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Nebius Stock Has Nearly Doubled This Year. Here's Why It Still Has Room to Run.

newsfeedback@fool.com (Keithen Drury)
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⚡ Quantum Brief
The AI-focused neocloud provider’s stock surged 94% in 2026, nearing a 100% gain amid sustained AI market momentum, defying assumptions that its growth peak has passed. Revenue exploded 547% YoY in Q4 2025, with analysts projecting 522% growth in 2026 and 195% in 2027, catapulting annual revenue from $530M to $9.7B—nearly a 20x increase in two years. The company is aggressively expanding infrastructure, scaling data centers from seven in 2025 to 16 by 2026, prioritizing growth over profitability despite a -765% gross margin and heavy capital expenditures. While its 73x price-to-sales ratio appears steep, forward growth metrics suggest potential undervaluation, with a 12x target plausible if profitability aligns with established cloud providers long-term. Analysts frame it as a high-risk, high-reward AI play with significant upside, though unprofitability and execution risks remain key hurdles for sustained success.
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By Keithen Drury – Apr 18, 2026 at 3:17PM ESTKey PointsWall Street analysts expect Nebius's revenue to catapult nearly 20-fold by 2027. The stock looks expensive, but could be cheap when growth is taken into account.Few stocks have been as good an investment as Nebius (NBIS 4.96%) has been this year. Its stock is up around 94% as of the time of writing so far in 2026, and it could easily cross the 100% threshold over the next few days if the artificial intelligence (AI) rally is sustained. Many investors will look at Nebius's stock chart and assume they've missed the boat on it and need to look somewhere else. However, that's not the case. I think Nebius is still a solid investment pick now, as its projected revenue growth far outpaces its stock performance. Image source: Getty Images. Nebius is seeing incredible growth Nebius is a neocloud company, which means it's a cloud computing business focused on providing its clients with AI-first computing infrastructure. If that seems like a no-brainer business to be in right now, that's because it is. Nebius is undergoing tremendous growth, and it far outpaces what its stock price has done so far in 2026. In Q4, Nebius's revenue growth was 547% year over year. Wall Street analysts actually expect that rate to last throughout the year, with 522% growth expected for 2026 and 195% in 2027. Few stocks can deliver that level of growth, and it would result in Nebius's annual revenue rising from $530 million at the end of 2025 to $9.7 billion at the end of 2027. ExpandNASDAQ: NBISNebius GroupToday's Change(-4.96%) $-8.20Current Price$157.14Key Data PointsMarket Cap$40BDay's Range$154.73 - $164.0652wk Range$20.25 - $168.71Volume17MAvg Vol16MGross Margin-765.63% That indicates Nebius's revenue could increase by nearly 20x in two years, so I think it's safe to say the stock can double a few times as well and still be growing at a lower pace than its business. However, it isn't expected to make profits anytime soon. Nebius is spending every dollar to have access to build out its footprint, as the demand is there. It expects to increase from seven operational data centers in 2025 to 16 by the end of 2026. That requires a lot of capital, but the demand is clearly there. Valuing Nebius's stock is tricky due to its rapid growth and deep unprofitability. The best measure I have now is its price-to-sales ratio, which looks incredibly expensive at 73 times sales. NBIS PS Ratio data by YCharts However, after you factor in this year's growth with the forward sales metric, it doesn't look so bad. The biggest question surrounding Nebius is what a fully profitable business looks like. If it can mirror some of the larger cloud computing players, 12 times forward sales is probably a fairly reasonable price to pay, if Nebius makes it to full profitability years down the road As a result, I think Nebius is a solid wild card investment pick in the AI space. It's not a guaranteed winner, as there are still long-term issues, but there's enough upside here that I think it's worth at least a small investment.Read NextApr 18, 2026 •By Keithen DruryTop 5 AI Stocks Under $200Apr 17, 2026 •By Scott LevineWhy Nebius Group Stock Is Soaring This WeekApr 16, 2026 •By Micah Zimmerman2 AI Stocks Wall Street Says Could Soar 70% or More From Here, and 1 It Says to Sell ImmediatelyApr 15, 2026 •By Neil RozenbaumThe Market Just Staged a Massive Comeback. These Are the 5 Stocks I'd Buy FirstApr 15, 2026 •By Harsh Chauhan2 Top Nasdaq Stocks to Buy Before They Soar in 2026Apr 12, 2026 •By Adam SpataccoIf I Could Only Buy 1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock for the Rest of 2026, This Would Be ItAbout the AuthorKeithen Drury is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and SaaS stocks. In addition to The Motley Fool, Keithen is a mechanical engineer and has held roles at Honeywell and smaller industrial companies like Brand Hydraulics and Lincoln Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt University.TMFTripleOptionStocks MentionedNebius GroupNASDAQ: NBIS$157.14(-4.96%)-$8.20*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.

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