There are some eyebrow-raising details in the filing of SoftBank-backed SB Energy, a power and data-center developer that plans to go public as soon as this month. None of its three planned data centers are operational, for example. Its relationships with SoftBank, OpenAI and Nvidia stretch the possibilities of circular financing.

But there is also a simpler observation that makes this IPO unusual. Development is a risky business, with a lumpy earnings pattern that makes it unpalatable for many public-market investors.

"The earnings pattern sucks for a typical developer," said Ted Brandt, chief executive of Marathon Capital, a clean-energy-focused investment bank. Development can take years and requires a lot of upfront expenses, meaning a company can post years of losses before the asset starts generating cash, he said.

That cash-flow pattern is more manageable if the company already has a big base of operating, revenue-generating assets, as is the case with listed power-plant owners such as NextEra Energy Resources and Vistra Energy. Data-center developers Digital Realty Trust and Equinix both had an operating base of data centers when they went public.

Plus, data-center development is a crowded field, with new entrants popping up like wildcatters. There are 360 companies with at least one planned U.S. data center, according to data provider Cleanview.

SB Energy does have some advantages over some of these speculators. One is that it is an experienced power developer, having built solar and battery-storage projects since 2019. It also has $430 billion worth of potential revenue lined up through some very large data-center contracts, primarily with OpenAI as the customer and some backstop support from Nvidia.

There is good margin potential, given that the data center's operating costs, insurance premiums and property taxes will be passed to the customer. The customer is also responsible for bringing its own computing hardware.

However, about 82% of this backlog won't arrive for at least eight years. And a "substantial majority" of this is expected to come from one large project, the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio, which will have a total power load of 10 gigawatts, according to the filing.

This project accounts for 90% of SB Energy's data-center-contract capacity and is expected to start in phases from 2028 to 2032. Its contracts have an average length of nearly 20 years, which means some of its backlog revenue will stretch out to the 2050s.

The long development timelines mean the company could be burning cash and reporting losses for some time. The company expects to spend about $174 billion on capital expenditures on those data centers. It will take on substantial interest expenses, too, given it plans to fund the majority of this cost through debt.

Another risk: the flagship PORTS-Pike campus relies on a 9.2-gigawatt natural-gas-fired power plant that SB Energy won't own or operate. The company notes in its filing that an "affiliate of SoftBank," which isn't SB Energy's subsidiary, will be developing this power plant, with funding from the U.S. government and Japan.

So far, though, there are no binding agreements to fund, construct, own or operate this facility. The company expects to have 10 gigawatts' worth of grid interconnection, too. But most of this is still subject to approval, and SB Energy notes that it will likely need power in addition to the grid connection.

The promise of the revenue backlog also requires that all the AI stars align, a huge assumption at a time when there is much public scrutiny of everything data-center related. SB Energy must still obtain multiple permits, get final interconnection approvals, make sure the required power equipment arrives on time and raise debt on the back of contracts with OpenAI, a counterparty with no credit ratings, albeit with partial support from Nvidia.

Delays will have consequences. If SB Energy fails to start data-center operations by its deadline for PORTS-Pike, it must give OpenAI a free day of base rent for each day of delay. This escalates to two days' worth of rent after 90 days. For its data-center project in Milam County, Texas, a one-year delay could trigger a buyout option, under which OpenAI can purchase the data center at a price that could be "materially below" the value of the lease revenues SB Energy would have otherwise gotten, according to the filing.

SB Energy's revenue backlog is notable. For investors to count on it, though, many things will have to fall into place at the right time.