Last Updated: 22 April 2026
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ: APP) enters spring 2026 as a very different business from the one that IPO'd in 2021. Following the June 2025 sale of its mobile gaming studios to Tripledot Studios, the Palo Alto-based company is now a pure-play AI advertising platform, built around its AXON recommendation engine. Full-year 2025 revenue hit $5.48 billion (up 70% year-over-year) and adjusted EBITDA margin reached 82%, while the company was added to the S&P 500 in September 2025. That scorecard sits alongside a live SEC investigation into data-collection practices (confirmed as "still active and ongoing" in February 2026), multiple short-seller reports from 2025, and a major management reshuffle announced on 7 April 2026. You can follow the price action on our live charts, track earnings and macro prints on the economic calendar, and share your take on the ChartsView forum. This report pulls from AppLovin's 10-K (filed 19 February 2026), Q4 2025 results, the 2026 proxy statement, and recent company announcements — primary sources only, no analyst ratings or price targets.
1. Company Snapshot
| Company | AppLovin Corporation |
| Ticker | NASDAQ: APP |
| Sector | Technology / AI advertising platform |
| HQ | Palo Alto, California |
| CEO & co-founder | Adam Foroughi |
| CFO | Matthew Stumpf |
| Chairperson | Craig Billings (independent, effective April 2026) |
| Employees | ~898 (as of 31 Dec 2025, across 15 countries) |
| FY2025 revenue | $5.48bn (+70% YoY) |
| FY2025 net income | $3.33bn |
| Adj. EBITDA margin (FY25) | 82% |
| Shares outstanding | ~338m (end of Q4 2025) |
| Market cap | ~$165bn (20 April 2026) |
| Index membership | S&P 500 (added 22 Sept 2025) |
| Website | applovin.com |
2. Bull Case vs Bear Case
| Bull case | Bear case |
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3. What Does AppLovin Actually Do?
After the June 2025 sale of its ten gaming studios to Tripledot for $400m cash plus $400m in Tripledot equity (a 20% stake), AppLovin operates as a single-segment AI advertising company. The 2025 10-K (filed 19 February 2026) explicitly states the company now reports as one advertising segment; the Apps business is shown as discontinued operations in the prior-year comparatives.
The platform is built around four products:
- AXON / AXON Ads Manager — the AI ad recommendation and auction engine. This is the core revenue driver, priced dynamically based on advertiser campaign goals (cost-per-install, ROAS, etc.). AXON 2.0 launched in early 2023, and an e-commerce-facing AXON Ads Manager self-serve dashboard is being rolled out more broadly in H1 2026.
- MAX — in-app monetisation and mediation platform for app publishers. Revenue is a percentage of publisher ad spend flowing through the MAX auction.
- Adjust — mobile measurement and attribution SaaS (acquired 2021). Subscription and usage-based pricing.
- Wurl — connected-TV content distribution and ad insertion platform (acquired 2022 for ~$300m). Reaches roughly 250m streaming households and is being integrated with AXON.
Since the Tripledot deal closed, AppLovin no longer breaks out revenue by segment — everything is advertising. For historical context, in Q1 2025 (the last quarter with a split), advertising was $1.16bn (78% of total) and the Apps segment that was later sold contributed $325m (22%).
Post-divestiture, 100% of reported revenue is advertising. Advertisers are split between mobile gaming studios (historically the bulk of spend) and non-gaming verticals — e-commerce, direct-to-consumer brands (Wayfair, Dr. Squatch, Ashley Furniture among named partners), connected-TV content distributors via Wurl, and subscription apps.
4. The Business Model
AppLovin sits between advertisers who want installs, purchases or ROAS and app/CTV publishers who have ad inventory. AXON runs the auction, matches creatives to users, and prices bids dynamically using machine-learning models trained on billions of events per day. AppLovin's take is effectively the margin between what advertisers pay to hit their goal and what publishers are paid for the impressions, plus fees on Adjust and Wurl subscription lines.
The economic signature is what makes APP unusual:
- Gross margin expanded significantly post-divestiture. Q4 2025 gross margin was reported at roughly 79–89% depending on how the company classified cost-of-revenue items after the Apps sale; the key point is that the low-margin gaming-studio revenue has been removed.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin was 82% for FY2025 (up from 75% in 2024). Q4 2025 adjusted EBITDA margin was 84%.
- FY2025 free cash flow $3.95bn on $5.48bn revenue — an FCF conversion rate north of 70%.
- Headcount is ~898, which works out to more than $6m in revenue per employee. R&D is roughly 42% of staff.
There are no material government subsidies or regulatory credits underpinning the P&L — this is a pure commercial advertising business. The moat argument management makes centres on AXON's data flywheel: more spend routed through the platform generates more training signal, which improves bid accuracy, which attracts more spend.
