$CoreWeave, Inc.(CRWV)$ shares rose after its Q2 2026 results. Revenue grew 112%, but the key gain was faster power and GPU roll-out. Adjusted operating margin also rose from its Q1 low.$Tradr 2X Long CRWV Daily ETF(CWVX)$$Leverage Shares 2X Long CRWV Daily ETF(CRWG)$$Leverage Shares 2X Long CRWV Daily ETF(CRWG)$
Demand remains strong and near-term supply is sold out. Yet debt, interest and future depreciation keep rising.
1. Sales grew fast, with more gains due in H2
Q2 revenue was $2.58 billion, up 112% year on year and 24% from Q1. The result was close to market views, so the revenue beat was small.
Revenue backlog reached $104 billion, up 246%. More than half of it is tied to live client work. The backlog also excludes over $25 billion of new client deals signed in early Q3.
This backlog is wider than RPO. It includes RPO plus other sums CoreWeave expects to book from firm client deals, once service and supply terms are met. CoreWeave Q2 results
Power, sites and chips still cap sales. CoreWeave added close to 500MW of active power in Q2, taking the total to 1.5GW. About 300MW went live in June, so most of the sales gain should show up in Q3 and Q4.
2. Build speed rose, with more Capex ahead
The near-500MW Q2 power gain was a clear step-up from prior quarters. CoreWeave raised its year-end active power goal from over 1.7GW to over 1.85GW.
Q2 Capex reached $9.4 billion, above the top end of its guide. Work in progress rose from $9.6 billion to $11.9 billion. Much of this gear has yet to go live and should add sales in Q3. CoreWeave earnings call
The $9.4 billion Capex figure differs from the $6.42 billion cash spent on fixed assets. Q2 cash flow from ops was $679 million. On a cash basis, free cash flow was about negative $5.74 billion.
CoreWeave still needs a lot of debt and new funds to pay for growth.
3. Margins rose, but interest still hurt net profit
Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $1.51 billion, with a 59% margin. Adjusted operating profit rose from $21 million in Q1 to $128 million. Its margin rose from about 1% to 5%.
Scale helped cut fixed costs as a share of sales. Storage, CPU, network and software also added more profit. These higher-margin lines now have over $400 million in ARR.
Booked ARR from managed inference rose from $1 million to more than $100 million. CoreWeave aims to end 2026 with at least $250 million.
In July, the firm raised prices by about 25% across its SKUs. Q2 did not gain from this move. New Q2 deals are set to earn contribution margins five to ten points above those signed in recent quarters.
GAAP profit remains weak. Q2 net loss was $626 million. Depreciation and amortisation reached $1.39 billion, while net interest cost rose to $640 million.
The $11.9 billion of work in progress will add more depreciation once the assets go live.
4. The guide is strong, but builds must stay on track
CoreWeave expects Q3 revenue of $3.45 billion to $3.60 billion. The mid-point implies 37% growth from Q2.
Q3 adjusted operating profit should reach $200 million to $260 million, equal to a margin of about 5.7% to 7.2%.
The firm raised its 2026 revenue guide to $12.4 billion to $13.2 billion. It also raised its adjusted operating profit guide to $960 million to $1.15 billion.
Full-year Capex is now set at $35 billion to $39 billion. Exit annual run-rate revenue should reach $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion. CoreWeave 2026 outlook
The full-year guide points to Q4 revenue of about $4.1 billion to $5.1 billion. This is a high goal, though new power, work in progress and signed deals give it some support.
The firm expects adjusted operating margin to reach the low teens in Q4.
5. Debt is still the main risk
CoreWeave ended Q2 with about $35.1 billion of debt and only $5.02 billion of equity.
Cash, held cash and liquid assets totalled about $6.9 billion. This is small next to its next Capex plan. CoreWeave SEC filing
Q3 interest cost is set to rise to $860 million to $940 million, from $640 million in Q2. The rate on its debt has gone down, but total debt has grown much faster.
This model can work while demand, funds and build speed stay firm. Any delay in client use, new debt or site work could put fast strain on cash flow.
Takeaway
CoreWeave showed better execution in Q2. Power came online at a much faster pace, margins rose and the full-year guide moved up.
Managed inference, software and network tools should help the sales mix. The July price hike may also lift H2 margins.
The risk is still clear. CoreWeave is using large sums of debt to fund growth. Depreciation and interest will weigh on net profit for some time.
As of 13 August, its market cap was about $56.8 billion. Based on the mid-point of its 2026 sales guide, the stock trades at about 4.4 times sales. That is not high for a firm growing at this rate, though its debt load cuts the value of that point.
In the near term, the stock will hinge on build speed and margin gains. Over the next few quarters, key points are the growth of inference, demand for old GPUs and the firm’s need for fresh funds.
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