Shares of CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV.US), often referred to as a key beneficiary of Nvidia's ecosystem, plunged more than 11% at Friday's market open, trading at $113.57. The sell-off followed the company's first-quarter earnings report, which presented a mixed picture.
For Q1, CoreWeave reported total revenue of $2.08 billion, a 112% year-over-year increase, surpassing the LSEG consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. This growth pace solidifies its position as one of the fastest-growing public companies in the AI infrastructure sector.
However, a more concerning development was the significant deterioration in profitability. Under GAAP, the company posted a net loss of $740 million for the quarter, a 135% increase from the $315 million loss in the prior-year period. Its net loss margin reached 36%. On an adjusted basis, the net loss was $589 million with an adjusted net loss margin of 28%, both metrics showing substantial worsening compared to the same quarter last year.
While profit pressure was somewhat anticipated, the company's second-quarter guidance dealt a decisive blow to market optimism. CoreWeave provided Q2 revenue guidance in the range of $2.45 billion to $2.60 billion. The midpoint of this range, $2.53 billion, falls below the analyst consensus estimate of approximately $2.7 billion. More strikingly, its adjusted operating income guidance is only $30 million to $90 million, far short of the market's expectation of around $154 million.
Further disappointing investors, the company reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $12 billion to $13 billion. This move dashed hopes among some optimistic analysts who had anticipated an upward revision to the annual outlook.
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