Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. Criteo had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 5.60%.The company had revenue of $428.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis.

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%

Shares of CRTO traded up $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $17.58. The stock had a trading volume of 731,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,890. The firm has a market capitalization of $883.22 million, a PE ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.70 and a 200 day moving average of $18.76. Criteo has a twelve month low of $15.57 and a twelve month high of $25.29.

Insider Transactions at Criteo

In other Criteo news, CFO Sarah Js Glickman sold 2,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Criteo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRTO. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Criteo by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,832 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 5,568 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Criteo by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 12,907 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294 shares during the last quarter. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Criteo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,486,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Criteo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,212,000. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Criteo by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 107,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 21,275 shares in the last quarter. 94.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Criteo

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. The company also deployed $30 million toward share repurchases, which may support per-share value. Criteo Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark maintained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target to $21 from $25, implying continued potential upside from current levels. Benchmark price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Criteo plans to cancel 4.5 million treasury shares, reducing share capital and potentially improving shareholder returns. The company also highlighted momentum in artificial-intelligence-related offerings during its earnings call. Criteo Treasury Share Cancellation
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $25 from $29 and assigned an “equal weight” rating. The revised target still indicates substantial potential appreciation, but the reduction signals more cautious expectations. Morgan Stanley price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Criteo appointed Connor McGogney as chief financial officer, effective August 10, with former CFO Sarah Glickman moving to an advisory role. The leadership transition adds a near-term execution consideration. Criteo CFO Appointment
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 11.3% year over year to $428.0 million, while EPS fell from $0.92 in the prior-year quarter despite beating estimates. Criteo Second-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $237 million to $241 million is well below the $279.6 million consensus estimate. Full-year revenue guidance of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion also implies limited growth, while contribution ex-TAC is expected to decline 10% to 12% as management assumes no recovery in spending from large clients. Criteo 2026 Outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRTO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Criteo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $20.50 in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Criteo in a report on Friday, July 17th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Criteo from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Criteo from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Criteo from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Criteo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.15.

Criteo Company Profile

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.