The company's annualized revenue has surpassed $40 billion, according to sources, roughly doubling from the end of 2025. This performance is providing additional confidence as the organization prepares for a potential public listing.

Revenue growth has accelerated in recent months, partly driven by the rapid expansion of its AI programming software business. The increase also reflects continued momentum in subscription sales and an early-stage advertising business, while the core consumer segment continues to grow. Gregg Brockman, co-founder and president, stated that the July annualized revenue rose more than 20% month-over-month. There has been a notable rise in demand for AI agents, including the Codex programming tool and ChatGPT Work assistant. The company has also lowered prices on some models to more flexibly compete with Anthropic and other rivals.

On Thursday, the company appointed its second chief revenue officer in less than a year, bringing in a cybersecurity executive to help drive sales growth. It is currently engaged in an intense competition with Anthropic for enterprise clients. Both companies have confidentially filed for an IPO, with Anthropic expected to go public as early as this fall, potentially before its rival. Anthropic, once seen as a follower, is gaining attention with AI tools that simplify complex tasks, including programming. In May, Anthropic reported its annualized revenue had surpassed $47 billion, though the two companies may calculate this metric differently.

Employee share buyback signals potential IPO preparation

Beyond strong financial results, news of a $7 billion employee share buyback suggests the company is preparing for an initial public offering. The tender offer involves purchasing shares from current and former employees, rather than seeking outside investors as in the past, when firms like Thrive Capital and SoftBank Group were invited to buy employee-held stock. The transaction values the startup at $852 billion, consistent with its valuation from the most recent funding round. This buyback, initiated after the record $122 billion funding round in March, will help alleviate near-term liquidity pressure, allowing employees to sell some holdings and cash out ahead of a potential large-scale IPO.

Secondary market stock sales have become part of the company's pre-IPO strategy. In October 2024, a $6.6 billion tender offer was completed at a $500 billion valuation. Another $1.5 billion tender offer was completed in 2024. The longer a company delays going public, the more stock options and restricted shares become tax and cash flow issues for employees. Javier Avalos, CEO of private market data platform Caplight, noted that after employees are fully vested and have held shares for a while, the company feels pressure to provide liquidity. Company-led buybacks are the primary channel for employees to cash out before an IPO, though some also sell through separate secondary transactions.

Employee stock sales address internal liquidity pressure but do not solve the capital needs of frontier model companies. For both this company and Anthropic, an IPO would allow them to raise tens of billions of dollars to train and run models. Both are expected to spend hundreds of billions on computing services in the coming years. Not all employees are willing to sell before the IPO. Anthropic's earlier share sale this year ended up smaller than the reported $5 billion to $6 billion in investor interest, partly because some employees judged it more advantageous to sell after the IPO. Meanwhile, both companies have been cracking down on unauthorized stock sales, such as private transfers through special purpose vehicles. For AI companies preparing for an IPO or large funding rounds, controlling the order of equity trading is part of the process before entering the public market.

IPO timeline could be pushed to 2027

The company has reportedly stepped back from its initial ambition of an IPO this fall, now clearly leaning toward a timeline of 2027. This delay is driven by a clash between CEO Sam Altman's insistence on a trillion-dollar valuation floor and harsh market realities. The sharp stock price volatility of SpaceX after its listing has created a psychological deterrent. Bankers advising on the IPO have warned that recent tech stock fluctuations and the steep decline in SpaceX's stock price could significantly dampen retail investor enthusiasm. An advisor reportedly told the company this week that retail investors may lack appetite for its stock.

The valuation dilemma is central to the decision to delay. The $122 billion funding round in March 2026 valued the company at $852 billion post-money, making it the highest-valued private tech company globally. However, this falls short of Altman's expectations. Sources say Altman has been pushing advisors, including bankers and lawyers, to find ways to push the IPO valuation to $1 trillion. Advisors presented two options: delay the IPO to 2027, waiting for better market conditions and financial performance closer to the trillion-dollar target, or go public by the end of 2026 at a lower valuation. Altman reportedly said any plan that would cut the valuation below $1 trillion was "not feasible."

The company's financial situation is also testing investor patience. It posted a net loss of $38.5 billion last year, driven by massive spending on computing infrastructure, research and development, and corporate restructuring. According to reports, the company burned through $3.7 billion in cash in the first quarter of 2026, more than half of its $5.7 billion in quarterly revenue. It expects to invest $600 billion in computing and hardware by 2030. Some large investors have privately expressed concern about the company's cash burn rate relative to its growth, while others have hedged their bets by investing in Anthropic.

This delay is not an isolated case. Analysis suggests that major model companies originally planning to go public in the second half of 2026 may now postpone until the first half of 2027 due to shifts in market risk appetite and uncertainty in liquidity conditions. The rescheduling means the highly anticipated listing will be significantly later than the market expected this fall. The most straightforward reading of the 2027 timeline is that the company can afford to wait. By delaying, it can continue to expand usage, refine pricing, and build a more stable business mix across consumer products, enterprise tools, and infrastructure partners before entering the public market's quarterly discipline.