Live: Will CoreWeave Beat Q1 Earnings Tonight?
Quick Read
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CoreWeave faces a credibility test after missing adjusted EPS in all four earnings reports and must defend margins as insider selling and litigation risks loom.
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This live blog is being updated by Thomas Richmond, a 24/7 Wall St. contributor. You’ll get expert analysis of CoreWeave’s earnings. Simply stay on this page, and new updates will appear below automatically. We expect CoreWeave’s earnings to be released shortly after 4:05 p.m. ET.
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Live Updates
CoreWeave Q1 Earnings Coverage Wrap-Up
That wraps up our initial coverage of CoreWeave’s Q1 results. Thank you for stopping by!
Check out management’s earnings call at 5 PM EST for more updates.
CoreWeave Is Becoming a Power Infrastructure Company
CoreWeave ended Q1 with more than 1 GW of active power capacity, over 3.5 GW contracted, and a goal of reaching 8 GW by 2030 as it scales AI infrastructure globally.
That helps explain why interest expense exploded to $536 million this quarter. CoreWeave is effectively financing massive energy and data center buildouts ahead of demand in an attempt to dominate the coming AI inference wave.
The company is betting that whoever controls power capacity and AI factories will control the next phase of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
CoreWeave’s Backlog is Moments Away From Crossing $100 Billion
One of the biggest takeaways from CoreWeave’s quarter was the continued buildup of customer demand behind the scenes.
The company reported a staggering $99.4 billion backlog in Q1 2026 alongside a new $21 billion commitment from Meta and an expanded multi-year partnership with Anthropic. CoreWeave also deepened relationships with Cohere, Jane Street, and Mistral during the quarter.
While investors focused on the larger-than-expected loss, the report showed hyperscalers and AI labs are still aggressively locking in long-term compute capacity. CoreWeave now has more than 3.5 GW of contracted power capacity and is targeting over 5 GW of AI factory capacity with NVIDIA by 2030.
CoreWeave Q1 Earnings Send Stock Up 3%
CoreWeave just reported earnings. Here are the key numbers:
• Revenue: $2.08B vs. $1.97B expected
• Adjusted EBITDA: $1.16B vs. $1.14B expected
• Adjusted EPS: -$1.40 vs. -$1.20 expected
• Net Loss: $740M vs. $628M expected loss
Quick read:
• CoreWeave delivered another massive revenue beat as AI infrastructure demand continues accelerating at hyperscale levels.
• Profitability remains under pressure, with losses coming in worse than expected despite strong top-line growth and EBITDA outperformance.
Shares are initially up 3% following the report.
Top 5 Questions We Hope Analysts Ask CoreWeave Tonight
With the call set for after the close, here is what to listen for:
Top 5 Analyst Questions
- Pace of converting the $66.8B backlog into recognized revenue.
- Updated 2026 CapEx plan versus $10.309B spent in 2025, and financing mix.
- Trajectory of interest expense after $388M in Q4.
- Construction timeline at the partner flagged in Q3 2025 amid the class action.
- Customer concentration: OpenAI ~$22.4B and Meta up to $14.2B.
Red Flags
- Active power stalled below 850 MW
- Fresh delay disclosures
- EBITDA margin slipping under 61%
- Hedged language on GAAP profitability
Insider Selling Ahead of CoreWeave's Q1 Earnings
Insider activity heading into tonight’s CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) report is leaning towards insider selling.
| Date | Insider | Title | Transaction | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2026 | Magnetar Financial | 10% Owner | Sale | 1,284,876 | ~$154.1M |
| May 4, 2026 | Magnetar Financial | 10% Owner | Sale | 1,150,000 | ~$147M |
| May 5, 2026 | Magnetar Financial | 10% Owner | Sale | 978,764 | ~$124.96M |
| Apr 20, 2026 | Brian Venturo | Chief Strategy Officer | Sale | 1,125,000 | ~$124M |
| May 4, 2026 | Brian Venturo | Chief Strategy Officer | Sale | 374,000 | ~$47.5M |
What the Pattern Signals
CoreWeave saw zero open-market purchases in the past few weeks. Magnetar unloaded over $500M since May 1, layering call option sales on 3M+ shares at $150-$180 strikes.
Venturo cleared roughly $230M; CEO Michael Intrator sold $35.8M on April 21. All trades ran through pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans adopted November 2025, which mutes concern.
Timing against a 154.13% one-year run reads as profit-taking.
Why CoreWeave's Guidance Outweighs the Q1 Earnings Report
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) typically does not issue numerical guidance in press releases, so the earnings call commentary will reveal guidance and likely will drive the post-earnings move.
Investors want refreshed full-year 2026 revenue framing against the prior $5.05B-$5.15B 2025 range, plus a 2026 CapEx figure to compare against $10.309B spent last year. Backlog conversion timing on the $66.8B book and any update on the adjusted EBITDA margin (61% in Q3 2025) matter most.
