{
  "id": 105689,
  "title": "Big Tech's Anthropic and OpenAI stakes are distorting the corporate earnings picture",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/big-techs-anthropic-and-openai-stakes-are-distorting-the-corporate-105689",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-03T22:48:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNBC World",
    "slug": "cnbc-world",
    "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/big-techs-anthropic-and-openai-stakes-distort-corporate-earnings.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Corporate earnings for major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet have been inflated by substantial gains from investments in venture-funded AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI, according to market analysis. These stakes in private companies have valuations near $1 trillion, contributing to earnings growth that is far above initial forecasts. However, when these investment gains are factored out, the growth appears more muted, closer to expectations. This phenomenon, dubbed \"Big Tech's stake distortion,\" has resulted in earnings surprises of around 7%, compared to a long-term average of 4.4%. Major tech players, including Amazon and Alphabet, have invested heavily in Anthropic and OpenAI, with Amazon committing $50 billion to ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Alphabet holding a stake in SpaceX, a venture led by tech mogul Elon Musk. When stripping away these investment gains, earnings growth for the S&P 500 would be around 29%, a more modest figure than the current 48% growth rate. Analysts typically exclude these one-time items from non-GAAP earnings estimates. However, the underlying earnings growth of these tech giants remains strong, with corporate profits exceeding expectations by 7% in the most recent quarter. Despite the recent volatility in SpaceX's stock price following its IPO, the impact is expected to level out over time.",
  "summary": "If you were to strip out Big Tech's investment gains from private AI companies, the earnings story is a lot less bullish.",
  "key_points": [
    "Big Tech's investments in Anthropic and OpenAI inflate earnings",
    "Earnings growth appears 7% higher than initial forecasts",
    "Excluding investment gains, S&P 500 growth is 29%"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Big Tech's substantial gains from investments in AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI are masking more modest underlying earnings growth, creating a distorted corporate earnings picture that diverges from expectations.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Who’s legally to blame for Anthropic and OpenAI’s autonomous AI hacks? It’s complicated",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/whos-legally-to-blame-for-anthropic-and-openais-autonomous-ai-hacks",
        "published": "2026-08-03T19:45:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CNBC",
        "title": "Big Tech's Anthropic and OpenAI stakes are distorting the corporate earnings picture",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/big-techs-anthropic-and-openai-stakes-are-distorting-the-corporate",
        "published": "2026-08-03T22:48:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "Meta, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI to meet Trump officials about AI safety testing",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/meta-anthropic-google-openai-to-meet-trump-officials-about-ai-safety",
        "published": "2026-08-04T00:58:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "Meta, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI to meet Trump officials about AI safety testing",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/meta-anthropic-google-openai-to-meet-trump-officials-about-ai-safety-114135",
        "published": "2026-08-04T03:01:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}