US Stocks Move | C3.ai Plunges 22% Pre-market as Q3 Results and Q4 Guidance Fall Far Short of Expectations

Gelonghui, February 26th｜Software provider C3.ai (AI.US) plummeted 22.7% pre-market, trading at $7.97. In terms of news, both C3.ai's third-quarter results and fourth-quarter guidance fell short of market expectations, and the company announced layoffs of about a quarter of its workforce. According to the financial report, in the third quarter ended January 31, 2026, C3.ai's revenue fell 46% year-on-year to $53.3 million, 30% lower than analysts' consensus estimate of $75.91 million; subscription revenue totaled $48.2 million, accounting for 90% of total revenue. Adjusted earnings per share were -$0.40, missing analysts' consensus estimate of -$0.29. In addition, C3.ai expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $48 million and $52 million, significantly below the market expectation of $77.47 million. C3.ai stated that as part of the restructuring led by new CEO Stephen Ehikian, the company is cutting 26% of its global workforce. As of April 30, 2025, the company had about 1,181 full-time employees. C3.ai expects to incur about $10 million to $12 million in restructuring costs this quarter and plans to reduce non-payroll-related costs by about 30% by the end of 2027.