AppLovin's Q3 revenue grows 55% to $2.18B, sending stock soaring after hours
AppLovin (APP) grew its Q3 revenue 55% to $2.18B, and its stock jumped 23.5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The earnings-driven rally followed a difficult year for AppLovin shares, which had declined approximately 60% in 2026 through Wednesday's close, making the company the S&P 500's worst performer, according to MarketWatch.
Analysts had expected revenue of $2.07B. The company also beat its own forecast: revenue came in about $100M above the top of the range it gave in August.
| Q3 2025 | Q3 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.41B | $2.18B | 55% |
| Net income | $836M | $1.44B | 72% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.45 | $4.30 | 76% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $1.16B | $1.84B | 59% |
| Free cash flow | $1.05B | $1.42B | 35% |
Adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure that leaves out items such as stock-based pay, beat the $1.73B FactSet consensus. AppLovin kept 66 cents of every revenue dollar as net income, the same margin as in the second quarter.
On the earnings call, CFO Matt Stumpf said growth was "primarily driven by the core mobile gaming business due to model improvements during the quarter." Revenue grew 14% from the second quarter.
Those improvements are only partly in place. CEO Adam Foroughi said the company had rolled out part of its next generation of ad models. "This was a partial rollout. The transition is still in front of us," he said, adding that he could not commit to a date for the full rollout.
Outside gaming, spending by consumer advertisers grew by double digits from the second quarter, Stumpf said.
For the fourth quarter, AppLovin expects:
- Revenue of $2.365B to $2.395B, growth of 43% to 44% from a year earlier and 8% to 10% from the third quarter.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $1.995B to $2.025B, representing a margin of 84% to 85%.
AppLovin spent $1.4B repurchasing shares and withholding shares for employee equity-award tax obligations during the quarter, involving 4.1M shares in total, up from $551M in the second quarter.
Stumpf said the company stepped up the buyback "because we saw this dislocation in the stock price." The board added $3.2B to the repurchase authorization, which now stands at $3.6B.
Sources & Further Reading
- "AppLovin Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results." AppLovin. November 4, 2026.
- "This year's worst-performing S&P 500 stock is finally seeing some major relief." MarketWatch. November 4, 2026.
- "Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Coherent, AppLovin, Expedia, Qualcomm and more." CNBC. November 4, 2026.
- "AppLovin (APP) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript." Stock Analysis. November 4, 2026.
- "AppLovin Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results." AppLovin. August 5, 2026.
This article was drafted with the help of AI. Aubrey Wood fact-checked, edited and published the article and is responsible for its accuracy and quality. How we use AI
