Tech shares slide as OpenAI revenue estimate revised lower

U.S. technology indexes dropped on Thursday after a Financial Times report indicated OpenAI's annualized revenue is closer to $50 billion, roughly $20 billion less than earlier estimates. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25%, its steepest decline since mid-August, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% as the tech sector weighed on the market.

Investors had been expecting higher demand for artificial-intelligence products to support profitability at firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The new revenue figure, based on net revenue rather than gross figures that include cloud provider income, raised concerns about the strength of AI demand.

Shares of semiconductor and cloud companies also moved lower, with Nvidia down 2.9%, Intel 5.3% and Oracle 5.5%. Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird, said the revision could create ripple effects across related industries. > "There are going to be tremors throughout all of the related sub-industries," he said.

Mayfield added that the market has become increasingly reliant on AI-related stocks for overall performance. > "This has become a much narrower market that’s dependent on the AI names to keep it afloat," he noted.

OpenAI declined to comment on the revised revenue estimate. The company’s chief executive, Sam Altman, previously said the firm would delay an initial public offering until at least next year due to AI safety concerns.