New York, April 28, 2026 – Shares of Oracle and CoreWeave tumbled on Tuesday, dragging down a broad swath of AI-related stocks, after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that OpenAI had fallen short of its latest revenue and user targets. The disclosure has reignited investor anxiety over whether the explosive growth in artificial intelligence can generate enough revenue to justify the enormous capital expenditures required for data-center expansion.
The development is significant because OpenAI sits at the center of a complex web of cloud, chip, and financing arrangements that have fueled the AI rally over the past several years. The question now being asked by investors is blunt: can actual demand for AI products cover the steep costs of compute, chips, and the data-center muscle behind them?
The timing is particularly awkward for OpenAI, which is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at as much as $1 trillion, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, major tech players including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon are set to update investors on AI demand and spending in the coming days, adding to the market's focus on the sector's fundamentals.
Oracle shares fell approximately 4.0% to $165.96, while CoreWeave dropped 5.9% to $105.53. Nvidia edged down 1.6%, AMD lost 3.4%, and Arm Holdings slid 8.0%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF declined 3.7%, reflecting broad selling that extended well beyond OpenAI's cloud affiliates.
According to sources cited by the Journal, OpenAI missed several monthly revenue targets this year as rival Anthropic gained traction with coders and corporate clients. ChatGPT also failed to reach OpenAI's internal benchmark of one billion weekly active users by the end of 2025. OpenAI pushed back against the report, with CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar telling Reuters, "This is ridiculous. We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can," dismissing claims of internal disagreement over infrastructure spending. In a separate statement to Axios, OpenAI said its AI coding tool, Codex, has reached 4 million users and described the company as "firing on all cylinders."
Investors see Oracle as particularly vulnerable, given reports tying the company to a $300 billion, five-year cloud agreement with OpenAI. On Tuesday, Oracle's five-year credit default swaps—a key measure of debt-insurance costs—hit a two-week high, according to Reuters. CoreWeave, which signed an $11.9 billion deal with OpenAI last month, also saw its shares slide. Oracle reiterated its enthusiasm for the partnership, emphasizing ongoing efforts to boost capacity for the AI player. CoreWeave described OpenAI as a solid collaborator but noted it serves many other clients, pointing to broader demand as AI inference gains traction.
Competition is intensifying. According to Axios, investors now view Anthropic and Google's Gemini as making gains in key segments—Anthropic leaning into enterprise and Google having an edge with consumers. The Journal also highlighted Anthropic's increasing pressure in coding and business-related areas. On Monday, Microsoft and OpenAI restructured their partnership, eliminating Microsoft's exclusive rights to distribute OpenAI models. OpenAI now has the freedom to offer its products on rival cloud platforms, though Microsoft retains its position as OpenAI's top cloud partner, with Azure getting first dibs on new OpenAI products unless Microsoft cannot or chooses not to provide the required support.
Not everyone is convinced the AI rally is over. Ben Reitzes, managing director at Melius Research, told Bloomberg Television that investors are not backing off after just one lackluster report. Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, told Axios that those selling on the assumption that the AI story is about to collapse will likely be disappointed. Some analysts pointed to concentration risk after the selloff. Bloomberg Intelligence's Anurag Rana flagged a ripple effect across the AI infrastructure space, suggesting Oracle faces the greatest risk if OpenAI scales back computing demand. Allan Small, senior investment adviser at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth, told Reuters he sees more signs of rising competition than an actual slowdown in the sector.
There is risk on both sides. Should OpenAI raise prices, secure more enterprise deals, or continue scaling Codex, Tuesday's selloff could prove to be a flush-out in a crowded trade. But with revenue still trailing costs, the pressure could shift from OpenAI's private valuation onto the public companies backing, funding, and powering its AI infrastructure.
