Asked to understand the Q3 revenue guide, which implies flat sequential growth, lower than previous Q3s, and whether it reflects conservatism or one-time factors.

Tarek stated a prudent guidance philosophy, aiming for strong visibility. He explained that Q2 benefited from model breakthroughs that manifested sooner than expected, influencing the Q3 trend, and advised focusing on long-term trends over single quarters. “The other thing I'd say is in -- we had some breakthroughs that -- from Q3 that manifested in Q2. And so that helped us have the strong performance in Q2. Those are durable, but that's also influencing the trend.”

Asked if events like the World Cup are material catalysts for revenue and if the step-up in sales & marketing and R&D OpEx includes one-time costs or a new public company run-rate.

Jeremy clarified that the World Cup was a prominent example of how Liftoff benefits from cultural moments across various verticals, acting as an 'index.' Tarek stated there was no step-up in OpEx on an operating basis, attributing increases to IPO-related noncash expenses, and highlighted the company's strong operating leverage. “Q2 had a number of noncash expenses related to the IPO, particularly around stock-based comp, that are reflected in the financials. And so there's some noise that you're going to see if you look at the GAAP P&L.”

Asked about confidence in sustaining model updates and above-industry growth for Cortex over the next 3 years, and the impact of AppsFlyer remaining independent.

Jeremy expressed high confidence in Cortex's runway, citing empirical evidence and recent feature set enrichment as a 'force multiplier.' He confirmed AppsFlyer remains a key partner, and Liftoff's strong balance sheet allows for organic growth focus over M&A. “Our balance sheet and our cash generation, as Tarek has articulated, they give us flexibility, and we keep a very high bar.”

LFTO

Liftoff (LFTO) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Communication Services· Aug 12, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Liftoff Q2 FY26 — Strong Revenue Growth and Margin Expansion Driven by Cortex and Market Dynamics

Liftoff reported a strong second quarter, driven by its AI-powered Cortex platform and broad participation across the growing mobile app economy, including a boost from the World Cup. The company demonstrated significant operating leverage with expanding EBITDA margins and strong free cash flow generation. While Q3 guidance reflects some normalization after accelerated Q2 performance, management remains confident in its long-term profitable growth trajectory and capital-light model.

Highlights

Revenue grew 7% quarter-over-quarter and 35% year-over-year to $220 million, marking the 11th consecutive quarter of growth.
Adjusted EBITDA reached $132 million, with a 60% margin, expanding 2 percentage points sequentially and 8 percentage points YoY.
Generated $50 million in free cash flow, up from $15 million in the prior year, with trailing 12-month FCF at $184 million.
Net leverage reduced to 2.4x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, down from the target of below 3x.
Core advertising daily average revenue grew 6% sequentially, driven by market growth, Cortex self-learning, and model breakthroughs.

Concerns

Q3 revenue guidance implies flat sequential growth ($217M-$222M) compared to Q2 ($220M), below historical Q3 trends.
Q3 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance (57%-58%) is lower than Q2 (60%) due to expense timing benefits in Q2.

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Revenue	$217M-$222M high materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA	$124M-$128M high materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA margin	57%-58% high materiality	Q3 · FY26	High
Revenue	$870M-$880M high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA	$510M-$518M high materiality	FY26	High
Adjusted EBITDA margin	59% high materiality	FY26	High
Net leverage	below 3x medium materiality	near-term	High
Return of capital to shareholders	increasingly attractive option medium materiality	over time	Medium

Risks & headwinds

Q3 revenue guidance implies flat sequential growth Q3 FY26

Q3 revenue guidance $217M-$222M vs Q2 $220M

Mitigation:Management attributes this to Q2 benefiting from model breakthroughs that manifested sooner than expected, influencing the Q3 trend. They emphasize focusing on long-term trends.

Q3 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance is lower than Q2 Q3 FY26

Q3 adjusted EBITDA margin 57%-58% vs Q2 60%

Mitigation:Due to expense timing benefits in Q2 that will have a corresponding adverse impact in Q3. Full-year margin expansion still expected.

Volatility in stock-based compensation expense Coming quarters

Stock-based comp will move around quite a bit over the coming quarters along with the capital events.

Mitigation:Implies it's a known factor related to IPO and capital events, but no specific mitigation strategy was detailed.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Q3 Revenue Growth

Q3 FY26

Current Q2 revenue grew 7% QoQ to $220M. Q3 guidance implies flat sequential growth ($217M-$222M).

Target Sequential growth above the guided range, or strong YoY growth within the range.

Why it matters

To assess if the Q3 slowdown is temporary due to Q2 pull-forward or a more sustained trend, impacting full-year trajectory.

For the third quarter of 2026, we expect revenue of $217 million to $222 million, representing growth of approximately 21% to 24% year-over-year.

Find out whether LFTO delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Asked about differences in advertiser adoption/budget trends by vertical in Q2 and which verticals are most exciting for medium-term growth.

Jeremy highlighted the World Cup's impact on sports betting, live scoring, and prediction markets, noting that Liftoff acts as an 'index' across the app economy. He emphasized the benefit from cultural moments like the NFL season, back-to-school, and holidays, and the faster growth of non-gaming verticals.

“We benefit from our breadth across the app economy, not being exposed to any single event but participating in each and every one as we go through the calendar.”

asked by Eric Sheridan · answered by Jeremy Bondy

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Cortex AI Platform Performance

Cortex, Liftoff's proprietary AI engine, processes over 1 billion predictions per second, reducing campaign learning time from 2 weeks to under 1 day. Recent model breakthroughs, such as an enriched feature set for impression valuation, have provided durable performance gains across the user acquisition business, contributing to Q2 results and acting as a 'force multiplier' for predictive power.

Mobile App Economy & Market Position

The third-party in-app advertising market is projected to grow at an 11% compound annual rate to $136 billion by 2030, with nongaming verticals expanding even faster at 14%. Liftoff's unified DSP and SSP, combined with its SDK integrated into close to 170,000 apps globally, provides a technology moat and direct user reach, making it difficult to replicate.

Vertical Diversification & Cultural Moments

Liftoff's platform is built to serve the entire app economy, with over half of demand and over one-third of supply coming from non-gaming verticals. The company benefits from major cultural moments like the World Cup, which drove increased demand in sports betting, live scoring, and prediction markets, and expects similar engagement during the upcoming NFL season, back-to-school, and holiday commerce periods.

Financial Model & Operating Leverage

Liftoff's scalable business model drives strong financial performance, with high incremental adjusted EBITDA flow-through on revenue growth. The company achieved an 82% incremental adjusted EBITDA margin on a year-over-year basis in Q2, demonstrating its capital-light architecture and ability to convert growth into significant free cash flow.

Capital Allocation Strategy

Liftoff prioritizes reinvesting in the business (R&D, new vertical expansion), maintaining net leverage below 3x, and returning capital to shareholders as leverage normalizes. While M&A is considered a tool, it is not currently intended to be a primary use of capital, with the company emphasizing organic growth and strategic flexibility.

Gaming Market Health

Management views the mobile gaming market as healthy and foundational, growing alongside other verticals year-over-year in Q2. They note that third-party data often understates the market's health due to hybrid monetization and off-store purchases, and Liftoff benefits from gaming as both a demand and supply source.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.