New York, February 9, 2026, 17:59 EST — After-hours
- IREN shares jumped roughly 10% in after-hours action Monday.
- Last week’s quarterly update put the AI cloud pipeline in the spotlight, analysts said.
- Investors have their eyes on new customer agreements, plus updates on when capacity and GPU launches will land.
IREN Limited shares surged roughly 10% in Monday’s after-hours action, sidestepping a weaker bitcoin performance and outgunning peers among U.S.-listed crypto miners. The stock last sat at $46.15, up 10.4%, swinging between $39.27 and $47.18 during the session. Bitcoin was down around 1%. Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms both posted gains, but CleanSpark declined.
Why does it matter? IREN is working to shed its bitcoin miner identity and reposition as an AI cloud and data-center operator—right where investors see the action. Success depends on locking in long-term contracts for GPUs, those critical chips powering AI model training and inference, all while managing capital and power supply schedules with little margin for error.
Things intensified after IREN landed a five-year, $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft last year, tying together data-center services and Nvidia chips that come via Dell. Reuters noted back then that if there are hiccups in meeting delivery deadlines, the deal could be called off. 1
Monday saw analysts shifting focus to what might be in the pipeline. Gautam Chhugani at Bernstein told clients “new deals are coming,” tying IREN’s post-earnings dip to the lack of a fresh hyperscaler agreement. Over at H.C. Wainwright, Mike Colonnese called out “meaningful progress” and stuck with his Buy rating. Chhugani’s price target jumped from $75 to $125, while Colonnese held his at $80. 2
Feb. 5 saw IREN roll out its latest quarterly update, and the numbers cut both ways for investors. The company reported locking in $3.6 billion in GPU financing for its Microsoft deal, at an interest rate below 6% a year. That, plus a $1.9 billion prepayment from Microsoft, is enough to cover 95% of IREN’s GPU-related capital outlays. IREN also pointed to $2.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents on the books as of Jan. 31, and stuck to its goal of expanding to 140,000 GPUs, which it says would drive $3.4 billion in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2026. Keep in mind, ARR is annualized contracted revenue—not actual cash. 3
Even so, the quarter pulled back the curtain on some turbulence below the surface. Total revenue slid to $184.7 million, while IREN reported a net loss of $155.4 million for the three months through Dec. 31. Bitcoin mining continued to generate the bulk of income, with AI cloud services contributing a modest but expanding share.
Still, risks linger. The financing hinges on final terms and pricing being locked in. Operations can’t ramp up unless GPUs arrive and go online as planned. And a big bitcoin move could quickly dent cash flow and hit how investors feel about the shares.
Tuesday brings a test for the rally: traders are looking to see if it sticks in regular hours, and if the company can back up its “pipeline” chatter with actual signed customer deals outside Microsoft. IREN is set to report earnings May 13, Zacks shows. 4
