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CRVW vs. GOOGL: Which Stock Wins the AI Infrastructure Race?
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Key Takeaways
CoreWeave secures massive AI contracts with OpenAI and Meta, boosting its revenue backlog past $55B.
Alphabet drives AI-led growth, with Google Cloud up 33.5% YoY and record $100B Q3 revenue.
CRWV faces high debt and CapEx, while GOOGL benefits from scale, cash reserves and a diversified AI strategy.
AI is not just software; it’s infrastructure. The massive computational power required to train and deploy large language models, autonomous systems and other AI applications has created a new category of technology winners — companies that build, operate and monetize AI infrastructure. Two very different public equities — CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) — have emerged as notable players in this space.
Both compete for AI and cloud computing workloads, with CoreWeave focusing on GPU acceleration and Google Cloud offering comprehensive cloud and AI solutions. Per a report from Mordor Intelligence, the AI infrastructure market is estimated to reach $202.48 billion by 2031 from $101.17 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 14.89%.
Both offer exposure to AI infrastructure, but they sit at opposite ends of the risk spectrum. So which one is the better buy right now based on their competitive advantages and risks, financial and market positioning and long-term investment prospects?
Let’s break it down.
The Case for CRWV
CoreWeave is a cloud computing company focused primarily on GPU-accelerated AI compute for training and inference workloads. Unlike general clouds, it specializes in high-performance GPU compute and optimized infrastructure tailored for AI workloads. Growth is anchored by massive, long-term AI contracts. It expanded its OpenAI partnership with a new deal worth up to $6.5 billion, lifting total OpenAI commitments to about $22.4 billion. The company also signed a $14.2 billion cloud capacity agreement with Meta Platforms through 2031, with expansion options into 2032, creating a highly visible and recurring revenue pipeline.
Ongoing expansion with hyperscalers, enterprises and government labs pushed CRWV’s revenue backlog to more than $55 billion by late 2025. CRWV is rapidly scaling its footprint, deploying hundreds of thousands of GPUs across U.S. and European data centers, with more than 1 GW of contracted capacity still to come online. It is emerging as a key AI cloud infrastructure provider, with the third quarter marked by major partnerships and capacity growth. Active power rose 120 MW sequentially to roughly 590 MW, while contracted capacity expanded to 2.9 GW.
New compute deals strengthened customer relationships and reduced dependence on any single client, supporting a strong growth pipeline. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) recently invested $2 billion into CoreWeave, nearly doubling its stake, to expand data centers aimed at 5 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. This reflects Nvidia’s confidence in AI demand and CoreWeave’s role in meeting it.
Alongside organic growth, it is expanding through acquisitions such as Monolith AI, OpenPipe and Weights & Biases to strengthen its end-to-end AI platform, though its proposed $9 billion Core Scientific deal was ultimately scrapped. However, rapid expansion, building data centers and fulfilling complex contracts can lead to execution delays and cost overruns, which have already impacted guidance. The company now forecasts 2025 revenue of $5.05–$5.15 billion (down from $5.15–$5.35 billion) and adjusted operating income of $690–$720 million compared with the prior estimated $800–$830 million.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Heavy debt and continued high capital expenditures may pressure cash flow, with 2025 interest expense projected at $1.21–$1.25 billion as debt rises to fund demand-driven CapEx. While lower funding costs provide some relief, the interest burden remains heavy. Capital intensity also stays elevated, with 2025 CapEx now guided at $12–$14 billion, reflecting spending deferrals rather than true savings, as much of the outlay has shifted from late 2025 into early 2026. A large portion of revenue can come from a few clients (e.g., Microsoft and OpenAI), which leads to customer concentration risks.
The Case for GOOGL
Alphabet is the parent company of Google and a massive technology conglomerate. Alphabet posted a record $100 billion in third-quarter revenue, fueled by AI-led growth across Search, Cloud and YouTube. It is ramping up AI infrastructure spending to meet rising enterprise demand while improving monetization through AI-driven ads and subscriptions, positioning the company for sustained growth into 2026.
Alphabet is gaining strong momentum in cloud computing. In the third quarter, Google Cloud revenue jumped 33.5% year over year to $15.16 billion, driven by rising enterprise demand for AI, data and analytics. Investments in infrastructure, security and global data centers—along with a close partnership with NVIDIA—are strengthening its position, including early access to Blackwell GPUs and future Vera Rubin chips. New AI offerings and tools are making Google Cloud attractive for enterprise AI deployments. With 42 regions, 127 zones and 202 edge locations worldwide, Google Cloud has emerged as the third-largest global cloud provider.
