- Anthropic told prospective investors that third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion as the Claude developer prepares for a potential stock market listing, although its growth has slowed from the pace recorded earlier in 2026.
Anthropic reported third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion, an increase of roughly 45% to 46% from the previous quarter, as the artificial intelligence company works toward a potential initial public offering in November, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The company disclosed the figures during an investor briefing at its San Francisco headquarters on October 14. Anthropic also told attendees that it had achieved adjusted profitability for a second consecutive quarter, according to people familiar with the presentation cited in the reports.
The results mark a substantial expansion for the developer of Claude, whose revenue rose from approximately $4.7 billion in the first quarter to $11.6 billion in the second quarter before reaching $16.8 billion in the third. The latest figure is more than three times the company's revenue for all of 2025, based on the reported quarterly figures and its previously disclosed annual results.
The growth comes as Anthropic prepares for a potential public listing that could value the company at around $2 trillion, although the final valuation, offering size and timing have not been established. Its earlier IPO disclosures showed that rapid sales growth has come alongside substantial operating losses and long-term commitments to AI computing infrastructure.
Revenue Growth Slows as Anthropic Scales
Anthropic's latest revenue increase is significant, but it represents a slower pace of expansion than the company recorded earlier in the year. Revenue more than doubled between the first and second quarters, when demand for products including Claude Code helped drive sales higher, according to reporting on the company's investor briefing.
The slower sequential growth could become an important issue for investors weighing the proposed IPO valuation. Rapidly growing revenue has helped attract capital to AI developers, but public-market investors will also assess whether that growth can continue as the companies face greater competition and rising costs.
Anthropic has not publicly released a detailed third-quarter financial statement explaining the reported revenue figure or the precise adjustments used to calculate profitability. The adjusted results therefore should not be treated as equivalent to a full disclosure of net income under standard accounting rules.
The company told investors it generated $1.70 in revenue for every $1 spent on computing power during the third quarter and reported an adjusted operating margin of 11%, according to the Financial Times. Those figures suggest that Anthropic is seeking to demonstrate that its business can generate returns from the computing resources needed to develop and operate advanced AI models.
The financial picture remains complicated by the cost of expansion. Anthropic has outlined significant future spending commitments for computing capacity and infrastructure, which will be needed to support its models and growing customer base. Its earlier disclosures included approximately $518 billion in future infrastructure and cloud-related commitments, according to reporting based on its IPO materials.
That spending requirement is central to the company's investment case. Anthropic must balance demand for Claude with the cost of obtaining computing resources, developing new models and maintaining its competitive position.
Competition and AI Spending Put IPO Valuation in Focus
Anthropic is preparing to enter public markets as competition among AI developers intensifies. OpenAI has become a more formidable rival, while major customers such as Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have increasingly developed their own AI capabilities, according to the Financial Times.
The company has also reduced its exposure to model distillation, a practice in which developers use the outputs of existing AI systems to help train competing models. The Financial Times reported that distillation accounted for between 5% and 7% of Anthropic's revenue and was reduced materially during the third quarter. The change could affect a revenue source even as it addresses concerns about other companies relying on Anthropic's models.
Price competition is another factor. AI companies are competing for enterprise and developer customers while facing lower-cost alternatives, including models developed by Chinese companies. Lower prices may help expand adoption, but they can also make it more difficult for providers to maintain margins as computing expenses increase.
These pressures come amid broader scrutiny of the capital required to support the AI industry. Investors have questioned whether projected demand will justify the scale of planned spending on data centers, chips and cloud infrastructure. Recent concerns about AI investment costs and higher interest rates have also weighed on technology shares, increasing the importance of credible financial disclosures ahead of major listings.
Anthropic's possible IPO would give public-market investors a closer look at the relationship between its revenue growth, operating costs and long-term commitments. The company's earlier IPO valuation outlook highlighted the challenge of supporting a multitrillion-dollar valuation while funding the infrastructure required to compete in advanced AI.
Anthropic has not confirmed final IPO terms, and its latest figures were disclosed privately to prospective investors rather than through a public quarterly filing. The reported $16.8 billion in revenue and adjusted profitability provide new evidence of its commercial scale, but the pace of future growth and the cost of sustaining it will remain central questions for investors.