CoreWeave (CRWV) Shares Plunge 18.5% Following Disappointing Q4 Earnings Report

Key Takeaways

• CRWV shares tumbled 18.5% following February 27 Q4 earnings release
• Q4 revenue reached $1.57B, representing 110% annual growth, though Q1 outlook disappointed
• Fourth quarter net loss expanded to $284M versus $36M in the prior-year period
• Contracted revenue backlog surged to $66.8B, a fourfold increase that includes approximately $5B from Meta
• Capital spending forecast for 2026 ranges from $30B to $35B, compared to $14.9B in 2025

Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) took a significant hit following the release of fourth-quarter financial results, plummeting 18.5% on February 27. While the AI infrastructure provider posted impressive revenue growth, investors reacted negatively to mounting losses and disappointing near-term projections.

CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock, CRWV

The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.57 billion, representing a 110% year-over-year increase and modestly exceeding the Wall Street consensus of $1.53 billion. However, the bottom line deteriorated significantly—net losses expanded from $36 million to $284 million compared to the same quarter last year.

The company posted a loss per share of $0.89, substantially higher than analyst expectations of $0.50. Meanwhile, adjusted operating margin compressed to approximately 6%, down sharply from 16% in the year-ago period.

CoreWeave’s contracted revenue backlog expanded dramatically from $15.1 billion to $66.8 billion—nearly a fourfold increase. This figure incorporates a major new agreement with Meta valued at roughly $5 billion.

This accelerated build-out strategy carries substantial financial implications. CoreWeave has outlined capital expenditure plans of $30 billion to $35 billion for 2026, representing more than double the $14.9 billion spent in 2025. The elevated spending covers Nvidia chip acquisitions, data center development, and power infrastructure.

CFO Nitin Agrawal emphasized that the entire capital outlay is supported by executed customer agreements. Intrator further noted that the first quarter would represent “the low point” for profitability metrics before sequential improvement begins.

Wall Street Responds with Target Reductions

The analyst community largely maintained neutral stances following the earnings report. JPMorgan’s Mark Murphy reduced his price objective from $110 to $90, citing first-quarter guidance that significantly undershot consensus expectations and an investment cycle “more pronounced than expected.”

Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz also maintained a Hold rating while trimming his target from $100 to $95. Stifel’s Ruben Roy adjusted his target downward to $110 from $120, highlighting the company’s expedited investment in Nvidia’s Blackwell and Rubin chip architectures. Active data center power capacity increased from 590MW to 850MW during the quarter.

Roy indicated he needs to see tangible evidence of margin recovery before adopting a more optimistic outlook. While the capital deployment strategy secures future revenue streams, it’s compressing near-term profitability.

Bucking the trend, D.A. Davidson’s Alexander Platt elevated his price target from $110 to $125 while reaffirming his Buy rating. Platt argued that rapid capacity deployment represents the critical success factor in the AI infrastructure competition. Cantor Fitzgerald similarly maintained an Overweight rating with a $131 price objective.

Executive Stock Transaction and Balance Sheet Overview

On February 26—one trading day before the share price decline—General Counsel Kristen J. McVeety divested 2,601 shares of Class A common stock at prices ranging from $95.77 to $100.40, generating proceeds of $261,554. The transaction was executed pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement established in May 2025. McVeety retains ownership of 120,079 shares.

The company maintains approximately $14 billion in outstanding debt obligations. Management expressed confidence that the weighted average cost of capital will decline over time as operational scale increases.

CoreWeave concluded 2025 with 850 megawatts of active power capacity distributed across 43 data center facilities, with 3.1 gigawatts of contracted capacity scheduled to become operational primarily by 2027.

For the first quarter, management projected revenue in the $1.9 billion to $2.0 billion range. This guidance fell considerably short of the $2.29 billion analyst consensus.

According to TipRanks, CRWV carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 11 Buy recommendations and 8 Hold ratings, with an average analyst price target of $114.18.

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