CoreWeave CEO defends spending plans as stock plummets 20%

Coreweave CEO Mike Intrator backed up the company’s massive spending plans during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Friday as shares dropped post-earnings on profitability worries.

Intrator told CNBC that Coreweave has willingly chosen to invest in more infrastructure and take a margin hit to meet the “once in a generation moment” for capacity demand.

“I understand the concerns that people have as they see us allocating a massive scale of money to this market, but the truth of the matter is, our backlog is enormous,” he said.

Coreweave’s stock plummeted nearly 20% on disappointing revenue guidance. The New Jersey-based company also said it plans to spend between $30 billion and $35 billion in 2026. That surpassed a FactSet estimate of $26.9 billion and fueled profitability worries.

Concerns have mounted recently over the long-term sustainability of Coreweave’s debt load and business model.

The company relies on debt to finance purchases of advanced AI Nvidia chips, which it then rents out. Most of its revenue also hinges heavily on a small group of hyperscalers and AI companies, including Microsoft and OpenAI.

When asked whether troubles in the credit market could lead to higher costs of capital, Intrator said he expects costs to continue to decline.

“That narrative is out there, but the data does not support it in any way, shape, or form,” he said. “Our cost of capital over the last 12 months has come down 300 basis points.”

Calculated across the company’s debt load, Intrator said those 300 basis points equate to $700 million in savings and that costs have come down 600 basis points over the last two years.