Core Viewpoint - Jim Chanos has criticized CoreWeave Inc.'s economic model, arguing that the company's significant capital investments do not yield meaningful returns based on the CEO's statements [1][2]. Financial Analysis - Chanos highlighted that CoreWeave's second-quarter financials indicated an average of $19.1 billion in capital employed, leading to an annual "economic depreciation" of $2.729 billion when amortized over the seven-year useful life of the equipment [2][3]. - This depreciation figure surpasses the company's annualized second-quarter EBITDA of $2.624 billion, resulting in a 0% return on invested capital (ROIC) according to Chanos [3]. Company Response - CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator defended the company's position during an interview, emphasizing the importance of their sophisticated software stack and dismissing the idea that the company is merely a real estate play [4][5]. - Intrator aimed to bolster confidence following the all-stock acquisition of Core Scientific Inc., asserting that the software is crucial to the AI ecosystem [4]. Market Performance - CoreWeave's shares increased by 8.65% to $139.98 on Wednesday, with a further rise of 0.71% in after-hours trading, marking a total increase of 249.95% since its listing in March 2025 [6].