ZETA

Zeta Global Holdings Corp.

Next est. report 2026-11-03 · AMC

AI '24: Digital Consumer Data AI '25: Consumer Attention AI '25: Phase 2 DistributionConsumer Attention '24: Digital Ad Tech & Streaming InfraData Owners '25: Ad-Tech, Measurement & Identity Graphs

Loading…

Loading chart…

Overview

Zeta Global provides an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, with marketing as its primary application, offering consumer intelligence and automated software

Zeta Global provides an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, with marketing as its primary application, offering consumer intelligence and automated software. Its platform, enhanced by Athena AI and proprietary data, helps enterprises acquire, grow, retain customers, and transform business data into real-time intelligence via ZBI. Direct revenue is about 72%, serving large enterprises and advertising agencies.

Search Keywords Brand Product

Zeta Marketing Platform
Athena AI
Zeta Business Intelligence
Zeta SuperGraph
Marigold
LiveIntent
AI infrastructure platform
marketing automation
consumer intelligence
enterprise decision making
data cloud
omnichannel marketing
AI partnerships
marketing cloud replacement

Search Keywords Event Phrases

Zeta Q2 2026 earnings
Zeta Global earnings call
Zeta Live October 8

What They Do (Plain English & Analogies): Zeta Global provides a powerful, AI-driven cloud platform that acts like a 'brain' for large companies, helping them understand their customers better and automate their marketing. Imagine it as a 'Digital Crystal Ball' for businesses: it sifts through a massive amount of customer information (its own unique 'Data Cloud' with data on over 535 million individuals) to predict what people might want to do next. This allows businesses to send highly personalized messages across various channels like email, social media, and websites, helping them find new customers, grow relationships with existing ones, and keep them happy. Their new AI tool, Athena, is like a 'voice-activated AI assistant' for business users. Instead of navigating complex menus, customers can simply ask Athena questions in natural language, and the platform uses its intelligence to make decisions, take action, and learn from the results, making it much easier to get measurable outcomes. Beyond marketing, Zeta is evolving into an 'intelligent AI infrastructure platform' that helps enterprises make better real-time decisions and actions across their entire business, not just marketing.
Very Brief History: Founded in 2007 as XL Marketing by David A. Steinberg and former Apple CEO John Sculley, the company evolved through several rebrands to Zeta Global by 2016. It expanded significantly through strategic acquisitions, including Adchemy (2014), eBay's enterprise services unit (2016), Boomtrain (2017), Disqus (2017), and key assets from Sizmek (2019). Zeta went public on the NYSE in June 2021 and acquired the enterprise software business of Marigold in late 2025, further enhancing its capabilities.
"Street Stereotype": Zeta is widely perceived as a "Beat and Raise" machine, consistently outperforming its own guidance, having delivered its 20th consecutive beat and raise quarter. Analysts view it as a modern, AI-native alternative to legacy marketing clouds, successfully gaining market share from competitors like Adobe and Salesforce due to its faster setup and more automated platform. However, there are lingering concerns regarding high stock-based compensation and the complexity of its proprietary data sources.
Subsidiaries On Linked In*: Cheetah Digital — LinkedIn: cheetah-digital
Selligent — LinkedIn: selligent
Sailthru — LinkedIn: sailthru
LiveIntent — LinkedIn: liveintent
Disqus — LinkedIn: disqus
Marigold — LinkedIn: marigold-engage
Customer Sectors & Example Clients: Zeta serves large-scale enterprises across virtually all industry verticals. In Q2 2026, customer gains were especially strong in consumer and retail, telecom, and health care. Eight of its top 10 industries grew more than 20% year-over-year on a trailing 12-month basis, with consumer and retail, financial services, automotive, and health care all accelerating from the prior quarter. Specific examples from the transcript include a major sports and entertainment company, a leading energy drink brand, and Gap (a leading global apparel retailer). Zeta also serves 51 of the Fortune 100 and over 120 of the Fortune 500.
New Customers / Segments They'Re Targeting: Zeta is expanding its target market beyond traditional marketing departments to become the 'intelligence layer' for broader enterprise decision-making. This includes enabling organizations to transform business and customer data into intelligence, insights, and real-time actions through its new Zeta Business Intelligence (ZBI) offering. The partnership with Palantir significantly expands Zeta's enterprise opportunity, allowing them to target large organizations that require robust ontology, governance, and enterprise AI infrastructure. They are also seeing rapid adoption of Athena for agencies, with larger agencies adopting it faster and at scale.
Supply Chain And Sourcing Geographies: As a software and data cloud platform company, Zeta Global's 'supply chain' primarily involves data sourcing, software development, and cloud infrastructure. The company's foundation is its proprietary data cloud, covering over 535 million individuals globally and trillions of signals, which is 'owned not rented'. Zeta's AI investments began nearly a decade ago, indicating significant internal development. They have a strategic partnership with OpenAI, which powers Athena's voice component, but no large language models ever touch the data in Zeta's data cloud. The decisions run on Zeta's own inference models, which have been trained on their data cloud since 2017. They have also deepened their existing partnership with Snowflake, reinforcing Zeta's role in the enterprise data ecosystem. Furthermore, their data cloud was fully integrated with Palantir's Foundry as of July 31, enhancing ontology, governance, and enterprise AI infrastructure. Internally, Zeta uses an automated system for new code generation, with 90% of new code in Q2 2026 being automated. They have also signed a ubiquitous enterprise agreement with OpenAI, giving all employees access to OpenAI's products with baked-in use costs. There is no information in the provided text about physical product sourcing geographies.
Sales Geographies And Expansion Plans: Zeta primarily sells its products in the United States, which is the largest advertising market globally, and is actively taking market share there. The company is also seeing a natural progression and nice growth rate internationally, which is a reverse from prior years when they struggled. The Marigold acquisition adds international assets, which are expected to accelerate this growth. However, management does not project international sales to be a massive component of the business for many years to come, indicating a continued focus on the U.S. market. The company is expanding its reach through partnerships with global players like Palantir, which provides access to a broader enterprise client base globally.
How Key Themes May Help/Hurt: The 'AI '25: Phase 2 Distribution' theme strongly benefits Zeta. Zeta's evolution into an 'intelligent AI infrastructure platform' and the launch of Athena directly align with this theme's focus on embedding agentic AI into existing workflows to drive tangible products and productivity. Athena's voice enablement and conversational capabilities exemplify seamless AI integration into daily user rituals, leading to 500% higher interaction levels for voice users. The ZBI offering, which helps predict and act on business data in real-time, is a clear example of AI driving measurable ROI beyond traditional marketing. Partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir enhance Zeta's distribution by integrating its proprietary data and AI capabilities into broader enterprise data ecosystems, accelerating adoption and expanding use cases. The ability to automate 90% of new code generation also aligns with the theme's emphasis on AI-driven productivity gains in software development. The theme's focus on declining inference costs and hybrid architectures also benefits Zeta, as its decisions run on its own inference models, not rented tokens, providing infrastructure economics. The primary risk could be if human and process adaptation within client organizations lags the rapid technological advancements, hindering the full realization of AI's benefits, as noted in the bear case for the theme. However, Zeta's focus on demonstrable ROI and ease of use with Athena aims to mitigate this.

3 Main Long-Term Bull Details

AI Leadership and Athena's Transformational Impact: Zeta's long-standing investment in AI, culminating in the Athena launch and its evolution into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, positions it as a leading 'AI disruptor'. Athena's ability to simplify complex workflows, drive significantly higher user interaction, and enable real-time decision-making across the enterprise is transforming customer operations and delivering measurable ROI, leading to deeper platform adoption and significant market share gains.
Proprietary Data Cloud and Strategic Partnerships: The foundation of Zeta's platform is its proprietary data cloud, covering over 535 million individuals globally with owned, not rented, data. This unique data asset, combined with strategic partnerships with OpenAI (for Athena's voice), Snowflake (for data ecosystem integration), and Palantir (for enterprise AI infrastructure and ontology), creates a powerful and defensible moat, enabling differentiated AI-powered products and sustained competitive advantages.
Durable Financial Growth and 'Land and Expand' Model: Zeta consistently delivers strong financial results, evidenced by its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter, accelerating revenue growth, and expanding adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. The 'land and expand' model, where customers start with one use case, prove value, and then expand across the customer life cycle, is proving highly effective, with Athena accelerating this dynamic and driving higher net revenue retention among AI adopters.

