IREN vs APLD: Stock Returns, Risk & Volatility (2026)

Q: Which is a better investment: IREN or APLD?

Over the past year, IREN looks like the better investment: it had higher total return (IREN +460.2% vs APLD +271.4%) and a higher Sharpe ratio (IREN 2.22 vs APLD 1.62). On risk, IREN was less volatile (IREN 98.6% vs APLD 128.2%), IREN had a smaller max drawdown (IREN -55.8% vs APLD -57.0%), and IREN had less severe losses on the worst 5% of days (Expected Shortfall of IREN -12.72% vs APLD -15.76%).

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Quick answer

Which is a better investment: IREN or APLD?

Over the past year, IREN outperformed (+460.2% vs +271.4%) with a Sharpe ratio of 2.22.

Total Return

IREN WIN +460.2%

APLD +271.4%

Sharpe Ratio

IREN WIN 2.22

APLD 1.62

Annualized Volatility

IREN WIN 98.6%

APLD 128.2%

Max Drawdown

IREN WIN -55.8%

APLD -57.0%

Analysis period: 2025-02-27 to 2026-02-25

IREN Total Return

↑ +460.2%

APLD Total Return

↑ +271.4%

Relative Performance of IREN vs APLD (Normalized to 100)

IREN APLD

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

Key Takeaways

Total Return: IREN delivered a +460.2% total return, while APLD returned +271.4% over the same period. IREN outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): IREN had a higher Sharpe (2.22 vs 1.62), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.
Volatility (Annualized): APLD was more volatile, with 128.2% annualized volatility, versus 98.6% for IREN.
Maximum Drawdown: IREN's maximum drawdown was -55.8%, while APLD experienced a deeper drawdown of -57.0%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), IREN's VaR was -10.02% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -12.72%; APLD's were -9.83% and -15.76%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: IREN -0.17 vs APLD 0.15. Excess kurtosis: IREN -0.02 vs APLD 6.55. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): IREN 7/6, APLD 2/8. Worst day: IREN -17.37% (2026-02-04) vs APLD -35.94% (2025-04-15). Best day: IREN +15.27% (2025-09-09) vs APLD +48.46% (2025-06-02).
Risk ratios: Sortino - IREN: 3.57 vs. APLD: 2.85 , Calmar - IREN: 8.36 vs. APLD: 4.81 , Sterling - IREN: 17.62 vs. APLD: 8.26 , Treynor - IREN: 1.08 vs. APLD: 0.99 , Ulcer Index - IREN: 24.37% vs. APLD: 22.50%

Iris Energy vs Applied Digital Correlation

0.46 Average Correlation

Iris Energy and Applied Digital are moderately correlated over the past year. With a correlation of 0.46, these assets show moderate co-movement, offering some diversification when held together.

For portfolio construction, this moderate correlation offers some diversification benefit, though the assets still tend to move together during major market moves.

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.75
Average (full period)	0.46
Minimum	0.06
Maximum	0.84

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together. Values near +1 indicate strong co-movement, near 0 indicates independence, and negative values indicate inverse movement.

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on February 27, 2025:

IREN $56,017.81 +460.2%

APLD $37,139.21 +271.4%

Difference: $18,878.6 (IREN ahead)

Iris Energy and Applied Digital: Risk Analysis

Iris Energy experienced its maximum drawdown of -55.8% from 2025-11-05 to 2025-12-17. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Applied Digital experienced its maximum drawdown of -57% from 2025-02-28 to 2025-04-15. It took 48 days to recover.

Smaller drawdowns and faster recoveries indicate lower downside risk and greater resilience during market stress.

Sharpe Ratio of IREN and APLD

IREN Sharpe Ratio

↑ 2.22

APLD Sharpe Ratio

↑ 1.62

Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk (volatility). A higher Sharpe indicates better risk-adjusted performance. IREN had a higher Sharpe (2.22 vs 1.62), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.

A Sharpe above 1.0 is generally considered good, above 2.0 is excellent. Negative Sharpe means the asset underperformed the risk-free rate. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Sortino Ratio of IREN and APLD

IREN Sortino Ratio

↑ 3.57

APLD Sortino Ratio

↑ 2.85

Sortino ratio measures return per unit of downside risk. Unlike Sharpe, it only counts downside deviation (returns below the target return). IREN had better downside-adjusted returns.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Downside deviation: IREN 61.3% vs APLD 72.7%. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices, using the daily risk-free rate as the target return, and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Calmar Ratio of IREN and APLD

IREN Calmar Ratio

↑ 8.36

APLD Calmar Ratio

↑ 4.81

Calmar ratio compares CAGR to maximum drawdown. Higher Calmar means more return per unit of worst drawdown. IREN posted the higher Calmar ratio.

