02 · THE PROBLEM

Every token sold at a loss

$1.60OpenAI spend per $1.00 earned, 2025 — audited: $20.9B op loss on $13.07B revenue; $38.5B net loss after conversion charge
$3.00Anthropic spend per $1.00, early 2026 ($4.3B annualized revenue vs $19B costs) — burn not expected to stop until 2027
$12.3BOpenAI operating loss in Q2 2026 alone (up from $9B) — on just under $7B revenue

The subsidy: cheap tokens are paid for by VC money and cloud credit, not revenue. Growth is real — the unit economics are not.

Sources: Zitron/FT audited financials; The Information; 247wallst Aug 2026
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