CoreWeave Shares Plunge 3.5% as OpenAI Misses Targets, Plans $30–35B Capex
CoreWeave shares tumbled 3.5% in premarket trading after OpenAI reported missing its 1 billion weekly active user and annual revenue targets, raising concerns over future compute spending. The company is planning to more than double capital expenditures to $30–35 billion in 2026, financing expansion through substantial debt.
1. Premarket Stock Reaction
CoreWeave shares fell 3.5% in premarket trading after reports that OpenAI missed its 1 billion weekly active user goal for ChatGPT and failed to meet its annual revenue target. The drop reflects investor concern that slower-than-expected AI adoption at OpenAI could reduce demand for CoreWeave’s compute services.
2. OpenAI Spending Concerns
OpenAI finance executives have privately warned that funding future computing contracts may prove difficult without stronger revenue growth, prompting board scrutiny of data center commitments. This scrutiny threatens to constrain OpenAI’s aggressive compute purchases, on which CoreWeave relies for a significant portion of its capacity utilization.
3. Capex Guidance and Debt Financing
CoreWeave has guided for $30–35 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, more than double its 2025 spending, to build out data center capacity. The expansion will be largely financed through debt, raising questions about leverage and the company’s ability to generate returns on its elevated investment.