Ives’ and Damodaran’s comments come after a report by The Financial Times stated that according to Blackstone, Anthropic may not secure an investment-grade rating immediately after going public.

  • Ives said that the key question is whether the development ultimately affects investor appetite for Anthropic’s IPO.
  • He added that the amount of money that Anthropic wants to raise could become a concern, particularly as AI companies continue to spend heavily on infrastructure.
  • Damodaran said that the credit rating question could be more significant for lenders than equity investors.

Anthropic’s potential IPO came under fresh scrutiny Friday after a Financial Times report raised questions about whether the AI company could secure an investment-grade credit rating following its public debut.

During a CNBC interview on Friday, Yorkville Ives partner Dan Ives and NYU Stern School of Business professor and “Dean of Valuation” Aswath Damodaran discussed what the report could mean for Anthropic’s IPO and the broader AI trade.

This comes amid a report by The Financial Times on Friday that according to Blackstone, Anthropic may not secure an investment-grade rating immediately after going public.

Dan Ives Calls It A ‘Perfect Storm Moment’

Ives described the latest development as a “perfect storm moment” for Anthropic, which he said is central to the ongoing AI buildout.

“It’s the last thing investors want to see because Anthropic foundationally is so key to this AI revolution build out,” Ives said. He added that the key question is whether the development ultimately affects investor appetite for Anthropic’s IPO, while continuing to see the possibility of a roughly $1.5 trillion valuation.

However, Ives said the amount of money Anthropic needs to raise could become a concern, particularly as AI companies continue to spend heavily on infrastructure.

“Just like we’re seeing with Oracle and others, it’s an arms race, and it definitely would put them a bit in the penalty box,” Ives said.

He said investors would ultimately focus on whether Anthropic can demonstrate its business model and potentially regain investment-grade status.

“But then it comes down to as they prove out their model, can they get back to investment grade if such is the case,” Ives said.

Damodaran Warns ‘If One Falls, They Drag the Others Down’

Damodaran said the market environment could be particularly important for Anthropic’s IPO because of the role that sentiment plays in new listings.

“IPOs are all about mood and momentum,” Damodaran said.

“The worst thing that can happen for Anthropic is the mood keeps going the way it is right now. Because that is going to mean that the initial reception, at least, is not going to be as positive as they hoped it would be,” he said.

Damodaran described three groups within the AI ecosystem, which are companies building AI infrastructure, suppliers such as chip companies, and companies including Anthropic and OpenAI.

“They’re all connected at the hip. If one falls, they drag the others down with them,” warned Damodaran, while adding that this interconnection is already playing out in the market.

Why The Credit Rating Matters

Ives and Damodaran also differed somewhat on the significance of Anthropic’s potential credit-rating issue. Damodaran said the rating question could be more significant for lenders than equity investors.

“I think that the rating story is perhaps more significant than it was for the people on the lending side than it is on the equity side,” he said, while questioning the financial commitments being made by young AI companies.

“It’s never made sense,” Damodaran said, referring to companies entering into these contractual commitments like Anthropic for building out AI infrastructure.

Ives, meanwhile, pointed to Anthropic’s position in the enterprise market and its growth potential, comparing the opportunity with OpenAI.

“I think what’s happening today is it’s a tale of two cities,” Ives said, pointing to strong cloud numbers and AI infrastructure spending alongside disruption across areas including memory and advertising.

During the after-hours session on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, declined 1.77%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 3.47%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) closed lower by 1.07%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits toward the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) fell about 4.45% on Friday, while the iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) fell nearly 4.33%.

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