IREN Limited closed Wednesday's session at $49.51, plunging 9.5% and underperforming its peers in the artificial intelligence, data center, and cryptocurrency sectors. The stock traded as low as $48.85, well off its intraday high of $55.70. Competitors also felt the heat: CoreWeave fell 5.4%, Core Scientific slipped 6.0%, and TeraWulf dropped 7.6%.
The selloff coincided with a 4.1% decline in Bitcoin, which slipped below the $60,000 threshold to around $59,830, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin is a key revenue driver for IREN, and its weakness added pressure to the stock.
Investors weighed a split among analysts regarding the pace of IREN's transition from Bitcoin mining to AI cloud infrastructure. Price targets range from $36 to $100, reflecting uncertainty about the company's strategic shift. In its March-quarter update, IREN reported revenue of $144.8 million, down from $184.7 million in the prior quarter, as Bitcoin prices fell and the company decommissioned mining hardware in preparation for AI chip installations and revenue generation.
Broader market concerns about AI spending also weighed on sentiment. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.21%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 7.9% after investors questioned the sustainability of debt-fueled AI investments. "All the spending that's being done is raising new doubts," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt, in a Reuters report.
IREN is betting big on its AI cloud pivot, with major deals tied to Microsoft, Nvidia, and Dell. The company secured a $9.7 billion, five-year agreement with Microsoft to access Nvidia GB300 chips, but the deal includes an exit clause if IREN fails to meet delivery timelines. Nvidia also struck a separate deal to buy up to 30 million IREN shares at $70 each, a package worth up to $2.1 billion. The partnership targets up to 5 gigawatts of AI infrastructure, a standard scale for major data center projects.
As part of its $3.4 billion Nvidia AI cloud deal, IREN will purchase about $1.6 billion of Nvidia Blackwell systems from Dell. These systems are slated for deployment at the Childress, Texas facility by early 2027. The company projects that annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) could climb to $4.4 billion from $3.7 billion, though this target is not fully contracted and depends on timely GPU deliveries and operational readiness.
IREN also expanded its footprint internationally. The company completed the acquisition of Nostrum Group in Spain, adding approximately 490 megawatts of grid-connected power and over 50 employees. Nostrum CEO Gabriel Nebreda said the company has built a Spanish AI infrastructure pipeline over several years and now has the resources to develop it "at the speed and scale" needed. In Australia, IREN signed a transmission connection agreement for an 800-megawatt data-center campus in Bundey, South Australia, expected to go live from 2028. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts cited "abundant clean energy" and connections to Asia-Pacific as key attractions.
Delays remain a significant risk. IREN cautioned that its $4.4 billion ARR goal is not fully contracted, and there is no guarantee it will be achieved. The target hinges on the arrival and activation of graphics processing units (GPUs) as planned. A further drop in Bitcoin prices would add pressure, particularly before AI cloud sales can offset lost mining revenue.