Bullish Signals: 2026 revenue above consensus, expanding margins, no new construction delays.
Bearish Signals: Cautious outlook, elevated CapEx without margin lift, fresh delay disclosures, or rising interest burden against $45.967B in liabilities.
CoreWeave's Bull vs Bear Case Heading Into Q1 Earnings
With shares up 79% YTD into tonight’s report, here’s a fresh look at the Bull vs Bear case:
Bull Case
- Backlog visibility: A $66.8B contracted backlog anchored by OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and Anthropic.
- Hypergrowth engine: FY2025 revenue rose 167.9% to $5.13B, the fastest cloud ever to $5B.
- Margins: Q3 adjusted EBITDA margin near 61%; operating cash flow positive.
- NVIDIA edge: First to deploy GB200/GB300 NVL72; named NVIDIA Exemplar Cloud.
Bear Case
- Widening losses: Q4 net loss of $452M versus $51M a year earlier.
- Leverage: $45.97B in total liabilities; $388M Q4 interest expense; FY free cash flow -$7.25B.
- Insider exit: Magnetar has divested $600M+ since April; CEO Michael Intrator sold $35.8M on April 21.
- Litigation overhang: A securities fraud class action alleges concealed data center construction delays.
CoreWeave Enters a High-Stakes Quarter
A Credibility Quarter
CoreWeave has missed adjusted EPS in all four reports as a public company, with average earnings-day drops of 14.54%. Analysts now sit at a $131.06 average price target with 22 buys, 10 holds, and 2 sells.
The bar is high for CoreWeave, but if the company hits guidance and defends margins, then the AI infrastructure thesis will likely appear stronger.
Investors are watching CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) ahead of its first-quarter results expected at 4:05 PM EST on Thursday, May 7. After a violent round trip in the stock, this earnings report could reset the AI cloud narrative.
Riding a Rebound Into the Earnings Report
CoreWeave shares are up 78.59% year-to-date and 55.51% over the past month, closing at $127.89 on May 5 after trading near $82 in early April.
Last quarter, CoreWeave posted Q4 revenue of $1.572 billion, beating consensus by 1.05%, while adjusted EPS of -$0.89 missed the -$0.68 estimate. The net loss widened to $452 million as interest expense hit $388 million. Since then, CoreWeave landed a multi-year Anthropic partnership, took a $2 billion strategic investment from NVIDIA, and absorbed a securities fraud class action over alleged data center construction delays. Insiders also sold heavily, with Magnetar offloading more than $300 million and CEO Michael Intrator selling 307,693 shares in late April.
Q1 2026 Consensus and Guidance
| Metric | Q1 2026 Guide | YoY vs. Q1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.9B to $2.0B | vs. $981.6M |
| Adj. Operating Income | $0 to $40M | vs. -$27.5M |
| Interest Expense | $510M to $590M | vs. $263.8M |
| CapEx | $6B to $7B | vs. $1.4B |
| FY 2026 Revenue | $12B to $13B (~140% growth) | |
Backlog Conversion Is the Whole Story
I’ll be watching three things. First, backlog conversion. CoreWeave entered the year with a $66.8 billion contracted backlog, and management said every contract for new capacity is expected to begin generating revenue by year-end 2026. Power commissioning is the constraint. The plan is more than 1.7 gigawatts of active capacity in 2026, roughly double the 850 MW exiting Q4.
Second, the interest expense curve. With CapEx guided at $30 billion to $35 billion this year, the financing math determines whether operating leverage shows up. Intrator flagged a 300 basis point decline in weighted average interest rate in 2025 and roughly $700 million in annualized interest savings. Investors will watch whether that progress holds as new debt funds the buildout.
Third, customer breadth. Management said $1 million-plus customers grew nearly 150% in 2025, with Cognition, Cursor, Mercado Libre, Midjourney, and Runway joining. The Anthropic addition would dilute the concentration risk from OpenAI and Meta. Watch the tone on the data center delay litigation, where Intrator previously attributed the disruption to a third-party data center provider.
Thomas Richmond is a financial writer and content strategist with 5+ years of experience covering stocks and financial markets. He has published over 250 articles focused on individual stock analysis, helping investors better understand business fundamentals, stock valuations, and long-term opportunities.
Thomas previously served as a Content Lead at TIKR, a stock research platform, where he helped scale the company’s blog to hundreds of articles per month and contributed to a weekly newsletter reaching more than 100,000 investors.
He specializes in breaking down complex companies into clear, actionable insights for everyday investors, with a focus on fundamentals-driven research.
His work has also been featured on platforms including Seeking Alpha and Sure Dividend.
Outside of work, Thomas enjoys weight lifting and soccer.
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