AI infrastructure stocks rallied on Wednesday after better-than-expected results from CoreWeave reinforced expectations that demand for computing power is continuing to outpace available supply. 

CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV)) shares jumped 26%, while fellow AI cloud provider Nebius Group (NASDAQ:NBIS)) gained 18%. Semiconductor stocks also moved higher, with Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) up 14%, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, XETRA:AMD) rising 8% and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO, XETRA:1YD) adding 7%. 

The gains followed a strong third-quarter performance from CoreWeave, which reported revenue of US$3.66 billion, up 168% year over year and ahead of analyst expectations. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to between US$13 billion and US$13.3 billion, from a previous range of US$12.4 billion to US$13.2 billion. 

Its remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted future revenue, climbed 138% year over year to US$132.5 billion, up from US$104 billion at the end of June. 

Management said qualified demand was running at roughly 10 times the company’s available capacity through the end of 2027, underscoring the scale of the opportunity for providers of AI computing infrastructure. 

Bank of America said the results demonstrated improving capacity economics, with revenue growth and operating margins both exceeding expectations. Active power capacity increased by 200 megawatts in the quarter to 1.7 gigawatts, while more than half of CoreWeave’s contracted backlog is expected to begin generating revenue by year-end. 

The broker also highlighted rising pricing power. CoreWeave is now signing longer-term contracts of four to five years at between US$20 million and US$25 million per megawatt, compared with around US$14 million earlier this year. Shorter-term contracts are fetching approximately US$40 million per megawatt. 

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and US$140 price target, arguing that improving returns on AI inference deployments should support demand and further margin expansion. 

Wedbush also pointed to pricing as a particularly encouraging feature of the results. CoreWeave disclosed a roughly 25% price increase in July, followed by another 10% increase later in the quarter, with further gains this quarter. Pricing for older Nvidia Ampere and Hopper graphics processing unit offerings rose between 30% and 50% in the third quarter. 

The broker said the developments were consistent with conversations with smaller AI cloud providers, which suggested that payback periods on Nvidia server deployments were shortening as demand increased. 

However, the strong results have not entirely removed concerns about the cost of expansion. 

CoreWeave expects capital expenditure of between US$37 billion and US$39 billion this year and had almost US$47 billion of debt at the end of September. 

Zaheer Anwari, founder of The Revacy Fund, said the results provided investors with evidence that demand for AI computing remains strong, particularly after CoreWeave shares had fallen more than 40% over the preceding month. 

He cautioned, however, that securing sufficient financing to fund expansion profitably remains a separate challenge. 

Jefferies described CoreWeave’s execution as strong, highlighting improved revenue guidance, a larger backlog and financing options including customer prepayments and contract-backed debt facilities. It maintained a Buy rating but lowered its price target to US$90 from US$150, citing a lower valuation multiple. 

The broader market reaction suggests investors are once again willing to back the AI infrastructure trade, with CoreWeave’s results offering fresh evidence that demand for computing capacity remains strong even as questions about financing and the pace of investment persist.