IREN Plans $25B–$30B AI Expansion by 2027, Bernstein Says Market May Be Concerned

Huo Xing Cai Jing reports, according to The Block, that research and brokerage firm Bernstein stated that Bitcoin mining company IREN plans to invest $25 billion to $30 billion in fiscal year 2027 to expand its AI cloud business—a capital expenditure level that may “frighten the market”—but analysts believe investors are overlooking improving economics. In a report to clients on Friday, Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani noted that the payback period for GPU capital expenditures has shortened from approximately three years under Microsoft’s 2025 contract to about two years. IREN’s fiscal year 2026 results, released on Thursday, showed AI cloud service revenue surged nearly eightfold from $16.4 million the prior year to $128.8 million, while Bitcoin mining revenue reached $578.2 million, up 19% year-over-year. Total revenue rose from $501 million to $707 million, but the company recorded a net loss of $7.026 billion, partly due to a $6.388 billion impairment charge from retiring Bitcoin mining hardware to support AI cloud expansion. Bernstein noted that IREN currently has $1 billion in annualized recurring revenue from its operating cloud business and $4 billion in contracted revenue, with its 2026 capacity largely sold out. Adding the expected $700 million from its upcoming NVIDIA contract in 2027, IREN’s total contracted cloud ARR reaches $4.7 billion. Over the past 12 months, IREN has raised $19 billion through customer prepayments, GPU financing, convertible bonds, and equity issuances.