C3.ai(AI) - 2026 Q1 - Quarterly Results

Company Announcements and Executive Summary Fiscal First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights C3 AI announced its Q1 FY2026 financial results, with Chairman Thomas M. Siebel calling the performance "completely unacceptable" due to short-term impacts from sales and service reorganization and his health issues, yet the company remains optimistic for accelerated future growth - Chairman Thomas M. Siebel stated that the Fiscal First Quarter 2026 financial performance was 'completely unacceptable', primarily due to short-term disruptions from sales and service organization restructuring and his health issues[4] Fiscal First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights | Metric | Amount (Q1 FY2026) | | :-------------------------------- | :-------------- | | Total Revenue | $70.3 million | | Subscription Revenue | $60.3 million | | Subscription Revenue as % of Total Revenue | 86% | | Total Subscription and Priority Engineering Services Revenue | $69.0 million | | Combined Subscription and Priority Engineering Services Revenue as % of Total Revenue | 98% | | GAAP Gross Profit | $26.4 million | | GAAP Gross Margin | 38% | | Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $36.3 million | | Non-GAAP Gross Margin | 52% | | GAAP Net Loss Per Share | $(0.86) | | Non-GAAP Net Loss Per Share | $(0.37) | | Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Marketable Securities | $711.9 million | Business Highlights C3 AI completed a comprehensive reorganization of its global sales and services, appointed new leadership, and integrated functions to enhance customer experience, signing 46 agreements and expanding its footprint in government and partner networks - C3 AI restructured its global sales and services organization, appointing new sales leadership and merging sales and services functions to provide a more seamless customer experience[5] - The company signed 46 agreements this quarter, including 28 initial production deployment agreements[7] - New or expanded agreements were secured with customers including HII, Nucor Corporation, Qemetica, the U.S. Army, Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Intelligence Community[7][12] Statement About Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer C3 AI announced Stephen Ehikian's appointment as CEO effective September 1, 2025, with founder Thomas M. Siebel transitioning to Executive Chairman, focusing on key partnerships, strategic client relationships, and product strategy - Stephen Ehikian has been appointed as C3 AI's Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2025[1][15] - Thomas M. Siebel will serve as Executive Chairman, assisting the new CEO and focusing on partnerships, strategic client relationships, and product strategy[16] Financial Outlook C3 AI issued Q2 FY2026 financial guidance, projecting total revenue between $72.0 million and $80.0 million and non-GAAP operating loss between $(49.5) million and $(57.5) million, while withdrawing its full-year FY2026 guidance due to the new CEO appointment and sales reorganization Q2 FY2026 Financial Guidance | Metric | Q2 FY2026 Guidance | | :------------------------ | :------------------- | | Total Revenue | $72.0 - $80.0 million | | Non-GAAP Operating Loss | $(49.5) - $(57.5) million | - The company withdrew its previously issued full-year FY2026 guidance due to the new CEO appointment and sales and services organization restructuring[19] Business Operations and Strategic Initiatives Sales and Services Reorganization C3 AI completed a global sales and services reorganization, introducing new leadership and merging functions to deliver a seamless, high-touch customer experience focused on rapidly achieving significant economic value - The company has fully reorganized its sales and services organization, introducing new, experienced leadership, including a new Chief Commercial Officer and EMEA General Manager[4][5] - Sales and services functions have been merged to provide a more seamless, high-touch customer experience, focusing on rapidly achieving significant economic value from every customer interaction[5] C3 AI Strategic Integrator Program (SIP) C3 AI launched its Strategic Integrator Program (SIP), an OEM initiative enabling partners to license the C3 Agentic AI Platform for building and commercializing enterprise AI applications, leveraging C3 AI's investments and avoiding vendor lock-in, seen as a significant future growth channel - C3 AI launched its Strategic Integrator Program (SIP), an OEM initiative enabling partners to license the C3 Agentic AI Platform to build and commercialize enterprise AI applications[12] - SIP aims to leverage C3 AI's existing investments in data aggregation, data ontology, and machine learning, providing partners with an open architecture to avoid vendor lock-in, and is considered a significant future growth opportunity[12] Partner Network This quarter, C3 AI completed 40 agreements through its partner network, with a 12-month qualified opportunity pipeline growing 54% year-over-year, including 24 agreements with Microsoft and progress with McKinsey & Company - 40 agreements were completed this quarter through the partner network[12] - The joint 12-month qualified opportunity pipeline with partners grew 54% year-over-year[12] - 24 agreements were completed with Microsoft, with the qualified pipeline growing 140% year-over-year[12] Customer Success Nucor Corporation expanded its multi-year partnership with C3 AI for an enterprise AI program, with initial C3 AI Supply Chain Suite deployments live and planned expansion, while