C3.ai Q1 Earnings: Revenue Growth Accelerates, but Stock Tumbles on Soft Outlook

C3.Ai Inc Q1 Earnings: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, CEO Highlights 'Accelerating Revenue Growth' - C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

The company shared guidance for the second quarter and full fiscal year. Enterprise artificial intelligence company C3.ai Inc AI's stock is plunging after-hours Wednesday following its first-quarter earnings report. Here are the key highlights. What Happened: C3.ai reported first-quarter revenue of $87.2 million, up 21% year-over-year. The revenue figure beat a Street consensus estimate of $86.9 million, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Subscription revenue was $73.5 million in the first quarter, up 20%. Subscription revenue made up 84% of the company's total revenue in the first quarter. The company reported a loss of 5 cents per share in the first quarter, beating a Street consensus estimate of a loss of 13 cents per share. "We had a solid start to the fiscal year, with rising demand for Enterprise AI driving our sixth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth," C3.ai CEO Thomas Siebel said. In the first quarter, the company closed 71 deals, which included 52 pilots. The closed agreement figure was up 122% year-over-year. The company said it expanded its geographical footprint with 25 deals closed with municipal, county and state agencies across various states. New agreements in the quarter came from several well-known companies and organizations including Dolce & Gabbana, Ingersoll Rand, GSK, Valero, Swift, Sanofi, the U.S. Intelligence Community and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company's federal business represented 30% of bookings in the quarter, with new and expansion agreements signed with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Intelligence Community. C3.ai's partner network saw 51 closed agreements in the first quarter, with partner supported bookings up 94% year-over-year. Google Cloud and C3.ai jointly closed 40 agreements under the partner network, which was up 300% year-over-year. The company said C3 Generative AI is seeing strong customer demand thanks to a diverse mix of use cases like intelligence analysis, customer service and operator assistance. The company said it closed 17 C3 Generative AI pilots in the quarter. The C3 Generative AI for Government Programs closed a pilot with an unnamed Northeastern state in the U.S. in the quarter, the company said. The company ended the quarter with $762.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. Read Also: C3.ai Q1 Earnings Preview: Can Company Keep Streak Of EPS Beats Alive With New AI Diversification Efforts? What's Next: The company is guiding for second-quarter revenue in a range of $88.6 million to $93.6 million. Full fiscal-year revenue is guided to be in a range of $370 million to $395 million. "Our unwavering commitment to solving the most challenging problems in the enterprise has led us to what we believe are the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry," Siebel said. AI Price Action: C3.ai Inc shares are down 17% to $19.16 in after-hours trading Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $20.23 to $38.30. Read Next: C3.ai Stock Faces Bearish Signals Ahead Of Q1 Earnings -- Can AI Recover? Photo via Shutterstock. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

C3.ai stock tumbles on soft outlook despite earnings beat By Investing.com

NEW YORK - C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI), the Enterprise AI application software company, saw its stock plummet 15% after hours on Wednesday despite beating earnings expectations, as investors focused on the company's cautious outlook. The company reported a first-quarter adjusted loss of $0.05 per share, significantly better than the analyst estimate of a $0.13 loss. Revenue for the quarter came in at $87.2 million, slightly above the consensus estimate of $86.94 million and up 21% YoY from $72.4 million. However, C3.ai's guidance for the second quarter and full fiscal year 2025 fell short of market expectations. The company forecasts second-quarter revenue between $88.6 million and $93.6 million, compared to the analyst consensus of $91 million. For the full fiscal year 2025, C3.ai expects revenue in the range of $370 million to $395 million, versus the consensus estimate of $383.4 million. Thomas M. Siebel, Chairman and CEO of C3.ai, commented on the results, stating, "We had a solid start to the fiscal year, with rising demand for Enterprise AI driving our sixth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth." The company reported positive free cash flow of $7.1 million for the quarter and maintains a strong cash position with $762.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. C3.ai highlighted significant progress in broadening its market presence, particularly in Manufacturing and State and Local Government sectors. The company closed 71 agreements in the quarter, a 122% increase YoY, including 52 pilots, up 117% YoY.

