Anthropic moved closer to a potentially record-breaking public offering last week with an initial S-1 filing, but that document covered only the first half of 2026. On Monday, the AI company amended the prospectus to add third-quarter results—numbers that sharpened both sides of its IPO pitch.¹

The growth case is dramatic. Revenue reached roughly $17 billion in the three months through September 30, up from $11.6 billion in the prior quarter and $1.4 billion a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2026, revenue hit $33.24 billion, about 1,200% above the same period last year.²

But the quarterly update also showed that expansion is becoming more expensive. Operating expenses climbed to $17.5 billion from $10.6 billion in the second quarter, pushing Anthropic to a $567 million operating loss after a $974 million operating profit in the prior period. The company said short-term compute "currently costs significantly more" than capacity secured under multiyear arrangements.³

That helps explain the filing’s most arresting figure: $895.4 billion in purchase commitments and leases, substantially all for compute and infrastructure. Nearly $70 billion is due in the 12 months after September 30, 2026, while roughly $447.5 billion is expected by the end of 2030.⁴

Anthropic has substantial liquidity—$146.6 billion in cash, accessible investments and credit availability at quarter-end—but it also posted a $23.29 billion quarterly net loss, largely reflecting accounting charges tied to convertible notes. Its adjusted business remained profitable, though margins narrowed to 15% from 19% as pricier short-term computing weighed on results.³

The filing therefore offers investors a stark trade-off. Anthropic is building revenue at a pace few companies can match, but its path depends on converting today’s vast infrastructure promises into cheaper capacity—and proving that sales can keep up with the bill.