Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) reported record third-quarter revenue of $96.6 million and its first positive adjusted EBITDA as a public company, as its newly acquired Quake AI infrastructure business accounted for more than 70% of sales.
The company, which conducted its earnings call as RUM Group, also forecast fourth-quarter revenue below its latest quarterly total and said a portion of its planned 250 megawatts of capacity could move beyond 2027 amid tougher financing conditions for data center projects.
CFO Mike Masci said the increase in the net loss was primarily non-cash. Depreciation and amortization rose to $85.8 million, including $39 million tied to a fair-value adjustment of Northern Data assets in purchase accounting.
Quake AI drives revenue growth
Quake AI generated $68.2 million in revenue and $23.5 million in adjusted EBITDA in its first full quarter as part of the company. Its adjusted EBITDA margin was approximately 34%. Most of its revenue came from GPU cloud computing services, with a smaller contribution from hosting and colocation, Masci said.
Founder, Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski said the company operates approximately 22,000 GPUs and had utilization of 85% as of the third quarter. Management expects to seek higher prices and customer prepayments as contracts come up for renewal.
Masci said the vast majority of the company’s H100 GPU contracts will roll off by the end of the first quarter of 2027. He declined to provide specific renewal prices, but said prevailing H100 rates were above $2 and that the company was seeing similar market rates in customer discussions.
Masci said the company intends to balance contract length, prepayments and pricing, including potentially using arrangements that provide a fixed baseline and exposure to increases in spot pricing.
Project timing and financing in focus
Pavlovski said financing markets have become more difficult for data center and AI build-outs, with lenders and investors scrutinizing customers and operators more closely. He said RUM Group is discussing an alternative approach with a customer for its Maysville project, though those talks remain at an early stage.
Masci said the company expects a portion of its planned 250 megawatts to move beyond 2027, while still targeting some capacity for that year. He declined to provide project-specific timing or capital expenditure guidance.
Management believes customer prepayments could fund a substantial portion of project equity needs, although Masci said the mix of prepayments and debt would vary by deal. Asked about a longer-term one-gigawatt capacity target, he said management’s immediate focus is on delivering and monetizing the 250 megawatts.
Outlook and video cost reset
RUM Group forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $88 million to $94 million. Its third-quarter result exceeded its previous forecast of $87 million to $93 million, but Masci cautioned that the quarter included items not expected to repeat.
Those items included a barter agreement with one customer that generated a little over $3 million in third-quarter revenue and is expected to have a larger-than-anticipated drop-off in the fourth quarter. Excluding nonrecurring items, third-quarter revenue would have been roughly at the top of the company’s guidance range, Masci said.
The Rumble Video segment generated $28.4 million in revenue, up 15% from a year earlier, as higher advertising revenue outweighed declines in subscriptions and other revenue. Its adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $12.1 million from $10.9 million.
Masci said the video business was gross-margin positive in the third quarter and is expected to remain so. The company began reducing video operating expenses during the quarter, including through a reduction in force. He characterized the expected reduction as more than 20% on a run-rate basis, without providing an exact savings figure.
Pavlovski said the company is targeting a late-2027 launch for a marketplace that would allow creators to license video and real-world content to AI and robotics companies. He described the planned marketplace as a way for the video and Quake AI businesses to work together.
The company ended the quarter with $142.3 million in total liquidity, consisting of $134.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and 94.68 Bitcoin valued at $7.9 million.
About Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM)
Rumble Inc. operates a video-sharing platform where users can upload, watch and share videos. The company also offers live-streaming tools and services that help creators publish and monetize content, including through advertising and subscriptions. Founded in 2013 by Chris Pavlovski, Rumble has expanded beyond video distribution into cloud computing. Its Rumble Cloud business provides infrastructure services to organizations seeking alternatives to larger cloud providers. The company serves creators, viewers and business customers in multiple countries, with a substantial presence in North America.
