Marketing technology company Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 43.5% year on year to $442.8 million. Guidance for next quarter’s revenue was optimistic at $470.5 million at the midpoint, 2.1% above analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP profit of $0.03 per share was significantly above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Zeta Global (ZETA) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $442.8 million vs analyst estimates of $420.7 million (43.5% year-on-year growth, 5.2% beat)
- EPS (GAAP): $0.03 vs analyst estimates of -$0.03 (significant beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $91.7 million vs analyst estimates of $86.44 million (20.7% margin, 6.1% beat)
- The company lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $1.82 billion at the midpoint from $1.79 billion, a 1.8% increase
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $405.2 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $397.4 million
- Operating Margin: 3.8%, up from -1.7% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 13.1%, up from 10.5% in the previous quarter
- Billings: $439.5 million at quarter end, up 43.5% year on year
- Market Capitalization: $5.62 billion
Company Overview
Powered by an AI engine that processes over one trillion consumer signals monthly, Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) operates a data-driven cloud platform that helps companies target, connect, and engage with consumers through personalized marketing across channels like email, social media, and video.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Luckily, Zeta Global’s sales grew at an impressive 30.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth beat the average software company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a helpful starting point for our analysis.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within software, a half-decade historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. Zeta Global’s annualized revenue growth of 38.2% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was strong and recently accelerated. 
This quarter, Zeta Global reported magnificent year-on-year revenue growth of 43.5%, and its $442.8 million of revenue beat Wall Street’s estimates by 5.2%. Company management is currently guiding for a 39.5% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 22.7% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. Despite the slowdown, this projection is commendable and implies the market is forecasting success for its products and services.
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Billings
Billings is a non-GAAP metric that is often called “cash revenue” because it shows how much money the company has collected from customers in a certain period. This is different from revenue, which must be recognized in pieces over the length of a contract.
Zeta Global’s billings punched in at $439.5 million in Q2, and over the last four quarters, its growth was fantastic as it averaged 38.7% year-on-year increases. This alternate topline metric grew faster than total sales, meaning the company collects cash upfront and then recognizes the revenue over the length of its contracts - a boost for its liquidity and future revenue prospects. 
Customer Acquisition Efficiency
The customer acquisition cost (CAC) payback period represents the months required to recover the cost of acquiring a new customer. Essentially, it’s the break-even point for sales and marketing investments. A shorter CAC payback period is ideal, as it implies better returns on investment and business scalability.
It’s relatively expensive for Zeta Global to acquire new customers as its CAC payback period checked in at 79.3 months this quarter. The company’s slow recovery of its sales and marketing expenses indicates it operates in a competitive market. A silver lining is that once it acquires its customers, they typically don’t leave and increase their spending - a sign of high switching costs.
Key Takeaways from Zeta Global’s Q2 Results
We were impressed by how significantly Zeta Global blew past analysts’ billings expectations this quarter. We were also glad its full-year EBITDA guidance exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a solid print. The market seemed to be hoping for more, and the stock traded down 8.1% to $22.46 immediately following the results.
Big picture, is Zeta Global a buy here and now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).