CoreWeave and Nebius Compete in AI Cloud Infrastructure Growth

In the competitive landscape of AI cloud infrastructure, CoreWeave and Nebius have reported impressive revenue growth for the second quarter of 2026. CoreWeave posted approximately $2.58 billion in revenue, marking a 112% increase from the same period last year. In contrast, Nebius reported revenues between $575 million and $582 million, reflecting over 450% year-over-year growth.

CoreWeave's substantial revenue advantage is evident, as it earns roughly four and a half times more than Nebius each quarter. The company boasts a contracted backlog of $104 billion, with an additional $25 billion in contracts secured in early Q3, including a notable deal with Meta valued at up to $21 billion. Nebius, on the other hand, has secured agreements with Microsoft worth between $17.4 billion and $19.4 billion, with its AI cloud segment targeting an annualized revenue run-rate of $3 billion.

On the hardware front, CoreWeave operates about 1.5 GW of active power capacity with 3.7 GW contracted, while Nebius has contracted over 3.5 GW and plans to bring between 800 MW and 1 GW of active capacity online by the end of 2026. Both companies have received $2 billion investments from Nvidia, which serves as a strategic backer and chip supplier.

However, financial concerns loom over both firms. CoreWeave carries an estimated $33 billion to $35 billion in debt, with plans for $30 billion to $35 billion in capital expenditures for 2026. In contrast, Nebius ended 2025 with significant cash reserves and anticipates over $9 billion in customer prepayments to fund its expansion.

Wall Street analysts have expressed caution, with Rothschild Redburn downgrading both companies to Sell due to concerns about valuation, debt sustainability, and unit economics. Despite CoreWeave's larger revenue and backlog, its high debt levels present risks if demand slows.