C3.ai's (AI) Expanded Google Cloud Partnership to Aid Prospects
C3.ai AI recently announced that it has expanded its partnership with Alphabet’s GOOGL cloud-arm Google Cloud for three years. The partnership will strengthen their joint selling and co-development efforts.
Per the terms of the expanded agreement, C3.ai and Alphabet will extend their joint go-to-market strategy and customer pilot programs with Fortune 2000 companies. The companies will also co-develop new AI-driven applications powered by Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, machine learning (ML) capabilities and data analytics services.
C3.ai’s entire portfolio of enterprise AI applications is currently available on Google Cloud. The company was named the Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year in the AI and ML category for 2021. Moreover, in July, Forrester Research named C3.ai as a Leader in the 2022 Forrester Wave for AI and ML platforms.
In mid-June, C3.ai announced a new supply chain software solution in partnership with Google Cloud to address the ongoing global supply chain disruption. The Supply Chain Suite combines the company’s AI capabilities and Google Cloud’s data organization and orchestration power.
The solution enables demand forecasting, optimized inventory and production, and supplier lead time visibility, thus providing on-time, in-full customer delivery. The C3.ai Supply Chain Suite leverages the power and infrastructure of Google Cloud products, including Google BigQuery, Google Kubernetes Engine and Vertex AI.
What Awaits C3.ai Shares in the Rest of 2022?
C3.ai shares have declined 52.9% year to date compared with the Zacks Computer & Technology sectors decline of 26.2%. Its partner, Google Cloud parent Alphabet’s shares have declined 28% over the same period.
C3.ai, Inc. Price and Consensus
C3.ai, Inc. price-consensus-chart | C3.ai, Inc. Quote
C3.ai is suffering from a challenging macroeconomic environment that has affected customer purchasing behavior.
However, a strong partner base that includes Google Cloud, Amazon’s AMZN cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft MSFT, Baker Hughes and Accenture, is helping C3.ai to win customers regularly.
In first-quarter fiscal 2023, C3.ai and Microsoft jointly sold 16 contracts. Overall, C3.ai signed 31 customer contracts having an average total contract value (TCV) of $1.4 million compared with 24 contracts with an average TCV of $1.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Moreover, C3.ai witnessed increased joint-selling activity with AWS. The momentum is expected to continue in fiscal 2023 and beyond. The Amazon cloud arm remains C3.ai’s largest installed base with approximately 56% of the latter’s customers running on the AWS cloud.
Customer growth increased 27% year over year and C3.ai ended the fiscal first quarter with 228 customers. C3.ai’s solutions have been selected by the likes of Koch Industries, Shell, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment office in recent times.
In early July, Raytheon selected the C3 AI Application Platform to deliver next-gen AI and ML capabilities for a ready-now solution for the U.S. Army’s Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node program.
C3.ai’s strong partner base is helping in portfolio expansion. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is collaborating with Baker Hughes, Microsoft and Accenture to develop and market an industrial asset management solution for clients in the energy and industrial sectors. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
These factors are expected to drive C3.ai’s top-line prospects. The company expects fiscal second-quarter revenues between $60 million and $62 million. For fiscal 2023, C3.ai expects revenues between $255 million and $270 million. For fiscal 2024, revenues are expected to grow more than 30%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter fiscal 2023 revenues is pegged at $61.03 million, indicating 4.76% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for fiscal 2023 revenues stands at $260.9 million, suggesting 3.22% from the figure reported in fiscal 2022.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
C3.ai, Inc. (AI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
