TLDR
- Bernstein raised IREN’s price target to $75 from $20, implying 80% upside potential
- IREN is building its own AI cloud business with 23,300 GPUs, targeting $500 million annual revenue by Q1 2026
- The bitcoin miner has gained over 500% in six months and reached a new all-time high above $47
- Bernstein now values IREN using sum-of-parts model with 87% of value coming from AI operations
- IREN maintains 3 gigawatts of power capacity and 50 EH/s bitcoin mining operation generating $600 million annualized EBITDA
Bitcoin mining company IREN received a major vote of confidence from Wall Street analysts as Bernstein raised its price target to $75 from $20. The upgrade comes as the company shifts focus from traditional mining to artificial intelligence cloud services.
IREN shares hit a new all-time high above $47 on Wednesday following the analyst call. The stock has gained more than 500% over the past six months, making it the largest public bitcoin miner by market capitalization at $12.2 billion.
The company has expanded its GPU fleet tenfold in recent months to over 23,300 units. This includes Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips as part of its AI infrastructure buildout.
IREN targets $500 million in annual recurring revenue from AI services by the first quarter of 2026. This represents a massive jump from just $14 million in early 2025.
Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani said they now take IREN’s AI cloud business seriously. They believe the company has made enough progress to justify building an investment case around the technology pivot.
AI Cloud Strategy Sets IREN Apart
Unlike competitors that rely on partnerships with companies like CoreWeave, IREN is building a vertically integrated AI cloud business. The company owns its power generation, land, and data centers outright.
This approach allows IREN to capture the full economics of GPU capacity. Other miners often give away portions of revenue through lease payments to external partners.
Early AI deployments have achieved near-full utilization rates. Hardware margins are approaching 98% according to the Bernstein report.
IREN controls nearly 3 gigawatts of low-cost power capacity across its operations. This power portfolio gives the company flexibility to balance bitcoin mining and AI workloads based on profitability.
The company can toggle between bitcoin mining and AI hosting depending on market conditions. This flexibility helps maximize revenue per megawatt of power capacity.
New Valuation Model Reflects AI Focus
Bernstein shifted to a sum-of-parts valuation model for IREN, replacing its previous discounted cash flow approach. Under the new model, 87% of enterprise value comes from AI and co-location potential at the company’s 2-gigawatt West Texas site.
Bitcoin mining operations now account for just 13% of the company’s valuation. This represents a major shift in how analysts view the business.
At the $75 price target, IREN would trade at approximately $7.5 million per megawatt. This represents a premium to other AI-focused miners but remains below traditional data center companies like CoreWeave, which trade at around $33 million per megawatt.
The valuation gap suggests room for further multiple expansion as IREN’s AI business matures. Analysts expect longer-term contracts to replace current proof-of-concept deployments.
Despite the AI pivot, IREN remains one of the largest self-operated bitcoin miners in the United States. The company operates 50 EH/s of hashpower capacity, generating approximately $600 million in annualized EBITDA at current bitcoin prices, which helps fund AI capital expenditure.
