Last year, C3.ai (AI 4.21%) stock declined by an incredible 61% in value. The company's lackluster results weighed the stock down. Plus, news of its founder leaving the company added even more uncertainty into the mix, for what at that point was already a very risky stock.
When it rains, it pours, and C3.ai stock is drowning in bad news these days. The company recently released another round of poor quarterly results, and yet again, the stock is in sell-off mode. Is there any good reason to invest in C3.ai today, or are you better off avoiding the troubled tech company?
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The company's financial results have been abysmal
For a company with AI as its ticker symbol, you'd likely expect to see some significant growth due to AI. And while C3.ai often talks up its opportunities, the results haven't matched up to that excitement. While the company's growth rate did increase steadily due to AI, over the past couple of quarters, it has been on a sharp downward spiral.
AI Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
Last month, the company released its latest earnings numbers, and the results were atrocious, with sales declining by 46% to $53.3 million for the period ending Jan. 31. C3.ai has been in the midst of a transition in recent months, with CEO Stephen Ehikian taking over in September from Thomas Siebel, who stepped down due to health reasons. Ehikian has been bullish on the company's opportunities, referring to C3.ai as "one of the most important companies in the AI landscape and enterprise software, with a platform and applications that are unmatched."
What matters, however, are the results, and C3.ai has thus far failed to prove to investors that it can be a big winner due to AI or that its applications are truly "unmatched."
NYSE: AI
Key Data Points
C3.ai stock continues to get riskier
Times are tough for C3.ai, as the company recently announced it would be cutting 26% of its workforce. C3.ai has struggled to stay out of the red, and Ehikian admits that the "cost structure was simply too high."
The stock was risky a year ago when its growth rate wasn't all that impressive. Now, with its top line declining at a fast rate and the business scrambling to cut costs, it's clear that a lot of work needs to be done to turn the company around and prove to investors that it's worth taking a chance on it.
Shares of C3.ai are down 33% this year, and the company's market cap of $1.3 billion looks light, but that's not a strong enough reason to invest in the stock. Until C3.ai's financials improve drastically, investors are better off just leaving the AI stock on a watch list, rather than buying it.
