CoreWeave’s Data Center Drama: Key Partner Delays Threaten Cloud Ambitions

Another day, another infrastructure bottleneck—CoreWeave just hit a wall with its data center rollout. The GPU cloud upstart admits its hyperscale dreams are stuck in partner purgatory. Here's why it matters.

When 'Soon' Means 'Maybe Q2 2026'

That 'strategic partnership' announced with such fanfare last quarter? Turns out breaking ground takes more than PowerPoint slides. CoreWeave's roadmap now carries the distinct aroma of vaporware—though they'll never call it that.

The Cloud Gold Rush Hits a Power Limit

Every AI startup wants to be the next AWS until they realize data centers require actual steel and permits. CoreWeave's stumble exposes the dirty secret of cloud scaling: you're only as fast as your slowest contractor. Cue the 'extended timelines' corporate speak.

Wall Street's already pricing in the delay—because nothing makes hedge funds happier than a good old-fashioned growth story... with conveniently lowered expectations. Just don't call it a pivot.

CoreWeave admits to facing delays with a key data center partner

The world’s leading innovators trust CoreWeave as their Essential Cloud for AI, and our record third-quarter performance is proof of that confidence.

More here: https://t.co/emApCynzAh pic.twitter.com/muY7s2XSy3

— CoreWeave (@CoreWeave) November 10, 2025

CoreWeave stated that its margins are being eroded by a surge in infrastructure expenses, rising AI chip prices, and intensifying competition for computing power, which is negatively impacting its profitability.

The New Jersey-based firm has pivoted to capitalize on the AI sector by leasing Nvidia GPUs and has finalized agreements with major tech firms such as Meta and OpenAI. According to data from LSEG, CoreWeave reported third-quarter revenue of $1.36 billion, surpassing analysts’ average estimates of $1.29 billion.

LSED data also revealed that CoreWeave forecasted its 2025 revenue to range between $5.05 billion and $5.15 billion, lower than analysts’ estimates of $5.29 billion. CEO Mike Intrator revealed that a third-party data center developer is behind schedule.

Analysts at Barclays said the quarter revealed operational risks, which they noted that investors have feared for a while. They also agreed that it’s the first time for the young AI infrastructure industry that such an incident has come up. The analysts believe that it will likely remind investors that large-scale AI data centers are not easy engineering projects.

The cloud computing company revealed that it faced delays with a key data center partner, but failed to name the client. The firm also said the impacted client had agreed to extend the contract, which WOULD have kept the deal’s total value intact.

“There was a problem at one data center that’s impacting us, but there are 41 data centers in our portfolio.”

-Mike Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave.

Intrator also revealed that the overwhelming majority of the delay in data center infrastructure should be taken care of within Q1 of next year. He acknowledged that the firm is building its own data center facility from the ground up in Pennsylvania.

Jefferies analysts, led by Brent Thill, argued that CoreWeave’s major agreements signed in Q3, including a large extension with an undisclosed hyperscaler, led to significant growth in remaining performance obligations. The firm already faces concerns about the nature of its dealings, its debt load, and its dependence on a few large clients.

CoreWeave’s management prioritizes scale and not short-term margins

Silicone Scrooge Insights also said that CoreWeave’s valuation doesn’t yet reflect its true potential, and its high-value contracts with AI tech giants bode well. The firm said that CRWV isn’t profitable yet since management is clearly prioritizing scale and not short-term margins.

Their adjusted operating income margin dropped from 21% a year earlier to 16% in the third quarter of 2025. Analysts at MoffettNathanson believe that the shift appears to be an incrementally worse setup for the day in the future, when demand isn’t off the charts. 

Dave Mazza, Chief Executive Officer at Roundhill Financial, noted that investors have become more sensitive to the balance between growth and spending. He argued that doubling revenue is great, but warned that it won’t last forever if capital expenditures are climbing even faster.

Bloomberg Intelligence technology analyst Anurag Rana wrote in a report last week that a supply-constrained Q3 revenue from CoreWeave could prompt the firm to increase capital spending in 2026. The analyst also revealed that two-thirds of this year’s capex ($14 billion) could be realized in Q4, which he believes may lead to an acceleration in sales growth in 2026 as more supply comes online.

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