Cipher Mining Inc. shares jumped more than 12% on February 24, 2026, closing at $17.12 after the company reported fourth-quarter 2025 results and detailed a major strategic shift from Bitcoin mining to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, complete with a rebrand to Cipher Digital and $9.3 billion in long-term hyperscaler contracts.

The rally followed the February 24 earnings release and business update, where Cipher announced revenue of $60 million for Q4—below analyst estimates of around $84 million—and an adjusted net loss of $55 million, or $0.14 per share, wider than the forecasted $0.06 loss. Despite the miss, investors focused on the forward-looking transformation: Cipher has secured two major HPC data center leases totaling 600 MW of gross capacity and approximately $9.3 billion in contracted revenue over initial 10- to 15-year terms, with extension options.

The flagship deals include a 15-year lease with Amazon Web Services for 300 MW at the Black Pearl facility in Texas, generating about $5.5 billion in revenue at nearly 100% net operating income (NOI) margin, backed by Amazon’s guarantee on base rent and expenses. A separate 10-year modified gross lease with Fluidstack for 300 MW at Barber Lake carries roughly $3.8 billion in revenue at an 86% NOI margin, with Google providing a backstop guarantee up to $1.73 billion. Management projects average annualized NOI of $669 million from October 2026 through September 2036 from these contracts alone, rising to about $754 million annually by 2035.

CEO Tyler Page described 2025 as a “defining year,” marking the completion of Cipher’s evolution from a Bitcoin miner to a digital infrastructure platform. The company has contracted for HPC on about 74% of its pro forma 807 MW capacity, with the remaining 26% tied to Bitcoin self-mining at the Odessa site (approximately 207 MW at a power cost of roughly $0.028/kWh). Cipher plans to exit Bitcoin mining by the end of 2026, holding about 1,166 BTC as of February 20 and intending to monetize opportunistically without further mining capex.

To fund the pivot, Cipher raised substantial capital through senior secured high-yield bonds: $2.0 billion at 6.125% for Black Pearl (fully funding completion by October 2026), $1.4 billion at 7.125% for Barber Lake (also fully financed), and additional project-level debt. Liquidity stood strong at around $860 million as of mid-February, including cash and Bitcoin holdings.

Recent expansions bolster the pipeline. Cipher acquired the 200 MW Ulysses site in Ohio for future HPC development, diversifying beyond Texas. Near-term energization targets include Stingray (100 MW, Q4 2026) and Reveille (70 MW, Q3 2027). The company also divested its 49% stake in joint ventures (Alborz, Bear, and Chief Mountain) to Canaan Inc. in a non-cash transaction that included 6,840 mining rigs, streamlining operations.

Analysts have responded positively to the HPC focus amid surging AI demand. Consensus among 14-16 firms rates Cipher a Moderate Buy to Strong Buy, with average 12-month price targets around $25.11 to $27.00—implying 45-58% upside from the February 24 close. High-end targets reach $38 from Morgan Stanley, citing the bitcoin-to-datacenter conversion trend, while others like Northland Securities ($27.50), Needham ($26), Rosenblatt ($33), and BTIG ($25) maintain Buy ratings. The pivot aligns with broader industry shifts toward AI infrastructure, where power-rich sites offer stable, high-margin leases compared to volatile crypto mining.

Challenges remain. The Q4 miss stemmed from a tough Bitcoin environment and hashrate reductions (from 23.6 EH/s to 11.6 EH/s), contributing to ongoing losses. Execution risks include construction timelines, power sourcing, and integration of HPC operations. Regulatory and energy market dynamics could impact costs.

Upcoming catalysts include progress on Barber Lake and Black Pearl commencements in October 2026, potential additional leases, and Q1 2026 results expected in May. Management emphasized scaling construction, engineering, and operations teams with HPC expertise to originate and operate at scale.

Cipher Digital’s trajectory reflects the evolving digital infrastructure landscape. By leveraging its Texas power advantages and securing tier-1 tenants like AWS and Google-backed deals, the company positions itself for predictable, long-term cash flows in the AI era. Investors see the rebrand and contracts as validating the pivot, with the stock’s post-earnings surge underscoring optimism that execution could drive significant value creation through the decade.

ET Intelligence Group: Omnitech Engineering, a high precision engineered components manufacturer, plans to raise Rs 418 crore through a fresh issue to fund new facilities and to repay debt. It will also raise Rs 165 crore through an offer for sale.

The promoter group’s stake will fall to 74.2% after the IPO from 94.1%. The company has a loyal customer base with 97% of revenue coming from repeat business. With about 79% of its revenue coming from exports, including 58% from the US, the company faces geographical and tariff related risks. Additionally, It exhibited a longer working capital cycle and had negative cash flow from operations in FY25. Given these factors, investors may wait to see clarity in financials.

Business
Incorporated in 2006, Omnitech caters to customers across sectors such as energy, motion control and automation, industrial equipment systems, metal forming and others. It has three manufacturing units, all in Gujarat thereby creating geographic concentration risks. For instance, flooding from excessive rainfall in FY25 disrupted operations. It has a leased warehouse in Houston, USA. The company imports about 37% of its materials and uses hedging techniques to reduce currency risks.

Financials
Between FY23 and FY25, revenue grew by 39.1% annually to ‘342.9 crore and net profit rose 16.5% to ‘43.9 crore. Around 30% revenue comes from top three customers. The company has a longer working capital cycle – net working capital days at 256 in the six months to September. This may increase working capital needs thereby raising interest outgo.

Cash flow from operating activities was ‘11.8 crore in the first half of FY26, but the company faced operating cash flow deficit of ’69 crore in FY25, dropping from positive cash flow of ‘39.4 crore in FY23. Though return on equity (ROE) dropped sharply to 21.6% in FY25 from 53.9% in FY23, it remains well above peer range of 6-13%. For the six months ended September 2025, the company’s revenue and net profit was ‘228.2 crore and ‘27.8 crore, respectively.
Valuation
Considering the post-IPO equity and annualised profit for FY26, the price-earnings (P/E) multiple is 50 compared with above 66 for peers including Azad Engineering, Unimech Aerospace and Manufacturing, and PTC Industries.

Shares of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd rallied as much as 5% to their intraday high of Rs 727.40 on the BSE on Wednesday after BofA Securities upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Neutral” and sharply raised its target price to Rs 840 from Rs 480 — an increase of 75%.

The international brokerage cited a more constructive outlook for aluminium prices, supportive silver prices and an attractive dividend yield of over 6% estimated for FY27. It also highlighted that significant deleveraging at the parent level reduces the risk of any increase in brand-fee rates or inter-corporate loans.

BofA has raised its FY26E–FY28E EBITDA estimates for Vedanta by 16–21%, factoring in higher aluminium price assumptions, an increased fair value for Hindustan Zinc, depreciation in the USD-INR rate and a lower holding-company discount of 5%, compared with 15% earlier.

Vedanta Q3 snapshot

Vedanta reported a 61% year-on-year jump in consolidated profit to Rs 5,710 crore for the third quarter, with revenue rising 19% to Rs 45,899 crore. EBITDA climbed 34% year-on-year and 31% sequentially to a record Rs 15,171 crore, while margins expanded sharply to 41%, supported by higher metal prices, stronger premiums, improved volumes and cost efficiencies.

The aluminium business stood out operationally, with alumina production rising 57% year-on-year to a record 794 kilo tonnes, while aluminium cost of production declined 11% year-on-year to $1,674 per tonne, aiding margin expansion. Zinc India and international zinc operations also delivered strong growth on the back of favourable commodity prices and improved volumes.
The stronger operating performance translated into better capital efficiency, with return on capital employed improving to 27%, up nearly 300 basis points from a year ago.

Vedanta share price performance

Vedanta share price has been off to a strong start in 2026, rallying 20% on a year-to-date basis. The stock is up 60% in the last six months.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Indian IT stocks may have faced a bout of market jitters over artificial intelligence (AI) disruption, but industry expert Piyush Pandey from Centrum sees long-term opportunities despite short-term volatility.

According to Pandey, current valuations are “extremely comfortable” and most stocks are trading below their five-year averages. “As of now, it looks like most of the stocks are in oversold zone and I would say, the fears from the AI are overblown. And as most of these management we also believe that AI would provide more opportunities in the medium to long term. In fact, there can be some price deflation for certain legacy projects, but that should be more than compensated with increasing volume of IT projects,” he explained in an interview to ET Now.

Pandey emphasized that while the near-term impact might be temporary, IT companies are well-positioned for growth over the next one to two years.

When asked whether the AI disruption is materially different from previous technology shifts such as cloud and internet adoption, Pandey noted, “Even with this disruption, it is more about improvement in productivity. Revenue per employee would increase, headcount addition would be more measured, and some routine tasks can get automated. IT services companies are well entrenched in the entire IT ecosystem where they understand the client’s context and their tech journey over decades.”

He added that this productivity boost could make previously unviable legacy transformation projects feasible. “Near term we might see some disruption, but I remain positive and it looks like even for FY27 performance would be slightly better compared to what we had in FY26,” Pandey said.

Concerns over AI reducing man-hours and impacting revenue models were addressed as well. “In this AI age I believe it would shift from man-hour base to fixed price or outcome-based projects. There has been significant increase in productivity, especially in coding hours, but for clients who were previously unable to implement IT projects, now it becomes easier and more affordable,” he said.
On margin pressure, Pandey commented, “There would be some margin compression for legacy projects. But as IT companies move towards outcome-based billing, margins would be broadly protected. For global tech companies in the US, if they cannot monetize AI properly, their margins can take a hit. There is more of a bubble case in AI for US tech companies, but for Indian companies, the opportunities are just too huge.”From an investor’s perspective, Pandey recommends patience. “Let the price stabilise, maybe it can take a month or so. But at the current valuations, if somebody has a long-term horizon… and even Q4 would be reasonably good. So, if somebody has a longer term, one can add; otherwise, they can wait for the prices to stabilise.”

He advises a balanced approach between largecap and midcap IT names. “I would say mix of a largecap and Infosys and Coforge one can have 50-50,” he said, highlighting them as top picks.

Pandey also flagged key metrics to monitor in the AI-driven IT cycle: “Companies will start reporting on deal TCV, especially AI-led deal TCV, and one needs to track the pace at which AI-led deal TCV grows. Even Infosys reported around 5.5% revenue from AI-led services and TCS had a similar number at around 5.8%, that $1.8 billion. AI-led revenue, AI-led deal TCV, and how the mix is changing quarter to quarter needs to be tracked. Plus, headcount addition is still important to keep their employee pyramid intact.”

With measured optimism, Pandey believes the Indian IT sector is poised to navigate AI disruption while delivering value to long-term investors.