Why I’d Pick IREN Stock Over Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft

When people think about tech investing, the conversation usually turns to the giants: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Nvidia.

These companies dominate the indices, capture headlines, and have created immense wealth for long-term investors.

Now, what is the best investment if you have $10,000? If I had $10,000 to invest today, I wouldn’t pick any of those names.

Not because they’re bad businesses; on the contrary, they remain leaders in their respective fields.

The issue is valuation and maturity. The market has already priced in much of their dominance, and while they may still compound steadily, their explosive growth days are behind them.

Instead, for investors looking to capture upside from the next wave of tech, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), I see more compelling opportunities outside the usual suspects.

That being said, there are smaller players with far more room to grow. One of them is IREN Limited (IREN).

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The information in this article is for general guidance only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice, and is not a recommendation or solicitation to invest. Some facts may have changed since the time of writing.

IREN Stock: What Is It?

Previously dubbed Iris Energy Limited, IREN is a company originally focused on Bitcoin mining but now transitioning into the AI infrastructure space.

It trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol IREN.

Unlike Big Tech, which is already valued in the trillions, IREN’s market cap is only a few billion dollars. That smaller size gives it more upside potential if its AI pivot succeeds.

What does the IREN company do?

IREN builds and operates large-scale data centers powered by renewable energy.

At first, those facilities were used primarily for cryptocurrency mining. But the company has announced a major pivot, i.e., repurposing these sites to provide compute power for AI training and inference workloads.

This shift is critical because the world is facing a compute bottleneck. Running AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini requires massive amounts of electricity and processing power, and the US grid is already stretched.

Permitting and building new facilities can take years. IREN already has the infrastructure in place, giving it a strategic edge.

The Smarter Play: Index or Stocks?

If you want exposure to the sector but don’t want to guess which stock wins, buying the Nasdaq index is the simplest strategy. It provides diversified exposure to tech giants without the risk of betting on the wrong one.

However, for those willing to take on more risk and capture the next big wave in AI, IREN offers a compelling alternative.

Is IREN a Good Stock to Buy?

That’s the million-dollar question. The answer depends on your risk tolerance.

While IREN may be a good stock to buy for growth-oriented investors, it’s not a low-risk, blue-chip name like Apple or Microsoft. It’s a bet on the future of AI infrastructure.

• Cash flow potential. The bullish scenario points to a very substantial cash flow for IREN’s AI data centers. The company is transitioning from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure, with expected cash flow potential starting at around $500 million. 
• Downside Protection. If AI demand slows, the facilities still function as traditional data centers, offering downside protection.
• Attractive Valuation. Unlike Nvidia or Microsoft, which trade at steep premiums, IREN is relatively modestly valued compared to the assets it owns and the scale it could achieve. Investors are essentially buying scarce, AI-ready infrastructure at a discount.
• Risk Factor. However,as a smaller-cap stock, IREN carries more volatility than a diversified tech giant. Individual stocks can, in extreme cases, go to zero.

How High Will IREN Go? (IREN Stock Forecast)

Forecasting a stock price is always speculative. Nobody can predict exactly how high IREN stock will go, but its combination of low valuation and high potential gives it one of the most asymmetric risk-reward profiles in the AI space.

• Analysts and investors see upside because IREN controls scarce AI-ready infrastructure. Some projections suggest cash flows could eventually scale toward $2 billion. If that higher estimate materializes, IREN’s stock could be worth several times its current valuation.
• The bullish scenario is that AI demand keeps growing, Nvidia GPUs remain scarce, and IREN becomes a key supplier of compute capacity. In that case, IREN’s stock could rise significantly over the next 5 to 10 years.
• The cautious scenario is that competition increases, AI demand doesn’t scale as expected, and the stock trades sideways.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t formal investment advice; just one investor’s perspective. The tech giants will continue to dominate, and owning an index like the Nasdaq remains the most prudent approach for many.

But for those seeking to capture the next wave of growth rather than the last, smaller players like IREN could offer far more compelling risk-reward dynamics.

Do your own research, but don’t be afraid to look beyond the obvious names. Sometimes the best opportunities are the ones most investors aren’t paying attention to yet.

Pained by financial indecision?

Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters with over 830million answer views on Quora, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.