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LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 5 November 2025: press release. Guidance figures: 2 raised, 1 lowered, 4 new, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue grew 8% year over year: Total revenue was $200 million, up 8% from $185 million a year earlier. Six-month revenue was $395 million, up 9%. Source
  • GAAP operating income reached $21 million: GAAP operating income was $21 million, against $7 million a year earlier; GAAP operating margin was 11%, up 7 percentage points. Source
  • Second quarter results exceeded prior guidance: The prior release guided second-quarter revenue to $197 million and non-GAAP operating income to approximately $39 million.
  • Subscription growth slowed to 5%: Subscription revenue was $150 million, up 5%, against 10% growth in the prior quarter, when it was $148 million. Source
  • Customers above $1 million rose: 132 customers have annualized subscription revenue above $1 million, against 125 a year earlier and 127 in the prior quarter. Source
  • Gross margin compressed on both bases: GAAP gross margin was 70%, down 2 points; non-GAAP gross margin was 72%, down 3 points. Cost of revenue rose 16% to $59.6 million. Source
  • ARR rose $14 million sequentially: Annualized recurring revenue, the last month's fixed subscription revenue annualized, was $516 million, up 7% from a year earlier. Source
  • CRPO rose 15%: Current remaining performance obligations were $430 million, up 15%, compared with $451 million in the prior quarter. Source

“Second quarter revenue and operating income exceeded our guidance.”

CEO Scott Howe

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Revenue Sourcethird quarter of fiscal 2026$209 million to $213 million, an increase of 7% to 9%New
GAAP operating income Sourcethird quarter of fiscal 2026$33 million to $35 millionNew
Non-GAAP operating income Sourcethird quarter of fiscal 2026$55 million to $57 millionNew
Non-cash stock compensation (excluded from non-GAAP) Sourcethird quarter of fiscal 2026$19 millionNew
Revenue Sourcefiscal 2026$804 million to $818 million, an increase of 8% to 10%Raised from $798 million to $818 million, an increase of 7% to 10%
GAAP operating income Sourcefiscal 2026$83 million to $87 millionRaised from $81 million to $85 million
Non-GAAP operating income Sourcefiscal 2026$178 million to $182 millionKept
Non-cash stock compensation (excluded from non-GAAP) Sourcefiscal 2026$83 millionLowered from $85 million

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 was given for revenue, GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating income; the prior release gave second-quarter guidance. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year revenue range low end raised to $804 million from $798 million. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year GAAP operating income range raised to $83 million to $87 million from $81 million to $85 million. Source
  • Guidance kept: Full-year non-GAAP operating income range held at $178 million to $182 million. Source
  • New: Three AI tools announced for the data collaboration platform: autonomous agent collaboration, AI segmentation and AI-powered Data Marketplace search. Source
  • New: First-party data activation on Netflix expanded to ten new geographic markets in addition to the United States. Source
  • New: Snowflake named the company a Leader in Data Collaboration in its 2026 Modern Marketing Stack Report. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Revenue grew 8% year over year: Total revenue was $200 million, up 8% from $185 million a year earlier. Six-month revenue was $395 million, up 9%. Source
  • GAAP operating income reached $21 million: GAAP operating income was $21 million, against $7 million a year earlier; GAAP operating margin was 11%, up 7 percentage points. Source
  • Diluted EPS on both bases: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.42, against $0.03 a year earlier; non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.55, against $0.51. Source
  • Second quarter results exceeded prior guidance: The prior release guided second-quarter revenue to $197 million and non-GAAP operating income to approximately $39 million.

Subscription and marketplace mix

  • Subscription growth slowed to 5%: Subscription revenue was $150 million, up 5%, against 10% growth in the prior quarter, when it was $148 million. Source
  • Marketplace & Other growth accelerated: Marketplace & Other revenue was $50 million, up 18%, compared with 13% growth in the prior quarter, when it was $46 million. Source
  • Subscription net retention eased: Subscription net retention was 102%, against 104% in the prior quarter; platform net retention was 105%, unchanged. Source

“ARR, a leading indicator of our subscription revenue, posted the largest like-for-like increase sequentially in the last seven quarters.”

