Reddit Sales Rose 53%, but Its Shares Fell 23% on the Forecast
Reddit reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $895 million on October 29, 2026. That was up 53% from a year earlier. Its shares still fell 23% after the company forecast sales for the next quarter below what Wall Street expected. Reddit's Q3 release and Yahoo Finance carry the headline figures.
Revenue is the money a company takes in from sales. Reddit makes most of its money from ads.
The quarter beat on profit. Adjusted earnings per share, which is the profit for each share of stock, came in at $1.40. Analysts had expected $1.33 on average. That average forecast is called the "consensus."
Reddit also tracks how many people use the site. "Daily active uniques" counts the different people who visit in a single day. That number rose 12% from a year earlier, to 130.3 million. The same count taken over seven days, "weekly active uniques," rose 16%.
In my view, the gap between those two growth rates is worth a closer look. It hints that the audience is growing faster across a week than on any single day.
The market reacted to the forecast, which Reddit calls guidance. Reddit expected fourth-quarter revenue of $1 billion to $1.03 billion. The Bloomberg consensus was $1.05 billion. Seeking Alpha reported the forecast alongside slowing user growth.
Even the top of Reddit's range sits below the consensus. The shortfall does not depend on where the company lands inside its own range.
Think of guidance as a preview of the next test. In my view, for a stock priced on growth, a weak preview can weigh more heavily than a good score on the last one.
In April 2026, Reddit forecast second-quarter revenue of $715 million to $725 million. That was above the $711.6 million average analyst estimate from LSEG. Reuters reported that outlook at the time. Its forecasts moved from above expectations in the spring to below them this autumn.
Reddit reported its first quarterly profit on October 29, 2024. Its shares jumped 22% after that report, which was boosted by AI deals. Reuters reported the 2024 move. The 2026 reaction went the other way.
That contrast is a useful reminder. A stock's price tends to follow what investors expect next, not only the latest results.
Reddit was not the only social platform to fall. Pinterest shares slumped 8% on October 30, 2026, amid weak user and revenue growth, according to Reuters. The two moves do not share a stated cause.
Still, two ad-supported platforms falling on soft users and sales in the same session is a signal investors will watch, especially anyone holding both.
For ordinary holders, the real question is whether this forecast marks a temporary slowdown or a change in direction. Reddit's user counts grew by double digits, and its revenue grew by more than half. What has changed is the price investors are willing to pay for the quarter ahead. It helps to keep two things apart: what was reported, and the guidance that now sets the price.
Nothing here is a recommendation. Whether fourth-quarter revenue lands inside the $1 billion to $1.03 billion range will be the number that settles the debate.
