C3.ai AI and Veritone VERI are two small-cap companies at the forefront of enterprise artificial intelligence software. C3.ai, founded by tech veteran Tom Siebel, brands itself as an Enterprise AI application software provider serving industries from energy to defense. Meanwhile, Veritone focuses on “human-centered” AI solutions for media, entertainment, the public sector and more. Both firms build AI platforms (C3.ai’s suite of enterprise applications and Veritone’s aiWARE platform) that help organizations turn big data and machine learning models into actionable business insights.
Both stocks are at inflection points following their most recent earnings results. C3.ai is coming off a strong fiscal 2025 with accelerating top-line growth, but its preliminary first-quarter fiscal 2026 update shows ongoing operating losses and heavy cash burn. On the contrary, Veritone is growing its core software revenues and expanding its defense and data-refinery pipelines, but overall sales remain pressured by weakness in legacy services. Veritone stock has swung on earnings news, jumping on upbeat guidance despite ongoing losses.
Given these dynamics, the comparison between the two is timely. Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of the two stocks to determine which one is a better investment now.
C3.ai has been a high-profile name in enterprise AI, known for its broad industry reach and marquee partnerships. In the most recent reported quarter (the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025), C3.ai posted $108.7 million in revenues (up 26% year over year) — a record level fueled by rising demand for its AI applications. Subscription-based sales make up the bulk of C3’s revenues, and the firm has strategic alliances with tech giants like Microsoft MSFT, Amazon’s AMZN Amazon Web Services, and Alphabet’s GOOGL Google Cloud, as well as a renewed multi-year partnership with Baker Hughes in the industrial sector. These alliances and a presence across 19 different industries give C3.ai a wide competitive footprint to chase new enterprise customers.
Despite these strengths, C3.ai’s near-term outlook has darkened following a disappointing summer update. In August, management revealed preliminary first-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of only about $70.2-$70.4 million, which is down about 19% from $87.2 million a year earlier and drastically below the $100-$109 million range they had guided for that quarter in May. GAAP operating loss is estimated in the range of $124.7 million-$124.9 million, while the non-GAAP operating loss is predicted to be between $57.7 million and $57.9 million.
This shock shortfall – a massive miss on the company’s own guidance – sent the stock plunging over 25% in one day and to multi-year lows. CEO Tom Siebel frankly called the sales results “completely unacceptable,” blaming a disruptive reorganization of C3.ai’s sales force and his own health issues for the flop.
Despite the rough preliminary first-quarter fiscal 2026 report, several underlying positives suggest that C3.ai may still be set for a potential rebound. The long-term opportunity is undeniable: enterprises continue to seek AI-driven efficiencies, and C3.ai’s platform is well-positioned to capitalize if it can execute. C3.ai differentiates itself from other enterprise AI providers by offering industry-specific, prebuilt AI applications and a full-stack, low-code development platform, enabling quicker deployments across sectors like defense, healthcare, energy and beyond. These capabilities, paired with strategic alliances such as go-to-market relationships with Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, PwC and McKinsey QuantumBlack, continue to bolster C3.ai’s market reach and credibility.
C3.ai continues to maintain a strong liquidity position. As of late July 2025, the company held about $711.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities — only slightly below its April balance of $742.7 million. This sizable cushion provides ample runway for operations, even as the firm remains in non-GAAP loss territory.
Veritone is a considerably smaller company, but it has been showing encouraging progress in 2025. Veritone’s future is being reshaped by two powerful growth engines: VDR’s role in the surging demand for AI training data and deepening adoption of aiWARE/iDEMS in the public sector. VDR has quickly built momentum since its late-2024 launch. In the second quarter of 2025, its qualified near-term pipeline surpassed $20 million, more than doubling since the first quarter and rising 33% since June. The product already processed 5 trillion tokens of video and audio data during the quarter, highlighting its scale and capability. This positions Veritone as a critical supplier of training data for both hyperscalers and enterprises, a market projected to expand dramatically through the decade.
