OpenAI burned through $3.7 billion in cash during the first quarter of 2026, representing more than 60 percent of its $5.7 billion in revenue for the period. According to financial documents shared with shareholders, both revenue and cash burn tripled compared to the same quarter last year. The company ended the quarter with over $73 billion in cash and marketable securities, up from $40 billion at the end of December.
The financial statements show a net loss of over $21.3 billion for the quarter, but that was primarily driven by a nearly $12.4 billion non-cash accounting charge related to changes in the fair value of convertible equity and warrant liabilities. Excluding that accounting adjustment, operating loss was $9.3 billion, which includes $2.3 billion in employee stock-based compensation. Research and development expenses totaled $8.6 billion for the period.
On the cost of revenue side, spending was $3.5 billion, mostly tied to running model services, and gross margin improved to 39 percent from 33 percent a year earlier. But the bigger hidden expense lies in compute commitments. Quarterly disclosures show that as of the end of 2025, OpenAI had committed to $665 billion in cloud computing purchases, with contracts running through 2030. Last week, the company also filed confidentially for an IPO.