AppLovin Jumps About 30% After Record $2.18 Billion Quarter and a Q4 Guide Above Consensus

APP posted record third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.18 billion, up 55% year over year, and net income of $1.44 billion, up 72%, for a 66% net income margin and an 84% adjusted EBITDA margin. Diluted EPS was $4.30. StockStory put consensus at $2.07 billion of revenue and $1.73 billion of adjusted EBITDA, against the $1.842 billion AppLovin delivered.

The outlook did as much work as the quarter. AppLovin's earnings release guides fourth-quarter revenue to $2.365 billion to $2.395 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $1.995 billion to $2.025 billion, an 84% to 85% margin. StockStory put the revenue consensus at $2.25 billion and the EBITDA consensus at $1.88 billion. The board also added $3.2 billion to the repurchase authorization, bringing it to $3.6 billion, after the company spent $1.4 billion buying back and withholding 4.1 million shares in the quarter.

The stock reaction was outsized. Shares rose about 20% after hours on Wednesday and were up 30.6% at $354.90 late Thursday morning, according to SentiSense's delayed price. StockStory noted the shares were still down more than 50% for the year before the report, so part of the move reads as a rebound in a stock that had sold off despite strong fundamentals.

The Motley Fool highlighted that AppLovin converted 81% of its new revenue into operating income even while doubling research spending, but also that free cash flow growth lagged earnings growth because of higher tax payments. Operating cash flow and free cash flow were each $1.4 billion for the quarter. What to watch next: whether the fourth quarter lands inside the guided range, and whether cash generation keeps pace with reported profit as taxes rise.