Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The information services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.14), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $240.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.18 million. Criteo had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 5.60%. Criteo’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Criteo’s conference call:

• Criteo’s Q3 Contribution ex-TAC fell 15% at constant currency to $240 million. Performance media remained pressured by lower spending from several large enterprise clients, while retail media results included $20 million of previously disclosed client scope reductions.
• Full-year guidance is unchanged, with 2026 Contribution ex-TAC expected to decline 10%–12% at constant currency; Q4 is expected to be down 9%–11%. Management said it is taking a cautious approach and has not included an immediate benefit from sales initiatives in its 2026 outlook.
• Criteo reported growing traction in newer channels: CTV campaigns are expanding, with the company on track to double its Q3 CTV run rate in Q4, while social media spend and campaigns each grew about 20% year over year. New-business spend rose 13% in Q3, and management expects recently signed clients to begin ramping in Q4 and reach full run rate in the first half of 2027.
• Excluding the previously announced client scope reductions, retail media Contribution ex-TAC grew 10% across the underlying client base, with media spend up 22%. Adjusted EBITDA of $65 million exceeded plan, and the company ended September with $275 million in cash and no long-term debt.

Criteo Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CRTO traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.67. The stock had a trading volume of 80,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,601. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.03. Criteo has a fifty-two week low of $13.95 and a fifty-two week high of $25.29. The firm has a market cap of $767.75 million, a P/E ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Criteo from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Huber Research lowered Criteo from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Criteo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Criteo in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, 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, August 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Komasinski sold 1,656 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.28, for a total value of $28,615.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,942,436.48. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 2,855 shares of company stock worth $48,898 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Criteo

Here are the key news stories impacting Criteo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Criteo forecast fourth-quarter contribution ex-TAC of $292 million to $298 million and reported Q3 media spend of $1.2 billion, up 9%. It is also targeting a U.S. redomiciliation effective January 1, 2027. Article
• Positive Sentiment: The company plans to expand its Performance Connected TV capabilities into Brazil and Mexico by year-end, then into several other markets in 2027, offering a potential avenue for growth. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush cut its price target to $21 from $25 but kept its Outperform rating, indicating continued analyst optimism despite a more cautious valuation. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS was $0.43, below the $0.57 consensus, while revenue fell 16.7% year over year to $240.36 million, despite slightly exceeding estimates. EPS was also down from $1.31 a year earlier, underscoring pressure on profitability. Article

Criteo Company Profile

Criteo SA (NASDAQ: CRTO) is a global commerce media and advertising technology company headquartered in Paris, France. The company helps brands, retailers and other businesses use commerce data and artificial intelligence to reach consumers, build customer relationships and measure advertising performance across digital channels.

Criteo’s offerings include retail media solutions, which enable retailers and marketplace operators to provide sponsored product listings and other advertising placements, as well as performance media tools for campaigns across websites, mobile applications and the open internet.