Cerebras stock rises 11% after earnings beat, core profit and Microsoft deal
Cerebras Systems shares rose 11.2% to close at $108.72 on Friday 13 November, after the AI chipmaker beat revenue forecasts, posted a core profit and announced a new relationship with Microsoft, according to closing price data. Adjusted earnings came in at 12 cents a share against an expected loss of 14 cents, and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $310 million to $330 million was well above the $271 million analysts expected, CNBC reported.
The gain came on a day when most AI-chip stocks fell sharply, which makes it stand out. AMD dropped 8.75% and the Nasdaq lost 0.91%, while Cerebras moved the other way on its own results.
Why did Cerebras stock rise today?
Three reasons: a beat, a raise and a big-name customer. In its third-quarter results, Cerebras reported core revenue of $230.9 million, up 70% from a year earlier and above the $214.7 million LSEG consensus cited by CNBC. Core net income was $29.8 million.
The outlook mattered even more. Cerebras guided fourth-quarter core gross margin to 47% to 49%, against the 42.1% analysts expected, CNBC said, and set full-year 2026 core revenue guidance at $940 million to $960 million. It also said it has secured 700 gross megawatts of data-centre capacity for delivery by the end of 2027.
Then there is Microsoft. Cerebras announced a new relationship with the software giant, which signed the deal in October, though the terms were not disclosed. Chief executive Andrew Feldman told CNBC: “We believe revenue begins to show up in Q1 ’27.” Cerebras already has deals with Amazon and Oracle, the report said.
Is Cerebras profitable now?
Only on its “core” measure, and that distinction matters. On a standard accounting (GAAP) basis Cerebras reported revenue of $210.8 million, up 55%, and a net loss of $161.2 million, or 67 cents a share, according to its results release. The core figures strip out certain items, which is common for young technology companies but means the headline profit is not the same as the bottom line.
Traders should keep both sets of numbers in view. The core profit shows the operating business is starting to scale; the GAAP loss shows the company is still spending heavily. Feldman also said Cerebras is evaluating financing options to meet rising demand, according to CNBC, which can mean new shares or debt down the line.
How does Cerebras fit into the AI chip race?
Cerebras builds very large, wafer-scale chips designed to run AI models quickly, especially for “inference”, the work of answering user requests once a model is trained. In the results release Feldman said its technology “remains the undisputed champion of speed.” Speed of response has become a selling point as AI assistants and agents are used more widely.
The timing helps. This week Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang resigned, and investors spent days buying Nvidia’s rivals. AMD and Broadcom each finished the week about 18% higher, which we cover in our story on AMD and Broadcom’s weekly gains. Feldman also argued that long lead times and higher costs for GPUs create an opening for Cerebras on the hardware side, CNBC reported.
What are the risks for Cerebras shareholders?
The stock has been volatile since it listed. Cerebras debuted on Nasdaq in May 2026, and CNBC reported the stock has fallen about 47% since that debut, so even after this rally it sits well below where it started trading.
The longer-term outlook was also only roughly in line. Cerebras said it expects revenue to triple in 2027, which implies about $2.85 billion, slightly below the $2.92 billion analysts had pencilled in, according to CNBC. Its large deals are also concentrated among a small number of very big customers, and new revenue from Microsoft is not expected until next year.
What does this mean for traders?
Results like these tend to move recently listed stocks a long way, in both directions, because there is little trading history and the investor base is still forming. Friday’s 11% gain shows strong demand for any AI chip name that can show growing sales and an improving margin. But with daily swings of 7% or more common in recent sessions, risk management matters more than usual.
For the bigger picture, see our S&P 500 weekly wrap, which looks at how the index still gained 2.5% in a difficult week for Nvidia.
What should traders watch next?
- Nvidia’s results on Tuesday 17 November. As the market leader in AI chips, Nvidia’s outlook will set the tone for the whole group, Cerebras included.
- Details of the Microsoft deal. Any figure on its size or timing could move the stock.
- Financing. A new share sale or debt deal to fund growth would be a key event for existing holders.
- The Anthropic IPO. The AI company is due to start trading on 19 November, Yahoo Finance reported. Demand for that listing will show how much appetite investors still have for AI stocks.
More on the biggest US companies and their earnings in our Stocks & S&P 500 section, and on company deals in Companies & Deals.
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This article is for education and information only and is not financial advice. Figures are as reported by the sources linked above.
