OpenAI’s reported $50 billion revenue pace: what to know

Axios said the nearly $70 billion figure reported in September used an adjustment to compare OpenAI with Anthropic. The two companies account for cloud-partner sales differently: Axios reported that OpenAI records its share of certain partner sales, while Anthropic includes cloud-partner sales in its tally. Both companies are GAAP-compliant, Axios reported, but their accounting treatment differs.

Accounting professor Francine McKenna told Axios that the distinction turns on each company’s role in transactions with cloud partners and how the partner’s share is recorded. The earlier figure was therefore a comparison adjusted for that difference, not evidence that OpenAI had reported nearly $70 billion under the same basis as the later estimate.

The exact earlier figure varies by report. Axios described it as nearing $70 billion, while SiliconANGLE reported an earlier figure of $68 billion. Axios reported in August that OpenAI’s revenue run rate had reached $40 billion, citing a message shared internally by co-founder Greg Brockman. It later reported growth of more than 70% in the annualized pace since the start of the third quarter, based on sources familiar with the company’s financials.

Annualizing means projecting a shorter period’s sales pace across a year. It can indicate the scale of a business at a particular moment, but it does not show how much revenue the company actually recorded over a full year. Axios noted that public-market investors generally prefer actual revenue figures.

How did the report affect AI-linked stocks?

Technology shares fell Thursday as investors considered the OpenAI report, according to Reuters coverage carried by Investing.com. Reuters reported that the S&P technology sector closed nearly 2% lower. Oracle fell 5.48%, Nvidia dropped 2.94% and Broadcom declined 4.35%, the report said.

The broader market was mixed. The Associated Press reported that the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3% and the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, while the Dow rose 0.1%. AP also pointed to rising oil prices and swings in the bond market as pressures on stocks, so the OpenAI report was not the only factor in the day’s trading.

The market reaction reflects a question facing AI-linked companies: whether their growth can justify investors’ expectations. AP described AI stocks as under pressure to demonstrate growth that supports elevated share prices. King Lip, chief strategist and partner at BakerAvenue Wealth Management, told Investing.com that the OpenAI report highlighted scrutiny of whether AI investment will produce returns, but did not necessarily signal the end of the AI trade.

What do the figures establish—and what remains unknown?

The reports establish that OpenAI gave prospective investors an annualized figure near $50 billion and that a higher figure had circulated earlier using a different comparison basis. They do not establish OpenAI’s recognized revenue, expenses or profit for the relevant period, or settle the exact adjustments behind either estimate.

The figures also remain company financial information reported by news outlets, rather than results independently audited in the available reporting. That distinction matters for investors trying to assess whether rising AI-related share prices rest on actual earnings, a current sales pace or estimates shaped by accounting choices.