How data center developers are pivoting after midterm rebuke

Anthropic is navigating a turbulent financial landscape as it prepares for its initial public offering following a historic stock market sell-off. According to CNN, Thursday marked one of the sharpest sell-offs on Wall Street in years, with tech stocks bearing the brunt and the Nasdaq Composite losing $2.5 billion in value in its biggest single-day dollar-value drop in history. Yahoo Finance reported that prospective buyers have discussed lowering Anthropic's valuation to a range of $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, with some considering as low as $1.1 trillion, down from estimates as high as $2 trillion projected in early October. Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh, described the company's dilemma to Yahoo Finance by stating it is "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Mahn noted that delaying the IPO could be interpreted as a bearish signal, while proceeding with a failed or underperforming offering would similarly alarm investors. The market turmoil follows Tuesday's midterm elections, where voters elected candidates critical of data-center development. CNN reported that predictions on Kalshi for Anthropic's IPO taking place this month fell from over 90 percent before the elections to 60 percent on Thursday. Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, told CNN that the company will likely be forced to come to market at a lower valuation and that there is clear evidence of a structural shift in the environment regarding AI infrastructure demand. Dan Ives told clients in an email reported by CNN that he expects Big Tech spending on AI to peak in 2027 rather than 2028 or 2029. Anthropic disclosed massive financial figures in its regulatory filings. The New Republic reported that the company filed a mammoth 400-page S-1 on October 26, noting a 1,300 percent jump in revenue from a year ago alongside an $80.7 billion net loss for the first half of 2026. The Wall Street Journal noted that the company is on the hook for $475 billion in compute capacity agreements over the next decade, while later reports from CNN and Yahoo Finance updated the company's aggregate committed spend to nearly $900 billion, or $895.4 billion specifically, primarily for compute and infrastructure against $132 billion in cash and investments. Willy Lee, principal at Neostellar, told Yahoo Finance that investors want to know whether Anthropic can sustain long-term growth and secure a meaningful share of the AI market. Investors will also look to Nvidia's earnings report on November 17 for further clues on the health of the AI trade, according to Yahoo Finance.