The Illusion of Big Profits: What Lies Behind Anthropic’s IPO Filing Report
Server capacity orders will grow from $8.9 billion to $150 billion, and dependence on competitors will force the construction of its own data centers
Analyst and co-host of the Prof G Markets podcast Ed Elson, after reviewing the S-1 registration form prepared by Anthropic, believes that investors are underestimating the company’s future expenses.
Anthropic’s operating loss decreased from over $2 billion in the first half of 2025 to less than $700 million in the first half of 2026. However, according to Elson, investors are placing too much emphasis on this improvement without considering the upcoming increase in spending on computing infrastructure.
The S-1 filing states that next year, Anthropic may spend up to $150 billion on computing capacity, compared to $8.9 billion in the first half of 2026. Elson noted that future obligations are not yet reflected in the financial statements because they have not yet taken effect.
According to Elson, key details about future capital expenditures are scattered throughout the 300-page document. He specifically highlighted the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section on page 161: Anthropic plans to develop its own computing infrastructure, as it currently relies heavily on cloud providers, including Google.
The company plans to go public in November.
