AI 20 Oct 2026

One company, two revenue numbers $20B apart

OpenAI's reported annualized revenue differs by about $20 billion depending on how partner sales are counted, not because sales fell.

OpenAI's annualized revenue was reported as approaching $70 billion in late September, then as approaching $50 billion after the Financial Times reported what OpenAI told investors on 8 October. The roughly $20 billion gap is a counting difference, not a sales drop: Anthropic books cloud-partner sales at gross, while OpenAI records only its share.

• ~$70B: grossed-up annualized revenue (late Sep 2026)
• ~$50B: what OpenAI told investors (reported 8 Oct 2026)
• Gap of about $20B, roughly 29% of the $70B figure
• OpenAI IPO now pushed to early 2027

Run-rate figures are approximate ("approaching" $50B / $70B) and based on press reports of investor communications, not audited accounts.