OpenAI’s Q3 revenue reportedly jumps about 50% as adjusted operating loss widens

OpenAI’s sales accelerated in the third quarter, but its losses grew too. Revenue reportedly rose about 50% to roughly $10 billion, while its adjusted operating loss reached $10.9 billion. The figures put a sharper financial frame around the company’s enterprise push: business customers are driving growth, without yet bringing operating losses down.

The quarterly figures were reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Information, as summarized by The Decoder on November 11. TechCrunch cited Bloomberg’s anonymous sources for revenue crossing $10 billion for the first time. OpenAI has not confirmed the figures.

The increase marks an acceleration from the preceding quarter. OpenAI reportedly recorded about $6.7 billion in second-quarter sales, when growth was roughly 18%.

A better margin, a bigger loss

OpenAI’s adjusted operating margin improved from negative 150% to negative 109%. That measure expresses the operating shortfall relative to revenue, rather than in dollars. Sales grew fast enough to improve the ratio even though the loss itself increased.

The adjustment also leaves out a substantial expense. Stock-based compensation reached $2.6 billion in the third quarter and is excluded from the $10.9 billion loss figure. The adjusted operating loss still exceeded the quarter’s revenue.

Two measures, different directions

Adjusted operating loss

$10.1 billion→$10.9 billion

billion dollars

The reported dollar loss increased from Q2 to Q3.

Adjusted operating margin

−150%→−109%

%

The reported loss relative to revenue narrowed from Q2 to Q3.

Enterprise leads; consumers still bring scale

OpenAI president Greg Brockman said its enterprise business doubled in the third quarter and now provides most of the company’s revenue.

Pricing was part of that pursuit. The Decoder reported that OpenAI cut prices on new models. It also cited third-party data showing companies seeking cheaper alternatives to Claude, helping sales through OpenAI’s developer API—the service businesses use to connect models to their own software.

• Weekly active users reached 1.2 billion, measuring audience rather than paying customers.
• Paying subscribers reached 100 million.
• The advertising product reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in August.

A quarter’s sales are not a yearly pace

Bloomberg also reported that OpenAI reached a $50 billion annual revenue run rate. Like the advertising figure, that describes a recent sales pace expressed on a yearly basis—not revenue collected over a completed year or the roughly $10 billion quarterly result.