Bill Ackman on Anthropic IPO

Bill Ackman Praises Anthropic but Rejects Its IPO: What Concerns the Investor?

Business

Bill Ackman calls Anthropic an extraordinary business story but questions its valuation, spending and long-term prospects ahead of its planned IPO.

Bill Ackman calls Anthropic one of the most remarkable business stories of the century.
The Pershing Square CEO remains reluctant to invest in the Anthropic IPO.
Anthropic's proposed IPO price range stands at $70 to $78 per share.
The company is targeting a fully diluted valuation of approximately $1.4 trillion.
Rising capital expenditure and uncertainty over AI market leadership concern Ackman.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has praised Anthropic as one of the most remarkable business stories of the century but remains unwilling to invest in the artificial intelligence company's planned initial public offering (IPO). His position highlights growing questions about whether rapid AI growth can justify the enormous valuations attached to leading technology companies.

Speaking at Yahoo Finance Invest 2026, the Pershing Square Capital Management CEO described Anthropic's journey from its early beginnings to its current position as an extraordinary business story. However, he questioned whether its future earnings and market position could be predicted with enough confidence to justify an investment.

"We think of ourselves as very low-risk investors. We want to invest in businesses that we can predict with a very high degree of confidence," Ackman said at the event.

But how can an investor praise a company and still refuse to buy its shares?

For Ackman, the answer comes down to valuation uncertainty. He said Anthropic could be worth considerably more or less depending on variables that remain difficult to predict. That uncertainty makes the company unsuitable for his investment portfolio.

The Anthropic IPO also comes with ambitious financial expectations. According to Yahoo Finance, the company has set a proposed price range of $70 to $78 per share, targeting a fully diluted valuation of approximately $1.4 trillion. It could raise up to $100 billion at the upper end of the range.

Yet its financial performance presents another challenge. Anthropic reported third-quarter sales of $17 billion, up 1,127% year over year, while also recording a quarterly loss of $23.29 billion, according to its amended S-1 filing cited by Yahoo Finance.

Can revenue growth alone justify such a valuation?

Ackman also questioned whether Anthropic could maintain its leadership position as competitors develop alternative AI models. He highlighted the scale of capital expenditure required to remain competitive.

"If Anthropic doesn't stay in the lead position, then the real questions about the business model [emerge]," Ackman said.

Is this a warning for the wider AI investment market?

The contrast between Anthropic's commercial growth and its spending requirements presents a difficult question for IPO investors. Strong demand for AI products may support future revenue, but maintaining technological leadership requires substantial investment.

The planned November 19 Nasdaq debut under the ticker ANT will put that investor confidence into focus. Business Honor asks Bill Ackman's position raises a larger debate: does an extraordinary business story automatically make an extraordinary investment?