Why CoreWeave Was Plunging To End the Week Today

By Billy Duberstein – Feb 20, 2026 at 4:55PM ESTKey PointsA major business news outlet reported Blue Owl Capital was having trouble raising capital for its investment in CoreWeave's new Pennsylvania data center. Blue Owl may instead fund the project itself.

Both Blue Owl and CoreWeave say the project is fully-funded and construction is proceeding on schedule. These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NASDAQ: CRWVCoreWeaveMarket Cap$51BToday's Changeangle-down(-8.22%) $7.99Current Price$89.15Price as of February 20, 2026 at 3:59 PM ETCoreWeave fell on jitters regarding debt financing from Blue Owl, which itself has been under scrutiny recently.Shares of AI neocloud CoreWeave (CRWV 8.22%) were falling on Friday, down as much as 13% at one point, before finishing the day down 8.1%. CoreWeave has been highly volatile since going public about a year ago. This is because its tantalizing growth prospects as the largest neocloud serving the AI build-out are running into the complications of securing sufficient funding and permits to build its data centers. ExpandNASDAQ: CRWVCoreWeaveToday's Change(-8.22%) $-7.99Current Price$89.15Key Data PointsMarket Cap$51BDay's Range$84.51 - $93.7952wk Range$33.52 - $187.00Volume1.6MAvg Vol28MGross Margin49.23% CoreWeave's debt investors get cautious Today, the business magazine Business Insider reported that Blue Owl Capital (OBDC +0.35%), a business development company and lender to CoreWeave, may be having trouble securing financing partners for CoreWeave's new Lancaster, PA data center. All in all, the data center will cost $4 billion, and while Blue Owl said the project was "fully funded," it was unclear whether it would fund 100% of the project or seek third parties to help carry the load. The underlying message of the Business Insider piece was that lenders may be showing lower confidence in CoreWeave's business, or its ability to get data centers funded and constructed on time. For its part, Blue Owl denied there were any problems, saying it had considered third parties but that the project was fully funded and on time. Despite the denial, trust in Blue Capital may not be "airtight" these days, as some investors have publicly expressed fears over the private credit markets. Yesterday, Blue Owl's stock fell after it restricted investors' liquidity and ability to withdraw money from one of its private debt funds, following a massive $1.4 billion asset sale from several of its funds earlier this week. Yesterday's move followed the last year's unsuccessful attempt to merge one of its private funds with the publicly traded BDC, which was thwarted amid a shareholder revolt. CoreWeave has also been a punching bag of the financial news media of late. After third-quarter earnings, the stock fell on news of a delay in the construction of one of its data centers, which is being built by a third party. Thus, the reminder that CoreWeave remains dependent on both outside financing and its data center landlords sent shares lower. Image source: Getty Images. CoreWeave is to remain controversial in 2026 Fortunately for CoreWeave, the demand for AI compute appears insatiable at the moment. However, the company's high debt load and dependence on funding for its data centers certainly doesn't give it much room for error if that demand picture changes. Currently, CoreWeave's stock trades just under four times this year's sales expectations, with those sales expected to grow 134% in the year ahead; however, an $11 billion (and growing) debt load, as well as ongoing net losses, make the stock not quite as attractive as its price-to-sales valuation might suggest.Read NextFeb 20, 2026 •By Harsh ChauhanPrediction: These 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Will Soar After Feb. 26 (Hint: Not Nvidia)Feb 20, 2026 •By Adria CiminoThis AI Stock Could Offer Life-Changing GainsFeb 17, 2026 •By Keithen DruryUp Over 30% This Year, This AI Infrastructure Play Is Just Getting StartedFeb 17, 2026 •By Lawrence Nga3 Risks Investors Should Watch With CoreWeave Over the Next 3 YearsFeb 15, 2026 •By Harsh ChauhanThe AI Stock That Could Make Early Investors Rich by the End of 2026Feb 14, 2026 •By Adria CiminoShould You Buy CoreWeave Before Feb. 26?About the AuthorBilly Duberstein is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering semiconductors, hardware, software, and AI, as well as consumer goods. Billy loves looking at the story behind investments from an interdisciplinary point of view, with an equal appetite for high-growth disruptors and beaten-down value names. He is also CEO of Stone Oak Capital, a registered investment adviser in California. He previously worked as a technology analyst for several hedge funds and as a research assistant at Wedbush Securities. Billy holds an MBA in finance from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Virginia.TMFStoneOakStocks MentionedCoreWeaveNASDAQ: CRWV$89.15 (8.22%) $7.99Blue Owl CapitalNYSE: OBDC$11.47 (+0.35%) $+0.04*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.