22 votes

Reddit reports 69% jump in revenue, topping analyst estimates

27 comments

  1. [17]
    stu2b50
    Link
    Reddit has been killing it as a business ever since 2023-2024. Even more impressive than 69% (nice) revenue increase is that net income went from $26m in Q1 2025 to $204m in Q1 2026. That's a 10x...

    Reddit has been killing it as a business ever since 2023-2024. Even more impressive than 69% (nice) revenue increase is that net income went from $26m in Q1 2025 to $204m in Q1 2026. That's a 10x increase in profitability.

    I seriously had my doubts Reddit would ever get to this point as a business - it was definitely possible, likely even, that like Snapchat or Twitter it will never reach profitability, and more or less floated off of low interest capital in the 2010s.

    But no, they really turned it around, and are a serious business. If you asked me 5-10 years ago, I would have predicted that they they would either have collapsed or been bought out by a bigger company.

    7 votes
    1. [13]
      updawg
      Link Parent
      No, I've been seeing people say they're alienating their core users and will crash and burn any day now for 10+ years. Are you saying terminally online Americans don't bring in as much profit...

      No, I've been seeing people say they're alienating their core users and will crash and burn any day now for 10+ years. Are you saying terminally online Americans don't bring in as much profit as...every demographic across the whole world?

      11 votes
      1. [6]
        Lexinonymous
        Link Parent
        It probably doesn't, but did the world need yet another social media site in the vein of Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Because that's essentially what the pivot has turned the site into.

        Are you saying terminally online Americans don't bring in as much profit as...every demographic across the whole world?

        It probably doesn't, but did the world need yet another social media site in the vein of Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Because that's essentially what the pivot has turned the site into.

        13 votes
        1. [2]
          updawg
          Link Parent
          Of course it has done that. But predicting doom because a company is switching their target demographic from one that forces you to run at a loss to being more user friendly with, frankly, less...

          Of course it has done that. But predicting doom because a company is switching their target demographic from one that forces you to run at a loss to being more user friendly with, frankly, less enshittification than other sites, was obviously the right financial decision (even if I hated it as much or more than anyone else).

          5 votes
          1. Lexinonymous
            Link Parent
            The way that the doomsayers were actually wrong was in thinking that Huffman didn't have the acumen to actually turn the business around. Frankly, I also think it was far from a forgone conclusion...

            The way that the doomsayers were actually wrong was in thinking that Huffman didn't have the acumen to actually turn the business around.

            Frankly, I also think it was far from a forgone conclusion that it would be successful.

            5 votes
        2. [3]
          Eji1700
          Link Parent
          I think a major part of Reddits success has been doing that transition better than others. By not completing fucking up while Meta withers and Twitter splinters they’re probably gaining by...

          I think a major part of Reddits success has been doing that transition better than others. By not completing fucking up while Meta withers and Twitter splinters they’re probably gaining by default.

          The fact old Reddit exists is likely a very smart, if possibly accidental, move on their part

          2 votes
          1. Lexinonymous
            Link Parent
            What is Reddit is doing differently? Meta's problem seems to be the AI side of their business, and I'm not sure that Twitter has a failure state so long as Elon wants to throw money at it.

            What is Reddit is doing differently?

            Meta's problem seems to be the AI side of their business, and I'm not sure that Twitter has a failure state so long as Elon wants to throw money at it.

            1 vote
          2. tomf
            Link Parent
            spez and co all use old Reddit. I really get the sense that they’re keeping old Reddit for the smart people and then sh/mobile for regular people to generate income, have the crazy patterns, etc...

            spez and co all use old Reddit. I really get the sense that they’re keeping old Reddit for the smart people and then sh/mobile for regular people to generate income, have the crazy patterns, etc that the investors love.

      2. [4]
        OBLIVIATER
        Link Parent
        I guess it depends on where that revenue is coming from. Is it all from ad revenue, or is it being propped up by selling user data to AI companies still? I don't know if the bubble hypothesis is...

        I guess it depends on where that revenue is coming from. Is it all from ad revenue, or is it being propped up by selling user data to AI companies still?

        I don't know if the bubble hypothesis is real, but it certainly feels like AI spending can't keep growing.

        8 votes
        1. [3]
          Lexinonymous
          Link Parent

          The social media company’s “Other revenue” category, which includes its data licensing business, jumped 15% year-over-year to $39 million. Google and OpenAI are two of Reddit’s biggest data licensing partners.

          8 votes
          1. [2]
            shijie
            Link Parent
            So they’re just selling our data to AI companies?

            So they’re just selling our data to AI companies?

            11 votes
            1. Eji1700
              Link Parent
              I mean almost all free sites are selling your data to ANY company willing to buy. The AI market just made a massive boon of that kind of dataset

              I mean almost all free sites are selling your data to ANY company willing to buy. The AI market just made a massive boon of that kind of dataset

      3. LukeZaz
        Link Parent
        I think it's bold to imply that "terminally online Americans" are the only people they're alienating.

        I think it's bold to imply that "terminally online Americans" are the only people they're alienating.

        6 votes
      4. mild_takes
        Link Parent
        The vibe has definitely gone downhill for a long time now, but when you look other mainstream social media sites its still a million times better than everything else out there. As time has gone...

