CoreWeave raises 2026 forecast and beats revenue estimates as AI demand holds firm

UPDATE - follow-up to CoreWeave beats on revenue and lifts guidance, easing AI slowdown concerns: CoreWeave reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates on Tuesday and raised its 2026 guidance, easing worries about an artificial intelligence market slowdown even as its stock dropped more than 40 percent in the past month. Revenue jumped 168 percent from about $1.36 billion a year earlier, while the net loss widened to $709 million, or $1.27 per share, compared to a loss of $110 million last year.

Financials and Capital

Executives now project 2026 revenue between $13 billion and $13.3 billion, up from an earlier range of $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion set in August. Adjusted operating income for 2026 is now expected to hit $1.275 billion to $1.375 billion, beating analyst forecasts of $1.07 billion. High interest rates have pushed lenders out of the market and some CoreWeave bond yields recently topped 16 percent, leading Joe Tigay of Equity Armor Investments to note that capital costs remain critical. CEO Mike Intrator said the company will get most of its 2027 capital from client prepayments and hardware partner financing. Finance chief Nitin Agrawal added that the firm does not plan to issue more parent-level unsecured debt through 2027, relying instead on asset-level secured debt. Meanwhile, rival neocloud Nebius is set to report earnings on Thursday, and key customer Anthropic prepares for a Nasdaq debut with a potential valuation near $1.4 trillion.

Operations and Outlook

CoreWeave plans full-year capital expenditures of $37 billion to $39 billion and expects 1.85 gigawatts in active power by the end of 2026. The company also announced plans for its first data centers in Asia, launched the Forge service for running AI models, and reported a revenue backlog of $132.5 billion, up from $104 billion in June. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces a scandal tied to an alleged Chinese spy, prompting Nvidia's board to hire Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate potential national security or company secret compromises.

Context

Cloud service providers like CoreWeave rely heavily on massive data centers filled with expensive graphics processing units to power artificial intelligence tools. These companies often take on heavy debt to fund rapid physical expansion, making them particularly sensitive to shifts in interest rates and lender confidence.