AI Data Center CEO Sells Multi-Million Dollar Stake After Receiving Years' Worth of Stock Compensation 'Mega Package'

Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: APLD) CEO Wes Cummins was granted 1.5 million restricted stock units (RSUs) and 4.5 million performance stock units (PSUs) on January 6 at no cost, which will convert into common shares over roughly five years subject to continued service and stock‐price performance conditions. The RSUs vest in tranches—300,000 shares on January 6, 2027, and the balance in equal semiannual installments through the five-year anniversary—while the PSUs vest in three tiers based on the 90-day average share price exceeding $50, $75 and $100, respectively. On January 16, Cummins sold about 165,000 shares in the open market at approximately $36.42 per share, generating roughly $6 million (about KRW 8 billion) in proceeds. He continues to hold significant economic exposure through his remaining direct holdings, investment vehicles and unvested RSUs and PSUs.

In its fiscal 2026 second-quarter results announced January 7, Applied Digital reported high-performance computing (HPC) hosting revenue of $85 million (approximately KRW 110 billion) for the quarter and confirmed that its first 100 MW HPC data center at the Polaris Forge 1 campus in North Dakota has begun operations. The company also said it is negotiating a new lease agreement of up to 900 MW of power with an investment-grade hyperscaler, targeting completion in early 2026. In 2025, Applied Digital closed a long-term, roughly 15-year contract to provide 250 MW to AI-cloud provider CoreWeave, followed by about $5 billion (around KRW 6.5 trillion) in lease deals to supply approximately 200 MW at the Polaris Forge 2 campus with another hyperscale customer.

Originally a cryptocurrency-mining equipment hosting business, Applied Digital has repositioned itself around next-generation data-center infrastructure for AI and HPC, centered on its Polaris Forge 1 site in Ellendale, North Dakota, and Polaris Forge 2 near Hawarden. The company is expanding its long-term power and capacity lease model with CoreWeave and U.S. investment-grade hyperscalers as its headline customers. It no longer conducts in-house Bitcoin mining, instead reshaping its business through hosting and AI-infrastructure services for large clients and exploring a conversion to a real estate investment trust (REIT).