CoreWeave vs. Applied Digital: Evaluating Disparities in Revenue Scale for These Artificial Intelligence Companies
Key Points
CoreWeave currently demonstrates a stronger position on revenue, maintaining a substantially higher baseline than Applied Digital.
Over the last eight quarters, CoreWeave recorded consistent quarter-over-quarter revenue increases, while Applied Digital experienced a more volatile quarter-over-quarter pattern.
Investors should watch whether the revenue gap between the two companies continues to widen in upcoming quarters.
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CoreWeave: Consistent Revenue Expansion
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) operates a specialized cloud computing environment that provides bare-metal virtual servers, storage solutions, and advanced networking resources for enterprise clients.
It recently faced a class action lawsuit regarding customer demand statements, and it reported a -36% net income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Applied Digital: Managing Data Center Operations
Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) designs, develops, and manages digital infrastructure and data center solutions for high-performance computing industries and specialized hosting customers across North America.
It completed the separation of its cloud business into a new entity on May 5, 2026, while recording a -78% net income margin for the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2026.
Why Revenue Matters for Retail Investors
Revenue shows the total money a business brings in during a specific period before any expenses are deducted, helping investors gauge the overall size and scale of operations.
Quarterly Revenue for CoreWeave and Applied Digital
| Quarter (Period End) | CoreWeave Revenue | Applied Digital Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | $395.4 million (period ended June 2024) | $14.7 million (period ended May 2024) |
| Q3 2024 | $583.9 million (period ended Sept. 2024) | $60.7 million (period ended Aug. 2024) |
| Q4 2024 | $747.4 million (period ended Dec. 2024) | $63.9 million (period ended Nov. 2024) |
| Q1 2025 | $981.6 million (period ended March 2025) | $52.9 million (period ended Feb. 2025) |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2 billion (period ended June 2025) | $38.0 million (period ended May 2025) |
| Q3 2025 | $1.4 billion (period ended Sept. 2025) | $64.2 million (period ended Aug. 2025) |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6 billion (period ended Dec. 2025) | $126.6 million (period ended Nov. 2025) |
| Q1 2026 | $2.1 billion (period ended March 2026) | $126.6 million (period ended Feb. 2026) |
Data source: Company filings. Data as of July 16, 2026.
Foolish Take
CoreWeave and Applied Digital share a symbiotic relationship. Applied Digital rents out its data centers to CoreWeave. That adds an interesting twist to the revenue comparison between the two, since CoreWeave sales are soaring while Applied Digital is showing a more modest pace of growth, an indication of the differences in their business models.
CoreWeave’s focus on renting out computing power to artificial intelligence customers is driving its spectacular sales expansion. In the first quarter, revenue surpassed $2 billion, and the company announced a backlog of business worth nearly $100 billion. This bodes well for a continuation of its sales growth trend. However, supplying the equipment needed to support AI is expensive, and the company has amassed about $25 billion in debt at the end of Q1.
As a data center landlord, Applied Digital enjoyed a 139% year-over-year increase in revenue to $126.6 million for its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28. But like CoreWeave, it had to take on debt to continue building data centers with about $2.6 billion on its fiscal Q3 balance sheet.
The high debt load for each has turned off Wall Street investors, leading to a drop in share price for both companies. But of the two, CoreWeave’s price-to-sales ratio of six is around a low point for the past year, while Applied Digital is far more expensive with a sales multiple of 21.
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Robert Izquierdo has positions in CoreWeave. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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