Why did CoreWeave, a red-hot AI cloud company, open lower than expected on its first day? What went wrong? Or… did anything really go wrong?
Let’s break it down. No fluff. No hype.
CoreWeave Didn’t Get the Price It Wanted
The company wanted to sell its IPO shares between $47 and $55.
It ended up pricing them at $40.
That’s not nothing. That’s a $7 to $15 drop per share, before the market even got involved.
They raised $1.5 billion from the IPO. Still a lot, sure—but the deal was downsized. Instead of selling 49 million shares like they planned, they sold 37.5 million.
Why the pullback? Couple things. Tech stocks have been shaky. Tariff worries are bubbling up again. And then there’s Trump—his tariff moves added even more uncertainty.
So yeah, not the best time to go public. But they did it anyway.
CRWV Opened Down… but Didn’t Crash
March 28, 2025. First day on the market.
Shares opened at $39—down nearly 3% from the $40 IPO price. Some early trades dropped it as low as 5.8% under the IPO level.
But the stock didn’t nosedive. It found its footing later in the day.
By the close, some said it landed right back at $40. Others noted it hovered around $39.06 mid-afternoon. At one point, it even got as high as $43.
So was it a flop?
Not really. But not a pop either. It was… cautious. Kind of like the whole market right now.
A Giant IPO, Even If the Debut Was Flat
Let’s not miss this part:
CoreWeave just pulled off the biggest tech IPO in the U.S. since 2021.
That’s no small deal. Even with the downsized offering, it still hit a valuation around $23 billion. The company’s revenue also exploded—from nearly nothing to $1.92 billion in 2024, up more than 700%.
The growth is wild.
But there’s a catch (or several).
Heavy Losses and a Mountain of Debt
CoreWeave is not profitable. In 2024, it lost $863.4 million.
And debt? It’s not light. The company has nearly $7.5 billion in debt due by the end of 2026.
That’s fast approaching.
And that’s not all.
CoreWeave relies heavily on a few customers. Microsoft alone accounted for 62% of revenue last year. Two clients total made up 77%.
That kind of concentration makes people nervous. If even one of those relationships changes, it could throw the whole thing off balance.
Big Bets on AI… But Risk is Real
Microsoft and OpenAI recently signed a huge deal with CoreWeave. Up to $11.9 billion, including a $350 million stock buy.
That’s confidence.
But others aren’t so sure. The stock’s performance feels like a temperature check for investor appetite. Not just for CoreWeave, but for AI infrastructure as a whole.
Is this the new wave? Or are people bracing for more pain in the sector?
With inflation still lurking, tech stock selloffs gaining steam, and tariffs back in the conversation, investors are split.
Bottom Line: Watch CRWV Closely
This isn’t a simple story. CoreWeave is growing like crazy, but bleeding money. It’s sitting on serious debt but has massive clients.
The IPO didn’t pop, but it also didn’t tank.
That tells you something.
So now the real question starts: will CoreWeave fly… or fall under the weight of its own expectations?
Watch this one. Carefully.
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