Cerebras Systems Inc. reported a first-quarter earnings loss of 22 cents per share, missing Wall Street's expectation of a 16 cent loss. Revenue reached $193 million, marking a 92% year-over-year increase and exceeding analyst forecasts of $181 million. Despite narrowing its net loss to $14 million from $23.9 million a year earlier, investors reacted negatively due to a lower gross margin forecast, which is projected to decrease to 36-38% from 46.5%.
Cerebras, which went public last month with an IPO priced at $185 per share, opened at $350 but has since stuttered, falling to around $202 after a 10% after-hours decline. CEO Andrew Feldman described the start of the fiscal year as “outstanding” and emphasized the company’s leading edge with its wafer-scale technology aimed at enhancing AI performance.
For the second quarter, Cerebras expects revenue of $194 million, up 88% from last year and ahead of the consensus of $178 million. The full-year forecast indicates core revenue between $855.5 million and $865 million, projecting a 69% increase at the midpoint.
Cerebras has secured key partnerships, including a significant contract with Amazon Web Services and a $20 billion agreement with OpenAI. The latter could lead to increased revenue but is shadowed by the impact of share warrants granted last year, expected to grow as the contract progresses.