Cerebras Systems reported third-quarter core revenue of $231 million on 12 November, up 70% from $136 million a year earlier and above the $215 million LSEG consensus, CNBC reported. The Sunnyvale, California-based AI chipmaker also announced an agreement with Microsoft, signed in October, as part of its quarterly earnings announcement. Chief executive Andrew Feldman expects revenue from that deal to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Key points
- Cerebras raised its 2026 adjusted revenue forecast to $940 million to $960 million, from $880 million to $890 million.
- Its fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $310 million to $330 million exceeds the $271 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
- Microsoft joins Amazon and Oracle among the cloud providers with Cerebras agreements.
- Cerebras expects revenue to triple in 2027; its net loss widened in the third quarter.
Cerebras revenue rises as losses widen
The third-quarter increase followed core revenue growth of 103% in the second quarter. The comparison puts the latest sales gain alongside a faster period earlier in the year, as Cerebras expands its business supplying chips and computing capacity for AI workloads.
Core cloud and services revenue more than tripled to $145 million in the third quarter, CNA reported. That category reflects Cerebras’ OpenAI agreement, under which the chipmaker is to provide computing power over several years for $20 billion. The cloud and services figure covers a narrower category than the company’s $231 million in quarterly core revenue.
The company’s net loss widened to 67 cents per share from 41 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Cerebras is expanding chip volumes to support demand, the publication reported. Its flagship wafer-scale engine places trillions of transistors on a single dinner-plate-sized chip. Cerebras says that design is more efficient than linking thousands of smaller graphics processors.
Microsoft joins Cerebras cloud customers
Feldman told CNBC that Microsoft signed its agreement with Cerebras in October. He said executives would discuss the relationship on a call with analysts following the earnings report. Cerebras also has agreements with Amazon and Oracle, giving it relationships with three cloud providers as it seeks to compete with Nvidia in AI chips.
Feldman said long waits for graphics processors and their higher costs create an opening for Cerebras hardware. He also said the company was evaluating financing options to meet rising demand. Those plans accompany the expansion in chip volumes reported by CNA and the computing capacity required under the OpenAI agreement.
The OpenAI relationship has also figured in earlier trading. Cerebras shares rose 6.3% after Altman reaffirmed the partnership, AI Affairs reported. Cerebras made its Nasdaq debut in May, and its shares had lost about 47% of their value since then at the time of the November earnings report.
Cerebras lifts 2026 forecast to $940 million
Cerebras now expects adjusted revenue of $940 million to $960 million for 2026, compared with its previous forecast of $880 million to $890 million. Its fourth-quarter revenue forecast is $310 million to $330 million, against the $271 million analysts polled by LSEG expected.
For the fourth quarter, Cerebras expects a core gross margin of 47% to 49%. Analysts polled by LSEG expected 42.1%. The company also expects its revenue to triple in 2027, implying about $2.9 billion, compared with the $2.9 billion expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG.
Cerebras shares rose 13% in extended trading after the earnings announcement, CNBC reported. CNA reported an 11% gain in extended trading.
Feldman expects revenue from the Microsoft agreement to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
