CRWV vs APLD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
CoreWeave is generally evaluated as the scaled, first-mover leader in GPU cloud infrastructure with a massive contracted backlog, while Applied Digital is viewed as an earlier-stage, higher-risk data center developer pivoting from crypto hosting into AI hosting. The comparison typically comes down to backlog quality and scale versus a smaller, more speculative growth trajectory.
This comparison is best used to weigh a large, already-scaled AI cloud infrastructure leader against an earlier-stage data center developer offering more speculative upside tied to its AI hosting pivot.
APLD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. APLD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-46.00% vs -49.95%), though CRWV has the better forward P/E setup (-41.73x vs -105.68x for APLD). On fundamentals, APLD is growing revenue faster (406.60%), while CRWV maintains the higher operating margin (-1.90%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for APLD (+180.95%) than for CRWV (+77.53%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to the largest pure-play GPU cloud infrastructure provider
- Are comfortable with heavy debt-financed capital spending
- Believe contracted AI compute backlogs will continue converting to revenue
- Accept customer concentration risk among top AI labs
- Want higher-risk, higher-upside exposure to an early-stage AI data center pivot
- Believe the company's power and land positions will attract more AI hosting tenants
- Are comfortable with smaller scale and financing uncertainty
- Want a lower entry valuation than the largest AI infrastructure names
| Metric | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 43.5 | 47.8 |
| AI ranki | #692 | #507 |
| Latest closei | $69.69 | $20.39 |
| 1M returni | -13.88% | -12.94% |
| 3M returni | -4.42% | -22.88% |
| 6M returni | -41.71% | -32.24% |
| 1Y returni | -49.95% | -46.00% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.01K (-49.9%) started 2025-10-15 | $5.4K (-46.0%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $17.42K (+74.2%) started 2025-03-28 | $42.04K (+320.4%) started 2022-04-13 |
| 10Y ago | $17.42K (+74.2%) started 2025-03-28 | $42.04K (+320.4%) started 2022-04-13 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $44.87B | $7.51B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | -41.73 | -105.68 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 11.98 | 21.65 |
| Analyst targeti | $144.44 | $74.23 |
| Target upsidei | +77.53% | +180.95% |
| Metric | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 112.50% | 406.60% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | -119.74% | -811.61% |
| Operating margini | -1.90% | -48.22% |
| Profit margini | -25.40% | -39.91% |
| ROIC proxyi | -43.60% | -8.38% |
| Return on equityi | -43.60% | -8.38% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | N/A | N/A |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | N/A | 5.73 |
| Debt/equityi | 1027.33 | 136.23 |
| Current ratioi | 0.46 | 4.01 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.39 | 1.42 |
Over the past year, CRWV and APLD have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.67), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -49.95% | -46.00% |
| CAGRi | -49.97% | -46.02% | |
| Volatilityi | 95.47% | 101.51% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.30 | -0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.46 | -0.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 57.09% | 59.06% | |
| Current drawdowni | 50.83% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 34.27% | 27.83% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 36.33% | 31.97% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.51% | 17.52% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.67% | 29.01% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +74.23% | +320.41% |
| CAGRi | +43.08% | +37.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 110.85% | 135.07% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.82 | 0.83 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.36 | 1.44 | |
| Max drawdowni | 66.87% | 81.89% | |
| Current drawdowni | 62.04% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 40.54% | 37.17% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 43.84% | 42.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.83% | 52.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 37.55% | 74.62% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +74.23% | +320.41% |
| CAGRi | +43.08% | +37.53% | |
| Volatilityi | 110.85% | 135.07% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.82 | 0.83 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.36 | 1.44 | |
| Max drawdowni | 66.87% | 81.89% | |
| Current drawdowni | 62.04% | 58.93% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 40.54% | 37.17% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 43.84% | 42.50% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.83% | 52.55% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 37.55% | 74.62% |
| Category | CRWV | APLD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | CoreWeave | Applied Digital |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Software - Infrastructure | Information Technology Services |
| Core business | CoreWeave operates GPU-focused cloud infrastructure and data centers that provide compute capacity for AI training and inference workloads. | Applied Digital develops and operates data center campuses, increasingly repositioned toward high-performance computing and AI cloud hosting from its bitcoin mining hosting origins. |
| Investor focus | Investors focus on CoreWeave's massive contracted revenue backlog, capital spending intensity, debt load, and its reliance on Nvidia hardware allocation and partnership. | Investors watch Applied Digital's pivot from crypto-mining hosting to AI/HPC hosting, its lease agreements with AI compute tenants, and its capital structure as it funds large build-outs. |
- Large multi-year contracted revenue backlog with major AI labs
- Deep strategic relationship and investment from Nvidia
- First-mover scale advantage in GPU-specific cloud infrastructure
- Large land and power positions supporting future data center capacity
- Signed long-term hosting agreements with AI compute customers
- Optionality to convert existing infrastructure toward higher-value AI workloads
- Very high capital expenditure and debt financing needs
- Customer concentration among a small number of AI labs and hyperscalers
- Execution risk in building and powering data centers fast enough to meet demand
- Smaller scale and shorter track record in AI hosting versus larger peers
- Heavy reliance on external financing to fund data center build-outs
- Legacy crypto-mining hosting exposure still influencing revenue mix
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on CRWV and APLD. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside CRWV and APLD, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.