Anthropic Just Filed to Go Public. Should You Buy the Stock?
Key Points
Anthropic's filing to sell shares to the public gives investors their clearest look yet at the company behind Claude.
Revenue reached $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026, while the company's operating loss became much smaller.
Competition could force Anthropic to lower its prices, even as demand for its AI models continues to grow.
Another huge stock market debut is coming soon. Months after SpaceX made its record-breaking debut, Anthropic is expected to start trading its shares next month. The company officially filed its S-1, a document that companies must submit before selling shares to the public, on Monday, October 26, 2026.
This filing finally gives us a detailed look inside a company at the center of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. It includes a section of more than 90 pages about the risks of its business and the most complete picture of its finances so far.
So, based on what we know now, should you buy Anthropic stock when it becomes available?
How Anthropic makes money from Claude
Anthropic is a leading AI research company that develops a family of AI models called Claude. Like its strong competitor, OpenAI, Anthropic mainly makes money in two ways. First, it sells subscriptions that give customers a set amount of access to its services. Second, it charges customers based on how much they use its models. This use is measured in units called "tokens." The more customers use Claude, the more tokens they use and the more they pay.
Anthropic's business customers usually pay through this second, usage-based model.
Claude Code shows Anthropic wants to do more than build chatbots
Anthropic wants to do much more than sell a chatbot. The company believes Claude could become an important part of everyday work for most people around the world who do jobs that involve thinking, information, and using computers, such as office workers.
The clearest real-world example is Claude Code. This tool helps people plan, write, test, and fix computer programs, and it can do much of this work on its own. It is known as a "vibe-coding" tool. Claude Code is now widely used in Silicon Valley and has been a major reason for Anthropic's very fast growth.
Anthropic hopes its AI will become just as useful in many other industries and jobs.
In the longer term, the company says its AI models could speed up the search for new medicines and help scientists with research. It also believes these models could help solve problems that people have struggled with for decades.
Anthropic's IPO filing explains serious AI risks
At the same time, Anthropic described some serious risks that go well beyond the standard warnings found in a typical S-1 filing. The company discusses common business risks, such as keeping talented workers and using its money wisely. It then spends more than 90 pages explaining other possible dangers. These include the risk that its technology could "destabilize the geopolitical order" or become more advanced than humans can understand and control.
Revenue is growing fast, but what about profits?
These details are interesting, but the company's finances are still the most important thing to consider when deciding whether to invest. Anthropic is growing at an incredible rate, one rarely seen in a company this large. Its revenue reached $16.3 billion in the first half of 2026. That was about 14 times its revenue in the first half of 2025 and three and a half times its total revenue for all of 2025.
However, revenue is not the main question right now. What matters more is how much the company is spending. Anthropic reported a net loss of $80.7 billion during those six months, but that figure makes its financial situation look worse than it really is. It includes a $72.4 billion accounting charge that was not related to its day-to-day business and did not involve an actual cash payment. After removing that charge, its net loss was $8.3 billion.
Looking at its operating results, Anthropic's loss fell from $2.1 billion in the first half of 2025 to $693 million in the first half of 2026. The company also reported an operating profit of $974 million in the second quarter of 2026.
This is an encouraging sign that the money Anthropic earns is starting to catch up with the cost of developing and running Claude. Still, one profitable quarter does not prove that the company can keep making money. This is especially important because Anthropic plans to spend even more to support its future goals.
Why I'm passing on Anthropic's IPO
I'm going to pass on Anthropic's IPO. I could raise concerns about the price investors might have to pay for its shares, but my bigger worry is whether Anthropic has a lasting competitive advantage that other companies cannot easily copy.
Claude does not have to lose its lead in technology for Anthropic's business to face serious problems. Competing AI models only need to be good enough to do the jobs customers need. That is why I think AI is moving toward becoming a commodity: a product that many companies can offer with few important differences. Demand for Anthropic's services could keep growing, but competition might force the company to charge lower prices. At the same time, it would still need to spend heavily to develop its next AI model.
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Johnny Rice does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool does not own any of the stocks mentioned either. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.