CoreWeave rallies 7% as AI demand outweighs debt fears
AI cloud firm raises full-year guidance, but interest costs dwarf its operating profit
Dubai: CoreWeave raised its 2026 revenue forecast after third-quarter sales jumped 168 per cent to $3.66 billion. Shares rallied about 7 per cent in extended trading on November 10.
Revenue beat the $3.55 billion analysts expected. Backlog reached $132.5 billion at the end of September, up from $104 billion in June. The company now projects 2026 revenue of $13 billion to $13.3 billion. Adjusted operating income guidance rose to $1.275 billion to $1.375 billion.
The company has still a while to go before turning profitable. Net loss widened to $709 million from $110 million a year earlier. Interest costs of $846 million ran four times operating income of $207 million. Debt stands near $47 billion, and executives expect adjusted profit only in the first half of 2028. Capital spending for 2026 is guided at $37 billion to $39 billion.
Chief executive Michael Intrator expects about $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits within three months. He told analysts during the earnings call that prepayments and hardware partners such as Nvidia should fund most 2027 spending. CoreWeave could sell all its capacity to waiting buyers today, he noted, but is choosing to hold some back.
Finance chief Nitin Agrawal ruled out more parent-level unsecured debt through 2027 at current yields. Agrawal projected under $5 billion of parent-level debt financing through 2027. Rental prices for older Ampere and Hopper chips rose 30 per cent to 50 per cent from the prior quarter, the company reports. Intrator added that almost all of CoreWeave’s power is online or permitted.
The stock was quick to react in after market trade. It first spiked to $54 after the earnings announcement then sank to $46.50, and then climbed again to $54.87. In regular trade the stock closed at $48.73, slightly in the red.
Coreweave shares have fallen about 31.6 per cent all through 2026. With the overnight gain, those losses have narrowed to near 23 per cent for the year. The stock hit an all-time-high of $137.98 on May 6, but has lost close to 40 per cent in the past month as investors moved from AI stocks to bonds as yields hit new highs.
