IREN CEO says debt and prepayments can fund most of FY27 capex
IREN (NASDAQ: IREN) CEO Dan Roberts said a projected $25-$30 billion in AI capital expenditure spending "isn't an equity number," according to a post Monday.
"The $25-30bn of forecasted FY27 capex isn't an equity number," co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts said. "Customer prepayments can cover about half the GPU capex. Lenders can fund most of the rest."
IREN forecasted FY27 capex spends in its recent quarterly results in which IREN's net loss widened 176% sequentially to $684 million. Questions around how IREN would secure enough cash to fund the capex requirement swirled after the earnings call, with some investors fearful the firm may tap into equity financing plans such as an at the market offering (ATM) or further convertible note offerings.
IREN entered FY27 with about $14 billion in cash, committed GPU financing and customer prepayments. Management is targeting a further $8 billion through GPU financing and prepayments, with the remainder expected to come from financing for data centers, operating cash flow and corporate sources.
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IREN said its entire data-center portfolio remains unencumbered, including the four Horizon deployments at Childress. Roberts said the company has held preliminary discussions about borrowing against those assets, but it has not closed a data-center financing transaction.
"We'll look to finance data centers as they're commissioned but potentially also in advance of commissioning," Roberts said during the company's FY26 earnings call .
Recent customer prepayments have covered 45% to 55% of associated GPU capex, while IREN's financing for non-investment-grade deployments funds 90% of the relevant equipment cost. Management estimates GPUs represent about two-thirds of the combined cost of compute and data-center infrastructure.
IREN arranged $3.6 billion of Microsoft-related GPU financing at an average weighted interest rate of about 6%. It also secured $2.8 billion for other deployments, including $2.4 billion at a 9% fixed rate for the Mackenzie expansion.
Roberts said IREN raised approximately $19 billion over the past 12 months, with about $3 billion coming from equity. The remaining funds included customer prepayments, GPU financing and proceeds from convertible notes, with much of the capital held as cash or not yet drawn.
The FY27 capex forecast also extends beyond capacity scheduled to start operating during the fiscal year. It includes spending on 2026 deployments, air-cooled capacity planned for calendar 2027, liquid-cooled data centers expected later that year and early work for 2028 projects. Final spending will depend on project costs, construction schedules, equipment deliveries and financing conditions.
IREN's AI Cloud Services revenue reached $70.5 million in the June quarter, up from $33.6 million in March. Mining revenue, meanwhile, dropped 40% to $66.7 million as hardware was removed ahead of GPU installations. Impairments of $450.4 million accounted for most of the quarterly loss, alongside a $102.1 million decline in the value of mining hardware held for sale.
IREN has $4 billion in contracted ARR associated with capacity expected online by year-end, including three additional 50 MW critical IT-load deployments under its Microsoft agreement. Management said the spending pace can be adjusted if funding conditions change.