3 Main Long-Term Bear Details

Gross Margin Susceptibility to Channel Mix: Zeta's gross margins remain susceptible to channel mix shifts. In Q2 2026, the direct revenue mix decreased to 72% from 75% in Q1, driven by new agency wins and a higher initial mix of social as a channel, which has a higher cost of revenue. This can impact overall margin expansion despite being accretive to EBITDA.
Working Capital Headwinds from Agency Payment Cycles: Working capital management, particularly concerning agency payment cycles, remains a significant concern. The headwind to free cash flow from longer agency payment cycles increased to roughly 13 points in Q1 2026. As Zeta expands its agency partnerships, it remains exposed to longer Days Sales Outstanding, which could impact cash flow predictability.
Continued Reliance on Equity-Based Incentives: Despite generating positive GAAP net income in Q2 2026, the approval of a new 6-year long-term equity incentive plan for management suggests continued reliance on equity-based incentives. This poses a persistent concern for per-share value erosion for conservative investors, even with efforts to manage dilution.

Competitors And Differentiation: Zeta positions itself as a disruptor in the AI-driven marketing ecosystem, actively gaining market share from legacy marketing clouds and DSPs. Competitors in CRM-related deals include Salesforce, Oracle, and Adobe, while companies like The Trade Desk are seen in acquisition RFPs. Zeta differentiates itself by being the only marketing cloud that has proprietary data and AI as native foundational elements to its application layer. Unlike competitors who may rely on APIs and integrations for AI and data, Zeta's foundational platform can provide real-time answers without latency. Its proprietary data cloud, covering over 535 million individuals globally and trillions of signals, is owned, not rented, creating a significant moat. The Athena AI platform, powered by OpenAI for voice and Zeta's own inference models for decisions, offers a conversational interface that dramatically lowers the barrier to adoption and expands use across teams and channels. Strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir further enhance its capabilities and market reach, providing a competitive advantage in enterprise AI infrastructure.
Recent Performance & What The Market'S Focused On: Zeta delivered its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter in Q2 2026, with revenue reaching $443 million, representing 44% year-over-year growth (28% excluding M&A). Adjusted EBITDA was $92 million, up 56% year-over-year, with margin expanding to 20.7%. The company generated positive GAAP net income of $8.2 million, compared to a net loss in the prior year. Based on this strength, Zeta once again raised its 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $33 million to $1.818 billion and increased its adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow guidance. The market is focused on the rapid adoption and monetization of Athena AI, with over 40% of superscaled customers being monthly users since its launch 130 days ago. Investors are also tracking the impact of strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir, which are accelerating Zeta's transformation into an intelligent AI infrastructure layer. Key metrics being watched include superscaled customer count growth (up 17% year-over-year to 197), superscaled quarterly ARPU expansion (up 17% year-over-year to $1.8 million), and the significant expansion of the sales pipeline (up over 60% year-over-year).

Revenue Segments And Estimated Mix: Direct Revenue — Mix: 72%; Source: Q2 2026 transcript; Trend: Down from 75% in Q1 2026, driven by new sales and expansions with agencies, leading to a higher initial mix of social as a channel.
Integrated Platform Revenue — Mix: Implied 28%; Source: Q2 2026 transcript; Trend: Implied based on direct revenue mix, increased due to strong agency adoption of social as an initial channel.
Product Brands: Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP)
Athena
Zeta SuperGraph
LiveIntent
Marigold
Cheetah Digital
Selligent
Sailthru
Disqus
Zeta Business Intelligence (ZBI)

Bull / Bear Details

Zeta is rapidly evolving into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, moving beyond marketing to enterprise-wide decisioning. Evidenced by its 20th consecuti

Thesis

Zeta is rapidly evolving into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, moving beyond marketing to enterprise-wide decisioning. Evidenced by its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter, accelerated growth, and strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Palantir, and Snowflake, Zeta is driving significant market share gains. With robust financial performance, record free cash flow, and positive GAAP EPS, Zeta presents a compelling growth story as of 2026-08-12, despite ongoing channel mix impacts on gross margins and potential for equity dilution.

Bull case

Zeta's AI leadership is accelerating with Athena's rapid adoption and internal productivity. Athena's voice users interact 500% more than non-Athena users, and over 40% of super-scaled customers are monthly users. Internally, 90% of new code is automated, drastically accelerating product development and deployment, making the platform increasingly sticky and efficient.
Strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir are game-changing, validating Zeta's AI strategy and expanding its market opportunity. The integration with Palantir's Foundry has already led to multiple combined sales agreements with a 100% hit rate on initial deals, significantly boosting the sales pipeline, which is up over 60% year-over-year.
Zeta demonstrates exceptional financial durability and execution, delivering its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter. Q2 revenue grew 44% year-over-year, Adjusted EBITDA increased 56%, and free cash flow surged 73%. The company raised its 2026 guidance across revenue, EBITDA, and FCF, and achieved positive GAAP net income of $8.2 million in Q2.

Bear case

Despite achieving positive GAAP net income of $8.2 million in Q2 2026 and raising full-year GAAP EPS guidance to $0.10, Zeta's normal course net dilution target of 3% to 4% for 2026 suggests continued reliance on equity-based incentives. This could pose a persistent concern for per-share value erosion for conservative investors.
Zeta's gross margins remain susceptible to channel mix shifts, as evidenced by the Q2 direct revenue mix stepping down to 72% from 75% sequentially. This was driven by strong agency adoption of social channels, which have a higher cost of revenue, potentially impacting overall margin expansion in the back half of 2026.
Working capital management, particularly concerning agency payment cycles, remains a potential headwind to free cash flow predictability. While political candidate revenue offers upfront payment, the expansion of agency partnerships could expose Zeta to longer Days Sales Outstanding, impacting cash flow despite overall strong FCF generation.

Bull / Bear Case

Bear Case: Despite achieving positive GAAP net income in Q2 2026, Zeta's normal course net dilution target of 3% to 4% for 2026 suggests continued reliance on equity-based incentives, posing a persistent concern for per-share value erosion. The company's gross margins remain susceptible to channel mix shifts, as evidenced by the Q2 direct revenue mix stepping down to 72% from 75% sequentially due to strong agency adoption of social channels, which have a higher cost of revenue. Working capital management, particularly concerning agency payment cycles, remains a potential headwind to free cash flow predictability, as expansion of agency partnerships could expose Zeta to longer Days Sales Outstanding.
Bull Case: Zeta's AI leadership is accelerating with Athena's rapid adoption and internal productivity, evidenced by 500% higher interaction for voice users and 90% automated new code generation, making the platform increasingly sticky and efficient. Strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir are game-changing, validating Zeta's AI strategy, expanding its market opportunity, and significantly boosting the sales pipeline, which is up over 60% year-over-year. The company demonstrates exceptional financial durability and execution, delivering its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter with accelerating revenue growth (44% year-over-year in Q2 2026), 56% Adjusted EBITDA growth, 73% free cash flow growth, and positive GAAP net income, alongside raised 2026 guidance across the board.
More Compelling & Why: Bear. Despite Zeta's impressive operational execution and strong growth, the stock appears significantly overvalued at its current price. The trailing EV/EBITDA of 86.4x is substantially higher than the industry median of approximately 33x, and GuruFocus rates the stock as 'Significantly Overvalued' with a 34.7% premium to its intrinsic value. The strongest argument for the bear case is that much of the positive news, including AI adoption and strategic partnerships, is already priced into the elevated valuation. My view would flip to bullish if the EV/EBITDA multiple compressed closer to the industry median, perhaps through a significant increase in EBITDA or a material stock price correction, offering a more attractive entry point.

