CoreWeave shares slide as AI safety warnings raise demand concerns
The company’s rural power exposure and debt-heavy balance sheet are drawing scrutiny as executives warn about the risks of faster AI development.
CoreWeave shares fell nearly 7% in pre-market trading after Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for a slower pace of AI-model development and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman warned about the risks of losing control of AI and concentrating power.
Yahoo Finance reported that Bernstein analyst Madison Rezaei identified CoreWeave as the most exposed company in the firm’s coverage. Bernstein estimates that 25% of CoreWeave’s active US power and about 74% of its contracted power are located in lower-tier rural markets.
The analyst said take-or-pay contracts should protect much of CoreWeave’s backlog. However, demand for contracted power that has not yet been sold could weaken if slower AI training development reduces requirements for computing capacity.
CoreWeave’s balance sheet adds to the potential exposure. The company reported about US$27 billion in long-term debt and US$6.3 billion in cash in its latest earnings release, having used significant borrowing to fund its expansion.
The company’s second-quarter sales rose 112% year on year, while its total revenue backlog reached US$104 billion. CoreWeave also raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to between US$12.4 billion and US$13.2 billion.
The shares had gained about 25% before the reported pre-market decline. The market move coincided with the warnings from Amodei and Altman, although the supplied material does not establish that the comments caused the entire fall.
