Stocks of bitcoin mining companies that have shifted their business plans to meet the needs of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure have been big winners in 2025, a trend they have continued into the new year.
And if big tech companies’ profits this year are anything to go by, they could continue to benefit from the pivot.
Fourth-quarter results and 2026 outlooks released Wednesday evening by tech giants Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) – both of which are placing AI investment at the center of their growth strategies for this year and beyond – suggest there is no slowing down in the AI spending frenzy.
“We are only in the early days of AI diffusion, and Microsoft has already built an AI business that is larger than some of our largest franchises,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “We are pushing the boundaries of our entire AI stack to drive new value for our customers and partners. »
Meta, meanwhile, forecasts capital spending of $115 billion to $135 billion for 2026, well above the consensus forecast of $110 billion.
Read more: GPU Gold Rush: Why Bitcoin Miners Are Fueling the Expansion of AI
Faced with declining profits following Bitcoin’s latest halving event, which halved miners’ rewards, as well as higher competition and energy costs, mining companies have decided to use their data centers to host AI and cloud computing machines. The move saved many miners from bankruptcy, as it allowed them to diversify their revenue streams beyond Bitcoin mining and reap the benefits of the continued AI hype.
In November, Iren (IREN) announced a multi-year cloud services agreement with Microsoft to support AI workloads using advanced Nvidia (NVDA) chips, signaling a deeper shift toward high-performance computing. Around the same time, Cipher Mining (CIFR) signed a deal with Amazon (AMZN) to provide 300 megawatts of capacity to Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest infrastructure commitments ever made by a Bitcoin miner seeking to exploit the AI boom.
IREN was up 4.9% on Wednesday before the results were released, bringing its year-to-date gain to 47% and its year-over-year increase to 524%. Up 1.2% on Wednesday, the CIFR is now up 17% in 2026 and 322% over one year.
Another miner that has so far managed to pivot into AI infrastructure and high-performance computing is Hut 8 (HUT), which is up 26% year-to-date and 230% year-over-year.
The next test of the sustainability of AI and cloud computing optimism will be Nvidia’s next report on February 25.
Read more: Bitcoin miners continue AI demand as Nvidia says Rubin already in production
