Anthropic Posts $16.8B in Q3 Revenue, but Growth Is Slowing
Reuters, citing two people who attended a private investor briefing, reported the figure was up roughly 45% from the previous quarter. The company has filed a draft registration statement, but it has never announced a November listing date.
Anthropic told prospective investors at a private briefing that its third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion, Reuters reported on October 14, citing two people who attended the session. That figure is up roughly 45% from the second quarter. Revenue itself grew, but the pace of quarter-over-quarter growth has eased.
Revenue is up, so why call it a slowdown?
Lining the quarters up side by side makes the difference in pace clear. According to Reuters, Anthropic’s first-quarter revenue was $4.7 billion and the second quarter came in at $11.6 billion. In the second quarter, revenue more than doubled from the prior quarter. In the third, it rose from $11.6 billion to $16.8 billion. Revenue did not fall; the size of the increase simply got smaller.
Anthropic also said at the briefing that it was profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, Reuters reported. An adjusted profit is a figure calculated after excluding certain items. So to gauge actual profitability, two things need to be disclosed alongside it: which items were excluded, and what net income looks like under generally accepted accounting principles.
In an October 15 report, The Decoder said slowing growth and worsening market conditions are pushing down the valuation expected at the time of listing. According to the outlet, some investors expect Anthropic’s valuation to fall below $1.5 trillion.
Is a November listing confirmed?
What Anthropic has officially announced so far is a filing for an initial public offering. The company said on June 1 that it had confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the time, the number of shares to be offered and the price had not been set. The company also said the timing of the listing would depend on the review process and market conditions.
The Decoder described Anthropic as preparing for a November listing. But Anthropic has never announced a date on which trading would begin. The next things investors should watch for are a concrete listing schedule, the terms of the offering, and the basis on which revenue and profit figures were calculated.
The notable thing about this report is that expanding revenue and decelerating growth are showing up at the same time. During the listing review process, not only revenue levels but also growth rates and the basis for profitability figures come under scrutiny. The next point to watch is how the numbers aired at the investor briefing are recorded as financial figures in the official listing documents.