Anthropic Targets Compute Spending Share of Revenue at 45% to 50%

Anthropic plans to lower compute and infrastructure spending as a share of revenue to 45% to 50%, down from 58% in the third quarter. The target is part of a broader effort to improve its cost structure as the company pursues a long-term adjusted operating margin of at least 35%.

In its Nov. 10 IPO roadshow, Anthropic said it believes it can reach that margin level over the long term but gave no timetable. The goal is more than twice its 15% adjusted margin in the third quarter; the second-quarter margin was 19%. Anthropic's long-term adjusted margin target has been disclosed alongside its plans for large computing commitments.

The company's targets cover several expense categories as shares of revenue. Sales, marketing and partner costs are targeted to fall from 14% to 7% to 10%. Adjusted personnel and other operating expenses are targeted to decline from 13% to the same 7% to 10% range. The compute target also refers to spending as a share of revenue; Anthropic did not provide a dollar spending target.

Anthropic plans to improve compute efficiency, directly lease a larger share of its chips and data centers, and grow the portion of its business tied to inference, when AI models respond to requests. The company measures compute efficiency by comparing revenue with compute and infrastructure spending. That ratio rose from 0.40 in the first quarter of 2025 to 1.72 in the third quarter of 2026, after reaching 2.08 in the second quarter.

Anthropic used about $5 billion in short-term compute during the third quarter. That capacity cost more than compute secured through multiyear agreements. Third-quarter revenue was $16.96 billion, with adjusted operating income of $2.46 billion. On a generally accepted accounting principles basis, the company recorded a $567 million operating loss. Its adjusted measure excludes items such as stock-based compensation and noncash charitable contributions.

The targets come as Anthropic carries about $900 billion in long-term compute and infrastructure commitments. Anthropic expects about $451.6 billion of those commitments to be incurred by the end of 2030; about $70.7 billion comes due over the next 12 months. At the end of the third quarter, Anthropic held about $96 billion in cash and equivalents and $36 billion in short-term investments.