Anthropic Q3 Revenue Surpasses First-Half Total, Up More Than 12-Fold YoY as IPO Valuation Expected to Reach $1.75 Trillion

TradingKey — In early US trading on November 2, Eastern Time, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic's third-quarter revenue approached $17 billion, roughly 12 times that of the same period last year, with single-quarter revenue exceeding the total for the first half of this year. The rapid expansion of its revenue scale provides a new pricing basis for the Claude developer's upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

Anthropic filed for an IPO on October 26, planning to list before the US Thanksgiving holiday. According to Bloomberg, reasonable valuation expectations relayed by investors to underwriting banks have shifted to between $1.4 trillion and $1.5 trillion, while a valuation approaching $1.75 trillion is also considered achievable.

Anthropic Quarterly Revenue Nears $17 Billion, IPO Valuation Implies Over 20x Annualized Revenue

Third-quarter revenue exceeded the combined total of the first half, showing that Anthropic's business scale is accelerating its expansion. At this stage of growth, revenue from the latest quarter helps investors gauge current business volume and evaluate whether an IPO valuation is reasonable.

Simply annualizing the third-quarter revenue of nearly $17 billion puts the company's annual revenue run rate at approximately $68 billion. Based on this, a valuation of $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion corresponds to roughly 20.6 to 22.1 times annualized revenue; if the valuation reaches $1.75 trillion, the implied multiple would be about 25.7 times. This calculation reflects the revenue level of the latest quarter rather than the company's full-year revenue guidance.

Such high valuation expectations mean investors are not only pricing in current revenue, but also betting on the continued expansion of the Claude business. However, revenue growth has not yet led to a narrowing of net losses.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Anthropic reported a net loss of $23.3 billion in the third quarter, compared to a loss of $12.1 billion in the same period last year, while operating expenses surged 292% year-over-year to $17.5 billion.

Revenue growth was significantly faster than the pace of loss expansion, but the absolute loss amount is still rising. Therefore, besides sustaining revenue growth, the key to supporting a higher valuation involves gradually improving profitability so that incremental revenue can cover the costs of model development and service delivery.

Anthropic Targets SpaceX Fundraising Record as Compute Commitments Highlight Funding Needs

According to people familiar with the matter, Anthropic is seeking to match or surpass SpaceX's $86.2 billion fundraising scale at its initial listing, potentially setting a record for IPO capital raised. The comparison here is based on the amount of capital raised in the offering, while the company's final valuation will also depend on the offer price and the proportion of shares sold.

Behind the massive fundraising effort is the investment in computing power required for business expansion. Documents show that Anthropic's total contractual commitments have reached $895 billion, primarily involving computing power and infrastructure. Of this total, approximately $448 billion is expected to be incurred by the end of 2030, with about $70 billion occurring in the year ending September 2027.

Securing computing power in advance helps support model development and growing customer demand, while also bringing ongoing payment arrangements. As these contracts are executed, the company will need to cover expenditures through revenue collections, existing funds, and financing. Completing the IPO would provide more ample capital for subsequent expansion.

Against the backdrop of recent pressure on tech stocks due to earnings reports and concerns over AI return on investment, Anthropic has showcased rapidly growing revenue while disclosing a massive scale of investment. Its final offer pricing will reflect how investors weigh the speed of Claude's commercial expansion against evaluating when this revenue can translate into sustainable profits and cash returns.