Anthropic reports $16.8 billion third-quarter revenue, up 45%, ahead of planned IPO
Anthropic told investors on Wednesday, 14 October, that revenue rose about 45% to $16.8 billion in the third quarter. The company said it was profitable on an adjusted basis, and a share sale could follow in November.
A quarter presented to investors
Anthropic briefed prospective investors at its San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday, 14 October, and told them that third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion, up about 45% from the previous quarter. Two people present at the meeting confirmed the figure to Reuters, after the Financial Times first reported details of the presentation. The company said it had been profitable on an adjusted basis, a measure that leaves out items such as stock-based pay. An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment when the BBC asked about the figures. The company was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, according to Il Sole 24 ORE.
Growth slows, and losses remain on paper
Revenue was $4.7 billion in the first quarter and $11.6 billion in the second, according to the BBC and Handelsblatt, so growth has eased after revenue more than doubled between the first and second quarters. BFMTV put the first-quarter figure at $4.8 billion, and the difference between the two figures has not been resolved. Documents seen by Bloomberg and Reuters show a 2025 accounting loss of nearly $42 billion, of which about $34 billion came from accounting entries with no cash actually spent. The operating loss for 2025 exceeded $8 billion on revenue of $4.6 billion, and the company now says it generates more cash than it consumes. According to the same sources, Anthropic collects $1.70 in revenue for every dollar it spends on computing power, but none of these measures can be checked without published accounts.
- Q2 2026
- 11.6 $ billion
- Q3 2026
- 16.8 $ billion
IPO timing and valuation
Bloomberg reports that Anthropic could begin selling shares in the week of 9 November, with a listing before Thanksgiving on 26 November, although the company has never confirmed a date. That timetable has already slipped several times, and a late-August announcement had said the listing filing would be published within days. The prospectus, filed confidentially in June, has still not been made public. The New York Times reports that bankers say the offering could raise more than $100 billion at a valuation of about $2 trillion, which may make it the largest-ever IPO and push Anthropic past SpaceX, which listed in June at a $1.77 trillion valuation. Anthropic was valued at $965 billion after a $65 billion funding round in May, according to Il Sole 24 ORE.
- Funding round raises $65 billion at a $965 billion post-money valuation
- Prospectus filed confidentially as part of the IPO process
- Third-quarter results presented to investors in San Francisco
- Possible start of share sale, according to Bloomberg
- Possible listing ahead of Thanksgiving, according to Bloomberg
Doubts about the AI trade
Bloomberg reports that some investors and analysts expect the results to strengthen the case for the offering without dispelling doubts about the AI trade. Handelsblatt reports that a series of hacking attacks by AI agents that got out of control has increased public criticism of AI companies, and those incidents have added to worries about Anthropic's listing. The BBC notes that tech stocks, including makers of chips and data centre hardware, have come under pressure over spending on AI infrastructure. The New York Times adds that rising interest rates have dampened the IPO market. OpenAI, whose chief executive Sam Altman said in September that his company will not go public this year, has also filed to go public, probably next year.
What remains unverified
The figures shared with investors are unaudited and are not yet presented in the detail that the listing documents will require. Anthropic remains a private company, so the numbers come only from people familiar with the presentation and from documents seen by reporters. The adjusted profit measure is not standardised, and the market is watching how sales made through large cloud partners are recorded. Il Sole 24 ORE reports that investors are also watching whether margins hold while spending on chips and data centres rises. The New York Times expects the offering to be a milestone for Silicon Valley and Wall Street, although the company's road to the public market has become increasingly difficult.