C3.ai Stock Plummets Despite Narrower Loss: Analysts Slash Price Targets

A Scaled-Back Outlook is Pulling C3.ai's Stock Lower Today

The morning's share-price drop extended the stock's year-to-date losses, pulling it to levels last seen in 2023. C3,a1 (AI) shares sank to their lowest point in months Thursday after the artificial intelligence (AI) software maker projected a larger loss than expected for the current quarter. The company released fiscal first-quarter results for fiscal 2025 after the bell Wednesday, with revenue less than $1 million above estimates compiled by Visible Alpha at $87.2 million, and a smaller net loss than expected at $62.8 million. For the current quarter, C3 projects revenue within a range of $88.6 million to $93.6 million, compared to the analyst consensus of $91 million. The company projects an adjusted net loss of $26.7 million to $34.7 million for the quarter, compared with the $20.3 million loss analysts currently project. The shares were recently down 14%, extending the stock's year-to-date losses and dropping to near levels last seen in 2023. Several Wall Street analysts cut price targets after the results, citing the higher-than-expected loss, disappointing subscription revenue growth, and unchanged full-year projections. Wall Street's consensus recommendation on the shares is currently a hold, according to Visible Alpha data.

Why C3.ai Stock Got Chopped Today | The Motley Fool

Shares of C3.ai (AI -12.34%), the software-as-a-service company that provides artificial intelligence (AI) for the enterprise, were taking a dive today after the company offered disappointing guidance in its fiscal first-quarter earnings report. As a result, the stock was down 11% on the news as of 10:06 a.m. ET. C3.ai stock caught fire in the initial stages of the generative AI boom. However, it has cooled off since then because its results haven't matched the blowout growth one would expect from an AI company in this era. In the first quarter, the company reported revenue up 21% to $87.2 million, which topped estimates at $86.9 million. The company also built momentum in its customer base as it closed 71 agreements in the quarter, up 122% year over year, and reported its sixth straight quarter of accelerating revenue. However, the business is still far from turning a profit as its generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating loss improved modestly from $74.1 million to $72.6 million. Due to a stock-based compensation expense of $54.7 million, it finished with an adjusted per-share loss of $0.05, an improvement from a loss of $0.09 and better than the consensus at a per-share loss of $0.13. CEO Thomas Siebel called the quarter a "solid start to the fiscal year" and said the company has "what we believe are the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry." Looking ahead to the second quarter, the company expects revenue of $88.6 million-$93.6 million, a 24.4% increase at the midpoint and in line with the consensus. It also expects its adjusted operating loss to expand from $25 million to $26.7 million-$34.7 million, showing that profitability will remain elusive. While the earnings report was mostly on trend with the company's results so far, investors seem to be getting impatient with the lack of profits and share dilution, even as revenue growth continues to improve.