PubMatic Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Delivered revenue and adjusted EBITDA ahead of guidance;
1,000+ AI-powered deals on PubMatic AgenticOS;
20+ AI agents available on AgenticOS, reduces operational workflows to minutes;
Net cash generated from operations was
Repurchased 1.0 million shares in Q1 2026, representing 2.1% of fully diluted shares1 as of
NO-HEADQUARTERS/
“We delivered an exceptional first quarter, exceeding guidance on both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Adoption of our AI capabilities continues to accelerate, with more than 20 agents now embedded across our platform and fully autonomous campaigns scaling globally. Importantly, the repeat engagement we’re seeing from customers underscores that AgenticOS is simplifying the ecosystem and redefining how value is created,” said
First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
-
Revenue in the first quarter of 2026 was
$62.6 million , compared to$63.8 million in the same period of 2025; -
GAAP net loss was
$(12.5) million with a margin of (20)%, or$(0.27) per diluted share in the first quarter, compared to GAAP net loss of$(9.5) million with a margin of (15)%, or$(0.20) per diluted share in the same period of 2025; -
Adjusted EBITDA was
$2.6 million , or 4% margin, compared to$8.5 million , or 13% margin in the same period of 2025; -
Non-GAAP net loss was
$(5.4) million , or$(0.11) per non-GAAP diluted share in the first quarter, compared to non-GAAP net loss of$(1.8) million , or$(0.04) per non-GAAP diluted share in the same period of 2025; -
Net cash provided by operating activities was
$17.3 million , an increase over$15.6 million in the same period of 2025; -
Ended the quarter with total cash and cash equivalents of
$144.9 million with no debt, and -
Through
March 31, 2026 , used$189.9 million in cash to repurchase 13.5 million shares of Class A common stock with$85.1 million available from the 2023 Repurchase Program.
The section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below describes our usage of non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between historical GAAP and non-GAAP information are contained at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data.
“Our first-quarter results exceeded expectations on both revenue and profitability, reflecting the breadth and strength of our diversified platform. Excluding the legacy DSP referenced in mid-2025, our underlying business grew 13% year-over-year and represented 83% of total revenues,” said
Business Highlights
AgenticOS Adoption Drives Momentum
- Over 1,000 AI-powered deals transacted to date, which have generated millions in publisher monetization.
-
Since launching in
January 2026 ,PubMatic has launched more than 30 fully autonomous, end-to-end campaigns globally. Notably, every participating advertiser has returned to run additional agentic campaigns, reinforcing the strength of performance and operational efficiency. -
PubMatic and the Untapped Growth Collective partnered to give independent agencies direct access to AgenticOS, enabling custom buyer agents to access premium inventory, advanced data and GPU-powered optimization. This integration reduces costs and accelerates setup, bringing enterprise AI capabilities to independents. -
PubMatic and Amnet launched the first Agentic advertising campaign inFrance , using the Claude LLM to eliminate manual steps. For client INTERBEV, the autonomous workflow used natural language prompts and cut setup time by 80%. -
PubMatic and Abovo Maxlead launched one of the first Agentic AI advertising campaigns inthe Netherlands , integrating Abovo’s Mediavision AI with PubMatic’s AgenticOS to optimize CTV. The campaign accelerated time to activation and shifted more spend to working media.
Top Global Commerce Media Partners Added
- Integrated with Walmart Connect Select as a preferred supply partner, delivering curated, high-performing CTV inventory to drives stronger engagement, higher conversion rates, and more efficient media spend to its buyers.
- Expanded partnership with PayPal Ads to integrate PayPal Ads ID, a deterministic identity solution built on verified PayPal and Venmo accounts, improving match rates, cross-device accuracy, and closed-loop attribution for advertisers.
New Partnerships Expand Scale and Data Integrations
- Expanded partnership with Amazon DSP’s Dynamic Traffic Engine (DTE), to optimize supply path routing on both sides of the transaction, driving up to 10% CPM lift for publishers and more efficient media delivery for advertisers.
-
Integrated Unity LevelPlay into PubMatic’s OpenWrap SDK.
PubMatic provides direct, transparent access to the three largest mobile mediation platforms, representing over 90% of SDK inventories. -
Integrated with AdRoll — the first DSP on
PubMatic's platform to connect via Model Context Protocol — enabling AI agents on both the demand and supply side to communicate directly, diagnose and resolve issues within minutes.
