The Nasdaq 100 index lost more than 300 points in about half an hour on Thursday afternoon—right after news broke that OpenAI's revenue was approximately $20 billion less than reported last month. The tech index had been declining even before this: bond yields are at a twenty-year high, oil is above $90, and concerns over AI-related loans sent futures down in the morning.
On September 29, it was reported that OpenAI's annual revenue run rate reached $70 billion. However, on Thursday, the Financial Times, citing a letter to investors, indicated that Sam Altman's company reported its annual revenue approaching $50 billion by the end of September. The annual revenue run rate is a projection of current sales over a year, not the actual money received.
The difference is related to accounting: Anthropic, preparing to go public on Nasdaq, includes sales through cloud partners like AWS and Google Cloud, whereas OpenAI does not. Adjusted data using Anthropic's methodology resulted in a larger figure. Meanwhile, OpenAI reported revenue growth of more than 70%; for 2025, audited figures show $13.07 billion (Quartz). Other factors also increased pressure: the yield on 30-year U.S. bonds is at a more than 20-year high, Brent is above $100 due to supply disruption fears from the Middle East. Broadcom, according to WSJ, is seeking more than $50 billion for a custom chip with OpenAI. Skeptics led by Michael Burry claim that markets need to decline to halt AI company placements.
This material is prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation.
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