CEO Scott Howe

Customers and products

  • Customers above $1 million rose: 132 customers have annualized subscription revenue above $1 million, against 125 a year earlier and 127 in the prior quarter. Source
  • Direct subscription customers declined: Direct subscription customers were 834, against 885 a year earlier and 835 in the prior quarter. Source
  • Three AI tools added to platform: Announced tools: autonomous AI agents collaborating with governed access, AI-powered multi-source audience segmentation from natural language prompts, and AI-powered search in the Data Marketplace. Source
  • Netflix activation extended to ten markets: First-party data activation on Netflix now covers the United States plus ten new markets, including Canada, Japan and Australia. Source
  • Meta attribution offered to RMNs: Retail media networks can connect Meta ad exposures with first-party sales data in the LiveRamp Clean Room to measure sales, orders and return on ad spend. Source
  • Recognized as Snowflake data collaboration Leader: The company was named a Leader in Data Collaboration in Snowflake's 2026 Modern Marketing Stack Report. Source

Costs, margins and profitability

  • Gross margin compressed on both bases: GAAP gross margin was 70%, down 2 points; non-GAAP gross margin was 72%, down 3 points. Cost of revenue rose 16% to $59.6 million. Source
  • Operating expenses declined in total: Total operating expenses were $119 million, down 6%. Research and development fell 16% and sales and marketing fell 5%; general and administrative rose 6%. Source
  • Non-cash stock compensation fell: Non-cash stock compensation was $20.5 million, against $29.1 million a year earlier; adjusted EBITDA was $45.3 million, against $41.4 million. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating income rose 10%: Non-GAAP operating income was $45 million, up 10%, and the non-GAAP operating margin of 22% was unchanged from a year earlier. Source

“This gives us confidence in our forward growth.”

CEO Scott Howe

ARR, remaining obligations and demand

  • ARR rose $14 million sequentially: Annualized recurring revenue, the last month's fixed subscription revenue annualized, was $516 million, up 7% from a year earlier. Source
  • Demand across several use cases: Management cited demand across retail and commerce media networks, cross-media measurement, and AI-powered advertising and agentic orchestration. Source
  • CRPO rose 15%: Current remaining performance obligations were $430 million, up 15%, compared with $451 million in the prior quarter. Source

Cash, capital and share repurchases

  • Operating cash flow edged up: Operating cash flow was $57 million, against $56 million; free cash flow was $57 million, against $55 million a year earlier. Source
  • Share repurchases in the quarter: Second-quarter repurchases were 1.8 million shares for $50 million; fiscal year to date repurchases were 2.9 million shares for $80 million. Source
  • Cash and equivalents declined: Cash and cash equivalents were $369 million at September 30, 2025, down from $413 million at March 31, 2025. Source
  • Receivables grew 16%: Trade accounts receivable, net were $216.8 million, up 16.4% from March 31, 2025. Source
  • Diluted share count declined: Diluted weighted average shares were 65.8 million in the second quarter, against 67.3 million a year earlier. Source

Coming up, as management said on 5 November 2025

  • Third-quarter fiscal 2026 guidance: Management gave guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 on revenue, GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating income. Source
  • Full-year fiscal 2026 guidance updated: Full-year fiscal 2026 guidance was given on the same three measures and now replaces the range in the prior release. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Annualized recurring revenue (ARR) Source$516 million, up 7%
Subscription net retention Source102%
Platform net retention Source105%
Current remaining performance obligations (CRPO) Source$430 million, up 15%
Customers with annualized subscription revenue above $1 million Source132
Direct subscription customers Source834
Subscription revenue Source$150 million, up 5%

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Ahead: Management said second-quarter revenue and operating income exceeded the guidance given in the prior release. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.