Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) executives said first-quarter 2026 results reinforced the company’s plan to operate with a lower cost base while pursuing sequential growth and progress toward “self-sustainability,” as management highlighted stabilizing supply trends, improvements in technology and measurement tools, and stronger profitability metrics despite significant year-over-year revenue declines.
Management reiterates 2026 execution priorities
CEO Amit Gupta told investors that “2026 is a year of execution for us,” adding that the company’s first-quarter performance “reinforces our confidence that we can operate efficiently with a lower cost basis and still deliver on our stated business objectives.” Gupta outlined three strategic priorities: expanding reach through deeper financial institution (FI) collaborations and new publishers; driving incremental advertiser revenue using algorithmic and “geocentric capabilities”; and continued investment in the technology platform to differentiate the offering and improve operational efficiency.
Supply stabilizes as FI partners engage; engagement programs expand
On network and supply, Gupta said that after a prolonged period, Cardlytics’ supply has “stabilized,” and that “many of our existing FI partners are actively engaging with us to co-develop growth opportunities.” He cited an example in which the company plans to onboard new cardholder portfolios with a larger FI partner later in the year, building on “strong program performance and positive customer response.”
Gupta said Cardlytics is also partnering with banks to better market and enhance reward amounts paid to customers. He highlighted a “Double Days” program with a newer neobank that “drove a quarter-million new activators during the event,” and said similar incentive programs are being expanded with other FI partners. According to Gupta, these engagement-focused programs “tend to be adopted first by our newer banks,” which he said can shift more volume to those banks and “lead to a more favorable revenue margin overall.”
Cardlytics also discussed early traction for the Cardlytics Rewards Platform (CRP). Gupta said the company currently has “3 live CRP partners” and is seeing “month-over-month supply growth,” while also holding discussions with larger partners about potential implementations.
Advertiser demand, measurement investments, and U.K. strength
Gupta said Cardlytics received a “strong signal” in the first quarter from new enterprise advertisers that they valued the company’s “measurement, network reach, and technology-forward platform capabilities over our competitors.” He added that the company’s focus on new business is translating into “meaningful year-on-year pipeline growth,” which he expects to be impactful in the U.S. business throughout the year.
In Q1, he said the company saw strong performance from telecom, gas, and convenience verticals. Gupta also pointed to a “fastest-growing discount grocer” that ran a successful Q1 campaign with strong incremental return on ad spend (IROAS) performance, and he said the advertiser is renewing in Q2 and “is on track to become a top 10 advertiser for us this year.”
Gupta added that some advertisers have decided to consolidate card-linked offer (CLO) spend with Cardlytics “despite the supply constraints,” citing the quality of analytics and network reach as drivers of that consolidation. The company also said it is adding measurement partners to support advertisers’ preferred measurement models, while continuing to invest in offer performance and ad ranking. Optimization experiments in Q1, Gupta said, are driving higher activation and redemption rates, with “double-digit growth in redeemers across banks with stable supply.”
Internationally, Gupta said the U.K. business continued to deliver “outstanding results,” noting that Q1 revenue surged “over 21% year-over-year,” driven by omni-channel strength and performance in restaurant and retail sectors. He said Cardlytics served “all of the U.K.’s largest grocers” on its platform during the quarter and described advertiser sentiment as strong as the company diversifies its footprint.
In the U.S., however, Gupta said macro events are creating “some budget pressure” in travel and hospitality, with approvals “being delayed or pushed into future quarters.” Even so, he said that with supply stabilizing and execution improving, Cardlytics believes it is “well-positioned for sequential growth.”
Technology updates and post-Bridg focus
Gupta said work completed in 2025, particularly in data and AI, is now delivering “measurable impact,” improving “both speed and efficiency across the platform.” He highlighted a newly released “insights agent” that delivers weekly unique advertiser reports synthesizing macroeconomic data, industry trends, and Cardlytics-specific insights.
