Key Takeaways
- CRWV shares have plummeted approximately 28% following its February 26 Q4 earnings release
- First quarter revenue outlook of $1.9B–$2B fell short of the $2.29B analyst consensus
- Full-year 2026 revenue projection of $12B–$13B marginally exceeded the $12B Street estimate
- Contract backlog surged to $66.8B from $55.6B, representing 342% annual growth
- Citi downgraded its target price to $126 from $135 while reducing FY26 EPS forecast to ($2.97) from $0.75
The market delivered a harsh verdict on CoreWeave’s quarterly performance following its after-hours report on February 26.
CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV
Shares plunged as much as 21% during Friday’s trading session after the earnings announcement, with continued pressure extending throughout the subsequent week. As of early trading on Tuesday, March 3, CRWV had declined an additional 7%, resulting in a cumulative drop of approximately 28% from pre-earnings levels.
While fourth quarter revenue of $1.57B represented 110% year-over-year expansion and exceeded analyst projections, this positive development was overshadowed by troubling forward guidance.
The company’s first quarter revenue forecast of $1.9B–$2B significantly underperformed Wall Street’s $2.29B consensus expectation, triggering the most severe investor concerns.
Looking at the full fiscal year, CoreWeave projected FY26 revenue between $12B–$13B, modestly surpassing the $12B average analyst forecast. The company’s contract backlog also expanded impressively from $55.6B to $66.8B — reflecting 342% year-over-year growth.
Mounting Losses and Capital Spending Concerns
The company’s fourth quarter net loss widened to $284M, a substantial increase from the $36M loss recorded in the prior-year period. Earnings per share registered a loss of $0.89, significantly worse than the anticipated loss of $0.21.
Interest expense obligations for the quarter ballooned to $388M versus $149M in the year-ago quarter. This represents a considerable obstacle to achieving profitability.
Management elevated FY26 capital expenditure guidance to $30B–$35B, representing more than double the $14.9B invested during FY25.
CEO Michel Intrator defended the elevated capital deployment during the company’s earnings conference call. He emphasized that the spending directly supports contracted customer demand, referencing the $66.8B backlog as justification.
Intrator also highlighted that all contracts tied to new infrastructure capacity are projected to commence revenue generation before 2026 concludes.
Approximately 70% of the outstanding backlog involves financially sound, lower-risk enterprise customers. The company’s two largest clients are Meta and Microsoft, both organizations that have announced substantial CapEx expansions for the current year.
OpenAI, another significant customer, secured $110B in financing last week, helping alleviate circular funding concerns.
CoreWeave concluded FY25 with 850 MW of operational power capacity. Total contracted power reached 3.1 GW. The company targets 1.7 GW of active power deployment by the conclusion of 2026, with contracted footprint expanding to 5 GW by 2030.
Wall Street Analyst Perspectives
Citi Research responded swiftly to the quarterly results, implementing widespread estimate reductions.
Analyst Tyler Radke revised the FY26 EPS projection downward to ($2.97) from $0.75, while adjusting the FY27 EPS forecast to ($1.74) from $3.11.
Citi simultaneously reduced its CRWV price objective to $126 from $135.
The research firm indicated it aligned Q1 revenue and operating income forecasts with management guidance, acknowledging the Q4 shortfall and Q1 outlook that arrived close to consensus despite two-thirds of the quarter already complete.
Prior to the earnings-related selloff, CRWV traded at a forward EV/Sales ratio of 12.56x. That valuation metric has subsequently compressed to approximately 5–6x based on 2026 revenue projections.
The stock had actually gained roughly 9% during Tuesday trading before the earnings announcement, following Trump’s State of the Union address, only to surrender those advances and significantly more.
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
