Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) today reported second quarter 2026 earnings. While the company’s financial performance reflected continued headwinds in a small number of large performance media accounts, the company continued to make progress on its strategic priorities.
Commerce Intelligence sits at the core of Criteo’s strategy. By combining large-scale commerce data with AI-powered decisioning, Criteo enables advertisers to predict shopper intent and optimize outcomes across increasingly fragmented shopping journeys, while also helping brands and retailers adapt as AI reshapes how consumers discover and purchase products.
Criteo also announced the appointment of Connor McGogney as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 10, 2026. He succeeds Sarah Glickman, who has served as CFO since 2020 and will remain as an advisor through the end of September to support the transition.
Traction with AI-Assisted Commerce
Criteo continued to expand its AI-assisted commerce capabilities across brands, retailers and agencies. Highlights include:
OpenAI becoming Criteo’s fastest-growing partnership and channel:
• Continued Brand Adoption: More than 2,000 brands are now running campaigns through ChatGPT, doubling from the more than 1,000 announced at the end of April.
• International Expansion: Expanded OpenAI demand integration to seven countries including Japan, Korea and Australia in APAC, with additional country launches planned, including Mexico and Brazil.
• Retail Media Innovation: With Metro Canada, Criteo became the first to bring retailer product catalogs into ChatGPT, which opens an entirely new source of demand for brands and a new monetization opportunity for retailers.
• Strong Performance Signals: Traffic from ChatGPT converts at approximately 1.5-2x the rate of traditional referral traffic, while roughly 80% of paid traffic is new to the brand.
Driving AI Innovation:
• Retailer Chatbots: Launched Sponsored Recommendations within retailer AI assistants, with Albertsons becoming the first retailer to deploy the capability.
• Conversational Ads: Executed early testing of Conversational Ads, bringing AI-powered guided shopping experiences to the open web.
• MCP Adoption: Expanded adoption of Criteo’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) server among leading brands and agency holding companies allows marketers to work more effectively and efficiently.
Building the Future of Cross-Channel, Full-Funnel Performance
Criteo is delivering performance for an increasingly cross-channel ecosystem, reinforcing confidence that it is building a stronger commercial engine for more durable long-term growth. Specifically, the company grew its qualified pipeline by approximately 30% year over year, and expanded its agency business, with agencies now representing approximately 55% of its pipeline, up from about 35% a year ago. Highlights include:
• Criteo GO: Criteo saw early momentum for its AI-powered self-service platform, with more than half of small clients globally now using GO. Adoption is building with new account creation in June approximately three times higher than the platform’s initial months.
• Cross-Channel Activation: Nearly 80% of U.S. revenue generated through GO now comes from cross-channel campaigns, demonstrating growing advertiser demand to manage display, social, video and AI channels through a single platform.
• Full-Funnel Innovation: Introduced Discovery Audiences, which help advertisers engage consumers earlier in the shopping journey while optimizing performance from discovery through conversion.
Driving the Next Generation of Retail Media
Criteo’s underlying retail media business grew 20% during the quarter, reinforcing confidence in its long-term strategy. Highlights include:
• Growing Advertiser Adoption: Retail media spend increased 31% year over year as more than 4,500 brands invested through Criteo’s platform, underscoring advertisers’ continued prioritization of retail media to drive performance and sales.
• Expanding Retailer Network: Criteo broadened its global retail media network by adding new retailer partners across regions, creating new opportunities for advertisers to reach high-intent shoppers. New retailers include Loblaw Advance in Canada, Monoprix and Druni in EMEA and Olive Young and Golf Digest Online in APAC.
• Format Innovation: Auction-based display, now live with more than 85 retailers, is Criteo’s fastest-growing retail media format. Criteo also launched Page Intelligence, helping retailers optimize merchandising, monetization and the shopper experience for an AI-assisted commerce landscape.
Q2 2026 Facts & Figures
The following financial figures summarize Criteo’s second quarter 2026 results.
• $428 million in revenue and $255 million in Contribution ex-TAC (net revenue) in Q2 2026.
• More than $1.1 billion in media spend, reflecting continued advertiser demand across Criteo’s global Commerce Intelligence Platform.
• Retail Media Contribution ex-TAC of $47 million, with underlying growth of 20% year over year, excluding previously announced retailer scope reductions.
• Performance Media Contribution ex-TAC of $208 million, reflecting continued headwinds from a small number of large enterprise clients while the broader client base remained resilient.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $73 million, reflecting disciplined cost management while continuing to invest in AI and long-term growth initiatives.
