---
title: "AppLovin, down 59% this year, beats its own guidance by $100 million and jumps 35.9% after hours"
description: "Revenue of $2.185 billion beat the top of management's own guidance by about $100 million, and a fourth-quarter guide above consensus lifted a stock down 59% in 2026 by as much as 35.9% after hours. Shareholders had spent the year selling on other companies' quarters while the advertisers who fund AppLovin kept spending more."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Applications"
published: 2026-11-05T02:16:36.347Z
modified: 2026-11-05T02:16:36.347Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/applovin-down-59-this-year-beats-its-own-guidance-by-100-million-and-jumps-35-9-after-hours
language: en
keywords: "AppLovin, Earnings, Advertising, Stocks"
---

# AppLovin, down 59% this year, beats its own guidance by $100 million and jumps 35.9% after hours

> Revenue of $2.185 billion beat the top of management's own guidance by about $100 million, and a fourth-quarter guide above consensus lifted a stock down 59% in 2026 by as much as 35.9% after hours. Shareholders had spent the year selling on other companies' quarters while the advertisers who fund AppLovin kept spending more.

## The quarter that answered a year of selling

[AppLovin](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/applovin) (Nasdaq: APP), which sells game studios and consumer advertisers the engine that decides where their ad money goes, closed Wednesday, November 4, at $274.62, down 59% for 2026 [1]. After-hours quotes climbed from up 16% [2] to up 24% [3] to about 35.9% [4][5], and the move held into Thursday, with the stock trading near $335 [6]. What moved it was the company's own arithmetic: [third-quarter revenue of $2.185 billion](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-announces-third-quarter-2026-210500321.html), up 55% year over year, net income of $1.44 billion, up 72%, and a 66% net income margin [7].

*Chart: **Net income has more than doubled in eight quarters, reaching $1.44 billion** Line chart of AppLovin quarterly net income rising from $0.6 billion in Q4 2024 to $1.44 billion in Q3 2026*

*Quarterly net income, US$ billions; Q4 2024 through Q2 2026 from AppLovin's SEC filings, Q3 2026 from the November 4 press release. [11][7]*

## A $100 million beat of its own ceiling

[Management guided to $2.055–2.085 billion of revenue](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-stocks-jump-8-8-183042983.html) [8]; the quarter landed about $100 million above the top of that range, up 14% sequentially [5]. The fourth-quarter guide of $2.365–2.395 billion clears the $2.25 billion consensus [2] and implies 43–44% growth [5]. Free cash flow was $1.4 billion, 77% of adjusted EBITDA, against 53% conversion in the second quarter [5].

The board added $3.2 billion of buyback authorization, taking the total to $3.6 billion, after the company spent $1.4 billion repurchasing in the quarter [7]. Chief financial officer Matt Stumpf said AppLovin stepped up the buying because it saw "a dislocation between the share price and its view of intrinsic value" [5].

*Chart: **Revenue climbed every quarter of 2026 while the stock fell 59%** Line chart of AppLovin quarterly revenue from Q4 2024 through a Q4 2026 estimate, rising from $1.0B to about $2.4B*

*Quarterly revenue, continuing operations, US$ billions; reported quarters from AppLovin's SEC filings, Q3 2026 from the November 4 press release. Q4 2026E is the midpoint of management's $2.365-2.395B guidance and is an estimate, not a reported figure. [11][7]*

## Advertisers kept paying while the market kept cutting

Gaming revenue grew nearly 50% from a year earlier, and consumer-advertiser spending rose by triple digits year over year on a new generation of ad models partially rolled out [5]. The bear case had leaned on other companies' numbers: [Reddit](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/reddit) and the gaming platform [Roblox](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/roblox) [reported weaker user figures on October 29](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-sank-12-week-52-185753783.html), and AppLovin fell 10% the next day to a 52-week low of $228.50 [6]. UBS cut its price target to $414 from $790 on October 28, citing slower consumer-advertiser growth, though [Citi](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/citigroup) kept a Buy at $500 [6].