Key Factors5 rows

Key Factor	Why It Matters	What To Watch	What It Signals	Where/How To Track	Free Alt Data	Paid Alt Data
Super-Scaled Customer Count Growth	Growth in super-scaled customers (those spending over $1 million annually) indicates successful enterprise expansion, cross-selling, and the ability to displace legacy marketing clouds. This drives higher-margin software mix and long-term profitability.	Monitor the sequential addition of super-scaled customers and the year-over-year growth rate. The current count is 197, up 17% year-over-year, exceeding the 2028 model growth rate of 4%-8%.	Bullish if sequential additions of super-scaled customers consistently exceed 8 per quarter or if year-over-year growth remains above 17%.	Company earnings call transcripts and investor presentations. The next update will be in the Q3 2026 earnings report.	LinkedIn: Growth in Zeta's enterprise sales and account management teams.	Thinknum: Sales and account management job postings growth for Zeta Global.
2026 Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Revisions	Upward revisions to revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance directly signal strong business performance, increasing investor confidence in Zeta's growth trajectory and profitability. This validates the company's execution and market demand for its AI-powered platform.	Watch for any further upward revisions to the full-year 2026 revenue guidance (midpoint currently $1.818 billion) and Adjusted EBITDA guidance (midpoint currently $405 million).	Bullish if 2026 revenue guidance is further raised above $1.818 billion midpoint. Bullish if 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance is further raised above $405 million midpoint.	Company earnings releases, quarterly earnings call transcripts, and investor presentations. The next update would typically be in the Q3 2026 earnings report.	None directly applicable for guidance revisions.	None directly applicable for guidance revisions.
Impact of Strategic Partnerships (OpenAI, Palantir, Snowflake)	Partnerships with industry leaders like OpenAI, Palantir, and Snowflake validate Zeta's AI strategy, enhance its platform capabilities, and significantly expand its enterprise market opportunity. These collaborations are 'game-changing' entry points for new deals.	Track the number of new combined sales agreements with Palantir (multiple already secured), any updates on revenue contribution from these partnerships (currently minimal in guidance), and further integration milestones or joint product announcements.	Bullish if additional combined sales agreements with Palantir or other partners are announced, or if management indicates that revenue contribution from these partnerships is exceeding the 'minimal' guidance.	Company earnings call transcripts, press releases from Zeta and its partners, and investor presentations.	Google News/Alerts: Mentions of 'Zeta Global Palantir', 'Zeta Global OpenAI', 'Zeta Global Snowflake' for partnership developments.	FactSet/Bloomberg Terminal: News sentiment analysis for Zeta Global and its key partners.
Athena AI Adoption and Impact on ARPU & Multi-Use Case Customers	Rapid adoption and increased usage of Athena AI validate Zeta's AI moat, drive deeper platform engagement, and lead to higher net revenue retention and ARPU expansion. This signifies the platform's stickiness and value proposition.	Track the percentage of super-scaled customers who are monthly Athena users (currently over 40%), the interaction levels of Athena's voice users (500% higher than non-Athena users), and year-over-year growth in multi-use case customers (currently up 90%).	Bullish if the percentage of super-scaled monthly Athena users continues to increase, if multi-use case customer growth remains above 90% year-over-year, and if AI super-users continue to grow 4x faster than early adopters.	Company earnings call transcripts and investor presentations. Zeta plans to expand reporting on these metrics in the back half of 2026.	Google Trends: Search interest for 'Zeta Athena' or 'Zeta Global AI'.	Apptopia/Mixpanel: AI-Powered Feature Adoption (per active user) for Zeta's platform.
Overall Sales Pipeline Growth and Marquee Enterprise Wins	A robust and growing sales pipeline, coupled with marquee enterprise wins like Gap, indicates strong demand for Zeta's platform and its ability to secure large, multi-vendor consolidation deals. This is a leading indicator for future revenue growth.	Monitor year-over-year growth in the total sales pipeline (currently up more than 60%), increases in average contract values (currently up more than 40%), and announcements of new marquee enterprise or agency wins, especially those involving consolidation from multiple vendors.	Bullish if year-over-year sales pipeline growth remains above 60% and if additional marquee enterprise or agency wins are announced, particularly those displacing multiple legacy vendors.	Company earnings call transcripts, press releases, and investor presentations.	Industry news outlets (e.g., AdExchanger, Marketing Dive) for announcements of large enterprise marketing tech stack changes.	Bombora: Intent data for companies researching 'marketing cloud replacement' or 'AI marketing platforms'.

Key Reported Metrics, Reratings Triggers & Results3 rows

This reflects the company's expanding profitability and operating leverage, demonstrating its ability to generate cash and progress towards its 2030 margin targ

Upcoming print · 2026-11-03

Key reported metrics
Metric	Last period	Why it matters
Adjusted EBITDA Growth	$92 million (56% y/y growth for Q2 2026); Full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance raised to $405 million (45% y/y growth) with a 22.3% margin	This reflects the company's expanding profitability and operating leverage, demonstrating its ability to generate cash and progress towards its 2030 margin targets, which is critical for investor confidence.
Super-Scaled Customer Count Growth	197 super-scaled customers (17% y/y growth)	This metric is crucial as Zeta is shifting its reporting focus to these high-ARPU customers, indicating success in cross-selling and enterprise expansion, which drives long-term profitability and platform adoption.
Revenue Growth (excluding M&A and political candidate revenue)	$443 million (28% y/y growth excluding M&A for Q2 2026); Full-year 2026 organic growth outlook raised to 25% y/y	This metric demonstrates Zeta's core organic growth and market share gains, validating its AI-native platform and OneZeta strategy against legacy competitors. It is a key indicator of the company's underlying business health.

Last reported · 2026-08-04

Key reported metrics			Rerating thresholds			Earnings results
Metric	Last period	Why it matters	What's needed for rerating	Rerating context	Earnings date	Actual reported	Hit target?	Notes
Super-Scaled Customer Count Growth	19%	This metric is crucial as Zeta is shifting its reporting focus to these high-ARPU customers in 2026, indicating success in cross-selling and enterprise expansion, which drives long-term profitability and platform adoption.	For Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA) to rerate higher, the Super-Scaled Customer Count needs to reach 197 or higher for Q2 2026. This would represent at least 8 sequential additions from the 189 super-scaled customers reported in Q1 2026.	Achieving a Super-Scaled Customer Count of 197 or higher would validate Zeta's 'OneZeta' strategy and demonstrate accelerated enterprise expansion, proving its ability to displace legacy clouds. This growth in high-ARPU customers is crucial for driving a high-margin software mix, long-term profitability, and platform adoption, which are key factors for investor confidence and a positive rerating.	2026-08-04	197 super-scaled customers (17% y/y growth)	Yes	Zeta reported 197 super-scaled customers in Q2 2026, meeting the rerating trigger of 197 or higher. This represents 8 sequential additions from the 189 super-scaled customers reported in Q1 2026, also fulfilling the sequential additions requirement.
Adjusted EBITDA Growth	42%	This reflects the company's expanding profitability and operating leverage, demonstrating its ability to generate cash and progress towards its 2030 margin targets, which is critical for investor confidence.	Zeta Global's Adjusted EBITDA Growth needs to exceed its raised Q2 2026 guidance of 47-48% year-over-year. Additionally, the company must demonstrate a clear trajectory to surpass its raised full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA growth guidance of 43% and sustain or expand its Adjusted EBITDA margin beyond the guided 22.3% for FY2026.	Exceeding Adjusted EBITDA growth guidance reinforces Zeta's 'beat and raise' track record, validating its AI-native platform and 'One Zeta' strategy. This demonstrates accelerating profitability and operating leverage, bolstering investor confidence in achieving 2030 margin targets and justifying a premium valuation in a competitive market.	2026-08-04	$92 million (56% y/y growth for Q2 2026); Full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance raised to $405 million (45% y/y growth) with a 22.3% margin	Yes	Zeta's Adjusted EBITDA grew 56% year-over-year in Q2 2026, exceeding the raised Q2 guidance of 47-48%. The company also raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $405 million, representing a 45% year-over-year increase, surpassing the 43% growth trigger. The full-year margin guidance of 22.3% was sustained, meeting the rerating criteria.
Revenue Growth (Ex-Acquisition and Political Candidate)	29%	This metric demonstrates Zeta's core organic growth and market share gains, validating its AI-native platform and OneZeta strategy against legacy competitors. It is a key indicator of the company's underlying business health.	For Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA) to rerate higher, the Revenue Growth (Ex-Acquisition and Political Candidate) metric needs to sustain at or above 28% in the upcoming Q1 2026 earnings report. Additionally, the company must demonstrate a 'beat and raise' pattern that pushes its full-year 2026 organic growth outlook toward the 25-27% range, significantly exceeding its current 2026 guidance of 21%.	Sustaining high-20s organic growth validates Zeta's AI-native thesis and the efficacy of its 'OneZeta' cross-sell strategy. It serves as the primary defense against short-seller allegations regarding data quality and growth sustainability. Maintaining this trajectory justifies a premium SaaS multiple by proving Zeta can consistently outpace legacy incumbents while scaling toward its 2030 profitability targets.	2026-08-04	$443 million (28% y/y growth excluding M&A for Q2 2026); Full-year 2026 organic growth outlook raised to 25% y/y	Yes	Zeta reported Q2 revenue growth of 28% year-over-year excluding M&A, meeting the rerating trigger of sustaining at or above 28%. The company also demonstrated a 'beat and raise' pattern by increasing its full-year 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $33 million to $1.818 billion, representing 25% year-over-year growth excluding M&A and political candidate revenue, which exceeds the prior 2026 guidance of 21%.

Key Questions

Given the rapid adoption of Athena by super-scaled customers and its demonstrated impact on net revenue retention and multi-use case growth, will its actual rev

Given the rapid adoption of Athena by super-scaled customers and its demonstrated impact on net revenue retention and multi-use case growth, will its actual revenue contribution in 2026 materially exceed the currently projected 'minimal contribution,' thereby accelerating market share gains and solidifying Zeta's AI moat?