C3.ai fails to make progress on profitability and its stock plummets - SiliconANGLE

C3.ai fails to make progress on profitability and its stock plummets Artificial intelligence software company C3 AI Inc. beat expectations on earnings and revenue as it posted its fiscal first quarter financial results today, but its stock fell hard and fast in extended trading amid fears that it may not achieve profitability as fast as originally hoped. The company reported a loss before certain costs such as stock compensation of 5 cents per share, ahead of the Street's forecast, which called for a wider loss of 13 cents. Revenue for the period spiked 21%, coming in at $87.2 million, above the $86.9 million forecast. In addition, the provider of AI development software delivered an outlook that was more or less in-line with the Street's guidance. For the current quarter, it's shooting for sales of between $88.6 million and $93.6 million, compared with the $91.1 million analyst consensus estimate. C3.ai Chief Executive Thomas Siebel (pictured) hailed the company's "solid start" to the fiscal year. He said the rising demand for enterprise AI helped to drive "our sixth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth." However, investors may have been disappointed to see that C3.ai's subscription revenue came in below the Street's target. It reported a number of $73.5 million, well below the $79.2 million that analysts were hoping for. The company's stock, which was down 2% in the hours prior to today's report, absolutely cratered, falling by more than 16% after-hours. Subscription revenue is a key metric for C3.ai and investors believe rapid growth there is required to enable return to profitability. The company is one of Silicon Valley's oldest enterprise AI development software providers, with its flagship C3.ai Application Platform offering a comprehensive suite of tools and services for businesses that need to build intelligent, enterprise-scale applications, including generative AI apps. According to the company, its platform allows teams to build those applications faster, and at a lower cost than other approaches. That may be so, but in recent years the company struggled to gain much traction, prompting a shift away from selling software licenses to a subscription-based consumption model. That shift occurred in late 2022, with C3.ai explaining that the software-as-a-service model is used to good effect by the likes of Amazon Web Services Inc. and Snowflake Inc. With slower-than-expected growth in subscription revenue, investors may have questions about when the company is going to become profitable again. One year earlier, C3.ai said it hoped to attain profitability by the end of fiscal 2024 by investing in branding, lead generation and market awareness. But those profits failed to materialize, and again today the company failed to make any substantial progress, reporting a net loss of $62.8 million, improving only slightly from a $64.3 million loss one year earlier. The company is at least making progress on the customer acquisition front. It said it closed on 71 new agreements during the quarter, up 122% from a year earlier, including 52 pilots. Its federal business also gained momentum, with the company signing new contracts with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Intelligence Community, among others. Other new customers in the enterprise include Brazil's largest power generation and transmission company Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. and the U.S. steel manufacturer Nucor Corp. Despite those new agreements, the company doesn't expect to achieve profitability this year either. Looking ahead, C3.ai said it sees full-year revenue for fiscal 2025 of between $370 million to $395 million, with an operating loss of $95 million to $125 million. Not surprisingly, C3.ai's stock has struggled to gain much traction of late. Heading into today's report, it was already down 20% in the year to date, compared to a 14% gain for the broader Nasdaq index.

What's Going On With C3.ai Stock Wednesday? - C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

The enterprise AI company is expected to report a loss of 13 cents per share on quarterly revenue of $86.942 million. C3.Ai Inc AI shares are seeing increased attention Wednesday ahead of earnings after the close. Here's what you need to know before the report. What To Know: C3.ai is due to report fiscal first-quarter financial results after the bell. The enterprise AI company is expected to report a loss of 13 cents per share on quarterly revenue of $86.942 million, according to estimates from Benzinga Pro. C3.ai has exceeded analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines in 11 of the last 13 quarters, per Benzinga Pro data. Last quarter, the company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth, turning in revenue of $86.6 million versus estimates of $84.395 million, up 20% year-over-year. C3.ai also reported a loss of 11 cents per share, beating analyst estimates for a loss of 30 cents per share. "Demand for Enterprise AI is intensifying, and our first to market advantage in Enterprise AI positions us well to capitalize on it," C3.ai chairman and CEO Thomas Siebel said at the time. C3.ai guided for continued acceleration of revenue growth to 23% in fiscal year 2025. Siebel also noted last quarter that the interest the company was seeing for its generative AI applications was "staggering." Multiple analysts adjusted price targets on the stock, ranging from $23 to $40, following the company's fourth-quarter results. There have not been any analyst updates released in the weeks leading up to earnings. Piper Sandler analyst Arvind Ramnani said last quarter that he wanted to see some of the robust interest in the company's AI solutions translate to higher levels of growth. DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria also cautioned that gross margins could face pressure moving forward as the company ramps AI pilots. Don't Miss: C3.ai Stock Faces Bearish Signals Ahead Of Q1 Earnings -- Can AI Recover? Investors and analysts appear to be focused on top-line growth, margins and the company's pipeline of potential deals when C3.ai reports after the bell. It's worth noting that C3.ai shares have significantly underperformed other AI-linked stocks since the start of the year. C3.ai stock was trending on Reddit's r/WallStreetBets on Wednesday as traders gear up for earnings. The retail crowd appears to be highlighting high short interest in the name. 25.73% of C3.ai's float is currently sold short, per data from Benzinga Pro. AI Price Action: C3.ai shares are down about 17% year-to-date heading into the print. The stock is volatile Wednesday. It was up approximately 1.7% in early trading before pulling back and turning negative. C3.ai shares were down 0.13% at $23.42 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro. Photo: Shutterstock. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

