Anthropic now generates more money in one quarter than it took the company nearly four years to earn just twelve months ago. The Claude developer pulled in roughly $16.8 billion during the third quarter of 2026, according to Bloomberg.
Management shared the figures with prospective investors in San Francisco weeks before a planned IPO. Anthropic declined to comment on the financial details.
The numbers tell a dramatic story. Full-year revenue for 2025 reached about $4.6 billion. By the first quarter of 2026, that figure hit $4.8 billion. The second quarter posted $11.5 billion, and the third quarter climbed another 46 percent to $16.8 billion.
Annualized revenue now stands near $67 billion. The company also told investors it achieved profitability on an adjusted basis for two consecutive quarters, with positive cash flow. Adjusted gross margin sits around 85 percent, while adjusted operating margin exceeds 11 percent.
However, the word “adjusted” carries significant weight here.
The metrics exclude three major expense categories. Training costs for new models do not appear in the gross margin calculation. Stock-based compensation, which amounts to millions for top researchers, remains outside the figures. The revenue share kept by cloud partners like Amazon also gets left out.
Critics argue the company profits only if you ignore the cost of building Claude itself. Anthropic has not revealed how large those excluded amounts total. SEC rules will eventually force a reconciliation with standard accounting measures in the IPO prospectus.
The timing works in Anthropic’s favor. OpenAI postponed its own IPO plans, and reports showing OpenAI revenue falling short of expectations rattled AI stocks. Anthropic can now position itself as the financially stronger of the two AI giants.
Meanwhile, uncertainties remain. Revenue growth is decelerating, from more than doubling quarter over quarter to a 46 percent gain. Nearly a quarter of last year’s revenue came from just two customers. The company also booked gross revenue from cloud platform sales, complicating comparisons with competitors.
Formal share marketing could begin as soon as the week of November 9, with trading starting before Thanksgiving. Investors have discussed valuations between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion, roughly 30 times annualized revenue. Whether that multiple holds depends on years of continued growth.