Calmar is computed on each asset's full 365-day lookback and uses the max drawdown over that same window.

Sterling Ratio of IREN and APLD

IREN Sterling Ratio

↑ 17.62

APLD Sterling Ratio

↑ 8.26

Sterling ratio measures excess return per unit of average drawdown (typically drawdowns worse than 10%). IREN posted the higher Sterling ratio.

Sterling uses average drawdown events deeper than 10% and subtracts the risk-free rate to report excess return.

Treynor Ratio of IREN and APLD

IREN Treynor Ratio

↑ 1.08

APLD Treynor Ratio

↑ 0.99

Treynor ratio measures excess return per unit of market risk (beta) instead of total volatility. IREN posted the higher Treynor ratio.

Treynor uses beta vs the S&P 500 (SPY) on shared dates and the average 3-month Treasury rate as the risk-free rate.

Ulcer Index of IREN and APLD

IREN Ulcer Index

24.37%

APLD Ulcer Index

22.50%

Ulcer Index captures drawdown depth and duration. Lower Ulcer Index means less drawdown pain. APLD had the lower Ulcer Index (less drawdown pain).

Ulcer Index is computed from each asset's drawdown series over the full lookback window.

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Iris Energy vs. Applied Digital

This section looks at the shape of daily returns, not just the average. Tail stats are computed per asset on its own daily series (crypto includes weekends). We use daily log returns $\ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)$ so multi-day moves add cleanly.

Definitions: Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall, skew, kurtosis, and fat tails.

Metric (1-Year)	IREN	APLD
5% VaR (daily log return)	-10.02%	-9.83%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-12.72% (worst 13 days)	-15.76% (worst 13 days)
Skew	-0.17	0.15
Excess kurtosis	-0.02	6.55
2σ tail days (down / up)	7 / 6	2 / 8
Worst day	-17.37% (2026-02-04)	-35.94% (2025-04-15)
Best day	+15.27% (2025-09-09)	+48.46% (2025-06-02)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Computed on shared dates only (n=249). A “2σ downside move” means a shared-close log return more than 2 standard deviations below that asset’s own mean on this shared-date series. Dates below show simple returns (%) for readability.

When APLD has a big down day, IREN also does

50.0%

1 / 2 days

When IREN has a big down day, APLD also does

14.3%

1 / 7 days

Show downside tail dates

Dates below are shared-date observations. The “Date” is the period end (close). Tail thresholds are computed on log returns, but the table shows simple returns (%) for readability. Returns are computed from the previous shared close to this one (for example, Friday → Monday includes weekend moves).

Days when both IREN and APLD had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	IREN	APLD
2025-12-12 → 2025-12-15	-11.59%	-17.52%

Days when IREN had a big down day

Date (interval)	IREN	APLD
2025-03-07 → 2025-03-10	-14.03%	-14.05%
2025-11-06	-12.37%	-6.07%
2025-11-13	-12.66%	-12.68%
2025-12-02	-15.20%	-0.57%
2025-12-12 → 2025-12-15	-11.59%	-17.52%
2026-02-04	-17.37%	-14.06%
2026-02-05	-11.46%	-11.72%

Days when APLD had a big down day

Date (interval)	IREN	APLD
2025-04-15	-5.22%	-35.94%
2025-12-12 → 2025-12-15	-11.59%	-17.52%

Read this as “how ugly the ugly days get”, not as a precise forecast. One-year samples are small, so tail estimates are inherently noisy.

Iris Energy vs Applied Digital Volatility (IREN vs APLD)

IREN Volatility

98.6%

±6.21% daily

APLD Volatility

128.2%

±8.08% daily

Typical daily swing

IREN

±6.21%

APLD

±8.08%

Iris Energy's annualized volatility of 98.6% means it typically moves ±6.21% on any given day.

Applied Digital's annualized volatility of 128.2% means it typically moves ±8.08% on any given day.

