Move Over, SpaceX. Anthropic Will Soon Go Public. Why It Could Be Critical for AI Stocks

Key Points

• Anthropic is expected to go public in November.
• The AI lab is targeting a $2 trillion valuation.
• The IPO will be a big test for AI stocks.
• 10 stocks we like better than Space Exploration Technologies ›

Anthropic is getting ready to go public, with an offering expected by November.

The Claude parent just shared some of its key figures with Reuters ahead of its debut. The wire service didnt reportany 2026 results, but said that Anthropic's revenue jumped more than 1,000% in 2025 to $4.6 billion. Anthropic also reported a net loss of $42 billion last year, but $34 billion of that was due to an accounting charge related to the increase in the valuation of convertible shares, driven by Anthropic's soaring valuation. Anthropic had an operating loss of $8.06 billion last year, and spent $7.33 billion on compute and infrastructure.

Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

Anthropic takes the lead over OpenAI

Claude's surging growth came in 2026, as the company unveiled a slew of updates for products like Claude Code and Claude Cowork, and they seemed to hit a tipping point, sending sign-ups soaring and software plunging, as investors bet that those kinds of products would replace traditional software programs.

Also in 2026, Anthropic surpassed rival OpenAI in both revenue and valuation. Anthropic reported revenue of $11.5 billion in the second quarter, up 14-fold from the quarter a year ago, showing how fast the company is growing. It also easily topped OpenAI's revenue in the quarter at $6.7 billion.

More importantly, Anthropic reported a $559 million adjusted operating profit in the quarter, something OpenAI has not yet achieved. In fact, OpenAI had an operating loss of $12.3 billion in the quarter.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX), the other high-profile AI stock that just went public, was unprofitable in the second quarter, though analysts expect it to turn profitable in the current quarter.

Anthropic's IPO could be pivotal to the AI boom

Anthropic is reportedly targeting a valuation of $2 trillion, similar to SpaceX's $1.75 trillion in its debut. However, Anthropic's valuation and growth rate look much more attractive than SpaceX's did.

Based on its second-quarter results, Anthropic would trade at 45 times run rate sales, which compares to the roughly 100 times sales at which SpaceX went public.

Anthropic is also growing much faster than SpaceX, with second-quarter revenue up more than 1,000%, and we're likely to see similarly strong numbers when third-quarter results come out, which should happen before it goes public.

At this point, Anthropic looks like the most important of the trio of big IPOs that includes SpaceX and OpenAI. Unlike SpaceX, it is singularly focused on AI and is at the frontier of model development. It's now bigger than rival OpenAI. It's growing faster, and it's profitable, while OpenAI is still losing billions each quarter.

At this point, the biggest risk to the AI boom is that companies like Anthropic aren't able to turn a profit, which would eventually mean they can't afford to buy chips from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other semiconductor companies that are reaping the rewards of the boom.

What to watch when Anthropic goes public

Anthropic may not get the level of hype in its debut that SpaceX did in its IPO. Elon Musk's presence at the top of SpaceX helped drive investor interest, and Musk is no stranger to making bold promises. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, on the other hand, has been at the forefront of calls to slow down AI development to ensure its safety.

Still, if Anthropic's IPO is successful and it can achieve a $2 trillion valuation, that will be a significant bullish signal for the AI infrastructure stocks, including chip stocks, and a sign that the AI boom still has plenty of room to run.

Should you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies right now?

Before you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Space Exploration Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $383,680! Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,382,954!

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 937% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 214% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

**Stock Advisor returns as of September 29, 2026. *

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.