Shares of IREN Ltd (IREN) plummeted 5.05% during intraday trading on Friday, extending recent losses for the AI data center infrastructure company.

The sharp decline is attributed to growing investor concerns over the company's financial leverage. IREN reportedly borrowed approximately $3.6 billion this month to fund a purchase of Nvidia graphics processing units for use by Microsoft at a Texas data center. While the company has secured significant strategic contracts, including a $9.7 billion agreement with Microsoft and up to $2.1 billion in investment from Nvidia, the scale of the new debt has raised alarms about its balance sheet and the execution risks associated with its aggressive expansion into AI infrastructure. Analysts have expressed caution regarding the company's elevated debt levels.

The selling pressure follows a significant drop in the previous session, suggesting sustained negative sentiment despite the company's strategic pivot from bitcoin mining to AI operations. The stock had been a strong performer year-to-date prior to this recent pullback.