Oppenheimer Downgrades C3.ai (AI) Amid Weak Results and Leadership Change

C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) is one of the AI Stocks Investors Are Watching Right Now. On August 13, Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan downgraded the stock from Outperform to Perform.

The rating downgrade comes amid C3.ai’s weaker-than-expected preliminary results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The firm noted also noted that CEO and founder Tom Siebel is stepping down due to health issues.

"We are downgrading C3.ai to Perform and removing our $45 price target following extremely weak preliminary 1Q26 results. The company significantly lowered revenue expectations for 1Q26, from ~$105M to ~$70M, implying a 35% sequential decline and a major concern given the recurring nature of its Subscription revenues, suggesting the services are not working as advertised."

A Senior Executive staring out of the window of a skyscraper, emphasizing the company's leadership in the financial sector. "Non-GAAP operating loss was also increased, from -$29M to -$58M. CEO and founder Tom Siebel will be stepping down due to health issues. We are concerned that these results indicate secular weakness in underlying trends. The company is very difficult to forecast, but we are reducing estimates dramatically. Hopefully the earnings call provides more color."

C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI) is an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company involved in building and operating enterprise-scale AI applications and accelerating digital transformation.

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