What changed
Nebius, an Amsterdam company that rents out AI computing power, filed its second quarter report in August. The filing shows revenue rising to $582.3 million from $105.1 million a year earlier, which means far more customers rented capacity.
The line drawing attention is cash. Operating activities brought in $2.25 billion last quarter, up from an outflow a year earlier, because customers paid before their capacity was built.
Cash from operations last quarter. Most of it is customers paying in advance, not profit: the quarter's net loss was $190.4 million.
- Q2 2025Cash outflow
Operations consumed cash a year ago.
- Q2 2026$2.25B flows in
70 percent of deals prepaid.
- Late 2026Capacity arrives
Most Q2 deals were signed against it.
- 2027+1 GW per year plan
Delivery becomes the test.
Why it matters
That money is prepayment, not profit. Nebius says roughly 70 percent of deals closed last quarter carried cash up front, more than any prior quarter. Those prepayments covered 50 to 60 percent of building costs last quarter, less than the full bill, which means debt and share sales fund the rest.
The same report shows a net loss of $190.4 million in the second quarter, a different picture than the cash line, which means the surge is working capital rather than earnings. Taken together, the pattern suggests a circle: customers hand over cash, Nebius converts it into chips, power, and buildings, and revenue arrives later as capacity comes online.
What to watch
Watch the gap between building costs and operating cash. If it narrows while revenue keeps climbing, the model could start funding itself; if capacity lands into softer demand, prepaid contracts would become the risk, because the service is owed at prices set in a tighter market.
Nebius targets 5 gigawatts of contracted power by the end of 2026, up from earlier plans, which means delivery is now the test. Whether demand holds at those prices is not yet known.
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