Anthropic is producing the kind of growth that would normally make Wall Street salivate.
Investors continue to lower their estimates of the artificial intelligence company’s potential value.
Some current and prospective Anthropic investors have discussed valuing the Claude maker at roughly $1.5 trillion in its upcoming initial public offering, down from earlier expectations of about $2 trillion, according to Reuters.
The shift occurred even after Anthropic informed investors that the firm was profitable on an adjusted basis and that third-quarter sales had increased by 45% to $16.8 billion from the previous quarter, Reuters noted. From $4.7 billion in the first quarter to $11.6 billion in the second, revenue more than quadrupled sequentially.
The problem is that although Anthropic continues to expand at a rate most businesses could only imagine, when investors value a five-year-old business at close to $2 trillion, they already factor remarkable growth into the price.
I find it noteworthy that Wall Street no longer questions whether income from artificial intelligence can increase rapidly.
It wants to know whether it can grow fast enough.
Anthropic’s valuation has raced ahead with revenue
Anthropic would likely be expensive, given the $1.5 trillion price under discussion.
The company raised $65 billion in May at a $965 billion post-money valuation. At the time, it said annualized revenue had crossed $47 billion.
In only a few months, an IPO value of $1.5 trillion would still be more than 50% more than that private-market price. Still, it would also be a significant departure from the almost $2 trillion that investors had anticipated Anthropic would pursue.
Related: Anthropic’s IPO results in an unusual contradiction for investors
This difference is important, since Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO) is evolving beyond a single business test.
It may become one of the first significant public-market standards for how investors assess cutting-edge AI companies whose income is expanding rapidly but whose processing needs are also quite high.
Anthropic has shown a remarkable deal of growth.
Revenue climbed to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second quarter and $4.7 billion in the first, according to analysts who attended the company’s investor meeting and spoke with Reuters. Anthropic might also end the year with an annual revenue run rate of $110 billion.
However, investors seem to care less about the amount of growth and more about how it is shaped.
Between the first and second quarters, revenue more than doubled. There was a 45% rise in the third quarter.
While that would still be impressive for a typical business, slowing sequential growth becomes significant for a company aiming for what could be the highest value ever linked to an IPO.
Anthropic’s enormous AI bill raises the stakes
The cost of production is the other aspect of Anthropic’s development narrative.
An IPO prospectus reviewed by Reuters showed Anthropic generated nearly $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025, up twelvefold, while posting an operating loss of more than $8 billion before certain financing-related write-downs.
About $34 billion of the company’s reported $42 billion net loss came from an accounting penalty that was mostly related to the increasing value of financing instruments that might potentially be converted into shares.
What follows next could be the more significant figure for investors.
Anthropic has committed at least $518 billion over roughly a decade for cloud services, computing power, and infrastructure, according to the prospectus.
That huge investment helps explain how rapidly the value argument might shift from spectacular growth to just very good growth.
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Artificial intelligence models require large quantities of processing power. The infrastructure Anthropic requires to train fresh models and provide customer service increases with the number of users of Claude.
The business is attempting to demonstrate that income may ultimately increase more quickly than those expenses.
Positive indicators are present. According to Reuters, Anthropic informed potential investors that business was profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter.
However, in the end, it will be up to public investors to choose how much they are prepared to pay for that course. They are also making that choice at a time when artificial intelligence stocks are much less forgiving.
CoreWeave’s stock and bonds have fallen sharply amid growing concerns about debt financing behind the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. Data-center companies have delayed or withdrawn planned public offerings, while investors have become more skeptical about whether massive spending on computing capacity will generate adequate returns, according to Reuters.
It makes Anthropic’s IPO very significant.
Investors may be reassured by a successful launch that they are still prepared to pay high prices for the fastest-growing AI companies. The contrary might be conveyed by a colder greeting.
Reuters reported that some investors view Anthropic’s listing as a bellwether for the broader artificial intelligence market, particularly as rival OpenAI may follow it into public markets. Because of this, the distinction between $2 trillion and $1.5 trillion is noteworthy outside of Anthropic.
The business continues to expand at a very rapid rate. It could even be starting to show that its company can generate adjusted profits.
The question on Wall Street has just become more difficult.
Anthropic is no longer required by investors to demonstrate the vast income potential of artificial intelligence. Instead, they need it to demonstrate that huge profits can support even higher prices.
Related: Anthropic’s $2 trillion IPO comes with a $518 billion bill