Stock Market Today, Oct. 12: Iren Surges on Reports of Anthropic Cloud Services Deal
Iren Limited (NASDAQ:IREN), a vertically integrated AI cloud and data center operator, closed at $34.80, down 1.11%. Shares moved after early morning reports that Anthropic signed a multiyear cloud services agreement with Iren. Investors are watching AI infrastructure demand and funding needs to see if AI cloud capacity sales will maintain momentum.
Trading volume reached 48.5 million shares, coming in nearly 13% above its three-month average of 43.0 million shares. Iren IPO'd in 2021 and has grown 42% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) slipped 0.06% to 7,807, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) fell 0.44% to 27,246. Among AI cloud and data center infrastructure peers with legacy Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) mining operations, TeraWulf closed at $13.37, down 2.90%, and Cipher Digital closed at $13.00, down 3.85%.
What this means for investors
Iren shares got an early boost this morning, jumping to almost $37 after reports that the company has a new multiyear cloud services agreement with AI research lab Anthropic.
Iren has been converting its cryptocurrency mining infrastructure into AI cloud compute capacity, including a nearly $10 billion, five-year AI cloud agreement with Microsoft announced late last year.
Iren's AI Cloud Services revenue increased about eightfold year over year in its fiscal year 2026 period, which ended June 30. The company continues to decommission its Bitcoin mining hardware as it pivots to support growth in AI cloud services.
That transition could be completed by the end of this year. If demand for AI compute capacity remains high, investors should expect to hear more about deals to monetize its infrastructure.
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Howard Smith has positions in Iren and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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