Microsoft’s OpenAI Revenue Reached $10 Billion in a Quarter

By Daniel Okafor

What did Microsoft earn from OpenAI?

Microsoft generated $10 billion in revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, including revenue-sharing payments. Microsoft disclosed the figure in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The amount equaled nearly 11% of Microsoft’s $92.3 billion in total quarterly revenue. The math makes the concentration plain: OpenAI-linked business supplied nearly one dollar in every nine dollars of quarterly sales. Microsoft’s fiscal year begins in July, so the period marked the first quarter of fiscal 2027. TechCrunch described the financial ties as enormous even as the companies increasingly compete for the same customers.

How much does OpenAI contribute now?

Microsoft recorded $24.1 billion in revenue from OpenAI for the full 2026 fiscal year. At its latest quarterly pace, Microsoft would pull in $40 billion annually from OpenAI-related arrangements. The $40 billion figure annualizes the September quarter. It is not a reported full-year total. The completed-year number measures recorded revenue across 12 months. The annualized number applies the latest quarter to four quarters. The September figure supplies the base for that calculation. The filing does not show which services would sustain the pace.

What does the receivables balance show?

Microsoft also reported $7.2 billion in outstanding receivables from OpenAI at the end of September, up from $6 billion at the end of June. That money represented amounts OpenAI owed for previous transactions. It did not represent additional revenue. The receivables balance is a snapshot of unpaid obligations. Quarterly revenue records sales over a three-month period. A higher balance does not raise quarterly sales merely because payment remains outstanding. Adding $7.2 billion to $10 billion would mix a balance with a quarterly flow.

How much comes from revenue sharing?

The split between revenue-sharing payments and Azure cloud computing services remained unclear, according to TechCrunch’s account of Microsoft’s regulatory filing. TechCrunch said it had reached out for more information. In November 2025, TechCrunch cited leaked documents and reported that Microsoft had received $865.8 million in net revenue-sharing payments from OpenAI during the first nine months of that year. OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its revenue with Microsoft under a previous deal that included Microsoft’s investment of more than $13 billion in the AI startup. Neither OpenAI nor Microsoft had publicly confirmed that percentage. The leaked-document figure gives a historical reference. It does not identify the revenue-sharing portion of the latest quarter.

How has the partnership changed?

An April 2026 agreement requires OpenAI to continue sharing revenue with Microsoft through 2030, subject to a cap. The same agreement allows OpenAI to work with competing cloud providers. In October 2025, the companies began loosening their once-exclusive partnership. Microsoft relinquished its hold on OpenAI to give the startup more freedom to partner with other cloud providers. In exchange, OpenAI committed to buy an additional $250 billion in Azure services under the October 2025 agreement. The $250 billion represents a purchase commitment, not recognized revenue. The two agreements serve different functions. The April 2026 accord governs revenue sharing through 2030, with a cap. The October 2025 agreement governs Azure purchases. Microsoft therefore remains financially tied to OpenAI without retaining an exclusive cloud relationship.

What does Microsoft’s 24% stake mean?

Microsoft’s ownership stake in OpenAI slipped to 24% in September, from about 25% in June. It stood at roughly 27% following the October 2025 recapitalization. Microsoft did not specify what caused the dilution. The filing leaves the revenue mix and ownership changes without a full explanation. Through 2030, Microsoft’s OpenAI revenue will depend on continued revenue sharing and Azure purchases, while the $7.2 billion receivable leaves payment exposure in the relationship. The unreported split between those sources, and Microsoft’s unexplained dilution, leave the durability of the $40 billion annual pace uncertain.