CoreWeave's stock plunge could benefit SpaceX in the AI infrastructure race

CoreWeave's stock is plunging as investors worry about its ability to manage over $50 billion in debt, raising concerns about its financial sustainability in the competitive AI infrastructure market. The company, which rents Nvidia-powered data center capacity to clients like Microsoft and OpenAI, faces expected negative free cash flow of $25 billion this year and further deficits through 2028. Its bond yields have spiked to near 15%, signaling rising credit risk. Meanwhile, SpaceX, following its merger with xAI and acquisition of Cursor, has secured AI compute contracts worth approximately $3.4 billion monthly, including deals with Anthropic and Google Cloud. With roughly $100 billion in cash from its June IPO, SpaceX holds a stronger balance sheet than CoreWeave, potentially allowing it to capture more market share if CoreWeave slows expansion.