CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) shares are trading lower Wednesday amid renewed investor attention on OpenAI’s revenue run rate.
- CoreWeave stock is feeling bearish pressure. Why is CRWV stock dropping?
OpenAI’s $50B Run Rate Is $18B to $20B Below the Figure Investors Had Heard
On Oct. 8, the Financial Times reported, and CNBC confirmed, that OpenAI told investors it hit roughly $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September. That is lower than the $68 billion figure widely reported late last month. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC the $68 billion included gross revenue from OpenAI’s partners, which allows a more direct comparison with Anthropic. Much of the gap appears to reflect how revenue is counted and not a drop in sales. OpenAI also told investors its run rate grew 77% in the third quarter, with enterprise up 107%. CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the company remains “very well capitalized.” CoreWeave shares fell nearly 8% that day, while Nvidia fell 3% and Oracle nearly 6%.
Why OpenAI’s Revenue Matters for CoreWeave
OpenAI is one of CoreWeave’s largest customers. It has signed three contracts worth up to about $22.4 billion in total: up to $11.9 billion through October 2030, up to $4 billion through April 2029, and up to about $6.5 billion through May 2031. OpenAI also holds CoreWeave stock issued under its master services agreement. CoreWeave has financed its buildout with debt facilities secured by its data center assets, including a $2.6 billion facility designed to speed delivery of services for OpenAI. That makes OpenAI’s ability to keep paying for compute central to CoreWeave’s revenue and its ability to service its debt. A run rate that is growing but lower than expected raises questions about how comfortably OpenAI can fund its large compute commitments, even though it closed a $122 billion funding round in March.
The Stock Is Down 18% in a Month as Strong Growth Meets Heavy Funding Needs
CoreWeave shares are down about 18% over the past month and about 46% below their 52-week high of $153.20, though they remain up for the year, according to Yahoo Finance. The business itself has been growing quickly. Second-quarter revenue rose 112% to $2.575 billion, ahead of estimates. Operating cash flow turned positive at $679 million, and the company has a revenue backlog of about $104 billion. The other side of the story is funding. In September, CoreWeave announced plans to raise $3.0 billion through convertible senior notes and an at-the-market program of up to 35 million shares. Given how much capital the buildout requires, any doubt about a major customer’s ability to pay draws extra scrutiny.
CoreWeave Shares Dip
CRWV Price Action: At the time of publication, CoreWeave shares are trading 6.31% lower at $72.90, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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