IREN vs APLD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
IREN and Applied Digital are both evaluated as former crypto-adjacent infrastructure companies that have repositioned around AI data center demand, with investors focused on how quickly each converts power and land assets into contracted AI compute revenue. Both carry significant execution and financing risk tied to rapid capital-intensive buildouts. The choice between them often comes down to differences in customer concentration, financing structure, and the pace of contracted capacity growth.
This comparison suits investors weighing two high-growth, high-volatility AI data center infrastructure plays against each other, where relative execution pace and balance sheet discipline matter more than headline valuation multiples.
APLD holds the edge across 5 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. APLD leads on both 1-year return (-46.00%) and forward P/E quality (-105.68x vs -149.43x for IREN), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. APLD leads on both revenue growth (406.60%) and operating margin (-48.22%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for APLD (+180.95%) than for IREN (+96.58%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to AI Cloud revenue backed by large contracted capacity
- Value a strategic infrastructure partnership with NVIDIA
- Can tolerate volatility tied to its bitcoin mining legacy
- Believe in renewable-powered data center economics
- Want exposure to long-term AI data center lease agreements
- Believe in purpose-built, high-density campus development
- Can tolerate heavy reliance on external project financing
- Are comfortable with customer concentration risk
| Metric | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 27.3 | 47.8 |
| AI ranki | #2286 | #507 |
| Latest closei | $30.39 | $20.39 |
| 1M returni | -26.91% | -12.94% |
| 3M returni | -12.75% | -22.88% |
| 6M returni | -36.29% | -32.24% |
| 1Y returni | -55.30% | -46.00% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $4.47K (-55.3%) started 2025-10-15 | $5.4K (-46.0%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $12.43K (+24.3%) started 2021-11-17 | $42.04K (+320.4%) started 2022-04-13 |
| 10Y ago | $12.43K (+24.3%) started 2021-11-17 | $42.04K (+320.4%) started 2022-04-13 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $15.6B | $7.51B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | -149.43 | -105.68 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 24.82 | 21.65 |
| Analyst targeti | $77.84 | $74.23 |
| Target upsidei | +96.58% | +180.95% |
| Metric | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -26.70% | 406.60% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | -596.78% | -811.61% |
| Operating margini | -102.47% | -48.22% |
| Profit margini | -99.38% | -39.91% |
| ROIC proxyi | -23.41% | -8.38% |
| Return on equityi | -23.41% | -8.38% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | N/A |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 4.30 | 5.73 |
| Debt/equityi | 187.30 | 136.23 |
| Current ratioi | 3.55 | 4.01 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.66 | 1.42 |
Over the past year, IREN and APLD have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.74), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -55.30% | -46.00% |
| CAGRi | -55.32% | -46.02% | |
| Volatilityi | 106.80% | 101.51% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.27 | -0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.41 | -0.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 61.64% | 59.06% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 38.50% | 27.83% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 40.53% | 31.97% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.37% | 17.52% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 33.51% | 29.01% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +24.29% | +320.41% |
| CAGRi | +4.53% | +37.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 117.53% | 135.07% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.57 | 0.83 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.92 | 1.44 | |
| Max drawdowni | 95.73% | 81.89% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 61.28% | 37.17% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 65.66% | 42.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.45% | 52.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.49% | 74.62% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +24.29% | +320.41% |
| CAGRi | +4.53% | +37.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 117.53% | 135.07% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.57 | 0.83 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.92 | 1.44 | |
| Max drawdowni | 95.73% | 81.89% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 61.28% | 37.17% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 65.66% | 42.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.45% | 52.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.49% | 74.62% |
| Category | IREN | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | IREN Limited | Applied Digital Corporation |
| Sector | Financial Services | Technology |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Information Technology Services |
| Core business | IREN operates renewable-powered data centers that have pivoted from bitcoin mining toward AI cloud compute, offering GPU capacity under multi-year contracts. | Applied Digital designs and operates data centers for high-performance computing and AI, leasing capacity to cloud and AI customers under long-term contracts. |
| Investor focus | Investors watch AI Cloud revenue growth, contracted capacity buildout, and execution on large partnerships such as its NVIDIA infrastructure agreement. | Investors watch lease-up progress on new data center campuses, contract announcements with AI compute customers, and the company's financing structure for capital-intensive buildouts. |
- Rapidly scaling AI Cloud revenue with billions in contracted capacity
- Large strategic infrastructure partnership with NVIDIA for GPU deployment
- Access to low-cost renewable power supporting favorable data center economics
- Purpose-built data center campuses designed for high-density AI workloads
- Long-term lease contracts with AI and cloud computing customers
- Growing pipeline of new site development in power-advantaged locations
- Still transitioning from a bitcoin mining legacy with related impairment charges
- Heavy capital spending required to build out contracted AI capacity
- Execution risk in scaling power and infrastructure delivery on schedule
- High capital intensity and reliance on external financing to fund buildouts
- Customer concentration risk tied to a small number of large lease agreements
- Sensitivity to swings in AI infrastructure investment sentiment
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