        No, I've been seeing people say they're alienating their core users and will crash and burn any day now for 10+ years.

        The vibe has definitely gone downhill for a long time now, but when you look other mainstream social media sites its still a million times better than everything else out there. As time has gone on Reddit has become less and less niche and more and more mainstream.

        1 vote
    2. BeardyHat
      Link Parent
      I know many of us are former Reddit users, but I think they definitely switched over from our style of terminally online (whatever that entails) to a much more general idea. I know a lot of people...

      I know many of us are former Reddit users, but I think they definitely switched over from our style of terminally online (whatever that entails) to a much more general idea. I know a lot of people who use Reddit now who aren't the type of people that would have used Reddit when I was using it through the 2010's.

      7 votes
    3. [2]
      TheRTV
      Link Parent
      This reminds me that I should have bought in the IPO when I had the chance. Oh well...

      This reminds me that I should have bought in the IPO when I had the chance. Oh well...

      1 vote
      1. Gourd
        Link Parent
        I wouldn't worry about it. Might as well have put it all on red at a roulette wheel.

        I wouldn't worry about it. Might as well have put it all on red at a roulette wheel.

        3 votes
  2. [10]
    Zorind
    Link
    They also just started testing making their mobile site completely unusable except through the app via a popup. Yay data harvesting… I really only use reddit for sports/news/sports news, and the...

    They also just started testing making their mobile site completely unusable except through the app via a popup. Yay data harvesting…

    I really only use reddit for sports/news/sports news, and the /r/HFY subreddit. This is likely going to push me more towards Instagram for that, or I’ll have to see if there are similar things on Mastodon/Bluesky I can follow.

    (I’ve found a work around for now with safari’s “hide distracting element”, but who knows how long that will last.)

    4 votes
    1. [6]
      clayh
      Link Parent
      I simply won’t ever download their app. I formerly enjoyed browsing Reddit for a few minutes here and there, but I suspect I will have mostly forgotten about it within a week or two. Oh, well. I’m...

      I simply won’t ever download their app. I formerly enjoyed browsing Reddit for a few minutes here and there, but I suspect I will have mostly forgotten about it within a week or two. Oh, well. I’m not sure why they made such a user- hostile move.

      4 votes
      1. MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        Because they can collect so much more data about people through the app, and thus profit more per user.

        Because they can collect so much more data about people through the app, and thus profit more per user.

        7 votes
      2. [4]
        hobbes64
        Link Parent
        I used to use the Apollo app. Once they ruined that by making their API expensive, and I realized they were using the user data to train AI, I deleted all my comments and posts and haven't posted,...

        I used to use the Apollo app. Once they ruined that by making their API expensive, and I realized they were using the user data to train AI, I deleted all my comments and posts and haven't posted, commented, or upvoted since. I still read some of the niche subreddits but I don't contribute in any way.

        3 votes
        1. [3]
          Banazir
          Link Parent
          I used RIF (formerly Reddit Is Fun) and actually still have it installed on my phone. It's not even available in the app store anymore, but I guess an apk is stored somewhere because it's on my...

          I used RIF (formerly Reddit Is Fun) and actually still have it installed on my phone. It's not even available in the app store anymore, but I guess an apk is stored somewhere because it's on my new phone.

          1. CptBluebear
            Link Parent
            If you're not using it already, the Tildes app Three Cheers is made by the same creator as RIF @Talklittle It's rather reminiscent of RIF.

            If you're not using it already, the Tildes app Three Cheers is made by the same creator as RIF @Talklittle

            It's rather reminiscent of RIF.

            1 vote
          2. artvandelay
            Link Parent
            I think both Apple and Google still store delisted apps on their servers. Not too familiar with how the Play Store does it but I know that on the iOS App Store, you can go into your Apple...

            I think both Apple and Google still store delisted apps on their servers. Not too familiar with how the Play Store does it but I know that on the iOS App Store, you can go into your Apple Account's purchases list and delisted apps will still be there for you. I wonder if your new phone just downloaded it from the App Store when restoring your info.

    2. widedub
      Link Parent
      old dot reddit does not have the annoying popup. Who knows how long thats going to last though

      old dot reddit does not have the annoying popup. Who knows how long thats going to last though

      2 votes
    3. moocow1452
      Link Parent
      Redreader for Android and Dystopia for iOS are still active mobile options if you have a list of subreddits you want to keep up with.

      Redreader for Android and Dystopia for iOS are still active mobile options if you have a list of subreddits you want to keep up with.

      1 vote
    4. bugsmith
      Link Parent
      I still use Reddit to access some communities that don't seem to exist in any meaningful size outside of Facebook, and I refuse to use the latter. I hate being forced to use the app just to have a...

      I still use Reddit to access some communities that don't seem to exist in any meaningful size outside of Facebook, and I refuse to use the latter.

      I hate being forced to use the app just to have a decent mobile experience. Fortunately, on android, Morphe exists. It's made by the old ReVanced team, and it transforms the official Reddit app from something hideous, into something not terrible.

      Still nothing on Sync, RiF or Apollo, of course.