CoreWeave shares rise premarket after raising 2026 revenue forecast
CoreWeave shares were up about 11% in premarket trading Wednesday after the AI cloud provider beat third-quarter revenue estimates and raised its full-year forecasts, according to CNBC. The results also eased worries about the company's heavy debt load, which had helped drive a steep selloff in AI infrastructure stocks, and the company's results are closely watched by US investors in Nvidia and other AI-linked names.
CoreWeave reported third-quarter results after the close on Tuesday, and the stock moved higher before the open Wednesday. CoreWeave beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and raised its annual forecasts, signaling strong demand for its cloud services and easing concerns after a steep selloff over the company's massive debt.
Revenue beat and higher forecast
Revenue jumped 168% to $3.7 billion in the third quarter, the company said in a Tuesday statement. The company now expects 2026 revenue of $13.0 billion to $13.3 billion, from $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion earlier.
CoreWeave's contracted revenue backlog stood at $132.5 billion at the end of September, rising from $104 billion at the end of June.
Reuters reported that the shares were last down about 4% in volatile extended trading, as investors weighed the revenue surge against concern over a higher annual spending target. The company's quarterly capital spending rose to $14.5 billion from $9.4 billion in the prior quarter, according to Reuters.
Debt in focus
Debt has been the central worry. The $27 billion Nvidia-backed CoreWeave has never turned a profit, according to data compiled by LSEG, and had about $46.9 billion in total debt as of the end of September.
CoreWeave shares have been battered in recent weeks, dropping more than 40% over the past month amid growing concerns about AI financing. CNBC reported that CoreWeave, in particular, sparked alarm when spreads on its CDS widened past 11%, generally viewed as a distress level, as investors have to pay up for protection against default.
To address this, CEO Mike Intrator said the company expects $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits that are expected to flow in over the next three months. He argued that lenders can lend against customer contracts, which typically help fund the buildout, according to his statement quoted by Reuters.
Read-through for US AI stocks
CoreWeave's results are seen as a gauge of AI spending. CoreWeave rents out computing power built largely on Nvidia's chips, making its results a closely watched signal of AI spending. Neoclouds such as CoreWeave, Nebius and IREN have come under scrutiny this month as investors assessed the sustainability of the AI trade.
Zacks Chief Equity Strategist John Blank told CNBC that CoreWeave has done well to ease concerns by moving away from unsecured bond financing. Blank also said, "It might be the bottom for CoreWeave."
On the same day, Reuters reported that AI company Anthropic began a roadshow for its share sale at a lower target valuation than earlier estimates.
The company did not say in the reports reviewed how its capital spending will be funded beyond the expected customer prepayments.
Sources
- CoreWeave raises revenue forecast as AI demand defies growing doubts thestar.com.my
- CoreWeave stock pops 11% after outlook raise eases AI slowdown concerns cnbc.com
- CoreWeave stock pops as Q3 revenue beats estimates, company raises full-year outlook finance.yahoo.com
- Nvidia, chip stocks rebound premarket after CoreWeave lifts revenue outlook By Investing.com investing.com
Written with AI assistance on Nov 11, 7:03 AM ET from the reports listed under Sources, and reviewed by our editor after publication. Before it was published, every figure was checked against those reports, and passages with figures that could not be found there were left out. It can still contain mistakes: read the sources before acting on anything. How we review. Not investment advice.