Cerebras Systems (Nasdaq: CBRS) reported record revenue of $210.8 million for the third quarter of 2026, up 55% from a year earlier under standard accounting rules (GAAP). It released the results after the market close on Thursday, November 12, with a raised full-year outlook and $26.1 billion of signed contracts not yet counted as revenue. The stock was up 14.2% after hours at 5:17 p.m. ET, StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data show.
The short answer. Cerebras had its best sales quarter yet and raised its 2026 forecast for the second time since June. About two thirds of its revenue now comes from renting out AI computing as a cloud service, and less from selling its machines. The company said Oracle will offer that service in its cloud in 2027, and that one of the three biggest cloud companies, which it did not name, signed a deal.
Cerebras third quarter 2026 results
Cerebras took in more money than in any quarter before, mostly from its cloud service. Under standard accounting rules it still lost about $161 million. Its own adjusted measure, which leaves out some costs, showed a profit.
The quarter ended September 30, 2026. According to the company's release, GAAP revenue was a record $210.8 million, up from $135.7 million a year earlier. Cloud and other services brought in a record $141.9 million, up 265%.
Cerebras also reports Core results, its own adjusted measure. Cerebras gave some customers warrants, which can be turned into its shares. GAAP takes their non-cash cost off revenue over time, and Core adds it back. Core also leaves out the cost of paying staff in shares, and data center costs Cerebras passes on to customers along with the matching revenue.
On that basis, revenue was a record $230.9 million, up 70%. Core cloud and other services revenue was $144.9 million, up 272%.
Gross margin is the share of revenue left after the direct cost of what was sold. Operating margin is the share left after all running costs, such as research and staff pay. Under GAAP, both fell from a year earlier, and the operating margin was negative 106%.
The GAAP net loss was $161.2 million, against $22.2 million a year earlier. The cost of paying staff in shares was $155.1 million in the quarter. Core results leave it out, and Core net income was $29.8 million.
Show the data
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP revenue | $210.8 million | $135.7 million |
| Cloud and other services revenue | $141.9 million | $38.9 million |
| Hardware revenue | $68.9 million | $96.8 million |
| Core revenue | $230.9 million | $135.7 million |
| GAAP gross margin | 20.0% | 40.6% |
| Core gross margin | 41.0% | 40.7% |
| GAAP operating margin | negative 106.3% | negative 19.5% |
| Core operating margin | negative 14.3% | negative 11.1% |
| GAAP net loss | $161.2 million | $22.2 million |
| GAAP net loss per share | $0.67 | $0.41 |
| Core net income (loss) | $29.8 million | loss of $10.9 million |
Source: Cerebras third quarter 2026 results release, quarters ended September 30, 2026 and 2025.
CFO Bob Komin said the company beat its guidance, the forecast it gives investors, across the board for the third quarter in a row. He also said its pipeline for high-speed AI inference grew more than 10x in the quarter. Inference is the work of running trained AI models to answer requests.
Cerebras backlog, customers and capacity
Cerebras has $26.1 billion of signed work it has not yet counted as sales. It said Oracle is adding its service to Oracle's own cloud, and that one of the three biggest cloud companies, which it did not name, signed a deal.
Remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue Cerebras has not yet recognized, stood at $26.1 billion on September 30. Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments totaled $7.8 billion.
Cerebras said it won commercial deals with two new hyperscalers, the giant companies that run cloud data centers. The company said Oracle is adding Cerebras inference to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, its cloud service, and that Cerebras will be available there in 2027. It also announced a cloud deal with a top three hyperscaler that it did not name, saying more will be shared next year.
Two customers brought in about 72% of the quarter's revenue, the company's quarterly report filed on November 12 shows. Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence accounted for 38% and OpenAI for 34%. The report says Cerebras expects OpenAI to make up a large part of its revenue over the next several years.
The company said it has secured 700 gross megawatts of data center capacity for delivery by the end of 2027. A megawatt measures how much power a data center can draw. Cerebras also signed contracts for more capacity in Norway and Finland. It expects to end 2026 with more than 10x the manufacturing capacity it had at the start of the year, working with Flex and Sanmina.
Cerebras revenue growth by quarter
Sales are still growing fast, but the yearly growth rate has slowed each quarter this year, from 94% to 55%. Cloud services now bring in most of the money, and hardware sales were lower than a year earlier.
