C3 AI Shares Down 1.22%, Mixed Options Sentiment

C3 AI (AI) shares are down 1.22% near $25.43. Options sentiment is mixed with 31k contracts traded, calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.26. Implied volatility is higher by 0.9 points near 51.99, and put-call skew steepened indicating increased demand for downside protection.

C3.ai, Inc. (AI) has seen a significant increase in its Generative and agentic AI capabilities, as reported in fiscal 2025. The company showcased a 100% year-over-year growth in Generative-AI revenues, with 66 initial production deployments across 16 industries. High-profile clients such as the U.S. Navy, Dow, Chanel, and the Shoah Foundation have adopted C3.ai’s platform, with the latter using it to digitize and tag 30,000 survivor testimonies, saving a decade of manual effort and millions in costs [1].

C3.ai’s claim of holding a patent on agentic AI, with more than 100 solutions already deployed, is notable. These applications span defense, manufacturing, and government sectors, with management believing this vertical could be worth more than the company’s current valuation. However, many of these deals are early-stage production licenses, not recurring revenues, which could impact the company's financial stability in the long term [1].

Despite the impressive demos and high-profile deployments, C3.ai faces competition from established players like Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) and Snowflake Inc. (SNOW). Palantir, entrenched in government and defense sectors, is rapidly expanding its Artificial Intelligence Platform to commercial clients, emphasizing custom deployments and integration flexibility. Snowflake, evolving from a cloud data platform into an AI-enabled ecosystem, is helping clients build custom LLM-powered apps directly within their data environments [1].

On July 2, 2025, C3.ai shares are down 1.22% near $25.43. Options sentiment is mixed with 31k contracts traded, calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.26. Implied volatility is higher by 0.9 points near 51.99, and the put-call skew steepened, indicating increased demand for downside protection [2].

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 loss per share has narrowed to 37 cents from a loss of 46 cents in the past 30 days. The consensus mark for fiscal 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 16 cents from a loss of 42 cents in the same time frame. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) [2].

C3.ai’s pure-play focus on enterprise-AI applications rather than infrastructure or toolkits may give it a lasting advantage if it can scale fast enough through expanding partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud. However, the company must navigate broader market and geopolitical uncertainties, as well as the challenges of sustaining customer adoption and achieving profitability.

References:
[1] https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/c3ai-expands-generative-ai-capabilities-game-changer-or-hype
[2] https://www.cnn.com/markets/stocks/AI