Cerebras reported its June quarter on August 12, its first full quarter since listing on Nasdaq at $185 on 14 May. Revenue was $180.1M. Against the same quarter a year earlier that is +74%. Against the quarter immediately before it — $193.4M — it is down 7%.
The margin is the story
| Quarter | Revenue | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 | $103.3M | 31.1% |
| 2025 Q3 | $135.7M | 40.6% |
| 2025 Q4 | $171.4M | 41.0% |
| 2026 Q1 | $193.4M | 44.6% |
| 2026 Q2 | $180.1M | 14.2% |
Gross profit fell from $86.2M to $25.6M on a revenue base that barely moved. Cost of revenue went the other way — $107.2M to $154.6M. Cerebras has been explicit in its filings that cost of revenue rises as datacentre capacity ramps to support the inference service; this quarter is what that looks like when the capacity lands before the revenue does.
The $450M loss is mostly not operational
Net loss for the quarter was $450.5M, or −$2.98 per diluted share. Before reading that as a business collapsing, note the composition: operating expenses were $502.8M, of which $377.0M was stock-based compensation — the RSU charge that triggers on an IPO. Strip it out and operating expenses are roughly $126M against $25.6M of gross profit, an operating loss near $100M. That is a real loss, and a fifth the size of the headline.
The margin line has no such asterisk.
Free cash flow at −$477M
Operating cash flow was −$59.8M. Capital expenditure was $416.9M — in one quarter, against $180.1M of revenue, and up from $132.0M in the March quarter. Free cash flow came to −$476.7M. This is a company spending more than twice its quarterly revenue on the datacentre buildout that the inference business runs on, which is a coherent strategy and an unforgiving cash profile at the same time.
For context, trailing twelve-month revenue is $680.7M, more than double the prior year.
What the Street did with it
Every analyst note in the current set landed on 13 August, the day after the print, and all five are Buy. Citi trimmed its target to $320 from $340; Morgan Stanley went the other way, to $279 from $273; Craig-Hallum ($325), Rosenblatt ($300) and Needham ($300) reiterated. Consensus is Strong Buy at an average $291.64. The shares closed 14 August at $218.98, down 5.2% on the day and still 18% above the IPO price.
A note on the history here
Cerebras listed in May 2026, so only the March and June 2026 quarters have earnings releases. The quarterly revenue and gross-margin history back to March 2024 comes from the quarterly results table in the IPO prospectus (Form 424B4, 14 May 2026); per-share earnings and free cash flow are only shown for the quarters with a filed quarterly cash-flow statement. Nothing here is estimated.
What we learned
- Gross margin fell from 44.6% to 14.2% on a revenue base that barely moved. Gross profit went $86.2M to $25.6M while cost of revenue went $107.2M to $154.6M. This is what capacity landing before revenue looks like.
- Revenue grew 74% year over year and fell 7% sequentially. $180.1M against $103.3M a year earlier and $193.4M the quarter before — the first sequential decline in the series.
- The $450.5M loss is mostly the IPO, not the business. Of $502.8M in operating expenses, $377.0M was stock-based compensation — the RSU charge that triggers on listing. Strip it and the operating loss is near $100M, a fifth of the headline. The margin line carries no such asterisk.
- Capital expenditure was $416.9M against $180.1M of revenue. Free cash flow of −$476.7M on operating cash flow of −$59.8M — more than twice quarterly revenue spent on the datacentre buildout in three months, up from $132.0M in March.
- All five analyst notes landed the day after the print and all five are Buy. Consensus Strong Buy at $291.64 average, with Citi trimming to $320 and Morgan Stanley raising to $279, against a 14 August close of $218.98 — still 18% above the $185 IPO price.
