TLDR
- C3.ai missed Q1 revenue estimates by $23 million, reporting $70.3M vs expected $93.88M
- Executive Chairman Thomas Siebel called financial performance “completely unacceptable”
- Stephen Ehikian appointed new CEO effective September 1st after Siebel’s health issues
- Q2 revenue guidance of $72-80M falls short of $99.5M analyst expectations
- Stock tumbled 11% after-hours, extending 52% year-to-date decline
C3.ai stock continued its downward spiral as the enterprise artificial intelligence company delivered another quarter of disappointing results. The AI software provider reported a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that fell well short of Wall Street estimates.
The company posted an adjusted first-quarter loss of 37 cents per share on revenue of $70.3 million. Analysts had forecast a smaller loss of 21 cents per share and revenue of $93.88 million.
Executive Chairman Thomas Siebel didn’t sugarcoat the results. He labeled the quarter’s financial performance as “completely unacceptable” in the earnings release.
Sales Team Overhaul Creates Disruption
Siebel attributed the poor results to two main factors. C3.ai spent the quarter restructuring its global sales and services organization, which created operational disruption.
The company brought in new sales leadership during this period. This transition appears to have hampered the team’s ability to close deals effectively.
Siebel also cited his own health challenges as a contributing factor. The executive chairman has been battling an autoimmune disease that causes visual impairment.
His condition prevented him from participating actively in the sales process. For a company where Siebel has historically played a key role in major deals, this absence proved costly.
Leadership Change at Critical Time
The health issues prompted C3.ai to search for a new chief executive. That search concluded with the appointment of Stephen Ehikian as CEO, effective September 1st.
Ehikian previously served as acting administrator of the General Services Administration under President Trump. He brings government and enterprise software experience to the role.
The timing of this leadership transition comes at a challenging moment for C3.ai. The company faces intense competition in the enterprise AI space.
Forward-looking guidance provided little comfort for investors. C3.ai forecasts second-quarter revenue between $72 million and $80 million.
This outlook falls well below the $99.5 million that analysts had been expecting. The company also projects an adjusted operating loss of $49.5 million to $57.5 million for Q2.
Stock Performance Reflects Ongoing Struggles
Shares dropped 11% in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement. The stock was already down 52% year-to-date heading into the results.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits shifted to bullish despite the poor results, though message volume spiked to extremely high levels.
C3.ai had previously warned investors about weak Q1 performance in mid-August, causing a 25% single-day decline. The latest results confirmed those preliminary warnings while adding new concerns about future quarters.
