The Financial Times reported on 13 November that Amazon has revived its deal with Fermi America, the Texas data centre developer the FT describes as backed by Rick Perry, according to the headline of the FT article. We could not read the FT text, which is behind a paywall. A day earlier, Fermi said an undisclosed investment-grade hyperscaler had agreed to a $200 million prepayment for 600 MW of power capacity at its Project Matador site in Carson County, Texas. The FT headline does not mention that agreement; linking the two is our reading of the timing.
Update, 13 November 2026, 21:35 UTC: Relays of the Financial Times article, which we still cannot read, go further than its headline. A ZeroHedge headline posted on X at 20:52 UTC read “*FERMI SIGNED 600-MEGAWATT POWER DEAL WITH AMAZON: FT”. Wall St Engine’s summary at 20:55 UTC, citing the FT, said Fermi “has reached a preliminary agreement for 600MW of power capacity at its Texas data center campus with a hyperscaler identified as Amazon by the FT” and that “The long-term lease has not yet been finalized.” These are relays of a paywalled article, not the FT’s text, and the FT wording on Amazon’s role is unverified by us. In the statements we read, neither Fermi nor Amazon names the other; Fermi’s release of 12 November calls the customer an undisclosed investment-grade hyperscaler.
Fermi’s own release says “The customer’s identity remains confidential”, and we found no Amazon statement on the report. Fermi shares closed at $2.61 on 13 November, up 26.7% on the day and 44.2% across the two sessions since the release, by our arithmetic from Yahoo Finance data. They remain 82.9% below the $15.25 close of 11 December 2025, the day Fermi’s first tenant walked away from a $150 million construction advance.
Business Pill · Capex and Depreciation
A short explainer on how capital spending turns into depreciation on the income statement. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Fermi or Amazon.
The key insight: As we read Fermi’s filings, the 600 MW agreement repeats the shape of the deal that collapsed in December 2025, a non-binding letter of intent backed by upfront customer money, now $200 million against $150 million; who the customer is rests on the FT headline, and tying it to Amazon is our inference.
Fermi’s third-quarter release says it has entered into agreements with the hyperscaler “to advance development of an initial 600 MW of power capacity beginning in 2027 at Project Matador”. The customer is making commitments “ahead of finalizing a lease”.
The signed pieces are a $200 million prepayment agreement and a $15 million early construction and site development agreement. Fermi says the two sides are also finalizing a $90 million structural steel and building materials purchase agreement. That makes $215 million signed and $305 million if the steel deal closes, by our arithmetic.
Chief executive Lee McIntire said in the release: “We believe this is just the start of converting our strong pipeline of customers.” The release says the parties “continue to work toward a definitive long-term lease”.
Fermi’s signed hyperscaler agreements and the pending steel deal, set against the December 2025 construction advance that was terminated and Fermi’s cash and debt at 30 September 2026. Figures from Fermi’s filings; sums are our arithmetic.
What the 10-Q Adds
Fermi’s quarterly report, filed the same day, describes the deal in its subsequent-events note. It says that on 10 November Fermi “entered into a non-binding letter of intent with an investment-grade hyperscaler for the delivery of approximately 600 MW of powered land at Project Matador”. The $200 million and $15 million agreements were signed in connection with that letter.
The same note says the August 2026 lease with TensorWave was terminated on 10 November after its closing date passed without extension. The release adds that the AMD credit support tied to that lease, which we covered in October, is also terminated.
FRMI daily closes from Yahoo Finance, fetched at 21:00 UTC on 13 November 2026. Percentage changes are our arithmetic.
The Deal That Collapsed in December 2025
An 8-K filed on 12 December 2025 sets out the earlier attempt. Fermi signed a non-binding letter of intent with an investment-grade tenant, the “First Tenant”, on 19 September 2025, then an Advance in Aid of Construction Agreement under which that tenant agreed “to advance up to $150 million to fund construction costs”.