5. Financial Health
Five-year top-line progression (AppLovin has restated for discontinued operations through 2025):
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Adj. EBITDA margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | ~$2.79bn | $35m | ~34% |
| FY2022 | ~$2.82bn | $(193)m | ~36% |
| FY2023 | ~$3.28bn | $356m | ~44% |
| FY2024 | $4.71bn | ~$1.58bn | 75% |
| FY2025 | $5.48bn | $3.33bn | 82% |
Quarterly detail (continuing operations, advertising-only):
| Quarter | Revenue | Adj. EBITDA | Adj. EBITDA margin | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | ~$0.999bn* | ~$0.770bn | ~77% | n/d |
| Q1 2025 | $1.16bn* | ~$1.01bn | ~83% | $826m |
| Q2 2025 | $1.26bn | $1.02bn | 81% | n/d |
| Q3 2025 | $1.41bn | $1.16bn | 82% | $1.05bn |
| Q4 2025 | $1.66bn | $1.40bn | 84% | n/d |
*Advertising segment only; total revenue for Q4 2024 was $1.37bn and for Q1 2025 was $1.48bn including the Apps business that has since been divested.
Cash and capital returns. The company generated $3.97bn in operating cash flow and $3.95bn in free cash flow during 2025. It repurchased and withheld 6.4m shares in 2025 for $2.58bn and exited Q4 2025 with roughly 338m shares outstanding. In Q3 2025 the board authorised an incremental $3.2bn of buybacks, taking the total remaining authorisation to $3.3bn at end-October. AppLovin pays no dividend.
6. Valuation & Market Data
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | ~$482–491 | 20–21 April 2026 |
| Market cap | ~$165bn | 20 April 2026 |
| Shares outstanding | ~338m | End of Q4 2025 |
| Trailing P/E | ~40–42 | Early April 2026 |
| Forward P/E | ~24 | 9 April 2026 |
| P/S (trailing) | ~30 | Based on $5.48bn FY25 revenue |
| EV/EBITDA | ~38 | Early April 2026 |
| P/FCF | ~42 | Based on $3.95bn FY25 FCF |
| 52-week high | $745.61 | 29 September 2025 |
| 52-week low | $222.02 | April 2025 (post-short-report drawdown) |
| Short interest (shares) | ~13.7m | April 2026 settlement |
| Short interest (% of float) | ~4.5% | April 2026 |
| Days to cover | ~2.2 | April 2026 |
| Dividend | None | — |
| Buyback authorisation remaining | ~$3.3bn | End of October 2025 |
No analyst price targets or ratings are included — this is raw company-reported and market-data-reported information only.
7. What Are They Building?
AXON Ads Manager self-serve rollout. Through 2025 the e-commerce advertising platform ran in invite-only beta; clients named in public commentary include Wayfair, Dr. Squatch, and Ashley Furniture. Management has guided to broader general availability in H1 2026, with transparent third-party attribution, Shopify integration, and real-time AI bidding. Company commentary places the e-commerce ad run rate at approximately $1bn annualised heading into 2026.
Connected TV via Wurl. Wurl, acquired in 2022 for around $300m, feeds inventory across roughly 250m streaming households and generated around $80m in Q4 2024 revenue. Wurl CEO Ron Gutman retired in August 2025 and was succeeded by Dave Bernath. The thesis is that AXON's auction logic, originally built for mobile, can be applied to CTV ad slots.
Own social platform. In February 2026, Bloomberg reported AppLovin is working on its own social networking platform after a failed bid for TikTok's non-China assets. The disclosure surfaced via a Mandarin-language podcast featuring Chief Product and Engineering Officer Giovanni Ge and an associated job posting. No launch timeline has been announced by the company.
AXON engine evolution. Industry coverage throughout 2025 and early 2026 has referenced a new "AXON 3" generation model; however, AppLovin itself has been more careful in its public disclosures, continuing to refer to "AXON" and "AXON 2.0" in earnings materials. Any formal product-generation announcement would likely accompany a future earnings call — the next being Q1 2026 on 6 May 2026.
Leadership transition to match the product roadmap. On 7 April 2026 AppLovin announced Gio Ge will become CTO effective 1 July 2026, taking over from Basil Shikin who moves to a Distinguished Engineer role. Corina Cacovean will succeed Victoria Valenzuela as Chief Legal Officer on 1 August 2026. Craig Billings was named independent Chairperson of the Board.
