Anthropic's quarterly revenue hits $16.8 billion ahead of IPO
Anthropic reportedly earned $16.8 billion in the third quarter and was profitable on an adjusted basis. It plans to start marketing its IPO in November and list by year-end.
What happened
Anthropic earned $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, the FT and CNBC. The figures came from an investor presentation in San Francisco. Second-quarter revenue was about $11.5-11.6 billion, implying 45-50% quarterly growth.
The numbers
The company is generating positive free cash flow, with an 85% gross margin and an adjusted operating margin above 11%. Its confidential IPO prospectus showed 2025 revenue near $4.6 billion and an operating loss above $8 billion.
Background
Gross margin is what remains after direct costs, mostly compute for AI firms. Adjusted operating profit excludes non-cash items such as stock compensation and is not a standard accounting measure.
IPO timing
Anthropic filed confidentially with the SEC; its S-1 is not yet public. It plans to begin marketing as soon as the week of 9 November and list by year-end at a reported valuation of about $2 trillion.
Reception
Some analysts see slowing growth. A Jefferies analyst cited by MarketWatch said the market expected at least an $80 billion annual run rate; $16.8 billion annualises to about $67 billion. It is also unclear whether revenue is gross or net of cloud partner shares. The news landed during a week when AI and chip stocks lost $1 trillion, and New York City's comptroller called for the IPO to be paused over AI safety.
Where revenue comes from
Most of Anthropic's revenue comes from businesses and developers, through its own API and cloud platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI and Microsoft Foundry. Claude Code has been its fastest-growing product over the past year. Sales through cloud partners leave part of the revenue with the partner, which is why analysts ask whether figures are gross or net.
What comes next
The public S-1 will show revenue definitions, customer concentration, cloud costs and risk factors for the first time.
What it means for your business
Public companies face profit pressure, so do not build long-term budgets on today's discounted plans. Read enterprise terms on service levels, data use and price changes, and keep workflows portable across providers.