MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) saw its shares retreat on Friday, giving back roughly half of the prior day's gains as investors absorbed the details of a major Texas power site purchase that could cost up to $600 million but still lacks a disclosed tenant. The stock closed at $12.60, down 4.7% after a 10% surge on Thursday, leaving it just 1.6% higher for the holiday-shortened week.
Deal Structure and Financing Risks
The filing behind the announcement reveals that MARA did not acquire a finished data center. Instead, a subsidiary obtained a project company holding contracts to purchase land, title to an adjacent parcel, and rights under a utility letter covering 2,000 megawatts of potential power. Payments are contingent on milestones including land purchases, regulatory clearance, authorization to receive power, and the signing of a third-party data-center lease.
At the $600 million ceiling, the consideration equals about 12.5% of MARA's current $4.79 billion market capitalization and roughly 117% of the $513.7 million in cash the company held at the end of March. While the full amount is not due immediately, the scale of the commitment puts financing and tenant execution on par with bitcoin prices as key determinants for the stock's performance. MARA also reported $2.4 billion in digital assets at the end of March.
Site Details and Timeline
The more than 1,200-acre site is expected to offer one gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of grid capacity by October 2027 and as much as two gigawatts by April 2028. Fully energized, it would account for about 42% of MARA's stated potential 4.8-gigawatt portfolio. The company plans to use the land for bitcoin mining and high-performance computing (HPC), which includes intensive processing for artificial intelligence and other data-heavy workloads.
Chief Executive Fred Thiel noted that sites with "reliable, scalable power will become increasingly valuable." HIF USA CEO Renato Pereira confirmed that a notice to proceed has been issued for the switchyard, the high-voltage connection point between the property and the grid. However, the announcement cited interest from possible HPC tenants but named no customer and disclosed no total construction budget.
Valuation Comparison and Sector Context
The table below compares the Texas project with MARA's previously acquired Long Ridge, Ohio, facility from FTAI Infrastructure Inc. (NASDAQ:FIP):
- Texas project: Up to $600 million, 2,000 MW potential, $300 per kilowatt headline value, no disclosed lease
- Long Ridge: About $1.5 billion including debt, 505 MW expected, about $2,970 per kilowatt, operating gas plant with ~$144 million annualized adjusted EBITDA
The nearly tenfold gap is not a like-for-like comparison. Long Ridge includes a running power plant, land, and existing cash flow, while the Texas figure excludes the still-undisclosed cost of building the data-center campus. The comparison highlights how much of the Texas value depends on converting planned megawatts into a financed project and a paying customer.
That customer hurdle is becoming more visible across the sector. TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) announced last Monday that Anthropic signed a 20-year lease for a Kentucky campus with 401 megawatts of computing load, expected to generate approximately $19 billion in contracted revenue. Initial service is planned for the second half of 2027, close to MARA's Texas timeline. TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said the lease established "a long-duration revenue stream" — something MARA's new site does not yet have.
Market Performance and Risks
For the week ending July 10, MARA shares rose 1.6%, roughly tracking CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) and the Nasdaq Composite, but lagging bitcoin's 5.4% gain by nearly four percentage points. Trading volume fell to 45.8 million shares from 78.1 million, suggesting investors rewarded the added power pipeline but then marked down the distance to revenue.
The downside case is clear: regulatory or utility delays could push the 2027 and 2028 capacity dates back, and without a tenant, the Texas property has no disclosed contracted revenue. MARA entered the quarter with about $2.42 billion in debt, used $247.5 million in operating cash in the first quarter, and posted a $1.26 billion net loss, largely due to non-cash revaluation losses on digital assets. Funding Texas alongside Long Ridge could increase reliance on bitcoin sales, borrowing, or new shares.
Looking Ahead
When Nasdaq trading resumes Monday, the broader market will turn to June consumer inflation data on Tuesday and producer prices on Wednesday, both at 8:30 a.m. EDT. June retail sales follow Thursday, while Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh testifies to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. These events may influence interest rates, technology shares, and bitcoin. For MARA, the cleaner company-specific catalyst remains a named tenant, a signed lease, and a clearer split of who funds the Texas buildout.
