IREN vs CLSK Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
IREN is pivoting a growing share of its renewable-powered data center capacity toward AI and HPC GPU cloud hosting alongside continued bitcoin mining, offering diversification optionality, while CleanSpark remains a pure-play bitcoin miner focused on operational efficiency and opportunistic growth without an AI/HPC pivot. The comparison highlights a broader industry question of whether diversifying into AI hosting or staying focused on mining efficiency is the better strategy for bitcoin miners.
Use this IREN vs CLSK comparison to evaluate two different strategic responses to the bitcoin mining industry's maturation. IREN's AI/HPC pivot offers diversification and potentially higher-margin revenue streams but carries execution risk; CleanSpark's continued pure-play focus offers simplicity and proven mining-efficiency execution but full exposure to bitcoin mining economics.
IREN holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IREN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-55.30% vs -59.70%), though CLSK has the better forward P/E setup (-7.76x vs -149.43x for IREN). IREN leads on both revenue growth (-26.70%) and operating margin (-102.47%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CLSK (+116.53%) 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.
- Believe diversifying into AI/HPC GPU cloud hosting can reduce reliance on pure bitcoin mining economics
- Value access to low-cost renewable power supporting both mining and AI hosting use cases
- Are comfortable with execution risk in an early-stage AI/HPC pivot
- Want optionality to shift capacity toward whichever use case offers better returns
- Prefer a pure-play bitcoin miner with a track record of disciplined, opportunistic capital allocation
- Value operational simplicity over diversification into unproven AI/HPC hosting
- Want geographic diversification across multiple state power markets
- Are comfortable with full exposure to bitcoin mining economics rather than a hybrid business model
| Metric | IREN | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 27.3 | 23.4 |
| AI ranki | #2286 | #3471 |
| Latest closei | $30.39 | $9.35 |
| 1M returni | -26.91% | -25.91% |
| 3M returni | -12.75% | -27.52% |
| 6M returni | -36.29% | -18.13% |
| 1Y returni | -55.30% | -59.70% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | IREN | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $4.47K (-55.3%) started 2025-10-15 | $4.03K (-59.7%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $12.43K (+24.3%) started 2021-11-17 | $5.92K (-40.8%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $12.43K (+24.3%) started 2021-11-17 | $2.68K (-73.2%) started 2016-11-16 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | IREN | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $15.6B | $2.82B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | -149.43 | -7.76 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 24.82 | 6.51 |
| Analyst targeti | $77.84 | $23.81 |
| Target upsidei | +96.58% | +116.53% |
| Metric | IREN | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -26.70% | -30.50% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | -596.78% | +7.20% |
| Operating margini | -102.47% | -165.19% |
| Profit margini | -99.38% | -146.90% |
| ROIC proxyi | -23.41% | -68.62% |
| Return on equityi | -23.41% | -68.62% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 4.30 | 3.89 |
| Debt/equityi | 187.30 | 234.72 |
| Current ratioi | 3.55 | 5.91 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.66 | 1.34 |
Over the past year, IREN and CLSK have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.73), 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 | CLSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -55.30% | -59.70% |
| CAGRi | -55.32% | -59.72% | |
| Volatilityi | 106.80% | 91.94% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.27 | -0.58 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.41 | -0.85 | |
| Max drawdowni | 61.64% | 64.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 59.70% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 38.50% | 44.15% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 40.53% | 45.64% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.37% | 19.13% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 33.51% | 34.35% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +24.29% | -40.79% |
| CAGRi | +4.53% | -9.95% | |
| Volatilityi | 117.53% | 101.34% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.57 | 0.35 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.92 | 0.55 | |
| Max drawdowni | 95.73% | 92.00% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 60.04% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 61.28% | 57.41% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 65.66% | 61.34% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.45% | 19.13% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.49% | 34.89% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +24.29% | -73.21% |
| CAGRi | +4.53% | -12.44% | |
| Volatilityi | 117.53% | 184.25% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.57 | 0.51 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.92 | 1.15 | |
| Max drawdowni | 95.73% | 98.56% | |
| Current drawdowni | 60.23% | 87.19% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 61.28% | 74.85% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 65.66% | 78.10% | |
| Max daily dropi | 36.45% | 52.19% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.49% | 63.11% |
| Category | IREN | CLSK |
|---|---|---|
| Company | IREN Limited | CleanSpark, Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Capital Markets |
| Core business | Renewable-energy-powered bitcoin mining company (formerly known as Iris Energy) that has been aggressively pivoting a growing share of its data center capacity toward AI and high-performance computing (HPC) GPU cloud hosting, alongside its continuing bitcoin mining operations, using low-cost hydroelectric and other renewable power in Canada and the United States. | Bitcoin mining company focused on low-cost energy sourcing and operational efficiency, operating facilities across Georgia, Mississippi, Wyoming, and other states, with an opportunistic acquisition strategy for undervalued mining sites and equipment, and a continued pure-play focus on bitcoin mining rather than pivoting into AI/HPC. |
| Investor focus | Progress converting mining-oriented data center capacity to AI/HPC GPU hosting revenue, growth of GPU cloud contracts, continued bitcoin mining hash rate economics, and capital spending required for the AI pivot. | Hash rate growth per dollar of capital deployed, energy cost per bitcoin mined, fleet efficiency, and bitcoin treasury strategy. |
- Early and aggressive pivot into AI/HPC GPU cloud hosting offers diversification beyond pure bitcoin mining economics
- Access to low-cost renewable power (hydroelectric and other sources) supports competitive economics for both mining and AI hosting
- Optionality to shift capacity between bitcoin mining and higher-value AI/HPC hosting depending on relative returns
- Track record of acquiring mining sites and equipment opportunistically at favorable valuations
- Focus and operational simplicity as a pure-play bitcoin miner without AI/HPC diversification complexity
- Diversified facility footprint across multiple states reduces single-region power and regulatory risk
- AI/HPC pivot remains early-stage and unproven at scale relative to established GPU cloud providers
- Continued bitcoin mining exposure still ties part of the business to bitcoin price and mining economics
- Capital intensity of retrofitting facilities for AI/HPC hosting requires significant ongoing investment
- High sensitivity to bitcoin price and mining difficulty adjustments that can compress margins quickly
- Lack of AI/HPC diversification means CleanSpark's growth remains fully tied to bitcoin mining economics
- Competitive hash rate arms race requiring ongoing capital investment to avoid share erosion
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on IREN and CLSK. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside IREN and CLSK, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.