C3.AI Stock Moves Ahead of Earnings After a Quarter to Forget

MarketDash Editorial Team
5 days ago
C3.ai shares are climbing ahead of its second-quarter earnings report today, with investors hoping for signs of recovery after last quarter's dismal results prompted a CEO shake-up and complete sales team overhaul.

C3.ai Inc. (AI) is having one of those moments where everyone's watching to see if the turnaround plan is actually working. The enterprise AI company reports second-quarter earnings after the bell today, and investors are desperate for good news after last quarter's results were, to put it mildly, rough.

What Analysts Expect

Wall Street is looking for an adjusted loss of 33 cents per share on revenue of $74.86 million. That would represent modest improvement from last quarter, when the Redwood City, California-based company posted a loss of 37 cents per share and revenue of just $70.26 million. To put that in perspective, the company pulled in $108.7 million the quarter before that. Revenue hadn't been that low since early 2023, and management didn't try to sugarcoat it.

The Mea Culpa That Changed Everything

Former CEO Thomas Siebel didn't mince words when discussing last quarter's performance, calling it "completely unacceptable." He blamed the revenue collapse on a messy combination of sales and services teams, plus some unexpected personal health issues that kept him out of the sales process. Turns out his involvement mattered more than anyone realized.

"The good news is we have completely restructured the sales and services organization, including new and highly experienced leadership across the board to ensure a return to accelerating growth and increased customer success at C3 AI," Siebel said at the time.

But saying you'll fix things and actually fixing them are different, which is why Siebel is no longer CEO. Stephen Ehikian took over in September as part of a broader management shake-up that also brought in a new board member and a new chief commercial officer. The company has been pushing its C3 Agentic AI Platform, which builds enterprise AI applications, and recently closed 12 agreements in the federal sector representing 28% of total bookings.

What the Market Is Telling Us

The stock charts aren't pretty. C3.ai is trading roughly 13% below its 50-day moving average and about 31% below its 200-day moving average, suggesting weakness in both the short and long term. At $14.48, shares are hovering near the bottom of their 52-week range of $12.59 to $45.08, though that low point might offer some psychological support for bargain hunters.

During Wednesday's session, the stock opened at $14.34, hit a high of $14.75, and found support at $14.17. Whether it can hold above that $14.17 level could determine near-term direction, while $14.75 is the immediate resistance traders are watching.

After last quarter's disappointment, multiple analysts maintained Hold and Underweight ratings while cutting their price targets. Today's report will reveal whether the leadership changes and sales restructuring are actually working, or if there's more pain ahead.

Shares were up 1.64% at $14.62 at the time of publication on Wednesday.

C3.AI Stock Moves Ahead of Earnings After a Quarter to Forget

MarketDash Editorial Team
5 days ago
C3.ai shares are climbing ahead of its second-quarter earnings report today, with investors hoping for signs of recovery after last quarter's dismal results prompted a CEO shake-up and complete sales team overhaul.

C3.ai Inc. (AI) is having one of those moments where everyone's watching to see if the turnaround plan is actually working. The enterprise AI company reports second-quarter earnings after the bell today, and investors are desperate for good news after last quarter's results were, to put it mildly, rough.

What Analysts Expect

Wall Street is looking for an adjusted loss of 33 cents per share on revenue of $74.86 million. That would represent modest improvement from last quarter, when the Redwood City, California-based company posted a loss of 37 cents per share and revenue of just $70.26 million. To put that in perspective, the company pulled in $108.7 million the quarter before that. Revenue hadn't been that low since early 2023, and management didn't try to sugarcoat it.

The Mea Culpa That Changed Everything

Former CEO Thomas Siebel didn't mince words when discussing last quarter's performance, calling it "completely unacceptable." He blamed the revenue collapse on a messy combination of sales and services teams, plus some unexpected personal health issues that kept him out of the sales process. Turns out his involvement mattered more than anyone realized.

"The good news is we have completely restructured the sales and services organization, including new and highly experienced leadership across the board to ensure a return to accelerating growth and increased customer success at C3 AI," Siebel said at the time.

But saying you'll fix things and actually fixing them are different, which is why Siebel is no longer CEO. Stephen Ehikian took over in September as part of a broader management shake-up that also brought in a new board member and a new chief commercial officer. The company has been pushing its C3 Agentic AI Platform, which builds enterprise AI applications, and recently closed 12 agreements in the federal sector representing 28% of total bookings.

What the Market Is Telling Us

The stock charts aren't pretty. C3.ai is trading roughly 13% below its 50-day moving average and about 31% below its 200-day moving average, suggesting weakness in both the short and long term. At $14.48, shares are hovering near the bottom of their 52-week range of $12.59 to $45.08, though that low point might offer some psychological support for bargain hunters.

During Wednesday's session, the stock opened at $14.34, hit a high of $14.75, and found support at $14.17. Whether it can hold above that $14.17 level could determine near-term direction, while $14.75 is the immediate resistance traders are watching.

After last quarter's disappointment, multiple analysts maintained Hold and Underweight ratings while cutting their price targets. Today's report will reveal whether the leadership changes and sales restructuring are actually working, or if there's more pain ahead.

Shares were up 1.64% at $14.62 at the time of publication on Wednesday.