#股票交易分享挑战

Share Price Plunges Straight Down! “Nvidia Challenger” Hit by Earnings Headwinds

Affected by its earnings report, the share price of U.S. AI chipmaker $CBRS Cerebras, dubbed the “Nvidia challenger,” plunged straight down in after-hours trading, at one point crashing more than 18%. Its earnings report showed that second-quarter revenue fell short of expectations, hardware sales unexpectedly declined, and net losses reached $450.5 million.

Meanwhile, shares of U.S. optical communications heavyweight Coherent also fell sharply in after-hours trading after it released its earnings report, at one point dropping more than 8%. However, its earnings report showed that both its results and guidance comprehensively exceeded market expectations.

Chip Giant’s Earnings Report Blows Up

In after-hours U.S. stock trading early on August 13 Beijing time, Cerebras shares plunged sharply, at one point crashing more than 18%; as of 06:50, the decline stood at 16.01%.

On the news front, the company’s earnings report showed that second-quarter revenue fell short of expectations and that hardware sales unexpectedly declined.

Specifically, Cerebras reported second-quarter GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States) revenue of $180.1 million, below the market expectation of $194 million. Cloud computing contributed $126 million in revenue, up 281% year over year, while hardware revenue was $54.1 million, down 23% year over year.

The earnings report showed that Cerebras’ core operating margin remained negative at approximately -16%; second-quarter net loss was $450.5 million, compared with net profit of $309.5 million in the same period last year. Cerebras said the loss was mainly affected by approximately $386.6 million in share-based compensation expenses.

Regarding guidance, Cerebras expects third-quarter core revenue of approximately $214 million to $216 million, with a midpoint of $215 million, above the market average expectation of $212 million; core gross margin is expected to be 38% to 40%, also above the market expectation of approximately 36%; full-year 2026 core revenue is expected to be $880 million to $890 million, compared with the previous forecast of $855 million to $865 million.

It is worth noting that Cerebras was initially positioned as Nvidia’s challenger in the AI chip sector, but cloud computing is now its largest source of revenue. This may indicate that Cerebras’ business model is changing.

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman said that AI demand remains strong, and customers are willing to pay a premium for the company’s inference chips. The hardware business will grow in a “lumpy” manner, which is inherent to the nature of the business.

Meanwhile, shares of optical communications giant Coherent also plunged sharply after it released its earnings report, at one point falling more than 8%.

The earnings report showed that in the company’s fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2026, $COHR Coherent generated revenue of $2.05 billion, up 34% year over year and above market expectations; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 74% year over year to $1.74, also exceeding analysts’ expectations; adjusted gross margin on a non-GAAP basis was 40.2%, up 215 basis points year over year; and adjusted operating profit was $446 million, up 62.1% year over year and above market expectations.

Regarding guidance, Coherent expects first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion, with a midpoint of $2.3 billion, nearly 7% above analysts’ consensus estimate; adjusted EPS is expected to be $1.85 to $2.05, with the midpoint approximately 10% above market expectations.

Some analysts pointed out that Coherent’s sharp after-hours decline was more likely to reflect the optical communications sector’s excessive recent gains and overly high market expectations. Coherent shares have risen more than 200% over the past 12 months, and investors’ positioning around the “explosion in demand for optical interconnects in AI data centers” has become quite crowded.

Coherent CEO Jim Anderson said in a statement that the company is entering fiscal 2027 with “exceptionally strong customer demand,” while expanding capacity and seeing multiple new growth platforms begin to ramp up. He also noted that data centers are increasingly shifting from copper connections to optical connections.

Coherent explicitly stated that customer demand is exceptionally strong and that the company is expanding capacity. If the capacity ramp proceeds smoothly, the company’s revenue could still be revised upward further.