TL;DR: Why Reddit is the New Growth Stock to Beat

Key Points

• Reddit's revenue and user base have grown at a fast pace in recent quarters.
• Strong performance internationally has helped to fuel these gains, thanks to add-on features like translation tools and more.
• The company's average revenue per user remains low compared to rivals, suggesting that Reddit could continue to boost its appeal to advertisers going forward.

Reddit Inc. NYSE: RDDT is ending the year on a high note, having returned about 37% in 2025, relaunching a rally that seemed to flatline earlier in the fall.

The online content-sharing platform is showing signs of rapid growth, with its user base, earnings, and engagement features all expanding at a fast pace. At a time when major social media rivals like Meta Platforms Inc. NASDAQ: META and even lesser-known alternatives like Pinterest Inc. NYSE: PINS have failed to outperform the market or, worse yet, have declined this year, Reddit seems to be heating up.

What might 2026 have in store for the popular aggregation site, and will it remain the growth stock to beat in the year to come? A closer look at factors like user engagement, advertising momentum, and capacity for further revenue improvement reveals Reddit's potential going forward.

User Engagement Fuels Potential Growth

One of the brightest spots for Reddit this year has been its stellar engagement gains. The company ended the third quarter with an impressive 116 million daily active uniques (DAUQ), or individual users who have visited a page on reddit.com, opened a related app, or otherwise engaged with one of its platforms in a 24-hour period. This surged by about 20% year-over-year (YOY), roughly the same increase that the company experienced among weekly active uniques (WAUQ) as well.

Reddit's international DAUQ growth reached about 31% YOY, outperforming overall user engagement gains, thanks to major strides in markets in France, Brazil, and India.

Reddit's business depends on a huge user base, and both DAUQ and WAUQ growth provide substantial support for success going forward. With more users, for example, Reddit can command a greater pull with advertisers, who drive a large majority of the company's sales.

A relatively untapped potential revenue application for the company, given its rapid user expansion, is data. With some 3.8 billion site visits in September alone, Reddit has troves of user data that are incredibly valuable, particularly as the AI boom continues.

Revenue and Earnings Climb, But ARPU Trails Competitors

With more and more users engaging with its platform, Reddit's revenue has soared. In the latest earnings, revenue reached $585 million, up more than two-thirds in just a year's time. Revenue was especially strong in the international space, where it saw 74% growth YOY. Earnings per share (EPS) climbed by 400% at the same time, as both top and bottom lines handily beat analyst predictions. Guidance for the final quarter of the year was strong, placing revenue between $655 million and $665 million.

Besides revenue on absolute terms, a company like Reddit measures its revenue based on its user base. Average revenue per user (ARPU) is $5.04 as of the last quarter, an improvement of 41% YOY but still substantially lower than many rivals (Meta's ARPU, for example, is about three times that level). There is a real opportunity for improvement in this area, but Reddit will have to do more than expand its user base to achieve that. 

The company has room to grow ARPU by leveraging its unique content, community engagement, and tools such as auto-translations and indexing features—especially valuable for advertisers seeking diverse and active audiences.

AI and Human Content Balance Key to 2026 Outlook

Analysts are generally optimistic about Reddit heading into the new year, with 18 out of 29 assigning it a Buy or equivalent rating.

After its reignited rally ending the year, it's unclear what the stock's short-term upside potential may be—based on a consensus price target of $230.28, Reddit is already nearing the level analysts believe it could reach. 

Key to boosting its potential for price appreciation is Reddit's navigation of AI. As AI demand surges, Reddit has so far limited its use of the technology on the user end.

So far, the opportunity to engage with human-generated content has appealed to a broadening user base.

If this continues, and Reddit is able to provide a balance of robust content and tools while maintaining its attractiveness to a wide group of internet users, it could continue to appreciate into 2026 and beyond.