Cerebras Systems posted record third-quarter revenue on Thursday, reporting core revenue of $230.9 million, up 70% from a year earlier, and guiding fourth-quarter core revenue to $310 million to $330 million. GAAP total revenue came in at $210.8 million, up 55%, and the AI chipmaker raised its full-year 2026 outlook.
Cloud services made up the largest share of the quarter. GAAP cloud and other services revenue rose 265% to a record $141.9 million, while core cloud revenue reached $144.9 million, up 272%.
Analysts had expected $214.7 million in third-quarter revenue and $271 million for the fourth quarter, according to LSEG data. Cerebras' core operating margin of negative 14% also came in ahead of the negative 24% the company had guided three months earlier. Shares rose about 17% in after-hours trading following the report.
“We exceeded our guidance across the board for the third quarter in a row”— Bob Komin, CFO of Cerebras
Key facts
- 01Cerebras reported record Q3 2026 core revenue of $230.9 million, up 70% year over year; GAAP revenue was $210.8 million, up 55%.
- 02Q4 2026 core revenue guidance is $310 million to $330 million, against an LSEG analyst estimate of $271 million.
- 03Full-year 2026 core revenue outlook raised to $940 million to $960 million.
- 04Remaining performance obligations stood at $26.1 billion as of September 30, 2026.
- 05Cerebras has 700 gross MW of data center capacity secured for delivery by the end of 2027.
Margins improved, though the company remains unprofitable. GAAP gross margin was 20% and core gross margin was 41%, both up from the prior quarter. Cerebras reported a GAAP net loss of $161.2 million, or $0.67 per share, compared with a $22.2 million loss a year earlier.
For the full year, Cerebras now expects core revenue of $940 million to $960 million, core gross margin of 42% to 44% and a core operating margin of negative 10% to negative 8%. Its fourth-quarter outlook calls for core gross margin of 47% to 49% and a core operating margin between negative 1% and positive 1%.
Cerebras said it signed a cloud deal with "a top three hyperscaler" during the quarter and that more details would come next year. The partner has been reported as Microsoft, with the deal signed in October. Cerebras had previously signed agreements with Amazon Web Services and Oracle, and its inference service is slated to be available in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in 2027.
“Cerebras' technology remains the undisputed champion of speed”— Andrew Feldman, Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras
Other customer wins in the quarter included Bilt, which will use Cerebras inference to power its Neighborhood OS platform and Bilt Concierge AI assistant. Cerebras also served as a day-zero launch partner for Moonshot AI's Kimi K3.1.
On capacity, Cerebras said it has secured 700 gross megawatts of data center capacity for delivery by the end of 2027 and signed contracts for additional sites in Norway and Finland. It manufactures with Flex and Sanmina and expects to exit 2026 with more than 10 times the manufacturing capacity it had at the start of the year. The CS-4 system will soon be in full production, and the CS-5 is targeted for early summer 2027.
Cerebras ended the quarter with $7.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments, plus $850 million in debt capacity. Remaining performance obligations stood at $26.1 billion as of September 30.
Co-founder and CEO Andrew Feldman said the company expects to triple revenue in 2027. CFO Bob Komin said Cerebras saw its pipeline for high-speed AI inference increase by more than 10 times in the quarter.
Core revenue growth slowed from 103% in the second quarter, and Cerebras shares had fallen about 47% since the company's Nasdaq debut in May before Thursday's report.
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