I’m Buying This Hyperscaler On Repeat Before The Anthropic IPO
Anthropic's IPO could reprice one of the most valuable private stakes in tech, and the company holding it also collects rent on every GPU Anthropic runs. The question is whether the market has noticed yet.
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I have added to my Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) position after every earnings report this year, and July gave me another reason to keep going. I own the company that rents computing power to Anthropic, and Amazon also holds a large ownership stake in Anthropic itself.
Why Amazon’s Anthropic Exposure Stands Out
Amazon makes money from Anthropic in two ways. First, it collects rent: Anthropic agreed to secure up to 5 GW of current and future Trainium chips on AWS. Second, its stake keeps rising in value. Amazon booked a $9.5 billion pre-tax Anthropic gain in Q3 2025, $16.8 billion in Q1 2026 and $53.4 billion in Q2 2026. An IPO would put a public market price on that stake.
Three Numbers Behind Amazon’s Momentum
First, AWS is growing faster again. Revenue reached $42.2 billion, up 36.7%. That was its fastest growth in 18 quarters and the fifth straight quarter of faster growth. The AWS backlog stands at $496 billion, growing triple digits, and the unit ran a 39.4% operating margin.
Second, Amazon designs its own chips. Its AI and Chips businesses each passed $25 billion annualized run rates, growing triple digits. Bedrock customers spent more in Q2 than in all prior quarters combined, and 98% of Amazon’s top 1,000 EC2 customers use Graviton.
Third, the rest of Amazon pays for the expansion. Revenue rose 19.6% to $200.61 billion. Operating income climbed 43.2%, and operating cash flow rose 39.6% to $45.39 billion. Interest coverage is 35.17x.
How Amazon Stacks Up Against Microsoft and Alphabet
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the obvious alternative, and Azure grew 43% last quarter. Its Anthropic upside looks small next to Amazon’s. Microsoft recorded a $3.20 billion Anthropic gain in its June quarter, while Amazon booked $53.4 billion. Microsoft’s AI story runs mainly through OpenAI.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) grew Google Cloud 82%, faster than AWS. Alphabet also raised $49.6 billion in net equity proceeds, which dilutes existing shareholders, and suspended its buyback. Its Gemini models compete directly with Anthropic’s Claude. Anthropic’s IPO helps a competitor of Alphabet’s, while for Amazon it sets a price on an asset it already has.
Risk I Watch Every Quarter
Spending is the real danger. Amazon spent $54.21 billion on capex in one quarter, up 68.4%, and plans about $200 billion for 2026. Trailing free cash flow turned negative at -$7.6 billion, and long-term debt reached $119.1 billion from $65.6 billion. The Anthropic gain raised GAAP EPS to $5.75, while comparable EPS was about $1.88. Amazon also pays no dividend, so I earn nothing while I wait.
The risk is manageable since customers have already committed to much of this capacity. Management says servers break even in a little less than three years, and most AI capacity is contracted for at least five-year terms. Customers have already reserved most of Amazon’s 2027 capacity, and the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind that expansion are a story of their own (we covered seven of them in a free AI infrastructure report).
What Could Drive Amazon From Here
Amazon’s chief executive said AWS could “very possibly be a trillion dollar annual revenue business for us in time.” Q3 operating income guidance of $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion compares with $17.4 billion a year earlier. The stock has returned 493.33% over ten years and is up just 7.54% this year. In my view, the market has not yet priced in the Anthropic stake or the chip business.
When Anthropic finally lists, I want to already own the company that supplied its computing power and kept a piece of the upside.
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Alex Sirois is a financial writer with experience spanning both retail and institutional investing. He has written for InvestorPlace and held roles at BNY Mellon and Bernstein, giving him a perspective that bridges Main Street portfolios and Wall Street analysis.
Alex holds an MBA from George Washington University and has built his career across multiple industries, including e-commerce, education, and translation — a breadth of experience that informs how he breaks down complex financial topics for everyday investors. His writing is conversational, actionable, and grounded in long-term, buy-and-hold investing principles.
At 247 Wall St., Alex focuses on delivering analysis that is both accessible and useful, with a clear emphasis on helping readers make more informed decisions with their money.
