Cerebras raises 2026 forecast to $960 million after 70% growth in core revenue
Key Facts
Cerebras reported core revenue of $230.9 million in the third quarter on November 12, 2026, up 70% year over year and above analysts’ average estimate of $214.70 million, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. GAAP revenue reached a record $210.8 million, up 55% from the year-earlier period. The results led the company to raise its 2026 core revenue forecast range to $940–960 million from $880–890 million previously. Its shares also rose about 18% in extended trading after the announcement. The figures put the expansion of computing services at the center of the company’s growth, while its quarterly loss and widening operational needs remain part of the financial picture.
Growth in cloud and other services outpaced overall revenue growth: the category generated $141.9 million on a GAAP basis, up 265% year over year. On the company’s core basis, cloud and other services revenue was $144.9 million, up 272% from the third quarter of the previous year. The figures reflect Cerebras’ expansion into selling computing services alongside its other businesses, though the data reported here do not break out hardware revenue. Chief Financial Officer Bob Komin said the company exceeded its guidance “in every dimension for the third consecutive quarter.” He added that its high-speed AI inference sales pipeline grew “more than 10x during the quarter.” The company also said it had won new customers among hyperscalers, emerging cloud providers and large enterprises.
Revenue growth came alongside a widening net loss per share, to 67 cents from 41 cents in the third quarter of 2025, according to Reuters. Core gross margin was 41% in the third quarter, and the company said it improved from the previous quarter and the same period last year. These indicators provide another view of the company’s performance as it expands its services and raises its annual forecast. At quarter-end, Cerebras said cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled $7.8 billion, alongside borrowing capacity of $850 million. These figures include the liquidity and borrowing sources disclosed by the company, while remaining performance obligations indicate the contractual value to be fulfilled in the future.
Remaining performance obligations stood at $26.1 billion on September 30, 2026, the company said. Reuters said those obligations are supported by a multiyear $20 billion agreement to provide computing capacity to OpenAI. Remaining performance obligations measure amounts tied to future contracts, while the company also reported contracted data-center capacity of 700 megawatts for delivery by the end of 2027. These contracts provide context for revenue growth expectations, alongside the reliance of converting them into deliverable services on the availability of operational capacity. The company did not describe the value of its remaining obligations as simply a backlog of orders; it reported them as performance obligations at a specific date.
Chief Executive Andrew Feldman said the company expects to “triple revenue in 2027.” In the nearer term, Cerebras expects fourth-quarter core revenue of between $310 million and $330 million, and core gross margin of between 47% and 49%. The company also announced that Oracle is integrating its fast inference into Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with the service set to be available in 2027. It also disclosed on November 12 a cloud deal with one of the top three hyperscalers and said more details would be announced the following year. The company did not name the provider in the announcement, making the expected disclosure in 2027 the next announced milestone for the deal.