New AI-Powered Solutions Drive Performance and Streamline Omnichannel Workflows
-
Integrated Creative Engagement Suite into AgenticOS, giving advertisers like
Horizon Media unified access to advanced formats like pause ads and shoppable units alongside agentic optimization across CTV, mobile, and premium inventory like Sling TV.
Diversified revenue mix and expanded reach on the buy side
-
Strength in CTV was led by the
Americas , where revenue grew 13% year over year, and represented approximately 80% of total CTV revenue. Excluding the legacy DSP buyer, global CTV revenue grew 18% year-over-year. - Q1 2026 revenue from mobile app grew 25%+ year-over-year.
- Emerging revenues2 in Q1 2026 grew 80%+ year over year and represented approximately 14% of total revenues in the quarter, which includes revenue from newly launched AI solutions.
- Ad spend from Activate grew more than 3X over Q1 2025, as buyers and publishers prioritized performance, control and transparency.
- Ad spend from mid-market focused DSPs grew over 20% year-over-year in Q1 2026.
- Supply Path Optimization represented over 56% of total activity on our platform in Q1 2026.
Operating priorities drove profitable growth
- Infrastructure optimization initiatives and investments drove nearly 94.2 trillion impressions processed in Q1 2026, an increase of 26% over Q1 2025.
- Cost of revenue per million impressions processed decreased 20% on a trailing twelve month period, as compared to the prior period.
Financial Outlook
Our outlook assumes that general market conditions do not significantly deteriorate as it relates to current macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions.
For the second quarter of 2026, we expect the following:
-
Revenue to be in the range of
$68 million to$70 million , inclusive of an impact from one of our top DSP buyers. -
Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of
$8.0 million to$10.0 million . Adjusted EBITDA expectation assumes a negative foreign currency exchange impact predominantly from Euro and Pound Sterling.
Although we provide guidance for adjusted EBITDA, we are not able to provide guidance for net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Certain elements of the composition of GAAP net income (loss), including stock-based compensation expenses, are not predictable, making it impractical for us to provide guidance on net income or to reconcile our adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income without unreasonable efforts. For the same reason, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
Conference Call and Webcast details
___________________________
1 Fully diluted shares include common shares outstanding as of
2 Emerging revenue includes Activate, Commerce Media, Connect and
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with
In addition to operating loss and net loss, we use adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss as measures of operational efficiency. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors for period to period comparisons of our business and in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
- Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss are widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items such as stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, litigation related expenses, interest expense, and benefit from income taxes that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired; and,
- Our management uses adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, including the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of operating performance and the effectiveness of our business strategies and in communications with our board of directors concerning our financial performance; and adjusted EBITDA provides consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, and also facilitates comparisons with other peer companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results.
Our use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are as follows:
- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect: (a) changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; (b) the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation; or (c) tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us;
- Although depreciation and amortization expense are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements; and
- Non-GAAP net loss does not include: (a) the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation; (b) non-ordinary course litigation related expenses; or (c) income tax effects for stock-based compensation
