Cerebras Systems Inc. · Q2 2026

The quarter in short

Revenue $180M, up 74.3% year over year and down 6.9% on the quarter. Adjusted EPS -$0.04. GAAP EPS −$2.98. Free cash flow −$477M, down 206.1% year over year and 298.5% on the quarter. Adjusted EPS beat consensus by 81%.

What we learned

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Read moreRead callRead preview