CoreWeave's Blowout Quarter Raises Questions About AI Trade's Future

CoreWeave reported third-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion, up 168% year-over-year and beating analyst estimates, though its GAAP net loss widened to $709 million amid rising interest expenses. The company's revenue backlog grew to $132.5 billion from $104 billion in the prior quarter, while interest expense jumped to $846 million and debt reached $47 billion. Management said it would avoid unsecured debt markets at current rates and raised its full-year revenue forecast to $13 billion-$13.3 billion. CoreWeave expects fourth-quarter interest costs of $1.05 billion-$1.15 billion and plans to collect $9 billion in customer prepayments. The stock rose 2% in after-hours trading, with CEO Michael Intrator noting resilient pricing for older Nvidia chips.