IREN Stock Trading at a P/S of 24.12X: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?

Core Insights - IREN Limited (IREN) shares are currently overvalued with a trailing twelve months price/sales (P/S) ratio of 24.12X, significantly higher than the Financial Miscellaneous Services industry's 3.14X and the Zacks Finance sector's 7.22X [1][8] - Investors need to assess whether IREN's long-term fundamentals can support further upside given its high valuation [1] Company Growth Prospects - IREN has established a scalable AI Cloud expansion pipeline, aiming to increase its GPU fleet from approximately 23,000 units to around 140,000 GPUs by the end of 2026, targeting an annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) of $3.4 billion from AI Cloud [4] - A five-year AI Cloud contract with Microsoft, valued at $9.7 billion, is expected to contribute about $1.9 billion in ARR once fully ramped [4] - The company anticipates about $500 million in ARR from its existing GPU base and an additional $1.0 billion from a planned expansion of 40,000 GPUs [5] Infrastructure and Capacity - Scaling to 140,000 GPUs is projected to require only around 460 MW, or roughly 16% of IREN's secured grid-connected power of approximately 3 GW, allowing for long-term growth beyond 2026 [5] - IREN's AI Cloud pipeline benefits from significant site optionality and future-ready infrastructure, with developments at Childress supporting potential liquid-cooled AI deployments [6] Earnings Expectations - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IREN's fiscal 2026 earnings is 79 cents per share, reflecting a substantial year-over-year improvement from just 4 cents [9] - For fiscal 2027, the consensus mark for earnings is $1.00 per share, indicating a year-over-year growth of 27.63% [10] Stock Performance - IREN shares have surged 336.8% over the past year, outperforming the industry's decline of 8.6% and the broader sector's growth of 18.9% [13] - The stock has outperformed major AI data center and cloud peers, with Applied Digital and Cipher Mining gaining 247.6% and 247.3%, respectively [14] Challenges and Risks - High capital intensity remains a significant long-term challenge for IREN, with the Microsoft AI Cloud deal requiring $5.8 billion in GPU capital expenditures [18] - IREN will need to raise funds through various means, including cash, operating cash flow, GPU-backed financing, equity, convertible notes, and corporate debt [20] - Operational risks and execution challenges could impact profitability visibility, as achieving the targeted AI cloud ARR of $3.4 billion depends on timely construction and GPU delivery [21]