IREN Ltd. shares advanced 5% in premarket trading on Monday following a report that identified Anthropic as the previously undisclosed artificial intelligence cloud customer. The report, published by The Information, analyzed the economics of Anthropic's data center leases and highlighted the AI company's push to accelerate facility construction to meet surging computing demand.
According to the analysis, bringing a site's 245 MW of usable capacity online one month early could add more than $1.3 billion in revenue. This potential revenue gain explains why Anthropic is pressing infrastructure partners to speed up deployment. The report also linked Anthropic to an unannounced multiyear cloud agreement with IREN, deepening ties with a group of former Bitcoin miners repurposing their infrastructure for AI workloads.
IREN had previously disclosed a new multiyear contract with a frontier AI lab in August, along with $2.8 billion in financing for AI chip purchases, without naming the customer. The company also announced the first phase of its Microsoft deployment and achieved Nvidia Exemplar Cloud status, marking milestones in its transition to an AI cloud provider.
IREN reported $4 billion in contracted annual recurring revenue for its 2026 capacity, which is largely sold out. The company is in late-stage discussions with new customers for a significant portion of its planned 2027 capacity. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts noted that the company has broadened its customer base to include hyperscalers, enterprises, AI developers, and frontier labs, securing stronger pricing and improved paybacks.
Despite the positive premarket move, IREN shares have faced significant pressure this year, falling 18% in 2026 and 45% over the past 12 months. Investor concerns about a potential AI bubble and the substantial capital expenditure required for infrastructure expansion have weighed on the sector, affecting peers like CoreWeave and Nebius.
IREN's latest results highlighted the scale of its transition from Bitcoin mining to AI cloud services. Revenue from AI Cloud Services increased nearly eightfold to $128.8 million in fiscal 2026, compared with $16.4 million in fiscal 2025. However, net income was affected by non-cash impairments of $638.8 million, primarily related to decommissioning Bitcoin mining hardware as sites were converted to support AI growth.
Analysts have pointed to improving contract economics and strategic partnerships as potential drivers of long-term growth. In September, JPMorgan upgraded IREN to overweight from underweight, raising its price target to $65, representing nearly 85% upside. The bank cited IREN's strategic partnership with Nvidia and momentum in signing customers, with pricing for neocloud operations now ranging from $15 to $20 per watt, compared with historical agreements at $10 to $15 per watt.
The reported Anthropic deal could further strengthen IREN's customer pipeline as demand for advanced computing capacity continues to drive investment in data centers and specialized cloud infrastructure. The company's planned 0.5-gigawatt expansion in 2027 is expected to command premium pricing.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
