Its model is primarily based on measured consumption. Revenue increases when companies use the models more and process a higher volume of queries.
Why the result changes the debate on AI profitability
In recent years, one of the main criticisms of the AI business pointed to the enormous cost of developing and operating increasingly advanced models.
Anthropic surpassed US$ 11.5 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2026 and recorded a positive adjusted operating profit for the first time.
The result, still preliminary and unaudited, comes ahead of the possible IPO planned for October and multiplies by more than 14 the revenue of the same period in 2025.
How much did Anthropic earn during the second quarter
According to Bloomberg, Anthropic generated more than US$ 11.5 billion between April and June. In the same period of 2025, it had recorded US$ 787 million.
The company also reported a positive adjusted operating profit. The numbers have not yet been audited and could change before the publication of the offering prospectus.
The result represents a significant data point for the artificial intelligence business, as no cutting-edge AI lab had presented a quarter with positive results to investors until now.
The comparison with OpenAI requires caution. The more than US$ 40 billion attributed to that company corresponds to an annualized revenue rate, so it does not represent accumulated sales over twelve months.
What is behind Anthropic's growth
About 80% of Anthropic's revenue would come from its API and enterprise solutions business, according to estimates cited in the material.
Within that segment, Claude Code has become one of the main engines of expansion. The tool surpassed US$ 8 billion in annualized revenue in May.
The result from Anthropic introduces another scenario: the current business can generate positive margins while the company finances the development of future generations of models.
Reports on its funding rounds indicated that the gross margin on API sales exceeded 80%. The challenge lies in the enormous outlay required to develop the next models.
What it means that Anthropic has reported an “adjusted” profit
The word “adjusted” will be relevant before a possible IPO. Not all costs excluded from that calculation are known yet.
The audited version under GAAP will be known along with the offering prospectus. That document must be published at least 15 days before the presentation tour.
Additionally, Anthropic had already warned in May that profitability might not be maintained throughout the year due to the expected increase in spending on data centers during the second half.
The IPO of Anthropic will be the next test for the company
The result comes just two days after Anthropic shareholders set a reference valuation of US$ 2 trillion for an IPO planned for October.
Investors also projected an exit rate in December of between US$ 100 billion and US$ 120 billion. The prospectus will allow for determining whether the adjusted figures hold under audited accounting standards.
The next key data point will be the gross margin listed in the S-1 form. That figure will reveal how much it costs Anthropic to generate each dollar of revenue with Claude.