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CoreWeave Reports Q1 Earnings Miss; Lowers Q2 Guidance, Raises 2026 Capex Forecast

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CoreWeave Shares Fall 10% After Q1 Earnings Miss, Weak Guidance

CoreWeave reported first-quarter 2026 earnings that missed analyst expectations, issued second-quarter revenue guidance below consensus, and raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast. The company's shares fell approximately 10% in extended trading following the announcement.

Financial Results

Revenue surged to $2.08 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion (LSEG). This figure more than doubled from $981.8 million in the same quarter last year.

However, adjusted earnings per share showed a loss of $1.12, wider than the expected loss of $0.90 (LSEG consensus). The company reported a net loss of $740 million, up from a loss of $315 million in the year-ago quarter.

Guidance

Q2 2025 Revenue: Targeted between $2.45 billion and $2.6 billion. The midpoint of $2.53 billion is below the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion.

Full-Year 2026 Revenue: Maintained at $12 billion to $13 billion.

Capital Expenditures: Projected at $31 billion to $35 billion, up from the prior range of $30 billion to $35 billion. CFO Nitin Agrawal attributed the revision to changes in component prices.

Annualized Revenue Target: Expected to exceed $30 billion by the end of 2027.

Key Operational Metrics & Developments

  • Contracted Power: Approximately 3.5 gigawatts at the end of the quarter. The company added over 400 megawatts in Q1.
  • Revenue Backlog: $99.4 billion as of March 31, up from $66.8 billion at the end of December.
  • Customer Diversification: Ten clients have committed to at least $1 billion in spending. In 2024, 62% of revenue came from Microsoft.
  • Operating Expenses: Total operating expenses more than doubled to $2.22 billion in Q1. Technology and infrastructure costs rose 127% year-over-year to $1.27 billion. Sales and marketing costs increased more than sixfold to $69 million.
  • Debt: The company raised $8.5 billion in new debt in Q1, bringing total debt to nearly $25 billion. CoreWeave has secured over $20 billion in debt and equity in 2026 year-to-date.
  • Nvidia Stake: Nvidia purchased an additional $2 billion in CoreWeave stock earlier in 2026 at $87.20 per share. Nvidia also holds a commitment to purchase any unused CoreWeave capacity until April 2032.
  • Credit Rating: S&P upgraded CoreWeave's credit rating outlook to positive from stable.
  • Power Goal: The company plans to have 1.7 gigawatts online by the end of the year.

Recent Major Contracts

In the last month, CoreWeave announced significant deals including:

  • A $21 billion agreement with Meta Platforms for cloud computing capacity
  • A $6 billion deal with Jane Street
  • A deal with Anthropic

Statements from Executives and Analysts

CEO Mike Intrator stated that the company has "reached hyperscale" and noted ongoing customer diversification. He acknowledged supply chain challenges but said the company has capacity to navigate them.

CFO Nitin Agrawal attributed the capex revision to component prices and said the rise in operating expenses was due to scaling active power capacity.

Zacks Investment Research stock strategist Andrew Rocco compared CoreWeave's strategy to Amazon's early e-commerce days, noting the company is sacrificing short-term profitability to dominate the market.

Market Reaction

Shares fell approximately 10% in extended trading after the earnings release.

Year-to-date through the close of trading before the earnings report, shares had risen nearly 80%, compared to the S&P 500's 7% gain. Since its IPO in March, the stock has risen over 170%.