Question 2: Will the newly established 'game-changing' strategic partnerships with Palantir, OpenAI, and Snowflake, which are currently generating a record sales pipeline and initial deal wins, translate into material revenue contribution in the coming quarters, exceeding the current conservative guidance and further accelerating enterprise adoption?
Question 3: Can Zeta sustain its positive GAAP net income and achieve its raised free cash flow guidance for FY2026, particularly given the potential for channel mix shifts towards agency business (which historically impacts working capital) and continued stock-based compensation?

Earnings Transcript Summary4 rows

2026-08-04 · 2026Q2 Earnings Call

3 Things Management Is Most Focused On	Call Takeaway & Tone	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)	Revenue Segments
3 Things Management Is Most Focused On1. AI as Intelligent Infrastructure and Athena Adoption: Management is heavily focused on Zeta's evolution into an 'intelligent AI infrastructure platform' and the rapid adoption of Athena, which is fundamentally changing how customers interact with the platform and driving significantly higher engagement. They emphasize Athena's role in transforming data into intelligence and decisions into measurable outcomes. 2. Strategic Partnerships (OpenAI, Snowflake, Palantir): Management highlights the 'game-changing' impact of partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir, which validate Zeta's AI strategy, enhance capabilities, expand enterprise opportunities, and accelerate the company's transformation. These partnerships are seen as crucial entry points and drivers of pipeline growth. 3. Durable, Profitable Growth and Financial Discipline: Management consistently emphasizes Zeta's '20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter,' strong revenue growth, expanding Adjusted EBITDA, and record free cash flow, showcasing the company's ability to deliver predictable and profitable growth. They also focus on disciplined capital allocation, including share repurchases and a new credit facility.	Call Takeaway & ToneThe overall takeaway from the call was highly positive and confident, highlighting Zeta's exceptional execution with its '20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter.' The company is successfully transforming into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, driven by accelerated revenue growth, expanding profitability, and strategic partnerships with industry leaders like OpenAI, Palantir, and Snowflake. Management emphasized the rapid adoption and impact of Athena, which is enhancing customer engagement and driving market share gains from legacy platforms. The tone was bullish and optimistic, underscoring the 'robust and durable' demand for Zeta's platform and its strong financial performance, including record free cash flow and increased guidance across the board.	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By SegmentTotal revenue growth for Q1 2026 was 50% year-over-year, indicating a deceleration to 44% in Q2 2026. Revenue, excluding acquisitions and political candidate revenue (ex Marigold), grew 29% year-over-year in Q1 2026, decelerating to 28% in Q2 2026. Super-scaled customer count grew 19% year-over-year in Q1 2026, decelerating to 17% in Q2 2026. Super-scaled customer ARPU was up 21% year-over-year in Q1 2026, decelerating to 17% in Q2 2026. Customers using more than one use case increased over 50% year-over-year in Q1 2026, accelerating to 90% in Q2 2026. Direct revenue constituted 75% of total revenue in Q1 2026, decreasing to 72% in Q2 2026.	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)1. OneZeta Strategy and Athena's Role in Multi-Use Case Adoption: Analysts inquired about the continued acceleration of the OneZeta strategy and how Athena optimizes customer engagement across channels and use cases. Management responded that there is 'continued runway' due to OneZeta and Marigold cross-selling, driving significant increases in multi-use case adoption (up 90% y/y) and 5+ channel usage (up 50% y/y), with Athena being '1 of the single most powerful tools we have ever had for cross selling.' 2. ZBI (Zeta Business Intelligence) Go-to-Market and Key Functions: Analysts asked about the go-to-market strategy for ZBI and its key functions. Management explained that customers are 'getting pulled into the ZBI use cases more than we have been selling them in' because they seek real-time decision-making rather than static reports. They provided examples of a major sports and entertainment company using ZBI for contract negotiations and an energy drink brand quantifying value for retail partners. 3. Impact of Strategic Partnerships (OpenAI, Palantir, Snowflake) on Go-to-Market and Deal Sizes: Analysts questioned how these partnerships aid in market entry and influence initial deal sizes. Management stated these partnerships have been 'game changing,' with Palantir, for instance, directly leading to 'some of the largest test case and use cases we have ever had as a company' and a '100% hit rate' on initial deals. They emphasized that these collaborations provide 'incredible entry points' and are generating a record sales pipeline.	Revenue SegmentsTotal revenue grew 44% year-over-year to $443 million. Revenue, excluding M&A, increased 28% year-over-year. Super-scaled customer count grew 17% year-over-year to 197. Super-scaled quarterly ARPU expanded 17% year-over-year to $1.8 million. Customers using more than one use case were up 90% year-over-year. Customers using five or more channels increased over 50% year-over-year. Cross-sell and upsell deals won in the quarter were up 43%. Double-digit revenue growth was observed across email, CTV, social, and all three marketing use cases (retain, grow, and acquire). Direct revenue mix was 72%, a sequential step down from 75% in the prior quarter, due to strong agency adoption of social as an initial channel.

2026-04-30 · 2026Q1 Earnings Call

3 Things Management Is Most Focused On	Call Takeaway & Tone	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)	Revenue Segments
3 Things Management Is Most Focused On1. Athena AI Adoption and Impact: Management is heavily focused on the rapid adoption and transformational impact of Athena, highlighting its role in driving agentic interactions, increasing AI utilization, and influencing major new deals and customer consolidation. 2. One Zeta Strategy and Customer Expansion: A key focus is on the 'One Zeta' model, which drives customers to expand from single-use cases to multiple use cases and channels, leading to higher ARPU and reinforcing durable growth. 3. Market Share Gains and Displacing Legacy Platforms: Management emphasizes Zeta's position as a disruptor in the AI-driven marketing ecosystem, actively gaining market share from legacy marketing clouds and DSPs by offering superior data and AI capabilities.	Call Takeaway & ToneThe overall takeaway from the call was highly positive and confident, emphasizing Zeta's strong execution, consistent 'beat and raise' track record (19 consecutive quarters), and accelerating market share gains driven by its AI-native platform, particularly the new Athena product. Management highlighted robust financial performance, including accelerated revenue growth (excluding acquisitions and political candidate revenue), improved profitability, and increased guidance for 2026. The tone was bullish, underscoring Zeta's position as an 'AI disruptor' and its ability to deliver measurable ROI and consolidate customer spend from legacy providers.	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By SegmentFor Q4 2025, revenue growth, excluding LiveIntent, Marigold, and political candidate revenue, was 28.2% year-over-year. This indicates an acceleration in year-over-year growth for this comparable segment from 28.2% in Q4 2025 to 29% in Q1 2026, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of such acceleration.	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)1. Competitive Dynamics and Trade Desk Backlash: Analysts inquired about how much Zeta has benefited from public backlash against platforms like Trade Desk and if changes in their pricing could rebalance competitive dynamics. Management responded that the 'horse is out of the barn' for workflow management tools without proprietary data and native AI, asserting that Zeta is taking meaningful market share from such platforms. 2. Athena's Financial Impact and Inference Costs: Analysts questioned the financial signals investors should watch for Athena's impact and how Zeta manages inference costs. Management pointed to leading indicators like a 7x increase in agentic interactions and 60% of AI usage driven by Athena, translating to ARPU expansion and increased multi-use case adoption. They also clarified that the vast majority of queries are done on Zeta's own platforms, minimizing token purchase costs, and that internal AI tools like Spade drive significant engineering productivity. 3. Marigold Cross-Sell and Recurring Revenue Mix: Analysts asked about the progress of Marigold cross-sell and its impact on the recurring revenue mix. Management noted encouraging traction from integrating the data cloud into Marigold's platform, driving a meaningful uptick from existing Marigold clients. They also stated that as customers adopt the Zeta platform, the recurring revenue mix should trend up, evidenced by a substantial increase in Remaining Performance Obligations (RPOs).	Revenue SegmentsTotal revenue for Q1 2026 was $396 million, representing year-over-year growth of 50%. Revenue, excluding acquisitions and political candidate revenue (referred to as 'ex Marigold'), grew 29% year-over-year. Direct revenue in the first quarter constituted 75% of total revenue, an increase from 73% in the prior year. Super-scaled customer ARPU was up 21% year-over-year, and the number of super-scaled customers using more than one use case increased over 50% year-over-year. Additionally, customers utilizing more than three channels grew 40% year-over-year.

