Nebius Stock Dips Amid Market Volatility as Vineland Approves Data Center Expansion

Nebius' (NBIS) stock price dipped by 2% in premarket trading amid market volatility caused by renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. However, investors remained focused on a crucial update that clears the way for one of the company's most significant cloud deals with Microsoft.

The Vineland Planning Board approved Phase 2 of Nebius' AI data center expansion, adding 600,000 square feet to the project. This approval removes a major execution risk for Nebius' $17.4 billion Microsoft cloud deal, which relies on capacity from the facility.

Nebius' data center in Vineland, New Jersey, is being developed by DataOne as a major AI infrastructure campus. The project was initially approved as a 300-megawatt facility, but DataOne later proposed a larger build-out that could reach 350 MW. The expansion stalled over amendments and public pushback regarding noise, water use, emissions, LNG storage, and the project's scale.

The latest approval removes one of the biggest execution risks to the Microsoft contract. A prolonged delay would have affected Nebius' ability to bring capacity online for Microsoft on schedule.