Fluent, Inc. (FLNT) Earnings
Fluent, Inc. is expected to report next earnings on November 12, 2026 (in NaN days), with a consensus EPS estimate of $-0.08. FLNT has beaten EPS estimates in 4 of its last 12 reported quarters (average surprise -15.2% over the last four).
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 10, 2026 | $-0.15 | $-0.13 | +11.4% | $48M | +9.6% |
| May 13, 2026 | $-0.21 | $-0.19 | +9.5% | $45M | -7.8% |
| Mar 9, 2026 | $-0.08 | $-0.09 | -17.4% | $62M | +16.5% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | $-0.14 | $-0.23 | -64.3% | $47M | -24.8% |
| Aug 19, 2025 | $-0.23 | $-0.24 | -4.3% | $45M | -31.4% |
| May 15, 2025 | $-0.38 | $-0.31 | +18.4% | $55M | +4.4% |
| Feb 28, 2025 | $-0.30 | $-0.18 | +40.0% | $65M | -3.4% |
| Nov 14, 2024 | $-0.08 | $-0.22 | -175.0% | $65M | -5.2% |
| Aug 19, 2024 | $-0.21 | $-0.47 | -123.8% | $59M | -4.8% |
| May 15, 2024 | $-0.05 | $-0.30 | -500.0% | $66M | -0.7% |
| Feb 29, 2024 | $-0.01 | $-0.02 | -42.9% | $73M | +9.4% |
| Nov 14, 2023 | $0.06 | $-0.30 | -600.0% | $66M | -10.6% |
Source: company filings + earnings calendar. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Earnings call summary
Q2 FY2026 · August 10, 2026
AI summary of management’s prepared remarks and analyst Q&A. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Management highlights
### Strategic Milestone - Q2 2026 marked the return of year-over-year revenue growth after the company's strategic pivot to focus on commerce media, with 25% aggregate continuing business growth and improving margins, confirming the sustainability of the company's strategy. - Commerce Media Solutions achieved its 10th consecutive quarter of high double-digit to triple-digit growth, and now accounts for a majority of Fluent's total consolidated revenue. ### Core Online Post-Transaction Commerce Media Progress - The core online post-transaction business ended Q2 with an annual revenue run rate of over $125 million. It is supported by a competitive moat from Fluent's owned-and-operated marketplace, 10+ years of industry experience, first-party data, and performance marketing expertise that cannot be replicated by competitors. - Tier 1 retail pharmacy chain CVS came online as a new partner in Q3 2026, marking Fluent's entry into the pharmacy vertical and expanding the company's addressable audience and marketplace diversification. - A new high-growth opportunity has emerged: captive retail media networks are increasingly partnering with Fluent to add non-endemic advertising demand, which significantly expands Fluent's total addressable market and validates the company's competitive position. Fluent is already delivering non-endemic demand to one of the world's largest retail media networks, with a growing pipeline of additional network partners. ### New In-Store Commerce Media Initiative - In Q2, Fluent announced a strategic first-mover expansion into in-store commerce media via a partnership with Built Technologies, which operates in-store point-of-sale systems. This addresses the 83% of U.S. retail transactions that still occur in physical stores, a large, underserved, and hard-to-measure segment of the $140 billion total commerce media market. - The offering leverages loyalty data to unify the consumer experience across online and in-store transactions, creating a single integrated commerce platform that increases value for both shoppers and retail partners. The first launch will be with Beyond, Inc. (operator of Bed Bath & Beyond, Bye Bye Baby, and The Container Store) in late 2026, with a pipeline of additional partners scheduled for onboarding in early 2027. - The company is focused on testing and validating the model in H2 2026, with no material revenue contribution expected in 2026; material revenue growth from in-store is expected to begin in 2027. ### Owned and Operated Business Strategic Role - After structural headwinds from a 2023 FTC settlement created an uneven competitive playing field, the owned and operated business is now strategically repurposed to support commerce media. Its core mandates are to remain profitable (which it has been for three consecutive years) and serve as a fast test-and-learn environment for commerce media initiatives, leveraging its first-party data to improve AI models and creative strategies that deliver superior results for CMS partners. ### Financial Operational Highlights - Gross margin expansion in Q2 was driven by improved monetization and scaling of key CMS partners not on revenue share agreements, and the roll-off of early-term incentive pricing for new partnerships, aligning with prior management expectations.
