Shares of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE: AI) experienced a significant increase today, even though there were no specific updates about the AI-for-the-enterprise platform. The surge in stock price appears to be linked to Oracle Corporation’s (ORCL) announcement about a rise in demand for its cloud services due to expanding artificial intelligence needs.
As a result of this news, AI-related stocks, including C3.ai, witnessed a jump in value. C3.ai closed the day with a remarkable 14.7% increase, reflecting investors’ belief that positive developments in the AI industry benefit C3.ai.
Oracle Reports Strong Growth in Cloud Business Driven by Generative AI
Oracle’s recent earnings report, released yesterday, revealed strong growth forecasts for its cloud-computing business. With a 54% sales increase in the fiscal fourth quarter, Oracle’s management credited generative AI as a significant driver for the growth of its cloud services.
These developments further emphasize the reality of the AI boom, as evidenced by the surge in mentions of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT on earnings calls. In addition, NVIDIA Corporation’s blowout guidance for its second quarter due to surging demand for AI chips adds to the mounting evidence.
Although C3.ai is associated with artificial intelligence and offers AI-based applications like demand forecasting tools, the company has yet to experience a substantial boost from the increased interest in the technology. Its most recent quarter’s revenue growth remained stagnant, and the company’s guidance for the current fiscal year indicates a modest growth of only around 15%. This growth projection is underwhelming for a software company, particularly one specializing in the thriving tech sector.
CEO Thomas Siebel remains optimistic, stating that the company is witnessing strong customer interest and expects profitability on an adjusted basis by the end of fiscal 2024.
However, analysts caution that C3.ai’s valuation appears stretched, with a price-to-sales ratio of 15. Considering the company’s modest growth and significant losses, the stock’s recent gains seem to be fueled primarily by hype.
