AppLovin CEO Downplays Risks From AI — Update

By Kelly Cloonan

AppLovin's chief executive officer downplayed the threat artificial intelligence poses to his advertising platform, arguing that the company will only continue to benefit from more advanced AI models.

CEO Adam Foroughi kicked off the company's Wednesday earnings call looking to soothe investor jitters after shares of AppLovin, as well as other software stocks, slid last week on fresh concerns that AI may render their businesses obsolete.

That volatility is disconnected from the reality of AppLovin's business, Foroughi said. AppLovin's revenue has jumped by double-digits in recent quarters.

"While I prefer to ignore short-term fluctuations in the stock price and focus on maximizing value over the long term, the recent volatility warrants addressing," he said. "If the market chooses to price our stock based on fear, while we continue to compound revenue, cash flow, and product capability, we'll stay focused on execution and let our results speak over time."

Foroughi said that while there's been a lot of discussion about how AI and competition will challenge AppLovin's business, the company is seeing its strongest operating performance in its history.

AppLovin provides software and AI solutions for developers to improve the marketing and monetization of their mobile apps. The company's recent growth has been fueled by its own AI models, and as both external and internal research in AI continue to improve, its business will grow with it, Foroughi said.

Additionally, even though the company's first-quarter results are typically softer than the fourth quarter, AppLovin guided for sequential growth due to continued strength in gaming and the scaling of its e-commerce and self-service customers, he noted.

The software industry's selloff last week was sparked by the release of a new legal tool from AI startup Anthropic. The tool can review contracts and perform other industry-specific functions, triggering worries that rapidly improving AI tools may supplant traditional software and services for specialized business capabilities.

Shares of AppLovin fell 5.9% to $429.90 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Through market close, shares have slid 32% this year.

Foroughi's comments came as AppLovin logged higher profit in its latest quarter as revenue surged, driven in part by technology advancements in its mobile gaming business.

For the fourth quarter, AppLovin posted a profit of $1.1 billion, or $3.24 a share, compared with $599.2 million, or $1.73 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating earnings of $2.95 a share.

Revenue jumped 66% to $1.66 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $1.61 billion.

The growth was driven by continued technology advancements to AppLovin's core mobile gaming business, seasonal strength and the expansion of its business with e-commerce customers, Chief Financial Officer Matt Stumpf said.

For the current quarter, Applovin expects revenue of $1.75 billion to $1.78 billion, compared with the $1.7 billion analysts are projecting.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 11, 2026 19:19 ET (00:19 GMT)