Anthropic plans to disclose its third-quarter financials for the first time at a meeting with potential investors on Wednesday, according to CNBC, as the AI lab prepares for what could be the largest initial public offering in history. The numbers will be presented to a group of institutional investors, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC, speaking on condition of anonymity because the details are confidential. Bloomberg first reported that the meeting was taking place. Anthropic declined to comment.
The disclosure is a significant step for a company that filed confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year but has not yet made its S-1 financials public. Reuters has reported that Anthropic will list in November, though people familiar with the plans could not confirm a specific listing date when speaking to CNBC.
Why These Numbers Matter Beyond Anthropic
The stakes of the disclosure reach well past one company's IPO. Revenue figures from the large private AI labs have proven capable of moving public markets, sometimes violently. Last week, confusion around a report detailing OpenAI's revenue dragged down major semiconductor stocks and the broader Nasdaq.
That episode turned on an accounting distinction that investors are now scrutinizing closely. OpenAI shared an updated revenue figure of $50 billion with current investors as part of an ongoing fundraise — lower than the $70 billion that had been widely reported. According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to CNBC, the updated number stripped out revenue from cloud partners and was not an indication of changing demand.
It remains unclear whether Anthropic will account for sales the same way and include partner revenue. Either way, this week's numbers are expected to give investors a more accurate snapshot of Anthropic's growth and profitability as they work to value the company ahead of a listing, and to help Anthropic's executives and bankers gauge investor appetite and weigh the market reaction.
A $2 Trillion Valuation in a Shaky Market
Anthropic is pushing ahead with what CNBC describes as a potential $2 trillion listing based on its latest reported revenue figures, which people familiar with the plans say could top $100 billion by the end of this year. At that size, an Anthropic IPO would surpass SpaceX's debut, which currently stands as the largest in history. Yahoo Finance has reported that the company's losses could reach $42 billion, underscoring the gap between the lab's growth curve and its bottom line that investors will have to price.
The timing is not comfortable. Anthropic is heading toward a listing just as climbing interest rates are shaking parts of the AI trade. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said at a conference on Monday that with rates rising, access to capital could become the biggest constraint on AI companies — a notable admission from an executive whose company sits at the center of the AI chip supply chain. Chip stocks were lower on Tuesday, extending an overnight sell-off driven by worries over the durability of AI financing.
Market conditions are among the biggest factors in Anthropic's IPO planning, and CNBC reports that bankers are closely watching investor appetite for growth and AI stocks as they sequence the offering.
Wall Street commentary on the listing has already been colorful. CNBC reported this month that one analyst described Anthropic as potentially the "most ridiculous IPO" of the year — shorthand for a debut whose valuation assumptions, scale and loss profile have little precedent. The IPO has also spawned its own derivative trade: Bank of America has pitched investors on a power company as a way to play the listing indirectly, evidence of how deeply an Anthropic offering is expected to pull on everything from data center electricity to cloud infrastructure.
That ecosystem trade cuts both ways. If the IPO prices well, the halo benefits the suppliers, utilities and cloud providers grouped around Anthropic. If it disappoints, the disappointment propagates through the same network — which is part of why this week's private disclosure is being watched as a market event in its own right.
The Test Ahead
Wednesday's meeting amounts to a rehearsal for the roadshow. If institutional investors respond well to the Q3 numbers, Anthropic gains confirmation that it can clear the valuation it is seeking even in a cooler market. If the reaction is muted, the company faces a choice between accepting a lower valuation, delaying the listing, or pressing ahead into weakening demand for AI assets.
The outcome will also set the reference point for the rest of the private AI market. A successful mega-IPO would hand OpenAI and other late-stage AI companies a fresh benchmark for their own eventual listings, while a stumble would complicate fundraising across the sector. Either way, the numbers Anthropic shows on Wednesday will be parsed for what they say about whether AI revenue growth is keeping pace with the capital the industry is consuming. For continuing coverage of the business of AI, follow our latest AI developments.
