Why Did Nebius Stock Jump 20% in June?

Growth for artificial intelligence (AI) cloud infrastructure company Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) has exploded over the last year, and investors have poured into the stock. A nearly 20% surge in shares in June reversed course in July, though, and investors should continue to expect volatility of this kind.

Nebius stock jumped 19.5% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. But it crashed nearly the same amount in the first trading week of July. Here's what investors need to know, and what they should expect ahead.

Image source: Nebius Group.

Building out capacity

Investors have been attracted to Nebius stock in droves because of its spectacular growth rates. In its May earnings report, the company said it was again raising its guidance for contracted power capacity to support its data centers, which provide cloud computing infrastructure for AI model development and growth.

That guidance has soared since last August, from at least 1 gigawatt (GW) to over 4 GW. In May, Nebius said it has already secured as much as 1.2 GW of power and land for an AI factory at a new site in Pennsylvania.

Investors continued to boost Nebius stock when it announced it would also partner with fuel cell maker Bloom Energy to install additional power capacity for its data center build-out.

What to make of Nebius stock

Revenue has grown stunningly alongside Nebius' data center expansion.

From sales of just $105 million in Q2 a year ago, the company reached an annual revenue run rate of $1.25 billion by the fourth quarter. That remarkable growth rate continues to accelerate. Management now anticipates exceeding $3 billion in revenue for 2026, concluding the year at a rate that could more than double once again in 2027.

But the stock movement has also anticipated that growth, with shares rising more than 150% year to date and more than quadrupling over the last 12 months. It has reached a market cap of about $55 billion, which puts it at a lofty valuation even for its expected 2027 sales.

While demand is extremely strong, competitors like CoreWeave are also in the space. Any sign of a slowdown in spending for cloud capacity will likely hit shares of companies like Nebius and CoreWeave disproportionately compared to the tech sector as a whole.

That makes it a good candidate for investing over time. Long-term investors can purchase more as the stock corrects along the way. There's a good chance that better opportunities will come with the volatility.

Howard Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bloom Energy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.