{
  "id": 17625999,
  "title": "Anthropic’s IPO Could Be Huge. But SpaceX Shows Why Valuation Matters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/anthropics-ipo-could-be-huge-but-spacex-shows-why-valuation-matters",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-01T15:00:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motley Fool",
    "slug": "motley-fool",
    "url": "https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/11/01/anthropic-s-ipo-could-be-huge-but-spacex-shows-why-valuation-matters/?source=iedfolrf0000001"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -6.37%) soared to record heights when it went public on June 12, setting a new benchmark for the largest IPO ever. Now, Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) firm, is poised to file for its own IPO, potentially surpassing SpaceX's record. However, investors may want to exercise caution before rushing to invest in Anthropic. SpaceX's first four months as a publicly traded company offer valuable insights into why this might not be the best course of action. To understand Anthropic's standing, it's essential to examine what the company does and its performance. Anthropic is the creator of Claude, a suite of large language models (LLMs). The company provides access to various products, including Claude Code, an AI coding assistant. Its popularity has grown significantly, with more than 40 million customers worldwide. Among these clients, those generating over $100,000 in sales over the past 12 months have grown from about 20 at the end of 2023 to over 11,900 as of September, a staggering increase of over 59,400% in three years. Similarly, more than 1,900 clients have TTM revenue exceeding $1 million, contributing to Anthropic's impressive revenue growth. Through the first half of 2026, the company reported $16.3 billion in revenue, a 1,300% increase compared to the same period last year. However, Anthropic remains unprofitable, with expenses growing at a faster rate than revenue. In the first half of 2026, total operating expenses reached nearly $17 billion, up about 415% year over year, resulting in a net loss of $80.7 billion, a 523% increase from the previous fiscal year. Despite the losses, the company's economics are showing improvement, with revenue growth outpacing expenses. If this trend continues, Anthropic could eventually turn a profit. Furthermore, there are strong reasons to believe that revenue growth will remain robust. Anthropic claims that knowledge workers have generated more than $40 trillion in economic value in 2025. Given that its products aim to enhance productivity for these workers, the company's total addressable market in the AI industry could be enormous. Some reports suggest that Anthropic could price its IPO between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, resulting in a price-to-sales ratio of around 101.5 based on its trailing twelve-month revenue as of June 30. This is exceptionally high, reflecting the market's confidence in Anthropic's ability to capitalize on the vast AI opportunity. This scenario highlights the importance of the SpaceX example. Since its IPO, SpaceX's valuation metrics have been high, reflecting excitement about its work with reusable rockets, leadership in space launches, advancements in its higher-margin connectivity segment, and promising AI ventures. Despite these ambitious goals, SpaceX's stock has traded at $143 as of now, above the IPO price of $135 but below the $150 debut and $161 of its first day on the market. The market had already accounted for SpaceX's progress in various business areas, leading to a moderate stock performance. The same could apply to Anthropic. There's no urgency to purchase the company's shares immediately. While Anthropic appears promising, the valuation might be inflated or uncertain. Waiting several months or even years before investing might seem counterproductive, but it could prove to be a wise decision in the long run. This approach may result in missed returns, but it also embodies the principles of disciplined long-term investing.",
  "summary": "Anthropic looks like a great business. But that doesn’t mean investors should rush to buy its shares when it goes public.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nasdaq Markets",
        "title": "Anthropic’s IPO Could Be Huge. But SpaceX Shows Why Valuation Matters",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/anthropics-ipo-could-be-huge-but-spacex-shows-why-valuation-matters-17626978",
        "published": "2026-11-01T15:20:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}