Tech stocks tumbled on October 8 as a revised Financial Times report put OpenAI annualized revenue at roughly $50 billion, down $20 billion from prior investor figures. The Nasdaq 100 sank into correction territory, weighing on chipmakers and S&P 500 benchmarks while sending semiconductor options into heavy put activity.
The regional moves tracked a sharp retreat in the United States, where the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 1.4% in its worst session in seven weeks. A broader gauge of American chipmakers tumbled 3.4%, and the S&P 500 Index lost 0.5%.
Financial Times Report Sparks OpenAI Revenue Discrepancy
The market slide traced back to a report that OpenAI’s annualized revenue runs about $20 billion below figures investors had been trading on. Just days earlier, reporters had circulated estimates suggesting annualized recurring revenue was nearing $70 billion. The revised $50 billion projection corrected how a private enterprise calculates sales, reportedly stemming from differences in how revenue generated through cloud partners is counted.
Because OpenAI remains private—with chief executive Sam Altman postponing its public market debut until at least 2027 over safety concerns—investors rely on indirect metrics. The $20 billion gap struck the market hard because major semiconductor firms anchor their multi-year order books to the artificial intelligence capex boom led by model builders. Sources indicate that ChatGPT’s primary competitor, Anthropic, plans to debut on public markets later this autumn aiming for a valuation near $2 trillion alongside annualized revenue exceeding $65 billion.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.25%, marking its worst session since mid-August. In that afternoon session, Nvidia dropped 2.9%, Oracle fell 5.5%, and Intel declined 5.3%. Broadcom slid 4.35%, Micron retreated 4.79%, AMD fell 3.90%, and SK Hynix saw its American shares decline by 4.35%.
Chipmakers and Semiconductor ETFs Suffer Broad Selling Pressure
Semiconductor stocks absorbed the immediate blow, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down 3.7% and pushing the Nasdaq 100 into correction territory as it fell more than 10% from its record high. In the options market, exchange-traded funds experienced heavy hedging; the SMH fund recorded a Put/Call volume ratio of 1.89 alongside an open interest ratio of 1.92.
Metrics regarding gamma exposure point to $600 as the Put Wall, designate $615 as the Call Wall, and set the Gamma Flip mark at $618.52. SMH fell below the Gamma Flip intraday, though it later rebounded after touching $600, while remaining below the key $615 to $619 zone. Meanwhile, the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF was down 0.8% in early-afternoon trading, with Tesla experiencing the biggest drop at 1.3% and Nvidia posting the next-largest decline at 1.1%.
St. Louis Fed President Calls for More Monetary Policy Firming
“To bring inflation back to target in a timely manner, more monetary policy firming will be required,”
Alberto Musalem, St. Louis Fed President
