Photo: Topjur01 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) A roughly $97 million bet on Anthropic may now be worth billions, and analysts say it's the most interesting thing about Zoom right now
Zoom Communications has beaten Wall Street’s revenue estimates for 15 straight quarters. Ahead of Zoom’s fiscal Q2 2027 earnings on August 25, 2026, the real conversation among analysts isn’t about video call growth or enterprise seat expansion. It’s about the company’s equity position in Anthropic, the AI lab behind Claude, which has ballooned in value to a degree that makes the core business look like a rounding error.
The math behind the ‘hidden gem’ #
Zoom first invested approximately $51 million in Anthropic through its venture arm back in May 2023. It later added another $46 million, bringing total capital deployed to roughly $97 million. As of April 30, 2026, that combined stake was valued at $1.27 billion on Zoom’s books.
Anthropic’s post-money valuation hit approximately $380 billion in February 2026. By May 2026, that number had reportedly surpassed $900 billion. Bank of America estimates Zoom holds roughly a 0.311% ownership stake, which at recent Anthropic valuations would put the position’s worth at approximately $3 billion. Analysts at Baird, Wedbush, and BofA have all used the phrase “hidden gem” to describe it. Some projections range from $2 billion to $4 billion or more, depending on how much dilution Zoom has absorbed through subsequent funding rounds.
Why it doesn’t show up where you’d expect #
The Anthropic position sits on the balance sheet at cost-adjusted value rather than fair market value. If Anthropic goes public, or if there’s a secondary sale or acquisition that triggers a revaluation, the gains could materialize on Zoom’s financials in a single quarter. A $3 billion unrealized gain on a company with a market cap hovering around the low-to-mid $20 billion range represents a meaningful percentage of the entire enterprise.
BofA has reinstated a Buy rating on Zoom with a $130 price target, implying roughly 24% upside from recent trading levels. The Anthropic stake is a central pillar of that thesis.
The actual business still works #
The consensus revenue estimate for the upcoming quarter sits at around $1.27 billion, and the company has a 15-quarter streak of beating those estimates. Zoom has also integrated Anthropic’s Claude models into its Contact Center solutions, which was the strategic logic behind the original investment: product differentiation alongside financial upside.
What to watch on August 25 #
Investors will be parsing the earnings call for any updated commentary on the Anthropic valuation, whether management addresses potential liquidity events, and any changes to the carrying value on the balance sheet. If Anthropic’s valuation trajectory continues, the stake alone could represent 10% to 15% or more of Zoom’s total market capitalization, depending on dilution. Anthropic has not announced IPO plans, and the AI company’s fundraising pace suggests it is comfortable staying private for now.
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