IREN signs Microsoft to $9.7 billion cloud compute deal, stock extends 21%

Core Insights - IREN Limited has signed a five-year agreement with Microsoft for GPU cloud computing services valued at approximately $9.7 billion [1] - The contract includes a 20 percent prepayment and allows Microsoft access to NVIDIA GB300 GPUs managed by IREN [1] - The phased deployment of GPU capacity will occur throughout 2026 at IREN's Childress, Texas campus, which has a total capacity of 750 megawatts [1] Investment and Infrastructure - IREN is developing four new liquid-cooled data centers, named Horizon 1 through Horizon 4, which will support a critical IT load of 200 megawatts [2] - The company has also reached an agreement with Dell Technologies for the purchase of GPUs and additional infrastructure, valued at about $5.8 billion [2] - Funding for these investments will come from existing cash, Microsoft's prepayments, operating cash flow, and new financing [2] Market Reaction - The deal represents IREN's first major hyperscaler tenant, a significant milestone for the company, which was previously a Bitcoin miner [3] - Following the announcement, IREN's stock rose by 21%, reaching $73.89 in pre-trading hours [3]