Cerebras Systems doubled core revenue in Q2 as GAAP hardware sales fell 23%
SUNNYVALE, Aug. 13. Cerebras Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRS) posted second-quarter core revenue of $209.9 million, up 103% from a year earlier, exceeding management's guidance of approximately $194 million. GAAP revenue rose 74% to $180.1 million, below the $194.23 million consensus compiled by LSEG. Shares fell 11.9% to $231.01 on August 13, having dropped as much as 16% in extended trading after the report.
Key takeaways
- Cerebras Systems reported Q2 core revenue of $209.9 million, up 103% year over year and above its guidance of about $194 million.
- GAAP hardware revenue fell 23% to $54.1 million, while core hardware revenue rose 17% year over year to $82.1 million, with the gap driven by customer-warrant accounting.
- GAAP cloud and other services revenue jumped 281% year over year to $126 million as the revenue mix shifted toward cloud services.
- Cerebras raised its 2026 core-revenue forecast to $880 million–$890 million and disclosed remaining performance obligations of $25.4 billion.
- Shares fell 11.9% to $231.01 on August 13 after the report, having dropped as much as 16% in extended trading.
SUNNYVALE, Aug. 13. Cerebras Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRS) posted second-quarter core revenue of $209.9 million, up 103% from a year earlier, exceeding management's guidance of approximately $194 million. GAAP revenue rose 74% to $180.1 million, below the $194.23 million consensus compiled by LSEG. Shares fell 11.9% to $231.01 on August 13, having dropped as much as 16% in extended trading after the report.
Revenue mix and the GAAP-versus-core gap
On a GAAP basis, hardware revenue declined 23% to $54.1 million. Core hardware revenue, a company-defined non-GAAP figure that adds back customer-warrant amortization and excludes data-center pass-through revenue, rose 17% year over year to $82.1 million. The gap between the two lines is the warrant accounting, which reduces GAAP hardware revenue without reflecting cash received from customers.
Core hardware revenue fell 26% sequentially, from $111.6 million in the preceding quarter, as the revenue mix shifted toward cloud services. GAAP cloud and other services revenue rose 281% year over year to $126 million. That growth carries a different cost structure: Cerebras arranges data-center capacity and deploys its wafer-scale processors before or alongside the revenue ramp, a heavier capital commitment than a direct hardware sale.
Adjusted gross margin declined to 40.6% from 46.5% in the preceding quarter. Management attributed roughly five percentage points of that compression to temporarily renting back systems previously sold to cloud customers.
Guidance and demand signals
Cerebras raised its 2026 core-revenue forecast to $880 million to $890 million from a prior range of $855 million to $865 million. Remaining performance obligations stood at $25.4 billion, the company disclosed, supported in part by a multiyear OpenAI agreement the company described as exceeding $20 billion. OpenAI also extended the company a $1 billion working-capital loan that partially offsets the capital requirements of the cloud model, according to the disclosure.
Cerebras completed its IPO in May 2026. Its prospectus described the business as a hybrid of on-premises hardware and cloud-based compute. The second-quarter results confirm that mix has shifted further toward services. Core hardware revenue at $82.1 million was 17% above the year-earlier level and 26% below the $111.6 million reported in the preceding quarter.