Anthropic’s IPO pitch gathered force after the Claude maker told investors that third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion — a sharp rise from $4.7 billion in the first quarter and $11.6 billion in the second. The company also said it was profitable on an adjusted basis, according to people familiar with the investor discussions.¹

The figures arrived as Anthropic reportedly prepares for a November listing that could value it near $2 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO on record. Investors have treated the company’s revenues as a high-stakes measure of its contest with OpenAI — and of whether the wider AI rally has a business foundation to match its market fervor.²

Anthropic’s more bullish case rests not only on sales growth but on cash generation. It told investors it was cash-flow positive in the third quarter and generated "$1.70 in revenue for every dollar spent on computing power," the Financial Times reported. The company is also expected by investors to reach $110 billion in annualized revenue by year-end.¹

But the same numbers have exposed the limits of the sales pitch. Third-quarter revenue rose about 45% from the prior quarter — still extraordinary, but a slower rate than the jump from the first quarter to the second. PitchBook analyst Harrison Rolfes called that a possible turning point: "They’re still growing, but not growing as fast. So they’re reaching this inflection point."²

The central uncertainty is what sits beneath the headline revenue and profitability claims. Anthropic has historically counted gross sales through cloud partners even though it does not keep the full amount, while investors still do not know whether the latest figure is gross or net revenue, or precisely how adjusted profitability was calculated. Rolfes warned that slower growth could "shave" the valuation Anthropic can command.²

For now, the company’s numbers offer IPO momentum — but not yet the full accounting investors will need to decide whether the valuation is justified.