C3.ai

Information Technology Services · Technology

Price

$8.82

-0.09 (-1.01%)

Market Cap

$1.34B

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Share count rising — dilution

+34.6% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 104.4M (2022) → 140.5M (2026)

C3.ai builds software that helps large companies use artificial intelligence in their daily operations. Its products are pre-built AI applications — tools that can predict equipment failures, detect fraud, or manage energy use — sold mainly to big businesses in industries like oil and gas, defense, financial services, and manufacturing. The company partners with major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud to reach customers.

C3.ai charges customers through software subscriptions and usage-based contracts, giving it recurring revenue when deals hold. It operates primarily in the United States but serves some international clients, and its partnerships with large cloud platforms give it a distribution advantage smaller AI software firms lack. However, the company is deeply unprofitable, spending far more than it earns, and faces intense competition from larger technology companies building similar AI tools in-house — making the path to sustainable profitability the central challenge for the business going forward.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-46.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-53.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$229M/ year

→ Flat (+1% vs prior year)

91.5% of revenue

6.1x the sector average (15%)

Steady R&D investment year-over-year

Insider Activity

10.6%ownership

↑ Rising

Insiders increasing their stake — aligned with shareholders

Cash Runway

~5 months

$89M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

C3.ai has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin

17.3%

Thin — 17.3% gross margin

Operating Margin

-263.6%

Losing money on operations — -263.6%

ROCE

-19.5%

Weak — -19.5% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY

+1.9%

Nearly flat sales (1.9% YoY)

EPS YoY

N/A

—

Data not available

EPS Consistency

0/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion

N/A

—

Data not available

FCF Margin

-34.3%

Burning cash (-34.3%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

Debt / Equity

N/A

Data not available

Interest Cover

N/A

—

Data not available

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

—

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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