CoreWeave shares rose nearly 25% on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue and raising 2026 guidance. The neocloud infrastructure company's CEO Michael Intrator told CNBC's Jim Cramer that demand for the company's computing capacity is 10 times greater than its current supply, allowing CoreWeave to raise prices and expand gross margins.
Intrator also addressed investor concerns about CoreWeave's debt load. Rather than issuing traditional bonds, the company has turned to equipment and customer contract-backed financing. "When I pressed him, asking why he doesn't just go into the open market and buy these bonds that are trading so poorly, he admitted that he's been tempted to, but ultimately he still believes he can make an even better return building data centers," Cramer said on air.
Intrator noted that Nvidia H100 chips purchased four years ago are now being contracted at premiums of 20% to 50% above original cost, suggesting older equipment retains economic value longer than expected. He also maintained that demand for computing power would drive expansion despite potential stricter regulations on data center construction.
Cramer said he remains cautious about the data center sector but believes abandoning it entirely could mean missing upside. His CNBC Investing Club holds diversified AI exposure through chip stocks, semiconductor companies, software, networking, and cooling equipment providers, but does not own any neoclouds. CoreWeave shares remain down 15% year to date and 55% from a May 6 high of $138.