Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.
Laura Stewart is a Finance Editor at The Motley Fool, where she covers Australian and international equity markets. She joined the company in 2022, following a career transition from legal advisory work in Southeast Asia into the investment industry.
Prior to her current editorial role, Laura spent three years as an Equity Analyst and Writer, producing investment research across the ASX, NYSE, and NASDAQ. Her coverage included small-cap growth companies, thematic investment ideas, and high-quality U.S.-listed businesses.
Laura holds a Master of Applied Finance and brings additional expertise in accounting, taxation, and estate and wealth planning from her postgraduate studies. She also has a background in law and communications, which supports her analytical and reporting work in financial markets.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in the Adelaide Hills with her flock of sheep.
Education
Laura holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism), and a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Accounting and Corporate Finance. In 2025, she completed a Master of Applied Finance at the University of Adelaide, receiving postgraduate awards in Accounting Concepts & Methods, Ethical Principles in Accounting & Finance, Real Estate Valuation & Investment, and Tax, Estate & Wealth Planning.
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it... he who doesn't... pays it."
— Albert Einstein
Published
ASX investors may still be recovering from the whiplash surrounding the Firmus fiasco.
In a matter of weeks, Firmus Technologies' proposed initial public offering (IPO) went from being 'the biggest IPO in 30 years' to being pulled completely. Retail investors were led to believe they'd likely miss out because of the scale of demand, only to find out there wasn't enough demand to proceed.
The failed Firmus float became a wake-up call to ASX investors for physical AI infrastructure valuations
Understandably, ASX investors may be feeling a little sceptical of another IPO that promises to shatter records. Especially so soon after Firmus confirmed the IPO was off.
Observers were quick to point out sensationalist elements within the prospectus. In particular, when describing the risk factors, Anthropic suggested that AI could present "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity".
However, Anthropic is not an insignificant company. Founded just five years ago, Anthropic's large language model Claude has transformed how software is built, automated work, and disrupted several industries. It has become increasingly embedded in some of the world's biggest companies.
While Anthropic does not officially publish monthly active user numbers for Claude; third-party analytics and tracking firms have suggested this number may be up to 200 million. In September 2026, Anthropic had more than 11,900 customers spending at least $100,000 annually.
The company disclosed that in the first half of 2026, revenue rose a staggering 1300% year over year to US$16.3 billion.
Any company with that kind of scale and growth trajectory looking to go public should be taken seriously.
So, is the proposed Anthropic listing just another overhyped IPO, or a truly landmark listing?
Fvapr vgf sbhaqvat whfg 5 lrnef ntb, Naguebcvp unf tebja ng na vaperqvoyr engr.&aofc;
Bire gur cnfg pbhcyr bs lrnef, vg unf envfrq pncvgny frireny gvzrf. Va Frcgrzore 2025, vg envfrq HF$13 ovyyvba ng n HF$183 ovyyvba inyhngvba. Zbfg erpragyl, vgf HF$65 ovyyvba envfr cynprq vgf inyhngvba ng HF$965 ovyyvba. Abj fbzr pbzzragngbef unir fhttrfgrq vg pbhyq or jbegu orgjrra HF$1.5-$HF2 gevyyvba. Vs npuvrirq, gung jbhyq or ng yrnfg na 8k vapernfr va yrff guna 2 lrnef.&aofc;
Ubjrire, gur arkg 8k vapernfr jvyy or n zhpu fgrrcre pyvzo. Ng n znexrg pncvgnyvfngvba bs HF$2 gevyyvba, Naguebcvp jbhyq nyernql or n ynetr pbzcnal.&aofc;
Qhr gb gur pbzcnal'f fvmr, vairfgbef fubhyq abg rkcrpg Naguebcvp gb or gurve arkg 10-onttre.&aofc;
Ng $HF2 gevyyvba, whfg svir HF-yvfgrq pbzcnavrf jbhyq or zber inyhnoyr hcba yvfgvat. Vg jbhyq arrq gb orpbzr gjvpr gur fvmr bs gur jbeyq'f zbfg inyhnoyr pbzcnal, Aivqvn Vap. (ANFQND: AIQN), gb rira 5k lbhe zbarl.
Ubjrire, gur vzcnpg bs NV eryngrq pbzcnavrf fcernqf jvqr naq sne vagb gur vairfgvat jbeyq.
Pbyyrpgviryl, gur Zntavsvprag 7 unir n znexrg pncvgnyvfngvba bs nebhaq HF$25 gevyyvba. Gurl nyfb nppbhag sbe nccebkvzngryl 35% bs gur F&nzc;C 500 Vaqrk, naq unir orra n fgebat pbagevohgbe bs erprag ergheaf.&aofc;
