Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) experienced a significant downturn on Tuesday, plummeting 13% following CEO Mike Intrator’s discussion of data center delays impacting the company’s full-year projections released in its latest earnings report. The market reacted sharply as investors weighed the implications of these logistical challenges on CoreWeave’s ambitious growth trajectory.
“Quite frankly, every single part of this quarter went exactly as we planned, except for one delay at a singular data center,” Intrator told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday, attempting to reassure investors that the setback was isolated.
Further complicating the narrative, CNBC’s Jim Cramer pressed Intrator on the scope of the delays, suggesting they extended beyond a single facility and were potentially linked to multiple locations operated by Core Scientific (CORZ), a company CoreWeave previously attempted to acquire. “Some people might think it’s one complex, but when I go over the numbers, we’re talking about multiple places,” Cramer stated, highlighting potential issues in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina.
While Intrator acknowledged a long-standing working relationship aimed at bringing infrastructure online, he stopped short of directly confirming Core Scientific as the specific third-party provider experiencing the delays. This ambiguity further fueled market uncertainty. The attempted acquisition of Core Scientific for $9 billion earlier in the year ultimately failed after shareholders rejected the proposal. Core Scientific shares also reflected the day’s negative sentiment, sinking 7% on Tuesday.
During Monday’s quarterly earnings call, JPMorgan Securities analyst Mark Murphy directly inquired about a potential connection between the delays and Core Scientific, but Intrator declined to provide a name. Conflicting signals emerged during the call, with Intrator at one point suggesting the impact was limited to only one data center, despite the broader concerns raised by analysts and media.
“There was a problem at one data center that’s impacting us, but there are 41 data centers in our portfolio,” Intrator stated, attempting to put the issue into perspective.
Adding another layer to the complexity, CoreWeave CFO Nitin Agrawal referred to the disruptions as stemming from “a single provider, data center provider partner” during the same earnings call.
When pressed for clarification on the total number of affected sites, CoreWeave declined to provide a specific figure, referring back to Intrator’s public statements. This lack of transparency may have exacerbated investor concerns regarding the extent of the disruptions.
CoreWeave, a key infrastructure provider for the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector, unveiled its third-quarter results on Monday. The report showcased significant revenue growth, reaching $1.36 billion, a 134% increase compared to $583.9 million in the previous year. However, the company revised its 2025 revenue forecast downwards, projecting a range of $5.05 billion to $5.15 billion, falling short of the average analyst estimate of $5.29 billion. This adjustment, directly attributed to the data center delays, underscores the delicate balance between high growth expectations and the operational challenges of scaling infrastructure in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Intrator assured CNBC that CoreWeave is actively addressing the situation, deploying teams of employees to work alongside contractors and, potentially, Core Scientific, “every single day” to expedite the resolution process. He stated, “It became apparent to us in Q3 that there were delays at the facility. CoreWeave responded by deploying our own boots on the ground to ensure that everything was being done in order to move those facilities along as quickly as possible.”
On Monday’s analyst call, Intrator emphasized that the delays would not impact CoreWeave’s existing backlog or prevent it from realizing the full value of its contracts. The company’s ability to maintain these commitments remains to be seen, hinging on its success in overcoming the current infrastructure bottlenecks.
Core Scientific did not immediately respond to requests for comment, leaving industry observers to speculate on the full extent of its involvement and the potential impact on its own operational outlook.
CoreWeave has recently engaged in a series of high-profile deals, reflecting the intense demand for computing infrastructure from both established tech giants and emerging AI startups. These include a $14.2 billion agreement with Meta for AI cloud infrastructure and an expanded contract with OpenAI valued at $22.4 billion. The company’s ability to fulfill these commitments will be closely watched, as any further delays could jeopardize its position in the increasingly competitive AI infrastructure market. The current data center delays represent a critical test of CoreWeave’s operational resilience and its ability to navigate the complexities of rapid growth in a capital-intensive industry.
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