Criteo SA
NASDAQ:CRTO
Criteo SA
Criteo SA, a French ad-tech company, has carved out a distinctive niche in the bustling world of digital advertising. Founded in 2005, the company initially focused on developing a solution that would leverage machine learning to enhance display advertisement targeting. Criteo’s journey is characterized by its pioneering efforts in personalized marketing, utilizing vast amounts of consumer data to deliver highly relevant advertisements. At its core, the company’s technology operates as a performance marketing engine, where its algorithms sift through sprawling data sets to predict user behavior and preferences, enabling advertisers to reach potential customers with precision.
The firm generates revenue primarily through its pay-per-click model, where advertisers are charged based on user engagement with their ads. This means Criteo's earnings are closely tied to the efficacy of its targeting capabilities in driving consumer interaction. Moreover, Criteo has increasingly pivoted toward retail media, offering brands and retailers the ability to play ads on retail partners’ websites. This strategic shift allows it to capitalize on booming e-commerce trends, expanding its services beyond traditional display advertising. By enabling advertisers to reach users with personalized product recommendations across diverse platforms, Criteo remains a formidable player in the evolving digital advertising landscape.
Criteo SA, a French ad-tech company, has carved out a distinctive niche in the bustling world of digital advertising. Founded in 2005, the company initially focused on developing a solution that would leverage machine learning to enhance display advertisement targeting. Criteo’s journey is characterized by its pioneering efforts in personalized marketing, utilizing vast amounts of consumer data to deliver highly relevant advertisements. At its core, the company’s technology operates as a performance marketing engine, where its algorithms sift through sprawling data sets to predict user behavior and preferences, enabling advertisers to reach potential customers with precision.
The firm generates revenue primarily through its pay-per-click model, where advertisers are charged based on user engagement with their ads. This means Criteo's earnings are closely tied to the efficacy of its targeting capabilities in driving consumer interaction. Moreover, Criteo has increasingly pivoted toward retail media, offering brands and retailers the ability to play ads on retail partners’ websites. This strategic shift allows it to capitalize on booming e-commerce trends, expanding its services beyond traditional display advertising. By enabling advertisers to reach users with personalized product recommendations across diverse platforms, Criteo remains a formidable player in the evolving digital advertising landscape.
Record Results: Criteo delivered record 2025 results with $1.9 billion revenue and strong margins, despite a year that unfolded differently than anticipated.
AI & Agentic Commerce: The company is aligning around commerce intelligence and AI decisioning, with early momentum in agentic commerce initiatives and new AI-powered recommendation services.
Retail Media Impact: Retail Media revenue faced headwinds due to scope reductions at two clients, but underlying growth (excluding these clients) was strong and set to accelerate in 2026.
Performance Media Growth: Performance Media showed growth, driven by expansion of the GO self-serve platform and cross-channel campaigns, particularly in social and video.
Strong Cash Generation: Free cash flow reached $211 million, up 16% year-over-year, with a significant share buyback and no long-term debt.
2026 Outlook: Guidance for 2026 expects flat to up 2% contribution ex-TAC growth, with improvement through the year and a return to growth in the second half. AI initiatives are excluded from revenue outlook due to their early stage.
Margin Guidance: Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be 32%–34% in 2026, reflecting ongoing investment in AI and agentic commerce.
