Revenue grew approximately 45% quarter-on-quarter; absolute quarterly revenue growth narrowed from $6.9 billion to $5.2 billion.
Second straight quarter of adjusted profit; IPO targeted for November.
Anthropic, the developer behind the artificial intelligence model 'Claude,' has reportedly generated $16.8 billion in revenue for the third quarter of this year, maintaining adjusted profitability. While the scale of revenue expanded, both the quarter-on-quarter growth rate and the net increase in revenue were lower than in the second quarter.
According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), Anthropic presented its Q3 financial results during an investor briefing held in San Francisco. Attendees reported that quarterly revenue reached $4.7 billion in Q1, $11.6 billion in Q2, and $16.8 billion in Q3.
While Q2 revenue more than doubled compared to the previous quarter, the growth rate slowed to approximately 45% in Q3. Based on these figures, the net increase in revenue compared to the previous quarter also declined, falling from $6.9 billion in Q2 to $5.2 billion in Q3.
In terms of profitability, the company sustained an adjusted profit. The Financial Times (FT) noted that Anthropic has achieved adjusted profitability for two consecutive quarters, recording an 11% operating profit margin and positive cash flow in Q3. As adjusted profit is a metric that excludes certain costs or items, it should be distinguished from net income under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
The enterprise customer base expanded rapidly during the first half of the year. Anthropic announced in April that the number of enterprise customers spending over $1 million annually had exceeded 1,000. This represented a doubling from more than 500 customers just two months prior in February. The company explained that enterprises are increasingly expanding the use of Claude across their organizations after initially adopting it for specific tasks.
Securing the computational resources necessary to meet this growing demand from corporate clients entails long-term cost burdens. Reuters reported last month, citing confidential IPO-related documents, that Anthropic has committed to at least $518 billion in infrastructure spending over the next decade. Approximately 80% of this amount reportedly consists of non-cancelable obligations or fixed payments, regardless of actual usage. While these long-term contracts provide a foundation for scaling services, they also leave the company with payment obligations should usage levels fall short of expectations.
Preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) are also proceeding. Bloomberg previously reported that Anthropic plans to begin formal IPO roadshows as early as the week of November 9, with the goal of commencing trading before Thanksgiving. The final timeline remains subject to change.
As the company moves through the IPO process, a key point of evaluation will be whether the expansion of enterprise adoption can generate sufficiently consistent cash flow to offset long-term infrastructure expenditures.
