NEW YORK, January 8, 2026, 10:39 EST — Regular session
- IREN shares rose about 4.3% in morning trading, snapping a two-day slide.
- AI data-center names drew fresh bids after Applied Digital beat revenue estimates.
- Traders are watching mid-February earnings timing and Friday’s U.S. jobs report.
Shares of IREN Ltd (IREN.O) climbed about 4.3% to $45.49 on Thursday, as investors returned to data-center names tied to artificial intelligence computing demand. The stock touched a session high of $45.49 after dipping as low as $42.69.
IREN runs renewable-powered data centers used for bitcoin mining and for renting out AI computing capacity. Its AI cloud unit uses graphics processing units (GPUs) — the chips used to train and run AI models — leaving the stock straddling crypto swings and the tight supply of high-end compute. Bitcoin was down about 1% at around $90,300. Reuters
The tone improved after a strong print from Applied Digital, another data-center operator that has pushed into AI hosting. Applied reported quarterly revenue of $126.6 million, beating analysts’ $88 million estimate, and its shares rose about 11.5% in early trade; crypto miner Cipher Mining was little changed.
Valuation is still the sticking point for some investors after IREN’s run. Subhasish Mukherjee of Zacks Investment Research wrote on Wednesday that IREN shares were “currently overvalued” on a trailing price-to-sales basis — a measure that compares a company’s market value with its revenue — and said the stock was trading below its 50-day moving average, a common short-term trend gauge. Nasdaq
The longer-term bull case rests on how fast IREN can turn power and concrete into contracted AI revenue. In its last quarterly update, the company said it was targeting $3.4 billion in AI cloud annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) by end-2026 — essentially the revenue pace annualized from current contracts and usage — supported by an expansion to 140,000 GPUs, and it flagged an April 2026 energization target for its Sweetwater 1 substation. GlobeNewswire
IREN also has a $9.7 billion, five-year AI cloud deal with Microsoft that Reuters reported in November, with phased deployments through 2026 and Nvidia chips supplied via Dell. Microsoft said at the time it could terminate the contract if IREN misses delivery schedules. Reuters
The shares have been volatile this week. They fell about 5% on Wednesday after a roughly 4.8% drop a day earlier, according to price data. Investing.com
But the ramp is capital-heavy and time-sensitive. Any slip in power hookups, construction timelines or chip deliveries can push out revenue, while a weaker bitcoin price can squeeze cash generation from the mining side just as funding needs rise.
