CoreWeave Ends Flat On Debut Amid Tough Market Conditions: Retail’s Mixed On 2025 Outlook For Stock

CoreWeave, Inc.’s (CRWV) much-awaited public debut on Friday did not produce much excitement as the broader market succumbed to another bout of selling pressure due to macro concerns.

Livingston, New Jersey-based CoreWeave downsized its initial public offering (IPO) to 37.5 million shares from 49 million and priced it at $40 apiece, down from the previously estimated range of $45-$55.

CoreWeave opened the session at $39 and traded in a $37.46-$41.94 before closing at the IPO price of $40. 

The offering is expected to close on March 31 and will likely fetch gross proceeds of $1.5 billion, giving CoreWeave a valuation of about $19 billion based on the 473.48 million shares outstanding. 

The valuation would be $23 billion when calculated on a fully diluted basis, Reuters reported.

CoreWeave is a cloud platform that provides data center infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. 

The lukewarm reception to the CoreWeave IPO, which is the biggest tech offering since 2021, could pour cold water on hopes of a recovery in the IPO market.

CoreWeave faces industry- and company-specific risks as big techs reassess their spending plans on AI amid an uncertain economy and competitive threat from cheaper options from companies such as DeepSeek. About 77% of the company’s 2024 revenue came from two customers, with Microsoft being one of them.

A Stocktwits poll that asked retailers about whether they think CoreWeave will outperform the broader market in 2025 produced mixed results. 

While most (39%) expected the stock to lag its tech peers, a sizable percentage (38%) said it will likely outperform peers.  About 23% said they were neutral on the sector. 

One watcher pointed out that the company’s stock is worth less than the IPO price, given the company has more than $10 billion debt vis-a-vis revenue of $1.9 billion. 

Another said the CoreWeave stock is a buy, although they expect some choppiness.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, which invests in disruptive innovation, bought 411,875 CoreWeave on Friday in a sign of confidence in the company. 

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