Cerebras has now put out three quarterly reports since its May listing. GAAP revenue grew 94% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026, according to its first quarter release. Growth was 74% in the second quarter, its second quarter release shows. It slowed to 55% in the quarter ended September 30.
Measured against the quarter before, sales picked up again. GAAP revenue rose 17% from the second quarter, when it had dipped to $180.1 million from $193.4 million in the first.
Cloud services drove the shift from a year earlier. They made up 67% of GAAP revenue in the third quarter, against 29% a year earlier. Hardware revenue fell 29% from a year earlier, to $68.9 million.
Core revenue grew 92% from a year earlier in the first quarter and 103% in the second. It grew 70% in the third. Core revenue ran above GAAP revenue in the last two quarters, mainly because of the warrant cost Core adds back, $36.4 million in the third quarter.
Show the data
| Quarter | GAAP revenue | GAAP growth | Core revenue | Core growth | Cloud share of GAAP revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | $193.4 million | 94% | $191.3 million | 92% | 43% |
| Q2 2026 | $180.1 million | 74% | $209.9 million | 103% | 70% |
| Q3 2026 | $210.8 million | 55% | $230.9 million | 70% | 67% |
Source: Cerebras quarterly results releases, quarters ended March 31 to September 30, 2026. Growth is against the same quarter a year earlier.
Cerebras stock in after-hours trading
The stock rose in after-hours trading on the evening the report came out. StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data show it reached almost 20% above the regular close at 4:33 p.m. ET. At 5:17 p.m. ET it was up 14.2%.
According to StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data, Cerebras shares closed the regular session at $97.75 on November 12. The release came out five minutes later, at 4:05 p.m. ET.
In after-hours trading, the stock first dipped to $93.33 at 4:05 p.m. ET. It then climbed as high as $117.11 at 4:33 p.m. ET, almost 20% above the close.
At 5:17 p.m. ET, the last trade was $111.61, up 14.2% from the close, the same data show.
Far fewer shares trade after hours than in the regular session, so prices can swing more.
Cerebras stock against its $185 IPO price
StockTitan price data show the stock started trading in May far above the $185 price of its listing, then fell. At 5:17 p.m. ET on November 12, after hours, it was still about 40% below that price. These are past prices, and they leave out costs and taxes and do not predict future results.
Cerebras priced its initial public offering at $185 a share on May 13, 2026. The stock began trading on Nasdaq the next day.
On that first day, it opened at $350 and closed at $311.07, StockTitan daily price data show. That is still its highest close. The stock first closed below $185 on June 24. Its last close at or above that price came on September 29. Its lowest close so far was $81.71 on November 5.
The November 12 close of $97.75 was 47% below the IPO price. The 5:17 p.m. ET after-hours price of $111.61, from StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data, was about 40% below it. These are past prices. They leave out costs and taxes and do not predict future results.
Cerebras fourth quarter and full year outlook
Cerebras raised its sales forecast for 2026 for the second time since June. Its third quarter also came in better than it had told investors to expect in August.
For the fourth quarter of 2026, Cerebras expects Core revenue of about $310 million to $330 million.
For that quarter, it sees Core gross margin of 47% to 49%, and Core operating margin between negative 1% and positive 1%.
For the full year 2026, the company now expects Core revenue of $940 million to $960 million. It also raised its forecasts for Core gross and operating margins.
This is the third range Cerebras has given for 2026 Core revenue, after those in its June and August releases. The middle of the new range, $950 million, is about $65 million above the middle of the August range. It is about $90 million above the middle of the June range.
Results for the quarter ended September 30 also beat the company's own forecast. In August, Cerebras expected Core revenue for that quarter of about $214 million to $216 million. It reported $230.9 million.
It had expected a Core operating margin of negative 25% to negative 23% for the quarter. The result was negative 14%.
Show the data
| Outlook given | 2026 Core revenue | 2026 Core gross margin | 2026 Core operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 23, 2026 | $855 million to $865 million | 38% to 41% | negative 32% to negative 28% |
| August 12, 2026 | $880 million to $890 million | 41% to 43% | negative 19% to negative 17% |
| November 12, 2026 | $940 million to $960 million | 42% to 44% | negative 10% to negative 8% |
Source: Cerebras quarterly results releases of June 23, August 12 and November 12, 2026.
