AppLovin's 84% margin headline is not its net profit margin. A pre-earnings Reddit bull case cited an unlabeled margin as part of its upside case; that shorthand matters when reading the new results.
In its earnings release dated 2026-11-04, covering the quarter ended 2026-09-30, AppLovin reports an 84% adjusted EBITDA margin and a 66% net income margin.
Adjusted EBITDA adds back items including interest, income taxes and stock-based compensation. The reconciliation includes 84.2 million dollars of stock-based compensation for the quarter. Excluding that expense from this measure does not make it disappear.
My view: AppLovin can be highly profitable while an unlabeled margin still leads to a comparison using the wrong profit measure. For a net-earnings comparison, use net income and diluted EPS. Use adjusted EBITDA alongside its reconciliation and the same measure for the other company.
$APP #Earnings #CryptoMarkets
In its earnings release dated 2026-11-04, covering the quarter ended 2026-09-30, AppLovin reports an 84% adjusted EBITDA margin and a 66% net income margin.
Adjusted EBITDA adds back items including interest, income taxes and stock-based compensation. The reconciliation includes 84.2 million dollars of stock-based compensation for the quarter. Excluding that expense from this measure does not make it disappear.
My view: AppLovin can be highly profitable while an unlabeled margin still leads to a comparison using the wrong profit measure. For a net-earnings comparison, use net income and diluted EPS. Use adjusted EBITDA alongside its reconciliation and the same measure for the other company.
$APP #Earnings #CryptoMarkets