C3.ai Inc (AI) is winning back investors with a management shake-up that could redefine its future after CEO and founder Tom Siebel announced plans to step down due to his ill health, stoking speculations that there could be an acquisition of the company that offers enterprise AI software. With shares down by over 40% from their 52-week high and the company underperforming peers like Nvidia (NVDA), investors are wondering whether this change could be a positive for AI stock.

At the same time, broad-based macro tailwinds for AI spending continue to be robust, particularly within sectors like defense, energy, and government services where C3.ai has been expanding very aggressively. With adoption soaring, a record backlog, and further integrations with Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Baker Hughes (BKR), C3.ai is worth a closer look here. 

About C3.ai Stock

C3.ai (AI) is a provider of enterprise AI software. It develops scalable, autonomous AI applications for industrial, governmental, and commercial end customers. The company is part of the fast-growing AI software industry with a market valuation of approximately $3.5 billion.

In the past 52 weeks, C3.ai shares have moved between $17.03 and $45.08 and are trading at approximately $25 currently. The stock has recovered from recent lows, but remains down by nearly 46% from its 2024 high.

Despite this correction, C3.ai has a very high price-sales ratio of 8.98x and price-book ratio of 4.16x. The negative return on equity (-33.51%) and profit margins highlight that the company faces challenges to grow profitably. This suggests that AI stock currently trades on expectations for future growth as well as recent interest in a takeover. 

C3.ai Expands Its Strategic Footprint

C3.ai reported fiscal Q4 2025 revenue of $108.7 million, up 26% year-over-year. Subscription revenue rose 9% to $87.3 million and contributed to 80% of overall revenue. The company, however, reported a GAAP net loss per share of $0.60 and an adjusted loss of $0.16, representing continued margin pressures despite rising revenue. This beat the analyst estimate for a loss of $0.20 per share. 

In FY 2025, overall revenues were $389.1 million (+25%), driven by federal contract resilience and commercial release of its generative and agentic AI platforms. 

The company noted public sector traction, including a $450 million U.S. Air Force contract to continue predictive maintenance using its PANDA platform and a new multi-year contract with Baker Hughes through 2028. Federal bookings reached 20% of all contracts, with its state and local government business doubling year-over-year.

Notably, C3.ai agreed to 264 contracts within FY25 that rose 38% year-over-year, with noteworthy victories with Exxon Mobil (XOM), U.S. Steel, and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), further evidence of additional market penetration

What Do Analysts Expect for C3.ai Stock?

C3.ai has a “Hold” consensus rating. With 14 analysts in coverage, 5 recommend “Strong Buy”, four recommend “Hold”, and the remaining five have “Sell” recommendations.

The interesting thing to note is that Wedbush reiterated an “Outperform” recommendation after the report of the CEO transition, as there are higher chances of takeover within 3–12 months. 

The consensus target of $30.83 on AI implies shares could gain 26% from here. The Street-high target of $50 suggests shares could more than double in the next 12 months.