On July 31, 2026, Beijing time, Reddit announced its Q2 2026 financial results ending June 30: revenue of $805 million, up 61% year-over-year; net income of $253 million, up 183% year-over-year. The press release was issued from San Francisco. TechCrunch's public feed subsequently summarized the event as a robust financial performance with market discussions around uncertainties brought by AI changing the web. Reddit’s shareholder letter only confirmed fluctuations in search referrals during the quarter and increased volatility in traffic later on, without attributing causes to AI, Google, or any specific search product.
User Growth and Activity
Reddit disclosed that the average daily active unique users for the quarter were 130.3 million, up 18% year-over-year; average weekly active unique users were 514.6 million, up 24% year-over-year. These statistics refer to the company-defined active unique users, not the total number of registered accounts. The shareholder letter also noted that logged-in daily active unique users grew by 7%, while unlogged-in grew by 27%; current materials do not provide separate contributions to revenue from each type of growth or the number of registered users.
By region, US daily active unique users were 53.2 million, up 6% year-over-year but below Q1's 53.5 million as listed in shareholder letter charts; international daily active unique users were 77.1 million, up 28% year-over-year. Thus, the US data shows both year-over-year growth and a slight quarter-to-quarter decline, which cannot be conflated. Weekly active unique users stood at 197.2 million in the US and 317.4 million internationally; the company did not disclose how much search referral fluctuations affected US or international users separately.
Regional and Advertising Revenue Analysis
US revenue for Q2 was $638.1 million, up 56% year-over-year; international revenue was $166.8 million, up 84% year-over-year. Ad revenue was $762 million, up 64%, with other revenue at $43 million, up 24%. Reddit attributed ad revenue growth to increases in pricing and impressions but did not break down the individual contributions of each factor. The shareholder letter also noted that international revenue grew faster than US revenue; current materials do not provide regional breakdowns for ad prices, impressions, or customer numbers, nor do they disclose the number of ad contracts.
Reddit's net income was $253 million with a net margin of 31.4%, compared to $89 million in the same period last year; basic earnings per share were $1.31 and diluted earnings per share were $1.25. The quarter’s operating cash flow was $262 million. The company also reported an adjusted EBITDA of $343 million, with an adjusted margin of 42.6%, up 106% year-over-year. These last two figures are non-GAAP metrics defined by Reddit; the official press release provides reconciliation to corresponding GAAP measures and cannot be used as a substitute for net income.
Financial Performance and Adjusted EBITDA
Regarding search traffic, the shareholder letter stated that there were fluctuations in search referrals during the quarter with increased instability later on, noting that product improvements and consumer marketing offset some of the pressure from search users. The company also noted its low visibility into referral traffic and a product direction aimed at making Reddit a destination for direct user visits rather than relying on incidental visits. Official documents did not quantify the scale of search pressure or confirm generative search, Google, or any data licensing agreements as causes for fluctuations.
On product metrics, Reddit reported that new app user retention improved by 50% year-over-year relative to a low starting point. The company launched video comments during the quarter and used interactive games on its developer platform to drive repeat usage while expanding Shopify integration to full availability. These features, changes in retention, and operational explanations are from the company’s shareholder letter; documents do not separately disclose user, revenue, or retention increments from video comments, interactive games, or Shopify integration nor provide third-party validation.
Product Strategy and Future Outlook
Steve Huffman positioned Reddit in the shareholder letter as a platform for human discussion and experience sharing, arguing that web automation has increased the value of human viewpoints. This is Reddit’s management business proposition rather than an independent measurement of AI impact. The company also stated its systems block 23 million views of spam content per day before it reaches human users, reducing user exposure to such content by 20%; these operational figures are self-reported by Reddit without third-party audit methods or regional results.
Reddit forecasts Q3 2026 revenue between $860 and $870 million with adjusted EBITDA between $385 and $395 million. The company explicitly states that these ranges are current estimates, not guarantees, and subject to risks outlined in regulatory filings. Current materials still do not disclose the causal relationship of AI on search referrals, traffic composition from various search sources, changes in data licensing agreements, or independent contributions of each product to retention and revenue; these gaps limit further judgment on search fluctuations.