OpenAI Missed Growth Targets; Tech Stocks Tumble

Six major technology stocks fell sharply after reports that OpenAI has not hit its own growth and sales goals, signaling that traders are reassessing the company’s ability to fund massive compute infrastructure commitments. The declines on Tuesday affected Coreweave (CRWV), SoftBank Group (9984.T), Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia (NVDA), and Oracle (ORCL), with losses ranging from 0.2% to over 10%.

Stock Declines and Company Responses

Oracle dropped 4% despite maintaining its $300 billion five-year compute partnership with OpenAI. Broadcom lost 4%, while AMD fell 3%. Nvidia slipped more than 1%, and Qualcomm (QCOM) declined 0.2% before recovering slightly on reports of work with OpenAI on smartphone chips. Coreweave, the debt-heavy cloud computing company closely tied to AI compute demand, fell more than 5%. SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s largest investors, sank about 10% in Asia trading.

OpenAI’s finance chief Sarah Friar warned colleagues that slower sales could make it harder for OpenAI to fund future compute deals. In response, Sam Altman and Sarah Friar stated: “We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day,” and called claims of internal splits or stepping back from compute purchases “ridiculous.”

Oracle also defended the partnership. A company spokesperson said, “We’re incredibly excited about our partnership with OpenAI and remain focused on building and delivering the capacity they need to support rapidly growing demand,” adding that “OpenAI’s new 5.5 model is a significant step forward, and we expect continued momentum as access to their technology expands across cloud providers.”

OpenAI’s Growth Challenges and Cash Burn Outlook

OpenAI recently missed internal targets for user growth and revenue. The company had set a goal of reaching one billion weekly active ChatGPT users by the end of last year, a figure it has not announced. Revenue targets were also missed after Google Gemini grew strongly late last year and took market share from OpenAI, with subscriber cancellations also cited as an issue. Earlier this year, OpenAI missed several monthly revenue targets as Anthropic gained ground in coding and enterprise products.

Despite raising $122 billion in its latest funding round—the largest in Silicon Valley history—OpenAI faces significant cash burn. The company has signed commitments for approximately $600 billion in future compute spending. According to the source, even with aggressive sales goals, OpenAI expects to use the newly raised capital within three years. Some of the funding also depends on partner agreements, meaning not all capital is fully locked in without conditions.

Within OpenAI, certain areas continue to grow. Codex, its coding tool, is gaining popularity, and the company released GPT-5.5, a model that beat several industry benchmarks. However, OpenAI is cutting costs by scaling back projects such as Sora, its video-generation application.

Sam Altman has long prioritized securing maximum data-center capacity, viewing insufficient computing power as the primary constraint on OpenAI’s growth. This strategy led to a major series of deals last year but left the company heavily committed to long-term compute obligations. The stock market reaction suggests traders are now scrutinizing cash flow, spending targets, and compute bills more closely than growth narratives.

FAQ

Why did OpenAI-linked stocks fall? Reports indicated OpenAI missed its own growth and revenue targets, raising investor concerns about the company’s ability to fund massive compute infrastructure commitments. This prompted traders to reassess companies dependent on OpenAI’s compute spending, including Oracle, Broadcom, AMD, Nvidia, Coreweave, and SoftBank.

What are OpenAI’s specific missed targets? OpenAI missed its internal goal of reaching one billion weekly active ChatGPT users by the end of last year (a figure not publicly announced). The company also missed yearly ChatGPT revenue targets, with competition from Google Gemini and subscriber cancellations cited as factors. Earlier this year, OpenAI missed several monthly revenue targets as well.

How long will OpenAI’s $122 billion in funding last? According to the source, OpenAI expects to use the newly raised capital within three years, even if it hits aggressive sales goals. The company has signed commitments for approximately $600 billion in future compute spending, and some funding depends on partner agreements rather than being fully locked in.

What is OpenAI’s response to the criticism? Sam Altman and Sarah Friar stated they are “totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can” and called claims of internal disagreement or stepping back from compute purchases “ridiculous.” Oracle also reaffirmed its commitment, stating it remains “incredibly excited” about the partnership and focused on delivering compute capacity to support OpenAI’s growing demand.