Anthropic revenue soars 45% to $16.8bn before stock listing

Anthropic briefs investors as it prepares for possible IPO

The figures were presented to potential investors at the firm's San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday, as it lays the groundwork for a public listing that could rank among the year's largest.

Anthropic's financial performance has strengthened throughout 2026. 

The company brought in $4.7 billion during the first quarter, followed by $11.6 billion in the second, before reaching $16.8 billion (£12.7 billion) in the third. It has also now reported profits for two consecutive quarters. 

A spokesperson declined to comment on the latest figures.

Billions poured into AI infrastructure as investors question the returns

The announcement comes as investors grow increasingly uneasy about the cost of building and expanding AI technology. 

Billions are being poured into data centres, chips and other infrastructure, but recent market movements suggest there are concerns about whether the spending will deliver the returns investors expect.

Those worries hit major semiconductor companies on Wednesday, when shares in AMD, Nvidia and Intel fell sharply. 

The downturn continued in Asia the following day, with SoftBank losing more than 9% and Samsung falling 9.4%. 

South Korea's main exchanges temporarily halted trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped by more than 5%.

Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan had already questioned the enthusiasm surrounding AI investment earlier in the week. 

Speaking at a Singapore conference on Monday, he said many investors had “no clue” about the industry and warned that soaring expectations were beginning to resemble a gamble.

“Extreme expectations only to find out that it's almost like they are in a casino,” Tan said.