CoreWeave vs. Nebius Group: Which Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cloud Stock Has More Upside?

CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) and Nebius (NASDAQ: NBIS) are two of the most popular picks in the artificial intelligence (AI) cloud infrastructure space. So far, they've been strong stock picks in 2026, with CoreWeave rising about 30% and Nebius nearly tripling, at a 196% gain. While Nebius has clearly been the better performer so far this year, that may not be the case moving forward.

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Both companies are dependent on more AI spending

CoreWeave and Nebius are both neocloud providers, offering cloud computing services specifically tailored for AI workloads. While the nuts and bolts behind their products are different, they each serve hyperscalers by offering them increased computing capacity. Two of their biggest clients are Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), which each have massive in-house computing capacity of their own.

This may seem odd for these two to rent computing capacity from neoclouds when they have so much, but the reality is that they don't have enough to meet demand. Their deals also allow Meta and Microsoft to scale their usage up or down depending on demand, giving them some flexibility, but that also increases the risk Nebius and CoreWeave take on.

Both of these stocks cratered after Meta Platforms indicated it could be launching a cloud computing division, something it previously said it would only consider doing if it had excess computing capacity. That might suggest that it won't need to use the neoclouds' services for much longer. However, Meta eased those fears during its Q2 conference call when CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated: "We're getting a lot of offers for compute at a significant premium over what we paid for it."

That assured Nebius and CoreWeave investors that one of their largest clients wasn't going to end the relationship, and ignited a rally in August. However, even if Meta does cut ties, it probably wouldn't be difficult for these two to find buyers for the computing power that Meta leaves behind.

Still, if demand for AI computing capacity does not continue to rise, the business models of Nebius and CoreWeave could be in jeopardy. Each of them is engaging in a growth-at-all-costs strategy, and as long as there is more growth in the AI sector, they will be OK. But one of them clearly looks like it has more upside right now.

Nebius has a far greater growth potential

Looking at analysts' growth projections, Nebius appears to hold a big lead. For the rest of 2026, Wall Street analysts project 544% revenue growth. For 2027, that figure is a lower, but still impressive, 250%. CoreWeave's projections aren't quite as bullish, but they still are incredible. Wall Street expects 151% growth in 2026 and 105% growth in 2027.

Neither of these companies is profitable, so the best metrics available to value them are based on sales. If we measure them relative to their sales projections for next year, Nebius trades at a premium to CoreWeave, indicating the market is more bullish on it.

CRWV PS Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts.

This could work to CoreWeave's advantage in terms of upside, but I still think Nebius' raw growth rate will allow it to deliver better returns.

I'm a bigger fan of Nebius than CoreWeave, but each stock has a lot of upside ahead, as long as the AI build-out continues at something close to its current pace. If it doesn't, then these two could be in huge trouble. However, with the AI build-out not expected to wrap up until at least 2030, I think these two could prove to be solid investments.

Keithen Drury has positions in Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nebius Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.