CoreWeave, the cloud company that rents out Nvidia-powered computing capacity to AI developers, delivered a quarter that reignited enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks after a rough Tuesday for the sector. The company’s shares rose about 16% in late after-hours trading, according to TradingView, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed more than 1.5% early Wednesday.
The numbers
According to CoreWeave’s third-quarter 2026 press release:
- Revenue: $3.66 billion, up from $1.37 billion a year earlier, a gain of about 168%.
- Adjusted operating income: $379 million, up from $217 million, though the margin narrowed to 10% from 16%.
- Net loss: $709 million, or $1.27 per share, widening from a $110 million loss a year earlier.
- Adjusted EBITDA: $2.26 billion, up from $838 million.
- Backlog: about $132.5 billion as of Sept. 30. Unite.ai reported that is up 138% from roughly $55.6 billion a year earlier.
A higher outlook
CoreWeave raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to $13.0 billion to $13.3 billion. Unite.ai said the prior range, issued in August, was $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion. The company also lifted its adjusted operating income outlook to $1.275 billion to $1.375 billion, which it said is a 26% increase at the midpoint. Capital spending guidance moved to $37 billion to $39 billion, raising the low end of the prior range.
CEO Michael Intrator called it a “breakout quarter” and pointed to about $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits expected over the next three months. According to Stocktwits, management said capital spending will be funded through debt and customer prepayments, and that demand remains strong.
Why it matters for the AI trade
The report landed at a sensitive moment. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 technology sector fell 1.13%, its worst showing among major sectors, according to TheStreet, as a hotter-than-expected inflation report pushed the 10-year Treasury yield near 5%. Nvidia also closed down 5.47%, StockTitan reported, amid a board review involving CEO Jensen Huang. Microsoft and other software names came under pressure after Anthropic released workplace tools that compete with Office, according to StockTitan and TradingView.
CoreWeave’s results offered evidence that demand for AI computing remains robust. Nvidia shares rose about 3.4% in premarket trading, according to Kaohoon International, as investors read CoreWeave’s backlog as a signal that orders for AI chips remain healthy.
The risks
CoreWeave’s growth comes with heavy costs. Its net loss grew more than sixfold from a year ago, and the company expects fourth-quarter interest expense of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion, according to its release. Higher interest rates make that debt load more expensive, and traders now expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates in December. Investors will get more AI signals this week from Nebius, Applied Materials and Cisco, which report Thursday, and from Nvidia’s own earnings next week.
