Nebius Revenue Surges 571% on Data Center Demand
The AI cloud provider's third-quarter results beat expectations while it lowers its 2026 revenue outlook on delayed capacity.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Data Centers
Nebius reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $980.8 million, up 571% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of $465.8 million. The company also lowered its 2026 revenue outlook to the low end of $3.0 billion to $3.4 billion after third-party capacity slipped into 2027.
Why it matters
The results show strong customer demand for AI computing capacity, with buyers prepaying more than the cost of the equipment tied to their contracts. The delays highlight the risk that building data centers takes longer than planned, which can push revenue into later periods.
Annual contract value per megawatt topped $25 million on third-quarter deals, and prices per GPU-hour rose more than 20% on average. About $325 million of the quarter's revenue was non-recurring, and prepayments on third-quarter deals covered more than 100% of related capital spending.
The players
Nebius
Nebius is an Amsterdam-headquartered provider of AI cloud infrastructure that sells GPU computing capacity to large customers.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a major U.S. technology company and a customer of Nebius for colocation capacity at its New Jersey site.
Citi
Citigroup is a global banking institution that has lined up a $3.5 billion senior secured facility for Nebius.
The details
Nebius said its customers committed to prepayments tied to the capital spending on their contracts, a step up from prepayments covering 50% to 60% of spending on second-quarter deals. The company also raised $5.75 billion in convertible notes in August and lined up a $3.5 billion senior secured facility with Citi in October.
Timeline
December 2025: Nebius set an original target of $7 billion to $9 billion in run-rate revenue.
August 2026: Nebius raised $5.75 billion in convertible notes.
October 2026: Nebius lined up a $3.5 billion senior secured facility with Citi.
Q4 2026: Nebius expects more than half of Microsoft-contracted New Jersey capacity to be delivered.
February 2027: Nebius expects to top $7 billion in annualized run-rate revenue.
The Tech Race
Nebius's results fit a broader scramble among GPU cloud providers to secure power, land and hardware for AI workloads, a race that has accelerated since the generative AI demand wave of 2023. Its prepayment-funded model and rising GPU-hour prices suggest that capacity scarcity, rather than competition on price, is currently shaping the market.
Customers buying AI compute from cloud providers may see pricing shift as GPU-hour rates rise more than 20% on average. Delays in new capacity can also push back when services become available to businesses relying on that infrastructure.
The takeaway
Growing customer prepayments show that buyers are willing to commit capital upfront to secure AI capacity, but construction timelines remain the key constraint on turning that demand into revenue.
What happens next
Nebius expects to top $7 billion in annualized run-rate revenue by February 2027, and it expects pre-tax breakeven in the fourth quarter of 2027 after financing costs.
Further reading
For more on how AI compute capacity is being built and financed, explore our coverage of Data Centers.
