IREN: Power & Partnerships Fuel AI Growth

IREN: From Bitcoin Mining to AI Infrastructure

IREN Limited (IREN), formerly Iris Energy, is a company that has had the fortune of being in the right place at the right time. The company began as a pure-play Bitcoin Miner but has pivoted hard to the red-hot AI infrastructure industry as IREN’s management team realized that the company’s secured land, grid-connected power, and operational data centers would be more valuable for AI purposes than for Bitcoin mining.

IREN is a vertically integrated data center operator. While the company’s main focus is on AI cloud services (IREN rents out high-performance NVIDIA (NVDA) GPU clusters to hyperscalers) the company still uses some of its data centers to mine Bitcoin as the company moves to transition toward higher-margin AI contracts.

Energy: IREN’s Most Valuable Commodity

AI data centers are extremely power-intensive. With an aging electric grid, AI data center operators are increasingly forced to generate their own on-site energy. The only other alternative to onsite energy is to connect to the grid. Unfortunately, it can take 5 years or more to connect to the grid. However, with a cutthroat race for AI supremacy fully underway, America’s tech giants are unwilling to wait so long. IREN benefits from owning a massive portfolio of 5 gigawatts (GW) of secured power capacity globally through its ready-to-plug sites.

Vertical Integration Helps IREN Profitability

Because IREN owns its own real estate and data centers and controls its own power, the company can achieve higher margins and gross profits than competitors. Gross profits have been rising steadily since the company’s initial public offering in mid-2024.

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Massive Revenue Backlog & Visibility

IREN investors enjoy plenty of revenue visibility. The company has more than $10 billion in secured deals and expects annual recurring revenue (ARR) of ~$4 billion. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts expect revenues to grow 65.78% in 2026 and a juicy 235.35% in 2027.

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IREN Scores NVIDIA Partnership

IREN recently announced a partnership with NVIDIA, the undisputed AI leader. NVIDIA will purchase up to $2.1 billion worth. Additionally, IREN signed a 5-year, $3.4 billion contract to provide managed GPU cloud services directly to NVIDIA. The deal with NVDA validates IREN’s infrastructure quality. Nebius (NBIS) is a recent example of how powerful the NVIDIA hat tip can be. Shares have more than doubled over the past few months.

IREN Technical Analysis

IREN shares are emerging from a picture-perfect monthly bull flag pattern.

Image Source: TradingView

Bottom Line

As the "physical layer" of the AI revolution becomes the primary bottleneck for growth, IREN Limited has successfully repositioned itself from a crypto miner to a vital infrastructure provider. With a $10 billion revenue backlog, triple-digit projected growth in 2027, and the coveted NVIDIA partnership as a catalyst, the company is primed for further expansion.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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