CoreWeave vs Nebius: Both Companies Reported Strong Earnings, But Here’s the Stock You Should Buy
Jabran KundiSun, August 16, 2026 at 4:15 PM GMT+3 5 min read
Both AI cloud firms just reported, and both gave investors plenty to cheer.
CoreWeave's (CRWV) stock rose 19.28% on the back of a strong quarter. This wasn't going to be easy to top. A day later, though, Nebius (NBIS) reported an even more extraordinary performance, and the stock jumped 34.14%. Great showings all around. But if you can only own one, Nebius is the better pick. This quarter only makes that case more compelling.
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Nebius led with revenue of $582.3 million, skyrocketing 454% from a year ago and well ahead of estimates. The bigger story is profitability. Adjusted EBITDA went from a $21 million loss for the same period last year to a $236.2 million profit this time. Its annualized revenue run-rate reached $3 billion, and operating cash flow came in at $2.3 billion, leaving the company with $8 billion in cash.
CoreWeave grew fast too. Revenue more than doubled to $2.58 billion, and its backlog climbed to over $104 billion. But its net loss widened from $290 million a year earlier to $626 million.
Both are Borrowing, But the Burden Isn't the Same
Neither company is funding this buildout from cash alone. The difference is the scale of the debt. CoreWeave ended the quarter with roughly $35.6 billion in total debt against $5.5 billion in cash. The significant debt meant the company had to pay around $640 million in net interest for the quarter, which was essentially the entire reason for its $626 million loss.
Nebius carries far less. Its total debt sits near $8.5 billion against $8 billion in cash, and its quarterly interest expense was around $119 million. A large chunk of its spending is also covered by customer prepayments rather than fresh borrowing. That's a far lighter load.
So the picture holds. Nebius is growing faster, turning profitable, and generating cash. CoreWeave has posted strong growth as well but is also scaling hard on expensive debt. Nebius remains the one to own.
Cheaper on Paper, Weaker Underneath
Since neither company is profitable yet, the market prices both on sales rather than earnings. Nebius trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 14.64 times, nearly four times CoreWeave's 3.90 times. So on sales, CoreWeave is the cheaper stock to own. But the stock is cheap for a reason. Nebius is already generating positive adjusted EBITDA and cash flow.
On the other hand, CoreWeave is still bleeding once its interest is taken into account. Both should reach sustained profitability later this decade, but Nebius is expected to get there a lot quicker. The balance sheet remains the biggest difference.
Nebius holds $8 billion in cash against about $8.5 billion in debt, leaving it with marginal net debt for a company worth more than $50 billion. CoreWeave has just $5.5 billion in cash against $35.6 billion in debt, leaving it in a worrying net debt position of over $30 billion. So the higher multiple on Nebius isn't the market overpaying. It's paying up for faster growth and a healthier foundation. This is exactly why Nebius' stock is up 261% in the past year, whereas CoreWeave is down 9.74%.
GPU-as-a-Service Stock #1: CoreWeave
CoreWeave operates as a cloud infrastructure technology company. It offers the CoreWeave Cloud Platform that comprises proprietary software and cloud services. It also offers data and storage solutions, such as Local Object Transport Accelerator, that help businesses develop, train, and run AI applications efficiently. The company supports machine learning, visual effects rendering, and other high-performance computing tasks. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in Livingston, New Jersey.
CRWV underperformed the broader cloud infrastructure market over the last 12 months. CoreWeave fell 9.74% while the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (FSKY.L.EB) generated gains of 31.8% during the same period. The performance gap indicates that the decline was driven by company-specific concerns rather than by weakness across the broader sector.
On Aug. 13, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow raised CoreWeave's price target from $90 to $105 while reiterating a "Hold" rating. Prior to the earnings report, Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick also raised the price target from $135 to $150 and kept a "Buy" rating. The firm remains bullish on the company's outlook and believes the recent decline in the stock price offers an attractive buying opportunity for long-term investors. However, it noted that rising costs associated with expansion and ongoing financing requirements could continue to pressure margins in the near term. Based on 36 Wall Street analysts covering the stock, CRWV holds a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a mean price target of $136.
GPU-as-a-Service Stock #2: Nebius Group
Nebius Group NV is a technology company that provides infrastructure and services to AI builders worldwide. It offers Nebius AI, an AI-centric cloud platform that provides full-stack infrastructure, including large-scale GPU clusters, cloud services, and developer tools. The company also provides TripleTen, an edtech platform for re-skilling individuals for careers in technology and Avride, which develops autonomous driving technology. The company was formerly known as Yandex N.V. and changed its name to Nebius Group N.V. in August 2024. The company is based in Schiphol, the Netherlands and was founded in 1989.
Unlike CoreWeave, the stock has climbed 261% over the past year, driven by robust AI compute demand, major contract wins, and accelerating revenue growth. In comparison, the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF delivered returns of 31.8% during the same period. NBIS has also outperformed the Cloud Computing ETF on a year-to-date basis, surging 204.7%.
On Aug. 13, following the earnings report, Bank of America Securities analyst Tal Liani reiterated a "Buy" rating with a price target of $310. On the same day, Northland Securities analyst Nehal Chokshi also reiterated a "Buy" rating, while considerably increasing the price target from $248 to $410. NBIS stock holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating from 17 Wall Street analysts covering the stock.
On the date of publication, Jabran Kundi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
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