As Anthropic As the blockbuster IPO prepares to take center stage on Wall Street, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that several questions remain about the artificial intelligence startup’s long-term prospects.
Promoter Claude plans to price his shares on November 18 and start trading them the next day. In its updated IPO documents filed Tuesday, the company outlined plans to offer 825 million shares at $70 to $78 each. At the high end, the offering would raise $64.35 billion and value Anthropic at up to $1.405 trillion on a fully diluted basis.
Despite Anthropic’s explosive growth and improving profitability, Cramer highlighted three uncertainties affecting his assessment of the investment case:
- How will Anthropic’s price cuts affect revenue? Anthropic recently cut prices on several Claude models, raising concerns that customers are becoming more cost-conscious or turning to cheaper alternatives. Lower prices could encourage greater use, while additional fees for faster processing could help offset the discounts. Cramer said he was encouraged that revenue growth remained strong in October despite the cuts, but he wants to see if that momentum continues in the coming months.
- Where will Anthropic’s next $100 billion in revenue come from? Much of Anthropic’s extraordinary growth has been driven by Claude Code, its AI coding agent, who has gained traction with enterprise clients. But Cramer questions whether this product alone can support the growth needed to cover the company’s roughly $900 billion in future IT commitments. Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork, industry-specific tools and products designed to compete with Microsoft Office. He said cybersecurity, life sciences and robotics could also become major growth opportunities.
- Will Anthropic’s focus on AI security help or hurt growth? Anthropic has built its reputation around its commitment to developing AI responsibly, with CEO Dario Amodei warning of the potential dangers of increasingly powerful models. Cramer questioned whether that commitment could potentially limit revenue growth if the company slows the release of advanced models. On the other hand, he said its security-focused approach could prove a competitive advantage as companies become more cautious about adopting autonomous AI systems.
For now, Cramer is still hesitant to recommend buying Anthropic shares early in their trading, but said he is still evaluating the deal and its potential risks before making a final decision. “For now, I’ll just tell you that I’m wary of it,” he said.
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