The filing says “No funds have been drawn under the AICA”, that exclusivity expired on 9 December, and that on 11 December the tenant notified Fermi it was terminating the agreement. Fermi did not name that tenant. The shares fell 33.8% the next session, by our arithmetic from Yahoo Finance closes. The new prepayment is $50 million larger than the earlier advance.
Fermi’s Cash, Debt and Going-Concern Note
At 30 September, Fermi had $286.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $29.2 million of restricted cash, the 10-Q says, against $958.4 million of debt, net. It reported a $141.6 million net loss for the quarter and no revenue.
The 10-Q says that, measured against forecast spending, “these resources are not sufficient to satisfy the Company’s financial obligations as they become due within one year”. Before management’s plans, it says, those conditions “raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern”; management concluded its plans alleviate that doubt. The $215 million signed equals 75% of its unrestricted cash, by our arithmetic.
One lender, Keystone, requires a mandatory prepayment “if an approved customer agreement has not been received by December 31, 2026”, the 10-Q says. Fermi paid $25 million to drop a 400 MW lease deadline on its turbine loan in October, but the 10-Q says a separate requirement to close project financing for the first phase of Project Matador by 10 February 2027 “remains in effect”.
As we read the 10-Q, the signed $215 million equals 75% of Fermi’s $286.3 million of unrestricted cash at 30 September, by our arithmetic, set against $958.4 million of debt, net.
As we read the share data, the 26.7% rise on 13 November and 44.2% over two sessions leave FRMI at $2.61, 82.9% below its 11 December 2025 close, by our arithmetic from Yahoo Finance.
Fermi Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, subsequent events note
“On November 10, 2026, the Company entered into a non-binding letter of intent with an investment-grade hyperscaler for the delivery of approximately 600 MW of powered land at Project Matador.”
Three Implications
FOR FERMI The 10-Q says the definitive lease is still being negotiated, a Keystone loan requires a prepayment without an approved customer agreement by 31 December 2026, and project financing for the first phase is due by 10 February 2027.
FOR AMAZONAmazon has not confirmed any role in any statement we found, and Fermi says the customer’s identity remains confidential.
FOR OUR COVERAGE We will add the customer’s name, the lease terms and the steel agreement when Fermi or Amazon publishes them.
The analysis argues: “The structural bottleneck isn’t computing, it’s electrons.”
As we read it, Fermi’s pitch to hyperscalers is permitted on-site power, and the customer money it has signed so far follows that power, not a finished lease. The analysis predates this deal and does not discuss Fermi.
What Is Not Established
Fermi has not named the customer, and Amazon has not confirmed any role in any statement we found; the Amazon link rests on the FT headline, whose article we did not read, and tying it to the 600 MW agreement is our inference. We cannot say what terms the FT describes or whether Amazon was the 2025 First Tenant. The 600 MW arrangement rests on a non-binding letter of intent, the lease is not signed, and the $90 million steel agreement is not final.
This Week In The AI Supercycle
The Great Convergence of Capital, Power, and Geopolitics
This week’s issue: for two years the AI build-out was priced as a supply story, and last week as a credit story. This week it was priced as a permission story, and the answer arrived as a cost, not a ban.
The FT headline says Amazon has revived its deal with Fermi; Fermi has not named the customer for its 600 MW agreement, and linking the two is our reading of the timing. The structure of that agreement repeats December 2025: a non-binding letter plus upfront money, this time $200 million against $150 million. The signed $215 million equals 75% of Fermi’s unrestricted cash at 30 September, and the definitive lease is the document to watch.
A note on sourcing. The deal terms come from Fermi Inc.’s third-quarter release and Form 10-Q, both filed on 12 November 2026, and the December 2025 collapse from its 8-K of 12 December 2025, all read in full on SEC EDGAR. The identification of Amazon is the Financial Times’s; its article was behind a paywall and we read only the headline. Share prices are Yahoo Finance closes fetched at 21:00 UTC on 13 November; percentage changes and sums are our arithmetic. We did not contact Fermi or Amazon.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
