Investing.com — Oppenheimer downgraded C3.ai to Perform from Outperform and dropped its $45 price target after the artificial intelligence software maker sharply cut its preliminary first-quarter revenue outlook and announced the departure of its chief executive.
“The company significantly lowered revenue expectations for 1Q26, a 35% sequential decline and a major concern given the recurring nature of its Subscription revenues, suggesting the services are not working as advertised,” analysts at Oppenheimer said.
The company now expects revenue of about $70 million for the quarter ended July, down from its prior forecast of around $105 million and implying a 35% sequential drop.
The brokerage said the decline is especially concerning given the recurring nature of C3.ai’s subscription revenue.
Non-GAAP operating loss is also projected to widen to roughly $58 million from a prior forecast of $29 million. Founder and CEO Tom Siebel will step down for health reasons, with new leadership in place following a completed restructuring.
“We are concerned that these results indicate secular weakness in underlying trends. The company is very difficult to forecast, but we are reducing estimates dramatically”
Oppenheimer said the results point to possible long-term weakness in demand, prompting it to cut its full-year revenue forecast by more than a third and to scale back 2027 expectations to match the new 2026 outlook.
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