CoreWeave (CRWV), a NeoCloud company, saw shares jump about 21-22% after what its CEO called a breakout quarter. Revenue rose 168% to $3.66 billion for the third quarter, which ended September 30. That beat expectations of just above $3.12 billion. Backlog grew to $132.5 billion from just above $100 billion in the prior quarter.
The company posted a loss of $0.95 per share, better than the $1.16 loss the street expected. Growth was supported by several funding sources, including financing backed by customer contracts and about $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits.
Guidance drove much of the move. CoreWeave (CRWV) now expects $1.275 to $1.375 billion in adjusted operating income on $13 to $13.3 billion in revenue. Analysts had looked for much lower 2026 revenue numbers.
The debt question
The big question is how CoreWeave (CRWV) will finance all this growth. Many point to its debt and its ability to service it. The company earlier took a major hit and set off alarm across markets when its credit default swaps widened past 11%. On the earnings call, CoreWeave worked to calm financing worries by moving away from unsecured bond financing. Questions remain, but these numbers were enough to bring optimism back for now.
Sympathy move across NeoClouds
The report eased concerns about an AI spending slowdown, and other NeoClouds rose too. These names - CoreWeave (CRWV), Nebius (NBIS), IREN (IREN), and Applied Digital (APLD) - had come under scrutiny as investors questioned how sustainable the AI trade is. The selloff in these stocks had lowered the bar for earnings. On the day, CoreWeave rose about 22%, Nebius (NBIS) about 15% (it reports earnings the next morning), IREN (IREN), which already reported, about 6.5%, and Applied Digital (APLD) above 6%. It was a mostly green day across the board.
My trade and market view
The market is relieved, but I do not think we are fully in the clear. My trade on CoreWeave (CRWV), placed about half an hour before airtime while the stock kept rallying, sells premium through a bearish iron condor with next week's expiration. It sells the 47/44 put spread, far out of the money, and sells the 58/61 call spread, which is now in the money (it was not about half an hour earlier). It collects $1.50, more now, with fully defined risk; the most it can ever be worth is $3. Once the dust settles after this positive report, I think CoreWeave cools back down a little.
Money is rotating back into technology and tech proxies. CoreWeave (CRWV) seems to be giving the all clear to the market, which I view with caution. The VIX is down too much from where it was at the end of last week - now at 17, closer to 18, well off the above-20 level seen last week. I think this is a good chance to buy a little protection in the market.
