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The US IPO pipeline is thinning out

Rising interest rates, looming midterm elections, geopolitical tension and investor doubts about tech valuations have pushed a long list of planned offerings into the freezer.

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Anthropic is still walking toward the stage

Anthropic’s anticipated IPO could value the company at up to $2 trillion. If it lands there, it would potentially be the largest IPO ever.

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A tight timeline

The timeline is tight. Anthropic plans to begin formal marketing for the offering the week of November 9, 2026, with trading potentially starting before Thanksgiving on November 26.

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The growth story comes with a heavy cost structure attached

Anthropic reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.8 billion. That represents growth of approximately 45% to 46% from $11.6 billion in the second quarter. First-quarter revenue came in at $4.7 billion.

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The fine print investors will read

The growth story comes with a heavy cost structure attached. In 2025, Anthropic generated revenue of about $4.6 billion while reporting a net loss of approximately $42 billion.

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New York City’s comptroller has raised concerns about the scale of Anthropic’s compute obligations, along with potential AI safety risks tied to the company’s work.

Competition adds another layer

Anthropic is locked in a rivalry with OpenAI, and investors pricing the IPO will have to weigh how durable Anthropic’s position is in a market where the leading players are spending enormous sums to stay ahead.

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Why the broader IPO market went quiet

As of mid-October 2026, numerous planned IPOs have been postponed or withdrawn outright. Higher interest rates make future earnings less valuable in today’s dollars, which hits growth companies hardest. Midterm elections introduce policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions add volatility, and investors have grown more cautious about paying up for companies whose profits sit years in the future.

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Interest in Anthropic’s offering has reportedly increased even as the broader market slowed.

What this means for the market

The pricing itself will be worth watching closely. Where Anthropic ultimately lands relative to that up-to-$2 trillion figure will say a lot about how much investors are willing to pay for AI growth when interest rates and political risk are elevated.

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Watch three things in the coming weeks

Whether the formal marketing kicks off on schedule the week of November 9, how investors respond to the compute commitment and safety questions during the roadshow, and whether shares begin trading before Thanksgiving as planned.