Investors betting against US cloud service and data‑centre operators booked roughly $6 billion in unrealised gains in October as markets began to question the sustainability of debt‑financed artificial‑intelligence investments. The figures are based on data from analytics firm ORTEX and reporting by Reuters.
Which companies saw rising short interest and how much profit was recorded
- ORTEX data show that short positions in CoreWeave, IREN, Nebius Group, Applied Digital and Core Scientific represent between about 20% and 26% of each company’s free float.
- Shorts against Nebius generated the largest unrealised October gain: short sellers recorded nearly $2.94 billion of unrealised profit during the month. Despite that, those positions still show a $3.33 billion loss on a year‑to‑date basis.
- CoreWeave’s short interest rose from 19.6% at the start of October to 23.7%. CoreWeave shares fell roughly 30% in October, producing about $1.7 billion of unrealised profit for those betting on a decline.
- Nebius’s short ratio increased from 15.4% at the beginning of the year to about 20%.
- Short positions against the data‑centre operators IREN and Applied Digital together show more than $1.2 billion of unrealised profit for October.
- At Core Scientific the short interest stands at 23.1%, with positions indicating roughly $115 million of unrealised profit.
Aggregate picture and market context
ORTEX’s data indicate that investors held short positions worth about $17 billion across the five companies. Low stock‑lending fees for each firm make it easier for short sellers to maintain those positions.
The broader driver is growing market scepticism about whether large, debt‑funded AI infrastructure projects are financially sustainable — a concern that has pressured shares of capital‑intensive cloud and data‑centre businesses.
Legal and other notes
The figures cited are based on ORTEX data and Reuters reporting. This article does not constitute investment advice. The cover image is illustrative (Getty Images). An AI assistant contributed to preparing this article; the final content was edited and verified by a journalist.
