IREN Limited has delivered its first 50MW AI cloud data centre, Horizon 1, to Microsoft at its Childress, Texas campus. The delivery is part of a five-year, $9.7 billion cloud services contract announced in November 2025. IREN has also achieved NVIDIA Exemplar Cloud status on NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 following testing at Horizon 1. The designation demonstrates IREN's capability to support demanding AI workloads with performance, reliability and scale. The company plans to deliver three additional 50MW facilities to Microsoft later this year. IREN is targeting expansion to 480MW AI cloud capacity in 2026 and 1.2GW in 2027. The rapid deployment reflects IREN's vertically integrated model, providing end-to-end control across design, engineering and construction of data centres.

Applied Digital and Microsoft present contrasting investment profiles in the technology sector. Applied Digital specialises in data centres for high-performance computing and AI, whilst Microsoft operates as a diversified global technology leader. Applied Digital reported FY 2026 revenue of $611.3 million, up 184% year-over-year, but posted a net loss of $244 million. The company faces significant risks, with one customer representing 59% of revenue. Its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 2.9x, and free cash flow was negative $2.8 billion. Microsoft generated FY 2026 revenue of $331.8 billion, up 17.8%, with net income of $133.7 billion and a 40.3% profit margin. The company maintains a diversified customer base across three business segments. Applied Digital offers niche growth potential in AI infrastructure but carries higher risk through customer concentration and financial leverage. Microsoft provides stability through its established market position and profitability.

Microsoft and TSMC are rated as buys, while AMD is a hold, according to recent analysis of AI infrastructure companies. Microsoft trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28 despite Azure's 43% growth, with the cloud platform surpassing $100 billion in annual revenue. The company's commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion, up 84%. TSMC reported Q2 revenue of $40.20 billion, up 36%, with net income rising 77%. Advanced nodes now generate 77% of wafer revenue, and the company raised full-year guidance to growth slightly above 40%. AMD holds at a trailing P/E of 124 following a 119% year-to-date rally. Analysts suggest the recent price surge may have already priced in future growth expectations.