Anthropic reports Q3 2026 revenue of $16.96 billion but posts operating loss
Anthropic disclosed a 47% quarterly revenue increase to $16.96 billion, while operating results swung to a $567 million loss due to higher compute costs.
U.S. artificial-intelligence developer Anthropic updated its IPO prospectus on September 2, revealing its July-September 2026 financial results. Revenue rose 47% quarter-over-quarter to $16.96 billion (about ¥2.7 trillion), a twelve-fold increase from the same period a year earlier. Operating performance turned negative, with a loss of $567 million (≈¥90 billion) compared with a profit of $974 million in the April-June quarter.
Net loss narrowed to $23.29 billion (≈¥3.7 trillion), a 65% reduction from the prior quarter’s $66.3 billion loss, largely because the decline reflects lower fair-value losses on convertible bonds rather than improved core profitability. Excluding those accounting adjustments, the underlying loss was about $1.4 billion (≈¥220 billion).
Operating expenses jumped 65% to $17.5 billion (≈¥2.8 trillion), driven mainly by higher short-term compute procurement costs. The company said short-term contracts are "currently significantly more expensive" than multi-year agreements. It also recorded $2 billion in non-cash charges linked to an employee donation-matching program. Adjusted operating margin fell from 19% to 15% after excluding stock-based compensation and donation-related costs.
Anthropic is seeking to replace costly short-term compute contracts with longer-term capacity through its "Anthropic Direct" infrastructure. As of September 30, the firm had $895.4 billion in compute and infrastructure spending commitments, with $69.8 billion due by September 2027 and $447.5 billion due by the end of 2030. Liquidity stood at $146.6 billion, comprising cash, short-term investments and credit lines.
The company filed its IPO application on August 26 and intends to list Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker "ANT" later this month. Market estimates place the post-listing valuation around $1.5 trillion.
"July-September revenue rose 1127% year-on-year, while compute and infrastructure costs increased only 382%," Anthropic said in its earnings presentation, indicating its view that procurement efficiency is improving.