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Anthropic reported $16.956 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 1,127% from a year earlier, and disclosed approximately $895.4 billion in purchase commitments and leases, substantially all tied to compute and infrastructure, in its amended IPO registration statement.
Revenue rose about 47% from the June quarter, but the Claude developer returned to an operating loss as spending increased. Anthropic recorded a $567 million operating loss for the three months ended September 30, compared with $974 million in operating income in the preceding quarter.
The amendment adds third-quarter financial results and an aggregate figure for infrastructure obligations to the original S-1, which left those figures blank. Those commitments extend well beyond the IPO. Approximately half are expected to be incurred before the end of 2030, with substantially all of the remainder between 2031 and 2045.
Short-Term Compute Pushes Up Quarterly Costs
Compute and infrastructure expense reached $9.863 billion in the September quarter, up from $5.558 billion in the June quarter. That increase of roughly 77% outpaced sequential revenue growth, lifting compute expense from 48% to 58% of revenue.
Anthropic attributed the pressure partly to $5 billion of compute delivered under short-term commitments. That capacity currently costs significantly more than comparable compute secured through its multiyear agreements. The company also recorded approximately $2 billion in non-cash charges related to its donation matching program.
| Financial Metric | Q3 2025 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.382 billion | $11.555 billion | $16.956 billion |
| Compute and infrastructure expense | $2.047 billion | $5.558 billion | $9.863 billion |
| Total operating expenses | $4.471 billion | $10.581 billion | $17.523 billion |
| Operating income (loss) | ($3.089 billion) | $974 million | ($567 million) |
| Net loss | ($12.138 billion) | ($66.309 billion) | ($23.291 billion) |
Other operating and administrative expenses rose to $3.588 billion from $1.031 billion in the June quarter. Sales, marketing, and partnerships expense increased to $2.361 billion from $2.135 billion, while personnel expense declined to $1.711 billion from $1.857 billion.
Revenue per dollar of compute fell to approximately $1.72 from $2.08 in the preceding quarter. The ratio compares sales with compute and infrastructure expense. It links revenue growth to the resources used to train and operate Claude. It is not a gross-margin measure or a direct measure of the cost of answering an individual customer request.
The year-over-year comparison remained stronger. Compute and infrastructure expense grew 382%, substantially slower than revenue, and revenue per compute dollar remained above the roughly $0.40 recorded in the first quarter of 2025. Anthropic credits improvements in model training, inference optimization, and its multi-chip architecture with raising compute efficiency.
Adjusted Profit Rises Despite the Operating Loss
Anthropic's adjusted operating income increased to $2.463 billion in the third quarter from $2.235 billion in the second. Its adjusted operating margin nevertheless fell to 15% from 19%, primarily because of the short-term compute spending.
The non-GAAP measure excludes stock-based compensation and non-cash charitable contributions. In the September quarter, those adjustments totaled $1.070 billion and $1.960 billion, respectively, explaining the difference between the reported operating loss and adjusted operating profit.
The much larger $23.291 billion net loss came mostly from a different accounting effect. Changes in the fair value of convertible notes, derivative liabilities, and simple agreements for future equity, or SAFEs, produced a $21.936 billion charge. These non-cash revaluations affect the net result without representing equivalent cash spending on compute or operations.
For the first nine months of 2026, revenue reached $33.242 billion, compared with $2.545 billion a year earlier. Operating loss narrowed to $1.260 billion from $5.224 billion, while adjusted operating income reached $4.081 billion, producing a 12% adjusted margin.
Nine-month net loss totaled $104.039 billion, including $94.324 billion in fair-value charges on convertible notes, derivatives, and SAFEs. Operating activities generated $6.569 billion in cash over the same period. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments stood at $131.845 billion at September 30.
Infrastructure Obligations Stretch Into 2045
The $895.4 billion commitment total covers purchase agreements and leases, including short-term commitments and leases that have not yet commenced. It includes agreements entered into as of and after September 30, rather than only obligations outstanding at the quarter-end balance-sheet date.
Approximately $447.5 billion is expected to be incurred before December 31, 2030. About $69.8 billion is due in the 12 months following September 30, 2026. The total therefore represents a long-term schedule of obligations, not a single year's compute expense.
Some compute arrangements carry minimum-purchase or take-or-pay provisions, requiring payments regardless of actual utilization. Anthropic says meeting its growing compute obligations depends on generating significant revenue growth.
That creates a financing challenge tied directly to customer usage. Consumption-based sales accounted for approximately $26.3 billion, or 79%, of nine-month revenue, meaning customers' spending largely rises and falls with how much they use the services. Many major customers are not bound by long-term contracts or have contracts approaching expiration, while Anthropic must reserve infrastructure years ahead.
Cloud-provider marketplaces accounted for approximately 44% of nine-month revenue. Those providers are both an important route to customers and suppliers of the infrastructure needed to meet demand.
Nasdaq Offering Retains ANT Ticker Plan
The amendment filed with the SEC retains Anthropic's application to list Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under ANT. Both the company and selling stockholders plan to offer shares, with Anthropic receiving no proceeds from stockholders' sales. The offering's price range and share count remain unset.
The proposed listing follows an initial filing that disclosed $16.286 billion in first-half revenue. The new quarterly results bring nine-month sales to more than seven times the company's $4.585 billion revenue for all of 2025.
The offering also retains the Public Benefit Fund equity commitment, an initial allocation of 5% of fully diluted shares, subject to stockholder approval, with discretionary additions of up to 2% for each 50% increase in company value above a set baseline.
