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Applied Digital vs. IREN: Which AI Data Center Stock Has an Edge?
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Key Takeaways
Applied Digital's CoreWeave lease deal secures $11B in projected revenues and de-risks its business.
IREN targets $1.25B in annualized revenues, with $500M AI Cloud ARR expected by early fiscal 2026.
APLD shares surged 49.7% in a month, outpacing IREN's 33% gain, signaling stronger investor momentum.
Applied Digital (APLD - Free Report) and IREN Limited (IREN - Free Report) offer next-gen data center infrastructure targeting high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and scalable computing. Data centers are playing a crucial role in solving enterprise needs for robust, reliable and scalable solutions to process, analyze and store vast amounts of data in real-time, which is necessary for AI. APLD expects the global AI market to reach $500 billion by 2027, driven by increasing adoption across various industries, including healthcare, finance, transportation and manufacturing. These factors bode well for both Applied Digital and IREN Limited.
However, APLD or IREN, which has an edge right now?
The Case for APLD Stock
AI needs data centers with high power density, as well as changing power and cooling requirements. Hyperscalers require high-capacity data centers to meet the escalating power needs of AI and GPU-driven applications. These factors bode well for APLD’s future prospects.
Applied Digital’s HPC Hosting business specializes in designing, constructing and operating data centers that are well-equipped to support high-power density applications like HPC and AI. APLD’s Polaris Forge 1 is purpose-built for AI and HPC. The facility is designed to scale up to 1 gigawatt (GW). The first 100-MW facility is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025, the second 150-MW facility is set to come online in mid-2026, and the third 150-MW facility is planned for 2027. The Polaris Forge 2, supported by funding from Macquarie Equipment Capital, is expected to come online in late 2026 (first building) and reach full capacity in 2027. APLD’s power offering pipeline is expected to exceed 2 GW.
APLD has inked three lease agreements (15-year base term with three five-year options) with CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) to deliver 400 MW of critical IT load at Polaris Forge 1. Total anticipated contracted lease revenues from the CoreWeave deal are now expected to be roughly $11 billion. The CoreWeave partnership validates Applied Digital's strategic pivot from cryptocurrency mining to AI-optimized data center infrastructure. This partnership provides strong revenue visibility and effectively de-risks Applied Digital's business model.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $280.9 million, suggesting 30.4% growth from fiscal 2025’s reported figure.
The Case for IREN Stock
IREN is on track to achieve $1.25 billion in annualized revenues, with roughly $200-$250 million from AI Cloud (by December 2025). IREN expects to scale from 1.9k to 10.9k GPUs in the coming months. This includes 1.9k air-cooled H100 and H200s; 7.8k air-cooled B200 and B300s; and 1.2k liquid-cooled GB300s.
IREN has been on track to install more than 60k NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs at British Columbia sites and recognizes the potential of 19k GB300s at Horizon 1. IREN continues its transition in British Columbia (160 MW) from bitcoin mining to AI, including a new liquid-cooled data center for GB300 NVL72 installations at Prince George. IREN’s AI cloud business is expanding rapidly, with more than 10,000 GPUs online or set to be commissioned in the coming months. The upcoming GPUs include next-generation liquid-cooled GB300 NVL72 systems from NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) at the Prince George campus. Meanwhile, IREN has achieved NVIDIA Preferred Partner status. On Oct. 7, IREN inked an additional multi-year cloud services contract with leading AI companies for NVIDIA Blackwell GPU deployments. IREN now expects to achieve $500 million in AI Cloud annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) by the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
However, IREN Limited suffers from volatility in bitcoin prices due to the challenging macroeconomic environment. IREN Limited is one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost bitcoin miners, and the company expects $1 billion of revenue from bitcoin mining by December 2025.
Earnings Estimate Revisions: IREN’s Fall, APLD’s Loss Narrows
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IREN’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at 70 cents per share, down 39.1% over the past 60 days. The company reported earnings of 4 cents per share in fiscal 2025.
The consensus mark for Applied Digital’s fiscal 2026 loss is pegged at 31 cents per share, much narrower than 34 cents over the past 60 days. APLD reported a loss of 80 cents per share in fiscal 2025
In the past month, IREN Limited shares have jumped 33%, underperforming Applied Digital, shares of which have surged 49.7%.
APLD Outperforms IREN
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
IREN and Applied Digital shares are overvalued, as suggested by the Value Score of F.
Conclusion
Although IREN’s accelerating AI Cloud revenues are noteworthy, the company suffers from volatility in bitcoin prices and a modest top-line growth prospect. Meanwhile, Applied Digital is expected to benefit from the CoreWeave deal and the growing demand for AI infrastructure.
Applied Digital currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which makes the stock a stronger pick compared with IREN Limited, shares of which currently carry a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Image: Bigstock
Applied Digital vs. IREN: Which AI Data Center Stock Has an Edge?
