OpenAI's $50 Billion Revenue Figure Reported as Oracle, AMD and TSMC Shares Fall

The Financial Times reported that OpenAI said its revenues were approaching $50 billion on an annualized basis toward the end of last month, citing financial documents shared with investors.

Earlier information OpenAI shared with investors last month indicated roughly $70 billion in annualized revenue, the FT reported; the discrepancy stemmed from OpenAI's effort to produce a figure comparable with Anthropic's, according to a person familiar with the matter.

OpenAI told investors it hit roughly $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September, CNBC confirmed, lower than the $68 billion figure widely reported late last month; a person familiar said the $68 billion included gross revenue from OpenAI's partners, which helps investors make a more direct comparison with Anthropic.

The Nasdaq was down 1.4% in afternoon trading Thursday, with rising oil prices and Treasury yields also weighing on stocks.

OpenAI declined to comment to the Financial Times.

OpenAI's valuation is $852 billion; it confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June and executives have signaled a 2027 debut.

Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has ruled out a 2026 listing.

OpenAI is in early-stage discussions about a new round that could raise around $30 billion, a figure that could change; no term sheet has been finalized; OpenAI closed a $122 billion round in March.

CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC last week that OpenAI is still "very well capitalized."

At $50 billion, OpenAI's annualized revenue would fall below Anthropic's $65 billion in annualized sales; OpenAI and Anthropic calculate annualized revenue differently.

OpenAI's investor presentation touted 77% total run rate growth during its third quarter and 107% run rate growth for its enterprise business.

OpenAI told investors late last month that its annualized revenue run rate had climbed by more than 70% since the third quarter began.

OpenAI posted a net loss of $38.5 billion in 2025 on $13.07 billion in revenue.

The gap to $50 billion is $18 billion from the $68 billion figure and $20 billion from the $70 billion figure.

Anthropic is rumored to list before Thanksgiving, with its public S-1 prospectus expected any day.

Celestica's 5.9% midday fall was about 4.2 times the Nasdaq's 1.4% afternoon decline, while Microsoft's 1.2% fall was close to the index move; the readings were taken at different times.

On the gross basis, OpenAI's $68 billion exceeds Anthropic's $65 billion by $3 billion.

A $50 billion run rate after 77% growth in the quarter implies a run rate of about $28 billion at the start of the third quarter.

At $50 billion, OpenAI trails Anthropic's $65 billion by $15 billion.

OpenAI lost about $2.95 for each dollar of 2025 revenue.

OpenAI's $852 billion valuation is about 17 times a $50 billion run rate and about 12.5 times a $68 billion run rate.

According to the FT as reported by Yahoo Finance, the swing resulted from investor miscalculations: investors tried to determine whether OpenAI's sales reached $40 billion in August, then added OpenAI's reported 70% growth to that estimate and landed on $70 billion.

A $40 billion run rate grown by 70% equals $68 billion.