C3.ai, Inc. (AI) Stock Price & How to Invest

C3.ai, Inc. is an enterprise AI software company. Its core product is a platform for building, deploying, and operating large-scale AI applications, along with a catalog of more than 100 prebuilt and configurable applications for industries such as manufacturing, energy, financial services, defense, and government. Typical uses include predictive maintenance, anti-money-laundering, supply-chain optimization, and, more recently, generative and agentic AI. C3.ai makes money mainly from software subscriptions (the large majority of revenue), supplemented by professional services, and it goes to market heavily through partnerships with hyperscalers and consultancies including Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Baker Hughes, and Booz Allen.

The investment picture in 2026 is a turnaround under stress. For fiscal 2026 (ended in the spring), revenue was about $250 million, down roughly 23% from about $389 million the prior year, with a large non-GAAP loss reported around $498 million as the company absorbed restructuring charges and a sales-model overhaul. Management is shifting toward transformation-led, consumption-based deals, cutting headcount and marketing spend, and leaning on its partner ecosystem. Founder Thomas Siebel resumed the CEO role in May 2026 after stepping back in 2025 for health reasons, with Stephen Ehikian staying on as president. C3.ai still carries a sizable cash and marketable-securities balance (around $673 million as of June 2026), which funds the reset, but it remains deeply unprofitable and its revenue has been volatile. Its highest-profile rival, Palantir, has gained momentum while C3.ai has retrenched, sharpening questions about C3.ai's competitive position.

The dominant risk is that this is an unprofitable, small-cap turnaround with declining revenue: fiscal 2026 sales fell about 23% and losses were large, so the business must prove it can stabilize and grow again rather than keep shrinking. Competitive risk is real, as better-capitalized rivals like Palantir have gained momentum and hyperscalers offer overlapping AI tooling, and some partners are also potential competitors. Revenue concentration in a few large accounts, and the shift to consumption-based deals, can make results lumpy and hard to forecast. Leadership transition risk is elevated after the CEO change and the founder's health-related step-back. The stock is volatile and sentiment-driven, trades on the AI theme as much as fundamentals, and could dilute shareholders or burn through cash if the reset takes longer than expected.

11 analysts publish price targets on AI, averaging $8.82 against a $9.18 price as of August 2026, or -3.9%. The published targets run from $6.00 to $15.00, a wide spread, and the ratings split 1 buy, 7 hold, 6 sell. Over the last six months there have been 4 raises and 1 cut among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full AI forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on C3.ai, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Enterprise and agentic-AI demand. C3.ai sells into the broad enterprise-AI theme, and its R&D is now focused on agentic AI, generative AI, and industry-specific applications. The most optimistic published target, $15.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. The dominant risk is that this is an unprofitable, small-cap turnaround with declining revenue: fiscal 2026 sales fell about 23% and losses were large, so the business must prove it can stabilize and grow again rather than keep shrinking. The most pessimistic target, $6.00, is roughly what AI is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on AI, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see C3.ai, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (FY2026): ~$250 million, down ~23% year over year (approximate; verify live)
• Net result (FY2026): Large loss; non-GAAP loss reported around ~$498 million (approximate; verify live)
• Revenue mix: Mostly subscription (roughly ~90%+ in recent quarters); rest services (approximate; verify live)
• Cash and securities: ~$673 million as of June 2026, minimal debt (approximate; verify live)
• Market cap: ~$1.5 billion, small-cap (approximate; verify live)
• Profitability: Not profitable on a GAAP or non-GAAP basis (qualitative)

Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Because C3.ai is unprofitable, earnings multiples like P/E do not apply in a normal way, and investors often look at price-to-sales, revenue trend, cash burn, and runway instead. The central question is not valuation on current earnings but whether the turnaround can reverse the revenue decline and move the company toward sustainable economics, which is inherently speculative.

Other names that sit close to AI: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get AI exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so AI sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where AI fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

C3.ai is a small, unprofitable enterprise-AI software maker in the middle of a painful reset: fiscal 2026 revenue fell about 23% to roughly $250 million, losses were large, and founder Tom Siebel returned as CEO to steer a restructuring. It is a speculative turnaround bet, not a proven grower, so size any position to that risk.

Whether AI is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is AI a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the AI stock forecast.

For income investors, whether AI pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does AI pay a dividend? And to weigh AI against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: AI vs PLTR and AI vs MSFT.