OpenAI reported $10 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2026, a jump of roughly 50% from the previous quarter. The surge came after the company cut prices on its newest models and pushed its sales team into larger corporate accounts. President Greg Brockman said the enterprise side of the business doubled in the quarter and now provides the bulk of the company’s income. OpenAI also announced that banks such as JPMorgan Chase have signed up for its services.
The growth came with a cost. Adjusted operating losses rose from $10.1 billion in Q2 to $10.9 billion in Q3, not counting $2.6 billion in stock‑based compensation. The operating margin improved from negative 150% to negative 109%, but the loss is still far larger than the profit reported by rival Anthropic.
Anthropic, which is preparing for an IPO, posted $17 billion in Q3 revenue – 47% higher than the prior quarter – and recorded a small operating profit after including its own stock compensation. The company’s focus on enterprise tools such as Claude Code and the Claude Cowork agent has kept its cost base tighter than OpenAI’s broader consumer operation, which includes research into robotics and a large‑scale ChatGPT product.
Why the shift matters
OpenAI’s pivot to enterprise customers means more businesses will have direct access to its language models for tasks like coding assistance, data analysis, and internal chat agents. For regular users, the move could lead to lower prices on the newer models, but the company’s heavy spending on research and consumer products suggests that profitability may remain distant.
Why it matters
Businesses that need AI for internal tools will see more pricing options from OpenAI as it competes with Anthropic’s cheaper enterprise offerings. For everyday users, the price cuts on new models may lower subscription costs, but OpenAI’s continued losses mean the company may still rely on large investors and could delay a profitable IPO.