APLD's higher volatility means a wider path to returns — this can be attractive for tactical, shorter-term exposure, while IREN's smoother profile may better suit long-term allocators seeking steadier growth.

For comparison, the S&P 500 typically has 15-18% annualized volatility, translating to roughly ±1% daily moves. Higher volatility means larger potential gains but also larger potential losses.

Iris Energy vs Applied Digital Performance Over Time

Metric	IREN	APLD
30 Days	-15.9%	-19.6%
90 Days	-9.1%	16.6%
180 Days	66.3%	82%
1 Year	460.2%	271.4%

Shorter time frames can show different leaders as market conditions change. Consider your investment horizon when comparing performance.

Full Comparison of Iris Energy vs. Applied Digital (1-Year)

Metric	IREN	APLD
Total Return	+460.2%	+271.4%
Annualized Volatility	98.6%	128.2%
Sharpe Ratio	2.22	1.62
Sortino Ratio	3.57	2.85
Calmar Ratio	8.36	4.81
Sterling Ratio	17.62	8.26
Treynor Ratio	1.08	0.99
Ulcer Index	24.37%	22.50%
Max Drawdown	-55.8%	-57.0%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	0.36	0.24
5% VaR (daily log return)	-10.02%	-9.83%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-12.72%	-15.76%
Skew	-0.17	0.15
Excess kurtosis	-0.02	6.55
2σ tail days (down / up)	7 / 6	2 / 8

Audit this calculation

Formulas, inputs, and conventions used to compute the metrics on this page.

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-02-27 → 2026-02-25 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): 220 rolling 30-day values (from 249 shared daily returns).
Annualization (days/year): IREN: 252 days/year; APLD: 252 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

IREN: 4.20% over 2025-02-27 → 2026-02-25.

APLD: 4.20% over 2025-02-27 → 2026-02-25.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

IREN: ≈ -48.6%/yr

APLD: ≈ -82.2%/yr
Data alignment: No forward fill. Correlation and tail co-moves are computed on shared closes only.
For cross-calendar pairs (e.g., crypto vs stocks), weekend/holiday moves roll into the next shared close.
Return conventions: Volatility/Sharpe/Sortino use simple daily returns. Tail-risk uses daily log returns for distribution stats (but tables show simple returns). Log returns.

Formulas

Daily simple return

r_t = \frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} - 1

Volatility

\sigma_{ann} = \sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}

Volatility drag (approx.)

\text{drag} \approx \tfrac{1}{2}\sigma_{ann}^2

Sharpe Ratio

S = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}}

Sortino Ratio

So = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sqrt{\mathbb{E}[\min(0,\,r_t - r_f/A)^2]}\,\sqrt{A}}

Maximum Drawdown

MDD = \min_t\left(\frac{P_t}{\max_{s \le t} P_s} - 1\right)

Average Correlation

\rho = \frac{\operatorname{cov}(r^A,\,r^B)}{\sigma_A\,\sigma_B}

Log returns

\ell_t = \ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)

Notation

$P_t$: Price on day t.
$r_t$: Simple daily return.
$\ell_t$: Log daily return.
$\bar{r}$: Average daily return.
$\sigma(r_t)$: Standard deviation of daily returns.
$A$: Annualization factor (days/year).
$r_f$: Annual risk-free rate.

Iris Energy vs Applied Digital: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: IREN or APLD?

APLD showed higher volatility at 128.2% annualized, compared to 98.6% for IREN Over the past year. Higher volatility means larger price swings in both directions.

Does IREN provide diversification when held with APLD?

IREN and APLD are moderately correlated over the past year, with an average correlation of 0.46. This offers some diversification benefit, though they still tend to move together during major market moves.

How bad are the worst 5% days for IREN vs APLD?

Over the past year, IREN's 5% VaR was -10.02% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -12.72% (worst 13 days). APLD's were -9.83% and -15.76% (worst 13 days).

Do IREN and APLD crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=249), when APLD has a 2σ down day, IREN also does 50.0% (1/2 days). In the other direction, when IREN has one, APLD also does 14.3% (1/7 days).

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: IREN or APLD?

IREN showed better risk-adjusted performance with a Sharpe ratio of 2.22 versus APLD's 1.62 Over the past year.

Can IREN and APLD be combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing matters. Their moderate correlation offers some diversification benefits. APLD's higher volatility (128.2%) means even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.