C3.ai Inc - Class A
Q2 2026 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: +0.76%.
Did AI Beat Earnings? Q2 2026 Results
C3.ai delivered a cleaner-than-expected <a href="https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/03/live-c3-ai-ai-q2-earnings-coverage/">fiscal second quarter</a> in its ongoing business model transition, posting a non-GAAP loss of $0.25 per share against a consensus estimate of $0.33, a 24.77% beat, while revenue of $75.15 million edged past the $74.87 million estimate by 0.37%, though it still fell 20.3% year-over-year as the company continues to absorb the revenue drag of shifting away from professional services. The sharpest drop came from prioritized engineering services, which declined from $9.66 million to $3.94 million, compressing GAAP gross margin to 40% from 61% a year ago. The quarter's most compelling story, however, was federal momentum: bookings across federal, defense, and aerospace grew 89% year-over-year and accounted for 45% of total bookings, with new agreements spanning HHS, the U.S. Army, and the Intelligence Community. Looking ahead, C3 AI guided Q3 revenue of $72.00 million to $80.00 million and full-year revenue of $289.50 million to $309.50 million, as new CEO Stephen Ehikian mapped a path toward growth and eventual non-GAAP profitability.
- Federal bookings grew 89% year-over-year, representing 45% of total bookings
- Total bookings increased 49% quarter-over-quarter
- 89% of total bookings driven through partner ecosystem
- 17 agreements greater than $1 million and six greater than $5 million
- 46 agreements closed in Q2 including new and expanded deals with AMD, GSK, Air Products, U.S. Steel, and Duke Energy
“We delivered a solid quarter driven by excellent performance in our Federal business and increased high-value deal activity across our customer base. The Federal market continues to be a large growth vector for us.”
C3.ai CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
For Q3 FY2026, C3 AI guided total revenue of $72.0 million to $80.0 million and non-GAAP loss from operations of $44.0 million to $52.0 million. For full-year FY2026, the company guided total revenue of $289.5 million to $309.5 million and non-GAAP loss from operations of $180.5 million to $210.5 million. The CEO outlined a detailed execution plan targeting return to growth and a pathway to cash generation and non-GAAP profitability, with concentration on the fastest-growing sectors including the Federal market.
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Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.