Two labs, two businesses

Data Desk · Part 05AI Labs

OpenAI and Anthropic are usually traded as one bet on AI demand. Their second quarters say they are not the same business.

As of Aug 9, 2026 · quarterly, as the labs report · published Aug 9, 2026 · read Sep 11, 2026 · estimated · next release an audited filing on EDGAR

What the chart says. One lab grew 142% and reported adjusted operating income of $559 million. The other added about $3 billion of costs to win $1 billion of new revenue. Lending to them as a single credit is a category error.

Source: Michael Spencer (quarterly revenue; Anthropic adjusted operating income, preliminary); Steve Eisman (OpenAI costs). Anthropic’s first quarter is implied by its reported 142% growth.

Show the data table

Quarterly revenue, billions of dollars	Q1 2026	Q2 2026
OpenAI	$5.7B	$6.7B
Anthropic	$4.8B (implied)	$11.6B

Revenue growth, second quarter over first	Value
Anthropic	142%
OpenAI	18%

OpenAI, change from the first quarter, billions of dollars	Value
New revenue	$1.0B
Added costs	$3.0B

Read Part 05: OpenAI and Anthropic Are Not the Same Business

Quarterly revenue, billions of dollars

Q1 2026Q2 2026

OpenAI$5.7B$6.7B
Anthropic$4.8Bimplied$11.6B

OpenAI went from $5.7 billion to $6.7 billion. Anthropic reached $11.6 billion, from an implied $4.8 billion.