Reddit's third-quarter revenue surged 68% year-on-year to $348.4 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $94.1 million, achieving its first-ever profit. Advertising revenue saw a significant increase of 56%. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to continue growing to the range of $3.85-4 billion
Strong advertising revenue boosts Reddit's third-quarter performance, with stock price hitting a record high after hours.
Overnight, "American Tieba" Reddit released its quarterly performance report for the quarter ending in September, showing that Reddit's third-quarter revenue surged 68% year-on-year to $348.4 million, exceeding the expected $312.8 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $94.1 million, achieving its first-ever profit, compared to a loss of $6.9 million in the same period last year.
Buoyed by this news, Reddit's stock price continued to rise after hours, reaching a historic high, doubling both its stock price and valuation since its IPO.
The financial report also revealed that Reddit's daily active users (DAU) in the third quarter increased from 66 million in the same period last year to 97.2 million, with a gross profit margin of 90.1%, up 280 basis points year-on-year.
Profit guidance is also optimistic, with Reddit expecting fourth-quarter revenue to reach $385-400 million, surpassing analysts' expectations of $356 million, and projected adjusted EBITDA of $110-125 million.
Reddit's CFO Drew Vollero stated that the company made significant progress this quarter, with growth in daily active users, revenue, and gross profit margin being key drivers of profitability.
Vollero commented:
"This was a strong quarter across the board, which we view as a milestone."
According to Vollero, Reddit's performance success is attributed to its "differentiated profit model." Despite being a social media platform, Reddit primarily focuses on text content, resulting in lower costs compared to its peers. The financial report shows that Reddit's capital expenditure in the third quarter was $1.4 million, accounting for only 1% of the company's revenue.
Furthermore, Reddit has been actively developing its advertising business in recent years, advancing AI content licensing partnerships with companies like Alphabet and OpenAI to seek diversified growth. The company's advertising revenue in the third quarter reached $315 million, accounting for 90.4% of total revenue, a significant 56% increase year-on-year.
Founded in 2005, Reddit's WallStreetBets forum has become a gathering place for many individual investors in the US stock market, gaining fame during events such as the GameStop short squeeze that challenged Wall Street shorts