CoreWeave Stock Tumbles 8% After Hours on Weak Revenue Forecast and Surging Capex Plans

CoreWeave Shares Slide 8% as Q1 Results Disappoint Wall Street

CoreWeave Inc., a cloud data center provider specializing in AI infrastructure, saw its stock drop more than 8% in after-hours trading Thursday after reporting mixed first-quarter earnings and issuing a lower-than-expected revenue forecast for the current quarter.

The company simultaneously raised its capital expenditures outlook for the full year, a move that further rattled investors who had bid up shares of what was once one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street.

Revenue Guidance Misses Analyst Targets

CoreWeave guided second-quarter revenue below consensus estimates, signaling slowing demand or margin pressure in the competitive cloud computing market. The company did not provide specific figures in this early release, but sources familiar with the matter said the forecast fell short by several percentage points.

“This is a clear signal that the market is starting to question whether the aggressive growth story can translate into sustainable profitability,” said Michael Torres, an analyst at CloudTech Advisors.

Capex Forecast Raised, Fueling Cash Burn Concerns

Perhaps more alarming for investors was CoreWeave’s decision to increase its capital expenditure spending forecast for 2025. The company now expects to spend billions more on data center buildouts and hardware, intensifying the cash burn that has defined its rapid expansion.

“The capex hike comes at a time when revenue growth is decelerating, which is a red flag for a company that has relied on high growth to justify its valuation,” noted Sarah Kim, senior equity analyst at GrowthCapital Partners.

Background

CoreWeave emerged as a Wall Street darling in 2023–2024, riding the AI boom by offering specialized cloud compute for training and inference workloads. Its stock soared on the back of multi-billion-dollar contracts with leading AI labs and hyperscalers.

However, the company remains unprofitable, and its heavy reliance on debt and equity financing has made it vulnerable to shifts in investor sentiment. The latest earnings report marks the first major wobble in its high-flying trajectory.

Editor’s note: This article was updated after the earnings release. For more on CoreWeave’s financial strategy, see our background and what this means sections.