Better Artificial Intelligence Stock: Nebius Group vs. CoreWeave

Core Insights - The demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence (AI) has led to significant sales growth for companies like Nebius Group and CoreWeave [1][2] - Nebius shares have increased over 300% this year, while CoreWeave's stock has more than tripled since going public at around $40 per share [1] CoreWeave's Performance - CoreWeave transitioned from cryptocurrency mining to providing AI-optimized infrastructure, resulting in second-quarter sales soaring to $1.2 billion from $395.4 million year-over-year [4] - Major clients such as OpenAI, Toyota Motor, and Microsoft have significantly increased their commitments to CoreWeave, with OpenAI raising its investment from $11.9 billion to $22.4 billion [5] - CoreWeave forecasts full-year sales between $5.2 billion and $5.4 billion, a substantial increase from $1.9 billion in 2024 [5] Financial Obligations and Expansion - CoreWeave's remaining performance obligations reached $30.1 billion in Q2, nearly double the $16.2 billion from the previous year [6] - The company incurred operating expenses of $1.2 billion in Q2, up from $317.7 million the previous year, due to investments in expanding data center capacity [6] - To finance its expansion, CoreWeave accumulated over $10 billion in debt, including a $1.8 billion senior notes offering and a $2.6 billion secured debt financing facility [7] Industry Demand - The global demand for AI computing capacity is driving triple-digit sales growth for both CoreWeave and Nebius Group in the second quarter [8] - Both companies are racing to expand their data center footprints while taking on significant debt to meet the escalating demand for AI compute [8]