The company posted unappealing preliminary outcomes of its first fiscal quarter of 2026, which caused C3 AI shares to decrease by over 20%. It forecasts revenue of $70.2 to $70.4 million dollars, a more than 20% decrease in contrast to $87.2 million a year ago. Thomas Siebel, the CEO of the company, referred to the outcomes as totally unacceptable and made reference to the disruptive impact of a massive reorganization of its worldwide sales and services organizations. He added that the health issues he faced did not allow him to be as involved in the selling process as it was in the former quarters.
A significantly higher operating loss of between $124.7 and $124.9 million dollars is expected by the company as compared to $72.59 million dollars one year ago. This increasing loss indicates that this drop in the sales was accompanied by the increase of the costs which increased the tension on the business. This combination of slower revenue and larger losses has shown clearly that it has caused the confidence of the investor to waver.
In July, Siebel said that he had a serious autoimmune disease that led to severe vision issues. Although he has improved when it comes to his general health, he still has a problem with his vision. The board and Siebel have started to seek a new chief executive, but he adds that now he is engaged and committed to identifying a good successor.
This change of leadership is when it is late. C3 AI is trying to re-establish its sales steam amidst cutthroat and fast-paced artificial intelligence market. The effect of having a restructured sales force would take a longer period but has been destructive in the short term. Investors will also keep keen eyes as to whether the changes can be able to witness a rebound in the next few quarters.
An interesting step that will help to restore trust will be the next earnings call on September 3. An easy picture of sales recovery or an easy transition of the CEO will help stabilize the stock, though there is still uncertainty in its basics until the company demonstrates that it can overcome this downturn.
