Key Takeaways
- CRWV shares have plummeted approximately 28% following the February 26 Q4 earnings release
- First quarter revenue outlook of $1.9B–$2B fell short of analyst expectations at $2.29B
- Full-year FY26 revenue projection of $12B–$13B marginally exceeded the $12B consensus
- Company backlog surged from $55.6B to $66.8B, representing a 342% year-over-year increase
- Citi downgraded its price objective to $126 from $135 and revised FY26 EPS forecast to ($2.97) from $0.75
The release of CoreWeave’s fourth-quarter financial results on February 26 after market close triggered an immediate and severe market response.
CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV
Shares plunged as much as 21% during Friday’s trading session following the announcement, with the downward momentum persisting throughout the subsequent week. By the opening bell on Tuesday, March 3, CRWV had shed an additional 7%, culminating in a combined loss of approximately 28% since the earnings disclosure.
Fourth-quarter revenues reached $1.57B, representing a 110% year-over-year surge that exceeded analyst projections. However, this positive metric proved insufficient to counterbalance the concerning elements of the report.
The company’s leadership projected first-quarter revenues between $1.9B and $2B. This forecast significantly underperformed Wall Street’s $2.29B consensus estimate, emerging as the primary catalyst for investor concern.
Looking at the complete fiscal year, CoreWeave projected FY26 revenues in the $12B–$13B range, marginally surpassing the $12B average analyst estimate. The company’s backlog expanded from $55.6B to $66.8B — reflecting a substantial 342% year-over-year escalation.
Expanding Losses and Capital Spending Pressure Shares
The company recorded fourth-quarter net losses of $284M, representing a sharp escalation from the $36M loss reported in the comparable quarter last year. Per-share losses totaled $0.89, substantially worse than the consensus expectation of a $0.21 loss.
Interest expenses during Q4 ballooned to $388M, compared with $149M in the prior-year period. This represents a significant headwind to achieving profitability.
Fiscal 2026 capital expenditure guidance was elevated to $30B–$35B, more than doubling the $14.9B deployed during FY25.
CEO Michel Intrator defended the substantial CapEx escalation during the company’s earnings conference call. He emphasized that capital allocation directly corresponds to contracted customer commitments, citing the $66.8B backlog as justification.
He further indicated that all contracts for additional capacity are anticipated to commence revenue generation before the conclusion of 2026.
Approximately 70% of the backlog is attributed to financially sound, low-risk clients. CoreWeave’s two primary customers are Meta and Microsoft, both of which have announced substantial CapEx increases for the current year.
OpenAI, another significant customer, secured $110B in financing last week, alleviating some apprehension regarding circular funding arrangements.
CoreWeave concluded FY25 with 850 MW of operational power capacity. Contracted power reached 3.1 GW. The company aims to achieve 1.7 GW of active power capacity by the end of 2026, and 5 GW in contracted footprint by 2030.
Wall Street Analyst Perspectives
Citi Research responded swiftly following the results, reducing forecasts across multiple metrics.
Analyst Tyler Radke revised the FY26 EPS projection down to ($2.97) from $0.75, and adjusted the FY27 EPS estimate to ($1.74) from $3.11.
Citi also decreased its CRWV price target to $126 from $135.
The firm explained that it aligned Q1 revenue and operating income projections with management guidance, acknowledging the Q4 shortfall and noting that the Q1 forecast arrived with two-thirds of the quarter already completed.
Prior to the earnings-induced selloff, CRWV traded at a forward EV/Sales multiple of 12.56x. That valuation metric has since contracted to approximately 5–6x based on 2026 revenue projections.
Interestingly, the stock had rallied roughly 9% on the Tuesday preceding the earnings announcement, following President Trump’s State of the Union address, only to surrender those gains entirely and then some.
