Anthropic Told Investors Q3 Revenue Was $16.8 Billion and Profitable on an Adjusted Basis, People Familiar Say

Anthropic held its invite-only investor day at its San Francisco headquarters today, Oct. 14, and the third-quarter numbers it had been expected to share are now out. The company told institutional investors it brought in $16.8 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 and was profitable on an adjusted basis, according to people familiar with the matter. Anthropic declined to comment.

The figures come from anonymous attendees, not from a company filing. Anthropic filed confidentially with the SEC earlier this year and has not made its S-1 public.

The growth math

The Wall Street Journal previously reported Anthropic's first-quarter revenue at $4.8 billion and second-quarter revenue at about $11.6 billion. Going from $11.6 billion to $16.8 billion is an increase of roughly 45%.

That is a big number for any company. It is also a steep drop from the roughly 140% jump between the first and second quarters.

Anthropic's annualized run rate topped about $65 billion in late July. People familiar with the company's plans told CNBC the run rate could pass $100 billion by year-end. A run rate is a short period multiplied out, not revenue the company has booked.

What "profitable" means here

The profit claim is measured on an adjusted basis. It is not a GAAP figure.

For scale, Anthropic generated about $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025 and recorded an operating loss of about $8 billion and a net loss near $42 billion, according to figures Crypto Briefing reported. That outlet attributed most of the net loss to non-cash accounting items, not cash out the door. Crypto Briefing also reports that the third-quarter result would be the second straight adjusted-profitable quarter, with the same adjusted-basis caveat.

Anthropic has not said how it defines adjusted profit. It also has not said whether the $16.8 billion is gross or net revenue. Anthropic has historically counted gross sales made through cloud partners as revenue, even though it does not keep the full amount.

That distinction has already moved markets once this month. OpenAI told current investors its revenue was $50 billion, down from the $70 billion widely reported, because the new figure stripped out cloud-partner revenue. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC the change did not reflect weaker demand. Confusion over the number dragged down semiconductor stocks and the Nasdaq last week.

The skeptic's read

Harrison Rolfes, a private-company analyst at PitchBook, told Business Insider the growth is impressive but he sees warning signs. "They're still growing, but not growing as fast. So they're reaching this inflection point," he said.

Rolfes said the figures do not show how much Anthropic spent to generate the revenue. He said slower sequential growth could "shave" the valuation the company can seek in its IPO.

The counterpoint sits in the same numbers. Anthropic is still growing around 45% in a single quarter, and the profit claim, whatever its definition, is a break from a company once known for burning cash. Whether investors accept the adjusted framing is the open question.

The IPO backdrop

The Journal has reported Anthropic could raise as much as $100 billion at a valuation near $2 trillion. SpaceX raised roughly $86 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation in its IPO, the largest on record. In May, Anthropic announced a $65 billion funding round at a $965 billion valuation, so a $2 trillion listing would roughly double that mark in about six months.

The market it would be entering is shaky. Bond yields have climbed, and Citi's Heath Terry, head of AI investment research, told CNN that rising rates, the war in Iran and a softer economy outside of AI have "created uncertainty." Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said Monday that with rates climbing, access to capital could be the biggest constraint on AI companies. Chip stocks fell Tuesday.

Other issuers have pulled back. Oura delayed its debut, Holtec Nuclear suspended its planned IPO, and OpenAI said it would push its own IPO to next year, citing AI safety concerns, according to CNN.

Anthropic is pressing ahead. Reuters has reported a November listing, though people familiar with the plans told CNBC they could not confirm a date. Crypto Briefing reports roadshow activity is set to begin around Nov. 9.

The next hard data point is the public S-1. It should show whether the $16.8 billion is gross or net of partner revenue, how adjusted profit is defined, and what GAAP losses and compute commitments look like.

Reuters reported last month that Anthropic plans to spend over $500 billion on chips and infrastructure over the next decade.