OpenAI's Q3 2026 revenue confirmed at 10 billion dollars, operating loss continues to grow to 10.9 billion
New figures confirm: OpenAI's revenue for Q3 2026 grew by 50% to 10 billion dollars, but the adjusted operating loss rose to 10.9 billion. Anthropic had revenue of 17 billion dollars in the same period and a loss of only 567 million.
Newly published details clarify previously announced quarterly results for OpenAI: revenue for the third quarter of 2026 grew year-over-year by approximately 50 percent to 10 billion dollars, compared to 6.7 billion dollars in the second quarter, when growth was only 17–18 percent. The adjusted operating loss nevertheless increased to 10.9 billion dollars from 10.1 billion dollars in the previous quarter – according to The Wall Street Journal, this figure does not include stock-based compensation, which reached 2.6 billion dollars in the third quarter. The adjusted operating margin, however, improved from minus 150 percent to minus 109 percent. OpenAI's annual run rate of revenue reached 50 billion dollars.
OpenAI also exceeded 10 billion dollars in revenue in a single quarter for the first time in its history. ChatGPT has, according to the company, 100 million paying subscribers (8.5 percent of 1.2 billion weekly active users), and the new advertising in the chatbot reached an annualized revenue of 1 billion dollars in August. President Greg Brockman described the results as a major turnaround and mentioned clients such as JPMorgan Chase – the enterprise segment doubled in Q3 and, according to him, makes up the majority of revenue.
Despite OpenAI's accelerating growth, it continues to lag behind competitor Anthropic, which in the third quarter achieved revenue of 17 billion dollars (growth of 47 percent) and an operating loss of only 567 million dollars – unlike OpenAI, this figure does include stock-based compensation. According to Bloomberg, Anthropic reports an annual run rate of revenue of 81 billion dollars (an increase of 10 billion within a single month) and is set to go public this month with a target valuation of 1.4 trillion dollars. Sources agree that the two companies calculate annualized revenue using different methodologies, which complicates direct comparison.
According to sources, OpenAI is responding to its lag in the enterprise segment by cutting prices, shifting priorities (scaling back the video application, strengthening the Codex tool), and hiring a new head of sales. Third parties have observed that companies looking for a cheaper alternative to Claude models have switched to OpenAI's API, which has boosted its revenue.
Why it matters
For companies purchasing AI services, this is a signal that competition between OpenAI and Anthropic for enterprise clients is intensifying – OpenAI is cutting prices and targeting companies looking for a cheaper alternative to Claude, which could lead to better business terms, but at the same time both companies are reporting large operating losses (10.9 billion and 567 million dollars, respectively), which is relevant for assessing a vendor's long-term stability ahead of Anthropic's upcoming IPO.
What was added since the original report
Verified updates
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The adjusted operating margin improved from −150% to −109%; the annual run rate of revenue reaches 50 billion dollars; Q2 2026 revenue specifically reached 6.7 billion dollars; the revenue increase represents OpenAI exceeding 10 billion dollars in a single quarter for the first time
- The adjusted operating margin improved from −150% to −109%
- The annual run rate of revenue reaches 50 billion dollars
- Q2 2026 revenue specifically reached 6.7 billion dollars
- The revenue increase represents OpenAI exceeding 10 billion dollars in a single quarter for the first time
Relevant practical impact
What this means
For a business
OpenAI is cutting prices and has doubled its enterprise segment in order to win clients away from Anthropic – for companies purchasing AI services this means stronger competition among vendors and potential to negotiate better terms, but also uncertainty about the long-term financial stability of both companies due to high losses.
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Event sources
confirmed by 3 independent sources · 3 publishers, 3 independent. We count feeds from the same owner only once.