IREN NASDAQ: IREN used its fiscal third-quarter earnings call to highlight a rapid expansion in AI data center capacity, a new long-term customer agreement with NVIDIA, and continued progress in shifting its business mix away from Bitcoin mining and toward AI Cloud services.
Strategic focus: converting secured power into “time to compute”
Co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts framed the company’s strategy around a core constraint in AI infrastructure: the ability to translate secured power into customer-ready compute on tight timelines. Roberts said that while digital demand can scale quickly, physical infrastructure—power, permitting, land, and data centers—takes years to build, creating scarcity that is “now defining where AI infrastructure gets built and who can build it.”
Roberts said IREN increased secured power to 5 gigawatts during the quarter, added new sites in Europe and APAC, energized Sweetwater One on schedule, and began commissioning on Horizon One GPUs for Microsoft. He added that all of IREN’s operational capacity is fully contracted, arguing the company is “racing to build supply fast enough” to meet demand.
NVIDIA partnership and contracted revenue targets
Roberts said IREN increased annual recurring revenue (ARR) under contract to $3.1 billion and reiterated a target of $3.7 billion of ARR exiting calendar 2026. He also announced a $3.4 billion, five-year AI Cloud contract with NVIDIA, describing it as the first step in what he called a broader strategic partnership.
Roberts said IREN is working with NVIDIA to support deployment of up to 5 GW of “NVIDIA HGX-aligned AI infrastructure” across IREN’s global platform, including DGX environments and the MGX AI factory reference architecture. He said NVIDIA’s $2.1 billion investment is structured so that its rights to invest vest only as NVIDIA GPU infrastructure is deployed across IREN campuses, and “only fully vest upon deployment of 600,000 GPUs.”
On the Q&A, Chief Commercial Officer Kent Draper said IREN has not disclosed the specific number of GPUs supported by the 60 megawatts in the NVIDIA contract, but characterized it as “approximately 60 MW of air-cooled Blackwells” and as a “managed services deployment.”
Build-out roadmap: 2026 and 2027 capacity plans
Roberts detailed a 2026 plan targeting 480 MW of AI Cloud capacity, 150,000 GPUs, and $3.7 billion of ARR by year-end. For 2027, he said the company plans to scale to 1,210 MW, with an additional 730 MW under construction across British Columbia and Texas, including Childress and the initial phase at Sweetwater One.
At Childress, Roberts described the “largest and most complex” 2026 workstream as a 300 MW Horizon 1-4 liquid-cooled deployment, where NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 installations are underway. He said Horizon 1 is scheduled for Microsoft handoff in Q3, with Horizons 2-4 on track for delivery by year-end, and noted “around 3,000 workers on-site.”
Alongside liquid-cooled builds, Roberts said IREN is converting existing air-cooled capacity into AI Cloud deployments:
- Prince George: air-cooled GPUs delivered and “either operating or undergoing commissioning” across a 50 MW site
- Mackenzie: 80 MW of data center capacity prepared for GPU installations commencing in the second half of 2026
- Childress: retrofits underway across an initial 50 MW ahead of GPU deliveries in the second half of the year
Roberts said the company has approximately $700 million of ARR associated with the $3.4 billion NVIDIA contract, supporting Blackwell GPUs to be deployed across 60 MW of air-cooled capacity at Childress. He also said the remaining uncontracted 2026 capacity represents “approximately 50,000 air-cooled GPUs” scheduled for phased delivery through the second half of the year, and described demand as “robust.”
For 2027, Draper confirmed an analyst’s characterization that of the 730 MW under construction, about 450 MW is expected from remaining Childress capacity and about 280 MW from Sweetwater.
Europe entry via Nostrum acquisition; APAC focus on Australia
Roberts announced IREN’s entry into Europe through the acquisition of Nostrum Group, which he said adds 490 MW of secured power in Spain, a “gigawatt-scale development pipeline,” and a team of more than 50 people across development, engineering, construction, and operations. Roberts said Spain offers “supportive AI policy, abundant renewables, lower build costs, and strong connectivity into broader European demand.”
In response to a question about moving the Spanish power position toward delivered compute, Draper said the sites are secured and the next steps are “final design permitting,” which he said is already well advanced at a number of sites, followed by construction. Draper added that IREN is already seeing “direct requests” for European capacity from existing and new customers.
On APAC, Roberts said Australia shares market similarities with Texas, including the structure of the power market, land availability, transmission, fiber connectivity, and renewables. He said Texas has been “an easier place to do business,” but that IREN has continued incubating Australian projects and sees Australia as a “fantastic frontier” given demand constraints in APAC.
Financial results reflect transition from Bitcoin mining to AI Cloud
CFO Anthony Lewis said revenue for the March quarter was $144.8 million, down from $184.7 million in the prior quarter. He said Bitcoin mining revenue fell to $111.2 million from $167.4 million, driven by a lower average Bitcoin price and ongoing decommissioning of mining hardware ahead of GPU installations.
Lewis said AI Cloud services revenue increased to $33.6 million from $17.3 million in the prior quarter. He added that cost of revenues decreased by $25.9 million, primarily due to lower electricity costs from reduced Bitcoin mining capacity.
Net loss was $247.8 million, which Lewis said was impacted by $140.4 million of non-cash impairments primarily related to decommissioning mining hardware, plus $23.7 million of unrealized losses related to capped calls associated with convertible notes. Lewis said IREN expects additional non-cash impairments as it continues transitioning remaining Bitcoin mining operations toward AI Cloud.
Adjusted EBITDA was $59.5 million versus $75.3 million in the prior quarter.
On liquidity, Lewis said IREN had $2.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of April 30. He said the company expects that cash, operating cash flows, GPU financing, and additional financing initiatives to support near-term capex, including delivery of the Microsoft contract and deployment of air-cooled capacity at Mackenzie and Childress. Lewis reiterated that about 95% of Microsoft GPU-related capex is expected to be funded through prepayments and GPU financing.
During Q&A, Roberts said the company financed 95% of Microsoft-related GPU capex at an average interest rate of “about 3%” through prepayments and GPU financing, and argued that capital remains available “as long as you sign good contracts” and demonstrate execution.
About IREN NASDAQ: IREN
IREN Limited, formerly known as Iris Energy Limited, owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
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