CEO Andrew Feldman said the company expects "to triple revenue in 2027." The release lists that goal among its forward-looking statements, which carry risks named there, including its reliance on a limited number of large customers.
Cerebras shares, debt and dividend
Cerebras pays no dividend and names no share buyback. Its debt is a loan from OpenAI, one of its two biggest customers, which it can repay in cash or through the services it delivers.
Cerebras had about 243 million shares outstanding on November 5, across its Class A, Class B and Class N stock, its quarterly report shows. Only the Class A shares trade on Nasdaq.
The company has never paid a cash dividend. It said it does not expect to pay one in the foreseeable future. The report names no share buyback program.
The lender is OpenAI, the same customer that brought in 34% of the quarter's revenue. It lent Cerebras about $1.0 billion in January 2026 under their contract for computing capacity. Cerebras pays it down through the services it bills OpenAI, and had paid no cash by September 30.
The balance was $829.1 million on that date. The loan carries 6% yearly interest and is due by the end of 2032.
Cerebras also has an $850 million credit line, which the release calls debt capacity. It had not borrowed under that line on September 30.
What to watch
- Whether fourth quarter Core revenue lands in the $310 million to $330 million range: the company's fourth quarter results release, date not yet announced.
- The name of the top three hyperscaler and the terms of its deal: a company announcement, which Cerebras said will come next year.
- Cerebras inside Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: a launch announcement, due in 2027, the company said, with no month given.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article. An after-hours price can change a lot before the next regular session opens. The comparisons with the IPO price below are past results. They leave out costs and taxes and do not predict future results.
- About 17% growth from the second quarter: GAAP revenue of $210.8 million against $180.1 million.
- About 67% from cloud: cloud and other services revenue of $141.9 million divided by GAAP revenue of $210.8 million, against $38.9 million of $135.7 million a year earlier, about 29%. The table's first and second quarter shares are worked out the same way.
- About 29% lower hardware revenue: $68.9 million against $96.8 million a year earlier.
- About $65 million higher: the $950 million middle of the new 2026 Core revenue range against the $885 million middle of the August range.
- About $90 million higher: the same $950 million middle against the $860 million middle of the June range.
- About 72% from two customers: the 38% share of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and the 34% share of OpenAI in third quarter revenue, from the quarterly report.
- About 243 million shares: 160,084,168 Class A, 69,203,688 Class B and 13,715,508 Class N shares outstanding on November 5, 2026, from the quarterly report.
- About 47% below the IPO price: the November 12 close of $97.75 against the $185 IPO price.
- About 40% below the IPO price: the 5:17 p.m. ET after-hours price of $111.61 against $185.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for Core revenue. In its August release, Cerebras expected third quarter Core revenue of about $214 million to $216 million. It reported $230.9 million.
Cerebras now expects Core revenue of $940 million to $960 million for 2026. In August, it expected $880 million to $890 million.
Cerebras gave some customers warrants, which can be turned into its shares. GAAP takes their non-cash cost off revenue, and Core adds it back. Core also leaves out data center pass-through revenue, which works the other way and makes Core revenue lower. In the third quarter, the add-back was $36.4 million and the pass-through revenue left out was $16.4 million.
Not under GAAP. Cerebras had a GAAP net loss of $161.2 million in the third quarter. On its own Core basis, which leaves out some costs, it reported net income of $29.8 million.
Cerebras stock closed at $97.75 on November 12, 47% below its $185 IPO price, StockTitan daily price data show. These are past prices. They leave out costs and taxes and do not predict future results.
Sources
- Cerebras Systems Delivers Record Revenue in Third Quarter 2026, Raises Full-Year Outlook, November 12, 2026 (StockTitan)
- Cerebras Systems Fast Inference Cloud Business Nearly Quadruples in Second Quarter 2026, August 12, 2026 (StockTitan)
- Cerebras Systems Announces Strong First Quarter 2026 Results, June 23, 2026 (StockTitan)
- Cerebras Systems Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering, May 13, 2026 (StockTitan)
- Cerebras stock, StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data
- Cerebras Systems Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, filed November 12, 2026 (StockTitan)
- Cerebras Systems Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (SEC)