Institutional research, investment thesis, and fundamental review.
December 30, 2025
Vijar Kohli
💡 Investment Idea: AppLovin (APP)
1. Executive Summary
The Hook:"The Nvidia of Ad-Tech."
In a digital advertising world crippled by privacy regulations (IDFA, cookies), one company has built a better mousetrap. AppLovin isn't just a gaming ad network anymore; it is an AI-powered prediction engine that rivals Meta and Google in performance.
While the market still views AppLovin as a "mobile gaming stock" (thanks to its legacy apps business), the smart money realizes it is now a pure-play AI infrastructure bet. Their AXON 2.0 engine processes petabytes of real-time auction data to predict user value with frightening accuracy.
The Thesis in Brief:
The Engine (AXON): Their AI model is a self-reinforcing flywheel. More data = better predictions = higher ROI for advertisers = more spend = more data.
The Pivot: They are successfully expanding beyond gaming into E-Commerce (Web Advertising), a TAM 10x larger than their core market.
The Financials: This is not a "growth at all costs" cash burner. AppLovin prints money with 50%+ EBITDA margins and massive buybacks.
Key Stats:
Ticker: APP
Price: ~$220
Market Cap: ~$70B
Revenue Growth: +60% (Software Platform)
EBITDA Margin: 55%
Conviction: High
2. The Problem: "The Privacy Recession"
To understand why AppLovin is winning, you must understand why everyone else is losing.
The Old World (Pre-2021)
Advertisers lazily relied on "deterministic" tracking. If you looked at a pair of shoes on a website, a cookie tracked you, and Facebook showed you that exact shoe until you bought it. It was easy, cheap, and effective.
The New World (Post-IDFA)
Apple (and soon Google) killed the cookie. They introduced App Tracking Transparency (ATT), asking users "Do you want to be tracked?" 80% said "No." This blinded the algorithms. Facebook estimated this cost them $10 Billion in revenue in 2022 alone. Advertisers panicked. "Return on Ad Spend" (ROAS) plummeted. User acquisition cost (CAC) skyrocketed.
The Gap: Advertisers have billions of dollars to spend, but they can no longer find the users. They need a new way to predict who is valuable sans-tracking.
3. The Solution: AXON 2.0
AppLovin didn't just survive the privacy apocalypse; they built their entire architecture for it.
Instead of relying on who you are (identity tracking), AppLovin's AXON 2.0 engine relies on what you do right now (contextual and probabilistic signals).
How It Works (Simplified)
The Inventory: AppLovin integrates its SDK into 140,000+ mobile apps. They see every tap, swipe, and level completion.
The Auction: When an ad slot opens up (e.g., in a game like Candy Crush), an auction happens in milliseconds.
The Prescription: AXON analyzes the context. "This is an iPhone 15 user, playing at 8 PM on a Tuesday, who just cleared Level 50 quickly."
The Match: It predicts, based on billions of similar events, that this user is 92% likely to install a specific finance app.
The Execution: It bids aggressively for that slot, wins the impression, and (crucially) delivers the install.
The Network Effect
This is a classic data network effect.
More Advertisers --> Higher Bids
Higher Bids --> More Publishers use AppLovin's Max Mediation
More Publishers --> More Data for AXON
More Data --> Better Predictions
Better Predictions --> Higher ROI for Advertisers
(Repeat Loop)
This loop has spun so fast that AppLovin has effectively become a duopoly in mobile gaming ads alongside Google.
4. Business Deep Dive
AppLovin reports in two segments, but only one matters.
1. Software Platform (The Crown Jewel)
Revenue: ~$3B run-rate.
Growth: +60% YoY.
Margins: 70%+ EBITDA.
What it is: This is the ad-tech engine (AppDiscovery + MAX). It functions like a tax on the mobile economy. They take a cut of every ad dollar that flows through their pipes.
Why it's winning: Performance. In 2024, advertisers voted with their wallets. They moved huge budgets from Unity/IronSource and smaller networks to AppLovin because AXON simply delivered better ROAS.
2. Apps (The Legacy Cash Cowe)
Revenue: ~$1.2B run-rate.
