Criteo S.A. (CRTO) · Nov 4, 2026 · Earnings
In line — Contribution ex-TAC $240M vs $237M-$241M Q3 guide
Criteo’s Q3 earnings met its contribution guide and beat EBITDA expectations, but revenue, margins and adjusted EPS fell sharply year over year.
Criteo is in the middle of a difficult transition: it is trying to shift from weaker legacy Performance Media toward faster-growing Retail Media, connected TV and AI-enabled commerce while absorbing major client scope reductions. That backdrop was already visible in the August outlook, which called for full-year Contribution ex-TAC to decline 10%-12% at constant currency and guided Q3 Contribution ex-TAC to $237M-$241M with $54M-$58M of adjusted EBITDA.
The quarter landed operationally in line, not as a recovery. Contribution ex-TAC came in at $240M, inside the prior $237M-$241M range, while adjusted EBITDA of $65M exceeded the $54M-$58M guide. The EBITDA outperformance reflects cost control more than renewed demand: revenue fell 11% year over year, gross profit fell 19%, and adjusted EBITDA fell 39%.
| Figure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Q3 guide / consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (Financial Highlights) | $416M (-11%) | $470M | |
| Contribution ex-TAC (Financial Highlights) | $240M (-17%) | $288M | $237M-$241M guide |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Financial Highlights) | $65M (-39%) | $105M | $54M-$58M guide |
| Adjusted diluted EPS (Adjusted Net Income) | $0.43 (-67%) | $1.31 | ~$0.55 consensus |
| Gross profit margin (Financial Highlights) | 50% (-5 ppt) | 55% | |
| Free cash flow (Free Cash Flow reconciliation) | $21M (-69%) | $67M |
The core growth engine is still under pressure. Performance Media, the larger segment, declined 9% in revenue and 15% in Contribution ex-TAC, driven primarily by continued weakness in Commerce Growth. 〔0〕 That is the more important signal than the EBITDA beat because the company’s cost discipline is compensating for, rather than reversing, demand weakness.
Retail Media has a better underlying trend, but the reported numbers remain impaired. Retail Media Contribution ex-TAC fell 23%, including a previously disclosed $20M headwind from two client scope changes; excluding that impact, the broader client base grew 10% in the quarter. 〔1〕 This supports the strategic pivot, but the offset is not yet large enough to overcome the lost client volume.
Cash remains a buffer, but conversion weakened materially. Criteo ended the quarter with $326M of cash and marketable securities and roughly $788M of total liquidity, yet nine-month free cash flow was negative $0.4M after substantially higher capital investment and continued share repurchases. The balance sheet still funds the transition, but cash generation is no longer the clean support it was previously.
Bottom line: Criteo executed slightly better than its Q3 operating guide, mainly through cost control, but the business itself has not stabilized. The event is modestly negative because the strategic growth areas are not yet offsetting Performance Media weakness, margin compression and poor free-cash-flow conversion.
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