Sam Badawi
Stock Analyst, Creator of Origins of Alpha & Quarterly Conviction
Reddit's long-term earnings power could be much higher if it keeps growing revenue 30%+ while expanding advertising, international monetization and AI data licensing. International users are over half its user base but generate only a fraction of US revenue per user, a big opportunity if that gap narrows. The main risk is Google Search, a key traffic source that AI answers or algorithm changes could hurt; data licensing is also concentrated with a few partners, so renewals matter. x.comÂ
Reddit's logged-in users drive monetization, so weak search-driven traffic matters less than ARPU. Reddit says app and logged-in users grew sequentially in Q3 and generate over 80% of monetization, though lost search referrals also hurt them. ARPU rose 53% despite barely higher users; a low ad base could allow it to double even with muted growth. Restricting Google scraping might force a licensing deal that helps its Anthropic case and OpenAI renewal, though no deal is certain. x.com x.com x.com … Show more
Reddit's human conversations are gaining value as AI content proliferates, supporting advertiser spending and AI data licensing. Revenue grew 61% last quarter, with margins in the 40s, but US user growth slowed to 6%. Advertisers are paying more each quarter and AI labs pay for Reddit's data. Overweight; $200 target. x.comÂ
Reddit's worsening US user growth threatens its revenue runway despite elite ARPU growth, revenue growth and margin expansion. US daily users fell 2% year over year and missed estimates by 7%; the Q4 guide was weak. It needs healthier user growth in its most important market to dispel Google/AI discovery fears. Forward indicators do not look promising, and the trend of positive estimate revisions will end. x.com x.comÂ
Reddit's push toward required logins could improve targeting and monetization but may hinder search discovery and add friction for casual users. Revenue rose 53% to $895M and free cash flow reached $363M, yet overall user growth lagged despite a good showing from US logged-in users; stock-based pay was higher than desired. Google will probably pressure near-term DAU growth. The finances remain solid, but the login strategy's impact on growth needs more clarity. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
Reddit's US ARPU growth is more impressive than the market credits. It rose 40% since March to $14 per quarter, while trailing free cash flow reached about $1.2B in September. The US daily-user chart is less flattering. x.com x.comÂ
Reddit's stock is unlikely to rerate until it shows cleaner US daily user growth and less reliance on volatile search referrals, despite a strong financial engine. US DAUq grew only 6% versus 28% internationally, logged-in growth was just 7%, and management called search traffic volatile. The 100M US DAU goal looks further away, AI licensing showed no progress with other revenue up 24% to $43M, and the $860-870M Q3 revenue guide did not address user concerns. x.comÂ
Reddit's AI licensing is the wildcard that could make the stock run, as the market may have grown too negative on its renewals with Google and OpenAI. AI models need fresh human-generated data, and Reddit's is still undervalued. Revenue grew 61% last quarter, ad revenue 64%, and margins keep improving. Per BofA, Reddit should post the highest US and international ARPU growth of the social stocks it follows in Q3. Trading below the 200-day average is a risk, with support at $120-135. x.com x.comÂ
Reddit's pullback below $150 on insider-selling headlines is not a fundamental shift, as monetization is accelerating faster than user growth. Q1 2026 revenue grew 69% to $663 million with $204 million of net income, a 31% margin, and EPS of $1.01 was 7x a year earlier. Daily active users rose 17% to 126.8 million while ARPU jumped 44% to $5.23. AI data licensing deals with Google and OpenAI are a higher-margin second engine, projected to reach $400 million a year by 2027. x.comÂ
Reddit's Q3 drop in US daily users risks another poor market reaction, even if headline earnings are strong. Last quarter a slight sequential decline in US daily users sent the shares down 20% despite a massive triple beat; the new chart shows a further sequential drop in Q3. x.com x.comÂ
Reddit's post-earnings selloff is an overreaction, as the market treats it like a 2010s media publisher rather than an AI data utility. If Google's AI Overviews surface Reddit answers instead of sending clicks, that strengthens Reddit's leverage by proving LLMs cannot work without its 26B+ posts of human consensus. In-app retention is up 50% year over year, so the SEO-dependency panic is overstated. Flat licensing deals are phase one; the endgame is usage-based pricing for real-time AI context. … Show more
