When it comes to outperforming Nvidia (NVDA 5.93%), investors may underestimate what a major accomplishment that is. Despite its huge size, the artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker reported 85% revenue growth in the 2027 fiscal first quarter (ended April 26), a feat difficult for most smaller companies growing from much smaller bases.
Nonetheless, amid a cloud and AI build-out, a key Nvidia partner is growing faster, and this could lead to this cloud stock outperforming Nvidia over the next five years.
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CoreWeave is an outperformer
Investors should look for the AI cloud company CoreWeave (CRWV 7.18%) to outperform Nvidia. CoreWeave provides customers with a specialized cloud environment tailored for AI workloads.
And through its Nvidia partnership, it provides these services using Nvidia's latest technology and was the first cloud provider to deploy Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform. Also, the chipmaker seems more positive on this partnership after it recently increased its holding by 95%.
The unprecedented demand for such services has made CoreWeave one of the few companies growing faster than Nvidia. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue grew by 112% year over year to $2.1 billion. That is slower than the 168% increase in 2025, but it remains in the triple digits.
Admittedly, the story diverges from Nvidia when looking at the bottom-line metrics. In the first quarter, CoreWeave lost $740 million. The huge capex required to meet the current backlog, which now stands at $99.4 billion, makes profitability unlikely in the foreseeable future.
That capex spending, which amounted to $16.6 billion in the trailing 12 months, has taken its total debt to $24.8 billion. Given its book value of just $4.8 billion, the company could face significant financial trouble if the AI growth story falls short of expectations.
Still, Grand View Research estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for AI of 31% through 2033. If that estimate is close to being correct, success should not be an issue for CoreWeave.
NASDAQ: CRWV
Key Data Points
Its price-to-sales ratio (P/S) stands at 9. That is a low sales multiple when accounting for its revenue increases and considering that tech growth stocks often support a P/S in the double digits.
Lastly, as previously mentioned, CoreWeave's smaller size makes rapid growth easier. Nvidia's growing fiscal first-quarter revenue of $82 billion is impressive, but it also means it has to generate $67 billion in additional revenue by next year to maintain the current growth rate.
In comparison, to match CoreWeave's first-quarter growth, the company would only have to earn $2.3 billion in added revenue. That much smaller base means it is more likely to grow faster in the coming years.
Investing in CoreWeave
The company's huge backlog and much smaller size make it likely to outperform Nvidia over the next five years. Few companies can match Nvidia's strength in the AI market, and it would likely fare better than CoreWeave if AI growth does not meet expectations. However, all indications point to the AI boom continuing, and thanks to the unprecedented demand for AI cloud services, CoreWeave should grow rapidly for years to come.
Thus, for investors who prioritize growth and can handle CoreWeave's risk, they appear to be in a strong position to benefit from faster growth than Nvidia can offer.