2026-02-24 · 2025Q4 Earnings Call

3 Things Management Is Most Focused On	Call Takeaway & Tone	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)	Revenue Segments
3 Things Management Is Most Focused On1. Athena AI Launch and Adoption: Management is prioritizing the general availability of Athena by the end of Q1 2026, emphasizing its role as a 'super intelligent agent' that drives 'game-changing workflow management,' 'deeper platform adoption,' and 'substantially higher return on investment' for customers. 2. One Zeta Strategy and Super-Scaled Customer Growth: The focus is on expanding relationships with existing enterprise clients to use multiple use cases, which leads to significantly higher revenue per customer and contributed to a record net revenue retention rate of 120% in 2025. This strategy is evidenced by an 80% year-over-year increase in scaled customers using more than one use case. 3. Marigold Integration and Value Realization: Management is focused on successfully integrating the Marigold acquisition, anticipating it will be accretive to free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA in year one, and leveraging its assets to expand data, use cases, and value for customers, further amplifying the One Zeta strategy.	Call Takeaway & ToneZeta delivered its 18th consecutive beat and raise quarter, showcasing strong organic growth and record net revenue retention of 120%. The company is confidently executing its strategy around AI innovation with Athena, which is on track for general availability by Q1 2026, and successfully integrating the Marigold acquisition. Management provided an increased 2026 outlook, projecting positive GAAP net income for the full year, a significant milestone. The tone of the call was highly confident, bullish, and optimistic, emphasizing the 'durability, predictability and profitability' of Zeta's growth and its position as an 'AI disruptor' in the marketing ecosystem.	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By SegmentRevenue growth, excluding LiveIntent, Marigold, and political candidate (Q3 2025): 28.0% year-over-year.	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)1. Athena's impact and monetization: Analysts inquired about the specific agents within Athena, its monetization structure, and its influence on current deals. Management responded that Athena will have different feature sets under one agent, will be generally available by the end of Q1, and is already driving 'game-changing workflow management' and 'substantially higher return on investment' for early users, influencing deals even if not directly monetized yet. 2. Gross Margin outlook with Marigold: Analysts asked about the gross margin performance in Q4 and the expected impact of Marigold on future gross margins. Management attributed the Q4 gross margin profile to strong channel quarters in social and connected TV, and stated that Marigold is expected to be a 'tailwind' for achieving annual gross margin improvements of 100 to 300 basis points towards their 2028 targets. 3. Capital Allocation (M&A vs. Buybacks): Analysts questioned the company's preferences for allocating capital between M&A and share buybacks. Management stated that buying back shares is currently the 'single best use of our capital' and they are doing so 'very rapidly,' having repurchased 73% of free cash flow in 2025. They also noted a strong balance sheet for potential M&A but indicated nothing is currently on the radar.	Revenue SegmentsRevenue growth, excluding LiveIntent, Marigold, and political candidate: 28.2% year-over-year.

2025-11-04 · 2025Q3 Earnings Call

3 Things Management Is Most Focused On	Call Takeaway & Tone	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)	Revenue Segments
3 Things Management Is Most Focused On1. Athena AI Launch: Management is prioritizing the rollout of Athena, a conversational AI agent designed to act as a 'superintelligent operating system' for marketers, aiming to remove friction and increase platform ROI. 2. OneZeta Strategy: Focused on cross-selling multiple use cases to existing customers; those using 2+ use cases generate 3x the revenue of single-use case clients. 3. Marigold Acquisition Integration: Preparing to close the Marigold enterprise business acquisition by year-end to gain 100+ enterprise customers and deep loyalty data to train AI models.	Call Takeaway & ToneTakeaway: Zeta delivered its 17th consecutive 'beat and raise' quarter, highlighted by accelerating organic revenue growth and record free cash flow margins. The company is successfully pivoting toward an AI-native platform (Athena) and using M&A (Marigold) to consolidate market share from legacy marketing clouds. Tone: Highly confident, bullish, and aggressive regarding future market share gains.	Prior Quarter'S Y/Y Growth By Segment1. Total Revenue: 33% Y/Y growth. 2. Organic Revenue (Excluding Political): 27% Y/Y growth. 3. Direct Revenue: 44% Y/Y growth. 4. Integrated Revenue: 11% Y/Y growth. (Note: Organic growth accelerated from 27% in Q2 to 28% in Q3).	3 Things Analysts Most Pressed On (And Mgmt Responses)1. 2026 Guidance Visibility: Analysts questioned the early 2026 organic guide. Management responded that record pipeline from Zeta Live and larger, multi-year contracts provide unprecedented visibility. 2. Customer Count Dynamics: Analysts noted a smaller sequential increase in scaled customers (5). Management explained this was due to a high number of customers moving up to 'super-scaled' (12) and 23 new brands added through agencies not captured in the core count. 3. Gross Margin Pressure: Analysts asked about the sequential dip in gross margin. Management attributed this to a mix shift toward display and video channels, which are highly effective for customer acquisition but carry lower margins than other direct channels.	Revenue Segments1. Total Revenue: 26% Y/Y growth. 2. Organic Revenue (Excluding Political and LiveIntent): 28% Y/Y growth. 3. Direct Revenue: ~35% Y/Y growth (Mix increased to 75% from 70% Y/Y). 4. Integrated Revenue: ~4% Y/Y growth.

Transcript Tidbits5 rows

2026-08-04

About Expanding Eligible Market	About Competition	About The Broader Industry	Where Things Are Headed	Updates On Theme	Broader Themes Emerging	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Hiring
About Expanding Eligible MarketZeta delivered its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter, with year-over-year revenue growth accelerating to 44% in Q2 2026, reaching $443 million. The company is raising its 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $33 million. Zeta is evolving into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform, with marketing as its first application, not its limit, leveraging proprietary data covering over 535 million individuals globally. The company is expanding beyond customer acquisition, growth, and retention to a fourth use case with Zeta Business Intelligence (ZBI), which helps predict and act on business data in real time, moving beyond static dashboards. Partnerships with OpenAI, Snowflake (over 100 shared customers), and Palantir are accelerating this transformation; the Palantir data cloud integration with Foundry is complete, and multiple combined sales agreements have already been secured. The land-and-expand model is evident, with a leading telecommunications provider expanding into real-time personalization. A multiyear agreement with Gap positions Zeta as the system of record for its next-generation marketing stack, displacing Salesforce and three other vendors. Athena for agencies launched at Cannes Lions, resulting in a record sales pipeline. Super-scaled customers grew 17% year-over-year to 197, more than double the 2028 model growth rate, driven by Athena demand. Super-scaled quarterly ARPU expanded 17% year-over-year to $1.8 million. Customers using more than one use case are up 90% year-over-year, and those using five or more channels are up over 50%. The total sales pipeline is up more than 60% year-over-year, with average contract values on deals won up over 40%. Eight of Zeta's top 10 industries grew more than 20% year-over-year. More than 40% of super-scaled customers are monthly Athena users, and AI super-users grew 4x faster than early adopters.	About CompetitionZeta views itself as the disruptor in the new AI ecosystem, asserting that its proprietary data (owned, not rented) forms a crucial moat around its business. The company emphasizes that its platform combines proprietary data, AI, workflow automation, and activation into a single operating system, unlike competitors who may rely on rented data or require API integrations for AI, which introduces latency. The partnership with Palantir is complementary, with Palantir providing ontology and enterprise AI infrastructure, while Zeta contributes proprietary customer intelligence, data, identity, decisioning, and activation. Zeta successfully displaced Salesforce and three other vendors to become the system of record for Gap, highlighting its ability to win against legacy marketing clouds. David Steinberg stated, 'We are the only marketing cloud that has data and AI as native foundational to the application layer.' He also noted, 'Our competitors are trying to catch up to where we were, a year, 2 years ago, we are already moving to where they will not be able to get for many, many years.' In the new generative engine optimization (GEO) space, Zeta sees 100% upside as it never did search engine optimization, and it differentiates by being one of the few companies with API integrations into Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini.	About The Broader IndustryThe industry is undergoing a significant transformation where AI is changing how enterprises operate, how software is consumed, and what businesses expect from their technology platforms. Investors are adopting a new framework, prioritizing companies that gain market share, deliver durable predictable growth, generate free cash flow, achieve positive GAAP earnings, and possess defensible AI moats. The market is shifting away from static business intelligence and towards real-time decision-making systems that predict and act. There is a clear trend towards enterprises wanting to connect data environments with intelligence and activation. The defining characteristic of an infrastructure platform is its increasing value with more customer usage, creating a flywheel effect. The market is experiencing a 'marketing cloud replacement cycle,' with large enterprises demanding next-generation technology that integrates data and AI natively. Natural language is emerging as the primary interface for marketing and business intelligence use cases. The broader AI trend is moving from large language models to inference-based AI, where decisions run on purpose-built models rather than rented tokens.	Where Things Are HeadedZeta is raising its full-year 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $33 million to $1.818 billion, representing 39% growth (25% excluding M&A and political candidate revenue). Q3 2026 revenue guidance is raised by $10 million to $471 million. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 is increased by $8 million to $405 million, with a 22.3% margin. Free cash flow guidance for 2026 is raised by $20 million to $255 million, representing 55% growth and a 14% margin. Full-year GAAP EPS guidance is raised to a midpoint of $0.10, excluding a potential one-time tax benefit later in the year. The company maintains its conservative political candidate revenue guidance of $7 million for Q3 and $8 million for Q4, suggesting potential upside. Zeta plans to introduce the 'next generation of Athena' at Zeta Live on October 8, extending it as a superintelligent agent that knows, decides, acts, and learns. The long-term opportunity is to help enterprises turn fragmented data into intelligence, decisions, and measurable growth and cost savings beyond just marketing. The company intends to continue aggressive share repurchases, believing it's the best use of free cash flow. Headcount is expected to grow at a slower pace than revenue, while EBITDA and free cash flow will grow faster. Gross margin performance in the second half of 2026 will depend on channel mix, with strong agency adoption of social channels potentially influencing the direct revenue mix.	Updates On ThemePhase	Broader Themes EmergingA new framework for investing is emerging, prioritizing companies with market share gains, durable growth, positive free cash flow, GAAP earnings, and defensible AI moats. Natural language is becoming the primary interface for business intelligence and marketing. Enterprises are shifting demand from static business intelligence to real-time decision-making systems. The industry is undergoing a marketing cloud replacement cycle, driven by the need for integrated AI and data platforms. There's a broader AI trend moving from large language models to inference-based AI. The concept of 'headless architectures' is being discussed as a potential disruptor to traditional UIs.	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)We delivered our 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter. Revenue growth accelerated to 44%. Zeta has evolved into an intelligent AI infrastructure platform. Our data cloud was fully integrated with Foundry as of July 31. Athena's voice users are interacting with the platform at a 500% higher level than non Athena users. 90% of our new code generated was automated. Total sales pipeline was up more than 60% year over year. Superscaled customers grew to 197, up 17% year over year, more than double our 4% to 8% 2028 model growth rate. We are the only marketing cloud that has data and AI as native foundational to the application layer. We are very well positioned for where the market is and where it is going. We are seeing product in the company go up at a rate that I did not think possible. We are going to continue to buy the stock back at these prices because we think we continue to be the best investment we can make with our free cash flow.	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)This guidance increase excludes the impact of a potential onetime tax benefit from the release of a valuation allowance that has a reasonable probability of occurring later this year. We are not leaning into anything on a go get perspective on either AI adoption or newly signed partner agreements that are still yet to be closed in the pipeline. The gross margin performance in the back half of the year is largely dependent upon mix. Dilution in the quarter was just 0.1%, and we remain on track to hit our normal course net dilution target of 3% to 4% for 2026.	HiringTrey Campbell was welcomed to the team as Chief Financial Officer, and Matthew Pfau stepped up to lead FP&A for Zeta. Quota-carrying headcount increased by just 1 from last quarter to 198, representing an 11% year-over-year increase. Marigold restructuring actions and integration savings contributed to expense efficiencies across R&D, G&A, and sales and marketing. The company added engineers in the quarter and did not eliminate any. Management expects to add headcount at a slower pace than revenue growth, aiming to grow EBITDA and free cash flow at a much faster rate than revenue. AI is driving internal productivity, with 90% of new code generated automatically, enabling faster innovation without a proportional increase in headcount.

2026-04-30

About Expanding Eligible Market	About Competition	About The Broader Industry	Where Things Are Headed	Updates On Theme	Broader Themes Emerging	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Hiring
About Expanding Eligible MarketZeta delivered its 19th consecutive beat and raise quarter, with Q1 revenue of $396 million, representing 50% year-over-year growth and 29% year-over-year excluding Marigold, marking its fourth straight quarter of revenue growth acceleration. The company is again raising its 2026 revenue guidance by $30 million, now representing 37% growth. Athena was a key driver in one of Zeta's largest deals ever, with a leading global apparel retailer consolidating from four vendors to one. Super-scaled customer ARPU increased 21% year-over-year to $1.7 million, exceeding the Zeta 2028 model target. Net retention rate remained above the target range of 110% to 115%. The number of super-scaled customers using more than one use case grew over 50% year-over-year, and those using more than three channels increased 40% year-over-year. Total super-scaled customer count reached 189, up 19% year-over-year, with five sequential additions, surpassing the Zeta 2028 model. The sales pipeline is robust, up 40% year-over-year, with even higher growth in discretionary industries like retail, advertising, travel, restaurants, furniture, and resorts. Marigold integration is progressing ahead of expectations, showing encouraging traction from cross-selling loyalty products. New client wins are starting at the highest ARPU levels Zeta has ever seen, and some long-term clients are reaching 7% to 10% or higher wallet share. Deal sizes and annual contract values are substantially up year-over-year. Nine out of Zeta's top ten industries grew faster than 20% in Q1.	About CompetitionZeta is positioned as a disruptor in the AI-driven marketing ecosystem, winning in a market where enterprises demand fewer systems, measurable results, and applied intelligence. The company's proprietary data and AI-at-its-core platform allow customers to consolidate vendors into a single unified operating system. Forrester recognized Zeta as a leader, and a Forrester study showed Zeta returns an average of 600% on marketing spend for its customers. Athena is accelerating market share gains as AI shifts from a feature to a new way of doing business, influencing decision-makers and helping Zeta win deals against competitors offering 'road map AI'. Marquee wins, including a global apparel retailer consolidating from four vendors to one, demonstrate Zeta's ability to displace legacy Marketing Clouds. Zeta SuperGraph, its proprietary identity and intelligence graph, is a key differentiator that is difficult to replicate at scale and instrumental in customer decisions. Marquee wins came at the expense of legacy marketing clouds and DSPs, where Zeta's proprietary data and Athena operating system were unmatched. David Steinberg stated that organizations with workflow management tools lacking proprietary data and native AI will struggle, and Zeta is a direct reason competitors are growing slower or shrinking. Zeta displaced a long-serving marketing cloud and a mobile-focused competitor, noting that neither brought data or activation capabilities. Athena demos were a crucial differentiator against incumbents and RFP competitors. The company believes there was 'zero chance' they would have won significant accounts without Athena demonstrating their leadership in AI for marketing.	About The Broader IndustryThe market is undergoing a structural shift where AI is no longer just a feature but is driving a replacement cycle, with enterprises demanding fewer systems, measurable results, and applied intelligence. The competitive landscape is shifting as AI moves from a feature to a new way of doing business. The modern CMO mandate is to achieve more with fewer partners, improve ROI, and simplify execution. In tougher macroeconomic times, data-driven, lower marketing funnel, high ROI attributable marketing becomes paramount. Periods of macro volatility see customers consolidating onto fewer platforms that can drive measurable ROI with AI-driven efficiency. The world is moving from large language models to inference-based AI. Many companies are rolling out 'shiny new products, most of which are not real' in the AI space.	Where Things Are HeadedZeta delivered its 19th consecutive beat and raise quarter, demonstrating sustained demand and market consolidation around platforms delivering measurable outcomes at scale. The company is raising its 2026 revenue guidance midpoint by $30 million to $1.785 billion, representing 37% growth, or 22% excluding Marigold and political candidate revenue. This guidance includes minimal contribution from Athena and assumes $15 million in political candidate revenue for 2026. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 is increased to $397 million, up $6 million, representing 43% growth and a 22.3% margin. Free cash flow guidance for 2026 is raised to $235 million, representing 43% growth and a 59% conversion of adjusted EBITDA, with potential upside. Zeta is pacing towards the high end of its 2026 GAAP EPS range of $0.02 to $0.04 and long-term 2028 targets. The company expects to remain an active buyer of its stock, with approximately $138 million remaining on its share repurchase authorization. Marigold integration is ahead of schedule, with operating synergies expected to benefit adjusted EBITDA margin in Q2 and the second half of the year. Athena is expected to accelerate share gains by bringing intelligence directly into workflows and changing how marketing is planned, executed, and optimized. The long-term goal for Athena is to become the operating system of clients' businesses. An Athena certification program for clients will be rolled out in the coming months. The cross-selling of Marigold products is in early stages but is expected to drive meaningful future growth. Recurring revenue mix is expected to increase over time, with RPOs growing by $66 million from Q4 to Q1. Deal cycles remain consistent, but Zeta is seeing more opportunities and RFPs.	Updates On ThemePhase	Broader Themes EmergingAI is driving a replacement cycle where enterprises are demanding fewer systems, measurable results, and applied intelligence. The market is seeing a shift in the competitive landscape as AI moves from a feature to a new way of doing business. The world is transitioning from large language models to inference-based AI. Consolidation of marketing technology stacks (OneZeta) is a key trend. Agentic AI workflows and voice-activated enterprise software are emerging themes.	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)We delivered our 19th consecutive beat and raise quarter. Our first quarter performance, once again, shows we are the disruptor in the AI-driven marketing ecosystem. Athena was a driver in one of the largest deals we have ever closed. Athena drove 60% of all AI utilization across our platform. At the end of the first quarter, Zeta was already driving 75% automated new code creation. We are also tracking to the high end of our 2026 GAAP EPS range. This was the fourth quarter in a row we accelerated revenue growth. Our marquee wins came at the expense of legacy marketing clouds and legacy DSPs. I have never seen a faster uptake of a technological product that we've rolled out. It takes 70% less labor to manage the Zeta marketing platform with Athena.	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)Our GAAP net loss was $13.2 million. GAAP loss per share was $0.06. This also includes a roughly 13-point working capital headwind driven by longer agency payment cycles standard for their industry. The increase in cost of revenue was driven by new agency wins, driving a higher initial mix of social as a channel. Our revenue guidance also includes minimal contribution from Athena.	HiringZeta was recognized as a Great Place to Work for the third year in a row. The company is making significant progress in reducing dilution and stock-based compensation expense, aiming for a net dilution target of 3% to 4% in 2026. A new long-term equity incentive plan for management was approved, securing continuity for six years and incentivizing management to achieve financial objectives while lowering dilution and reducing stock-based compensation as a percentage of revenue. Named executive officers receiving these incentives will not be rewarded any further equity for the next six years. Athena is enabling enterprises to retask 70% of their marketing workforce into other functions due to efficiency gains.

2026-02-24

About Expanding Eligible Market	About Competition	About The Broader Industry	Where Things Are Headed	Updates On Theme	Broader Themes Emerging	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Hiring
About Expanding Eligible MarketMarigold acquisition adds 100+ enterprise customers, including 40 Fortune 500, expanding the enterprise base beyond the Fortune 100/500 footprints. Zeta now serves 51 of the Fortune 100 and 24 of the Fortune 500, with more than 602 total customers and a growing base of super-scaled accounts. Athena introduction and One Zeta cross-sell across more use cases are expanding TAM and wallet share, and international expansion is seen as gradual, with the U.S. remaining the largest ad market. The Zeta Live event pipeline contributed about $39 million already, with a stated goal toward $100 million in Zeta Live-sourced deals. The company also highlighted ATHENA GA by end of Q1 2026 and Marigold integration as accelerants to One Zeta, broadening data, use cases, and value for customers.	About CompetitionZeta argues it is replacing legacy marketing clouds in a full-scale replacement cycle, positioning Salesforce, Oracle, and Adobe as incumbents being displaced. Management claims Zeta delivers 50% faster implementation and a 6:1 ROI, and emphasizes that competitors pursue AI as an add-on while Zeta has built AI-in foundation since 2017. The firm notes increased RFP activity and wins vs. traditional CRM and ad-tech players (e.g., Trade Desk), while maintaining >50% win rate in RFPs.	About The Broader IndustryIndustry-wide shift toward AI-native platforms and “AI as the new UI,” with marketers seeking end-to-end platforms over point solutions. There is a trend toward consolidating marketing tech stacks (One Zeta) and leveraging data clouds for deterministic identity and real-time activation. Larger entities see marketing as a top spend driver, with a focus on ROI and attribution; publishers and media ecosystems are adapting to new data flows and AI-enabled workflows.	Where Things Are Headed2026 outlook raised: revenue guidance to $1.755B (up from prior), ~35% growth, 22.3% adjusted EBITDA margin, and ~59% free cash flow (FCF) conversion with $231M FCF. Q1 2026 revenue guidance moved to ~$370M; Athena GA by end of Q1 2026. 2028 targets elevated: revenue $2.3B, EBITDA $573M (25% margin), FCF $371M (65% EBITDA conversion). Expect continued One Zeta expansion, Marigold cross-sell, and Oracle-like discipline around hiring and retention. International growth is expected to be incremental rather than material for several years, with most revenue still US‑based.	Updates On ThemePhase	Broader Themes EmergingAgentic AI workflows; Voice-activated enterprise software; Consolidation of marketing technology stacks (OneZeta); Shift from deterministic to generative engine optimization.	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)We delivered our 18th consecutive beat and raise quarter.	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)9-point working capital headwind driven by longer agency payment cycles.	HiringEmphasis on hiring and retaining the industry's best talent; no specific headcount targets disclosed; focus on talent as a core driver of durability and growth.

2026-02-24

About Expanding Eligible Market	About Competition	About The Broader Industry	Where Things Are Headed	Updates On Theme	Broader Themes Emerging	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Hiring
About Expanding Eligible MarketZeta delivered its 18th consecutive beat and raise quarter, with net revenue retention hitting a record high of 120% in 2025, up from 114% in 2024. RFP volume more than doubled year-over-year to a new record. The company now serves 51 of the Fortune 100, up from 44 a year ago, and over 120 of the Fortune 500, collectively representing over $100 billion in annual marketing spend, significantly expanding the One Zeta opportunity. The Marigold acquisition further accelerates One Zeta by expanding data, use cases, and value for customers. Total scaled customer count grew to 602, up 14% year-over-year, with 30 sequential additions, and super-scaled customers (spending over $1 million annually) increased by 24% year-over-year to 184. The number of enterprise clients using more than one use case was up 80% year-over-year in Q4 2025. International expansion is occurring naturally as clients are multinational, and Marigold's international assets are expected to accelerate this, though the vast majority of revenue remains U.S.-based. Zeta is seeing strong interest from existing clients in Marigold's Loyalty solution and plans to integrate Athena into the Loyalty program. Fortune 500 customers are increasingly focused on maximizing ROI from their marketing spend, which is often their second or third largest global expense.	About CompetitionZeta is positioning itself as the AI disruptor in marketing, taking market share from competitors in a quickly growing market segment, evidenced by a Forrester study confirming a 600% return on ad spend. The company claims its AI investments, which began eight years ago, are yielding better results, making Zeta a revenue center rather than a cost center for clients. Management stated, "As I say, we are the disruptor, not the disruptee in this space." In RFPs, Zeta continues to see Salesforce, Adobe, and to a lesser extent, Oracle, in CRM-related deals, and companies like The Trade Desk in acquisition RFPs, from whom Zeta is taking market share. Zeta maintains a win rate greater than 50% in the engagements and RFPs it is invited to participate in. The company's proprietary data, which is never fed into large language models and stays behind its cloud, is considered a significant moat, invaluable to enterprise and agency clients for training models exclusively and achieving better targeting and ROI.	About The Broader IndustryThe industry is experiencing an AI shift from feature to infrastructure across the enterprise, a transformation for which Zeta is built. Large language models are viewed as foundational technologies, similar to cloud infrastructure, with real differentiation coming from the tools, workflows, data, and operating systems built on top. AI's effectiveness is tied to the quality of data that fuels it, and as personalization moves to one-to-one, identity and intent become critical, making Zeta's SuperGraph increasingly valuable. The emergence of AI answer engines, where platforms like Google answer over 60% of queries on their own platform, is creating a "massive tailwind for Zeta" by driving up cost per click and pushing advertisers to seek new, cost-efficient marketing methodologies. Publishers are more anxious for traffic, and Zeta, through its email platform (LiveIntent) and acquired assets like Sailthru, is a significant driver of incremental traffic back to publishers. There is a trend towards platform consolidation, with Zeta's strategy of disintermediating point solutions into one platform gaining traction. Marketing budgets in the United States are expected to increase in 2026, and Fortune 500 companies are increasingly focused on maximizing the return on investment from their marketing spend, which is a major global expense.	Where Things Are HeadedZeta is raising the midpoint of its 2026 revenue guidance by $25 million to $1.755 billion, reflecting 35% year-over-year growth (or 21% excluding Marigold and political candidate revenue). The company assumes $15 million in political candidate revenue for 2026 ($7 million in Q3, $8 million in Q4) and minimal Athena-driven revenue, with broad-based adoption representing incremental consumption upside. Q1 2026 revenue is expected to be $370 million at the midpoint, representing 40% year-over-year growth (or 22% excluding political candidate and Marigold). Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 is raised to $391 million, representing 40% growth and a 22.3% margin. Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $61.5 million. Free cash flow guidance for 2026 is increased to $231 million, representing 40% growth and a 59% conversion of adjusted EBITDA, with potential upside. Zeta expects to generate positive GAAP net income for the full year 2026, a significant milestone. The company also updated its 2028 targets, raising revenue to $2.3 billion (23% CAGR), adjusted EBITDA to $573 million (25% margin), and free cash flow to $371 million (65% EBITDA conversion). Athena is on track for general availability by the end of Q1. Starting in 2026, Zeta will exclusively focus quarterly reporting on super-scaled customer count and ARPU, anticipating a new cohort of $10 million-plus customers. The company expects to continue its beat-and-raise streak, aiming for 22 consecutive quarters by next year. Share buybacks are expected to continue aggressively, with the current authorization having $139 million remaining, and future buybacks likely to be larger. While M&A is possible given a strong balance sheet and de minimis debt, nothing is currently on the radar. Zeta anticipates its third consecutive year of 30%+ growth and expects marketing budgets to grow, with Zeta continuing to capture a multiple of that growth.	Updates On ThemePhase	Broader Themes EmergingAgentic AI workflows; Voice-activated enterprise software; Consolidation of marketing technology stacks (OneZeta); Shift from deterministic to generative engine optimization.	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)We delivered our 18th consecutive beat and raise quarter. Zeta is the AI disruptor in marketing. Net revenue retention hit a record high of 120%. RFP volume more than doubled year-over-year to a new record. We expect to be net income positive this calendar year forward. I have never been prouder of running this company.	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)roughly 9-point working capital headwind driven by longer agency payment cycles common to their industry. The increase in cost of revenue was driven by strong sequential and year-over-year growth in social and connected TV. I'm hopeful for international, but I would tell you that we certainly are not projecting it to be a massive component of this business for many years to come.	HiringZeta emphasizes the importance of "hiring and retaining the industry's best talent." The company added approximately 15 quota carriers from the Marigold acquisition sequentially. Zeta is teaming Marigold's salespeople with its own, segmenting for top Fortune 500 clients rather than full cross-training. The engineering staff is utilizing AI tools like Anthropic and OpenAI for coding efficiency. Zeta also made "really exciting new hires in 2025 into that area [advocacy] in advance of building momentum for 2026."

2025-11-04

About Expanding Eligible Market	About Competition	About The Broader Industry	Where Things Are Headed	Updates On Theme	Broader Themes Emerging	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)	Hiring
About Expanding Eligible MarketZeta is expanding its TAM through the acquisition of Marigold's enterprise software business, adding over 100 enterprises, including 40 Fortune 500 companies. The launch of Athena, an AI conversational agent, is expected to move Zeta into the broader business intelligence market. Additionally, the 'OneZeta' strategy focuses on converting single-use case customers into multi-use case customers, who typically generate 3x to 3.5x more revenue.	About CompetitionManagement highlights a 'full scale' replacement cycle of legacy marketing clouds (Salesforce, Oracle, Adobe), claiming these competitors suffer from 'legacy tech debt' and cannot natively embed AI. Zeta claims to stand up 50% faster than peers and deliver a 6:1 ROI. David Steinberg noted that while competitors are building AI as an 'add-on,' Zeta has been natively building it since 2017.	About The Broader IndustryThe industry is seeing a shift where marketers are looking for new methodologies because walled gardens like Google and OpenAI are increasingly answering queries on-platform rather than sending traffic to brands. The global marketing spend remains roughly 75% media and 25% CRM. There is a notable trend toward 'AI as the new UI,' where voice-activated command centers replace traditional complex dashboards.	Where Things Are HeadedZeta provided an initial 2026 organic revenue outlook of $1.54 billion (21% growth), excluding Marigold. Athena is expected to be production-ready by the end of Q1 2026. Long-term 2030 targets include 30%+ adjusted EBITDA margins and greater than 70% free cash flow conversion. The company expects the Marigold acquisition to close by the end of 2025, providing a significant cross-sell tailwind for 2026.	Updates On ThemePhase	Broader Themes EmergingAgentic AI workflows; Voice-activated enterprise software; Consolidation of marketing technology stacks (OneZeta); Shift from deterministic to generative engine optimization.	Bullish-Leaning Quotes (Short)17th quarter in a row, we once again delivered a beat and raise.; AI is the new UI and Athena proves it.; Replacement cycle continues to be at full scale.; Highest free cash flow margin we have ever achieved.	Bearish-Leaning Quotes (Short)18-point working capital headwind driven by longer agency payment cycles.; GAAP cost of revenue... 160 basis points [increase] sequentially.; We had to turn away a large number of people [at Zeta Live].	HiringZeta is 'trying to hire every great salesperson' they can find. The company will also pick up a significant sales team in the U.S. and EMEA through the Marigold acquisition and has built a dedicated sales force specifically for independent agencies.

Notes3 rows

Date	Comment	Comment Type	Comment Sentiment	Price Reaction
2025-08-06	Strong Q2 beat with 35% rev growth, rising direct mix, margin/FCF expansion, and upbeat AI/agency momentum drove raised guidance and positive stock reaction.	Earnings Transcript	Bullish	+18.02% (vs SPY: +16.55%)
2026-02-24	Zeta delivered its 18th consecutive beat and raise quarter, with strong Q4 2025 results and raised 2026 guidance, projecting positive GAAP net income. Athena AI is on track for Q1 GA, driving high ROI and record 120% net revenue retention. Despite the strong messaging, the stock's initial reaction (t+2 days) was relatively flat, slightly outperforming SPY, indicating a cautious market perception.	Earnings Transcript	Neutral	-0.18% (vs SPY: +0.02%)
2026-08-04	Zeta Global reported its 20th consecutive beat-and-raise quarter, with Q2 2026 revenue up 44% and strong EBITDA/FCF growth. The company raised its full-year guidance, emphasizing its transformation into an AI infrastructure platform driven by rapid Athena adoption and "game-changing" partnerships with OpenAI, Palantir, and Snowflake. The stock surged 19.99% (t+2 days), significantly outperforming SPY, indicating strong market approval of the results and strategic direction.	Earnings Transcript	Positive	+19.99% (vs SPY: +19.74%)

Upcoming Events6 rows

Catalyst ID	Estimated Timing	Estimated Date Start	Estimated Date End	Catalyst	Why It Matters	Ticker Or Theme Specific	Transcript Date	Source Type
ZETA_39f27692	October 8	2026-10-08	2026-10-08	Zeta Live event in New York City, featuring the introduction of the next generation of Athena and a "massive unveiling" of a new product offering.	This event is a platform to showcase future product evolution, particularly for Athena, which is central to Zeta's AI strategy and market share gains. The new product offering could significantly evolve the company and drive substantial new revenue.	Ticker	2026-08-04	earnings_transcript
ZETA_0075663b	in year 1	2026-01-01	2026-12-31	Successful integration of the Marigold acquisition and its anticipated accretion to free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA in 2026.	Marigold is expected to contribute at least $190 million in 2026 revenue, expanding data, use cases, and value for customers, further amplifying the One Zeta strategy and improving profitability.	Ticker	2026-02-24	earnings_transcript
ZETA_116b3e18	in year 1	2026-01-01	2026-12-31	Marigold acquisition being accretive to free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA in 2026.	Successful integration and accretion would validate the strategic acquisition, positively impacting profitability and free cash flow, while failure could negatively impact financial performance and investor sentiment.	Ticker	2026-02-24	earnings_transcript
ZETA_cfb92ccc	well on our way to our goal of $100 million total	2026-01-01	2026-12-31	Conversion of $100 million in business from the Zeta Live pipeline.	Achieving this goal would demonstrate strong sales momentum and the effectiveness of their marketing events, contributing to revenue growth and validating pipeline visibility.	Ticker	2026-02-24	earnings_transcript
ZETA_8ce8df5d	well on our way to our goal of $100 million total	2026-02-24	2026-12-31	Conversion of the remaining Zeta Live pipeline opportunities to achieve the $100 million booking goal.	Achieving this goal would demonstrate strong sales momentum and contribute significantly to 2026 revenue, validating the effectiveness of Zeta Live and the company's sales strategy.	Ticker	2026-02-24	earnings_transcript
ZETA_1ddbf420	For the full year 2026	2026-01-01	2026-12-31	Achievement of 2026 revenue guidance of $1.755 billion, representing 35% growth year-over-year, or 21% excluding Marigold and political candidate revenue.	Achieving or exceeding this guidance would demonstrate continued strong growth and market share gains, positively impacting valuation and investor sentiment. Missing it could have the opposite effect.	Ticker	2026-02-24	earnings_transcript