CoreWeave (CRWV) Is Charging More for AI Compute, and Customers Keep Paying

CoreWeave (CRWV) has continued to sign customers at higher prices since June 30, maintaining an annualized revenue of around $40 million per megawatt. The company is experiencing significant demand, as reflected in the revenue backlog of $104 billion and a contracted power capacity of approximately 4.2 gigawatts. Despite these positive indicators, CoreWeave is still operating at a loss, with a $49 million operating loss in the second quarter compared to a $19 million profit in the previous year.

The company's high interest expenses, with net interest expense of $640 million in the latest quarter, have further contributed to the net loss widening to $626 million from $290 million the previous year. While CoreWeave has raised over $10 billion in convertible bonds and unsecured debt during the second quarter, the company's revenue is still heavily reliant on future deliveries, and the three-to-six-month contract terms require constant renewal.

Despite the skepticism from short sellers, CoreWeave's higher prices for AI compute capacity are a notable development, but its ability to sustain these higher prices while managing its debt burden and capacity expansion remains to be seen.