What Zeta Global (ZETA) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Q3 revenue rose 46% year over year to $493 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 55% to $121 million and free cash flow climbed 73% to $82 million.
• Zeta raised its 2026 outlook, setting a revenue midpoint of $1.855 billion, up 42%, and lifting forecasts for adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and GAAP EPS.
• Growth was fueled by increased use of its Athena AI tools: more than half of its largest customers were monthly active users. Zeta also cited expansion opportunities through AthenaOS and partnerships with Palantir and OpenAI.

Zeta Global NYSE: ZETA reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $493 million, up 46% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year outlook as customers increased their use of its artificial intelligence tools.

Revenue grew 30% excluding Marigold and political candidate revenue, accelerating from 28% in the second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Chris Greiner said. The company’s quarterly revenue exceeded the midpoint of its guidance by $22 million.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 55% to $121 million, while free cash flow increased 73% to $82 million. Zeta reported net income of $38 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.02 per share a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share rose to $0.38 from $0.24.

Full-Year Outlook Rises

Zeta raised its 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $37 million to $1.855 billion, representing 42% growth. Excluding Marigold and political candidate revenue, the company expects growth of 27%.

The company also increased its full-year guidance midpoints for adjusted EBITDA to $414.6 million and free cash flow to $271 million. It raised its forecast for GAAP earnings per share to $0.23 from $0.10.

For the fourth quarter, Zeta expects revenue of $523 million at the midpoint, up $15 million from its prior forecast, and adjusted EBITDA of $136 million. Its revenue outlook includes $13 million in political candidate revenue, $5 million more than previously expected.

Greiner said the revised revenue outlook assumes minimal contributions from partnerships, including only signed pilots. He said the company plans to provide official 2027 guidance in February and noted that its initial annual forecasts have historically called for growth of 20% to 21% excluding certain items.

Athena Adoption and Customer Spending

Greiner attributed the third-quarter revenue performance to higher adoption and usage of Athena, Zeta’s AI assistant. More than 50% of the company’s largest customer cohort, known as Super-Scaled Customers, were monthly active Athena users, up from just over 40% in the preceding quarter.

The number of Super-Scaled Customers increased 18% year over year to 212, while their quarterly average revenue per user rose 22% to $2 million. Across Zeta’s customer base, Athena adopters accounted for more than 70% of revenue, and the top 25 Athena users generated revenue growth of more than 70%, Greiner said.

Customer campaign development more than doubled from the prior quarter, and time spent on the platform rose more than 50%, according to Greiner. He said the company views campaign development as an indicator of potential future activation activity.

Chief Executive Officer David Steinberg said Athena helps customers use more of Zeta’s platform, including new audiences and channels. He said that as customers see improved returns, they are moving more spending to Zeta.

Enterprise Expansion and Partnerships

Zeta is developing AthenaOS to extend its intelligence tools beyond marketing. The product is in alpha testing, with select customers expected to begin using a beta version this year and general availability expected in the first quarter of 2027.

Steinberg said AthenaOS is intended to work alongside legacy marketing technology and other platforms. He identified inventory management, supply chain management, fraud detection and cybersecurity as areas where Zeta is seeing usage beyond marketing.

Steinberg also said Zeta and Palantir have received eight affirmative responses from prospective joint customers. Two were actively operating, while others were moving through the contract process, he said. The company continues to expect the partnership could generate more than $100 million in incremental annual revenue in the years ahead.

Zeta’s partnership with OpenAI includes work on commercial opportunities tied to OpenAI’s emerging advertising business, Steinberg said, adding that Zeta is already serving ads on the platform.

The company’s Zeta Live event generated more than $100 million in newly created pipeline in recent weeks and resulted in 23 signed deals, Steinberg said. Greiner added that requests for proposals reached a quarterly record, rising more than 100% year over year; he said that figure did not include new opportunities emerging from Zeta Live or the Palantir partnership.

About Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA)

Zeta Global is a marketing technology company that helps businesses use consumer data and artificial intelligence to plan and deliver digital marketing. Its platform combines data, analytics and campaign tools to help organizations identify audiences and engage customers throughout the marketing lifecycle.

The company's products support marketing activities such as customer acquisition, engagement and retention across channels including email, mobile, social media and the web. Zeta's offerings include its Zeta Marketing Platform and the Zeta Data Cloud, which help clients manage audience insights and coordinate campaigns.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York, Zeta Global serves businesses in multiple markets.

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