APP vs CRTO Stock Comparison

AppLovin and Criteo Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
APP AppLovin Corp
$260.74 -16.1% 1M -57.9% 1Y
Market cap
$87.42B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.83B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
6 wins
CRTO Criteo S.A.
$14.47 -11.1% 1M -29.5% 1Y
Market cap
$702.53M
P/E
9.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.79B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

AppLovin leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (AppLovin 6, Criteo 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPPCRTOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.42B $702.53M APP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x 9.2x CRTO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.5x 4.0x CRTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.6% -8.2% APP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 64.6% 4.4% APP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 71.3% 6.9% APP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -57.9% -29.5% CRTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.4%/yr -14.9%/yr APP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.9% 58.1% CRTO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 67/100 APP

Percentile Scorecard

APPCRTO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAPPCRTO
Valuation 42 #98 of 167 87 #23 of 167
Growth 99 #2 of 153 30 #107 of 153
Profitability 100 #1 of 153 55 #70 of 153
Financial Health 70 #55 of 179 65 #64 of 179
Shareholder Returns 51 #47 of 94 97 #4 of 94
Overall 72 67
  • APP ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • CRTO ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAPPCRTOSPY
1 month -16.1%-11.1% -0.8%
3 months -36.8%-30.6% +3.5%
6 months -43.4%-25.1% +7.0%
Year to date -61.3%-29.8% +12.2%
1 year -57.9%-29.5% +13.0%
3 years +619.9%-47.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +93.2%-19.5% +23.1%
5 years +174.7%-55.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +22.4%-14.9% +11.0%
10 years —-61.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year —-9.0% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAPPCRTOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.9%58.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 81.7%65.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.250.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.78-0.51 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.9%-70.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.5%-37.8% -1.8%
52-week high $733.60$23.28 $779.14
52-week low $260.25$14.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAPPCRTO
P/E now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 17.5x 9.2xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 1.4x 0.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 12.1x -50.3xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 1.7x 0.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.41 0.07median 0.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAPPCRTO
Revenue $6.83B $1.79B
Gross profit $6.04B $940.45M
Operating income $5.29B $104.03M
Net income $4.41B $83.26M
Free cash flow $4.53B -$13.98M
R&D $320.08M $281.99M
EPS (diluted) $13.08 $1.55
Cash & equivalents $3.05B $252.24M
Total debt $14.05B $45.06M
Shares (diluted) 337.03M 50.55M
Enterprise value $77.46B -$478.34M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAPPCRTO
P/E 19.9x 9.2x
P/FCF 19.3x -50.3x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x 5.4x
P/S 12.8x 0.4x
P/B 27.6x 0.6x
P/Tangible book 31.1x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x –
EV/EBIT 16.6x 4.2x
EV/Revenue 12.9x 0.2x
EV/FCF 19.4x -30.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x 3.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 0.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPPCRTO
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.6% -8.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 33.3% -2.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 64.6% -8.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 52.9% 5.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 78.6% -43.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 188.9% 50.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 81.5% -41.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 503.2% 103.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.4% -37.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 524.6% 128.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% -55.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.2% -14.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% -107.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.5% -28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPPCRTO
Gross margin 88.5% 52.6%
EBITDA margin 79.4% –
Operating margin 77.4% 5.8%
Pretax margin 76.3% 6.0%
Net margin 64.6% 4.4%
FCF margin 66.3% -0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 66.3% 7.2%
Return on equity 159.6% 7.1%
Return on assets 55.2% 4.1%
Return on invested capital 71.3% 6.9%
Return on capital employed 78.5% 7.6%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 4.1% 3.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPPCRTO
Debt / assets 42.5% 0.5%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x –
Debt / FCF 0.8x -0.7x
Liabilities / assets 61.7% 42.1%
Equity / assets 38.3% 57.9%
Interest coverage 25.8x –
Current ratio 4.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 4.2x 1.1x
Cash ratio 2.4x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 14.26 2.10

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPPCRTO
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 2.8% 23.3%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 23.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAPPCRTO
Forward P/E 15.5xFY2026 4.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $16.84FY2026 $3.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +72.7%FY2026 -21.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +26.3% +7.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.60BFY2026 $986.69MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +56.9%FY2026 -15.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.2% +3.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPPCRTO
Held by institutions 67.5% 82.8%
Institutions holding 1,457 123
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.5% +1.6%
Institutions buying 835 59
Institutions selling 478 39
Buyers to sellers 1.75 1.51

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

APPCRTO
APP 1.00 0.19
CRTO 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APP and CRTO?

AppLovin (APP) is the largest by market capitalisation: AppLovin (APP) $87.42B, Criteo (CRTO) $702.53M.

Which stock is cheaper, APP and CRTO?

Criteo (CRTO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AppLovin (APP) 19.9x, Criteo (CRTO) 9.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Criteo (CRTO) is cheapest (AppLovin (APP) 15.5x, Criteo (CRTO) 4.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AppLovin (APP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AppLovin (APP) +60.6%, Criteo (CRTO) -8.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

AppLovin (APP) has the highest net margin (AppLovin (APP) 64.6%, Criteo (CRTO) 4.4%). On return on invested capital, AppLovin (APP) leads (AppLovin (APP) 71.3%, Criteo (CRTO) 6.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Criteo (CRTO) returned the most: AppLovin (APP) -57.9%, Criteo (CRTO) -29.5%. Over five years, AppLovin (APP) compounded fastest (AppLovin (APP) +22.4%/yr, Criteo (CRTO) -14.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Criteo (CRTO) has been the steadiest (AppLovin (APP) 73.9%, Criteo (CRTO) 58.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do APP and CRTO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.19, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, APP and CRTO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AppLovin (APP) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.