October 9, 2026. OpenAI’s annualized revenue is about $20 billion lower than previously thought, according to financial documents shared with investors — and the Financial Times’ report on Thursday sent tech stocks into their worst day in weeks.
What happened
The FT reported Thursday that OpenAI recently told investors its revenue was “approaching $50 billion” on an annualized basis at the end of September — far short of the roughly $70 billion figure reported by media late last month. Reuters could not independently verify the figures, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Why the $20 billion gap exists
Per the FT, the discrepancy came from attempts by OpenAI’s own investors to build a number directly comparable to Anthropic’s annualized revenue. The two companies count revenue differently: Anthropic includes revenue from sales through cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud, while OpenAI counts only its own net revenue. The $70 billion figure was devised by investors trying to make that comparison — it did not come from OpenAI itself.
The market reaction
The Nasdaq Composite sank 1.25%, its worst day since mid-August, and the S&P 500 fell 0.5%. Selling spread across the AI buildout supply chain: Nvidia fell 2.9%, Intel 5.3%, Oracle 5.5%, and chip suppliers Celestica, AMD, Broadcom, and TSMC all dropped. The declines accelerated after the FT report published midday.
Why it matters
For subscribers watching the AI boom as an investment story, this is the crack everyone has been scanning for. The entire AI infrastructure buildout — hundreds of billions in chips, data centers, and power — rests on investor conviction that demand for AI keeps compounding. A $20 billion revenue gap doesn’t have to be a fraud to rattle markets: it’s a reminder that annualized run rates are estimates, that AI labs define them differently, and that nobody outside OpenAI truly knows what the business looks like until it files IPO paperwork. Until then, every number is a rumor with a logo on it.
FAQ
What did the FT report?
That OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue was approaching $50 billion at the end of September — about $20 billion less than the $70 billion figure reported by media late last month.
Why the gap?
OpenAI’s own investors built the $70 billion figure to compare OpenAI with Anthropic. Anthropic counts sales through cloud partners like AWS and Google Cloud; OpenAI counts only net revenue.
How did markets react?
The Nasdaq fell 1.25% and the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, with Nvidia, Intel, Oracle, AMD, and Broadcom all dropping.
Sources: Financial Times via Reuters, CNN, TechCrunch