The Nasdaq 100 fell more than 300 points in about half an hour on Thursday afternoon. The slide came right after a report that OpenAI’s revenue is running about $20 billion below the figure widely reported last month.
The tech index was already under pressure before the report. Bond yields at a two-decade high, oil above $90 and worries about AI borrowing had pushed futures lower since early trading.
OpenAI’s Revenue Reportedly $20 Billion Short
On September 29, reports indicated that OpenAI annualized revenue reached $70 billion. On Thursday, however, a new report from the Financial Times, citing a note to OpenAI investors, said the Sam Altman-led firm has told investors its annualized revenue was approaching $50 billion at the end of September.
Annualized revenue takes a company’s current sales pace and stretches it over a full year. It is a projection, not money already booked.
The difference comes down to accounting, according to the FT. Anthropic, which is preparing its own Nasdaq listing, counts sales made through cloud partners such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
OpenAI does not.
Investors who adjusted OpenAI’s numbers to match Anthropic’s method arrived at the higher estimate.
OpenAI still told investors its revenue grew more than 70% over the period. The company booked $13.07 billion in revenue for all of 2025, according to audited documents cited by Quartz.
What Else Was Dragging Tech Stocks Lower
Nasdaq 100 futures were already down 0.5% early Thursday. The 30-year US Treasury yield hit its highest level in more than two decades. Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel on Middle East supply worries.
AI debt was a third weight. Broadcom is seeking more than $50 billion in financing for a custom chip it is building with OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Skeptics such as Michael Burry have already said markets should fall far enough to block the AI IPOs.
Revenue at OpenAI and Anthropic is a key gauge of AI demand and drives infrastructure spending, the FT noted. On Thursday, two ways of counting it sat $20 billion apart.
