Zeta Global shares rose 8.2% to close at $35.07 on Tuesday after the marketing technology company reported third-quarter revenue of $492.7 million, up 46% year on year, and raised its full-year outlook for 2026.

Non-GAAP earnings were 38 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents and rising from 24 cents a year earlier. Revenue also beat the consensus estimate of $470.5 million. Net income was $38 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.02 per share in the same quarter last year.

AI adoption is driving the growth

Zeta sells data and artificial intelligence tools that help large companies plan and target digital marketing. Management said the quarter was driven by growing use of Athena, its AI assistant, with customers spending more as they saw better returns from their campaigns.

Revenue excluding the Marigold acquisition and political candidate spending grew 30%, accelerating from 28% in the second quarter. Athena adopters accounted for more than 70% of total revenue, and more than half of the company's largest customers, known as super-scaled customers, were monthly active Athena users, up from just over 40% in the previous quarter.

The number of super-scaled customers rose 18% year on year to 212, while their average revenue per user increased 22% to $2 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 55% to $121 million, with the margin widening to 24.6%. Free cash flow climbed 73% to $82 million.

Outlook raised across the board

Chief financial officer Christopher Greiner raised full-year revenue guidance to $1.853 billion to $1.857 billion, lifting the midpoint by $37 million to $1.855 billion. The revised outlook implies 42% annual growth. Fourth-quarter revenue is projected at $521 million to $525 million.

The company also raised its full-year guidance for adjusted EBITDA to $414.1 million to $415.2 million, and for free cash flow to $270.6 million to $271.6 million. Its forecast for GAAP earnings per share rose to $0.23, from $0.10. Greiner said the revenue outlook assumed minimal contributions from strategic partnerships and kept a 2% to 5% cushion.

Chief executive David Steinberg said the Palantir partnership could eventually generate more than $100 million in incremental annual revenue, combining Zeta's external demand data with companies' internal operational data. The companies have received eight positive responses from prospective joint customers. Zeta also highlighted its expanding relationship with OpenAI, including work on OpenAI's emerging advertising business, where Steinberg said Zeta was already serving ads.

Expanding beyond marketing

Zeta is developing AthenaOS to extend its intelligence tools beyond marketing into wider enterprise uses, including inventory management, supply chain optimisation, fraud detection and cybersecurity. The product is in alpha testing, with selected customers expected to start beta testing during 2026 and general availability targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

Demand signals were strong elsewhere too. Requests for proposals rose more than 100% year on year to a quarterly record, and the company's Zeta Live event generated more than $100 million in newly created pipeline and 23 signed deals in recent weeks.

Zeta currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3, or Hold, indicating a neutral near-term outlook for earnings estimate revisions. The company plans to give official guidance for 2027 in February. For now, investors have rewarded a quarter in which growth accelerated, profitability improved and the outlook rose on every major measure.

Source: Zacks and Defense World.