Because of these and other limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss along with other GAAP-based financial performance measures, including net income and our GAAP financial results.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” regarding our future business expectations, including our guidance relating to our revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2026, our expectations regarding our adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, capital expenditures, future adoption and deployment of our AI-enabled products, future market growth, and our long-term revenue growth. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including: our dependency on the overall demand for advertising and the channels we rely on; our existing customers not expanding their usage of our platform, or our failure to attract new publishers and buyers; our ability to maintain and expand access to spend from buyers and valuable ad impressions from publishers; the rejection of the use of digital advertising by consumers through opt-in, opt-out or ad-blocking technologies or other means; our failure to innovate and develop new solutions that are adopted by publishers; geopolitical tensions and uncertainty, including the conflicts in
About
|
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In thousands) (unaudited) |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
ASSETS |
|
|
|
||||
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
||||
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
144,876 |
|
|
$ |
145,518 |
|
|
Accounts receivable, net |
|
336,904 |
|
|
|
358,240 |
|
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
22,397 |
|
|
|
18,889 |
|
|
Total current assets |
|
504,177 |
|
|
|
522,647 |
|
|
Property, equipment and software, net |
|
50,139 |
|
|
|
52,657 |
|
|
Operating lease right-of-use assets |
|
36,267 |
|
|
|
38,149 |
|
|
Acquisition-related intangible assets, net |
|
2,309 |
|
|
|
2,704 |
|
|
|
|
29,577 |
|
|
|
29,577 |
|
|
Deferred tax assets |
|
32,409 |
|
|
|
30,986 |
|
|
Other assets, non-current |
|
4,563 |
|
|
|
3,475 |
|
|
TOTAL ASSETS |
$ |
659,441 |
|
|
$ |
680,195 |
|
|
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY |
|
|
|
||||
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
||||
|
Accounts payable |
$ |
342,644 |
|
|
$ |
343,619 |
|
|
Accrued liabilities |
|
18,616 |
|
|
|
25,278 |
|
|
Operating lease liabilities, current |
|
7,601 |
|
|
|
6,953 |
|
|
Total current liabilities |
|
368,861 |
|
|
|
375,850 |
|
|
Operating lease liabilities, non-current |
|
34,779 |
|
|
|
36,910 |
|
|
Other liabilities, non-current |
|
4,801 |
|
|
|
4,846 |
|
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES |
|
408,441 |
|
|
|
417,606 |
|
|
Stockholders' Equity |
|
|
|
||||
|
Common stock |
|
7 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
|
(202,296 |
) |
|
|
(193,471 |
) |
|
Additional paid-in capital |
|
330,962 |
|
|
|
321,062 |
|
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
|
(86 |
) |
|
|
68 |
|
|
Retained earnings |
|
122,413 |
|
|
|
134,923 |
|
|
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
|
251,000 |
|
|
|
262,589 |
|
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY |
$ |
659,441 |
|
|
$ |
680,195 |
|
|
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In thousands, except per share data) (unaudited) |
|||||||
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
|
|
2026 |
|
|
|
2025 |
|
|
Revenue |
$ |
62,567 |
|
|
$ |
63,825 |
|
|
Cost of revenue(1) |
|
26,094 |
|
|
|
25,588 |
|
|
Gross profit |
|
36,473 |
|
|
|
38,237 |
|
|
Operating expenses:(1) |
|
|
|
||||
|
Technology and development |
|
7,986 |
|
|
|
8,772 |
|
|
Sales and marketing |
|
28,965 |
|
|
|
26,799 |
|
|
General and administrative |
|
14,795 |
|
|
|
14,569 |
|
|
Total operating expenses |
|
51,746 |
|
|
|
50,140 |
|
|
Operating loss |
|
(15,273 |
) |
|
|
(11,903 |
) |
|
Total other income, net |
|
162 |
|
|
|
579 |
|
|
Loss before income taxes |
|
(15,111 |
) |
|
|
(11,324 |
) |
|
Benefit from income taxes |
|
(2,601 |
) |
|
|
(1,838 |
) |
|
Net loss |
$ |
(12,510 |
) |
|
$ |
(9,486 |
) |
|
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Basic |
$ |
(0.27 |
) |
|
$ |
(0.20 |
) |
|
Diluted |
$ |
(0.27 |
) |
|
$ |
(0.20 |
) |
|
Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Basic |
|
47,120 |
|
|
|
48,346 |
|
|
Diluted |
|
47,120 |
|
|
|
48,346 |
|
(1)Stock-based compensation expense includes the following:
|
STOCK BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE (In thousands) (unaudited) |
|||
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||
|
|
2026 |
|
2025 |
|
Cost of revenue |
|
|
|
|
Technology and development |
1,029 |
|
1,585 |
|
Sales and marketing |
3,057 |
|
3,463 |
|
General and administrative |
4,018 |
|
4,176 |
|
Total stock-based compensation |
|
|
|
|
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (In thousands) (unaudited) |
|||||||
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
|
|
2026 |
|
|
|
2025 |
|
|
OPERATING ACTIVITIES: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Net loss |
$ |
(12,510 |
) |
|
$ |
(9,486 |
) |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Depreciation and amortization |
|
9,988 |
|
|
|
11,676 |
|
|
Stock-based compensation |
|
8,488 |
