1Q 2026 earnings: Just getting started

AppLovin closed Q1 2026 with another quarter of strong execution across the business.

Revenue came in at $1.84 billion, up 59% year over year and 11% sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.56 billion, an 85% margin, and the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA margin we've reported. Free cash flow was $1.29 billion.

The quarter extended a multi-quarter run of consistent growth, record margins, and strong cash generation. Our full financial results, earnings call replay, and financial update are linked at the bottom of this post.

These results are our scoreboard. They reflect the progress we’ve made, but they are not what drives us.

What drives us

Last week we held a company meeting at our Palo Alto headquarters. There was a real sense of pride in what the team accomplished this past quarter. But as Adam reminded everyone, the work isn’t done. What matters now is continuing to execute with the same urgency, focus, and discipline that got us here. Our CTO Giovanni Ge, shared the same sentiment in his closing remarks:

"There will always be doubts. There will always be different voices. There will always be people who don't understand the journey we are on, the mission we are taking. But I don't think we have time to really care about all this noise. What is important is, as a team, as a company, we believe what we are doing, and we work very hard. We work together, and we know that we are on the right trajectory." — Giovanni Ge, AppLovin All Hands, May 2026

Adam was recently interviewed by David Senra of the Founders podcast. Senra has spent the last decade studying the biographies of more than 400 of history’s greatest entrepreneurs, and he has observed a recurring trait among many of the most successful founders: success does not dull their drive. They keep pushing and continue to operate as though there is always more to prove.

Adam spoke about his own version of that drive:

"One of the things that I always looked at for hiring were [to] find people who have a chip on their shoulder, someone who has a reason to push hard. And I had that myself." — Adam Foroughi, Founders podcast with David Senra

That is the standard we hold ourselves to. Fourteen years in, it would be easy to let success soften our edge. We are intentional about not letting that happen because the work is not finished.

That same focus came through on the Q1 earnings call.

Highlights from the Q1 earnings call

Key takeaways from Adam’s remarks:

• In June, Axon will open to the general public. For the first time in fourteen years, an advertiser can come to the platform without an existing direct relationship with AppLovin.
• April was the largest month for consumer-vertical advertiser spend in our history, exceeding every peak Q4 month.
• A customer story Adam highlighted on the call: a cookware brand that grew from $4 million in annual revenue to $16 million and is now projecting $80 million, with the majority of its ad spend on Axon.
• Hybrid monetization is a meaningful supply-side opportunity. As IAP-only studios start adding ads, the publisher-level TAM is in the multi-billions.
• Lead-gen is the next consumer vertical in testing. Auto and health insurance, fintech, and food delivery are the initial categories.
• Axon is being built to work directly with AI agents. As advertisers use agents to plan campaigns, generate creative, and pace budgets, Axon is being built to be directly accessible by agents.

These highlights point to the work behind the quarter and the opportunities ahead. We are just getting started.

For additional information, see our earnings press release, financial update, and earnings call webcast.