Growth: Flat to Low Single Digits.
What it is: A portfolio of massive mobile games (Matchington Mansion, Wordscapes, etc.).
Strategic Value: Historically, this was their "first-party data" source to train the AI. Now, the third-party network is so big they don't strictly need it, but it generates steady cash flow to fund buybacks.
5. The Expansion: E-Commerce (Web Advertising)
This is the multi-bagger catalyst.
For years, AppLovin only sold "App Installs" (gaming companies buying ads to get gamers).
Now, they are piloting "Web Campaigns" (e-commerce companies buying ads to sell physical goods).
The Math:
Gaming Ad Market: ~$100 Billion.
E-Commerce Ad Market: ~$1 Trillion.
The Pilot:
In Q3/Q4 2024, they launched a pilot for e-commerce shops. The premise is simple: If AXON can predict who will spend $5 on a gem pack in a video game, can it predict who will spend $50 on a pair of sneakers?
The Answer: Yes. The pilot showed massive scale and similar ROAS to Meta.
If AppLovin captures even 1% of the open web e-commerce market, their revenue doubles. This is the "Blue Ocean" that justifies the premium valuation.
6. Industry Landscape & Competition
Competitor
Strengths
Weaknesses
AppLovin's Edge
Meta (Facebook)
Massive First-Party Data, Identity Graph
Walled Garden, expensive
AppLovin owns the "Open Internet" (apps outside social)
Google
Search Intent, Android OS ownership
Regulatory scrutiny, bloated
AppLovin creates specialized, high-velocity ad units
Unity (IronSource)
Integration with Game Engine
Stumbled on AI, weaker mediation
AXON 2.0 is functionally superior to Unity's ML stack
The Trade Desk
Brand Advertising, CTV Leader
Less focus on "Direct Response" performance
AppLovin dominates the "Performance" (ROI) niche
7. Financial Analysis
AppLovin has one of the most attractive financial profiles in the SaaS universe.
The "Rule of 100"
SaaS investors look for the "Rule of 40" (Growth % + Margin %). AppLovin is exceeding the "Rule of 100".
Growth (Software): 60%
EBITDA Margin: 55%
Total: 115
Cash Flow & Allocation
FCF Conversion: High. CAPEX is low (just server costs).
Buybacks: Management is aggressive. They have retired significant chunks of the float in the last 24 months. They view their stock as undervalued even at all-time highs.
Valuation
Multiple: Trades at ~20x Forward EBITDA.
Context: For a company growing software revenue at 60%, this is cheap. The De-SPAC stigma and "gaming" label suppress the multiple. As the market re-rates it as "AI Infrastructure," the multiple should expand to 30x+.
8. Risks (The Bear Case)
Platform Risk (Google Sandbox): Google is planning to introduce "Privacy Sandbox" on Android, which mimics Apple's restrictions.
Mitigation: AppLovin proved with Apple (iOS) that their probabilistic model works better when privacy is restricted. They might actually gain share if competitors fail to adapt again.
Client Concentration: A large chunk of revenue comes from mobile gaming. If the gaming market crashes (recession resilience is debated), ad spend drops.
Algorithm Decay: AI is a black box. If AXON starts hallucinating or losing prediction accuracy, revenue can evaporate overnight. (Monitoring "Revenue per Install" is key here).
9. Conclusion
AppLovin is a rare "idiosyncratic alpha" play. It is winning not because the macro is good, but because its technology is superior. It is taking market share in a difficult environment.
With the E-Commerce pilot ramping up in 2026, we see a path for the stock to double again as it sheds its "gaming" skin and is recognized as the third pillar of digital advertising alongside Meta and Google.
Action: Buy APP.
Allocation: 4% Position.
graph TD
A[Advertiser Spending] --> B{AXON AI Engine}
B -->|Predicts High Value| C[Show Ad in App A]
B -->|Predicts Low Value| D[Do Not Bid]
C --> E[User Clicks & Installs]
E --> F[Advertiser gets ROI]
F --> G[Advertiser Increases Budget]
G --> A
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