New York, Feb 26, 2026, 05:23 EST — Premarket
- C3.ai dropped roughly 23% in premarket trade after unveiling a restructuring plan and disappointing sales guidance.
- The company now sees fourth-quarter revenue landing between $48 million and $52 million, and it lowered its full-year outlook to about $247 million to $251 million.
- The board has signed off on slashing the workforce by 26%, alongside deeper reductions in non-employee expenses.
Shares of C3.ai tumbled roughly 23% to $7.96 ahead of Thursday’s open. The enterprise AI software firm announced a 26% workforce reduction and issued a revenue outlook that missed Wall Street’s expectations.
Why does the drop sting? Investors have been looking for evidence that C3.ai can actually translate the AI hype into consistent, subscription-driven gains, not just more lowered expectations. Slashing headcount brings costs down quickly; it also signals, bluntly, that revenue growth just isn’t happening.
The market isn’t offering much leeway to small software firms that burn cash. Missed targets or slower growth? Traders have pounced on both, despite “AI” continuing to drive tech headlines.
C3.ai’s board signed off on a restructuring plan back on Feb. 24, according to a filing. The company has already carried out most of the 26% workforce cut. Management is also aiming to slash about 30% from annualized non-employee expenses by the latter half of fiscal 2027. Pre-tax charges tied to these moves are expected to land between $10 million and $12 million this quarter.
C3.ai’s third-quarter revenue came in at $53.3 million, well below the $98.8 million from the same period last year. Subscription revenue also declined, landing at $48.2 million compared to $85.7 million previously. The company posted a non-GAAP net loss of 40 cents per share, stripping out stock-based comp and related payroll taxes. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities added up to $621.9 million. Free cash flow for the quarter was negative $56.2 million. Looking ahead, C3.ai expects fourth-quarter revenue between $48 million and $52 million, with full-year revenue guidance of $246.7 million to $250.7 million. The restructuring, the company said, should cut annual costs by around $135 million and reduce cash burn. “We were not organized appropriately,” CEO Stephen Ehikian said, adding that cost structure and cash burn have both been cut. SEC
C3.ai closed Wednesday at $10.31, up 1.9%. But after the bell, the stock plunged roughly 22% to $8.03, MarketWatch data show.
Citizens’ Patrick Walravens cut his rating on C3.ai, moving the stock to Market Perform from Market Outperform, according to StreetInsider early Thursday.
C3.ai pitches enterprise AI software to big organizations—a space that also includes Palantir and the AI toolkits from major cloud providers. Rather than narrowing, the field of competitors keeps expanding as more companies embed AI into their typical software offerings.
C3.ai faces a tricky balance here. Sure, layoffs and a leaner sales setup trim costs fast, but there’s a flip side — deal flow can get bumpy, and pilot projects may take longer to move into production. Guidance only goes so far; one quarter can get knocked off course by anything from budget holds to slow signoffs or snags during implementation.
Attention turns to the open, where investors will get their first unfiltered look at demand for the stock—and management will have their shot at pitching the turnaround narrative. C3 Transform 2026, the company’s big annual user conference, lands March 3–5 in Boca Raton, Florida.
