Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Issues Earnings Results

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $428.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.57 million. Criteo had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Criteo’s conference call:

• Q2 missed expectations as several large enterprise Performance Media clients reduced spending, leading to a 12% constant-currency decline in Contribution ex-TAC and a revised 2026 outlook for a 10%–12% decline.
• Management now assumes no recovery from affected enterprise clients through year-end and expects Q3 Contribution ex-TAC of $237 million–$241 million, down 14%–15% year over year; adjusted EBITDA margin guidance was reduced to approximately 30% for 2026.
• The OpenAI partnership is scaling rapidly, with more than 2,000 brands now running campaigns and ChatGPT traffic converting at roughly 1.5–2 times the rate of traditional referral traffic; management expects OpenAI and broader agentic-AI initiatives to become meaningful growth drivers in 2027.
• Underlying Retail Media Contribution ex-TAC grew 20% excluding previously announced client scope reductions, while retail media spend rose 31% and Auction-Based Display expanded to more than 85 retailers globally.
• Cost discipline supported $73 million of Q2 adjusted EBITDA despite weaker revenue, and Criteo ended the quarter with no long-term debt, $180 million in trailing-12-month free cash flow, and $160 million remaining under its share-repurchase authorization.

Criteo Stock Up 3.1%

CRTO traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $17.58. The company had a trading volume of 731,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,352. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.77. Criteo has a 1 year low of $15.57 and a 1 year high of $25.29. The company has a market cap of $883.22 million, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 2,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.06, for a total transaction of $42,052.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 431,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,367,855.74. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Criteo

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Criteo during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Criteo by 1,376.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,270 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Criteo by 142.3% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Criteo by 41.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,587 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Criteo in the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. 94.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRTO. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Criteo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $35.00 to $20.50 in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets set a $20.00 price target on shares of Criteo in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Criteo from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Criteo in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Criteo in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.15.

Criteo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Criteo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Criteo reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.80, exceeding the $0.72 consensus estimate, while revenue of $428.0 million also surpassed analyst expectations. The company deployed $30 million for share repurchases during the quarter. Criteo Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark lowered its price target from $25 to $21 but maintained a Buy rating, implying meaningful potential upside from current levels. Benzinga analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted momentum in artificial-intelligence initiatives, and it appointed Connor McGogney as chief financial officer effective August 10. Criteo also plans to cancel 4.5 million treasury shares, reducing share capital and potentially supporting per-share value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Criteo announced a planned cross-border merger into a U.S. holding company. The transaction may simplify the corporate structure, but its immediate financial impact remains unclear. Criteo Plans Cross-Border Merger Into U.S. Holding Company
• Negative Sentiment: Management issued a weak outlook: third-quarter revenue is projected at $237 million-$241 million versus the $279.6 million consensus, while full-year revenue guidance of $1.0 billion-$1.1 billion is roughly in line with or below expectations. Criteo Forecasts 2026 Contribution to Decline
• Negative Sentiment: The company expects 2026 contribution ex-TAC to decline 10%-12% because it is not assuming a recovery in spending by large clients. This overshadowed the quarterly earnings beat and contributed to the cautious market reaction. Criteo Weak Outlook Overshadows Earnings Beat
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target from $29 to $25 and moved to an Equal Weight rating. Although the revised target still indicates upside, the downgrade reflects concern about slower growth. The Fly analyst update

About Criteo

Criteo is a global technology company specializing in digital performance advertising and commerce media solutions. The company provides a range of AI-driven ad products designed to help brands, retailers, and agencies deliver personalized promotional messages to consumers across web, mobile, and connected TV environments. By leveraging large-scale data analytics and machine learning algorithms, Criteo’s platform optimizes the timing, placement, and creative of ads to drive engagement and conversions.

At the core of Criteo’s offering is its dynamic retargeting solution, which enables advertisers to automatically generate and display personalized product recommendations based on user behavior.