Key points
- Cerebras beat revenue and adjusted earnings estimates
- Cerebras signed Microsoft as a cloud customer
- Cerebras disclosed OpenAI delivery credits in its 10-Q
Cerebras Systems (CBRS) shares rose 12% to $109.63 in premarket trading at 8:54 a.m. ET on November 13, after the AI chipmaker beat third-quarter estimates and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The stock closed at $97.75 on November 12, about 47% below its $185 IPO price in May.
Cerebras reported $230.9 million in core revenue, its adjusted measure, up 70% from a year earlier and above the $214.7 million analysts expected, according to LSEG data cited by CNBC. Adjusted earnings were 12 cents a share, against an expected loss of 14 cents.
The company had forecast third-quarter core revenue of $214 million to $216 million in August. Chief Financial Officer Bob Komin said Cerebras "exceeded our guidance across the board for the third quarter in a row."
Cerebras now expects 2026 core revenue of $940 million to $960 million, up from its previous forecast of $880 million to $890 million. Analysts had expected an average of $887.04 million, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. For the fourth quarter, Cerebras forecast core revenue of $310 million to $330 million, above the $271 million analysts expected.
Under standard accounting rules (GAAP), revenue rose 55% to $210.8 million. To calculate core revenue, Cerebras subtracted $16.4 million in pass-through revenue for data center costs incurred on behalf of customers, then added back $36.4 million in non-cash warrant amortization. That is the portion of customer-warrant value amortized during the quarter and recorded as a reduction in revenue, according to the reconciliation in its earnings release.
Cerebras also excludes stock-based compensation from its core profit measures; that expense was $155.1 million in the quarter but did not affect revenue. The GAAP net loss widened to $161.2 million, or 67 cents a share, from $22.2 million a year earlier.
Cerebras signed Microsoft as a cloud customer
The release announced "an important cloud deal with a top three hyperscaler," with more details to come next year. CEO Andrew Feldman said in an interview that the customer is Microsoft (MSFT) and that the deal was signed in October. "We believe revenue begins to show up in Q1 '27," Feldman said.
Cerebras signed a commercial agreement with Amazon Web Services in June and gave an Amazon affiliate a warrant to buy up to 2,696,678 shares at $100 each, according to its quarterly report. Oracle (ORCL) said in October that it would offer Cerebras chips on its cloud starting in 2027.
Cerebras disclosed OpenAI service credits in its quarterly report
Cerebras agreed in December 2025 to provide OpenAI with 750 megawatts of computing capacity over several years, a deal it valued at more than $20 billion in its IPO prospectus. The contract requires Cerebras to deliver capacity in tranches by set dates, according to the quarterly report filed on November 12.
If a shortfall isn't excused and stays uncured 30 days after a milestone date, service credits accrue and reduce the monthly fees OpenAI pays. "Without adjustment for excused delays, service credits commenced accruing as of October 1, 2026," the filing says. After 90 days, either company can cancel the late tranche. Cerebras expects the capacity that could be canceled in 2026 to be less than 5% of the total OpenAI committed to buy. The second-quarter report, filed in August, didn't include those statements.
On the earnings call, Feldman said the delays came from industry-wide shortages of land and power, not from chip manufacturing. OpenAI accounted for 34% of Cerebras' third-quarter revenue, according to the quarterly report.
Three customers made up most of the quarter's revenue
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) accounted for 38% of third-quarter revenue, down from 70% a year earlier. G42, which Cerebras treats as a related party of MBZUAI, accounted for 7%, down from 14%. Together with OpenAI, the three made up 79% of the quarter's revenue.
Hardware sales fell to $68.9 million from $96.8 million a year earlier. Cloud and other services revenue rose 265% to $141.9 million.
| Third quarter | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Core revenue | $230.9 million | $135.7 million |
| GAAP revenue | $210.8 million | $135.7 million |
| Hardware revenue (GAAP) | $68.9 million | $96.8 million |
| Cloud and other services revenue (GAAP) | $141.9 million | $38.9 million |
| Core gross margin | 41.0% | 40.7% |
| Core net income (loss) | $29.8 million | Loss of $10.9 million |
| GAAP net loss | $161.2 million | $22.2 million |
| GAAP loss per share | 67 cents | 41 cents |
Core gross margin was 41%, above the 38% to 40% Cerebras had forecast. For the fourth quarter, the company expects a core gross margin of 47% to 49% and a core operating margin of negative 1% to positive 1%.
Cerebras expects to triple revenue in 2027
Feldman repeated his forecast that revenue will triple next year. "That progress energizes us to do even more as we push the limits of innovation and expect to triple revenue in 2027," he said in the release. If revenue tripled from the $950 million midpoint of the 2026 forecast, it would reach $2.85 billion in 2027. The release gave no dollar figure for 2027. Analysts polled by LSEG were looking for $2.92 billion of 2027 revenue.
Cerebras said it has secured 700 gross megawatts of data center capacity for delivery by the end of 2027. Remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue Cerebras has yet to recognize, were $26.1 billion at the end of September. Cerebras had $7.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, plus $850 million of debt capacity. Feldman said in the interview that the company is evaluating financing options to keep up with demand. Results for every AI company that has reported this season are on our AI earnings scoreboard.
Cerebras will present at the Barclays Global Technology Conference in San Francisco on December 9.
