Key Takeaways
- Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) fell 8-9% in extended trading after Q4 2025 earnings release
- Fourth quarter revenue reached $1.57B, representing 110% year-over-year growth and exceeding estimates — however, loss per share of $0.89 exceeded the $0.49 consensus
- First quarter 2026 revenue outlook of $1.9B–$2.0B fell significantly short of the $2.29B Wall Street forecast
- 2026 full-year revenue guidance of $12B–$13B aligned with expectations; capital expenditure plan calls for $30B–$35B
- Total revenue backlog expanded to $66.8B; outstanding debt approximately $30B
Shares of CoreWeave tumbled 8-9% during after-hours trading Thursday following the release of fourth-quarter earnings that delivered mixed signals, causing investors to shift their attention toward future performance concerns.
CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV
The cloud infrastructure company specializing in AI workloads delivered Q4 revenue of $1.57 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s $1.55 billion projection. The company achieved impressive 110% year-over-year revenue expansion.
That represents the positive side of the report.
However, the per-share loss of $0.89 substantially exceeded analyst expectations of a $0.49 loss. This significant deviation between projected and actual losses surprised market participants.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA reached $898 million, falling short of the StreetAccount consensus estimate of $929 million.
The primary catalyst for the stock decline, however, centered on forward-looking guidance.
CoreWeave issued Q1 2026 revenue guidance ranging from $1.9 billion to $2.0 billion. Analysts had been anticipating $2.29 billion. The shortfall at the midpoint amounts to approximately $290 million — a meaningful miss.
Annual Projections and Capital Investment Strategy
For calendar year 2026, CoreWeave provided revenue guidance of $12 billion to $13 billion, essentially matching the $12.09 billion analyst consensus figure.
The company’s investment plans, however, demand attention. CoreWeave intends to deploy $30 billion to $35 billion in capital expenditures during 2026, a substantial increase from $10.31 billion in 2025. This represents a significant acceleration in infrastructure development costs.
Chief Executive Officer Mike Intrator indicated the aggressive expansion timeline was deliberate. “Our clients are desperate to get access to more infrastructure faster,” he explained to CNBC, noting his willingness to accept near-term margin pressure.
CoreWeave closed 2025 with 850 megawatts of operational power capacity and 3.1 gigawatts secured under contract. The company aims to achieve more than 1.7 gigawatts of active capacity by year-end 2026, surpassing analyst forecasts of 1.59 gigawatts.
The contracted revenue backlog expanded to $66.8 billion from $55.6 billion at Q3’s conclusion. Average contract duration increased to five years, up from four years at the close of 2024.
CoreWeave disclosed $21.37 billion in debt as of December 31. When combined with lease obligations, total borrowings approach $30 billion — creating interest expense pressures on profitability.
Tight Market Conditions Persist
Nvidia GPU availability continues facing constraints, Intrator mentioned during the earnings call. Average H100 pricing during Q4 remained within 10% of year-start levels. Pricing for legacy A100 chips actually appreciated throughout 2025.
Intrator noted demand diversification beyond hyperscale cloud providers and foundation model developers, now incorporating enterprise clients and sovereign entities.
Throughout the quarter, CoreWeave disclosed a partnership with AI developer Poolside, introduced an object storage offering, and expanded its credit facility to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion.
Notwithstanding the after-hours decline, CRWV shares had gained 36% year-to-date through Thursday’s regular session close.
Analyst sentiment currently reflects a Moderate Buy consensus rating on the shares, comprising nine Buy recommendations and eight Hold ratings. The mean price target stands at $118.57.
