Revenue growth and the gap with losses
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and The Information and cited by The Decoder, OpenAI closed the third quarter of the year with revenue of about $10 billion, up about 50 percent from the previous quarter. The figure marks an acceleration compared with the second quarter, when quarter-over-quarter growth was just 17-18 percent, and should be compared with the $3.9 billion of the same period a year earlier. The source attributes the jump to new artificial intelligence models and enterprise customers.
The revenue improvement, however, does not yet translate into financial equilibrium. Adjusted operating losses rose from $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion in the quarter, a figure that does not include stock-based compensation, which rose to $2.6 billion. The adjusted operating margin remains negative, although it improved from -150 percent in the second quarter to -109 percent; a year earlier it was -97 percent. In short, the company triples revenue year over year but continues to burn more cash than it brings in.
The comparison with Anthropic and business models
The source places OpenAI behind Anthropic, the developer of Claude, which according to the material plans to list on the stock exchange next week. Anthropic had already overtaken OpenAI in revenue in the second quarter, posting a small operating profit at the time. In the third quarter it reportedly increased revenue by 47 percent to $17 billion, with an operating loss, including stock-based compensation, of just $567 million.
The difference in efficiency is attributed to business models. Anthropic focuses on enterprise customers and tools such as Claude Code and the Claude Cowork agent; OpenAI funds broad research, including robotics, and runs a costly consumer business. This imbalance between revenue sources and cost structure is the element that, according to the material, explains why OpenAI's growth does not yet translate into profitability.
The enterprise push and the consumer front
To regain ground in the enterprise market, according to The Decoder, OpenAI reorganized its priorities: it shut down projects such as a video app, focused resources on the coding tool Codex, and appointed Dali Rajic as head of sales. In parallel, it cut prices for its new models. Third-party data cited by the source would indicate demand for cheaper alternatives to Claude, with an increase in sales through its API. President Greg Brockman spoke of a turning point for revenue and named JPMorgan Chase among major customers, claiming that the enterprise business doubled in the quarter and now accounts for the majority of revenue.
The consumer side is growing: ChatGPT reportedly has 1.2 billion weekly active users and 100 million paying subscribers after 22 million new sign-ups; moreover, the new advertising product reportedly reached an annualized revenue rate of $1 billion in August. Several elements remain to be verified: the data come from journalistic accounts rather than official financial statements, and Brockman's statements are a corporate position. The source finally notes that both companies are feeling the effects of the recent correction in technology markets: OpenAI is aiming for a 2026 listing and is raising capital at a valuation of $1.25 trillion, having so far secured less than half of the $30 billion anticipated, while Anthropic reportedly had to significantly lower the target valuation for its own listing.
