The Wall Street Journal reported Anthropic is set to post its first operating profit of $559 million in Q2 2026, with revenue projected to hit $10.9 billion. The timing is suspicious — numbers leaked while the company raises its funding round, and June hasn't even started.

That profitability depends on a $1.25 billion monthly compute deal with SpaceX starting in May, with discounted rates during ramp-up. Costs normally scale linearly with revenue, so the profit only appears through temporary cost suppression tied to this arrangement. The company may not stay profitable once full rates kick in.

CFO Krishna Rao swore under oath that revenues exceeded $5 billion to date, contradicting earlier ARR claims of $19 billion. The author argues the operating profit reflects accounting maneuvers rather than a sustainable business model.