The company continues to broaden its portfolio with accretive investments aimed at expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. In December 2025, Alphabet announced a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect, which provides data center and energy infrastructure solutions, for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt. The acquisition strengthens Alphabet and Google’s efforts to work with utilities and energy developers to secure reliable, affordable power for data center expansion without burdening grid customers.
Alphabet’s execution has been strong, translating into a robust balance sheet. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company held $98.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities against $21.6 billion in long-term debt. This financial strength gives Alphabet exceptional flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, including strategic acquisitions, while continuing to invest aggressively in innovation.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
However, as a global tech leader, GOOGL faces regulatory scrutiny and data-sovereignty issues that can influence operational strategies and costs. It operates in an intensely competitive landscape. In cloud and generative AI, it faces relentless pressure from Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, while rivals like Alibaba, IBM and Oracle are also pushing hard with AI-powered cloud offerings. This fierce competition often forces Alphabet to adopt aggressive pricing to defend and gain market share, weighing on margins at times. Mounting expenses remain added worries.
CRWV & GOOGL’s Stock Performance
CRWV shares have gained 43.5% while GOOGL jumped 7.1% in the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation for CRWV & GOOGL
In terms of Price/Book, CRWV shares are trading at 10.56X, almost on par with GOOGL’s 10.48.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for CRWV & GOOGL?
Analysts have revised earnings estimates downward for CRWV's bottom line for the current year over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
For GOOGL, the estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CRWV or GOOGL: Which is a Better Option?
CoreWeave stands to gain significantly from surging demand for AI compute. Its focused business model and strong partnerships position it well to capture a large share of this fast-growing market, with revenue potentially multiplying over the next decade. However, the heavy debt load, reliance on a few key contract partners and rising CapEx pose worries.
Alphabet is a massive, diversified company with AI embedded across its consumer and enterprise platforms, making it resilient and well-positioned for long-term AI growth. The cloud infrastructure business is intensely competitive, and margins may compress as pricing pressure grows from AWS and Azure. Regulatory challenges could also weigh on growth.
For most long-term investors, Alphabet’s scale, diversification and integrated AI strategy likely make it the safer winner. But for those willing to accept volatility and execution risk, CoreWeave offers exposure to the computational backbone of AI that could reward those who get in early. For investors seeking high-octane, AI-driven growth, CoreWeave appears to be the more compelling option.
Image: Bigstock
CRVW vs. GOOGL: Which Stock Wins the AI Infrastructure Race?
Key Takeaways
AI is not just software; it’s infrastructure. The massive computational power required to train and deploy large language models, autonomous systems and other AI applications has created a new category of technology winners — companies that build, operate and monetize AI infrastructure. Two very different public equities — CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) — have emerged as notable players in this space.
Both compete for AI and cloud computing workloads, with CoreWeave focusing on GPU acceleration and Google Cloud offering comprehensive cloud and AI solutions. Per a report from Mordor Intelligence, the AI infrastructure market is estimated to reach $202.48 billion by 2031 from $101.17 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 14.89%.
Both offer exposure to AI infrastructure, but they sit at opposite ends of the risk spectrum. So which one is the better buy right now based on their competitive advantages and risks, financial and market positioning and long-term investment prospects?
Let’s break it down.
The Case for CRWV
CoreWeave is a cloud computing company focused primarily on GPU-accelerated AI compute for training and inference workloads. Unlike general clouds, it specializes in high-performance GPU compute and optimized infrastructure tailored for AI workloads. Growth is anchored by massive, long-term AI contracts. It expanded its OpenAI partnership with a new deal worth up to $6.5 billion, lifting total OpenAI commitments to about $22.4 billion. The company also signed a $14.2 billion cloud capacity agreement with Meta Platforms through 2031, with expansion options into 2032, creating a highly visible and recurring revenue pipeline.
Ongoing expansion with hyperscalers, enterprises and government labs pushed CRWV’s revenue backlog to more than $55 billion by late 2025. CRWV is rapidly scaling its footprint, deploying hundreds of thousands of GPUs across U.S. and European data centers, with more than 1 GW of contracted capacity still to come online. It is emerging as a key AI cloud infrastructure provider, with the third quarter marked by major partnerships and capacity growth. Active power rose 120 MW sequentially to roughly 590 MW, while contracted capacity expanded to 2.9 GW.
New compute deals strengthened customer relationships and reduced dependence on any single client, supporting a strong growth pipeline. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) recently invested $2 billion into CoreWeave, nearly doubling its stake, to expand data centers aimed at 5 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. This reflects Nvidia’s confidence in AI demand and CoreWeave’s role in meeting it.
