CoreWeave's Revenue Soars, But Investors Wince at Spending Plans

CoreWeave, the cloud infrastructure company powering the AI boom, delivered a quarter of explosive revenue growth that still managed to disappoint Wall Street on Thursday. Despite posting sales that exceeded expectations, shares dropped sharply in after-hours trading as investors digested the immense capital required to fuel its ambitious expansion.

The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.57 billion, a 110% jump from the same period last year and slightly above analyst forecasts. However, the market's focus shifted to CoreWeave's staggering $66.8 billion backlog of future business and its plans to spend up to $35 billion on capital expenditures this year alone—more than triple its 2025 outlay.

CEO Mike Intrator pointed to a persistent shortage of critical Nvidia graphics chips as a limiting factor, even as demand for AI computing power spreads rapidly from tech giants to mainstream enterprises and government entities. 'You're now seeing it explode into the enterprise,' Intrator told analysts, describing a wave of new customers securing infrastructure.

For the full year, CoreWeave projected revenue between $12 billion and $13 billion, aligning with street estimates. Yet its forecast for the current quarter fell short of consensus, and its adjusted earnings missed targets. The company, which went public last March, also carries over $21 billion in debt.

Despite the post-earnings dip, CoreWeave's stock remains up 36% for the year, a stark contrast to the broader software sector's decline. The company continues to solidify its niche, supplying AI model developers like OpenAI and recently expanding its services to include data storage, a move that positions it for more direct competition with giants like Amazon Web Services.

Source: CNBC