AppLovin's second-quarter filing showed installs down 10% in the first half while net revenue per install rose 75% [6], the disconnect tracked [when Axon, its advertising engine, was taking 53% of iOS ad revenue](https://theinference.org/article/applovin-s-axon-now-takes-53-of-ios-ad-revenue-while-the-stock-sits-at-a-52-week-low).

## The Unity dispute heads to arbitration

On October 2, a San Francisco judge [denied AppLovin's request for a restraining order](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/applovin-loses-request-for-temporary-restraining-order-against-unity/ar-AA2draX2) against [Unity](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/unity), its rival in game advertising [9]. AppLovin says Unity abused its position as a bidder on the MAX in-app bidding platform to steal protected data; Unity calls its Ad Quality software a publisher-authorized tool, and the dispute is moving to private arbitration [9].

## Unity prints into a repriced tape

Chief executive [Adam Foroughi](https://theinference.org/markets/people/adam-foroughi) supplied the caution himself: e-commerce advertisers spend heavily in the fourth quarter and less in the first, so bigger fourth quarters bring tougher first quarters [5]. Unity (NYSE: U) [reports its own third quarter before the market opens on November 5](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/unity-announces-date-third-quarter-125000346.html) [10], the print [our November 4 story on Unity tying $1.3 billion of studio ad financing to its data framework](https://theinference.org/article/unity-ties-1-3-billion-of-studio-ad-financing-to-its-data-framework-as-applovin-seeks-a-restraining-order) was waiting on.

Watch February's first-quarter guide, the pace of the $3.6 billion buyback, and whether installs, down 10% in the first half, turn up with fourth-quarter results.

## Takeaway

AppLovin's third-quarter revenue beat the top of its own guidance by about $100 million and its fourth-quarter guide cleared consensus, sending the stock, down 59% in 2026, up as much as 35.9% after hours.

## Sources

1. [Associated Press via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin: Q3 Earnings Snapshot, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-q3-earnings-snapshot-211851115.html)
2. [Investing.com via Yahoo Finance, Applovin shares surge on strong Q3 results and guidance, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-shares-surge-strong-q3-214950722.html)
3. [Barron's via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin Is Raking in Cash as AI-Driven Revenue Accelerates, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/m/8616e678-47fc-3f08-b64d-3ee7913cbe77/applovin-is-raking-in-cash-as.html)
4. [Investor's Business Daily via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin Stock Surges As Earnings Beat Provides Much-Needed Boost, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/m/d0f4703b-719d-38ba-9770-dc868242cdc6/applovin-stock-surges-as.html)
5. [MarketBeat via Yahoo Finance, What AppLovin (APP) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/applovin-app-said-q3-earnings-001430989.html)
6. [TIKR via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin Sank 12% in a Week to a New 52-Week Low: Citi Says It Could Double, 31 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-sank-12-week-52-185753783.html)
7. [Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-announces-third-quarter-2026-210500321.html)
8. [GuruFocus via Yahoo Finance, AppLovin Stocks Jump 8.8% While Tonight's Earnings Face a $2.08 Billion Test, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/applovin-stocks-jump-8-8-183042983.html)
9. [Seeking Alpha via MSN, AppLovin loses request for temporary restraining order against Unity, 2 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/applovin-loses-request-for-temporary-restraining-order-against-unity/ar-AA2draX2)
10. [Unity Software via Business Wire (Yahoo Finance), Unity Announces Date of Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results Webcast, 14 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/unity-announces-date-third-quarter-125000346.html)
11. [AppLovin, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 5 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001751008)


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AppLovin, down 59% this year, beats its own guidance by $100 million and jumps 35.9% after hours — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/applovin-down-59-this-year-beats-its-own-guidance-by-100-million-and-jumps-35-9-after-hours