RIOT vs CLSK Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Riot Platforms pursues scale and vertical integration with a heavy Texas power-market focus, while CleanSpark emphasizes operational efficiency and opportunistic, capital-disciplined growth across a more geographically diversified footprint. Both are leveraged, high-beta proxies for bitcoin price, but they take different paths to hash rate growth and cost control.
Use this RIOT vs CLSK comparison to evaluate two different bitcoin mining strategies: Riot's scale-and-power-market approach versus CleanSpark's efficiency-and-opportunistic-acquisition approach. Both stocks move heavily with bitcoin price and mining economics, so relative differentiation comes down to cost structure and capital allocation discipline.
RIOT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. RIOT has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+61.61% vs +28.40%), though CLSK has the better forward P/E setup (-8.46x vs -21.21x for RIOT). RIOT leads on both revenue growth (13.90%) and operating margin (-122.33%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CLSK (+98.73%) than for RIOT (+63.40%).
- Want exposure to one of the largest self-mining hash rate operators in North America
- Believe ERCOT demand-response and curtailment credits provide a durable cost advantage
- Are comfortable with high bitcoin-price sensitivity given large held reserves
- Value vertical integration into power infrastructure as a long-term moat
- Prefer a bitcoin miner with a track record of disciplined, opportunistic capital allocation
- Value geographic diversification across multiple state power markets
- Want exposure to fleet efficiency gains as a differentiator versus pure scale
- Are comfortable with the same high bitcoin-price sensitivity common across mining stocks
| Metric | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 50.1 | 24.1 |
| AI rank | #452 | #3305 |
| Latest close | $19.83 | $11.98 |
| 1M return | -15.18% | -21.83% |
| 6M return | +22.26% | +22.00% |
| 1Y return | +61.61% | +28.40% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $16.16K (+61.6%) started 2025-08-21 | $12.84K (+28.4%) started 2025-08-21 |
| 5Y ago | $5.55K (-44.5%) started 2021-08-23 | $9.49K (-5.1%) started 2021-08-23 |
| 10Y ago | $80.48K (+704.8%) started 2016-08-22 | $3.43K (-65.7%) started 2016-11-16 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $7.44B | $3.08B |
| Trailing P/E | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/E | -21.21 | -8.46 |
| Price/Sales | 11.03 | 4.53 |
| EV/Revenue | 11.63 | 6.86 |
| Analyst target | $32.40 | $23.81 |
| Target upside | +63.40% | +98.73% |
| Metric | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 13.90% | -30.50% |
| Earnings growth | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growth | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margin | -106.57% | +7.20% |
| Operating margin | -122.33% | -165.19% |
| Profit margin | -196.28% | -146.90% |
| ROIC proxy | -48.24% | -68.62% |
| Return on equity | -48.24% | -68.62% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Beta | 3.85 | 3.89 |
| Debt/equity | 40.03 | 234.72 |
| Current ratio | 1.58 | 5.91 |
| Quick ratio | 1.17 | 1.34 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +61.61% | +28.40% |
| CAGR | +61.67% | +28.42% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.93 | 0.68 | |
| Max drawdown | 48.57% | 64.74% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.71% | 19.13% | |
| Max wkly drop | 28.93% | 34.35% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -44.50% | -5.07% |
| CAGR | -11.12% | -1.04% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.29 | 0.44 | |
| Max drawdown | 92.55% | 92.00% | |
| Max daily drop | 19.18% | 19.13% | |
| Max wkly drop | 40.88% | 34.89% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +617.31% | -65.67% |
| CAGR | +21.79% | -10.38% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.68 | 0.52 | |
| Max drawdown | 98.32% | 98.56% | |
| Max daily drop | 33.90% | 52.19% | |
| Max wkly drop | 43.31% | 63.11% |
| Category | RIOT | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Riot Platforms, Inc. | CleanSpark, Inc. |
| Sector | Bitcoin Mining | Bitcoin Mining |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Large-scale Bitcoin mining company operating industrial-scale facilities in Texas, including its Rockdale and Corsicana sites, with a strategy emphasizing scale, vertical integration, and grid-curtailment revenue from ERCOT demand-response programs. | Bitcoin mining company focused on low-cost energy sourcing and operational efficiency, operating mining facilities across Georgia, Mississippi, Wyoming, and other states, with an opportunistic acquisition strategy for distressed or undervalued mining sites. |
| Investor focus | Hash rate expansion, all-in power cost per bitcoin mined, ERCOT curtailment credits, and the pace of bitcoin holdings accumulation versus sales. | Hash rate growth per dollar of capital deployed, energy cost per bitcoin mined, fleet efficiency (miner generation mix), and bitcoin treasury strategy. |
- One of the largest self-mining hash rate operators in North America with significant scale advantages
- Texas-based facilities benefit from ERCOT demand-response programs that can generate meaningful curtailment credit revenue
- Vertically integrated approach, including power infrastructure development, supports long-term cost control
- Track record of acquiring mining sites and equipment opportunistically at favorable valuations during industry downturns
- Focus on operational efficiency and low energy costs relative to some scale-focused peers
- Diversified facility footprint across multiple states reduces single-region power and regulatory risk
- High sensitivity to bitcoin price given large mined-and-held reserves and mining-driven revenue model
- Post-halving mining economics require continued efficiency gains and low-cost power to sustain margins
- Regulatory and grid-policy risk given reliance on Texas power markets and demand-response revenue
- High sensitivity to bitcoin price and mining difficulty adjustments that can compress margins quickly
- Continued reliance on equity or debt issuance to fund fleet expansion and acquisitions
- Competitive hash rate arms race requiring ongoing capital investment to avoid share erosion
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