Skip to content
    IBTA
    Earnings call· Jun 2026(Q2 FY26)

    Ibotta Q2 FY26 earnings call IBTA

    Aug 3, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    Ibotta Q2 FY26 — Early Return to Revenue Growth Driven by Supply and Publisher Expansion

    Ibotta delivered strong Q2 FY26 results, returning to year-over-year revenue growth ahead of schedule, driven by improved advertiser offer supply and enhanced go-to-market execution. The company expanded its publisher network with key additions like 7-Eleven, reinforcing its position across diverse retail channels. While direct-to-consumer metrics faced headwinds, management remains focused on leveraging its platform's scale and innovation to drive future growth and margin expansion.

    Highlights

    5

    • Total company revenue grew 3% year-over-year to $88.9 million, returning to growth a full quarter ahead of expectations.

    • Redemption revenue grew 10% year-over-year to $80.2 million, marking its fastest pace since Q3 2024.

    • Third-party redemption revenue accelerated to 27% year-over-year growth, up from 12% in the prior quarter.

    • Total redeemers increased 21% year-over-year to 20.9 million, the fastest rate of expansion since Q2 2025.

    • Adjusted EBITDA reached $16.5 million, representing an 18.6% margin, exceeding the high end of guidance.

    Concerns

    4

    • Direct-to-consumer redemption revenue declined 24% year-over-year to $18.7 million.

    • Ad and other revenues decreased 32% year-over-year to $8.7 million, impacted by lower direct-to-consumer redeemers.

    • Redemptions per redeemer fell 6% year-over-year to 4.4%, primarily due to mix shift towards third-party redeemers.

    • Redemption revenue per redemption decreased 4% year-over-year to $0.88.

    Guidance & targets

    6
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Revenue
    $86M-$90M
    high materiality
    High
    Adjusted EBITDA
    $12M-$14M
    high materiality
    High
    Full-year Free Cash Flow as percentage of Adjusted EBITDA
    ~70%
    medium materiality
    High
    Revenue growth rate
    mid-single-digit year-over-year growth
    high materiality
    Medium
    Revenue
    modest sequential increase
    medium materiality
    Medium
    Non-GAAP cost of revenue and operating expenses
    modest sequential increases
    low materiality
    Medium

    Operational metrics

    25
    Non-GAAP cost of revenue
    up $1.1Mup 6% versus a year ago
    Q2 FY26
    Non-GAAP gross margin
    79.3%down 60 basis points versus last year, up 170 basis points sequentially versus Q1
    Q2 FY26

    Demonstrates opportunity to expand gross margins as revenue grows.

    Non-GAAP operating expenses
    up 8%versus last year
    Q2 FY26

    Slightly favorable versus prior expectations due to timing-related benefits.

    Non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses
    up 17%versus the prior year
    Q2 FY26
    Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses
    decreased 5%
    Q2 FY26

    Area where the company is intent on driving leverage.

    Depreciation and amortization
    increased $800,000up 77%
    Q2 FY26

    As planned, investments in transformation increased at a faster pace than overall costs.

    Investments in transformation
    increased approximately 17%
    Q2 FY26

    Inclusive of both P&L and capitalized to the balance sheet.

    Non-GAAP net income
    $11.7M
    Q2 FY26
    Non-GAAP diluted net income per share
    $0.46
    Q2 FY26
    Shares repurchased
    ~700,000 shares
    Q2 FY26
    Remaining share repurchase authorization
    $67.3M
    As of June 30
    Fully diluted shares outstanding
    25.8M
    As of June 30
    Redemption revenue
    $80.2Mup 10% year-over-year
    Q2 FY26

    Driving stronger-than-anticipated performance in the quarter.

    Third-party publisher redemption revenue
    $61.5Mup 27% versus last year
    Q2 FY26
    Direct-to-consumer redemption revenue
    $18.7Mdown 24% year-over-year
    Q2 FY26

    Similar to Q1, redemption activity continues to shift to third-party publishers.

    Ad and other revenues
    $8.7Mdown 32% versus last year
    Q2 FY26

    Pressure due to lower direct-to-consumer redeemers, partially offset by data revenue growth. Decline was larger than Q1 and expected H2.

    Total Redeemers
    20.9Mup 21% year-over-year
    Q2 FY26

    Benefited from strong growth in third-party redeemers and the launch of DoorDash in Q2 2025.

    Redemptions per redeemer
    4.4%down 6% versus last year
    Q2 FY26

    Comparable result to Q1.

    Third-party redemptions per redeemer
    3.8%up 2% year-over-year
    Q2 FY26

    Indication of improving offer supply.

    Redemption revenue per redemption
    $0.884% decline versus last year
    Q2 FY26
    Total redemptions
    91.4Mup 14% versus last year
    Q2 FY26

    Acceleration in growth versus Q1.

    Incremental sales lift (Circana study)
    16.5%7x Circana's standard sales lift benchmarks
    Meta study

    Demonstrates the power of Ibotta's promotions for CPG brand clients.

    New household penetration increase (Circana study)
    17%
    Meta study

    Demonstrates the power of Ibotta's promotions for CPG brand clients.

    Sales lift on nonpromoted items (Circana study)
    10.9%
    Meta study

    Demonstrates a powerful cross-retailer halo effect for a brand's broader catalog.

