ZETA Gains 6% Since Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates

Revenues surged 43.5% year over year to $442.8 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $420.2 million by 5.4%. Growth reflected strong AI adoption, customer expansion and higher platform usage. Super-scaled customers and their average revenue per user each increased 17%.

The stock gained 6% since the earnings release on Aug. 4 in response to the better-than-expected results and as guidance was strong. For the third quarter of 2026, Zeta expects revenues between $469 million and $472 million, implying growth of 39-40%. The midpoint increased by $10 million from the prior outlook.

Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $115 million and $116 million, representing growth of 47-49%. The corresponding margin is expected between 24.4% and 24.7%.

Management raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $1.811-$1.824 billion from a prior midpoint of $1.785 billion. The revised range is higher than the current Zacks Consensus estimate of $1.79 billion and indicates growth of 39-40%, or 24-25% excluding M&A and political candidate revenues.

Adjusted EBITDA is now expected between $404.1 million and $406.3 million. Free cash flow guidance increased to $254.8-$255.8 million, while GAAP earnings guidance rose to 9-11 cents per share.

ZETA Benefits From Broad-Based Revenue Growth

Second-quarter revenues increased from $308.4 million in the year-ago period. Excluding acquisitions, revenues rose 28%, marking the company’s 21st consecutive quarter of more than 20% growth after excluding M&A and political candidate revenues.

Demand was broad-based across industries. Eight of Zeta’s top 10 verticals posted more than 20% trailing-12-month growth. Consumer and retail, financial services, automotive and healthcare accelerated from the preceding quarter.

The total sales pipeline expanded more than 60% year over year and increased by more than $100 million over the past 90 days. Pipeline creation per seller more than doubled, while average contract values for deals won increased more than 40%.

Zeta’s Customer Metrics Exceed Long-Term Model

The number of super-scaled customers, which generate at least $1 million in trailing-12-month revenues, reached 197. This compares with 168 a year earlier and 189 in the first quarter, marking seven consecutive quarters of sequential growth.

Super-scaled customer average revenue per user reached $1.8 million, up from $1.6 million a year ago. Both customer-count growth and ARPU growth exceeded the ranges in Zeta’s 2028 model.

Customers using more than one use case increased 90% year over year, while those employing at least five channels rose more than 50%. Cross-sell and upsell deals won advanced 43%, reflecting traction from the One Zeta sales initiative and Marigold cross-selling.

ZETA’s AI Adoption Supports Platform Expansion

More than 40% of super-scaled customers became monthly active Athena users within 130 days of its enterprise launch. Among all customers, the 20% that comprehensively adopted Zeta’s AI tools generated roughly 70% of revenues.

Within the super-scaled group, the 50% of customers with comprehensive AI adoption accounted for 75% of revenues. These AI-intensive users grew four times faster than customers still in the early stages of adoption.

Athena engagement is increasingly voice-based, with 83% of customer interactions conducted through spoken commands. Management also noted that 90% of new code generated during the quarter was automated, helping accelerate product development.

Zeta Delivers Margin and Cash Flow Gains

Adjusted EBITDA increased 56% year over year to $91.7 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 170 basis points to 20.7%, reflecting integration savings and restructuring benefits from Marigold.

Operating expenses totaled $425.8 million compared with $313.5 million a year ago. Cost of revenues was $181 million, while selling and marketing, general and administrative, and research and development expenses were $104 million, $75.9 million and $42.2 million, respectively.

Operating cash flow rose 65% to $69.2 million. Free cash flow advanced 73% to $58 million, while free cash flow margin improved 220 basis points to 13.1%.

Zeta ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $310 million and long-term borrowings of $197.5 million. The company also repurchased $29.9 million of shares during the quarter.

ZETA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Earnings Snapshots

Trane Technologies TT reported impressive second-quarter 2026 results. TT’s adjusted earnings of $4.31 per share outpaced the consensus mark by 0.9% and rose 11.1% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. TT’s total revenues of $6.35 billion surpassed the consensus mark by 2.9% and increased 6.4% year over year.

Rollins ROL posted unimpressive second-quarter 2026 results. ROL’s adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.9% but rose 6.7% year over year. Total revenues of $1.08 billion fell short of the consensus estimate by 1.7% but increased 7.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Verisk VRSK reported second-quarter 2026 diluted adjusted earnings of $1.98 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.94 by 2.1%. The figure increased 5.3% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $806.3 million topped the consensus mark of $802.4 million by 0.5% and rose 4.3% year over year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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