Inquired about the efficiency and hardware performance of air-cooled GPUs, their financial perspective (margin) compared to liquid-cooled deployments, and whether a similar form factor would be used for European expansion.

Confirmed that air-cooled Blackwell GPUs perform extremely well with high demand. Financially, air-cooled deployments are slightly more efficient operationally and very capital efficient due to retrofitting existing data centers. For Europe, they have flexibility due to land holdings and secured power, potentially using their modular design from North America. “From an operational margin perspective, it is slightly more efficient than the liquid cooled deployments. But where we get the real benefit is, as Dan mentioned earlier, it's very capital efficient because we're taking existing air cooled data centers that require relatively little CapEx to retrofit them compared to brand-new build liquid cooled facilities.”

Asked how Mirantis fits into IREN's go-to-market strategy, especially for enterprise deals, and sought clarification on the 2027 capacity ramp breakdown between Childress and Sweetwater.

Mirantis brings quick deployment capabilities, enterprise customer servicing for software over bare metal, strong engineering resources for software development and cluster operations, and a well-built customer support function. Confirmed that of the 730 MW for 2027, 450 MW will come from Childress and 280 MW from Sweetwater. “it brings with it a number of elements that we think are significantly attractive to our business, the ability to deploy quickly, the ability to service enterprise customers that may require a high level of software over and above bare metal.”

Inquired about key differences in power procurement and commercial strategy for developing infrastructure in Australia compared to other markets.

Stated that Australia is similar to Texas in terms of electricity market operation, abundant renewables, land, and fiber connectivity. While Texas has been easier to accelerate, Australia offers a fantastic frontier for servicing APAC demand, with projects progressing towards secured grid access. The demand environment and APAC constraints make Australia a priority for acceleration. “The reality is Texas is just an easier place to do business, and we've been able to accelerate faster there. But it hasn't stopped us continuing to incubate projects down in Australia...”

IREN

IREN (IREN) Q3 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Mar 2026 (Q3 FY26)· Information Technology· May 7, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

IREN Q3 FY26 — NVIDIA Partnership & Global AI Infrastructure Expansion

IREN is rapidly executing its transition from Bitcoin mining to AI cloud services, highlighted by a major strategic partnership with NVIDIA and significant global capacity expansion. The company is leveraging its integrated approach to power, land, and data center construction to meet surging AI infrastructure demand, with a focus on time-to-compute and capital efficiency. The acquisition of Mirantis further strengthens its delivery and customer support capabilities as it scales its platform across North America, Europe, and APAC.

Highlights

Secured power increased to 5 gigawatts, supporting global AI infrastructure build-out.
ARR under contract reached $3.1 billion, with a target of $3.7 billion by year-end CY26.
Signed a $3.4 billion 5-year AI cloud contract with NVIDIA, marking a significant strategic partnership.
Acquired Mirantis, adding 650 engineers and cloud infrastructure expertise to enhance delivery capabilities.
Energized Sweetwater 1 substation on schedule and commenced GPU commissioning for Horizon 1 (Microsoft) in Q3.

Concerns

Reported a net loss of $247.8 million, primarily due to noncash impairments.
Bitcoin mining revenue decreased to $111.2 million from $167.4 million in the prior quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA declined to $59.5 million, down from $75.3 million QoQ.
Incurred $140.4 million in noncash impairments related to the decommissioning of mining hardware.
Experienced $23.7 million in unrealized losses related to cap calls on convertible notes.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
ARR under contract	$3.7 billion high materiality	CY26	High
AI cloud capacity	480 megawatts high materiality	CY26	High
GPUs deployed	150,000 GPUs high materiality	CY26	High
AI cloud capacity	1,210 megawatts high materiality	CY27	High
Revenue ramp timing (Microsoft & 50,000 GPUs)	begin ramping in Q3 2026 medium materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Noncash impairments	additional noncash impairments medium materiality	future quarters	High

Segment performance

Segment	Revenue	YoY	QoQ	Margin
Bitcoin mining revenue Driven by a lower average Bitcoin price and ongoing decommissioning of mining hardware.	$111.2 million	—	down from $167.4 million	—
AI cloud services revenue Continued growth reflecting the transition to AI cloud.	$33.6 million	—	up from $17.3 million	—

Orderbook & backlog

ARR under contract $3.1 billion Q3 FY26

Target ARR $3.7 billion end of CY26

AI cloud contract with NVIDIA $3.4 billion Q3 FY26

5-year contract, includes approximately $700 million of associated ARR.

