CoreWeave Stock Drops 16% as 2032 Bond Yields Hit 15% in AI Debt Rout That Spreads to GE Vernova and Oracle

CoreWeave shares plunged as much as 17% on Wednesday as yields on the company's unsecured bonds surged to nearly 15%, rattling investors across the AI infrastructure sector and raising broad questions about whether the debt-fueled buildout of AI compute capacity can sustain itself. The yield to maturity on CoreWeave's 9.625% bond due in 2032 reached 14.8%, while its 9.75% bond due in 2031 touched roughly 14.9%, levels that reflect deep investor unease about the company's financing model.

CoreWeave has raised more than $30 billion this year and reported a net loss of $626 million in the second quarter, with net interest expenses alone reaching $640 million. The company carries a $104 billion revenue backlog, which CEO Mike Intrator cited in an internal memo obtained by CNBC, writing that the backlog "more than supports all of our debt obligations" and dismissing the selloff by saying the market was "acting irrationally." Elon Musk amplified concern when he responded to a post flagged by investor Chamath Palihapitiya with the word "yikes."

The stress spread beyond CoreWeave itself. GE Vernova and other AI-linked industrial stocks fell, Oracle slipped roughly 2%, and cloud rival Nebius dropped about 6%. Investors are questioning whether Nvidia GPUs pledged as collateral for secured debt retain their assumed value over time, and hotter-than-expected inflation data on Wednesday pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 5.3%, widening the already uncomfortable gap between risk-free rates and what CoreWeave must pay to borrow. Concerns about a potential oversupply in AI compute power added to the pressure, as the episode put a spotlight on the sector's heavy reliance on the high-yield debt market to finance capacity growth.