C3.ai Q1 Earnings Preview: Can Company Keep Streak Of EPS Beats Alive With New AI Diversification Efforts? - C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

The company's first-quarter financial results could show strength in deal orders and new diversification efforts. Enterprise artificial intelligence company C3.ai Inc AI is one of the few stocks linked to the artificial intelligence sector that have seen shares trade down year-to-date, something the company hopes could be reversed with a strong quarterly earnings report on Wednesday after the market close. C3.ai Earnings Estimates: Analysts expect C3.ai to report first-quarter revenue of $86.9 million, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The company reported revenue of $73.2 million in last year's first quarter. C3.ai has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in eight of the last 10 quarters, including two straight quarters. Analysts expect the company to report a loss of 13 cents per share in the first quarter compared to a loss of 9 cents in the comparable quarter last year. The company has beaten analyst estimates on earnings per share in more than 10 straight quarters. Guidance from the company calls for first-quarter revenue to come in a range of $84 million to $89 million. Full-year guidance calls for revenue in a range of $370 million to $395 million, according to the company. Wednesday's earnings report comes as C3.ai's shares are down 19% year-to-date, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below. Read Also: EXCLUSIVE: AI Bubble Fears Could Be Overdone -- 56% Of Benzinga Readers See Potential, Pick Palantir Stock To Outperform Key Items to Watch: C3.ai is recognized as one of the companies that could benefit from increased AI use cases and partnerships. The company has benefitted from having the "AI" stock ticker during a boom for the sector. In the fourth quarter, the company closed 47 agreements, including 34 new pilots. Investors and analysts will be watching to see if the company's deal pipeline continues to expand and pilot programs are being converted into full deals. "Demand for Enterprise AI is intensifying, and our first to market advantage in Enterprise AI positions us well to capitalize on it," C3.ai CEO Thomas Siebel said after the company's fourth-quarter results. Federal deals could also be a key area to watch, with revenue more than doubling for the segment in the last fiscal year. The company said it closed 65 federal agreements in the last full fiscal year. In July, the company introduced its C3 Generative AI for Government Program, which it said will be used to help federal, state and local governments. "Understanding and accessing vital services and benefits programs can be an overwhelming process for many, and C3 Generative AI for Government Programs provides and easy way to get clear and quick answers to questions about the intricacies of these services," Siebel said. Diversification into new sectors is another key item to watch. The company said its enterprise AI applications have been adopted in 19 industries as of the end of the last fiscal year. "The interest we are seeing in our generative AI applications is staggering." The company could reiterate, lower or raise its full-year guidance, which could be one of the most important signs for investors and analysts on what's to come for the enterprise AI company for the rest of the fiscal year. AI Price Action: C3.ai shares are trading at $23.36 versus a 52-week trading range of $20.23 to $38.30. Read Next: EXCLUSIVE: Top 20 Most-Searched Tickers On Benzinga Pro In August 2024 - Where Do Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, AMD Stock Rank? Photo via Shutterstock. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Shares of AI Software Firm C3.ai Drop 17% Despite Stronger Revenue Growth Projection

Shares in C3.ai, which sells artificial intelligence services to large companies and government agencies, fell as much as 17% despite projecting that revenue growth in the current fiscal quarter would accelerate to 23%, or about $90 million, based on the midpoint of its guidance, compared to 21% growth in the quarter that ended in July. On the other hand, the company generated free cash flow