Alongside organic growth, it is expanding through acquisitions such as Monolith AI, OpenPipe and Weights & Biases to strengthen its end-to-end AI platform, though its proposed $9 billion Core Scientific deal was ultimately scrapped. However, rapid expansion, building data centers and fulfilling complex contracts can lead to execution delays and cost overruns, which have already impacted guidance. The company now forecasts 2025 revenue of $5.05–$5.15 billion (down from $5.15–$5.35 billion) and adjusted operating income of $690–$720 million compared with the prior estimated $800–$830 million.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Heavy debt and continued high capital expenditures may pressure cash flow, with 2025 interest expense projected at $1.21–$1.25 billion as debt rises to fund demand-driven CapEx. While lower funding costs provide some relief, the interest burden remains heavy. Capital intensity also stays elevated, with 2025 CapEx now guided at $12–$14 billion, reflecting spending deferrals rather than true savings, as much of the outlay has shifted from late 2025 into early 2026. A large portion of revenue can come from a few clients (e.g., Microsoft and OpenAI), which leads to customer concentration risks.
The Case for GOOGL
Alphabet is the parent company of Google and a massive technology conglomerate. Alphabet posted a record $100 billion in third-quarter revenue, fueled by AI-led growth across Search, Cloud and YouTube. It is ramping up AI infrastructure spending to meet rising enterprise demand while improving monetization through AI-driven ads and subscriptions, positioning the company for sustained growth into 2026.
Alphabet is gaining strong momentum in cloud computing. In the third quarter, Google Cloud revenue jumped 33.5% year over year to $15.16 billion, driven by rising enterprise demand for AI, data and analytics. Investments in infrastructure, security and global data centers—along with a close partnership with NVIDIA—are strengthening its position, including early access to Blackwell GPUs and future Vera Rubin chips. New AI offerings and tools are making Google Cloud attractive for enterprise AI deployments. With 42 regions, 127 zones and 202 edge locations worldwide, Google Cloud has emerged as the third-largest global cloud provider.
The company continues to broaden its portfolio with accretive investments aimed at expanding its AI infrastructure footprint. In December 2025, Alphabet announced a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect, which provides data center and energy infrastructure solutions, for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt. The acquisition strengthens Alphabet and Google’s efforts to work with utilities and energy developers to secure reliable, affordable power for data center expansion without burdening grid customers.
Alphabet’s execution has been strong, translating into a robust balance sheet. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company held $98.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities against $21.6 billion in long-term debt. This financial strength gives Alphabet exceptional flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, including strategic acquisitions, while continuing to invest aggressively in innovation.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
However, as a global tech leader, GOOGL faces regulatory scrutiny and data-sovereignty issues that can influence operational strategies and costs. It operates in an intensely competitive landscape. In cloud and generative AI, it faces relentless pressure from Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, while rivals like Alibaba, IBM and Oracle are also pushing hard with AI-powered cloud offerings. This fierce competition often forces Alphabet to adopt aggressive pricing to defend and gain market share, weighing on margins at times. Mounting expenses remain added worries.
CRWV & GOOGL’s Stock Performance
CRWV shares have gained 43.5% while GOOGL jumped 7.1% in the past month.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation for CRWV & GOOGL
In terms of Price/Book, CRWV shares are trading at 10.56X, almost on par with GOOGL’s 10.48.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for CRWV & GOOGL?
Analysts have revised earnings estimates downward for CRWV's bottom line for the current year over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
For GOOGL, the estimates have remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CRWV or GOOGL: Which is a Better Option?
CoreWeave stands to gain significantly from surging demand for AI compute. Its focused business model and strong partnerships position it well to capture a large share of this fast-growing market, with revenue potentially multiplying over the next decade. However, the heavy debt load, reliance on a few key contract partners and rising CapEx pose worries.
Alphabet is a massive, diversified company with AI embedded across its consumer and enterprise platforms, making it resilient and well-positioned for long-term AI growth. The cloud infrastructure business is intensely competitive, and margins may compress as pricing pressure grows from AWS and Azure. Regulatory challenges could also weigh on growth.
For most long-term investors, Alphabet’s scale, diversification and integrated AI strategy likely make it the safer winner. But for those willing to accept volatility and execution risk, CoreWeave offers exposure to the computational backbone of AI that could reward those who get in early. For investors seeking high-octane, AI-driven growth, CoreWeave appears to be the more compelling option.
Both firms currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.