AppLovin Corporation Earnings Recaps
AppLovin shares rose 31.0% after earnings, as revenue and adjusted EBITDA both exceeded the high end of guidance. The upside was driven primarily by mobile gaming, where model improvements helped accelerate growth.
Key takeaways
- Revenue was $2.18 billion, up 55% year over year and 14% sequentially—about $100 million above the high end of guidance.
- Net income rose 72% to $1.44 billion; adjusted EBITDA increased 59% to $1.84 billion, at an 84% margin.
- Mobile gaming grew nearly 50% year over year. Consumer advertiser spend rose double digits sequentially and more than 100% year over year.
- Free cash flow was $1.4 billion, or 77% of adjusted EBITDA; management maintained its full-year conversion expectation of roughly 70%–75%.
- The model rollout remains partial, and management cautioned that model gains will not arrive on a predictable quarterly schedule. It also outlined priorities including completing the transition, acquiring new customers, and expanding CTV efforts.
AppLovin's stock dropped 20% after the company fell short of guidance due to a timing-related deceleration in model performance, which limited advertiser spend growth and contributed to adjusted EBITDA missing expectations despite strong consumer segment growth.
Key takeaways
- Revenue reached $1.92 billion, up 53% year-over-year but slightly below the midpoint of guided range.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $1.61 billion, up 58% year-over-year but just below guidance, pressured by increased compute costs for model training.
- Gaming revenue growth slowed due to lighter-than-usual model performance improvements during the quarter, delaying the expected uplift to early Q3.
- Consumer segment delivered strong performance with advertiser spend rising 28% above Q4 2025 levels, signaling steep growth but still too small to offset gaming deceleration fully.
- Free cash flow totaled $863 million, with below-normal conversion attributed to the timing of international tax and interest payments, expected to normalize in Q3.
AppLovin’s stock rose 4.3% following the quarter, driven by stronger-than-expected execution in both gaming and the rapidly scaling consumer ad vertical, as well as growing confidence in the opening of its platform to a broad advertiser base in June.
Key takeaways
- Top-line growth and margins expanded simultaneously, highlighting ongoing operational leverage.
- Gaming remains the core driver, benefiting from new AI-enabled game development and a shift toward hybrid monetization models that combine in-app purchases and ad revenue.
- The consumer vertical, only 1.5 years old, showed rapid acceleration with March advertiser spend up approximately 25% versus January and April setting a new peak spend record.
- The upcoming platform opening for self-serve advertiser access in June is expected to further drive scale and adoption, targeting millions of smaller businesses.
- Investment in AI-driven tools and infrastructure positions AppLovin to automate ad creative and campaign management, reducing friction for advertisers and potentially increasing ad spend efficiency.
AppLovin delivered a robust Q3 with revenues of $1.405 billion, up 68% year-over-year, bolstered by strong performance in gaming advertising and a successful early launch of its self-service platform.
Key takeaways
- Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.158 billion, reflecting a margin of 82%, with free cash flow up 92% year-over-year to $1.049 billion.
- Significant share repurchase activity, with 1.3 million shares bought for $571 million and a new $3.2 billion authorization announced.
- Anticipated Q4 revenue guidance of $1.570 billion to $1.6 billion, indicating 12% to 14% sequential growth, backed by strong execution and operational momentum.
- Early traction from the self-service platform shows promising 50% week-over-week spend growth among new advertisers.