OpenAI Misses Revenue and User Targets Ahead of Earnings
A report says OpenAI missed internal revenue and weekly active user targets in early 2026, including its goal of 1 billion weekly users, moving AI-linked stocks before trading.
A report found OpenAI missed internal revenue and weekly active user targets in early 2026, including failure to reach its goal of 1 billion weekly active users by year-end. The report surfaced hours before U.S. markets opened on April 28 and coincided with declines in AI-linked stocks in pre-market trading.
The shortfalls were concentrated in coding and enterprise workloads, with developer-focused segments experiencing the greatest pressure as competitors gained share. Rivals named include Anthropic and Google’s Gemini, which attracted more usage in some developer use cases.
OpenAI is preparing for a potential public listing with private valuations reported near $850 billion. The company has signed compute commitments with cloud partners running into the hundreds of billions and recently restructured its agreement with Microsoft. OpenAI stated Microsoft will remain its primary cloud partner, the company will be able to make products available across other clouds, and the product and revenue-sharing arrangement extends through 2032.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar warned colleagues that capital spending could outpace revenue if growth does not accelerate, prompting internal debate over funding the company’s data-center pipeline ahead of any public offering. Friar has told staff she does not consider the company ready for the planned 2026 listing, while CEO Sam Altman has pushed for a faster timetable and continued investment in compute.
In pre-market trading, Oracle shares fell about 3 percent; Nvidia and AMD registered modest declines. Investors flagged concerns that slower user growth could reduce demand for related hardware and cloud services.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said companies tied to AI may face valuation dispersion in the coming years, noting firms that use AI to improve productivity and lower costs could re-rate higher while others fall behind. They added that upcoming AI and semiconductor earnings will test whether revenue accelerates and capital commitments hold; if growth moderates, internal concerns about burn rate and IPO readiness may influence OpenAI’s path to the public market.
