Can C3.ai's New CEO Help Turn Things Around for the Stock?

Key Points

• Founder Thomas Siebel stepped down as CEO due to health issues.

• Stephen Ehikian, who has a great deal of experience with tech companies, takes over.

• C3.ai is coming off a disastrous quarter where sales nosedived and its bottom line went deeper into the red.

• 10 stocks we like better than C3.ai ›

C3.ai (NYSE: AI) recently announced a new CEO. This comes at a time when the stock is struggling badly. While the artificial intelligence (AI) company touts over 130 turnkey solutions that can appeal to businesses in many industries, investors haven't been all that convinced of its growth prospects, and its recent results haven't looked all that great, either.

The company's outgoing CEO is also its founder, Thomas Siebel. He's been facing health challenges and the change in leadership comes as a surprise to investors. The uncertainty has made a tough situation for the stock even worse. Since January, C3.ai lost more than half of its value.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

But under new management, the direction of the company may change, and perhaps its financials may even improve. Could the new CEO help turn things around for this struggling stock, and is now a good time to invest in C3.ai?

Image source: Getty Images.

The new CEO comes with plenty of experience in tech

On Sept. 3, C3.ai announced that Stephen Ehikian would be its new CEO, while Siebel will remain as executive chairman.

Siebel was involved in the search for a new CEO and says that the company now has "the rare combination of the right person, at the right company, in the right market, at the right time." Ehikian helped build up a couple of technology companies, RelateIQ and Airkit.ai, which tech giant Salesforce ended up acquiring. He has also recently been the acting administrator in the U.S. General Services Administration and was involved in the government's AI action plan.

The big question marks for investors moving forward

It's good news for C3.ai to have a new CEO in charge, as a long and drawn-out process could have simply made things worse for the AI stock. But with the transition complete and Siebel still involved in the business, the hope is that C3.ai may be on a better track moving forward.

Recently, the company posted some alarming earnings numbers where it badly missed expectations. Sales totaled $70.3 million for fiscal first quarter of 2026 (ending July 31), a decline of nearly 20% year over year. What was most troubling was that Siebel said the company's reorganization efforts and his own health issues had significant effects on the recent results.

The first big test for the new CEO will be if he can improve upon the sharp decline in the top line. As recently as May, the company was projecting its quarterly revenue to be over $100 million.

The more pertinent issue, however, is whether the company can make any real progress on the bottom line. Not only was C3.ai's revenue down this past quarter, but it posted an operating loss of $124.8 million -- 72% higher than the $72.6 million loss it incurred in the prior-year period.

It won't be easy for the business to win over growth investors. It'll need to show significant improvement on both its top and bottom lines.

C3.ai stock is down big, but it remains highly risky

Entering trading on Monday, shares of C3.ai were down more than 52% since the start of the year. It hasn't been trading this low since early 2023. However, a low valuation alone doesn't mean that the stock is due to rebound. Concerns are rising that investments into AI aren't paying off for companies. With C3.ai still struggling with profitability at a time when businesses are spending a lot on AI, things may get even tougher in the future if there's a pullback on spending.

C3.ai was already a risky stock to own before its latest results and news of a change in CEO. Now, there's even more of a reason to hold off on investing in it. Even if you're optimistic that a change in management is what the business needs, with so much more uncertainty around it, the safest move for investors today is to wait at least a couple of quarters to see how the company is doing under its new leader, and then to reevaluate the tech stock. For now, I'd steer clear of it.

Should you invest $1,000 in C3.ai right now?

Before you buy stock in C3.ai, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and C3.ai wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $648,369!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,089,583!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 189% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 15, 2025

David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Salesforce. The Motley Fool recommends C3.ai. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.