What Happened?
Shares of artificial intelligence (AI) software company C3.ai (NYSE: AI) fell 10% in the afternoon session after the company announced it had started a search for a successor to its founder and CEO, Thomas M. Siebel.
The enterprise AI software company stated that the decision followed founder and CEO Thomas M. Siebel's diagnosis with an autoimmune disease in early 2025, which led to what was described as a 'significant visual impairment.' This news introduced uncertainty regarding the company's future leadership, which weighed on investor sentiment. Siebel planned to remain in his role until a successor was appointed, after which he was set to transition to the position of Executive Chairman, focusing on strategy and customer relationships.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
C3.ai’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 38 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 2 months ago when the stock gained 26.3% on the news that the company reported strong first quarter 2025 results: Revenue and adjusted operating income both beat in the quarter.
Looking forward, revenue guidance for next quarter was roughly in line with Wall Street's estimates, but operating income guidance for the period was nicely above expectations. Finally, "C3 AI and Baker Hughes renewed and expanded their strategic partnership through a multi-year agreement", and this is a relief to the market as it is the largest partnership for the software company. Overall, this was a solid quarter.
C3.ai is down 23.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $26.49 per share, it is trading 38.3% below its 52-week high of $42.94 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of C3.ai’s shares at the IPO in December 2020 would now be looking at an investment worth $286.41.
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