Investors Discuss Anthropic IPO Valuation of $1.5 Trillion to $1.6 Trillion
Key Facts
Institutional investors are discussing an Anthropic IPO valuation of $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion, according to a report carried by InvestingLive, citing The Wall Street Journal, on November 2. The report said investors had told the company and its advisers that the offering valuation should center on this range. The figure is not a final target announced by Anthropic, and the report does not establish that a selloff in technology stocks alone prompted the discussion. The financial figures in the company's amended filing give investors a picture combining rapid revenue growth with an operating loss and substantial spending commitments. The filing shows revenue of $33.2 billion in the first nine months of 2026, compared with $2.5 billion in the same period of 2025.
That represents year-over-year growth of 1,206% in the nine months ended September 30, according to the filing. Annual revenue was $41 million in 2023, then $386 million in 2024, before reaching $4.6 billion in 2025. But the company warned investors that revenue would not necessarily continue growing at similar rates, and said it could not guarantee that growth would continue at all. In the third quarter, increased usage supported revenue, but its effect was partly offset by a decline of nearly $600 million due to price cuts for new model releases and contractual discounts. Revenue therefore reflects not only the level of demand but also product pricing and contract terms.
Reuters reported on October 14, citing two people who attended an investor event, that third-quarter revenue rose 45% from the previous quarter. At the same time, the company swung from operating income of $974 million in the second quarter to an operating loss of $567 million in the third quarter. Anthropic attributed the shift mainly to $5 billion in computing under short-term commitments and $2 billion in non-cash charges for a donation-matching program. These items show how sales growth can coincide with a weaker operating result when the cost of providing computing capacity rises and large expenses are recorded. Computing and infrastructure expenses also rose 329% to $18.808 billion in the first nine months of 2026, from $4.381 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The company's purchase commitments and lease agreements total about $895.4 billion, mostly related to computing and infrastructure, according to its amended filing. Anthropic expects to incur about $447.5 billion of that total before December 31, 2030. The Associated Press said $70 billion in spending is due in the 12 months following its report published on November 2. These commitments tie a large share of the company's future resources to computing and infrastructure, while the filing showed that short-term computing costs contributed to the swing to an operating loss in the third quarter. Investors therefore face the question of how to balance revenue expansion against the spending needed to support it when valuing the offering.
According to Bloomberg Law, official IPO marketing could begin in the week of November 9, with shares expected to list before Thanksgiving on November 26. The publication attributed these dates to people familiar with the matter, so they do not represent final offering terms. The $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion range remains a discussion attributed to investors, while the filing does not set a final pricing date or the number of shares to be offered. The marketing process is expected to show whether this range appears in subsequent offering discussions. The reported listing date puts the expected timetable ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in late November.