Neocloud Stocks Fall as Microsoft's Capex Miss Raises AI Spending Concerns

Shares of neocloud companies CoreWeave, Nebius, and IREN fell in pre-market trading Thursday after Microsoft's capital expenditure missed expectations, reigniting concerns about AI infrastructure expansion and data center capacity delivery. CoreWeave and Nebius dropped about 7%, while IREN lost over 5%. Microsoft reported $45.2 billion in capital expenditures and finance leases for the quarter, up about 30% year-over-year but below the analyst consensus of $50.7 billion. CFO Amy Hood attributed the shortfall to delays in third-party capacity deliveries, though she expects spending to exceed $50 billion in Q2 and reach approximately $170 billion for the calendar year. The selloff intensified scrutiny on neocloud debt levels, with CoreWeave's bonds trading at distressed levels and the company holding roughly $50 billion in debt. Analysts at Oppenheimer defended CoreWeave's balance sheet, estimating $83 billion in recoverable assets, while some analysts upgraded Nebius, citing its lower net debt of about $2.15 billion compared to CoreWeave's $30 billion.