Guidance
- Management maintained prior guidance for full-year 2026: double-digit revenue growth for aggregate continuing businesses, continued gross margin expansion as higher-margin CMS becomes an increasingly large share of total revenue, and continued full-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA. - Management expects continued double-digit growth acceleration in H2 2026, driven by conversion of the growing high-quality partner pipeline (which follows retail seasonal sales cycles). - CMS is expected to continue growing at a high double-digit rate and increase its share of total consolidated revenue going forward. - Management expects adjusted EBITDA to turn positive in Q4 2026, with continued sequential improvement in Q3 2026. - CMS gross margins are expected to remain in the mid-20s range through 2026, with long-term expansion to the upper 20s and eventually low 30s at scale, after 2026.
Segment performance
Fluent reported total consolidated Q2 2026 revenue of $48.4 million, an 8% year-over-year increase from Q2 2025's $44.7 million. On an aggregate continuing business basis (excluding divestitures), revenue grew 25% year-over-year. 1. Commerce Media Solutions (CMS): Revenue grew 90% year-over-year to $30.5 million, representing 63% of total consolidated revenue (up from 36% in Q2 2025). CMS gross profit was $8.2 million, an increase of 186% year-over-year, representing 27% of CMS revenue. CMS media margin was $10.5 million, 34% of CMS revenue (up from 20% in Q2 2025). 2. Owned and Operated: Revenue decreased 24% year-over-year to $16.3 million, down from $21.4 million in Q2 2025. Consolidated gross profit was $14 million, up 36% year-over-year, representing 28.9% of total revenue. Consolidated media margin was $17.5 million, representing 36% of total revenue (up from 26.7% in Q2 2025). Adjusted EBITDA was a negative $1.8 million, an improvement of $1 million from the negative $2.8 million loss in Q2 2025. Net loss for the quarter was $6.2 million, an improvement from the $7.2 million net loss in Q2 2025.
Risks & headwinds
- Actual future results could differ materially from forward-looking statements due to inherent risks and uncertainties associated with Fluent's business, as detailed in the company's SEC filings, including Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. - The owned and operated business continues to face structural, uneven competitive headwinds from a 2023 FTC settlement, leading to ongoing year-over-year revenue declines. - The new in-store commerce media initiative is still in the testing and validation phase, with uncertain timing and scale of future revenue generation. - Revenue growth depends on the conversion of the partner pipeline, which is subject to retail seasonal sales cycles and partner resource allocation for integration.
Analyst Q&A
Q: What strategic impact does the new CVS partnership have, and is there a path to future in-store integration with CVS? /
A: The CVS partnership is one of Fluent's largest partner wins to date, and expands the company into the high-value pharmacy vertical, diversifying its audience and marketplace, which helps attract additional large retail partners. Integration for the initial online post-transaction offering is straightforward, consistent with other partners. Fluent has a clear roadmap to add in-store commerce media for CVS in 2027.
Q: How does the in-store commerce media offering operate at physical checkout, and do you already have potential partners waiting to launch? /
A: In-store commerce media leverages the larger screens now common at self-checkout kiosks and checkout areas to deliver ads to consumers during in-person checkout, with optional post-visit CRM follow-up. Loyalty data enables targeted advertising by unifying consumer identity across online and in-store channels. Fluent already has a pipeline of additional in-store partners signed and ready to onboard once the model is validated in 2026, with scaling planned for 2027.
Q: What is the strategic role of the owned and operated business after its recent sequential revenue stability, and how does it support commerce media? /
A: The owned and operated business has long-term structural headwinds from a 2023 FTC settlement that created an uneven compliance playing field with competitors. It now operates with two core mandates: remain consistently profitable (which it has done for three years), and act as a strategic testing ground for commerce media, allowing Fluent to run fast A/B tests for new ad strategies and improve data and AI models. This capability enables Fluent to deliver ~30% higher revenue and consumer lifetime value for CMS partners compared to competitors.
Q: What is the revenue growth split between new and existing CMS partners, and do existing partners deliver incremental growth after initial onboarding? /
A: Fluent does not disclose specific split percentages, but Q2 2026 growth was weighted toward expansion of existing partners. Most enterprise partners onboard with 80-90% of their eligible transactions on day one, so organic growth from existing partners typically comes from incremental expansion into new channels (e.g. mobile apps, new geographies). The largest new partner influx typically occurs in Q3, aligned with retail sales cycles. A new high-growth expansion opportunity is adding non-endemic demand to existing large captive retail media networks, which opens massive new scale for Fluent.