Iren's AI ambitions surge in Q1 earnings

Iren, the bitcoin miner and AI cloud service provider, reported its Q1 2026 earnings report on November 6 after market close.

Its stock has been volatile this month, closing 6.8% lower on Friday, Nov. 7, even as it posted a 2.7% gain this week, but showed a 2.3% decline over the past month.

The company’s earnings underscore a rapid transformation from a bitcoin miner to a major player in large-scale AI cloud infrastructure. 

Its stock fell despite substantial gains, as analysts flagged execution and financing risks associated with its ambitious plans for further expansion, but it gained traction after hours.

Iren's growth led by partnerships

Iren’s revenue this quarter surged 355% year over year to $240.3 million, up from the $52.8 million a year earlier, reflecting robust bitcoin mining activity.

The stock value of the bitcoin miner has risen 435% year to date, highlighting optimism over its transition from a cryptocurrency miner into a major player in AI-powered data center infrastructure. 

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Net Income for Iren reached record highs, at $384.6 million, compared to the $51.7 million net loss reported in Q1 2025. The NI also includes some unrealized gains.

Adjusted EBITDA rose to $91.7 million, up a significant 3,500% year over year.

A bulk of the revenue still came from bitcoin mining, which delivered $232.9 million, while AI cloud services contributed $7.3 million, driven by early commercial GPU deployments.

Related: Bitcoin miner turns AI cloud contender

Earlier this month, Iren announced a $9.7 billion, five-year cloud contract deal with Microsoft for the 200 megawatts of IT load at its Childress, Texas, site. The agreement includes a 20% customer prepayment and is expected to contribute roughly $1.9 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) once fully deployed.

The announcement propelled its stock value, which has seen a 238% increase this quarter.

The most recent deals, a $9.7 billion agreement with Microsoft and a $5.8 billion agreement with Dell Technologies to purchase the GPUs and ancillary equipment, have led to increased conversation around its stock potential.

Iren expansion and outlook

Iren is now targeting $3.4 billion in AI cloud ARR through an expansion to 140,000 GPUs across its sites.

Iren reported $1.8 billion of cash and cash equivalents as of October 31, boosted by $1 billion zero-coupon convertible note issued in October and a record $400 million in GPU financing.

The company elaborated on its plans to fund near-term capital expenditures through a mix of existing cash, operating cash flows, and prepayments from Microsoft.

Analysts, however, find the 20226 revenue guidance “lofty.” HC Wainwright raised its price target on IREN to $56 from $45, but kept a sell rating and called the Q1 earnings “underwhelming.”

It also cautioned investors against the significantly high execution and financial risks associated with the company meeting its 2026 revenue outlook, according to TheFly.

Cantor Fitzgerald, on the other hand, lowered its price target to $136 from $142, maintaining an overweight rating, citing that the centerpiece of Iren’s earnings is its Microsoft deal, which positions it as an emerging neocloud provider and will result in additional large-scale deals in the near term, TheFly reported.

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