[Editor's Pick] OpenAI's $20 Billion Revenue Gap and NVIDIA-Backed Firmus' IPO Withdrawal

The reported $20 billion difference in OpenAI's annualized revenue figures stems from varying reporting methodologies rather than a decline in sales. The Financial Times, citing investor information, reported OpenAI's annualized revenue approaching $50 billion as of September, a figure Reuters subsequently confirmed. This contrasts with an earlier $70 billion figure reported by some media outlets.

The discrepancy is largely attributed to how OpenAI and its competitor Anthropic account for revenue generated through cloud partners. Anthropic reportedly includes sales via Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud in its annualized revenue, while OpenAI does not account for comparable sales in the same manner. This distinction became apparent as investors sought a consistent basis for comparing the companies' growth.

Annualized revenue run rate estimates a company's yearly sales based on a shorter period, providing an indication of current scale for rapidly growing businesses. However, it should not be equated with recognized revenue over a completed financial year or actual cash collected. The differences in reporting scope mean that the figures alone cannot establish whether OpenAI's growth rate has accelerated or slowed. A reliable assessment would require comparable period-by-period revenue figures calculated under consistent definitions, alongside recognized revenue, operating expenses, and cash flow. The choice to include or exclude sales through cloud partners materially impacts the apparent size of a business, affecting valuations that rely on revenue multiples.