OpenAI’s adjusted operating margin improves from -150% to -109%

The AI giant is still losing more than it earns on an adjusted basis, but the gap narrowed sharply in Q3 as revenue climbed OpenAI is still losing more money than it brings in. It is just losing it a bit more efficiently. The company reported that its adjusted operating margin rose from -150% in Q2 to -109% in Q3. That is a 41-point swing in a single quarter, and it marks a notable shift for a business best known for spending heavily on computing power. A -109% margin means OpenAI spent a little more than two dollars for every dollar of revenue, on an adjusted basis. Progress, in other words, still looks a lot like a loss. The numbers behind the narrower loss Most of the improvement appears to come from the top line rather than belt-tightening. Q3 2026 revenue reached approximately $10 billion, up about 50% from the prior quarter. That pace puts OpenAI’s annualized run rate at approximately $50 billion. For comparison, OpenAI posted a $12.3 billion operating loss on $6.7 billion of revenue in Q2 2026. That loss was nearly twice the size of the quarter’s sales. That unadjusted figure looks harsher than the -150% adjusted margin for the same quarter. The gap suggests the adjusted met...