The drop centered on mounting scrutiny of how the AI infrastructure buildout is financed, with CoreWeave carrying roughly $50 billion in debt and lease obligations and Bloomberg reporting that its founders have sold $3.3 billion in stock since its March 2025 initial public offering at $40 a share. Yields on the company's unsecured bonds topped 15% and five year credit default swaps reached a record 1,194.5 basis points, implying a more than 60% probability of default within five years. Deutsche Bank warned that CoreWeave faces a $35 billion funding gap over the next 12 to 18 months, with about $10 billion in projected operating cash flow against $45 billion in required capital spending.
CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator told employees in an email earlier this week that the market was acting "irrationally" and that its $104 billion contracted backlog "more than supports" its debt obligations, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Thursday that CoreWeave's cost of capital is "actually decreasing" and does not need a backstop. Wall Street remained split on Friday, with Bernstein maintaining an Underperform rating and calling the business "economically challenged," while Jefferies reiterated a $150 price target and JPMorgan noted that CoreWeave's capacity is presold under long term take or pay contracts.