Blackstone has reportedly warned investors that Anthropic could get a below-investment-grade rating after its planned IPO.
Blackstone, an anchor investor in Anthropic’s chip financing, has reportedly told investors Anthropic is likely to get a rating in the double-B range, with a junk rating “a possibility.” The post attributes this to the Financial Times.
Anthropic reportedly holds more than $112 billion.
It could raise about $100 billion more as the company is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT, later this month.
A separate report says Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned a BB+ rating in June. That’s the top rung of junk, one notch below investment grade.
What “BB” means
Credit ratings split into two camps. BBB- and above is investment grade. BB+ and below is high yield, often called junk.
For example, Microsoft sits at the very top with AAA.
Plenty of large, successful companies carry BB ratings.
Why a cash-rich company can still get a lower rating
Ratings agencies look at more than the cash balance.
They weigh how much a company has committed to spend, how long the payoff will take, and how much debt sits behind the spending.
Anthropic reportedly plans over $800 billion of computing infrastructure through 2045, and reports on the IPO filing describe at least $518 billion of compute commitments over the next decade.
Either way, the spending is enormous compared with even a $112 billion cash pile.
For bond investors, the takeaway is to look at the rating, the guarantees and the commitments, not just the headline cash number.