Key points
- OpenAI's third-quarter revenue rose about 50% to roughly $10 billion
- Anthropic's IPO filing shows $17.0 billion of revenue for the same quarter
- OpenAI's adjusted operating loss was about $10.9 billion, while Anthropic posted adjusted operating income
OpenAI brought in about $10 billion of revenue in the third quarter, up roughly 50% from about $6.7 billion in the second quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported. OpenAI shared the figures with investors on Nov. 10.
OpenAI still lost money. Its adjusted operating loss was about $10.9 billion, up from $10.1 billion in the second quarter, according to the figures the Journal reported.
Anthropic (ANT) did more business in the same three months. Its IPO filing, updated Nov. 10, shows revenue of $16.96 billion for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That's about 70% more than OpenAI's.
How fast did each company grow?
About the same, from different starting points. OpenAI's revenue grew roughly 50% from the second quarter. Anthropic's grew 47%, from $11.56 billion to $16.96 billion.
Anthropic's revenue in the third quarter of 2025 was $1.38 billion, according to its filing. Its revenue for the first nine months of 2026 was $33.2 billion, up from $2.5 billion a year earlier.
How did their operating results compare?
Anthropic's were stronger on an adjusted basis. Its adjusted operating income was $2.46 billion in the third quarter, a 15% margin. Anthropic's adjusted figure leaves out stock-based compensation, non-cash charitable contributions, and a 2025 legal settlement.
OpenAI's adjusted operating margin was negative 109%, improved from negative 150% in the second quarter. On that adjusted measure, OpenAI's operating costs and expenses were about $2.09 for every $1 of revenue.
The two adjusted figures may not be measured the same way. Anthropic's come from a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which defines each adjustment. OpenAI's come from investor materials described by the Journal, and OpenAI hasn't published its full financial statements.
Under standard accounting rules, Anthropic had an operating loss of $567 million in the third quarter, after operating income of $974 million in the second. Anthropic said the swing came mainly from $5.0 billion of computing bought under short-term commitments, which costs much more than computing under its multiyear contracts, and $2.0 billion of non-cash charges from its donation matching program. Its net loss was $23.3 billion, mostly from a $21.9 billion loss on the change in fair value of its convertible notes and similar securities.
Where is OpenAI's growth coming from?
Businesses. Chief financial officer Sarah Friar said OpenAI's enterprise business doubled from the second quarter, and that revenue is now split evenly between businesses and consumers, Yahoo Finance reported. Consumer sales rose 20%, and subscriptions topped 100 million users.
Friar also said OpenAI's annual revenue run rate is about $50 billion. She credited Anthropic with showing OpenAI the value of selling through other companies' clouds. "Part of it was we were really stuck on this [Microsoft] Azure contract that we had," she said. "I think getting that unlocked, Anthropic showed me just the power of that model, and I think for us that can be a very big tailwind in 2027."
Why does the comparison matter now?
Anthropic is days from its stock market debut. Its IPO price range values the company at up to $1.02 trillion, based on the shares it expects to have outstanding. CNBC and Axios put the figure at about $1.4 trillion on a fully diluted basis, but neither outlet gave the share count behind it. OpenAI reportedly raised $11 billion this month at a $1.25 trillion valuation.
Anthropic's quarterly numbers are on file with the SEC. OpenAI's come from what OpenAI tells its investors, and they show a company growing about as fast as Anthropic. OpenAI reported a much larger adjusted operating loss, though the two companies' adjustments may not be comparable.
