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Nebius Amasses $9.3B Cash Reserve: Can It Accelerate AI Buildout?
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Key Takeaways
Nebius ended Q1 2026 with $9.3B in cash after debt, equity and upfront-payment inflows.
Nebius lifted 2026 capex guidance to $20B-$25B as it accelerates capacity expansion.
Nebius says demand exceeds supply, available capacity is selling out and 2027 commitments are in place.
Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS - Free Report) has built a sturdy cash profile with $9.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter of 2026. A strong cash position offers ample financial flexibility to pursue expansion, both organic and inorganic.
The cash build was driven by various financial initiatives, including a $4.3 billion convertible debt raise (gross proceeds) and a $2 billion equity investment from NVIDIA, alongside customer upfront payments that boosted operating cash flow to $2.3 billion for the quarter.
This fortified balance sheet comes at a time when Nebius is rapidly focused on capacity expansion, which has led to a sharp acceleration in capital expenditures. Capex for 2026 is now expected to be $20-$25 billion, up from its earlier guidance of $16-$20 billion.
Management noted that the capacity deployment is tied to visibility into future demand, particularly for 2027, for which it already has customer commitments in place. The company also noted that it is already selling out the available capacity, with demand consistently exceeding supply, implying that spending is less speculative and more about meeting anticipated workloads.
Nebius Group N.V. Cash and Equivalents (Quarterly)
Importantly, Nebius is using various sources to fund capacity expansion. The company is raising capital through asset-backed financing buoyed by its contracts with Meta and Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) . Other financing options include corporate-level debt and an at-the-market program.
With demand continuing to exceed supply and most capacity already sold out, Nebius appears well positioned to convert its cash strength into capacity expansion. While execution remains key, the company’s sizable cash and funding flexibility provide a strong foundation to scale its AI cloud platform. However, the opportunity is unfolding in a highly competitive space with tech giants and pure plays like CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) aggressively focused on capacity build to capture a rapidly developing market.
Taking a Look at Competitors’ Financial Resources
CoreWeave is shoring up its financial resources to support AI infrastructure buildouts. At the first quarter-end, the company had more than $3.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities, while securing more than $20 billion in debt and equity capital financing year to date (as announced on the last earnings call), widening access to capital while lowering its cost of debt.
Like NBIS, the company also raised $2 billion in equity tied to its NVIDIA partnership. CRWV has dramatically accelerated investments to keep up with AI demand. 2026 capital expenditures are projected to be between $31 billion and $35 billion, reflecting the broad scale of its AI infrastructure ambitions.
Microsoft’s financial resources are stupendous. As of March 31, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments stood at $78.3 billion. For the last reported quarter, the company generated $46.7 billion in operating cash flow, up 26% year over year, while free cash flow stood at $15.8 billion despite accelerated capital spending. MSFT is scaling investments, with fiscal third-quarter capital expenditures hovering at $31.9 billion. Fiscal fourth-quarter capex is expected to exceed more than $40 billion, reflecting the continued buildout of AI infrastructure.
For calendar 2026, Microsoft plans to invest approximately $190 billion in capex, including about $25 billion attributed to component pricing pressures, underscoring both scale and inflationary pressures in AI infrastructure. Increasing capital intensity remains a key concern for investors. MSFT's long-term debt (including the current portion) was $40.3 billion as of March 31, 2026.
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Nebius Amasses $9.3B Cash Reserve: Can It Accelerate AI Buildout?
Key Takeaways
Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS - Free Report) has built a sturdy cash profile with $9.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter of 2026. A strong cash position offers ample financial flexibility to pursue expansion, both organic and inorganic.
The cash build was driven by various financial initiatives, including a $4.3 billion convertible debt raise (gross proceeds) and a $2 billion equity investment from NVIDIA, alongside customer upfront payments that boosted operating cash flow to $2.3 billion for the quarter.
This fortified balance sheet comes at a time when Nebius is rapidly focused on capacity expansion, which has led to a sharp acceleration in capital expenditures. Capex for 2026 is now expected to be $20-$25 billion, up from its earlier guidance of $16-$20 billion.
Management noted that the capacity deployment is tied to visibility into future demand, particularly for 2027, for which it already has customer commitments in place. The company also noted that it is already selling out the available capacity, with demand consistently exceeding supply, implying that spending is less speculative and more about meeting anticipated workloads.
Nebius Group N.V. Cash and Equivalents (Quarterly)
Nebius Group N.V. cash-equivalents-quarterly | Nebius Group N.V. Quote
Importantly, Nebius is using various sources to fund capacity expansion. The company is raising capital through asset-backed financing buoyed by its contracts with Meta and Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) . Other financing options include corporate-level debt and an at-the-market program.
With demand continuing to exceed supply and most capacity already sold out, Nebius appears well positioned to convert its cash strength into capacity expansion. While execution remains key, the company’s sizable cash and funding flexibility provide a strong foundation to scale its AI cloud platform. However, the opportunity is unfolding in a highly competitive space with tech giants and pure plays like CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) aggressively focused on capacity build to capture a rapidly developing market.
Taking a Look at Competitors’ Financial Resources
CoreWeave is shoring up its financial resources to support AI infrastructure buildouts. At the first quarter-end, the company had more than $3.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities, while securing more than $20 billion in debt and equity capital financing year to date (as announced on the last earnings call), widening access to capital while lowering its cost of debt.
Like NBIS, the company also raised $2 billion in equity tied to its NVIDIA partnership. CRWV has dramatically accelerated investments to keep up with AI demand. 2026 capital expenditures are projected to be between $31 billion and $35 billion, reflecting the broad scale of its AI infrastructure ambitions.
Microsoft’s financial resources are stupendous. As of March 31, 2026, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments stood at $78.3 billion. For the last reported quarter, the company generated $46.7 billion in operating cash flow, up 26% year over year, while free cash flow stood at $15.8 billion despite accelerated capital spending. MSFT is scaling investments, with fiscal third-quarter capital expenditures hovering at $31.9 billion. Fiscal fourth-quarter capex is expected to exceed more than $40 billion, reflecting the continued buildout of AI infrastructure.
For calendar 2026, Microsoft plans to invest approximately $190 billion in capex, including about $25 billion attributed to component pricing pressures, underscoring both scale and inflationary pressures in AI infrastructure. Increasing capital intensity remains a key concern for investors. MSFT's long-term debt (including the current portion) was $40.3 billion as of March 31, 2026.
NBIS Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of Nebius are up 40.6% in the past month compared with the Internet – Software and Services industry’s 11.3% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
On a forward price-to-sales basis, NBIS’ shares are trading at 10.62X, above the Internet Software Services industry’s 4.53X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NBIS’ earnings for 2026 has been revised upwards over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NBIS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.