“The Big Short” Investor Michael Burry on Wednesday highlighted that the valuation of startup Anthropic equals the value of 78 companies in the S&P 500 index.

The “Fun Game”

Burry took to social media to highlight the stark contrast between established corporations and current tech sector valuations. He described analyzing the discrepancy as a “fun game in times like these,” calculating how many publicly traded firms an investor could purchase using what he termed a “bubble private company valuation.”

The list of 78 companies Anthropic’s valuation could theoretically acquire includes household brands and established industrial firms. Burry specifically pointed to Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NASDAQ:DPZ), Clorox Co. (NYSE:CLX), The JM Smucker Company (NYSE:SJM), Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE:SWK), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE:DECK), Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU), McCormick & Company Inc. (NYSE:MKC), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ:TSCO), NVR Inc. (NYSE:NVR), Albemarle Corp. (NYSE:ALB), FedEx Freight Holding Company Inc. (NYSE:FDXF), News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), and Alliant Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:LNT).

The group also features Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE:KIM), Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE:HRL), Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE:WY), DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA), Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ZBH), Lennox International Inc. (NYSE:LII), Masco Corp. (NYSE:MAS), A.O. Smith Corp. (NYSE:AOS), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ:WYNN), Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE:BF), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH), and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (NYSE:HII).

A fun game in times like these is to go to the S&P 500 Index and see how many profitable companies one can buy with the bubble private company valuation.

The number that Anthropic’s valuation buys is 78, including Domino’s, Clorox, Smucker, Stanley Black & Decker, Deckers,…

— Cassandra Unchained (@michaeljburry) October 8, 2026

Historical Pre-IPO Comparison

To contextualize the scale of current private market pricing, Burry pointed to the era before the year 2000 for a historical benchmark. He noted that the largest inflation-adjusted valuation before an initial public offering between 1990 and 2000 belonged to United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE:UPS).

Burry said UPS held the largest inflation-adjusted pre-IPO valuation of the 1990-2000 period, at $119 billion. He emphasized that this historic peak was grounded in established metrics, noting the price represented 26 times the company’s earnings with a net margin of approximately 8.6% and traded at 2.4 times sales.

Anthropic’s Market Position

While Burry did not specify the exact Anthropic valuation figure he used for his 78-company calculation, the startup reached a $965 billion valuation during a private funding round in May 2026. —

The company has filed a confidential prospectus and is reportedly preparing for a potential initial public offering that could seek a valuation of up to $2 trillion.

This pricing persists despite the company’s current financial profile. Anthropic’s revenue rose nearly 12-fold to $4.6 billion in 2025, while its operating loss widened to $8.06 billion, per a Reuters report. The company reported a roughly $42 billion net loss, although about $34 billion of that figure stemmed from an accounting charge related to financial instruments that could eventually convert into Anthropic shares.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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Disclaimer:This article represents the opinion of the author only. It does not represent the opinion of Webull, nor should it be viewed as an indication that Webull either agrees with or confirms the truthfulness or accuracy of the information. It should not be considered as investment advice from Webull or anyone else, nor should it be used as the basis of any investment decision.