C3.ai (AI) shares slipped 6% on Monday amid investor anxiety ahead of the company\u2019s quarterly earnings scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25. Consensus is for this enterprise software firm to lose $0.73 per share in its fiscal Q3, which would mean a nearly 18% decline versus the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the release, AI stock is trading at a 52-week low of $9.79, with a 14-day relative strength index (RSI) at roughly 34, indicating bearish momentum may soon approach exhaustion.<\/p>\n Investors are cautioned against buying the dip in AI shares, as the current market environment presents substantial headwinds for enterprise software firms.\u00a0 And this internal pressure is now colliding with a volatile macro landscape, including the recent Supreme Court ruling striking down President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs.<\/p>\n These headwinds threaten to inflate operational costs and freeze enterprise spending, which could prove detrimental for a business like C3.ai that\u2019s already grappling with a 20% revenue decline.<\/p>\n C3.ai stock remains unattractive because the departure of its founder and chief executive, Thomas Siebel, has left a vacuum that new CEO Stephen Ehikian must fill amid a securities class action lawsuit.<\/p>\n Investors are advised to take this transition seriously, as Siebel\u2019s \u201chigh-touch\u201d sales style was central to the company\u2019s enterprise deal-making.<\/p>\n Moreover, the AI boom has curiously bypassed C3.ai\u2019s financials; it\u2019s path to profitability remains a puzzle with no clear solution in sight.\u00a0 All in all, a persistent cash burn, execution missteps, and a price-to-sales (P\/S) multiple that sits at about 4x despite shrinking growth, this artificial intelligence stock looks expensive compared to its profitable peers.<\/p>\n Wall Street analysts also seem to believe that C3.ai is a falling knife that carries far more risk than reward in 2026.\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>
Sentiment has curdled into a \u201cSaaS-pocalypse\u201d amid investor fears that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt legacy software providers like C3.ai.<\/p>\n
In fact, a lack of visibility even forced its management to withdraw its full-year guidance in Sept.<\/p>\n
The consensus rating on AI shares sits at a \u201cHold,\u201d with price targets as low as $8, signaling potential downside of another 20% from here.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n