CoreWeave raised its 2026 outlook on Tuesday after reporting third-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s expectations, a sign that demand for AI computing power is holding up even as investors fret about a slowdown across the sector. Shares rose more than 5% in after-hours trading.
Revenue came in at $3.66 billion, up 168% from about $1.37 billion a year earlier and above the $3.55 billion analysts expected, according to Benzinga. Sales grew by more than $1 billion from the second quarter and topped the high end of the company’s own forecast. Revenue for the first nine months of the year has reached $8.3 billion, compared with $3.6 billion in the same stretch of 2025.
The AI cloud provider, which rents out computing capacity to AI developers and large companies, now expects full-year revenue of $13 billion to $13.3 billion. That is above its earlier range of $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion and above the roughly $12.86 billion that analysts polled by LSEG had been forecasting.
Adjusted operating income guidance moved up to a range of $1.275 billion to $1.375 billion, roughly 26% higher at the midpoint than before. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had been looking for about $1.07 billion, so the new range clears that bar comfortably. Chief executive Michael Intrator called it a breakout quarter and said adjusted operating margin reached double digits a quarter ahead of plan.
Record Backlog Points to Years of Demand
CoreWeave ended September with a revenue backlog of about $132.5 billion, up 138% from a year ago and up from roughly $104 billion at the end of June. Backlog counts contracted revenue that has yet to be delivered, so it is a rough guide to future sales rather than a promise. The company expects 36% of it to be recognized within 24 months, 38% in months 25 to 48 and the remaining 26% after that.
Management said on its earnings call that capacity is largely sold out through 2027 and that it raised prices during the quarter. It also sees a chance to add nearly $10 billion in annualized revenue by 2028 by renewing older GPU contracts. Adjusted operating margin hit 10%, double the 5% of the prior quarter, which suggests pricing is helping turn rapid growth into profit.
The company finished the quarter with more than 1.7 gigawatts of active power and still expects to pass 1.85 gigawatts by year-end. It is also targeting an annualized revenue run rate of $20 billion to $21 billion as 2026 closes.
Spending and Debt Keep Investors Cautious
The growth comes at a steep price. CoreWeave raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to between $37 billion and $39 billion and expects to pay $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion in interest expense in the fourth quarter alone. Operating expenses of $3.45 billion in the third quarter nearly matched revenue, and the company held about $4.1 billion in cash at quarter’s end.
Management’s argument is that the spending is backed by signed contracts, and the backlog figure is the evidence it points to. Whether that holds will depend on customers paying as new capacity switches on.
That helps explain the stock’s wild ride. CNBC reported that shares had lost about 40% of their value over the past month amid a wider slide in AI infrastructure names, with rising interest rates adding pressure on so-called neocloud companies. Even after Tuesday’s bounce, Investing.com noted the stock was about 57% below its 52-week high of $138.25, trading near $51.50.
Analysts will also be watching how fast backlog turns into delivered, billable capacity, since delays in power, construction or equipment can push revenue into later periods. Asked about regulatory pressures, Intrator said he did not expect an impact on the data centers meant to host the backlog.
What the Results Say About the AI Trade
The report lands at a nervy moment for tech investors. Doubts about whether AI spending can keep climbing have weighed on chip and infrastructure shares in recent weeks, and companies that rely on borrowed money have felt the squeeze most. CoreWeave’s numbers give optimists evidence that customers are still signing long-term commitments and paying more for scarce capacity.
They do not settle the larger debate, though. Revenue is growing fast, but the company is still spending heavily to keep up, and its backlog only turns into sales if customers follow through and the capacity gets built on schedule. The coming quarters, especially the pace of new power coming online and the size of the interest bill, will show whether this was a turning point or a bright spot in a rough stretch.
More market-moving reports are close behind. The U.S. bond market was closed Wednesday for Veterans Day, Cisco and Applied Materials are scheduled to report Thursday, and Nvidia is due on Nov. 17, giving investors fresh readings on whether AI demand is broadening or cooling.
Reporting for this story drew on data and coverage from CNBC, Benzinga, Investing.com, and CoreWeave’s investor relations release.
