What Is Happening With AppLovin Stock?
Between early May 2025 and late January 2026, AppLovin (APP)’s stock soared 85%, fueled by surging revenue, improved margins, and a slight P/E lift. Behind the numbers, a mix of strong earnings, savvy divestitures, analyst upgrades, buybacks, and market drama sparked this remarkable rally.
Below is an analytical breakdown of stock movement into key contributing metrics.
| 5042025 | 1292026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Price ($) | 307.6 | 569.2 | 85.1% |
| Change Contribution By: | |||
| Total Revenues ($ Mil) | 5,089.0 | 6,632.5 | 30.3% |
| Net Income Margin (%) | 31.0% | 42.7% | 37.5% |
| P/E Multiple | 66.0 | 68.1 | 3.1% |
| Shares Outstanding (Mil) | 339.2 | 338.5 | 0.2% |
| Cumulative Contribution | 85.1% |
So what is happening here? The stock surged 85%, driven by a 30% increase in revenue, a 37% boost in net margin, and a modest 3.1% rise in the P/E multiple. Let’s explore the events behind these gains.
Here Is Why AppLovin Stock Moved
- Strong Earnings: AppLovin exceeded Q1, Q2, Q3 2025 earnings/revenue forecasts with significant growth.
- Analyst Upgrades: Multiple analysts upgraded ratings and increased price targets for APP stock in late 2025 and Jan 2026.
- Strategic Divestiture: Completed sale of Apps business to Tripledot Studios for $400M cash and equity on June 30, 2025.
- Share Repurchases: Board increased share repurchase authorization by $3.2B and executed buybacks in Q3 2025.
- Short Seller Claims: CapitalWatch’s Jan 2026 report alleged money laundering, causing a stock drop. AppLovin denied claims.
Our Current Assesment Of APP Stock
Opinion: We currently find APP stock attractive but volatile. Why so? Have a look at the full story. Read Buy or Sell APP Stock to see what drives our current opinion.
Risk: A clear way to gauge risk is by checking how much APP has fallen during major sell-offs. It slipped about 92% during the Inflation Shock, which is a huge drop. That kind of move shows that even with good fundamentals, APP isn’t immune to steep declines when markets turn volatile. So, despite all the positive signals, investors should keep in mind that APP can still take serious hits in tough times.
APP stock may have seen strong gains recently, but investing in a single stock without detailed, thorough analysis can be risky. The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.