OpenAI Revenue at $50bn: Why One Number Triggered an AI Selloff

OpenAI revenue was running at about $50bn a year at the end of September 2026, according to a Financial Times report confirmed by Reuters. That is roughly $18bn to $20bn below the $68bn to $70bn figure that had circulated among investors. Reports attribute the gap mainly to accounting. The higher number included gross sales made through cloud partners, which OpenAI does not book in full as its own revenue. The news hit the AI trade on Thursday 8 October. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25% to 27,193.34, its worst session since mid-August, as reported by Wealth Professional. CoreWeave lost nearly 8% and Oracle about 5.5%. Nvidia slipped 2.9%.