Executive Summary

Q2 2025 delivered modest top-line growth with strong gross margin expansion: Revenue $483m (+2% YoY, +7% QoQ), Gross Profit margin 54% (+500 bps YoY), Contribution ex-TAC $292m (+9% YoY) .
Adjusted EBITDA was $89m and adjusted diluted EPS $0.92; non-GAAP profitability declined YoY on planned growth investments and accelerated amortization, while GAAP net income fell to $23m .
Management raised FY25 guidance: Contribution ex-TAC growth to +3–4% cc (from low-single-digit) and reiterated ~33–34% adjusted EBITDA margin; Q3 guide: CXT $277–283m and adjusted EBITDA $81–87m .
Strategic catalysts: rapid adoption of Auction-Based Display onsite, expanded agency partnerships (dentsu, WPP Media CTV), Mirakl Ads integration to unlock mid/long-tail demand; $104m H1 buybacks signal confidence .
Versus S&P Global consensus, Q2 2025 delivered broad beats: EPS $0.92 vs $0.71, Revenue $482.7m vs $274.7m, EBITDA $66.2m vs $64.8m; guidance raise is the stock narrative driver this quarter (*Values retrieved from S&P Global).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Retail Media strength: revenue +11% YoY; CXT +11% YoY, driven by onsite momentum, new client integrations, and network effects; same-retailer CXT retention 112% .
Platform/partnership wins: global dentsu partnership to leverage complete Commerce Media stack; WPP Media collaboration moves commerce signals into CTV; Mirakl Ads integration unlocks marketplace demand .
Management confidence and AI positioning: “building a unified, outcome-based advertising platform…anchored on AI innovation” (CEO); FY25 guidance raised .

What Went Wrong

Profitability compression: Adjusted EBITDA down 4% YoY (to $89m) and adjusted EBITDA margin 31% (vs 35%) on planned growth investments and accelerated amortization .
GAAP earnings lower: Net income $23m (-18% YoY); diluted EPS $0.39 (-15% YoY) .
Cash flow/OpEx headwinds: Free Cash Flow -$36m (seasonal taxes), operating cash flow -$1m; GAAP OpEx +16% YoY to $228m, including accelerated amortization tied to Google’s Chrome cookie decision .

Financial Results

Summary by Quarter (oldest → newest)

Metric	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Revenue ($USD)	$553,035,000	$451,434,000	$482,671,000
Gross Profit ($USD)	$300,971,000	$236,976,000	$258,518,000
Gross Profit Margin (%)	54%	52%	54%
Contribution ex-TAC ($USD)	$334,399,000	$264,372,000	$292,069,000
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD)	$144,008,000	$92,148,000	$89,380,000
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (% of CXT)	43%	35%	31%
Net Income ($USD)	$71,944,000	$40,011,000	$22,920,000
Diluted EPS ($)	$1.23	$0.66	$0.39

Year-over-Year and Quarter-over-Quarter Highlights

KPI	YoY Change	QoQ Change	Q2 2025
Revenue ($USD)	+2%	+7%	$482,671,000
Contribution ex-TAC ($USD)	+9%	+10%	$292,069,000
TAC ($USD)	-7% YoY	+2% QoQ	$190,602,000

Estimates vs Actuals (Q2 2025)

Metric	S&P Global Consensus	Actual (S&P Global)	Press-Release Actual
EPS ($)	0.70625*	0.92*	$0.92 adjusted diluted EPS
Revenue ($USD)	274,675,860*	482,671,000*	$482,671,000
EBITDA ($USD)	64,824,640*	66,218,999.99999999*	$89,380,000 Adjusted EBITDA

Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Note: S&P Global “EBITDA” may reflect a non-adjusted definition, while company reports “Adjusted EBITDA” .

Segment Breakdown (Q2 2025 vs Q2 2024)

Segment	Revenue Q2 2024	Revenue Q2 2025	CXT Q2 2024	CXT Q2 2025
Retail Media	$54,777,000	$60,913,000	$53,866,000	$60,009,000
Performance Media	$416,530,000	$421,758,000	$213,227,000	$232,060,000
Total	$471,307,000	$482,671,000	$267,093,000	$292,069,000

KPIs and Operating Metrics

KPI	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Clients (#)	17,084	17,142
Regional Revenue ($USD): Americas	$192,908,000	$199,797,000
Regional Revenue ($USD): EMEA	$164,861,000	$185,955,000
Regional Revenue ($USD): APAC	$93,665,000	$96,919,000
Days Sales Outstanding (days)	68	65
Headcount	3,533	3,621
Media Spend (quarter)	$919m LTM context in Q1; $1.0b Q2 quarter

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Contribution ex-TAC growth (cc)	FY 2025	Low single-digit growth (May 2)	+3% to +4% (July 30)	Raised
Adjusted EBITDA margin (% of CXT)	FY 2025	~33%–34%	~33%–34%	Maintained
Contribution ex-TAC ($)	Q3 2025	N/A	$277m–$283m (+5%–+7% cc)	New
Adjusted EBITDA ($)	Q3 2025	N/A	$81m–$87m	New
Contribution ex-TAC ($)	Q2 2025	$272m–$278m (guide set May 2)	Actual $292m	Beat vs guide

