New York, May 19, 2026, 07:09 EDT
- Zeta Global traded at $19.85 before the bell, gaining 3.4% after it finished Monday’s regular session 11.6% higher at $19.19. Premarket trading happens ahead of the main NYSE open.
- Zeta shares moved after CEO David Steinberg told the JPMorgan conference the company had made a deal with OpenAI on advertising support.
- Regular NYSE core trading hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. May 19 doesn’t appear on the NYSE’s 2026 holiday list.
Zeta Global Holdings Corp (ZETA.N) climbed in premarket trade Tuesday after the company’s CEO said it made a deal with OpenAI related to advertising, pushing shares higher again after a strong rally.
The shares were last at $19.85, up 3.4% from Monday, as of 7:08 a.m. EDT. The stock ran up 11.6% in the previous session to $19.19. It hit $19.44 Monday and over 17 million shares changed hands, according to StockAnalysis.
Zeta shifts strategy on its OpenAI tie-up
The timing is key. Zeta has spent this year pushing to show that big companies are picking its platform, not just for AI but as real clients. At a JPMorgan tech event on Monday, CEO Steinberg told the crowd Zeta has “executed an agreement” with OpenAI and would now “run their advertising,” a conference transcript shows. Seeking Alpha
Bank of America reinstated coverage on Zeta, giving it a Buy and setting the target at $24, TheFly said via TipRanks on Tuesday. The move had Zeta showing up in early screens before the U.S. open.
Zeta has plugged OpenAI tech into its business before, but this is the first time it’s pitching the tie-up for advertising. Back in January, Zeta said Athena by Zeta, its marketing AI agent, would use OpenAI models. The agent is meant to answer user questions, suggest actions, or handle tasks. “Zeta is showing AI can go beyond insight and into action,” OpenAI Chief Commercial Officer Giancarlo “GC” Lionetti said at the time. Zeta Global
Zeta’s Athena tool is in early testing now, with the first two apps, Insights and Advisor, entering beta, the company said. Steinberg called Athena an example of how AI is moving “from the edges of marketing to the center.” Zeta Global
Zeta shares are getting a lift from stronger recent results. The company put up first-quarter revenue of $396 million, a jump of 50% from the same period last year. Zeta also lifted its full-year 2026 revenue target to a midpoint of $1.785 billion. The company took its adjusted EBITDA guidance higher as well.
Management is pushing the momentum story. In the April earnings release, Steinberg said “Zeta is the disruptor” in an AI replacement cycle. Chief Financial Officer Chris Greiner said 19 beat-and-raise quarters in a row is “not just consistency.” Securities and Exchange Commission
Another move on the data front came last week, when Zeta said it will join Snowflake’s Open Semantic Interchange. The open-source project aims to line up business data definitions for AI and analytics. “AI is only as effective as the data it can trust,” Zeta CTO Christian Monberg said. Business Wire
Zeta is still up against plenty of competition. The company pitches itself versus bigger marketing-cloud and ad-tech names like Salesforce, Adobe and The Trade Desk, all making AI tools standard now. In January, KeyBanc’s Jackson Ader said Zeta’s OpenAI deal might give it an edge in a marketing space “where many companies are offering similar AI capabilities.” Barron’s
The move could reverse fast if investors see the OpenAI ad deal as too narrow, slow to bring in revenue, or lacking clear economic terms. Zeta’s latest quarterly filing notes the company faces tough competition, stricter data and privacy rules that could hit demand, and potential risks from changing AI regulation.
Traders get a clear setup with little action in the premarket. The bigger move hits after the 9:30 a.m. open, as regular-session volume reveals if Monday’s OpenAI play keeps going or fades as another quick AI trade.
