By Nate Wolf
Zoom Communications has been in need of a boost ever since shares of the video-calling company soared -- then tanked -- during the Covid-19 pandemic. It may get its wish if Anthropic goes public.
Zoom invested in Anthropic, the maker of the artificial-intelligence model Claude, through its venture-investment arm in 2023. With the AI startup rumored to be eyeing an initial public offering, that stake is looking increasingly valuable, according to William V. Power of Baird Equity Research.
"While we (and the market) have been primarily focused on ZM's ability to gradually reaccelerate revenue growth and capture AI opportunities, the quieter, hidden gem might be its $51 million investment in Anthropic, " Power wrote in a research note Monday.
He reiterated an Outperform rating and a $95 price target for Zoom stock.
Shares were up 7.5% to $92.23, putting the stock on pace for its highest close since Aug. 22, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Zoom shares remain down about 84% from their all-time high in October 2020.
Anthropic plans to raise $10 billion at a valuation of $350 billion in a new private funding round, according to a Wall Street Journal report from earlier this month. At that rumored valuation, Zoom's estimated $51 million stake would be worth anywhere from $2 billion to $4 billion, depending on dilution, Baird calculated.
Zoom never explicitly stated that all of its reported $51 million in strategic investments in the first quarter of 2023 went to Anthropic, though Baird believes it did.
"ZM is literally invested in Anthropic's Claude success," Power wrote. "One of the big questions is how much further Anthropic's value could rise as it potentially pursues an IPO."
Neither company immediately responded to Barron's requests for comment about Zoom's stake in Anthropic or the startup's potential plans for an IPO.
The Anthropic investment already appears to be showing up in Zoom's bottom line. The company reported a $406.1 million gain on strategic investments in the third quarter, with Baird estimating that most if not all of that gain came from the Anthropic stake.
Anthropic also gives Zoom a potential advantage as it continues to build and monetize AI tools to help customers with tasks, such as taking notes and summarizing meetings.
"Zoom has a strong R&D engine and has been exploring AI for years," Power wrote, pointing to its partnership with Anthropic. "We see potential for additional AI capabilities to be added to Zoom's platform in the future."
Just don't expect Zoom to get back to its 2020 peak any time soon. Of the 33 analysts polled by FactSet, 52% rate the stock a Buy or the equivalent, with a mean price target of $96.40. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P 500 is about 56%.
Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com
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January 26, 2026 11:45 ET (16:45 GMT)
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