8. Competitive Landscape
Digital advertising is a very large market (Mordor Intelligence sizes cross-platform and mobile ad spend at around $290bn in 2025). Google and Meta dominate; AppLovin's niche is performance advertising inside mobile apps and increasingly CTV.
| Competitor | Scope / focus | Est. share of cross-platform & mobile ad market |
|---|---|---|
| Google (Alphabet) | Search, YouTube, AdMob, DV360, Ad Manager | ~30% |
| Meta | Facebook/Instagram Ads, Audience Network | ~22% |
| Amazon | Sponsored ads, DSP, Prime Video, Twitch | ~12% |
| AppLovin | AXON / MAX / Wurl / Adjust — performance, in-app, CTV | ~7% |
| The Trade Desk | Open-internet DSP, CTV-heavy | ~4% |
| Unity (incl. ironSource) | In-app ads and mobile monetisation | ~2% |
| Digital Turbine | On-device discovery & ads | ~1% |
Share ranges sourced from industry research (Mordor Intelligence, electroiQ, futureMarketInsights 2025 cross-platform and mobile ad market reports). Figures are approximate midpoints of quoted ranges and should be treated as directional.
Where AppLovin competes hardest. Google and Meta are existential in scale but AppLovin's pitch to performance advertisers is that AXON's targeting inside mobile apps (and now CTV) delivers better ROAS than the walled gardens for specific objectives. Meta is the closest direct threat — it is building its own AI-driven performance ad stack and is the platform most commonly referenced in AppLovin competitive commentary.
9. Leadership and Ownership
Executives (as of April 2026):
- Adam Foroughi — Co-founder and CEO. Founded AppLovin in 2012 with Andrew Karam, John Krystynak, and his brother Arash Foroughi. Stepped down as board chair on 7 April 2026 (remains CEO and director).
- Matthew "Matt" Stumpf — CFO since 1 January 2024. Former VP Finance & FP&A, ex-PwC.
- Basil Shikin — CTO, moving to Distinguished Engineer role 1 July 2026.
- Giovanni "Gio" Ge — Chief Product and Engineering Officer; becomes CTO 1 July 2026. Led AXON 2.0 development.
- Victoria Valenzuela — Chief Administrative & Legal Officer, retiring 1 August 2026; nominated for board election.
- Corina Cacovean — incoming Chief Legal Officer, effective 1 August 2026.
- Craig Billings — Independent Chairperson from 7 April 2026; previously Lead Independent Director since the 2021 IPO.
- Herald Chen — Former President/CFO (stepped down end of 2023); remains on the board.
Recent insider transactions (illustrative, not exhaustive):
| Insider | Date | Action | Shares | Approx. proceeds / value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Foroughi (CEO) | 20 Aug 2025 | Open-market sale | Multiple lots, ~$393–$412 weighted avg. | ~$8.2m reported |
| Adam Foroughi (CEO) | 21 Nov 2025 | Open-market sale | Multiple lots | ~$18m |
| Adam Foroughi (CEO) | 12 Mar 2026 | Open-market sale | 40,704 shares | ~$19m |
| Herald Chen (Director) | 2024–2025 | Class B → Class A conversion; gifts; sales (88 transactions, 800k shares over history) | 200k shares gifted; large sales | Cumulative ~$350m from sales over career |
Source: SEC Form 4 filings aggregated via stocktitan, gurufocus, and investing.com coverage. Many trades are executed under Rule 10b5-1 plans disclosed in advance.
Ownership structure. AppLovin has a dual-class share structure (Class A one vote, Class B ten votes). Foroughi retains outsized voting power through Class B super-vote shares. Reported beneficial ownership levels as of late 2025:
- Adam Foroughi: ~8.5% economic; majority voting control via Class B.
- The Vanguard Group: ~10.4% of Class A.
- BlackRock: ~8.0% of Class A.
- KKR (via KKR Denali Holdings): ~7.5% of Class A (reduced from 9.98% 2018 commitment via secondary offerings 2023–early 2025).
- Other meaningful holders: Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Capital Group.
Institutional ownership of Class A is widely reported at around 78%. Insider ownership is approximately 29% (dominated by Foroughi's Class B holdings).
10. Risks and Challenges
- SEC investigation into data practices. First disclosed publicly in October 2025. Bloomberg reported on 20 February 2026 that the SEC confirmed the probe is "still active and ongoing." The investigation centres on whether AppLovin's targeted advertising violated service agreements with platform partners (Apple, Google, Meta, others). No formal charges have been filed. AppLovin has retained Quinn Emanuel (Alex Spiro) for an independent review.
- Short-seller reports & class actions. Culper Research and Fuzzy Panda published short reports in February 2025; Muddy Waters followed in March 2025, triggering a 20% single-day drop and wiping roughly $20bn of market cap. Securities class-action lawsuits were subsequently filed. AppLovin has denied the allegations (fingerprinting, ToS violations, unauthorised app installs, money-laundering claims).