Assumptions include FX rates across EUR, JPY, GBP, KRW, BRL and no additional acquisitions in the guided period .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q4’24, Q1’25)	Current Period (Q2’25)	Trend
AI/Agentic AI	Future-proofed addressability; pushing toward deep learning; platform AI automation (Commerce Go)	Building MCP support to feed product and shopper signals to AI agents; exploring monetization models with LLMs (affiliate/sponsored citations/API pricing)	Expanding scope and external engagement
CTV & Brand Performance	Early testing; positioning to link CTV to outcomes	WPP Media partnership to scale commerce-first CTV via curated deal IDs; case study with Jewelry Television showing measurable outcomes	Scaling partnerships; performance framing
Agency partnerships	Renewals/expansion with holdcos; +50% YoY U.S. agency spend in Q1	dentsu global stack adoption; expanded second holdco partnership; go-to-market focused on bundled Commerce Max/Growth/Grid	Deepening enterprise adoption
Retail Media product innovation	Onsite Video launched; offsite momentum	Auction-Based Display launched; 16 retailers live within a month; onsite display <10% of RM revenue but 30–40% of client mix—large runway	Rapid adoption; runway highlighted
Mid/long-tail marketplaces	—	Mirakl Ads integration to unlock third-party sellers and automated workflows	New demand unlock
Microsoft partnership	Retailers transitioning; demand-side work progressing	Preparing launch of several retailers; working toward first real-time demand setup by year-end	Building toward RTB unlock
Macro/tariffs	Election normalization, mixed category spend	Lower U.S. budgets in discretionary categories; category-level color (travel +28%, fashion -6%); tariffs seen more via consumer sentiment	Mixed; cautious outlook
AdTech services	Headwinds from large client preference shift in 2024	Continued negative impact from lower spend by a large client	Ongoing headwind, being mitigated
Retailer base	225 retailers in FY24	230+ retailers now; ~70% of top 30 U.S., ~50% of top 30 Europe	Expanding footprint

Management Commentary

CEO: “We are building a unified, outcome-based advertising platform for the next decade of commerce, anchored on AI innovation” .
CFO: “We are raising our full-year 2025 guidance and remain confident in our business strategy, as demonstrated by the deployment of $104 million for share repurchases in the first half of 2025” .
CEO on Retail Media Display: “Auction-Based Display…bringing programmatic flexibility to retail environments… retailer adoption ramping rapidly, with 16 retailers already live” .
CFO on mix and categories: APAC high single-digit media spend growth; travel +28%, classifieds strong; retail/fashion -6%; lower U.S. budgets .
CFO on profitability drivers: Adjusted EBITDA reflects growth investments (people, events), accelerated amortization tied to Privacy Sandbox processes , adjusted EBITDA margin still ~33–34% for FY25 .

Q&A Highlights

Agentic AI monetization paths remain open (affiliate, sponsored citations, commerce transactions); MCP setup designed for flexibility; partners showing strong interest in product recommendations and Commerce Audiences .
Agency GTM and bundling (Commerce Max, Commerce Growth, Commerce Grid) with deeper training and co-location to drive adoption; increasing agency share across platform .
CTV ramp: curated deal IDs through Commerce Grid; flexible DSP choice; early traction expected to accelerate into 2026 .
Mirakl integration: unlocks demand from third-party marketplace sellers; complements retailers avoiding Amazon dependencies .
Macro/tariffs: impact seen primarily via consumer sentiment; cautious stance on discretionary categories; retention near 90% .

Estimates Context

Q2 2025 beats: EPS $0.92 vs $0.71 consensus (beat), Revenue $482.7m vs $274.7m (beat), EBITDA $66.2m vs $64.8m (beat). Note consensus EBITDA likely non-adjusted versus company’s Adjusted EBITDA of $89.4m .
FY25 guidance uplift implies upward revisions to CXT growth and potentially to adjusted EBITDA outlook, with segment contributions: mid-single-digit Performance Media CXT and low-to-mid Retail Media growth (ex two specific clients, ~20% underlying) .

Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Raised FY25 CXT growth and solid Q3 guide indicate resilient demand and successful execution despite planned cost investments—narrative skewing positive on outlook .
Retail Media onsite product upgrades (Auction-Based Display, Onsite Video) plus Mirakl integration expand TAM and improve monetization—watch adoption curve and take-rate stability .
Platform flywheel strengthening via dentsu/WPP partnerships and broader agency enterprise motion—expect incremental media budgets across Commerce Max/Growth/Grid .
Short-term FCF/GAAP profit softness driven by seasonality and amortization; balance sheet/liquidity strong and buybacks active ($104m H1) .
AdTech services remains a drag; mitigation ongoing—monitor segment disclosures and mix shift to higher-return channels .
Macro-sensitive categories warrant caution, but retention ~90% and APAC/Travel strength provide ballast .
Trading: Positive skew on guidance raise and product/partnership catalysts; near-term volatility possible around discretionary categories and OpEx cadence; medium-term thesis levered to AI-driven full-funnel, cross-channel self-serve scale and Retail Media RTB unlock .

Criteo S.A. (CRTO)·Q2 2025 Earnings Summary