NIQ — Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Summary

Financial Performance:

• Reported revenue grew 6.3% year-over-year to $1,119.1 million for the quarter, with 5.8% organic constant currency (OCC) growth; year-to-date reported revenue increased 8.4% to $3,316.0 million with 5.6% OCC growth.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.8% year-over-year to $263.6 million for the quarter, expanding the Adjusted EBITDA margin by 230 basis points to 23.6%; year-to-date Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.6% to $750.3 million with a 22.6% margin.
• Net income attributable to NIQ was $35.8 million ($0.12 per basic and diluted share) for the quarter, marking the first positive GAAP EPS since the IPO; Adjusted net income improved to $87.8 million ($0.30 per share).
• Levered free cash flow was $181.2 million for the quarter; year-to-date levered free cash flow improved to $132.1 million, an increase of $187.2 million compared to the prior year period.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $254.4 million for the quarter and $330.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
• The Company achieved a net leverage ratio of 2.9x at September 30, 2026, down from 3.1x at June 30, 2026 and 4.6x at the time of the IPO.
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $572.6 million at September 30, 2026, with $747.5 million available under the Revolver, resulting in $1,320.1 million of total available liquidity.
• Deferred revenues increased to $318.7 million at September 30, 2026, from $262.0 million at December 31, 2025.

Guidance and Future Outlook:

• Raised full year 2026 guidance to 5.5% – 5.7% OCC revenue growth, 23.6% – 23.8% Adjusted EBITDA margin, $249M – $257M of Levered free cash flow, and $1.16 – $1.20 of Adjusted EPS.
• Fourth quarter 2026 guidance includes $1,198M – $1,202M in reported revenue (5.2% – 5.5% reported growth, 5.4% – 5.7% OCC growth) and $315M – $323M in Adjusted EBITDA (26.3% – 26.7% margin).
• Management expects further strengthening in 2027, citing durable client demand and commercial traction from AI solutions.
• The 2026 Restructuring Program is on track to deliver annualized cost savings of approximately $70 million to $80 million by the end of fiscal year 2026.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• Americas segment revenue grew 13.8% reported (11.5% OCC), driven by 12.6% growth in Intelligence revenue and 18.4% growth in Activation revenue.
• EMEA segment revenue grew 1.4% reported (2.9% OCC); Intelligence revenue grew 2.5%, while Activation revenue decreased 4.7% due to Middle East volatility.
• APAC segment revenue grew 2.4% reported (0.2% OCC); Intelligence revenue increased 1.0% and Activation revenue grew 6.6%.
• Intelligence revenue grew 6.1% reported (5.5% OCC), while Activation revenue grew 7.2% reported (7.0% OCC).
• Annualized Intelligence Subscription revenue grew 5.5% to $3,061.8 million, with 105% Net Dollar Retention and 99% Gross Dollar Retention.
• Closed 24 seven-figure wins with brand and retailer clients, including an eight-figure deal with a global home-furnishings retailer upgrading to a 60+ market commitment.
• Drove 20%+ growth across Consumer Panel and eCommerce segments.
• Expanded AI-native growth strategy: ConnectAI charter program grew to 79 clients (10 signed, including Purina and Mars Snacking); partnership with OpenAI DeployCo to embed intelligence into client workflows; agentic commerce partnership with Google announced.
• AI-powered Connect data engine grew to approximately 4.7 trillion data records per week, up 24% versus Q3 2025.

Market and Competitive Landscape:

• NIQ operates in 90 countries covering approximately 82% of the world's population and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend.
• Expanded measurement of Amazon's $56 billion marketplace to cover third-party (3P) Health & Beauty sellers, representing 68% of category sales.
• Entered a strategic retail collaboration with Maverik, a top U.S. convenience and fuel retailer with 830+ locations.
• Collaborated with Similarweb to build a new solution for understanding product purchases in an agentic-enabled consumer economy.
• Management noted ongoing volatility in the Middle East impacting EMEA ad hoc project demand and a difficult year-over-year comparison in APAC.

Risks and Challenges:

• EMEA results were impacted by ongoing volatility in the Middle East.
• APAC performance faced a difficult year-over-year growth comparison.
• The 2026 Restructuring Program involves pre-tax charges of approximately $65 million to $75 million, with the balance expected to be incurred in Q4 2026 and the first half of 2027.
• Capital expenditures increased to $198.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, compared to $165.1 million in 2025, reflecting higher investment in the Connect data platform and AI-native product development.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• Jim Peck, Executive Chairman and CEO, described Q3 as a "milestone quarter," highlighting the sixth consecutive quarter of exceeding guidance, the first positive GAAP EPS since IPO, and achieving the net leverage milestone a quarter ahead of plan.
• Peck noted 11 consecutive quarters of mid-single-digit organic constant currency growth and stated that AI momentum is turning into commercial traction.
• CFO Mike Burwell emphasized that deleveraging remains the top priority and that the new share repurchase authorization adds return of capital to a disciplined framework funding organic growth, AI investment, and strategic M&A.
• Management expressed confidence in the company's positioning heading into 2027 due to a strong core and AI solution momentum.

Other Key Points:

• Board authorized a $150 million share repurchase program, enabling the purchase of up to $150 million of ordinary shares.
• The Company reached its sub-3.0x net leverage ratio target one quarter ahead of plan.
• Cash paid for capital expenditures represented 6% of revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
• The average weighted interest rate was 4.9% at the end of Q3 2026, down from previous periods due to refinancing and a declining interest rate environment.
• NIQ expanded its partnership with Google to bring product data into the Google Shopping Graph.