C3 AI shares plummet as company announces global layoffs

shares C3AI It fell 17% and traded at a record low on Thursday after the company reported disappointing third quarter It announced financial results and announced that more than a quarter of the workforce would be laid off.

Enterprise artificial intelligence company codenamed AI reported $53 million in third-quarter revenue; this was well below LSEG’s estimates of $76 million.

The company reported a loss of 40 cents per share, while analysts expected a loss of 29 cents per share.

“What I hear repeatedly is that every CEO has made AI a top strategic priority and they want to derive measurable economic value from it. That’s exactly what our products deliver,” CEO Stephen Ehikian said on the company’s earnings call. “However, it became clear to me that our cost structure was too high and we were not properly organized for this opportunity.”

In a regulatory filing, the company said it would eliminate 26% of the global workforce In the reconstruction plan led by Ehikian.

The plan “aims to significantly increase operating efficiency” and also includes a 30% reduction in non-employee costs.

Ehikian took over C3 AI in September after former CEO Thomas Siebel resigned due to vision impairment resulting from an autoimmune disease.

C3 AI said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to fall between $48 million and $52 million, well below LSEG’s $78 million forecast.

Fourth-quarter operating losses are expected to fall to between $56 million and $64 million; That’s a larger loss than LSEG’s $48 million loss estimate.

citizens On Thursday, it downgraded the company from market perform to market perform. Patrick Walravens wrote in a note that the firm was “stepping aside,” citing new near-term business challenges and intensifying competition.

C3 AI went public in December 2020 at $100 per share. Shortly thereafter, shares traded around $180. The company is currently trading at $10 per share.