OpenAI’s Q1 2026 ended with $5.7 billion in revenue, and a -122% margin

OpenAI is still leading the pack, but is facing increasing headwinds. (Picture: Adobe)
The Information (paywalled) says sources are telling them that OpenAI landed a billion dollars ahead of Anthropic last quarter, but «only» has an annualized run rate of $30 billion versus Anthropic’s $45B.

The AI lab estimates that its adjusted income margin was at -122%, meaning it lost $1.22 for every dollar earned, driven by high investment costs for infrastructure and compute.

The growth was driven mainly by Codex and enterprise customers, the report said — although ChatGPT growth stalled at about 905 million weekly users in the latest quarter.

OpenAI is said to reveal its IPO plans «within weeks,» Reuters reports, and possibly as soon as «this Friday,» according to CNBC.

Its most recent funding round valued the company at $852 billion, just short of Anthropic’s $900 billion — but their funding round came a little later.

Read more: The Information (paywalled), Ed Zitron on X.