On Thursday, Reddit reported net income of $253 million for the second quarter. This is roughly three times the $89 million earned a year earlier.
However, executives warned that traffic from search engines became volatile towards the end of the quarter, a weakness for a company betting on turning its massive audience into daily users.
Reddit Revenue Grew 61% for the Eighth Consecutive Quarter
Key metrics were released during the July 30th earnings conference call and were strong across the board. Total revenue grew 61% to $805 million compared to the previous year. This marks the eighth consecutive quarter with growth exceeding 60%. Advertising revenue jumped 64% to $762 million, which the company attributed to higher ad prices and an increased number of impressions.
Adjusted EBITDA was $343 million, a 43% increase from the year before. Diluted earnings per share were $1.25. The company's operating cash flow for the quarter was $262 million, bringing the trailing twelve-month figure above $1 billion for the first time, CFO Andrew Vollero told analysts. Reddit forecasts revenue for the current quarter to be between $860 and $870 million.
Reddit also launched its first substantial shareholder return program. The company spent $235 million to repurchase 1.5 million shares at an average price of $157.57 per share.
COO Jennifer Wong highlighted advertiser success. Conversions more than doubled, and clicks grew over 30% year-over-year. The active advertiser base grew more than 70%. Reddit achieved $1 million in revenue per employee over the last twelve months. And next quarter, the company will no longer separately disclose daily authorized and unauthorized user data.
Today we released Reddit's Q2 2026 financial results. Here are a few key highlights:
Revenue: $805M USD (+61% YoY)
Weekly Active Unique Users: over 514M (+24% YoY)
8th consecutive quarter of GAPP profitability
Advertising Revenue: +64%Read more: https://t.co/aDAoYR8DKY
— Reddit, Inc. (@Reddit) July 30, 2026
Search Queries on Reddit Became Volatile Late in the Quarter
Weekly Active Unique Users surpassed 500 million for the first time, reaching 514.6 million. Daily Active Unique Users grew 18% to 130.3 million. Management stated that search queries became less predictable as the quarter progressed, somewhat dampening the daily user growth achieved through product work.
"Referrer transparency remains low," said CEO Steven Huffman, adding that visits driven by search queries were volatile by the period's end. Reddit has long relied on traditional search engine referrals, and he said "AI reviews have not yet provided a similar positive lift." Vollero said "user acquisition costs need strong attention for profitability improvement" as Reddit balances paid advertising with branding.
The caution from Reddit users comes during an earnings season where Wall Street shows little patience for vulnerabilities. Cryptopolitan reported that Microsoft shares jumped 8% after the company exceeded revenue and profit forecasts, while Meta shares fell 10% the same week due to a sharp increase in expenses and profit disappointment.
Alphabet shares declined after the company reported its first quarterly decline in free cash flow in decades and raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $205 billion, reports Cryptopolitan.
