all three five-year renewal options are exercised.

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Fluidstack also receives a Right of First Offer for up to an additional 1,000 MW of future expansion capacity, subject to available power at the site.

Google Backstop, Institutional Counterparties

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), is providing a financial backstop covering lease payments and pass-through obligations during the 15-year base term.

Hut 8 expects the lease to generate cumulative net operating income (NOI) of approximately $6.9 billion, or an average of $454 million annually.

The project is structured with blue-chip counterparties across financing, construction, and operations. JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) are expected to underwrite project-level financing of up to 85% loan-to-cost, subject to definitive agreements and customary closing conditions. Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J) is serving as EPCM partner, working alongside Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) on critical infrastructure delivery.

Construction Timeline and Operations

The initial data hall at River Bend is scheduled for completion and commissioning in the second quarter of 2027, with additional halls expected to come online through the remainder of 2027.

Hut 8 and Fluidstack also plan to enter into an Operations Services Agreement for ongoing data center operations, supported by an additional Google payment backstop.

Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, said, “River Bend reflects the strength of Hut 8’s power-first, innovation-driven development model, validated by the world-class counterparties we are executing alongside.”

Expanding AI Infrastructure Nationwide

The River Bend lease also fits within Hut 8's broader partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack, which aims to scale hyperscale AI infrastructure across the United States.

Under this framework, River Bend serves as an anchor project within a repeatable deployment model designed to support surging AI compute demand.

The partnership establishes a pathway to deploy significantly more capacity beyond Louisiana as additional power and sites are developed.

State Partnership and Economic Impact

Hut 8 secured an initial 330 MW of utility capacity for River Bend through Entergy Louisiana (NYSE:ETR), with the potential to scale by another 1,000 MW.

At full buildout, the campus could rank among the largest data center developments globally and one of Louisiana’s largest private capital projects.

At peak construction, the project is expected to employ roughly 1,000 workers. Once operational, it is projected to support at least 75 direct jobs and 190 indirect and induced jobs in West Feliciana Parish.

Following the transaction, Hut 8 reclassified 330 MW at River Bend as “Energy Capacity Under Construction,” bringing total pipeline capacity to 9,520 MW across all stages.

HUT Price Action: Hut 8 shares were up 23.61% at $45.55 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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