Anthropic, the developer of the Claude artificial intelligence models, reported revenue of $16.8 billion in the July to September quarter, an increase of about 46 per cent from the previous three months, as the company prepares for a potential stock market listing in November.
The San Francisco-based company presented its financial results to investors at its headquarters on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. The figures showed revenue rising from $11.5 billion in the previous quarter, alongside an adjusted profit for a second consecutive quarter.
Anthropic also reported positive free cash flow and an operating margin of 11 per cent on an adjusted basis. Free cash flow measures the cash remaining after a company covers its operating expenses and investments, while the operating margin indicates the proportion of revenue left after operating costs.
The company generated $1.70 in revenue for every dollar spent on computing power during the quarter, according to the report.
Despite the strong quarterly performance, its revenue growth is slowing. Annualised revenue, calculated by projecting recent sales over a full year, is expected to finish 2026 below $100 billion, falling short of expectations held by some investors.
Research firm SemiAnalysis estimates Anthropic’s current annualised revenue at about $74 billion, compared with approximately $65 billion in late July.
Potential record-breaking stock market listing
Anthropic confidentially filed for an initial public offering with US regulators in June but has yet to publish a full prospectus. The company is reportedly targeting a November listing, after the US midterm elections, at a valuation of up to $2 trillion.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are expected to lead the offering, according to reports cited by Euronews and Bloomberg. If achieved, the valuation would surpass the approximately $1.8 trillion valuation associated with SpaceX’s reported record-breaking listing in June.
It would also be roughly double Anthropic’s $965 billion valuation when it raised $65 billion from private investors in May.
However, the company’s adjusted profitability contrasts with its reported losses under standard accounting measures. Anthropic lost $42 billion in 2025 on revenue of $4.6 billion, according to a draft prospectus reported last month. The losses were largely attributed to $34 billion in accounting charges connected to previous fundraising.
Competition with OpenAI intensifies
Anthropic faces strong competition from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. OpenAI was approaching $50 billion in annualised revenue at the end of September, although differences in how the two companies calculate revenue mean their figures are not directly comparable.
OpenAI is not expected to enter public markets before 2027. Meanwhile, Anthropic has faced growing pressure from new models developed by its rival and lower-cost Chinese AI systems that could challenge its pricing and revenue growth.
According to Bloomberg, Anthropic could begin marketing its shares to investors as early as the week of November 9, although the timing and proposed valuation remain subject to change.
