Benchmark nearly doubles Hut 8 price target to $165 on Beacon Point AI data center deal

Companies including Hut 8, Core Scientific (CORZ), Hive Digital (HIVE) and Bit Digital (BTBT) have repositioned portions of their power and infrastructure assets to serve AI workloads, betting that long-term contracts with hyperscale customers will generate steadier, higher-margin revenue than cryptocurrency mining alone.

Hut 8 has signed two 15-year, triple-net, take-or-pay leases covering 597 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend, Louisiana, and Beacon Point, Texas, campuses. According to Palmer, the agreements represent $16.8 billion in contracted base-term lease value and could rise to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise renewal options.

Palmer said the Beacon Point agreement was the primary driver behind the higher valuation. The broker estimated that the project’s first phase alone carries $9.8 billion in base-term contract value and about $655 million in average annual net operating income.

He also pointed to Hut 8’s financing strategy, noting the company recently completed $4.25 billion of investment-grade project financing for Beacon Point after raising $3.25 billion for River Bend. The deals validate management’s strategy of lowering its cost of capital by converting development assets into long-term contracted cash flows.

Beyond its existing projects, the report highlighted Hut 8’s development pipeline, which totals more than 9 gigawatts across projects under exclusivity, development, construction and management, providing what it called a long runway for future growth.