John Tinsman
Founder of AOT Invest, Portfolio Manager of AOTG/AOTS ETFs
IREN fails the test of a profitable business significantly growing revenue and earnings, as its financials show. That holds even though, as @ZeekTyt notes, Blue Owl and PIMCO are funding $2.4B, 90% of GPU capex at Mackenzie, with debt rather than equity, weakening the dilution bear case. Cipher's financials are similarly unimpressive. x.com x.com
IREN's valuation looks too rich for its business model: at over 23x sales with ongoing losses, it is unclear that data-center leasing and energy sales can ever earn margins high enough to support it. Bring-your-own-server leasing may not become the preferred way to lease capacity either; a buyer like Google might rather build itself or simply lease gigawatts of compute. The stock is still down 31% over the past month even after a 15% bounce, though this view could prove wrong. x.com
IREN's worsening fundamentals warrant patience despite its potential. Trailing free cash flow is -$2.45 billion, net income -$703 million and EPS -$1.64 even as revenue has grown; it needs a catalyst change and a positive trend in fundamentals. x.com
IREN's predatory management and markedly weaker execution than Nebius make it hard to take seriously while Mike Alfred remains on its board. Barring an oversold bounce, IREN looks cooked big time with more time. x.com x.com
Open-source models likely wrecked the heavy-capex thesis behind IREN. Debt CDS and falling token prices make the still-bullish view definitely less so. Unlike Roku, a previous long-term hold with a unique, massive user base, low capex and positive free cash flow, IREN lacks a clear path forward; without one, it is better not to hold it. If Warsh remains hawkish, a full exit from IREN is very likely. x.com x.com
IREN looks like an absurd management money grab, with compensation that carries zero performance hurdles. x.com
IREN is one to avoid, as lack of transparency and poor overall management add to its valuation, dilution, capital, execution and customer-concentration risks. Secondhand accounts suggest the earnings call was far from reassuring and left more questions than answers. x.com
IREN's $8 billion in cash against a valuation of just $10 billion points to unfathomable upside potential. Its shares are back below their $28 IPO price. x.com
IREN's low-margin bare-metal business is being financed on uncontracted future capacity, so rising opex and added financing will pressure it. A Goldman Sachs report now flags exactly that: extra financing supports a material amount of uncontracted capacity, the Secured Power metric IREN touts. Most AI data center leasing models will be pressured in some way, and IREN is the most obvious example. x.com
IREN looks like a joke company for spending on sponsorships and giving away executive shares without announcing deals. It sponsors sports teams and the All-In podcast while giving its CEO and brother tens of millions of free shares tied to no performance metrics. x.com
IREN looks cheap below $35 and is favored over DigitalOcean, whose stock looks bubbly against an estimated $110 value despite its appeal as a business. A switch toward IREN is under consideration if things go well. x.com x.com
IREN keeps falling behind Nebius: it misses estimates, its story keeps getting pushed back, and despite its capacity it fails to sign contracts or bring in meaningful revenue. Its management, software and engineering are all weaker, and it has not beaten Nebius on any front in recent years. @SpoonKidnapper counters that IREN is still converting its Canadian sites from bitcoin mining to AI, so ARR doesn't yet reflect where it will be in a quarter or two. x.com
