Nvidia, Oracle and other AI stocks sink in OpenAI earnings report

Actions of Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave and other artificial intelligence names fell Thursday after the market learned more details about OpenAI’s revenue.

OpenAI told investors it reached about $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September, CNBC confirmed, lower than the $68 billion figure widely reported at the end of last month. A person familiar with the matter said the $68 billion figure included gross revenue from OpenAI partners, which helps investors make a more direct comparison with its main rival, Anthropic.

The Financial Times was the first to announce the figure of $50 billion.

OpenAI shared an update on its finances during an investor presentation, said the person, who asked not to be named in order to discuss the numbers. In addition to the $50 billion in annualized revenue, OpenAI touted 77% total run rate growth during its third quarter, as well as 107% run rate growth for its enterprise business during the same period, the person said.

The company is under pressure to justify its $852 billion valuation to investors as it prepares for what is widely seen as a blockbuster IPO. OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June, and executives have signaled that the company plans to debut in 2027.

In the meantime, OpenAI is engaging in preliminary discussions with investors about a potential new funding round. The company could raise around $30 billion, as CNBC previously reported, but that number could change. The round is driven by investor demand and no term sheet has been finalized yet.

OpenAI closed a historic $122 billion funding round in March, and CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC last week that it was still “very well capitalized.”