CoreWeave Shares Decline 15.5% Following Lock-Up Expiration Amid Strong Revenue Growth

New York – CoreWeave, a prominent AI cloud computing provider, experienced a significant 15.5% drop in its stock price on August 14, 2025, closing at $99.50, following the expiration of its IPO lock-up period. This market reaction comes despite the company reporting robust financial results for the second quarter of 2025, including a revenue surge to $1.21 billion. The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" observed that CoreWeave is "about to find out just how much the forces of supply and demand will keep breaking in its favor," a sentiment now acutely tested by market volatility.

CoreWeave's Q2 2025 earnings report, released on August 12, 2025, highlighted a substantial increase in revenue, reaching $1.21 billion, up from $395.37 million in the same period last year. Despite this impressive top-line growth, the company reported a net loss of $290.5 million for the quarter. CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator attributed the stock's recent decline primarily to the lock-up release, stating, "the pullback is entirely caused by the lockup release that occurs at 4 p.m. today and will be done."

The company's strategic moves include a significant $11.9 billion infrastructure contract with OpenAI, further expanded by a $4 billion deal in Q2 2025, underscoring strong demand for its AI computing services. CoreWeave also announced the $9.0 billion all-stock acquisition of Core Scientific in July 2025, aiming to verticalize its data center footprint and enhance operational efficiency by eliminating over $10 billion in future lease overhead. This acquisition is expected to add 1.3 GW of gross power capacity, with an additional 1 GW+ available for expansion.

Intrator expressed confidence in the company's fundamentals, calling Q2 a "blowout quarter" and emphasizing CoreWeave's role in providing essential infrastructure for artificial intelligence. He acknowledged that some early investors might take profits post-lockup but believes the selling pressure will be "a non-event" and that the stock will revert to reflecting the company's strong performance and long-term potential in the rapidly growing AI industry. Analysts, however, have raised concerns about CoreWeave's profitability and its reliance on a few large clients, despite its efforts to diversify its customer base.