Applovin Shares Climb 23% as First Quarter Revenue Outlook Beats Estimate

The company said it expects revenue to reach $955 million to $975 million in the first quarter. Even the low end of that range blew past the $926.2 million expectated by analysts surveyed by Capital IQ, according to MT Newswires.

Fourth quarter revenue surged 36% to $953 million, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $928 million reported by MT Newswires. The company posted a profit of 49 cents a share, swinging from a loss of 21 cents. That's better than the 35 cents expected by analysts.

"Looking towards 2024, we see additional opportunities to improve our technology, broaden our customer base and expand into new content industries through our Connected-TV (Wurl) and OEM & Carrier (Array) initiatives," Chief Executive Officer Adam Foroughi and Chief Financial Officer Matt Stumpf said in a shareholder letter that contained their fourth quarter financial results.

Macquarie raised its price target on the stock to $88 from $60, while maintaining its outperform rating, MT Newswires reported. Oppenheimer also boosted the price target to $70, from $60, according to a separate report. Wedbush also increased its price target to $67, from $58.50, according to Benzinga.

The company also sees its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $475 million to $495 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 50% to 51%.

Applovin had 1.8 million monthly active payers in the fourth quarter. While that's down from 1.9 million payers a year ago, the average revenue per monthly payer rose to $47, from $46, the CEO and CFO said in the letter.