Nebius Group N.V. NBIS used its Q2 2026 earnings call to emphasize capacity expansion, pricing discipline and its decision not to pre-sell all planned 2027 capacity.
Management reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, raised its year-end contracted power target and detailed a funding strategy centered on customer prepayments and asset-backed debt.
NBIS Holds 2026 Outlook as Capacity Ramps
Chief financial officer Dado Alonso reaffirmed the 2026 guidance for $3 billion to $3.4 billion of group revenues, an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 40% and $20 billion to $25 billion of capital expenditures. Annualized run-rate revenue remains $7 billion to $9 billion.
Alonso said capacity deployed late in Q2 should begin contributing to revenues in Q3, with much of the ramp weighted to the second half.
Q2 revenues rose 454% year over year to $582.3 million and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $573.8 million. A reported loss of $0.12 per share came in narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of $0.67.
Nebius Keeps 2027 Capacity Uncommitted
Founder and chief executive officer Arkady Volozh said Nebius closed four core AI cloud deals averaging more than $1 billion each. The contracts carried yields of $20 million to $25 million per megawatt, with upfront payments covering 50% to 60% of capital spending.
Volozh added that Nebius could sell its entire 2027 capacity on those terms today but is choosing not to, as management sees more value in shorter-duration demand.
Chief revenue officer Marc Boroditsky said Nebius is also seeing three- to six-month premium opportunities. Its first capacity auction cleared 15% above its prior highest Blackwell pricing.
NBIS Raises Contracted Power Target to 5 Gigawatts
Chief product and infrastructure officer Andrey Korolenko said Nebius now targets 5 gigawatts of contracted power by year-end 2026, with almost all expected online over the next three to three-and-a-half years.
Korolenko reaffirmed the 2026 target of 800 megawatts to 1 gigawatt of connected power and noted that connected capacity takes several months to translate into revenues.
In Q&A, a Morgan Stanley analyst asked about the Vineland, N.J., site. Chief communications officer Tom Blackwell and Korolenko said the project remains on track and the switch to Bloom fuel cells is not expected to significantly affect timing.
Nebius Expands Funding Options for Growth
Dado Alonso said customer prepayments remain the first source of capital. Roughly 70% of Q2 deals included upfront payments, and management expects more than $9 billion of customer prepayments during 2026.
Nebius ended Q2 with $8 billion in cash and equivalents. It also issued 12.7 million Class A shares through its at-the-market program at a weighted average price of $224, generating about $2.8 billion of gross proceeds.
Alonso also said the $775 million asset-backed debt facility completed in July, priced at SOFR plus 250 basis points, can serve as a repeatable model against more than $40 billion of committed backlog.
NBIS Adds Asset-Light and Inference Growth Levers
Arkady Volozh said the asset-light model can expand capacity without Nebius funding every facility. Partners finance, build and operate infrastructure, while Nebius supplies its platform and demand.
Volozh added that the company received dozens of inquiries after announcing the model, though the initiative remains early. Management expects it to contribute more in 2027 and beyond.
Chief business officer Roman Chernin highlighted Token Factory and Nebius' inference strategy. He said Tavily's developer community reached more than 2.5 million users in Q2, up from 1 million in February.
Nebius Stays Flexible on 2027 Monetization
Management's message centered on preserving flexibility across capacity, pricing and financing. Nebius is building ahead of demand while retaining some supply until closer to deployment.
Alonso said formal 2027 guidance will come later this year. Management is positioning higher capacity, premium short-duration deals, asset-light revenue and inference services as elements of the next growth phase.
What Zacks Signals Say About NBIS
NBIS carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which points to weaker near-term prospects under the Zacks methodology because the rank is driven by earnings-estimate revisions.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The stock also has a Value Score of F, Growth Score of D, Momentum Score of D and VGM Score of F, indicating weak readings across the Style Score framework. The Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates following the just-reported results.
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Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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