SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2026, 06:04 PDT
Reddit surged 16% ahead of the bell Friday, with the social platform projecting second-quarter revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The upbeat guidance signals renewed investor attention on Reddit’s ad business after a shaky start to the year.
This is significant right now, with Reddit shares already sliding about 36% this year. A more upbeat forecast flips the conversation: instead of worrying about stalling growth, the focus turns to how effectively Reddit can leverage its online communities for a bigger slice of the ad market.
Reddit is projecting second-quarter revenue in the range of $715 million to $725 million, beating the $711.6 million consensus from LSEG. Adjusted EBITDA, for the period, is seen landing at $285 million to $295 million—again, topping the $277.1 million estimate.
Reddit reported first-quarter revenue of $663 million, a 69% increase over last year. Ad revenue jumped 74% to $625 million. Net income came in at $204 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, according to the company.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman described the platform as “powered by deeply engaged communities and authentic human conversation.” He also pointed to what he called a “unique advantage in the age of AI.” Reddit Investor Relations
The company has turned to artificial intelligence—software built to handle big data and automate tasks—to assist advertisers with Reddit-focused copywriting and image cropping for different ad slots. Its AI-powered ad system also inserts ads directly into subreddit threads, those topic-driven communities that sit at the heart of Reddit.
Reddit’s active advertiser numbers jumped 75% year-over-year, Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong told Reuters—a third consecutive quarter of hefty gains. On the earnings call, Wong noted that performance ads—driving direct actions like purchases, sign-ups, or app installs—made up over 60% of the platform’s ad revenue.
Daily active unique visitors climbed 17% to 126.8 million in the quarter. Average revenue per user jumped 44% worldwide, reaching $5.23.
Reddit remains dwarfed by Meta Platforms, yet its latest results point to a growing foothold in digital advertising. Meta, Snap, and Pinterest have all trimmed staff over the last year, reallocating resources into AI. In contrast, Wong said Reddit is “still hiring and adding to our talent base.” Reuters
Another angle: Reddit’s massive trove of posts and comments—over 25 billion in total, by the company’s count—has become valuable for companies training large language models, the engines behind chatbots. These systems rely on huge datasets of real human conversation. Reddit also reported more than 126 million daily active uniques.
Still, the quarter isn’t enough to put the risk question to bed. Wong pointed out that a number of ad partners are taking things month to month due to the volatility, even if she’s not seeing any significant pullback in overall commitments. Reddit’s forward price-to-earnings ratio is notably higher than Snap, Pinterest, or Meta, so the stock can’t afford a weak quarter or stalling user numbers.
So far, the company has delivered: ad revenue sped up, profits stretched out, and guidance stayed firm. Next up is whether Reddit keeps pulling in more users both in the U.S. and overseas—and shows its AI tech can actually drive long-term ad gains, rather than just a short-lived lift after earnings.
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