Why AppLovin Stock Beat the Market on Thursday

An estimates-topping quarter was the factor behind AppLovin (APP +0.70%) stock bucking Thursday’s trend and landing in the black. The mobile marketing company’s shares ticked up by just under 1% on the day, which wasn’t an easy achievement, given the generally downbeat sentiment on stocks, as evidenced by the S&P 500‘s (^GSPC 1.12%) 1.1% decline.

Growth and buy-backs in the cards

AppLovin’s third-quarter figures, made public after market close on Wednesday, featured a revenue line of just over $1.4 billion, which was an impressive 68% improvement over the year-ago result. Net income in line with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) nearly doubled, coming in at almost $836 million ($2.45 per share) for the period.

Both numbers were more than sufficient to beat the consensus analyst projections. On average, prognosticators following AppLovin’s fortunes were estimating it would earn only $1.34 billion in revenue, and $2.37 in GAAP net income.

In another investor-pleasing move, AppLovin’s board of directors increased the company’s share repurchase authorization. As of the end of October, the new amount stood at $3.3 billion.

A forward beat, too

AppLovin also edged past analyst expectations with its current (fourth) quarter revenue guidance. Management is modeling a top line of $1.57 billion to $1.60 billion for the frame, which sits above the prognosticator consensus of just under $1.55 billion.

Non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), meanwhile, is expected to come in at $1.29 billion to $1.32 billion. The company did not provide any net income forecasts.