Neocloud infrastructure in focus: Nebius Group and CoreWeave Q2 results diverge on costs
The neocloud AI infrastructure trade has two names in focus heading into the second half of 2026, with Nebius Group (NBIS) and CoreWeave (CRWV) both printing triple-digit or better revenue growth in Q2 but running…
Key takeaways
- Nebius Group grew Q2 revenue 454% year over year to $582 million while cutting its adjusted net loss 64% to $33.2 million, whereas CoreWeave grew revenue 112% to $2.6 billion.
- CoreWeave's revenue backlog reached $104 billion at the end of Q2, up 246% year over year, a figure Nebius does not disclose a comparable metric for.
- In 2026 year to date, NBIS shares are up 146% while CRWV has returned 18%, with CoreWeave weighed down by a 90% year-over-year widening in loss per share.
- Both companies build dedicated AI data centers with GPUs and custom processors, renting capacity to hyperscalers and other cloud AI customers amid demand exceeding supply.
- Synergy Research Group projects the neocloud infrastructure market will grow from $25 billion in 2025 to $400 billion by 2031, a 58% compound annual growth rate.
The neocloud AI infrastructure trade has two names in focus heading into the second half of 2026, with Nebius Group (NBIS) and CoreWeave (CRWV) both printing triple-digit or better revenue growth in Q2 but running opposite trajectories on the bottom line. CoreWeave grew second-quarter revenue 112% year over year to $2.6 billion. Nebius grew faster, its top line rising 454% to $582 million, while cutting its adjusted net loss 64% to $33.2 million in the same period.
Both companies build dedicated AI data centers outfitted with GPUs and custom processors, renting that capacity to hyperscalers and other customers running AI services in the cloud. AI data center demand is currently exceeding supply, a structural backdrop that has driven the rapid top-line growth both names have posted over the past year.
The numbers
Bank of America estimated the combined contractual backlog of Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, and Google at $2.3 trillion at the end of Q2, a figure that captures the scale of unfulfilled demand the neocloud sector is being built to absorb. Synergy Research Group projects the broader neocloud infrastructure market will grow from $25 billion in revenue in 2025 to $400 billion by 2031, a 58% compound annual growth rate.
CoreWeave's own revenue backlog reached $104 billion at the end of Q2, up 246% year over year. Nebius does not disclose a comparable figure.
The 2026 tape has been sharply bifurcated. NBIS shares are up 146% year to date. CRWV has returned 18% over the same stretch, weighed down by a 90% year-over-year widening in loss per share as the company accelerates its infrastructure build-out.
What the setup looks like
Nebius' improving loss profile reflects growing customer use of its Token Factory platform for model training, inference, and deployment at scale. NBIS trades at a meaningfully higher sales multiple than CRWV, the price of its faster growth rate. CoreWeave's backlog is the countervailing argument, a concrete forward number that Nebius cannot match on a disclosed basis.
What to watch is each company's next quarterly filing, where backlog conversion rates and operating loss trajectories will frame whether CoreWeave's $104 billion contracted book or Nebius' narrowing loss profile is the more load-bearing number.