Shares of IREN Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) plunged nearly 12% on Thursday following a regulatory filing that revealed a massive restricted stock unit (RSU) grant to its Co-CEOs. The sell-off erased earlier gains and pushed the stock close to $38, adding to a cumulative decline of 45% from its late-May peak.
The July 1 filing showed that Co-CEOs William Roberts and Daniel Roberts each received 9,099,328 RSUs, totaling 18.2 million units worth approximately $694.5 million. The grant size—representing roughly 17% of estimated cumulative adjusted net income from fiscal 2027 to 2030, according to short seller Jim Chanos—sparked fury among investors already wary of equity dilution after a $3 billion convertible note offering and a $6 billion ATM program.
The compensation shock overwhelmed other positive developments, including the company's recent addition to the Russell 1000 Index and its aggressive push into AI cloud infrastructure with a $3.4 billion Nvidia cloud contract. Investors also criticized a $50 million-a-year jersey sponsorship deal with the Golden State Warriors as a costly distraction from core data center expansion.
Adding pressure, Meta Platforms announced plans to sell excess AI GPU capacity under a service called Meta Compute, threatening IREN's high-margin GPU rental business. Despite these headwinds, Wall Street analysts maintain a bullish outlook with a median price target of $82.50, implying more than 100% upside. The RSU agreement details are expected in the next regulatory filing, which may clarify vesting conditions and dilution impact.
