Reddit stock jumps as Needham flags AI-search tailwind — here’s what’s next for RDDT

Reddit stock jumps as Needham flags AI-search tailwind — here’s what’s next for RDDT

NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 20:35 ET — Market closed

Reddit Inc shares were last up about 4% at $234.65 late Monday, after trading between $222.86 and $235.95 during the session. The stock opened at $225.

The move matters because investors are recalibrating 2026 bets around how people find information online. Wall Street is looking for winners from the shift toward AI-generated answers that summarize search results, a trend that can change where traffic — and ad dollars — flow.

For Reddit, the debate is whether being a frequent “source” inside AI answers can translate into better monetization. That has put the company’s user-generated discussions at the center of a broader fight over who captures value when fewer users click through to websites.

Needham analyst Laura Martin reiterated a Buy rating and pointed to the value of being cited as AI reduces traditional click-throughs. “As overall referral traffic shrinks, the platforms that AI answers cite (like Reddit) become increasingly valuable, we believe,” Martin wrote in a note on Monday. Investors.com+1

Referral traffic is the stream of visitors that arrives via links from other sites such as search engines. If AI summaries keep users on the results page, the argument goes, the “winners” are the platforms that still get referenced — even when the click never comes.

Reddit’s shares have rallied sharply since the company went public in March 2024, but the stock has also seen choppy stretches as investors debate valuation and the durability of growth. Monday’s jump left it still below a September peak, according to Investors.com. Investors

A separate signal for investors arrived in a regulatory filing after the bell. Reddit Chief Technology Officer Christopher Slowe exercised options and reported sales of Class A shares, with the transactions marked as made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a pre-set trading plan insiders can use to sell shares on a schedule. SEC

The broader market backdrop was softer. Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower on Monday as heavyweight technology stocks pulled back, Reuters reported, and traders headed into a holiday-shortened week with lighter volume. Reuters

That context matters for Reddit because the stock’s run has been tightly linked to “AI beneficiary” positioning across growth and internet names. When the megacaps wobble, smaller high-multiple winners can swing harder in either direction.

Before Tuesday’s session, traders will watch whether Reddit can hold Monday’s gains and retest the session high, after a wide intraday range. A pullback toward the prior close would put the focus back on near-term support.

The macro calendar could also compete for attention. Reuters flagged Fed minutes and weekly jobless claims as key items in an otherwise data-light week. Reuters

Investors will also be looking ahead to the company’s next results, when management typically updates on ad demand, user growth and any progress in monetizing data and search-related traffic. Nasdaq’s earnings calendar lists an estimated earnings date around Feb. 11, 2026, though companies can change schedules. Nasdaq

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