Liftoff Revenue Rises 32% to $237.521 Million in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Liftoff Mobile reported results on November 12 for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, posting revenue of $237.521 million, up 32% year over year and 8% from the previous quarter. Chief Executive Jeremy Bondy said the results came "well above the high end of our previously issued guidance" and reflected broadening activity in the app economy. Net income was $86.711 million, compared with a net loss of $5.730 million in the year-earlier quarter. Diluted earnings per share turned positive at $0.47, from a loss of $0.05 a share a year earlier. The results show revenue growth alongside improved profitability, while the company raised its revenue guidance range for the fourth quarter.
Revenue was $16 million above the high end of prior guidance, while adjusted EBITDA exceeded that mark by $17 million. The metric was $145 million, up 45% year over year, with a margin of 61%, compared with 56% in the year-earlier quarter and 60% in the previous quarter. The company describes adjusted EBITDA as a non-GAAP measure, alongside net income and earnings per share reported in its results. Revenue rose from $179.532 million in the third quarter of 2025 to $237.521 million in the current quarter. Quarter over quarter, it increased from $220 million in the second quarter of 2026. Exceeding guidance means actual performance surpassed the range management had set for the period, according to the figures provided by the company.
Core advertising revenue was $237 million, up 33% year over year and 8% quarter over quarter. Bondy said "strength was evident across key app categories," adding that improved customer performance prompted them to increase investment in the company’s platform. Management said growth extended to gaming apps and to non-gaming categories including social, entertainment and finance. On the earnings call, it said the improvement also included the performance of the Cortex model, its AI-powered prediction engine, as well as ongoing learning and enhancements made to it. Management also linked its guidance to market growth, continued learning by Cortex and expected benefits from improvements already deployed. The guidance did not assume additional gains from future model developments whose impact was difficult to time.
Cash generation also improved over the periods covered in the results and earnings call. Free cash flow was $93 million in the third quarter, compared with $28 million in the year-earlier quarter. For the 12 months ended September 2026, it reached $249 million, up from $97 million in the comparable period. Net cash provided by operating activities for the 12 months ended September 30 was $303.228 million, compared with $146.233 million a year earlier. The company ended the quarter with $386 million in cash and total debt of $1.4 billion. Net leverage, measured as net debt to last-twelve-month adjusted EBITDA, fell to 2.1 times from 2.4 times at the end of the second quarter.
In the initial reaction to the results, the stock rose 15.02% in after-hours trading on November 12 to $21.52, after ending the regular session at $18.71. That move was in trading after the session closed, while the price recorded at the November 12 close was $18.71. The company set fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $244 million to $249 million and adjusted EBITDA of $150 million to $154 million. It also forecast a margin for the metric of 61% to 62% during the quarter. For fiscal 2026, it set a revenue range of $907 million to $912 million and adjusted EBITDA of $547 million to $551 million, with an expected margin of about 60%.
Liftoff said it will stop separately disclosing core advertising revenue starting in the first quarter of 2027, citing the negligible level of revenue outside its core advertising platforms. That marks a change in how it will present revenue components beginning in that period. The move follows core advertising revenue of $237 million out of total third-quarter revenue of $237.521 million. In its outlook for the coming period, management said its calculations were based on market growth, continued Cortex learning and expected benefits from improvements already deployed. The company linked its projections to the improvement in customer performance and their increased investment in the platform. The new disclosure schedule announced by the company begins in the first quarter of 2027.