AI Boss Claims Company is Profitable, Provided Costs are Excluded
One of the world’s largest artificial intelligence companies, Anthropic, has delivered encouraging news to its investors. The creator of the intelligent assistant Claude claims to have recorded profits for two consecutive quarters.
However, these profit figures only emerge if the costs of technological development and machinery purchases are excluded. If all actual costs are included, the company is still losing billions of dollars and remains far from breaking even, according to a report by Futurism, Wednesday (16/9/2026).
The figure presented by Anthropic is referred to as adjusted operational income (AOI). In this calculation, model development costs, chip purchases, and long-term investments are removed from the equation. As a result, the figures appear positive and profitable. However, in actual financial reports, the company remains in deep deficit.
This method of presenting figures has sparked debate among financial observers. The differences are as follows:
The Presented Version: Adjusted operational income has been positive for two consecutive periods. This only calculates revenue minus daily operational expenses, without including the massive costs of technological development.
The Actual Version: Net losses still amount to billions of dollars. The costs of artificial intelligence development and the massive electricity consumption of data centres have not yet been covered by incoming revenue.
Observers warn that such a method of calculation is akin to a business owner claiming their shop is profitable if building rent, employee salaries, and equipment purchases are not taken into account. While mathematically correct, it does not reflect the true condition of the business.
This news comes just as Anthropic prepares for an IPO. The plan has been anticipated for a long as time, but an official schedule has not yet been announced. Instead of delivering a complete official report, the company has released AOI figures to the media. Many suspect this move aims to attract investor interest before official documents containing the full financial figures are published.
Competitors such as OpenAI are reportedly in even deeper deficit positions. This competition raises fundamental questions regarding the AI business, particularly its potential for profitability. The fear among investors is that AI developers like Anthropic, OpenAI, or xAI can only continue to operate as long as they are continuously injected with fresh capital by investors.
Of particular interest are Anthropic’s frequent statements calling for the world to slow the pace of artificial intelligence development for safety reasons.
Some observers are now questioning whether that call is purely for collective safety or also a business strategy. If the pace of competition slows, the heavy burden of development costs would also decrease, allowing established companies to breathe more easily and gain the opportunity to stabilise their finances before competing again.
However, supporters of Anthropic maintain that the concern for technological safety is a sincere reason and is unrelated to the company’s financial affairs.