He also described a new campaign data sync infrastructure, starting with impact.com, that allows Cardlytics’ sales team to share performance data with measurement partners “in minutes rather than days.” In addition, the company said it standardized on a unified agentic development environment, providing engineers AI-assisted tooling across the development lifecycle, and is tracking development productivity metrics to measure adoption.
Looking ahead, Gupta said that with the Bridg transaction “successfully closed,” Cardlytics is “fully aligned around our core platform with improved financial flexibility and the ability to move faster.”
Financial results: record revenue margin and improved EBITDA despite declines
CFO David Evans said the company’s 2026 plan centers on “quarterly sequential growth and self-sustainability,” and he said first-quarter results came in above the midpoint of guidance “across all metrics,” including Q1 Bridg results. Evans also said the company took “another step towards self-sustainability” after acquiring and quickly selling PAR shares received as consideration in the Bridg divestiture, which he said improved liquidity and the balance sheet.
Evans reported first-quarter billings of $58.1 million from continued operations, down 37% year-over-year. Total billings inclusive of Bridg results were $62.3 million. He said that “despite the departure of Bank of America in January,” Cardlytics retained “the vast majority of our clients” and is seeing results from its focus on new business.
Revenue from continued operations was $34.3 million, down 39% year-over-year, while total revenue inclusive of Bridg was $38.5 million. Adjusted contribution was $19.7 million, down 28% year-over-year, with total adjusted contribution inclusive of Bridg at $23.3 million.
Evans highlighted that adjusted contribution margin—adjusted contribution as a percentage of revenue—expanded to 60.6%, which he said was the company’s highest on record, though he expects it to decline in future quarters due to the divestiture of Bridg.
Adjusted EBITDA from continued operations was positive $0.2 million, compared with negative $4.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Total adjusted EBITDA inclusive of Bridg results was negative $2.2 million. Evans said the improvement “underscores our ability to execute towards our goals with a lower expense base.”
Adjusted operating expenses were $19.5 million, down 38% year-over-year, which Evans attributed largely to 2025 reductions in force and cloud infrastructure optimization. Operating cash flow was negative $5.6 million versus negative $6.7 million a year earlier, and free cash flow was negative $7.9 million versus negative $10.8 million, an improvement of $2.9 million.
Cardlytics ended the quarter with $35.7 million in cash and cash equivalents. Evans said that after quarter-end, the company liquidated all PAR shares received in the Bridg sale and used proceeds to reduce amounts owed under its credit facility and improve its cash position. He reported monthly qualified users (MQUs) of 197 million, “accounting for the loss of Bank of America in January,” and average contribution per user (ACPU) of $0.10, down 21.3% year-over-year.
For the second quarter of 2026, Evans guided to billings of $61 million to $67 million, revenue of $35 million to $40 million, adjusted contribution of $20 million to $23 million, and adjusted EBITDA ranging from negative $2.7 million to positive $1.3 million. He said the outlook implies sequential growth for billings, revenue, and adjusted contribution when comparing Q2 to Q1 results excluding Bridg. Evans added that the company remains committed to delivering sequential growth for the remainder of 2026 and “driving operational efficiencies.”
The call concluded without a Q&A session. Evans reiterated in closing remarks that management is executing the plan “to operate through 2026 showing sequential growth, as well as being able to show and perform with self-sustainability.”
About Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX)
Cardlytics, Inc operates a purchase intelligence and marketing platform that connects advertisers with consumers through bank and credit card transaction data. The company partners with financial institutions to analyze anonymized purchase information, enabling brands to deliver highly targeted offers and rewards directly to customers’ online and mobile banking channels. By leveraging real-time insights into consumer spending habits, Cardlytics helps marketers optimize campaign performance and measure return on ad spend more accurately than traditional digital advertising methods.
At the core of Cardlytics’ offering is its proprietary purchase intelligence engine, which aggregates and anonymizes transaction data from partner banks and credit unions.