Uncontracted capacity 50,000 air cooled GPUs Q3 FY26

Scheduled for delivery in phases through H2 2026.

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline	Details
Mirantis k0rdent AI platform	expansion	this week

Deals & partnerships

NVIDIA 5-year AI cloud contract for Blackwell GPUs $3.4 billion 5 years

Contract for Blackwell GPUs to be deployed across 60 megawatts of air cooled capacity at Childress. This is the first step in a broader strategic partnership.

NVIDIA Strategic partnership and investment rights $2.1 billion

Partnership to support deployment of up to 5 gigawatts of NVIDIA DGX-aligned AI infrastructure across IREN's global data center platform. NVIDIA's capital is directly tied to execution.

Mirantis Acquisition of cloud infrastructure company

Mirantis brings over a decade of experience running cloud infrastructure for over 1,500 enterprise customers globally, and its k0rdent AI platform.

Nostrum Group Acquisition of European power and development platform

Includes a team of more than 50 people across development, engineering, construction, and operations, establishing IREN's European platform.

Microsoft AI cloud services contract

Horizon 1 is scheduled for Microsoft handoff in Q3 2026, representing a major execution milestone for large-scale liquid cooled infrastructure.

Capital programs

Sweetwater 1 liquid cooled data centers underway

Start: Q3 FY26

Benefit:initial 200 megawatts IT load

High-voltage substation energized on schedule; construction underway for the initial 200-megawatt IT load phase. Designed for next-generation chip architectures like NVIDIA Vera Rubin.

Childress Horizon 1-4 liquid cooled deployment underway

Benefit:300 megawatts

NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 installations underway. Horizon 1 scheduled for Microsoft handoff in Q3, Horizons 2-4 on track for delivery by year-end. Demonstrates ability to design, build, fit out, and commission large-scale liquid cooled infrastructure.

Childress Horizon 5-6 liquid cooled IT load planned

Benefit:100 megawatts

Additional liquid cooled IT load as part of the 2027 plan.

Mackenzie data center capacity preparation underway

Benefit:80 megawatts

Data center capacity prepared for GPU installations commencing in H2 2026.

Childress air cooled data center retrofits (initial) underway

Benefit:initial 50 megawatts

Retrofits underway ahead of GPU deliveries in H2 2026, leveraging existing infrastructure.

Childress air cooled data center retrofits (additional) planned

Benefit:250 megawatts

Additional retrofits as part of the 2027 plan, with approximately 60 MW deployed for the NVIDIA AI cloud contract.

Canal Flats air cooled capacity retrofit planned

Benefit:30 megawatts

Plan to retrofit all existing air cooled capacity to support AI workloads, capital efficient and fast to execute.

Risks & headwinds

Noncash impairments from Bitcoin mining decommissioning Q3 FY26

$140.4 million

Mitigation:Strategic reallocation of infrastructure toward AI cloud growth, which is deemed a higher-value long-term opportunity.

Unrealized losses on convertible notes Q3 FY26

$23.7 million

Decline in Bitcoin mining revenue Q3 FY26

down from $167.4 million to $111.2 million

Mitigation:Ongoing decommissioning of mining hardware and transition to AI cloud services.

Additional noncash impairments future quarters

expected

Mitigation:Continued transition of remaining Bitcoin mining operations towards AI cloud.

