The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) hasn't heated up as fast as many expected this year. Still, things look to be improving compared to 2024, with 57 IPOs filed – up 21% year over year – according to Renaissance Capital.
And one of the most-anticipated upcoming IPOs of the year is right on our doorstep. Earlier this month, CoreWeave filed paperwork to go public with shares of the tech stock expected to start trading later this month on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "CRWV."
CoreWeave originated as a crypto mining firm before shifting to a cloud-computing company whose main business now involves renting artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to AI developers. The company has 32 data centers across the U.S. and Europe that are equipped with Nvidia (NVDA) chips.
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Nvidia is among CoreWeave's high-profile investors, with a reported 5% stake in the firm – and its customers. Meta Platforms (META), OpenAI and IBM (IBM) are also included among its noteworthy clientele, while Microsoft (MSFT) has committed to spending $10 billion at CoreWeave through 2030.
How much is CoreWeave worth?
The New Jersey-based tech firm is looking to raise up to $3.5 billion in its initial public offering, according to Renaissance Capital. This would make it one of the biggest IPOs in recent memory and value the company at around $35 billion.
As for its financials, CoreWeave stated in its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had $1.9 billion in revenue in 2024 vs $229 million in 2023. The bulk of its revenue last year came from Microsoft.
Its net loss widened to $863 million in 2024 from $594 million in 2023.
CoreWeave's adjusted operating income margin, or the difference between the adjusted operating margin and net sales, was a respectable 19% at the end of 2024. It also had $15.1 billion of remaining performance obligations as of December 31, up 53% over the year prior.
Should you buy the CoreWeave IPO?
"An initial public offering enables a private company to 'go public,' or start trading in public markets, by issuing its own shares on a stock exchange for the first time. In this way, any investor can buy shares and the company can raise capital to grow," writes Kiplinger contributor Tom Taulli in his feature "What Is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)?".
But IPOs can be volatile – especially for retail investors. While IPO stocks tend to have strong first-day showings, returns for the first year are generally weak, says the team of analysts at Trivariate Research, a market research firm based in New York.
As for retail investors, whether or not you buy the CoreWeave IPO boils down to your own personal investing goals and risk tolerance. If you do decide to buy CRWV stock when it first begins trading, do so in a small amount that you can afford to lose.
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