CoreWeave, the artificial intelligence infrastructure provider, posted a better-than-expected 168 percent increase in third-quarter revenue to 3.66 billion dollars, in results released after the market close on Tuesday, November 10. The earnings were widely regarded as a demand test for the AI trade, and the market responded with a sharp rally: the shares surged about 8 percent in after-hours trading to 52.58 dollars, and later rose about 12.6 percent in overnight trading.
Management also raised full-year guidance to at least 13 billion dollars, with a range of 13.0 to 13.3 billion dollars, up from 12.4 to 13.2 billion dollars, while revealing a revenue backlog of about 132.5 billion dollars, a record high and an increase of 138 percent year over year. “This was a breakout quarter for CoreWeave,” chief executive Michael Intrator said in the release. The company said its available capacity for 2028 is already sold out, although not all of that capacity has yet been brought to market.
Growth, but the interest bill looms
The results also showed why booming demand for computing capacity does not automatically translate into profits. CoreWeave reported a 709 million dollar net loss for the quarter, compared with a 110 million dollar loss a year earlier, as net interest expense reached 846 million dollars against operating income of 207 million dollars. Adjusted EBITDA was 2.256 billion dollars, a margin of 62 percent, above the market expectation of 57.6 percent.
The company added more than 200 megawatts of active power in the quarter to reach over 1.7 gigawatts, doubling its active IT load footprint since the end of 2025, and raised its capital expenditure outlook to 37 to 39 billion dollars for the year. Total recorded debt rose to 46.873 billion dollars as of September 30. Intrator pointed to about 9 billion dollars of customer prepayments and deposits expected over the next three months as one of several funding sources.
A test for the whole AI trade
The results land at an unusually sensitive moment for AI investors. CoreWeave’s stock had plunged more than 40 percent in the past month before the earnings, and it is down about 65 percent versus its year-to-date high, as investors questioned whether massive spending on AI will deliver adequate returns. Nvidia, the chipmaker at the centre of the AI trade, has also fallen sharply this month amid a separate controversy over its chief executive.
CoreWeave’s backlog rose by more than 28 billion dollars in a single quarter, from 104.2 billion dollars at the end of June, and the company guided to 20 to 21 billion dollars in annualised run-rate revenue exiting 2026. Whether Wednesday’s regular session holds the overnight gains will be an early test of whether the AI infrastructure rally has real legs, or is simply running ahead of a bond market that is shut for the US holiday.
Related reading: Nvidia: Congress Summons Jensen Huang in Spy-Claims Probe.