Qemetica launched its first enterprise AI project, successfully improving production yield with C3 AI Reliability and planning expansion to 100 manufacturing assets - Nucor Corporation expanded its multi-year partnership with C3 AI to build an enterprise AI program, with initial deployments of the C3 AI Supply Chain Suite live and plans for expansion to more plants and use cases[12] - Qemetica partnered with C3 AI to launch its first enterprise AI project, successfully applying the C3 AI Reliability application to improve production yield, with plans to expand predictive maintenance solutions to up to 100 manufacturing assets[12] Federal Business Expansion C3 AI completed 12 federal agreements this quarter, representing 28% of total bookings, securing new or expanded deals with major U.S. defense and intelligence entities like HII and the U.S. Army, accelerating shipbuilding throughput and deploying logistics applications - 12 agreements were completed in the federal sector this quarter, accounting for 28% of total bookings[12] - New or expanded agreements were signed with HII, Newport News Shipbuilding, the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army, U.S. Intelligence Community, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, and Missile Defense Agency[12] - HII is expanding its partnership with C3 AI to accelerate shipbuilding throughput using enterprise AI[12] - The U.S. Army is deploying logistics applications based on the C3 Agentic AI Platform to predict parts shortages, fuel consumption, and ammunition requirements for frontline vehicles[13] C3 Generative AI Products C3 AI completed 9 C3 Generative AI agreements, including 6 initial production deployments, and introduced agentic data extraction for automated data processing, leading to significant economic benefits like 20% employee productivity increase and 85% reduction in procurement contract review time - 9 C3 Generative AI agreements were completed, including 6 initial production deployment agreements[17] - Agentic data extraction functionality was introduced, which automatically extracts, structures, and validates data from unstructured formats[17] - C3 Generative AI deployments are yielding significant economic benefits, including 20% increase in employee productivity, 80% reduction in inspection planning time, 14% reduction in call center average handle time, 85% reduction in procurement contract review time, and 90% labor savings in archival analysis[17] Financial Statements Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations In Q1 FY2026, total revenue decreased 19.5% year-over-year to $70.26 million, with subscription revenue down 17.9%, while cost of revenue increased 25.0%, leading to a 49.3% drop in gross profit to $26.44 million and a gross margin decline from 60% to 38%, resulting in an 85.9% wider net loss of $(116.77) million and $(0.86) GAAP net loss per share Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | Y-o-Y Change | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | :--------- | | Total Revenue | $70,261 | $87,213 | -19.5% | | Subscription Revenue | $60,301 | $73,456 | -17.9% | | Professional Services Revenue | $9,960 | $13,757 | -27.6% | | Total Cost of Revenue | $43,817 | $35,047 | +25.0% | | Gross Profit | $26,444 | $52,166 | -49.3% | | Gross Margin | 38% | 60% | -22 ppts | | Total Operating Expenses | $151,263 | $124,752 | +21.2% | | Loss from Operations | $(124,819) | $(72,586) | +72.0% | | Net Loss | $(116,769) | $(62,827) | +85.9% | | GAAP Net Loss Per Share | $(0.86) | $(0.50) | +72.0% | Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets As of July 31, 2025, total assets were $968.74 million, down from $1,025.88 million on April 30, 2025, primarily due to a decrease in cash and cash equivalents offset by an increase in marketable securities, while total liabilities decreased from $187.58 million to $169.92 million and total stockholders' equity fell from $838.30 million to $798.82 million Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | Metric (in thousands) | July 31, 2025 | April 30, 2025 | Change | | :-------------------------------- | :-------------- | :------------- | :----- | | Total Assets | $968,739 | $1,025,882 | $(57,143) | | Cash and Cash Equivalents | $80,941 | $164,358 | $(83,417) | | Marketable Securities | $630,957 | $578,330 | $52,627 | | Accounts Receivable, Net | $113,925 | $137,226 | $(23,301) | | Total Liabilities | $169,915 | $187,579 | $(17,664) | | Total Stockholders' Equity | $798,824 | $838,303 | $(39,479) | Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows In Q1 FY2026, net cash flow from operating activities was $(33.54) million, a decrease from $8.04 million in the prior year, while net cash used in investing activities increased to $(51.17) million due to higher net purchases of marketable securities, and net cash provided by financing activities was $1.29 million, resulting in a total period-end cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $93.51 million, a decrease of $83.42 million from the beginning of the period Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | | Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Operating Activities | $(33,535) | $8,042 | | Net Cash Used in Investing Activities | $(51,171) | $(41,550) | | Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities | $1,289 | $182 | | Net Decrease in Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash | $(83,417) | $(33,326) | | Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash at End of Period | $93,507 | $146,386 | Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Professional