CoreWeave Inc. shares crashed 15% on Wednesday, closing at $65.78 on the NYSE. It was the steepest single-day drop since February, wiping out the 8.7% gain the stock had posted earlier this year. The sell-off mirrored a sharp decline in the company's bond prices, which tumbled to levels typically associated with credit distress.
CEO Mike Intrator reacted with defiance, not capitulation. In an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News, he labeled the market's panic “irrational.” “When you are building a new type of technology company, there will be periods of time when the market misunderstands,” Intrator wrote to staff. He insisted that CoreWeave’s deal backlog is large enough to more than support its current debt obligations.
The panic isn't isolated to CoreWeave; it's a sector-wide tremor. Investors are increasingly wary of the AI infrastructure bubble, specifically the tens of billions in debt being raised to fund data center buildouts. Intrator pointed the finger at rivals. “Factors like the weakness and delays surrounding the attempted IPOs and debt financings” of competitors are “bleeding into the narrative around CoreWeave,” he claimed.
The competitive landscape is indeed shaky. Firmus Grid Ltd., an Nvidia-backed operator, pulled a deal last week to raise up to $5.5 billion after investors balked at a $30 billion valuation. In Singapore, AirTrunk is delaying a REIT IPO until next year due to high interest rates. Nscale filed for a New York IPO last month, while Lambda may follow suit next year. Intrator dismissed these peers, saying they lack CoreWeave’s “execution, revenue, scale, or software solutions.”
The stock had soared more than 60% since its public debut last year, valuing the firm at nearly $37 billion. But the narrative is shifting from pure hype to solvency checks. Intrator signaled he will address the turmoil directly during the next earnings call. “I, for one, am looking forward to having the opportunity to put the facts in front of the market,” he said. A company spokeswoman confirmed the authenticity of the email.