OpenAI Q1 revenue $5.7 billion

OpenAI was reported on May 22 to have generated $5.7 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, according to a post by Ed Zitron on his newsletter Where’s Your Ed At, which cited The Information. The same post said OpenAI recorded a negative 122% non-GAAP operating margin in the quarter. OpenAI has not published first-quarter financial statements, and Reuters could not independently verify the figures. OpenAI said in an April post that it was generating $2 billion in monthly revenue and was approaching 1 billion weekly active users. ### Where did the $5.7 billion figure come from? Ed Zitron’s May 22 post attributed the $5.7 billion first-quarter revenue figure to reporting by The Information based on people familiar with OpenAI’s finances. The post said OpenAI remained ahead of Anthropic in quarterly revenue, though it argued the lead could narrow if Anthropic’s projections hold. Other outlets, including The Tech Portal and Economic Times, separately cited The Information in reporting the same $5.7 billion figure. (wheresyoured.at) The Information’s underlying report was not directly available in the source material reviewed here, so the revenue figure remains secondhand in this account. OpenAI did not announce the quarterly number on its own website as of May 23. ### What does a negative 122% operating margin mean in practice? (wheresyoured.at) The May 22 post said OpenAI’s adjusted operating margin was negative 122%, which means the company lost $1.22 in operating income for every $1 of revenue on that measure. Applying that percentage to $5.7 billion of revenue implies roughly $6.95 billion in non-GAAP operating losses for the quarter, as Zitron calculated. (wheresyoured.at) That figure matters because non-GAAP margins usually exclude some expenses, such as stock-based compensation, rather than making results look worse. Zitron wrote that even on that adjusted basis, OpenAI’s unit economics remained under pressure. Aidailypost, summarizing the same report, described the margin as OpenAI “burning” $1.22 per dollar of revenue. (wheresyoured.at) ### Did the report really say ChatGPT growth had stalled? The May 22 newsletter post said OpenAI was struggling to convert free ChatGPT users into paying customers and that overall user growth had stalled. That characterization came from Zitron’s interpretation of the figures and underlying reporting he cited. (wheresyoured.at) OpenAI’s own recent public messaging points in a different direction. In an April fundraising announcement, the company said it was “soon” to become the fastest technology platform to reach 1 billion weekly active users and that it was generating $2 billion in revenue per month. In a separate research update published last week, OpenAI said ChatGPT adoption “surged” in the first quarter of 2026 and that message volume increased across age groups. (wheresyoured.at) ### How do these figures fit with OpenAI’s broader financial story? OpenAI said in April that it had raised $122 billion to accelerate the next phase of AI and that monthly revenue had reached $2 billion. That public statement suggests a run rate above the $5.7 billion reported for the January-to-March quarter, though the periods are not directly comparable and OpenAI did not provide margins. (openai.com) Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, was reported by Where’s Your Ed At in April as believing the company was not ready for an initial public offering in 2026 because of spending commitments and uncertainty over whether revenue growth would support them. That earlier report adds context to the latest margin figure, though OpenAI has not publicly confirmed the assessment. (openai.com) ### What can actually be verified right now? As of May 23, OpenAI’s website did not contain a first-quarter earnings release or a published operating-margin figure. What is verifiable is that a May 22 newsletter post cited The Information for the $5.7 billion revenue estimate and the negative 122% non-GAAP operating margin, and that OpenAI itself has publicly said it is generating $2 billion in monthly revenue. (wheresyoured.at) OpenAI’s next hard datapoints are likely to come from future company posts, financing disclosures, or any public filing if the company pursues an IPO. For now, the May 22 report remains an externally sourced snapshot rather than a company-filed quarterly result. (wheresyoured.at)