Investors Push Anthropic Toward a $1.5T IPO Valuation
Price expectations for Anthropic's IPO are being pulled lower. Reuters reported late Thursday, citing four sources, that some investors want the company valued at about $1.5T. The figure discussed earlier was roughly $2T, a gap of about 25%.
The reason is the pace of growth: Anthropic's third-quarter revenue rose 45% from the prior quarter to $16.8B. In the second quarter, revenue had more than doubled to $11.6B. The results were presented at Wednesday's investor day in San Francisco; pricing is not final, and the listing is planned for November.
The story is bigger than one company's valuation. Anthropic has committed to at least $518B of compute spending over a decade. A buyer worth less raises questions about the debt chain financing that spending.
The first reaction came at the weakest link in that chain. CoreWeave fell 4.4% premarket to $66.60, and its bonds now yield 15%. The SOXX semiconductor ETF is down 1.1%; Nvidia is flat.
Tesla is moving the other way. Its new Roadster, unveiled Thursday night and able to fly in short bursts, has lifted the stock about 5% premarket. Production starts in 2028, and analysts see limited near-term revenue impact.
Two separate forces are working on oil. The Treasury on Thursday sanctioned 16 individuals and 10 entities linked to Iran; Treasury Secretary Bessent said the pressure would increase. Brent fell 0.6% after the International Energy Agency agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel.
