OpenAI 2025 financials leaked: $13.07B revenue, $20.9B operating loss ahead of IPO

Financial documents showing OpenAI's full-year 2025 results were leaked and widely reported beginning June 16, 2026, revealing $13.07 billion in revenue alongside an operating loss of $20.92 billion on $34 billion in total costs and expenses. The disclosure arrives as OpenAI moves toward a public market debut, having filed confidentially for an IPO in early June 2026.

What's new

The leaked financials, reported by Fortune, show OpenAI's 2025 results in detail:

• Revenue: $13.07 billion (up from $3.7 billion in 2024)
• Total costs and expenses: $34 billion (up from $12.48 billion)
• R&D expenses: $19.18 billion (up from $7.81 billion)
• Loss from operations: $20.92 billion (up from $8.78 billion)
• Net loss (including non-cash items): approximately $38.5 billion

The large headline net loss figure requires context. OpenAI's conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity generated a $41.55 billion non-cash accounting charge related to changes in the fair value of convertible interests and warrant liability. Stripped of that conversion charge and other non-cash items, the underlying cash operational loss is estimated by analysts at approximately $8 billion.

OpenAI paid roughly $17.2 billion to Microsoft for cloud computing and R&D support during 2025.

Context

Revenue tripled year-over-year from $3.7 billion to $13.07 billion, reflecting the rapid commercial scaling of ChatGPT and the API business. The cost-to-revenue ratio improved substantially: Fortune noted that "In 2024, the company spent $2.37 to generate every $1 in revenue. In 2025, that ratio declined to $1.60 in expenses for every dollar it took in."

R&D at $19.18 billion remains the dominant cost, reflecting the expense of frontier model training. The company's operating structure — where Microsoft provides substantial compute under the Azure partnership — makes the Microsoft payment the most significant single line item outside of internal R&D.

OpenAI filed confidentially with the SEC for an IPO in early June 2026. These leaked financials are the first detailed look at the business economics ahead of that listing, coming before a public S-1 that would provide full disclosure and management guidance.

Why it matters

For IPO-bound OpenAI, the financials present both a compelling story and a real challenge. Revenue growing 3.5x year-over-year demonstrates product-market fit at scale. But an operating loss of $20.9 billion on $13.1 billion of revenue means the company is still far from self-sustaining on operations, and investors will weigh heavily whether compute efficiency gains can bend the cost curve before growth slows.

The leaked timing — just days after the confidential IPO filing — ensures these figures become part of the pre-IPO narrative. OpenAI will need to address them directly in its eventual public S-1, including forward guidance on the path to profitability and how the Microsoft compute relationship evolves as the partnership terms shift in coming years.