Breaking

OpenAI Posts $5.7B Q1 Revenue While Burning $3.7B in Cash

June 19, 2026 at 16:01 EDT

Funding & M&A
Sales & Business

OpenAI generated $5.7 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2026 while burning through $3.7 billion in cash, putting its path to profitability in focus ahead of an IPO. The figures were reported by The Information based on shareholder materials, with Reuters, The Next Web and others following.

Q1 2026 · OpenAI

Tripled Revenue, Still Burning $3.7B a Quarter

OpenAI generated $5.7B in revenue from January to March 2026 — but burned $3.7B, roughly 65% of what it took in. Both revenue and spending nearly tripled year over year as compute costs weigh on the path to profitability ahead of a 2026 IPO.

$5.7B

Quarterly revenue

$3.7B

Cash burned

~3×

Year-over-year growth (both)

$73B+

Cash & securities (was $40B)

Revenue vs. Burn — Q1 2026

For every dollar earned, about 65 cents went up in burn.

$5.7B

Revenue

$3.7B

Cash burn

The Cost Pressure

~$665B

Long-term commitments (chips, power, data centers)

-122%

Non-GAAP operating margin (per some reports)

~33%

Estimated gross margin (some analysis)

Demand Side

~900M weekly active users
~50M paying users anchor revenue
~60% from subscriptions (Plus, Team, Enterprise)
Run rate ~$20–25B; full-year target near $30B

The Watch Points

Projected full-year non-GAAP loss ~$14B+
High inference cost keeps API pricing a sticking point
Growing free user base lifts costs
Profitability scrutiny intensifies ahead of IPO

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