Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.17), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $442.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $420.61 million. Zeta Global had a positive return on equity of 4.73% and a negative net margin of 0.15%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.10) earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Zeta Global’s conference call:

• Record growth and raised guidance: Q2 revenue rose 44% year over year to $443 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 56% to $92 million. Management raised 2026 revenue guidance by $33 million to $1.818 billion and free cash flow guidance by $20 million to $255 million.
• AI adoption is driving expansion: More than 40% of super-scaled customers were monthly Athena users within 130 days of launch, and comprehensive AI adopters are generating higher revenue growth and net revenue retention than customers earlier in adoption.
• Customer and sales momentum remained strong: Super-scaled customers grew 17% to 197, pipeline increased more than 60% year over year, and cross-sell and upsell wins rose 43%. Partnerships with OpenAI, Palantir, and Snowflake are generating additional enterprise opportunities that are largely not included in current guidance.
• Profitability and cash generation improved: Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 170 basis points to 20.7%, free cash flow increased 73% to $58 million, and Zeta reported positive GAAP net income of $8.2 million versus a loss last year. The company also repurchased $29.9 million of stock during the quarter.
• Expansion beyond marketing is still developing: Zeta Business Intelligence is being used for real-time business decision-making across areas such as sports, retail, and energy drinks, but new enterprise sales cycles may be longer than existing-customer expansions as the company reaches CIOs and CTOs.

Zeta Global Stock Down 5.4%

ZETA stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.62. 8,662,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,962,599. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of -1,283.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.39. Zeta Global has a twelve month low of $14.36 and a twelve month high of $28.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Insider Transactions at Zeta Global

In related news, Director Jeanine Silberblatt sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.89, for a total value of $149,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,461.50. This represents a 12.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZETA. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Zeta Global by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 153,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,221 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zeta Global by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,027,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,957,000 after purchasing an additional 318,709 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Zeta Global during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Zeta Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $428,000. Finally, Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Zeta Global by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd now owns 60,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Zeta Global

Here are the key news stories impacting Zeta Global this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly growth and raised outlook: Zeta reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $442.8 million, up 43.6% year over year and above the $420.6 million analyst estimate. Management raised its 2026 revenue outlook to roughly $1.818 billion and forecast third-quarter revenue of $469 million to $472 million, ahead of consensus. Zeta projects 2026 revenue and raises EPS guidance
• Positive Sentiment: AI momentum is supporting the investment case: The company highlighted increased customer adoption of its Athena AI platform, stronger AI-led revenue quality, expanding partnerships, and a marketing-platform collaboration with Palantir. Management said these initiatives are strengthening its sales pipeline and growth prospects. Zeta Global Q2 earnings call centers on AI adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support increased: Needham raised its price target for ZETA from $25 to $30 and maintained a “buy” rating, citing the company’s growth outlook. Needham raises Zeta Global price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity: Investors purchased nearly 39,905 call options, about 44% above typical daily volume. The activity indicates heightened bullish speculation but does not necessarily represent durable fundamental demand. Zeta Global unusual options trading
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and earnings-quality concerns are weighing on the stock: While adjusted earnings were reported at approximately $0.21 per share, above the $0.20 consensus estimate, other reports cited GAAP EPS of $0.03, well below expectations. The discrepancy, along with minimal GAAP profitability, likely prompted investors to lock in gains after the recent rally. Zeta Global stock slips after earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $28.00 target price on Zeta Global and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Zeta Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Zeta Global from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Zeta Global from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Zeta Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zeta Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.67.

Zeta Global Company Profile

Zeta Global, founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York City, is a leading data-driven marketing technology company. The firm’s mission centers on helping brands acquire, grow and retain customers through a unified customer lifecycle management platform. Over the years, Zeta Global has built a reputation for leveraging big data and predictive analytics to power digital marketing programs across multiple channels.

At the core of Zeta’s offering is the Zeta Marketing Platform, which combines identity resolution, audience insights and real-time engagement capabilities.