AppLovin skyrockets 33% after earnings beat, strong guidance

Shares of Applovin ripped more than 30% higher Thursday after the company reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat, causing many analysts to lift their price targets.

The ad tech company reported earnings per share of $1.73 on $1.37 billion in revenue for the final quarter, outperforming analysts’ expectations polled by LSEG, who expected earnings of $1.24 per share on $1.26 billion in revenue.

Net income in the quarter more than tripled to $599.2 million, or $1.73 per share, from $172.3 million, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Revenue jumped 43% from $953.3 million a year earlier, fueled by improvements and expansions to new categories for its AI-powered AXON advertising software.

During the earnings call, CEO Adam Foroughi said the company has signed a term sheet to divest all of its apps business, with the deal expected to be completed in the second quarter.

Analysts at Wolfe praised the sale, saying the company’s financials “gets cleaner at a time when its growth outlook gets better” while raising their price target to $550 from $490.

“We believe the sales of its game development/publishing will make it easier for investors to justify APP’s expanding valuation multiple,” wrote Oppenheimer analysts after bringing their own target up to $560 from $380.

Applovin was the most successful tech stock in the U.S. last year, soaring over 700% and outperforming even the biggest names in the AI space. It expects first-quarter revenue of between $1.36 billion and 1.39 billion, exceeding the $1.32 billion average analyst estimate, according to LSEG.

More than $1 billion of that will come from its advertising segment, as the company said it is “still in the early stages” of bolstering its AI models further.

— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Michael Bloom.