    Net revenue with key partner (LiveLift)
    up 75%year-over-year
    H1 2026

    Example of commercial inflection and LiveLift success with a large household products partner.

    Industry KPIs

    8
    MetricValueDetails
    Total revenue$88.9MUSD
    Net income EPS$11.7MUSD
    Adjusted EBITDA$16.5MUSD
    CAPEX capital programincreased $800,000USD
    Total operating expensesup 8%%
    Cash marketable securities$148.2MUSD
    Ai product feature adoptiongrew year-over-year and sequentially
    Free cash flow operating cash flow$8.1MUSD

    Product announcements

    3
    ProductTypeDetails
    7-Eleven, Inc. partnershipexpansion
    Uber native offer experienceslaunch
    Giant Eagle integrationlaunch

    Deals & partnerships

    3
    7-Eleven, Inc.Exclusive third-party provider of CPG digital promotions (excluding age-restricted items) for 7NOW and Speedway apps.

    Reaches shoppers across more than 11,500 U.S. store locations. CPG brand partners actively helped advocate for and secure this new publisher.

    UberOfficial launch of native offer experiences.

    Onboarding process progressing smoothly and according to plan.

    Giant EagleIntegration went live.

    Onboarding process progressing smoothly and according to plan.

    Risks & headwinds

    3
    Macroeconomic landscape challenges in food category

    Discussed, not quantified

    Mitigation: Performance marketing message resonating deeply, providing scale and efficiency as brand managers lean into value delivery.

    Pressure on ad revenue due to lower direct-to-consumer redeemers

    Ad and other revenues down 32% year-over-year to $8.7 million

    Mitigation: Partially offset by growth in data revenue; year-over-year decline in Q2 was significantly larger than Q1 and what is expected in H2.

    Timing of seasonal promotional events shifting between quartersQ3 FY26

    Q3 revenue expected to show a slight quarter-over-quarter decline at the midpoint

    Mitigation: Overall Q2 and Q3 combined revenue and adjusted EBITDA expectations are higher than a quarter ago.

    What to watch in Q3 FY26

    5

    7-Eleven partnership rollout and impact

    Next quarter (Q3 FY26 results)
    CurrentAnnounced, rollout in H2 FY26
    TargetProgress on rollout, initial impact on offer supply and redemption rates

    Why it matters

    Significant expansion into the convenience channel, potential to unlock new budgets and drive network effects for the Ibotta Performance Network.

    In terms of the rollout timing, we're looking at the second half of this year to roll this out.

    Q&A highlights

    8

    What are the key drivers behind the steady improvement in offer supply, specifically regarding macro improvements versus the new verticalized sales structure?

    The improvement is primarily due to enhanced go-to-market execution, including the verticalized sales structure, deeper client relationships, and proactive engagement. Management emphasized building trust and being seen as a problem-solver, leading to accounts that were shrinking now growing again.

    “Our team really deserves a lot of credit for spending more time in the room with our customers, meeting with more people when they visit in person with those customers, maintaining consistency, being more proactive, understanding their business more deeply.”

    asked by Jamesmichael Sherman-Lewis · answered by Bryan Leach

    2 min read5 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Early Return to Growth and Enhanced Execution

    Ibotta achieved year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 FY26, a quarter ahead of expectations, driven by a steady improvement in advertiser offer supply. The company's new verticalized sales structure and broader revenue organization, implemented in Q3 FY25, are proving effective, leading to stronger client relationships and deeper engagement. This commercial inflection is broadly distributed, with most enterprise accounts that declined in 2025 now showing year-over-year growth.

    02

    LiveLift Driving Client Success

    LiveLift continues to be a significant growth driver, with revenue increasing both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. A major household products partner, an early LiveLift pioneer, saw their net revenue with Ibotta increase 75% year-over-year in H1 2026 after expanding LiveLift campaigns across multiple brands. This success highlights LiveLift's ability to drive incremental sales and household penetration, particularly for clients focused on market share gains.

    03

    Strategic Publisher Expansion and Network Effects

    Ibotta significantly expanded its network by welcoming 7-Eleven, Inc. as its third major publisher addition this year, becoming the exclusive third-party provider of CPG digital promotions for 7NOW and Speedway apps across over 11,500 U.S. stores. This follows recent launches with Uber and Giant Eagle. The company emphasizes that CPG brand partners actively advocated for the 7-Eleven deal, demonstrating strong network effects and the value of Ibotta's platform across diverse retail channels.

    04

    Validated Measurement and Thought Leadership

    Ibotta is positioning itself as a thought leader in the promotion space, evidenced by a comprehensive meta-study with Circana. The study, evaluating 48 Ibotta campaigns, revealed an average lift of 16.5% in incremental sales and a 17% increase in new household penetration, exceeding Circana's benchmarks by 7x. This rigorous measurement aims to validate promotions as a powerful performance marketing tool, changing how marketers view investment comparisons.

    05

    Operational Leverage and Margin Expansion

    The company demonstrated strong operational leverage, with non-GAAP gross margin improving 170 basis points sequentially to 79.3% in Q2 FY26. Management noted that a high percentage of incremental revenue drops to the adjusted EBITDA line due to a relatively fixed or modestly growing cost profile. This efficiency, coupled with strategic investments in transformation and growth opportunities, positions Ibotta for continued margin expansion as revenue scales.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.