The wave of innovation from artificial intelligence has quickly created some big winners and left many others on the sidelines in the stock market. CoreWeave (CRWV 1.95%) may be one of those unique companies that has been on both the winning and losing sides.
Its share price skyrocketed after it went public early last year, and it's up 140% since its IPO. But it has also hit a few rough patches lately as some investors have become skeptical of AI stocks, leaving CoreWeave's shares essentially flat over the past six months.
The big question for investors is whether CoreWeave stock is a buy right now. Let's take a look.
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Why CoreWeave may be worth owning
CoreWeave builds data centers and rents them to companies, primarily for artificial intelligence processing. This allows tech companies to use high-tech servers running on powerful Nvidia AI processors, without having to invest in the infrastructure themselves.
Business has been very good, with CoreWeave's sales rising 133% in third-quarter 2025 to $1.3 billion. CoreWeave wasn't profitable in Q3, but it did significantly narrow its loss from $1.82 per share in the year-ago quarter to a loss of just $0.22 per share.
Another reason some investors are optimistic about CoreWeave is that Nvidia is a major investor. The tech giant has made a handful of investments in CoreWeave, with the most recent being a $2 billion investment just last month. That money will go a long way to helping CoreWeave build out new infrastructure, including 5 gigawatts of AI factories by 2030.
A few risks for shareholders to consider
All of the above is the good news. But CoreWeave isn't without some significant risks. The first of these is that its business is very capital-intensive. CoreWeave's operating expenses surged 181% in Q3 to $1.3 billion.
This could be a problem for CoreWeave. It has to continually spend lots of money to meet rising AI demand, and it hasn't been able to turn all that data center spending into consistent profits. The company has amassed nearly $19 billion in debt as it funded its expansion, and it's unclear how quickly it'll be able to chip away at this sum.
NASDAQ: CRWV
Key Data Points
What's also concerning is that at the end of 2024, a whopping 77% of the company's sales came from just two customers. We may get more insight about customer diversification when CoreWeave releases its 2025 annual report later this month, but it's certainly something potential investors should keep an eye on.
Verdict: Proceed with caution
I think holding a very small position in CoreWeave could make sense, but only if shareholders are aware of the risks. Any slowdown in AI spending, rising debt and expenses, or failure to diversify customers could send CoreWeave's stock tumbling.