C3.AI Sees Accelerating Growth as Enterprise AI Demand Surges | PYMNTS.com

Artificial intelligence (AI) software company C3.AI reported better-than-expected quarterly results and highlighted surging demand for enterprise AI applications as businesses and government agencies rush to adopt the transformative technology. The Redwood City, California, company said revenue grew 21% year over year to $87.2 million in its fiscal first quarter ending July 31, beating analyst expectations. Subscription revenue, which is the bulk of C3.AI's business, increased 20% to $73.5 million. "We're off to a solid start for fiscal year 25," said CEO Thomas Siebel on the company's earnings call. "This quarter marked our sixth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth, reflecting our high levels of customer satisfaction and increasing demand for enterprise AI applications." C3.AI, which provides AI software for large organizations across industries like energy, manufacturing and financial services, has positioned itself as a pioneer in the enterprise AI market. The company was founded in 2009, long before the current AI boom, with a vision of developing a software platform to help organizations leverage cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data and predictive analytics. "C3.AI is the original enterprise AI, hard stop," Siebel declared. "We invested thousands of person-years over a decade building the C3 AI platform, the first reference architecture platform for enterprise AI." The company offers over 90 prebuilt enterprise AI applications addressing various industry-specific use cases. Siebel said C3.AI is seeing "incredible results" and high customer satisfaction scores as businesses derive tangible value from its AI solutions. Notably, C3.AI reported strong traction in the public sector, signing 25 agreements with state and local government agencies in the quarter. "We just fell into a gold mine there," Siebel said, adding that the public sector opportunity was largely unanticipated. The company closed 71 agreements in Q1, including 52 new pilot projects -- a 117% year-over-year increase in pilot count. C3.AI's model typically involves starting with a three- to six-month paid pilot before converting to a full production contract. Siebel highlighted success stories with customers like Shell, which he said has over 100 C3.AI applications in development or deployment and estimates $2 billion in annual benefits from the partnership. Another client, Con Edison, is projecting over $3 billion in benefits over 20 years from its smart grid project with C3.AI. The company is also seeing strong demand for its new generative AI offerings, launched earlier this year. In the quarter, C3.AI signed 40 agreements related to generative AI with cloud partner Google. "Our generative AI business is surprisingly diverse, with many candidly unanticipated use cases across the board in a wide range of industries," Siebel noted. C3.AI maintained its full-year revenue guidance of $370-390 million, implying 19-27% growth. The company's stock has been volatile this year amid the broader AI frenzy as investors debate the long-term winners in enterprise AI. C3.AI faces competition from major cloud providers and other enterprise software vendors rushing to embed AI capabilities. But Siebel argued that many legacy software companies are simply "rebranding their 20th-century software stacks with AI on the box" without truly re-architecting for AI. He positioned C3.AI's prebuilt AI applications as a key differentiator, allowing customers to quickly configure and deploy proven solutions rather than undertaking long, complex development projects. "In this current cacophony of AI market hype, C3.AI is achieving among the highest levels of customer satisfaction for value realized in the enterprise software world," Siebel claimed. The company still posted a non-GAAP operating loss of $16.6 million in Q1 as it invests heavily in growth. But Siebel said profitability is now "simply a function of scale" as revenue growth outpaces expense growth. C3.AI projected it would be cash flow positive in Q4 and for the full fiscal year 2025. The company ended Q1 with $762.5 million in cash and investments.

Should You Buy, Hold or Sell AI Stock Ahead of Q1 Earnings? - C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

C3.ai AI is set to report its first-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Sep 4. AI expects revenues of $84-$89 million for the fiscal first quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $87.12 billion, suggesting 42% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for the quarterly loss is pegged at 13 cents per share, unchanged in the past 30 days. AI reported a loss of 9 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. C3.ai's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with an earnings surprise of 49.18%, on average. Let us see how things have shaped up for AI shares prior to this announcement. C3.ai, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise C3.ai, Inc. price-eps-surprise | C3.ai, Inc. Quote Factors to Note for AI C3.ai's fiscal first-quarter performance is likely to have gained from C3 Generative AI solutions and increased demand for its Enterprise AI software. C3.ai's efforts to diversify its customer base and engage with clients across various industries, such as manufacturing, federal, defense, aerospace and pharmaceuticals, are expected to have contributed significantly to revenue growth. Its expanding federal footprint has been a key catalyst. However, the ongoing transition to a pay-as-you-go consumption model has been resulting in smaller transactions of shorter terms, which is likely to have hurt revenue performance obligations despite an increase in revenues. AI expects near-term pressure on the gross margin due to a higher mix of pilots, which are much costlier to acquire at the initial phase of the customer lifecycle. This is expected to have hurt the company's profitability in the to-be-reported quarter. Additional investments in sales force, research and development, and marketing spending are expected to have hurt the operating margin. AI Shares Underperform Sector Year to date, AI shares have lost 18.7%, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector's return of 20.9% and the Zacks IT Services industry's appreciation of 5.3%. Year-to-Date Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The AI stock is overvalued at this moment, as the Value Score of F suggests. The C3.ai stock is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S) of 7.04X compared with the sector's 6.27X. P/S Ratio (F12M) Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The AI stock is trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving average, indicating a bearish trend. AI Shares Trade Below 50-Day & 200-Day SMA Image Source: Zacks Investment Research C3.ai's Long-Term Prospects Ride on Strong Portfolio C3.ai's expanding clientele and growing adoption of its Enterprise AI software are notable developments for investors. C3 Generative AI is being used by manufacturing, industrial and military industries. It improves safety standards on production floors and equipment operations, and analyzes technical information, contracts and financial data. The strong portfolio is helping in the growing use of AI solutions. C3.ai's AI-powered predictive maintenance solutions were selected by the likes of Dow, Holcim and Con Edison (one of the largest energy companies) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Beyond innovation and product capability, C3.ai has leveraged strong sales capabilities through strategic partnerships with tech giants like Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet. C3.ai has been taking initiatives to expand its relationship with these cloud partners. It has now achieved AWS Generative AI competency, further deepening its relationship with Amazon. C3 Generative AI for Government Programs, an advanced AI application, runs on Alphabet's Google Cloud. The application is designed to help federal, state and local governments efficiently deliver accurate information to the public about various government programs. The latest solution is expected to strengthen AI's footprint in the federal space. In fiscal 2024, Federal revenues doubled year over year in fiscal 2024. AI closed 65 Federal agreements, up 48% year over year. Conclusion C3.ai's plan to invest aggressively to gain market share is expected to keep margins under pressure in the near term. Despite strong demand for C3 Generative AI solutions and an expanding partner base, this factor is expected to drag down the AI stock in the near term. C3.ai currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that it may be wise to wait for a more favorable entry point in the stock. To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

