CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) has buyers lining up for AI computing capacity it hasn’t even built yet. But CEO Michael Intrator is deliberately keeping them waiting.
“We could sell all of the capacity that we have to current buyers that are in the queue. We are choosing not to,” Intrator said during Tuesday’s third-quarter earnings call.
And the waiting list is enormous. CoreWeave says qualified demand is 10 times its available capacity through 2027, a year that’s already largely sold out. Even the 2028 capacity it has offered has found buyers, yet much of that year’s pipeline remains off the market.
Why CoreWeave Is Making Buyers Wait
The reason is simple: prices keep going up.
CoreWeave raised prices across its computing products by approximately 25% in July, followed by another 10% increase later in the quarter. Management said prices continued climbing in the fourth quarter.
Intrator said CoreWeave is selling shorter-term capacity at more than $40 million in annualized revenue per megawatt, compared with $20 million to $25 million for new four- or five-year agreements.
Those contracts carry different risks, but illustrate the value of flexibility when computing power is scarce.
“We’re choosing to be patient. We’re choosing to bring the infrastructure to market when it is further along,” Intrator explained.
The $47 Billion Catch
But what happens if the AI boom slows before those data centers are ready?
Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges questioned whether a wave of new infrastructure could eventually create oversupply.
Intrator countered that computing demand is growing faster than supply. He also argued that slower data-center construction could make existing GPUs scarcer, keeping rental prices higher for longer.
Still, CoreWeave has $46.9 billion in debt and recorded $846 million in net interest expense during the third quarter. Long-term customer contracts help secure financing, making the decision to delay future deals particularly consequential.
Traders on Polymarket see roughly a 23% chance of a qualifying AI industry downturn by June 30, 2027. One condition involves Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) H100 rental prices falling to $1 or less for five consecutive days. The market requires at least three specified conditions within a 90-day window to resolve Yes.
CoreWeave shares rose more than 13% in Wednesday’s premarket trading after quarterly revenue jumped 168% to $3.66 billion and management raised its full-year outlook.
Intrator is betting his buyers will still be waiting when his data centers are ready, and that they’ll be willing to pay more.
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