Anthropic reported revenue of $16.8 billion for the third quarter of 2026, along with adjusted profitability, as the artificial intelligence company prepares for a potential initial public offering as early as November. The company behind Claude shared these figures with investors during a meeting aimed at generating interest in its planned IPO. This IPO could value Anthropic at nearly $2,000 billion, potentially making it the largest IPO in history.
Revenue Growth Attracts Investor Attention
Anthropic’s third-quarter revenue increased by more than 45% compared to the previous quarter, during which the company generated $11.6 billion. Anthropic’s revenue has continued to climb throughout 2026, with the company reporting $4.8 billion after the first quarter. These figures reflect rapid growth over the course of the year, although the latest increase was less pronounced than the one recorded between the first and second quarters. Investors are closely monitoring the company’s financial performance to assess its competition with OpenAI and the overall commercial strength of the artificial intelligence sector.
Harrison Rolfes, a private-company analyst at PitchBook, said that Anthropic’s growth remained impressive but was showing signs of slowing. He also questioned the amount the company spent to generate its reported revenue, noting that the figures do not reveal the total cost of its expansion. Mr. Rolfes noted that the slowdown in growth between the second and third quarters could affect the valuation Anthropic is targeting for its initial public offering. The company remains private, which means investors have limited access to its financial information compared to publicly traded companies.
“They’re still growing, but not as quickly. So they’re reaching an inflection point,”
Harrison Rolfes
Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering
Anthropic is expected to go public (IPO) as early as November, with a valuation that could approach $2 trillion, making it the largest IPO in history. The company has begun meeting with investors to generate interest in the offering, citing its latest revenue figures and adjusted profitability to demonstrate its financial health. However, questions remain regarding its underlying costs, how it calculates its revenue, and whether its growth can justify such a valuation. The outcome will depend in part on investor confidence in Anthropic’s ability to maintain its momentum amid intensifying competition in the AI market.
Questions Remain About Profitability
Although Anthropic has told investors it achieved adjusted profitability in the third quarter, the figures it reported raise questions about how that result was calculated. It is also unclear whether the $16.8 billion in revenue represents gross or net revenue. Anthropic has consistently reported gross sales made through its cloud partners as revenue, even though it does not receive the full amount in cash. A company spokesperson declined to comment on these figures. This distinction is important because investors are assessing the company’s financial health in anticipation of a potential initial public offering. Revenue growth alone is not enough to determine how much the company retains after accounting for the costs associated with delivering its products and expanding its operations.
Serious Safety Concerns Regarding AI
Anthropic’s expansion has coincided with a growing public debate about the risks associated with advanced artificial intelligence. In early September, Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, resigned and warned of the potential dangers of this technology. Mr. Coxon’s remarks come amid growing concerns about AI-based cyberattacks and broader security issues. CEO Dario Amodei subsequently published an essay calling on companies to slow down their AI research.
The people developing AI are genuinely convinced that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.
Jacob Coxon, researcher at Anthropic
Competition Threatens Valuation
Anthropic is also facing increasingly fierce competition as developers evaluate the cost of using different AI systems. Advances in open-source and “open-weight” models have provided some developers with alternatives to the tools offered by Anthropic and OpenAI. OpenAI is focusing on pricing, while Meta, Google, and SpaceXAI continue to develop their own AI models and products.
The changing competitive landscape could affect Anthropic’s ability to sustain its growth and justify a valuation of around 2,000 billion dollars. Investors will evaluate not only its revenue and adjusted profitability but also its expenses, pricing strategy, and ability to retain customers as alternatives improve. While an initial public offering could take place in November, the company’s latest financial figures offer an important indication of its business momentum, but questions remain regarding its underlying costs and the sustainability of its growth.
Anthropic Reports $17 Billion in Revenue Just Before Going Public