Veritone is gaining significant traction in the public sector, where AI adoption is accelerating. In the second quarter, the company signed 35 new public sector customers and 95 renewals, including a major sole-source contract with the U.S. Air Force for its aiWARE platform and iDEMS (Intelligent Digital Evidence Management System). The public sector pipeline expanded to $189 million, up from $110 million in first quarter. With defense technology spending projected near $1 trillion and AI prioritized in U.S. government initiatives, Veritone is well positioned to secure long-term recurring contracts.
Beyond government, Veritone is deepening its commercial reach. It closed 11 enterprise software deals in the second quarter, including with ESPN, Inter Milan and the U.S. Soccer Federation. Customers are using aiWARE to unlock and monetize media libraries across broadcasting, film and sports.
Despite revenue stability, profitability metrics weakened. GAAP gross profit fell 7% year over year to $15.3 million, while the GAAP gross margin compressed to 63.9% from 68.2% in the second quarter of 2024. The non-GAAP gross margin also slipped to 68.9% from 73.6%, mainly due to the higher contribution from lower-margin VDR and managed services. Operating loss improved modestly to $19.3 million compared with $20.3 million in the prior-year quarter, thanks to cost discipline. However, the net loss widened to $26.8 million, primarily reflecting a non-cash charge tied to the divestiture of Veritone One.
The company has been burning cash, which led management to initiate a cost reduction program (targeting $10 million in annual savings) and to raise about $10 million in fresh equity capital in July. Share dilution and a weak balance sheet are key risks – Veritone had $13.6 million in cash on hand at quarter’s end. Moreover, competition in AI is fierce. Veritone must compete not only with other AI software startups but also with in-house development at big tech companies and potential customers’ own IT teams. The intense industry competition and economic uncertainties (e.g., tightening IT budgets or slower public-sector spending) could affect Veritone’s growth trajectory.
C3.ai stock has experienced a significant decline, falling 37.8% over the past three months. AI stock fell around 24% since it released its preliminary results for its fiscal first quarter, which ended on July 31, 2025. Recent news indicates challenges for the company, including quarterly revenues falling below expectations, which has impacted investor confidence.
Meanwhile, Veritone stock has jumped 95.5% over the same time frame. The company’s aim to reach profitability by the second half of 2026 suggests a light at the end of the tunnel, and each quarter of narrowing losses moves it closer to that goal.
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AI stock is priced at a discount relative to its industry. It has a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 5.44, which is well above the VERI average.
The firm’s current market capitalization is only around $168 million, which is barely 1.4X F12M sales — a fraction of C3.ai’s valuation multiple. This low valuation partly reflects the company’s risks (small size and ongoing losses), but it also means the stock could have substantial upside if Veritone executes well.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 and 2027 loss per share has widened to $1.39 and 47 cents from a loss of 42 cents and 16 cents in the past 30 days, respectively. The estimated figure indicates a widened loss for fiscal 2026 compared to what was expected earlier, as you can see below.
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Analysts are growing increasingly optimistic about VERI’s earnings potential. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VERI’s 2025 loss per share has narrowed to 55 cents per share from 58 cents, reflecting a positive shift in sentiment. The estimated figure depicts a narrower loss for 2025 compared to 2024, as shown below.
For VERI Stock
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Both C3.ai and Veritone are riding the enterprise AI wave, but their near-term trajectories have diverged. C3.ai offers a bigger scale and brand in the AI arena, with hundreds of millions in revenues and major partnerships. However, it is currently hampered by execution issues and sliding sales momentum.
Veritone, by contrast, is a scrappy up-and-comer that is growing its core AI revenues double-digit and has recently snagged high-profile deals (like the U.S. Air Force contract) that validate its strategy. Looking at 2025, Veritone appears to offer more upside potential. The company is forecasting solid revenue growth and incrementally improving losses, which, if achieved, could rerate its stock from the depressed valuation it trades at today. The current Zacks Ranks underscore this divergence: Veritone carries a Rank #3 (Hold), whereas C3.ai sits at Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