C3.ai Stock Faces Bearish Signals Ahead Of Q1 Earnings -- Can AI Recover? - C3.ai (NYSE:AI)

Analysts maintain an Outperform rating for C3.ai, suggesting a potential upside despite the current bearish technical signals. Wall Street expects C3.ai Inc AI to report a negative 13 cents in earnings per share (EPS) and $86.94 million in revenues when the company reports first-quarter earnings on Thursday after market hours. The stock is down 25.61% over the past year, 18.65% year-to-date. Let's look at what the charts indicate for C3.ai stock and how the stock currently maps against Wall Street estimates. C3.ai Stock Chart Strongly Bearish Ahead Of Q1 Earnings C3.ai is facing a strongly bearish trend. The stock closed Tuesday at $23.45, up 0.47% for the day, but below its five, 20 and 50-day exponential moving averages. Chart created using Benzinga Pro This bearish momentum is confirmed as the share price remains below its eight-day simple moving average of $23.67, 20-day SMA of $24.37 and 50-day SMA of $26.62, all of which are bearish signals. Additionally, the stock is trading well below its 200-day simple moving average of $27.16, indicating continued bearish sentiment in the longer term. Chart created using Benzinga Pro The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is at a negative 0.89, further reinforces the bearish outlook for C3.ai. However, with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 37.33, the stock is approaching oversold territory, suggesting a potential for reversal or slight buying pressure. The Bollinger Bands (25) range between $22.57 and $26.61, which supports the bearish view as the stock trades in the lower band. Overall, C3.ai's technical indicators suggest a predominantly bearish trend, but the almost oversold RSI hints at a possible rebound. Read Also: C3.ai Stock Faces Death Cross -- A Sign Of Trouble For AI Pioneer? C3.ai Analysts See 17% Upside Ratings & Consensus Estimates: The consensus analyst rating on C3.ai stock stands at an Outperform currently with a price target of $32.21. The latest analyst ratings from Morgan Stanley, Canaccord Genuity and Piper Sandler indicate a 16.81% upside for C3.ai stock with an average price target of $27.33. Read Next: Wall Street Tumbles, Yen Surges, Oil Sinks Below $70, VIX Spikes As Traders Brace For Volatile Month: What's Driving Markets Tuesday? Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

C3.ai Q1 2025 Earnings Preview

C3.ai (NYSE:AI) is scheduled to announce Q1 earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th, after market close. The consensus EPS Estimate is -$0.13 (-44.4% Y/Y) and the consensus Revenue Estimate is $86.94M (+20.1% Y/Y). Over the last 2 years, AI has beaten EPS estimates 100% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 75% of the time. Over the last 3 months, EPS estimates have seen 1 upward revision and 0 downward. Revenue estimates have seen 1 upward revision and 0 downward. Recent earnings Analysis from our contributors:C3.ai: Heading Into Q1 2025 Earnings, AvoidC3.Ai Q1 2025 Preview: Looking For Clarity On Their Federal Business (Rating Upgrade)