What to watch in Q4 FY26

Horizon 1 Microsoft handoff

Q3 2026

Current GPU commissioning underway

Target Handoff completed

Why it matters

Verifies execution capability for large-scale liquid-cooled infrastructure and marks the start of significant revenue ramp.

Horizon 1 is scheduled for Microsoft handoff in Q3, and Horizons 2 to 4 remain on track for delivery by the end of this year.

Find out whether IREN delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Asked for specific GPU count and cost for the 60 MW NVIDIA contract, and the marketability and required milestones for Sweetwater and Oklahoma sites for 2027/2028 capacity.

Did not disclose specific GPU count but confirmed 60 MW of air-cooled Blackwells. Stated that demand for 2027/2028 capacity is extremely strong, outstripping supply, and they can market those sites now. The focus is on structuring contracts to enable a flywheel effect, and having a defined construction plan makes negotiations easier.

“there's nothing stopping us contracting that capacity today. It just gets easier, the closer you get. So the focus is on time to compute. The demand we know is there...”

asked by Michael Ng · answered by Kent Draper

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

AI Infrastructure Thesis and Execution

IREN's core thesis centers on bridging the gap between exponential digital growth and the physical world's ability to service it, particularly in AI infrastructure. The company emphasizes its strength in integrating site control, grid connection, permitting, construction, GPU installation, and financing to deliver compute capacity on tight timelines.

This execution capability is evident in the increase of secured power to 5 gigawatts and the on-schedule energization of Sweetwater 1, with Horizon 1 GPU commissioning underway for Microsoft.

Strategic NVIDIA Partnership and Investment

A significant highlight is the strategic partnership with NVIDIA, including a $3.4 billion 5-year AI cloud contract for NVIDIA's internal workloads. NVIDIA is also investing $2.1 billion, structured to vest as NVIDIA GPU infrastructure is deployed across IREN campuses, fully vesting upon deployment of 600,000 GPUs.

This partnership aims to support the deployment of up to 5 gigawatts of NVIDIA DGX-aligned AI infrastructure globally, reflecting a deep collaboration beyond a typical customer relationship.

Capacity Expansion and Time-to-Compute Advantage

The company's 2026 plan targets 480 megawatts of AI cloud capacity and 150,000 GPUs by year-end, with Horizon 1 for Microsoft scheduled for Q3 handoff. IREN is converting existing air-cooled capacity in British Columbia and Childress (180 MW) for AI cloud workloads, leveraging existing infrastructure for capital efficiency and speed.

This 'time-to-compute' advantage allows IREN to contract capacity ahead of commissioning, securing a robust customer mix.

Global Platform Development and Geographic Expansion

Beyond 2027, IREN is building towards a 5 gigawatt global power portfolio, expanding its footprint from North America to Europe and APAC. The acquisition of Nostrum Group adds 490 megawatts of secured power in Spain, establishing a European platform with a local team.

In APAC, Australia is identified as a key anchor point due to abundant renewables, strong rule of law, and direct fiber links to major demand centers, positioning IREN to serve the region's unmet AI infrastructure needs.

Mirantis Acquisition Enhances Delivery and Support

IREN acquired Mirantis, integrating 650 engineers and their k0rdent AI platform, which manages AI infrastructure across various environments. Mirantis' expertise in running cloud infrastructure for over 1,500 enterprise customers and its role as a founding ISV partner of the NVIDIA AI Cloud-ready initiative are expected to significantly strengthen IREN's capabilities in provisioning, monitoring, and supporting customers through increasingly complex AI deployments, directly supporting the NVIDIA AI cloud contract.

Financial Transition and Capital Strategy

The Q3 FY26 financial results reflect an ongoing transition from Bitcoin mining to AI cloud, with Bitcoin mining revenue decreasing and AI cloud services revenue increasing. The company reported a net loss due to noncash impairments from decommissioning mining hardware.

IREN's capital strategy leverages $2.6 billion in cash, operating cash flows, GPU financing (95% funded for Microsoft's GPU-related CapEx at ~3% interest), and evolving asset/project-level financing to support its phased capacity build-out.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.