CoreWeave Stock Plunges 18% after Q2 Loss, Amid Lock-up Expiration and Uncertainty
In a notable setback, shares of artificial intelligence data center renter CoreWeave experienced a 18% drop following the release of its second-quarter financial results as a public company. The company reported an adjusted loss of 27 cents per share, exceeding the anticipated loss of 21 cents per share according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.
The decline in stock price comes as the lock-up period following CoreWeave’s initial public offering nears its expiration on Thursday evening, potentially leading to increased market volatility for the shares. The lock-up period restricts insiders from selling their shares following a market debut.
Analysts at Stifel expressed continued optimism for the long term but noted potential limitations in near-term growth due to the anticipated dilution from recent acquisitions and uncertainties, as well as the impending lock-up expiration.
CoreWeave projects revenue of $1.26 billion to $1.30 billion for the current quarter, slightly surpassing analysts’ forecasts compiled by LSEG. For 2025, the company has raised its revenue guidance to between $5.15 billion and $5.35 billion, up from a previous range of $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion provided in May and surpassing analyst estimates.
Despite these strong projections, some analysts had hoped for more aggressive guidance given the significant increase in the company’s stock price since its March debut. Others pointed to light capital expenditures guidance and a delay in some spending until the fourth quarter as potential areas of concern.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that the delay in capital expenditures could indicate uncertainty around deployment timelines, which may result in smaller in-period revenue recognition.
CoreWeave reported that its revenue increased more than threefold year over year to $1.21 billion, driven by surging demand for AI infrastructure. The company also surpassed Wall Street’s forecast of $1.08 billion. During a call with analysts, finance chief Nitin Agrawal confirmed that demand currently outweighs supply.
Based in New Jersey, CoreWeave serves clients such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The company has recently signed expansion deals with hyperscale customers and completed the acquisition of AI model-monitoring startup Weights and Biases for $1.4 billion during the quarter, finishing the period with a $30.1 billion revenue backlog.