- Platform dependency. AppLovin's inventory and data flows run through iOS (Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework) and Android (Google Play policies and Privacy Sandbox). Policy changes at either Apple or Google can affect targeting accuracy and revenue.
- Customer concentration in mobile gaming. Although e-commerce is growing, mobile-game advertisers remain the largest cohort of AXON spend. A slowdown in user acquisition budgets among large mobile-gaming companies would hit revenue.
- Meta/Google competitive threat. Both are investing heavily in AI-driven performance advertising. Meta's in-app network in particular competes directly with AXON for the same advertiser budgets.
- Valuation. Trailing P/E around 40 and EV/EBITDA around 38 leave little margin for a growth stumble or a worse-than-feared SEC outcome.
- Execution risk on new ventures. A self-built social networking platform (reported in February 2026) is a material strategic expansion with no launch timeline publicly committed. AXON Ads Manager general availability in H1 2026 will be a meaningful test of the non-gaming pivot.
- Insider selling. CEO Foroughi and director Chen have collectively taken hundreds of millions of dollars of stock off the table in 2024–early 2026 (largely under 10b5-1 plans). Not inherently negative but worth monitoring as a governance signal.
11. Recent Developments
- 7 April 2026 — AppLovin announces executive succession: Craig Billings named independent Chairperson; Gio Ge to become CTO 1 July; Corina Cacovean to become Chief Legal Officer 1 August; Basil Shikin and Victoria Valenzuela transition to new roles.
- 1 April 2026 — Company confirms Q1 2026 earnings release for Wednesday, 6 May 2026 (after close), with a webinar at 2pm PT hosted by Foroughi and Stumpf.
- 12 March 2026 — Foroughi reports a 40,704-share open-market sale worth approximately $19m (Form 4).
- 20 February 2026 — Bloomberg reports the SEC has told staffers the AppLovin probe is "still active and ongoing."
- 19 February 2026 — FY2025 Form 10-K filed. Company reports as a single advertising segment following the Tripledot divestiture.
- 19 February 2026 — Reports surface (via a Mandarin podcast and job posting) that AppLovin is building its own social networking platform after a failed bid for TikTok's non-China assets.
- 11 February 2026 — Q4 and FY2025 earnings released: FY revenue $5.48bn (+70%), net income $3.33bn (+111%), Adj. EBITDA margin 82%, FCF $3.95bn. Q1 2026 guidance: revenue $1.745–$1.775bn, Adj. EBITDA $1.465–$1.495bn (84% margin).
- November 2025 — Q3 2025 earnings: revenue $1.41bn (+68% YoY advertising growth run-rate), Adj. EBITDA $1.16bn; board authorised an incremental $3.2bn of buybacks, taking total remaining authorisation to $3.3bn.
- 6 October 2025 — CNBC reports the SEC investigation. Stock drops sharply. AppLovin says it engages with regulators in the ordinary course.
- 29 September 2025 — APP hits all-time high of $745.61.
- 22 September 2025 — AppLovin officially added to the S&P 500 (announcement 5 September).
- 1 July 2025 — Closing of the Tripledot Studios transaction. Ten studios transferred; AppLovin receives $400m cash plus a 20% equity stake in Tripledot (valued at ~$400m).
- March 2025 — Muddy Waters publishes short report; APP falls ~20% in a single session. Company retains Alex Spiro at Quinn Emanuel.
- February 2025 — Culper Research and Fuzzy Panda publish short reports alleging fingerprinting and app-store policy violations.
12. Key Dates Coming Up
- 6 May 2026 — Q1 2026 earnings release (after close); webinar 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm BST.
- 3 June 2026 — 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (virtual). Six proposals including election of nine directors, ratification of Deloitte & Touche as auditor, Say-on-Pay, officer exculpation, and a stockholder proposal on voting-results disclosure by share class.
- 1 July 2026 — Effective date for Gio Ge becoming CTO; Basil Shikin moves to Distinguished Engineer.
- 1 August 2026 — Effective date for Corina Cacovean becoming Chief Legal Officer; Victoria Valenzuela retires.
- H1 2026 — Company has guided to broader general availability of AXON Ads Manager self-serve for e-commerce advertisers.
- Ongoing — SEC investigation into data-collection practices remains active; any material update would typically be disclosed via 8-K.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. All figures are drawn from AppLovin's SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, proxy statements, Form 4s), company press releases, and publicly reported market data. Market prices, short-interest statistics, and valuation ratios change continuously; figures quoted were current as of 20–22 April 2026. No analyst ratings or price targets are referenced. Always conduct your own research and consider consulting a regulated financial adviser before making investment decisions.