Bernstein Identifies CoreWeave as Key Loser in Potential AI Slowdown
On September 14, 2026, Bernstein highlighted the potential risks of an AI slowdown and specifically identified CoreWeave (CRWV) as a stock most vulnerable to such a scenario. The warning followed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call for slowing down AI development progress due to safety concerns. This message was complicated by Anthropic’s upcoming IPO, raising questions about the company's commitment to growth versus caution. CoreWeave saw its shares drop nearly 8% during the session and closed at $82.98 after failing to recover from early losses. Bernstein attributed this vulnerability partly to CoreWeave's geographic exposure—about a quarter of its active U.S. power is in Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets, which are more suited for training than low-latency inference work. Bernstein downgraded CoreWeave with an Underperform rating and set a $74 price target, contrasting sharply with the broader market's average price target near $139 according to TipRanks. The firm contrasted this risk profile against data center providers like Equinix (EQIX), Digital Realty (DLR), and Csquare (CQ) that maintain most of their U.S. capacity in major metro areas, which Bernstein rated as Outperform.
Topics: AI investment IPO regulatory_concerns sector_risk