Key Takeaways
- CoreWeave shares plunged 18.5% following fourth-quarter earnings release on February 27
- Q4 revenue reached $1.57B, reflecting 110% year-over-year growth, though Q1 outlook disappointed
- Net loss expanded to $284M in Q4 from $36M in the prior-year period
- Contracted revenue backlog surged to $66.8B, with Meta contributing approximately $5B
- Capital spending plan for 2026 set at $30B–$35B, roughly twice the $14.9B spent in 2025
CoreWeave (CRWV) shares experienced a steep decline after releasing fourth-quarter financial results, tumbling 18.5% on February 27. While the company posted impressive top-line growth, investor concerns centered on escalating expenses and disappointing forward-looking guidance.
CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV
Fourth-quarter revenue totaled $1.57 billion, representing a 110% increase compared to the same period last year and marginally exceeding the Street’s $1.53 billion projection. However, the bottom line deteriorated significantly — net losses expanded from $36 million to $284 million year-over-year.
The loss per share reached $0.89, substantially higher than the consensus forecast of $0.50. Meanwhile, adjusted operating margin contracted to approximately 6%, down from 16% in the year-ago quarter.
The firm’s contracted revenue backlog expanded dramatically from $15.1 billion to $66.8 billion, representing nearly a four-fold increase. This includes a newly inked agreement with Meta valued at roughly $5 billion.
Chief Executive Michael Intrator explained the company’s strategic decision to accelerate infrastructure deployment. “We made the decision to go ahead and to build faster so that we can deliver more infrastructure,” he explained to Reuters.
This aggressive expansion strategy carries substantial financial implications. CoreWeave anticipates capital expenditures between $30 billion and $35 billion during 2026, representing more than double the $14.9 billion deployed in 2025. The spending encompasses Nvidia chip acquisitions, data center construction, and energy infrastructure investments.
Chief Financial Officer Nitin Agrawal emphasized that all capital allocation decisions are backed by executed customer agreements. Intrator noted that the first quarter would represent “the low point” for profitability margins before subsequent recovery.
Wall Street Reduces Price Objectives
Following the quarterly report, most sell-side analysts maintained neutral stances. JPMorgan’s Mark Murphy reduced his price objective from $110 to $90, citing first-quarter guidance significantly below Street expectations and an investment phase that proved “more pronounced than expected.”
Mizuho’s Gregg Moskowitz similarly maintained his Hold recommendation while trimming his target from $100 to $95. Stifel’s Ruben Roy adjusted his price objective downward to $110 from $120, observing that the company expedited investments in Nvidia’s Blackwell and Rubin chip architectures. Active data center power capacity expanded from 590MW to 850MW during the quarter.
Roy indicated he requires evidence of margin improvement before adopting a more optimistic stance. While the capital expenditure program secures long-term revenue streams, it pressures near-term profitability metrics.
D.A. Davidson’s Alexander Platt diverged from the consensus view. He elevated his price target from $110 to $125 while maintaining his Buy recommendation, contending that rapid capacity deployment represents the critical success factor in the AI infrastructure competition. Cantor Fitzgerald similarly maintained an Overweight stance with a $131 objective.
Executive Stock Transaction and Balance Sheet Overview
On February 26 — one day prior to the stock’s decline — CoreWeave’s General Counsel Kristen J. McVeety divested 2,601 shares of Class A common stock at prices ranging from $95.77 to $100.40, generating $261,554 in proceeds. The transaction occurred under a pre-established trading arrangement dated May 2025. She maintains ownership of 120,079 shares.
The company maintains approximately $14 billion in outstanding debt. Management indicated expectations for reducing its weighted average cost of capital as operations scale.
CoreWeave concluded 2025 with 850 megawatts of active power capacity distributed across 43 data center facilities, with 3.1 gigawatts of contracted capacity predominantly scheduled for activation by 2027.
For the first quarter, management projected revenue between $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion. This guidance fell short of analyst expectations for $2.29 billion.
On TipRanks, CRWV carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating derived from 11 Buy and 8 Hold recommendations, with an average price target of $114.18.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
