Cerebras Systems CEO Andrew Feldman said investors misunderstood the company's profit outlook after the AI chipmaker's shares fell nearly 20% following its first earnings report as a publicly listed company. The decline came after Cerebras forecast a lower gross margin for its core business this year. Speaking to CNBC, Feldman said the guidance had been misinterpreted, stating, "We laid out a plan at the start of ’26... and we’re beating that plan." For the first quarter, Cerebras reported a gross margin of 47% in its core business, expecting that figure to range between 38% and 41% for the full year. Feldman attributed part of the outlook to the company's decision to rent back equipment from a large customer. Despite the market reaction, analysts at Mizuho and Wedbush raised their estimates. Investors are also monitoring a staggered lock-up schedule; Cerebras’ prospectus said about 28 million Class A shares held by directors, officers and some non-employee shareholders were eligible for trading on the second trading day after the earnings announcement. Feldman noted the company is not facing supply constraints affecting competitors like Nvidia but faces challenges expanding its data centre footprint.