The stock of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.US) surged following Trump’s election win, but the most popular stock in the U.S. market this week was a surprising new contender—AppLovin.

AppLovin has seen a staggering 647% year-to-date increase, far exceeding NVIDIA's growth over the same period. Its market capitalization has surpassed the $100 billion mark, making it Wall Street’s new "AI darling." Initially founded on advertising, the company has capitalized on the AI boom. Its third-quarter results significantly outperformed expectations, driven by the AI-powered advertising engine AXON 2.0, which enhanced its advertising profitability.

According to reports from Titanium Media App on November 8, AppLovin released its Q3 2024 financial results on November 7 (Beijing Time), showing revenues of $1.2 billion, a 39% year-over-year increase. Net income was $434 million, up by 300%, with a net profit margin of 36% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 60%. Revenue from its software platform, including the AXON AI ad engine, grew to $835 million, up 66% year-over-year, with an adjusted profit margin of 78%, surpassing Wall Street's expectations.

Adam Foroughi, AppLovin’s Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder, stated that the company achieved outstanding results in the third quarter. The AXON model continuously improves through self-learning, enabling advertising partners to achieve greater success at scale and acting as a catalyst for industry growth. “It’s the best and fastest-growing product we’ve ever launched, but it’s still in the pilot phase. It looks very strong, and we believe it will impact the company’s financials significantly in 2025 and beyond.”

AppLovin’s nearly 650% year-to-date rise has far outpaced NVIDIA’s 206% increase over the same period. CNBC has called it the best-performing tech stock in the U.S. capital market this year.

Source: uSMART SG

AppLovin originally built its foundation on the advertising business, especially focusing on mobile app and gaming platform ads, which helped it gain significant market share in the gaming industry. With the rise of AI technology, AppLovin swiftly launched its AI advertising engine, AXON 2.0, providing a major boost to its stock price.

As AppLovin's stock soared, CEO Adam Foroughi’s net worth increased alongside it, reaching $10.9 billion and placing him at 251st on the global rich list.

What has propelled this ad-tech company to a market cap of over $100 billion and driven its extraordinary stock performance this year? Besides AppLovin’s impressive results, AI played a crucial role.

While revenue is rapidly growing, Wall Street is more focused on AppLovin’s profitability, with third-quarter profits up by 300%. Wedbush analysts noted, “AppLovin continues to impress with its phenomenal revenue growth and incredible EBITDA conversion rate.” Wedbush has raised its price target from $170 to $270.

During the earnings call, Adam revealed that in a decade, they envision a platform where every advertiser with a transactional model—whether a pizza shop, e-commerce brand, gaming brand, or online advertiser—can buy and scale ads through AppLovin. For now, Adam aims for AppLovin to gradually penetrate new categories, first expanding into e-commerce and eventually moving into other key advertising sectors, leading to the entire transactional ad space over time.

As of 2020, AppLovin owned more than 200 mobile games, with over 410 million active software users daily. That year, AppLovin reported annual revenue of $1.45 billion, a 46% increase from the previous year, but it incurred a net loss of nearly $126 million compared to a profit of $119 million in 2019.

How to trade investments on uSMART:

After logging into uSMART SG APP, click "Search" from the upper right corner of the page, enter the target code, such as "TSM", and enter the details page to learn about transaction details and historical trends. Click "Trade" in the lower right corner and select "Buy/Sell" "Send" function, finally fill in the transaction conditions and send the order; the image operation instructions are as follows:

Source: uSMART SG

Follow us

Find us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for frequent updates on all things investing.

Have a financial topic you would like to discuss? Head over to the uSMART Community to share your thoughts and insights about the market! Click the picture below to download and explore uSMART app！

Important Notice and Disclaimer:

We have based this article on our internal research and information available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable. While we have taken all reasonable care in preparing this article, we do not represent the information contained in this article is accurate or complete and we accept no responsibility for errors of fact or for any opinion expressed in this article. Opinions, projections and estimates reflect our assessments as of the article date and are subject to change. We have no obligation to notify you or anyone of any such change. You must make your own independent judgment with respect to any matter contained in this article. Neither we or our respective directors, officers or employees will be responsible for any losses or damages which any person may suffer or incur as a result of relying upon anything stated or omitted from this article.

This document should not be construed in any jurisdiction as constituting an offer, solicitation, recommendation, inducement, endorsement, opinion, or guarantee to purchase, sell, or trade any securities, financial products, or instruments or to engage in any investment or any transaction of any kind, nor is there any intention to solicit or invite the purchase or sale of any securities.

The value of these securities and the income from them may fall or rise. Your investment is subject to investment risk, including loss of income and capital invested. Past performance figures as well as any projection or forecast used in this article is not indicative of its future performance.

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore