NEW YORK, Jan 13, 2026, 19:44 EST — After-hours
CoreWeave Inc shares slipped 2.7% to $87.48 in after-hours trading Tuesday, trimming gains that had recently drawn momentum traders back in.
This matters since CoreWeave now stands as a rough benchmark for the leveraged AI infrastructure play: fast growth fueled by significant debt. When interest rates move or credit concerns arise, shares tied to large data-center investments tend to swing sharply.
CoreWeave purchases Nvidia graphics processing units, or GPUs—chips that power AI system training and operations—and leases out that computing capacity to clients. Some critics doubt these GPUs retain enough value over time to back the company’s financing approach.
On the Big Technology Podcast, CEO Michael Intrator dismissed the “circular financing” claim—that Nvidia backs CoreWeave mainly to boost chip sales—as “ridiculous.” He noted Nvidia’s investment totaled roughly $300 million over two rounds, compared to CoreWeave’s more than $25 billion raised overall and a $42 billion valuation. Intrator also defended Nvidia’s use of special purpose vehicles, which isolate risk through separate financing “boxes.” Chief Strategy Officer Brian Venturo added that the company recently renewed a contract for older Nvidia A100 chips at about 95% of their initial price.
Goldman Sachs kicked off coverage of CoreWeave on Monday, tagging it with a Neutral rating and setting an $86 price target, according to an Investing.com report. The bank highlighted execution risks and warned about the strain a hefty debt burden could place on a company that still has to ramp up capacity under tight deadlines. 1
Rate-sensitive growth stocks found some backing Tuesday morning after U.S. data revealed consumer prices climbed 0.3% in December, in line with forecasts. This has kept hopes alive that the Federal Reserve might hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting later this month. Even so, investors remain quick to offload gains in higher-debt companies. 2
CoreWeave’s immediate challenge isn’t headline demand but the nuts and bolts: deliveries, how well they use capacity, and financing costs. Investors treat the stock as a test of whether “AI capex” actually converts into timely cash flow.
The downside is clear. Delays in launching new power and data-center capacity, or a drop in customer spending, could delay cash inflows and raise refinancing costs—especially if hardware prices decline more quickly than anticipated.
Traders are closely watching Wednesday’s U.S. retail sales report due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the Fed’s policy meeting on Jan. 27-28 looming as well. Both events could offer clues on growth and interest rates, key factors influencing appetite for debt-heavy AI infrastructure stocks. 3
