Liftoff Mobile, Inc. has returned to the public markets after postponing an earlier IPO attempt in 2026, filing updated terms for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker LFTO. The company is offering 19.0 million shares at a price range of $20 to $22 per share, which would raise approximately $399 million at the midpoint and imply an approximate $3.5 billion market value. Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley are serving as lead underwriters on the transaction, with the company expected to begin trading on June 4.
The renewed offering comes after Liftoff entered the IPO window earlier this year but ultimately delayed its plans before pricing. At the time, broader IPO market conditions remained uneven and investor appetite for new issues was less predictable. Since then, sentiment towards technology and AI-related offerings has improved significantly, with several recent IPOs pricing successfully and generating strong investor interest. Liftoff now returns to market against a much more constructive backdrop for growth-oriented issuers.
Liftoff operates a mobile growth and monetization platform that helps application developers acquire users and generate advertising revenue. The company sits at the intersection of advertising technology, artificial intelligence, and the rapidly expanding global app economy. Its software is integrated into more than 167,000 applications and reaches over 1.4 billion daily active users worldwide through its network of publisher relationships and advertising partners. The platform currently serves 878 demand-side customers, including advertisers and app developers seeking to scale user acquisition efforts across mobile ecosystems.
A major focus of the updated prospectus is Cortex, Liftoff's proprietary neural network-powered AI platform. Management describes Cortex as the foundation of the company's business and credits the technology with improving advertiser performance, increasing customer spending, and enhancing operating efficiency. Over the past two years, Liftoff has transitioned away from legacy advertising models and increasingly relies on Cortex-powered solutions to drive both customer outcomes and financial performance. Core Advertising revenue now represents virtually all of the company's revenue base as customers continue migrating toward Cortex-enabled products.
The financial profile presented in the updated filing shows meaningful acceleration. Revenue increased to approximately $685.7 million in 2025 from $519.3 million in 2024, representing growth of roughly 32%. Momentum continued into 2026, with first-quarter revenue increasing 37% year-over-year to $205.6 million. More notably, net income improved to $49.3 million during the first quarter of 2026 compared to just $3.9 million during the same period a year earlier, highlighting the increasing operating leverage of the platform as Cortex adoption expands throughout the customer base.
Management also highlighted several operating metrics that support the company's growth narrative. Liftoff reported a trailing twelve-month Core Advertising Net Dollar Retention rate of 130%, indicating existing customers continue to increase spending on the platform over time. The company generated approximately $120.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA during the first quarter of 2026, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 58%, compared to 52% during the same period a year earlier. These results suggest that revenue growth is increasingly translating into profitability and cash generation.
The broader mobile advertising market remains substantial and continues to expand. According to data cited in the filing, global in-app advertising spending is expected to grow from approximately $332 billion in 2025 to nearly $617 billion by 2030. Liftoff estimates its addressable market for independent mobile advertising platforms at approximately $79 billion today, supported by increasing mobile engagement and growing advertising budgets across categories such as finance, social media, entertainment, productivity, and emerging AI applications.
Blackstone remains Liftoff's largest shareholder and is expected to retain voting control following the offering, allowing the company to qualify as a controlled company under Nasdaq governance standards. The offering proceeds are expected to be used primarily to repay approximately $357 million of outstanding debt, strengthening the balance sheet and providing additional financial flexibility following the IPO.
For investors, the primary attraction is the combination of accelerating revenue growth, expanding profitability, meaningful exposure to artificial intelligence through Cortex, and direct participation in the long-term growth of the global mobile app economy. The company also benefits from substantial scale, diversified customer relationships, strong retention metrics, and sponsorship from sophisticated institutional investors.
Key risks include competition from larger advertising and technology platforms, dependence on mobile operating systems and app stores, evolving privacy regulations, data collection restrictions, cybersecurity concerns, and the highly competitive nature of the advertising technology industry. Investors will also be watching closely to determine whether the company's recent pace of growth and margin expansion can be sustained as it transitions into life as a public company.
After stepping aside during a more challenging issuance environment earlier this year, Liftoff returns to the market with stronger operating results, an increasingly compelling AI-driven investment thesis, and significantly improved IPO market conditions. The company's reception among institutional investors may provide another important gauge of investor appetite for profitable, AI-enabled software and advertising technology companies entering the public markets in 2026.