Services Statement Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures C3 AI reports non-GAAP financial measures as supplementary information to GAAP, primarily for internal decision-making and period-over-period comparisons, encouraging investors to consider both GAAP and non-GAAP data for a comprehensive business understanding - Non-GAAP financial measures are used for internal financial and operational decision-making and period-over-period comparisons, not as a substitute for GAAP financial measures[24] - Non-GAAP metrics primarily exclude stock-based compensation expense and employer payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation[26] Professional Services Revenue Details Professional services revenue includes service fees and priority engineering services, where customers pay to accelerate planned software features, totaling $9.96 million in Q1 FY2026, a 27.6% year-over-year decrease due to declines in both priority engineering services and regular service fees - Professional services revenue includes service fees and priority engineering services, with the latter involving fees for accelerating planned software feature development[25][27] Professional Services Revenue | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | Y-o-Y Change | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | :--------- | | Priority Engineering Services | $8,663 | $10,649 | -18.66% | | Service Fees | $1,297 | $3,108 | -58.25% | | Total Professional Services Revenue | $9,960 | $13,757 | -27.60% | Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures C3 AI provides a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures, which exclude stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes, showing Q1 FY2026 non-GAAP gross profit of $36.32 million (52% margin), non-GAAP operating loss of $(57.82) million, non-GAAP net loss per share of $(0.37), and free cash flow of $(34.30) million - Non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled by excluding stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll tax expense[39][40] Gross Profit Reconciliation Gross Profit Reconciliation | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | | GAAP Gross Profit | $26,444 | $52,166 | | Stock-based Compensation Expense | $9,290 | $8,408 | | Employer Payroll Tax Expense | $586 | $356 | | Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $36,320 | $60,930 | | GAAP Gross Margin | 38% | 60% | | Non-GAAP Gross Margin | 52% | 70% | Loss from Operations Reconciliation Loss from Operations Reconciliation | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | | GAAP Loss from Operations | $(124,819) | $(72,586) | | Stock-based Compensation Expense | $64,775 | $54,683 | | Employer Payroll Tax Expense | $2,220 | $1,272 | | Non-GAAP Loss from Operations | $(57,824) | $(16,631) | Net Loss Per Share Reconciliation Net Loss Per Share Reconciliation | Metric | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | | GAAP Net Loss (in thousands) | $(116,769) | $(62,827) | | Non-GAAP Net Loss (in thousands) | $(49,774) | $(6,872) | | GAAP Net Loss Per Share | $(0.86) | $(0.50) | | Non-GAAP Net Loss Per Share | $(0.37) | $(0.05) | Free Cash Flow Reconciliation Free Cash Flow Reconciliation | Metric (in thousands) | Three Months Ended July 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended July 31, 2024 | | :-------------------------------- | :---------------------- | :---------------------- | | Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Operating Activities | $(33,535) | $8,042 | | Less: Purchases of Property and Equipment | $(760) | $(924) | | Free Cash Flow | $(34,295) | $7,118 | Corporate and Legal Information About C3.ai, Inc. C3.ai, Inc. is an enterprise AI application software company offering a fully integrated product family including the C3 Agentic AI Platform for developing, deploying, and operating enterprise AI applications, C3 AI Applications (a portfolio of industry-specific SaaS enterprise AI applications), and C3 Generative AI (a suite of domain-specific generative AI products) - C3.ai, Inc. is an enterprise AI application software company[30] - The company offers products including the C3 Agentic AI Platform, C3 AI Applications, and C3 Generative AI[30] Use of Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding market position, partnerships, financial outlook, growth, sales channels, product benefits, CEO transition, sales/service reorganization, and business strategy, which are subject to risks like historical losses, customer dependence, and market acceptance of AI solutions, with no commitment to update - The press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events, trends, financial condition, and business objectives[29] - Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including historical losses, reliance on a few existing customers, CEO transition, and market acceptance of enterprise AI solutions[29] Conference Call Details and Investor Presentation C3 AI held its Q1 FY2026 financial results conference call on September 3, 2025, and investors can access an investor presentation with additional information and analysis on the company's investor relations page, ir.c3.ai - The Fiscal First Quarter 2026 financial results conference call was held on September 3, 2025[21] - An investor presentation is available on the company's investor relations page, ir.c3.ai[22] Contact Information Investors can contact ir@c3.ai, and public relations inquiries should be directed to Mindy Nelson at Axicom, pr@c3.ai - Investor contact: ir@c3.ai[31] - Public relations contact: Mindy Nelson at Axicom, pr@c3.ai[31]