New York, January 27, 2026, 17:00 EST — After-hours
- C3.ai ended Tuesday’s session down and showed little movement after hours.
- Wall Street braces for the Fed’s Jan. 28 decision alongside a surge of megacap tech earnings.
- AI-linked stocks are reacting to spending and demand signals from Big Tech earnings.
C3.ai (NYSE:AI) shares dropped 2.4% to close Tuesday at $12.62, before edging slightly higher to $12.65 in after-hours trading, which occurs outside the standard 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. session. 1
The decline happened as the S&P 500 notched a record closing high, with investors gearing up for a packed week of earnings reports and a Federal Reserve decision. “The market seems to be hanging in there waiting for a big week of earnings,” said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth, in a Reuters interview. 2
The Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve will convene on Jan. 27-28, with its policy announcement scheduled for Wednesday. 3
Investors are zeroing in on Big Tech earnings, eager for tangible returns on AI investments. Microsoft and Meta announce results Wednesday, with Alphabet and Amazon due next week, Reuters reported. Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are all set to boost AI spending by roughly 30%, pushing total outlays beyond $500 billion this year. 4
C3.ai climbed 1.9% Monday to close at $12.93, though it remains roughly 64% off its 52-week peak of $35.98, MarketWatch reports. Trading volume hit about 4 million shares, falling short of the 50-day average of 5.9 million. 5
On Dec. 3, C3.ai released its latest quarterly report, showing total revenue of $75.1 million and subscription revenue hitting $70.2 million. The company recorded a GAAP loss of 75 cents per share. It wrapped the quarter with $675 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. CEO Stephen Ehikian highlighted the federal market as “a large growth vector” for the firm. 6
High-beta AI stocks have shown they can swing quickly when rates or guidance change, and C3.ai has demonstrated that pattern throughout much of the past year. Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, told Reuters on Monday that “guidance will be especially important” for the AI trade and described investors as “cautiously optimistic.” 7
Wednesday brings the Fed statement, then earnings from Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla, all under close watch for shifts in AI spending or demand signals. C3.ai is set to report earnings March 4, according to TradingView data. 8
C3.ai faces a straightforward test: can enterprise AI spending translate into rising subscription revenue and larger contracts? The key dates are set — Jan. 28 and March 4 — and the stock is expected to move accordingly.
