OpenAI missed its user and sales goals

OpenAI missed internal goals for user growth and sales, according to a Wall Street Journal report summarized by Bloomberg on April 28. (bloomberg.com) The report said OpenAI fell short of several monthly sales targets in 2026 as Anthropic gained ground in coding tools and enterprise accounts. (bloomberg.com) It also said ChatGPT did not reach OpenAI’s internal goal of 1 billion weekly active users by the end of 2025. (moneycontrol.com) (bloomberg.com) The miss landed at a sensitive moment because OpenAI has been pouring money into data centers and long-term computing capacity to run and expand its models. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) Investors treated the report as a read-through on companies tied to OpenAI’s buildout. Oracle, CoreWeave and other linked stocks fell, while SoftBank dropped about 10% in Asia trading, according to CNBC and Bloomberg. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) (investopedia.com) OpenAI pushed back later Tuesday. The company told Bloomberg its consumer and enterprise businesses are “firing on all cylinders” and called the report “prime clickbait.” (bloomberg.com) That response matters because OpenAI has been facing broader questions about competition and investor appetite. Bloomberg reported on April 1 that secondary-market demand for OpenAI shares had weakened as investors shifted toward Anthropic. (bloomberg.com) Fortune separately reported April 28 that OpenAI’s chief financial officer was at odds with Chief Executive Sam Altman over a missed revenue target, as projected artificial-intelligence capital spending headed toward $660 billion. (fortune.com) The immediate question is whether OpenAI can keep funding its infrastructure push fast enough to match rivals while convincing customers and investors that growth is still on track. (bloomberg.com 1) (bloomberg.com 2)