|
|
|
9,698 |
|
|
Deferred income taxes |
|
(1,423 |
) |
|
|
(4,754 |
) |
|
Accretion of discount on marketable securities |
|
— |
|
|
|
(454 |
) |
|
Non-cash lease expense |
|
1,840 |
|
|
|
1,928 |
|
|
Other |
|
(676 |
) |
|
|
(223 |
) |
|
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Accounts receivable |
|
21,335 |
|
|
|
75,691 |
|
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
4,082 |
|
|
|
5,681 |
|
|
Accounts payable |
|
(997 |
) |
|
|
(62,578 |
) |
|
Accrued liabilities |
|
(11,382 |
) |
|
|
(11,287 |
) |
|
Operating lease liabilities |
|
(1,444 |
) |
|
|
(590 |
) |
|
Other liabilities, non-current |
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
319 |
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
17,295 |
|
|
|
15,621 |
|
|
INVESTING ACTIVITIES: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Purchases of and deposits on property and equipment |
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
(1,441 |
) |
|
Capitalized software development costs |
|
(6,579 |
) |
|
|
(6,880 |
) |
|
Purchases of marketable securities |
|
— |
|
|
|
(15,307 |
) |
|
Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities |
|
— |
|
|
|
13,559 |
|
|
Purchase of equity investment |
|
(3,000 |
) |
|
|
— |
|
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
(9,590 |
) |
|
|
(10,069 |
) |
|
FINANCING ACTIVITIES: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Proceeds from exercise of stock options |
|
477 |
|
|
|
563 |
|
|
Principal payments on finance lease obligations |
|
(36 |
) |
|
|
(35 |
) |
|
Payments to acquire treasury stock |
|
(8,500 |
) |
|
|
(5,000 |
) |
|
Net cash used in financing activities |
|
(8,059 |
) |
|
|
(4,472 |
) |
|
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS |
|
(354 |
) |
|
|
1,080 |
|
|
Effect of foreign currency on cash |
|
(288 |
) |
|
|
279 |
|
|
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - Beginning of year |
|
145,518 |
|
|
|
100,452 |
|
|
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - End of year |
$ |
144,876 |
|
|
$ |
101,811 |
|
|
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET LOSS TO NON-GAAP ADJUSTED EBITDA AND NON-GAAP NET LOSS (In thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited) |
|||||||
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
|
|
2026 |
|
|
|
2025 |
|
|
Reconciliation of net loss: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Net loss |
$ |
(12,510 |
) |
|
$ |
(9,486 |
) |
|
Add back (deduct): |
|
|
|
||||
|
Stock-based compensation |
|
8,488 |
|
|
|
9,698 |
|
|
Depreciation and amortization |
|
9,988 |
|
|
|
11,676 |
|
|
Litigation related expenses(2) |
|
438 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
Interest income |
|
(1,215 |
) |
|
|
(1,593 |
) |
|
Benefit from income taxes |
|
(2,601 |
) |
|
|
(1,838 |
) |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
2,588 |
|
|
$ |
8,457 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Revenue |
$ |
62,567 |
|
|
$ |
63,825 |
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA margin |
|
4 |
% |
|
|
13 |
% |
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||||||
|
|
|
2026 |
|
|
|
2025 |
|
|
Reconciliation of net loss per share: |
|
|
|
||||
|
Net loss |
$ |
(12,510 |
) |
|
$ |
(9,486 |
) |
|
Add back (deduct): |
|
|
|
||||
|
Stock-based compensation |
|
8,488 |
|
|
|
9,698 |
|
|
Litigation related expenses(2) |
|
438 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
Adjustment for income taxes |
|
(1,831 |
) |
|
|
(2,055 |
) |
|
Non-GAAP net loss |
$ |
(5,415 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,843 |
) |
|
GAAP diluted EPS |
$ |
(0.27 |
) |
|
$ |
(0.20 |
) |
|
Non-GAAP diluted EPS |
$ |
(0.11 |
) |
|
$ |
(0.04 |
) |
|
GAAP weighted average shares outstanding—diluted |
|
47,120 |
|
|
|
48,346 |
|
|
Non-GAAP weighted average shares outstanding—diluted |
|
47,120 |
|
|
|
48,346 |
|
(2)Litigation related expenses represents external legal fees and other expenses, net of insurance recoveries, associated with pending litigation that arose outside of the ordinary course of business. These costs related to a discrete matter, and are not representative of our underlying operating performance. We do not adjust for legal expenses incurred in our ordinary course of business.
Reported GAAP and Non-GAAP diluted loss per share for the three months ended
|
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION COMPUTATION OF FREE CASH FLOW, A NON-GAAP MEASURE (In thousands) (unaudited) |
|||
|
|
Three Months Ended |
||
|
|
2026 |
|
2025 |
|
Reconciliation of cash provided by operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
|
|
|
Less: Purchases of property and equipment |
(11) |
|
(1,441) |
|
Less: Capitalized software development costs |
(6,579) |
|
(6,880) |
|
Free cash flow |
|
|
|
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506651021/en/
Investors:
investors@pubmatic.com
Press Contact:
Purpose Worldwide
PubMatic@purposenorthamerica.com
Source:
