Liftoff Mobile (LFTO)
Market Price (6/21/2026): $27.03 | Market Cap: $-Sector: Communication Services | Industry: Advertising
Liftoff Mobile (LFTO)
Market Price (6/21/2026): $27.03Market Cap: $-Sector: Communication ServicesIndustry: Advertising
Investment Highlights Why It Matters Detailed financial logic regarding cash flow yields vs trend-riding momentum.
Megatrend and thematic driversMegatrends include Social Media & Creator Economy, and Digital Advertising. Themes include Ad-Tech Platforms. | Weak multi-year price returns2Y Excs Rtn is -44%, 3Y Excs Rtn is -78% | Key risksLFTO key risks include [1] a critical dependence on the performance and ongoing innovation of its proprietary Cortex AI model and [2] a reliance on maintaining extensive SDK integrations for essential user data and ad inventory access. |
| Megatrend and thematic driversMegatrends include Social Media & Creator Economy, and Digital Advertising. Themes include Ad-Tech Platforms. |
| Weak multi-year price returns2Y Excs Rtn is -44%, 3Y Excs Rtn is -78% |
| Key risksLFTO key risks include [1] a critical dependence on the performance and ongoing innovation of its proprietary Cortex AI model and [2] a reliance on maintaining extensive SDK integrations for essential user data and ad inventory access. |
Price Returns Compared
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Total [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Returns | |||||||
| LFTO Return | - | - | - | - | - | -6% | -6% |
| Peers Return | -4% | -27% | 31% | 22% | -27% | -12% | -28% |
| S&P 500 Return | 27% | -19% | 24% | 23% | 16% | 8% | 98% |
Monthly Win Rates [3] | |||||||
| LFTO Win Rate | - | - | - | - | - | 0% | |
| Peers Win Rate | 45% | 42% | 60% | 56% | 46% | 30% | |
| S&P 500 Win Rate | 75% | 42% | 67% | 75% | 67% | 50% | |
Max Drawdowns [4] | |||||||
| LFTO Max Drawdown | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Peers Max Drawdown | -46% | -50% | -38% | -32% | -52% | -33% | |
| S&P 500 Max Drawdown | -5% | -25% | -10% | -8% | -19% | -9% | |
[1] Cumulative total returns since the beginning of 2021
[2] Peers: DV, LFTO, OMC, TTD, MGNI.
[3] Win Rate = % of calendar months in which monthly returns were positive
[4] Max drawdown represents maximum peak-to-trough decline within a year
[5] 2026 data is for the year up to 6/18/2026 (YTD)
How Low Can It Go
LFTO has limited trading history. Below is the Communication Services sector ETF (XLC) in its place.
| Event | XLC | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 US Tariff Shock | ||
| % Loss | -17.7% | -18.8% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 21.5% | 23.1% |
| Time to Breakeven | 63 days | 79 days |
| 2022 Inflation Shock & Fed Tightening | ||
| % Loss | -38.7% | -24.5% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 63.1% | 32.4% |
| Time to Breakeven | 470 days | 427 days |
| 2020 COVID-19 Crash | ||
| % Loss | -30.1% | -33.7% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 43.2% | 50.9% |
| Time to Breakeven | 112 days | 140 days |
| Q4 2018 Fed Policy Error / Growth Scare | ||
| % Loss | -20.2% | -19.2% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 25.3% | 23.8% |
| Time to Breakeven | 109 days | 105 days |
In The Past
State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF's stock fell -17.7% during the 2025 US Tariff Shock. Such a loss loss requires a 21.5% gain to breakeven.
Preserve Wealth
Limiting losses and compounding gains is essential to preserving wealth.
Asset Allocation
Actively managed asset allocation strategies protect wealth. Learn more.
LFTO has limited trading history. Below is the Communication Services sector ETF (XLC) in its place.
| Event | XLC | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Inflation Shock & Fed Tightening | ||
| % Loss | -38.7% | -24.5% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 63.1% | 32.4% |
| Time to Breakeven | 470 days | 427 days |
| 2020 COVID-19 Crash | ||
| % Loss | -30.1% | -33.7% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 43.2% | 50.9% |
| Time to Breakeven | 112 days | 140 days |
| Q4 2018 Fed Policy Error / Growth Scare | ||
| % Loss | -20.2% | -19.2% |
| % Gain to Breakeven | 25.3% | 23.8% |
| Time to Breakeven | 109 days | 105 days |
In The Past
State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF's stock fell -17.7% during the 2025 US Tariff Shock. Such a loss loss requires a 21.5% gain to breakeven.
Preserve Wealth
Limiting losses and compounding gains is essential to preserving wealth.
Asset Allocation
Actively managed asset allocation strategies protect wealth. Learn more.
About Liftoff Mobile (LFTO)
Liftoff Mobile (LFTO) operates as an AI-powered growth and monetization engine within the expansive app economy. The company's platform is designed to serve a wide range of verticals, providing solutions for both app advertisers seeking to acquire profitable new users and app publishers aiming to maximize their advertising revenue. Liftoff addresses critical needs in a rapidly expanding market, where in-app ad spending is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated $617 billion by 2030.
The core of Liftoff's offering is a unified Demand Side Platform (DSP) and Supply Side Platform (SSP), which are powered by Cortex, an internally developed neural network AI prediction model. The DSP enables mobile advertisers to optimize their bid strategies for user acquisition, while the SSP provides app publishers with extensive reach and real-time optimization for monetizing their ad inventory through SDK integrations. This integrated platform, underpinned by Cortex's advanced AI capabilities, minimizes friction and enhances data visibility, delivering superior advertising performance for customers.
Liftoff serves app advertisers (demand-side customers) and app developers/publishers (who integrate Liftoff's SDK to monetize their applications). The company's competitive edge is derived from its unique combination of a unified DSP and SSP, its proprietary Cortex AI technology, and its diverse expertise across various app verticals, with a significant portion of revenue coming from non-gaming segments. This powerful synergy creates a virtuous flywheel effect: as customer spending increases, more publishers are attracted, leading to larger datasets that further refine the Cortex AI, ultimately enhancing performance and driving strong customer growth and retention, exemplified by its 124% LTM Core Advertising Net Dollar Retention.
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Here are 1-2 brief analogies for Liftoff Mobile (LFTO):
1. An independent, AI-powered Google Ads and AdSense/AdMob combined, specifically for the mobile app economy.
2. Like an AI-driven Meta (Facebook/Instagram advertising) built for all mobile apps, not just its own.
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- Demand-Side Platform (DSP) Services: Offers app advertisers AI-powered capabilities to acquire highly engaged and profitable users for their applications.
- Supply-Side Platform (SSP) Services: Provides app publishers with an AI-powered platform to monetize their in-app media inventory and maximize advertising revenue.
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Liftoff Mobile (LFTO) sells primarily to other companies (B2B) within the app economy. While the provided text does not name specific major customer companies, it describes two primary categories of business customers that utilize its platform:
- App Advertisers (Demand Side Customers): These customers leverage Liftoff's Demand Side Platform (DSP) to acquire new, engaged, and high-intent users for their apps. Liftoff helps them drive profitable user acquisition through its AI-powered platform. These advertisers come from diverse verticals, including social media, finance, entertainment, and gaming.
- App Developers/Publishers (Supply Side Customers): These customers integrate Liftoff's Software Development Kit (SDK) into their apps to monetize their media inventory. Liftoff's Supply Side Platform (SSP) helps them maximize advertising revenue from their apps. These publishers also operate across various verticals in the app ecosystem.
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Jeremy Bondy Chief Executive Officer
Jeremy Bondy was appointed CEO of Liftoff in May 2022, after serving as the company's President following its merger with Vungle in October 2021. Previously, he was CEO of Vungle starting in 2020, where he led a unified strategy across its global offices and drove growth through the acquisitions of AlgoLift, GameRefinery, TreSensa, and JetFuel. Bondy also founded and served as President of Trojan Movers, a company providing moving services for students near the USC Campus. The leadership transition at Liftoff occurred after prior majority investments in both Liftoff and Vungle by private equity funds managed by Blackstone.
Tarek Kutrieh President and Chief Financial Officer
Tarek Kutrieh assumed the role of CFO for the combined Liftoff + Vungle entity in October 2021, and is currently the President and Chief Financial Officer. Before joining Liftoff, he was the CFO of VCA Animal Hospitals. Kutrieh also held several finance positions at Activision Blizzard and was CFO, and later President, at Directed, a consumer electronics company. Notably, he previously served as an Operating Partner at The Gores Group, a private equity fund focused on middle market investments, and Liftoff Mobile is identified as a portfolio company of Blackstone.
Andre Tutundjian Chief Operating Officer
Andre Tutundjian serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Liftoff. He is a co-founder and former CEO of AlgoLift, a company that was acquired by Liftoff. He brings a strong background in analytics and product, which he utilizes to drive platform operations.
Susan Rickard Hansen General Counsel
Susan Rickard Hansen has been Liftoff's General Counsel since August 2018. Her professional background includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney and becoming a partner at the law firm Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, where she represented a diverse range of clients, including growth-oriented startup companies and small businesses.
Harry Robertson Co-founder and CTO
Harry Robertson is a Co-founder and Executive Technical Advisor of Liftoff. Prior to his work at Liftoff, he led engineering teams focused on video analytics and monetization technology, founded a prominent location-based social network on the iPhone, and developed autonomous robots for DARPA. He holds a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University.
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Key Risks to Liftoff Mobile (LFTO)
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Reliance on the continued growth and health of the app economy and in-app advertising spend: Liftoff Mobile's business model is deeply intertwined with the expansion of the app economy and projected increases in in-app ad spend. The company explicitly states, "We are built to grow as our customers grow" and cites projections for in-app ad spend to grow from $332 billion in 2025 to nearly $617 billion by 2030. A significant slowdown, stagnation, or contraction in the app market or a failure for in-app ad spend to meet these projections would directly impede Liftoff Mobile's market opportunity and growth trajectory.
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Dependence on the performance and ongoing innovation of its Cortex AI model: The company states that Cortex, its internally developed neural network-powered AI prediction model, is "the foundation of our business" and "Our Core Advertising revenue is primarily generated through Cortex." Liftoff Mobile also transitioned its business by adopting Cortex to replace legacy models, highlighting its critical role. Should Cortex fail to maintain its differentiated performance, keep pace with technological advancements, or if competitors develop superior AI models, it could significantly undermine Liftoff Mobile's competitive advantage and primary revenue driver.
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Reliance on extensive SDK integrations and access to app publisher inventory and user data: Liftoff Mobile's SSP (Supply-Side Platform) functionality, which is crucial for its unified platform, depends on a large number of apps integrating its software development kit ("SDK"). These integrations provide direct access to users and enable the company to monetize media inventory and process substantial amounts of data (e.g., "1.4 billion daily active users worldwide" and "$140 billion in annualized in-app transaction data"). Any significant reduction in app integrations, or adverse changes in platform policies by major operating system providers (like Apple or Google) that restrict SDK functionality or data access, could severely limit Liftoff Mobile's reach, data input for its Cortex model, and overall operational effectiveness.
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Expected Drivers of Future Revenue Growth for Liftoff Mobile (LFTO)
- Growth in the Overall App Economy and In-App Advertising Market: Liftoff Mobile is poised to benefit from the significant expansion of the global app economy and the associated increase in in-app advertising spend. The company's commissioned Altman Solon Report projects in-app ad spend to grow from $332 billion in 2025 to nearly $617 billion by 2030, with a serviceable addressable market for mobile, global in-app independent ad tech platforms estimated at $79 billion in 2025, growing at an 11% compound annual growth rate through 2030.
- Enhanced Performance and Continuous Improvement of the Cortex AI Platform: The Cortex neural network-powered AI prediction model is foundational to Liftoff's business. Its continuous improvement, evidenced by 4x more tests and 21x more data processing capacity by Q4 2025 compared to previous models, drives differentiated advertising performance for customers. This leads to higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), which, in turn, encourages increased customer spend and attracts new advertisers, fueling a virtuous flywheel of growth.
- Expansion and Diversification Across Non-Gaming Verticals: Liftoff has strategically designed its platform to serve all verticals in the app economy, cultivating expertise across social media, finance, entertainment, and gaming. This diversification is a key growth driver, with slightly more than half of its advertiser revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, originating from non-gaming verticals. This positions the company to capture opportunities in emerging and high-growth sectors beyond traditional gaming.
- Increasing Demand-Side Customers and SDK Integrations: Liftoff has demonstrated consistent growth in its customer base. The number of Demand Side Customers utilizing its platform for user acquisition increased from 643 in 2023 to 871 by September 30, 2025. Similarly, the number of apps integrating Liftoff's SDK for monetization grew from 107,023 in 2023 to 142,441 by September 30, 2025. This expanding reach directly contributes to revenue growth by increasing the volume of advertising transactions and monetization opportunities.
- Strong Net Dollar Retention and Increased Customer Spend: Liftoff's business model is characterized by robust customer loyalty and expanding relationships, as evidenced by its LTM Core Advertising Net Dollar Retention of 124% for the period ending September 30, 2025, an increase from 121% for the period ending September 30, 2024. This indicates that existing customers are consistently increasing their spending on the platform, driven by the effectiveness of Liftoff’s solutions in delivering profitable outcomes.
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Capital Expenditures
- For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, capitalized internal-use software costs (excluding capitalized stock-based compensation expense) were 7% of total revenue.
- Liftoff's financial model is characterized by a capital-light architecture that is expected to drive cash flow generation.
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Peer Comparisons
| Peers to compare with: |
Financials
| Median | |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Mkt Price | 18.51 |
| Mkt Cap | 5.7 |
| Rev LTM | 1,867 |
| Op Inc LTM | 354 |
| FCF LTM | 482 |
| FCF 3Y Avg | 413 |
| CFO LTM | 635 |
| CFO 3Y Avg | 522 |
Growth & Margins
| Median | |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Rev Chg LTM | 13.9% |
| Rev Chg 3Y Avg | 14.4% |
| Rev Chg Q | 10.7% |
| QoQ Delta Rev Chg LTM | 2.3% |
| Op Inc Chg LTM | 19.9% |
| Op Inc Chg 3Y Avg | 44.8% |
| Op Mgn LTM | 13.2% |
| Op Mgn 3Y Avg | 11.6% |
| QoQ Delta Op Mgn LTM | 0.8% |
| CFO/Rev LTM | 19.6% |
| CFO/Rev 3Y Avg | 26.4% |
| FCF/Rev LTM | 16.4% |
| FCF/Rev 3Y Avg | 20.0% |
Price Behavior
| 1M | 2M | 3M | 6M | 1Y | 3Y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beta | ||||||
| Up Beta | � | � | � | � | � | � |
| Down Beta | � | � | � | � | � | � |
| Up Capture | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Bmk +ve Days | 13 | 28 | 36 | 67 | 141 | 432 |
| Stock +ve Days | ||||||
| Down Capture | -0% | -0% | -0% | -0% | -0% | -0% |
| Bmk -ve Days | 7 | 13 | 27 | 57 | 109 | 318 |
| Stock -ve Days |
[1] Upside and downside betas calculated using positive and negative benchmark daily returns respectively
Based On 1-Year Data
| Annualized Return | Annualized Volatility | Sharpe Ratio | Correlation with LFTO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFTO | -6.4% | 68.6% | -2.15 | - |
| Sector ETF (XLC) | 7.2% | 13.4% | 0.27 | -17.5% |
| Equity (SPY) | 26.5% | 12.4% | 1.61 | 44.0% |
| Gold (GLD) | 24.2% | 27.5% | 0.77 | 49.4% |
| Commodities (DBC) | 19.8% | 18.8% | 0.83 | 19.2% |
| Real Estate (VNQ) | 11.0% | 13.7% | 0.52 | -80.3% |
| Bitcoin (BTCUSD) | -40.0% | 42.5% | -1.08 | 57.4% |
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Based On 5-Year Data
| Annualized Return | Annualized Volatility | Sharpe Ratio | Correlation with LFTO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFTO | -1.3% | 68.6% | -2.15 | - |
| Sector ETF (XLC) | 7.6% | 20.7% | 0.28 | -17.5% |
| Equity (SPY) | 13.5% | 17.1% | 0.62 | 44.0% |
| Gold (GLD) | 17.1% | 18.3% | 0.76 | 49.4% |
| Commodities (DBC) | 7.5% | 19.4% | 0.29 | 19.2% |
| Real Estate (VNQ) | 1.9% | 18.9% | 0.00 | -80.3% |
| Bitcoin (BTCUSD) | 11.0% | 54.2% | 0.40 | 57.4% |
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Based On 10-Year Data
| Annualized Return | Annualized Volatility | Sharpe Ratio | Correlation with LFTO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFTO | -0.7% | 68.6% | -2.15 | - |
| Sector ETF (XLC) | 9.0% | 22.2% | 0.47 | -17.5% |
| Equity (SPY) | 15.3% | 18.0% | 0.73 | 44.0% |
| Gold (GLD) | 12.3% | 16.1% | 0.63 | 49.4% |
| Commodities (DBC) | 5.9% | 18.0% | 0.26 | 19.2% |
| Real Estate (VNQ) | 5.3% | 20.7% | 0.22 | -80.3% |
| Bitcoin (BTCUSD) | 60.0% | 66.8% | 1.00 | 57.4% |
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Earnings Returns History
Updated 6/5/2026| Forward Returns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Date | 1D Returns | 5D Returns | 21D Returns |
| SUMMARY STATS | |||
| # Positive | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # Negative | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Median Positive | |||
| Median Negative | |||
| Max Positive | |||
| Max Negative | |||
| Forward Returns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Date | 1D Returns | 5D Returns | 21D Returns |
| SUMMARY STATS | |||
| # Positive | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # Negative | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Median Positive | |||
| Median Negative | |||
| Max Positive | |||
| Max Negative | |||
External Quote Links
| Y Finance | Barrons |
| TradingView | Morningstar |
| SeekingAlpha | ValueLine |
| Motley Fool | Robinhood |
| CNBC | Etrade |
| MarketWatch | Unusual Whales |
| YCharts | Perplexity Finance |
| FinViz |
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