IREN's CapEx Plan Accelerates: Can Funding Keep Up With Expansion?

3 min read

IREN Limited IREN is entering fiscal year 2027 with spending plans that are much larger than its current revenue base. Management is guiding to $25 billion-$30 billion of capital expenditure, covering 2026 deployments, 2027 air-cooled capacity, part of the next liquid-cooled buildout, and early work for 2028 projects. The scale reflects IREN's shift from Bitcoin mining toward AI cloud.

The funding base is substantial but not complete. IREN said that it had about $14 billion of existing cash, committed GPU financing and customer prepayments. This includes $7.6 billion of cash as of June 30, with $1.7 billion restricted, largely for Microsoft-related GPU spending.

Management is also targeting roughly $8 billion of additional GPU financing and prepayments. Recent deals show why this route matters. IREN raised $3.6 billion for the Microsoft contract at a weighted average rate of about 6%, while another $2.8 billion of equipment financing supports non-investment-grade deployments. Funding spans several different customer credit profiles.

Customer cash is becoming another funding lever. Recent prepayments cover 45%-55% of GPU capex, and management says those payments, combined with roughly 90% GPU financing on some deals, can leave excess funding available for data center spending. IREN has also kept its data center portfolio unencumbered, giving it more asset-financing options.

The expansion plan is tied to a much larger operating footprint. IREN targets about 0.3 GW of IT capacity in 2026 and 0.8 GW in 2027, with more than 5 GW of announced pipeline. At the same time, $4 billion of annualized run-rate revenues (ARR) are contracted for 2026 capacity, with $1 billion operating currently.

IREN’s Peers Ramp Up Funding as AI Expansion Accelerates

CoreWeave, Inc. CRWV is still expanding through debt-backed infrastructure spending. CoreWeave added a $2.6 billion delayed-draw term loan on Aug. 7, 2026, primarily for GPUs and related infrastructure tied to customer contracts. The facility follows earlier $8.5 billion and $3.1 billion loans, showing how CoreWeave continues funding rapid capacity growth needs ahead.

Applied Digital Corporation APLD is pairing large project financings with corporate liquidity. Applied Digital closed $1.59 billion of 7% secured notes to fund 150 MW at Polaris Forge 1, while its revolver rose to $430 million. Applied Digital also completed $2.15 billion of secured financing for 200 MW at Polaris Forge 2.

IREN’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of IREN have declined 1.7% so far in the year, underperforming the S&P 500 composite but better than the broader industry.

In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S), IREN is currently trading at 3.69X, which is at a premium to the industry average of 2.58X.

Estimates for IREN’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings have been revised downward in the past 30 days. However, the company is expected to report a profit next fiscal year.

Currently, IREN carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

IREN's CapEx Plan Accelerates: Can Funding Keep Up With Expansion?

More news from Zacks