The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI told investors Q2 2026 revenue was $6.7 billion, but the private company has not published audited quarterly accounts and no independent source has verified that exact booked-revenue figure from primary documents.
OpenAI losses widen despite rising sales
OpenAI generated $6.7 billion in spring revenue, but mounting computer infrastructure bills left it with a $12.3 billion operating loss.
In a nutshell
OpenAI is selling its artificial-intelligence tools to businesses and consumers at a record pace, reaching an annualized sales rate near $70 billion in September, but the massive computing networks required to run the technology drove a $12.3 billion spring operating loss on $6.7 billion of revenue.
Highlights
- OpenAI took in $6.7 billion in second-quarter revenue, an 18% increase from the first quarter.
- The company recorded an operating loss of $12.3 billion over the same three-month period.
- Company forecasts project about $856 billion in computing infrastructure spending through 2030.
- OpenAI's cash reserves from its March funding round are projected to run out by 2028.
- Enterprise customer demand helped push the company's annualized sales pace near $70 billion in September.
OpenAI 2026 Reported Quarterly Results
| Metric | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (billions) | 5.7 | 6.7 |
| Operating Loss (billions) | 9.3 | 12.3 |
- The table shows reported revenue and operating losses for the first two quarters of 2026, based on investor disclosures reported by the Wall Street Journal.
- Operating Loss — The money a company loses from its day-to-day operations before paying interest or taxes.
- It shows that while customer sales grew by 18%, operating losses expanded even faster as computing and staff costs rose.
From the Editor’s Diary
Rapid customer adoption does not automatically solve the economics of artificial intelligence, where every surge in usage requires expensive physical computer power.
Who's involved
OpenAI
U.S. company that created the ChatGPT conversational computer program
goal → bring in enough customer revenue to pay for massive computer networks and prepare for an eventual public stock listing
OpenAI investors
private shareholders who supply funding and review private company updates
goal → judge whether rapid customer growth justifies widening losses and steep future computing commitments
Anthropic
rival U.S. artificial-intelligence firm that makes the Claude program
goal → win business clients and show stronger financial efficiency as both startups face public scrutiny
Oracle
U.S. cloud computing and database provider leasing large data networks to OpenAI
goal → ensure OpenAI generates enough cash to honor its massive long-term computing contracts
In short
OpenAI is taking in money faster than ever from businesses and consumers, but the computing power required to build and run artificial intelligence is burning through cash even faster. This matters because it shows that explosive sales growth alone does not make advanced artificial intelligence profitable.
The company will almost certainly need to raise tens of billions of dollars in fresh funding to cover its planned data centers and chips.
That outcome is likely because its own projections show its existing cash buffer running out by 2028 under hundreds of billions of dollars in planned infrastructure spending.
How it unfolded
OpenAI sales pace crosses $40 billion
Reports indicated in mid-August that OpenAI was taking in money at an annualized rate above $40 billion, roughly doubling its pace from late 2025. That metric took recent sales and multiplied them across twelve months. Days later, reported investor figures showed what the company actually collected in spring: $6.7 billion in cash revenue, alongside steep losses.
Spring revenue rose while losses grew faster
The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI collected $6.7 billion in revenue in the second quarter, up 18% from $5.7 billion in the first quarter. But expenses grew even faster, pushing the second-quarter operating loss to $12.3 billion, up from $9.3 billion. Because OpenAI is private, these numbers came from investor communications rather than audited public government filings.
Long-term forecasts project $856 billion in computing bills
A July company presentation obtained by the Financial Times revealed the scale of OpenAI's future spending. The company projected $36 billion in revenue for 2026, rising to $350 billion in 2030. Yet it also planned to spend about $856 billion on computer infrastructure, creating $278 billion of negative free cash flow through 2030 and exhausting its March cash cushion by 2028.
Business sales surge pushes the sales pace toward $70 billion
By late September, Axios reported that corporate demand had doubled since July, lifting OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate toward $70 billion. Reuters independently confirmed that pace with a source familiar with the business. While the jump showed rapid customer adoption, both outlets noted that run rates extrapolate recent momentum and do not detail current operating costs.
Where things stand
OpenAI is generating cash at a record pace, but its losses remain wider than its revenue. The Wall Street Journal's report of $6.7 billion in second-quarter sales and a $12.3 billion operating loss remains the primary benchmark for actual quarterly performance, as OpenAI has not released audited public financial filings.
Private projections through 2030 show why sales records have not solved the company's financial strain. OpenAI anticipates spending about $856 billion on computer infrastructure, which would drain its cash reserves by 2028 despite rising demand. Until OpenAI releases audited financial disclosures, the true balance between its real sales and its computer expenses will remain partly out of public view.