Data Center Stocks Rise as IREN Plans 300MW AI Campus in Spain: IREN and Cipher Digital Gain 4%, Core Scientific Climbs 3%

A planned artificial intelligence (AI) campus in Spain from IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) is lifting former Bitcoin miners that now supply power and computing for that expansion. IREN stock is at $27.78, up 4% in morning trading, a rebound that still leaves the shares down 26% year to date (YTD).

At the same time, Cipher Digital (NASDAQ:CIFR) stock is at $9.26, up 4%, keeping pace with IREN stock. Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) stock is at $14.25, up 3%, a slightly smaller gain than the one in IREN shares. Cipher Digital and Core Scientific each started out mining Bitcoin before shifting toward AI data centers, the same path IREN has taken.

That rally appears to be confined to the converted miners, while the broader data center trade isn’t as strong. The Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ:DTCR) is at $25.60, down 1%, moving against the group. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is at $771.48, up 0.3%.

IREN’s Badajoz Campus Sparks the Rally

IREN said it plans to offer managed AI cloud services from a campus in Badajoz, Spain, with about 300 megawatts of capacity and initial operations targeted for 2028. The plans remain subject to permits, grid connections and financing, and IREN named no customers for the site. According to IREN, it already holds the civil works license and grid power for the location.

Spanish developer Nostrum Group brought the site to IREN through an acquisition that closed in June and extended the company’s presence into Europe. Speaking on IREN’s August 27 earnings call, Chief Commercial Officer Kent Draper stated that “Badajoz is the key site that we chose to focus on today as that is the nearest term build-out and the largest site within the portfolio.” Draper added on that call that “pricing that we’re seeing in North America is very indicative of global conditions,” a point that supports IREN’s case for building abroad.

IREN Sells Compute While Rivals Lease Space

IREN rents graphics processor cloud capacity directly to AI customers, while Core Scientific and Cipher Digital mainly lease data center space to tenants. Owning the chips as well as the buildings lifts IREN’s upside when compute pricing rises and its capital burden when it buys new hardware.

Cipher Digital shares remain down 37% YTD even after the bounce, while Core Scientific stock sits 2% lower for the year. Core Scientific bulls can cite long-term leases with its anchor tenant, while bears can note its reliance on that single customer. Optimists on Cipher Digital can point to rent starting at its Black Pearl high-performance computing data center, while skeptics can cite its heavy losses and the most ground to recover in the group.

Holdings data for the Global X fund as of May 31 show its largest positions in established data center real estate investment trusts and tower owners. Its slide reveals how narrowly the buying is focused.

Supporters of IREN stock can point to the secured license and grid power at Badajoz. Skeptics can counter that the campus has no named customer, still needs financing and permits, and sits far from producing revenue. Draper’s pricing remarks support the bull view, but IREN must still prove demand exists in Spain.

Badajoz Customer Hunt Sets IREN’s Next Move

The next test for IREN is whether Badajoz signs a customer. Traders can watch for a customer or financing announcement tied to the site as the clearest signal that the campus is moving from plan to project.

Heavy YTD declines in IREN and Cipher Digital shares show how quickly sentiment in this group can swing, and one positive headline doesn’t erase that history. Position sizes should stay modest until IREN’s Badajoz financing closes.

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