Key Takeaways
Applied Digital (APLD - Free Report) and IREN Limited (IREN - Free Report) offer next-gen data center infrastructure targeting high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and scalable computing. Data centers are playing a crucial role in solving enterprise needs for robust, reliable and scalable solutions to process, analyze and store vast amounts of data in real-time, which is necessary for AI. APLD expects the global AI market to reach $500 billion by 2027, driven by increasing adoption across various industries, including healthcare, finance, transportation and manufacturing. These factors bode well for both Applied Digital and IREN Limited.
However, APLD or IREN, which has an edge right now?
The Case for APLD Stock
AI needs data centers with high power density, as well as changing power and cooling requirements. Hyperscalers require high-capacity data centers to meet the escalating power needs of AI and GPU-driven applications. These factors bode well for APLD’s future prospects.
Applied Digital’s HPC Hosting business specializes in designing, constructing and operating data centers that are well-equipped to support high-power density applications like HPC and AI. APLD’s Polaris Forge 1 is purpose-built for AI and HPC. The facility is designed to scale up to 1 gigawatt (GW). The first 100-MW facility is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025, the second 150-MW facility is set to come online in mid-2026, and the third 150-MW facility is planned for 2027. The Polaris Forge 2, supported by funding from Macquarie Equipment Capital, is expected to come online in late 2026 (first building) and reach full capacity in 2027. APLD’s power offering pipeline is expected to exceed 2 GW.
APLD has inked three lease agreements (15-year base term with three five-year options) with CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) to deliver 400 MW of critical IT load at Polaris Forge 1. Total anticipated contracted lease revenues from the CoreWeave deal are now expected to be roughly $11 billion. The CoreWeave partnership validates Applied Digital's strategic pivot from cryptocurrency mining to AI-optimized data center infrastructure. This partnership provides strong revenue visibility and effectively de-risks Applied Digital's business model.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $280.9 million, suggesting 30.4% growth from fiscal 2025’s reported figure.
The Case for IREN Stock
IREN is on track to achieve $1.25 billion in annualized revenues, with roughly $200-$250 million from AI Cloud (by December 2025). IREN expects to scale from 1.9k to 10.9k GPUs in the coming months. This includes 1.9k air-cooled H100 and H200s; 7.8k air-cooled B200 and B300s; and 1.2k liquid-cooled GB300s.
IREN has been on track to install more than 60k NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs at British Columbia sites and recognizes the potential of 19k GB300s at Horizon 1. IREN continues its transition in British Columbia (160 MW) from bitcoin mining to AI, including a new liquid-cooled data center for GB300 NVL72 installations at Prince George. IREN’s AI cloud business is expanding rapidly, with more than 10,000 GPUs online or set to be commissioned in the coming months. The upcoming GPUs include next-generation liquid-cooled GB300 NVL72 systems from NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) at the Prince George campus. Meanwhile, IREN has achieved NVIDIA Preferred Partner status. On Oct. 7, IREN inked an additional multi-year cloud services contract with leading AI companies for NVIDIA Blackwell GPU deployments. IREN now expects to achieve $500 million in AI Cloud annualized run-rate revenue (ARR) by the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
However, IREN Limited suffers from volatility in bitcoin prices due to the challenging macroeconomic environment. IREN Limited is one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost bitcoin miners, and the company expects $1 billion of revenue from bitcoin mining by December 2025.
Earnings Estimate Revisions: IREN’s Fall, APLD’s Loss Narrows
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IREN’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at 70 cents per share, down 39.1% over the past 60 days. The company reported earnings of 4 cents per share in fiscal 2025.
IREN Limited Price and Consensus
IREN Limited price-consensus-chart | IREN Limited Quote
The consensus mark for Applied Digital’s fiscal 2026 loss is pegged at 31 cents per share, much narrower than 34 cents over the past 60 days. APLD reported a loss of 80 cents per share in fiscal 2025
Applied Digital Corporation Price and Consensus
Applied Digital Corporation price-consensus-chart | Applied Digital Corporation Quote
Stock Performance and Valuation: IREN vs. APLD
In the past month, IREN Limited shares have jumped 33%, underperforming Applied Digital, shares of which have surged 49.7%.
APLD Outperforms IREN
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
IREN and Applied Digital shares are overvalued, as suggested by the Value Score of F.
Conclusion
Although IREN’s accelerating AI Cloud revenues are noteworthy, the company suffers from volatility in bitcoin prices and a modest top-line growth prospect. Meanwhile, Applied Digital is expected to benefit from the CoreWeave deal and the growing demand for AI infrastructure.
Applied Digital currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which makes the stock a stronger pick compared with IREN Limited, shares of which currently carry a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.