Anthropic's Gross Margin Rocketed to 85% From 12% in a Year, but the S-1 Warns It Won't Last
The AI lab revealed some strong numbers in its IPO prospectus, as well as some causes for concern.
Anthropic revealed its first full financials ahead of its planned IPO in its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's revenue skyrocketed, growing roughly 14-fold in a year, from $1.2 billion in the first half of 2025 to $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026. However, its gross margin surged from a thin 12% to an impressive 85%, despite the fact that the cost of revenue, which includes model training costs, sales and marketing fees, and research and development expenses, rose from $1 billion to $2.4 billion.
This led to an operating margin of just 8% in Q2 2026, which the company warned could fluctuate over time due to its compute expenses and the timing of those expenses. Anthropic has substantial compute contracts, with $417 billion in future minimum payment obligations and another $125 billion to $150 billion in additional capacity projected.
While revenue is growing quickly, customer spending is largely consumption-based and not tied to long-term commitments, leaving the company's compute costs locked in while revenue isn't. The AI lab's IPO ranks among the 10 largest, with a potential valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion and a stock debut valuation of about 63 times sales.
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