AI infrastructure risks surface as Anthropic valuation dips

CoreWeave’s financial structure reveals a significant reliance on debt. As of the second quarter of 2026, the company held $72.05 billion in total liabilities against only $5.02 billion in shareholders’ equity, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.94. Interest coverage was a concerning -0.037, indicating that operating income isn’t sufficient to cover interest expenses, which reached $640 million in Q2, up from $267 million the previous year. Management projects Q3 interest expenses to range between $860 million and $940 million. The stock currently trades at 6.38 times book value, with a return on equity of -79.89%, suggesting a high valuation despite negative returns.

The company’s cash burn is substantial, with a Q2 free cash flow of -$5.743 billion, which was offset by $10.071 billion in financing cash. Looking ahead, full-year 2026 capital expenditures are projected to be between $35 billion and $39 billion. Anthropic’s own commitments further exacerbate this pressure, with filings revealing approximately $895.4 billion in future computing and infrastructure obligations, including $69.8 billion due within the next year. These filings also caution that increased financing costs or tighter credit conditions could lead to delays in delivering contracted capacity. Recent reports suggest some investors are questioning the feasibility of the roadshow schedule.

While CoreWeave boasts a $104 billion backlog, a significant portion is concentrated among a few key customers, including a $21 billion commitment signed in March 2026 and roughly $22.4 billion from OpenAI. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), a major supplier of GPUs and a $2 billion equity investor in CoreWeave, benefits from the AI buildout. CoreWeave is also currently facing a securities fraud class action lawsuit alleging the concealment of data center construction delays. Despite revenue growth of 112.3% in Q2, the company reported a GAAP net loss of $626 million.

In contrast to CoreWeave’s debt-laden approach, NVIDIA profits from the AI expansion without assuming the same level of financial risk. In fiscal Q2 2027, NVIDIA generated $21.341 billion in free cash flow and $59.688 billion in net income, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07 and an impressive interest coverage of 503. The company returned approximately $26.0 billion to shareholders during the quarter, and its hardware powers Anthropic’s operations.