AppLovin (APP) announced the sale of its mobile game business alongside first quarter earnings that topped analysts’ expectations, sending shares soaring in extended trading Wednesday.
The company, whose software helps monetize gaming apps with targeted ads, sold its mobile game segment to privately held Tripledot Studios for $400 million in cash. AppLovin said it will hold a 20% stake in Tripledot following the transaction, which the company expects to close in the second quarter.
AppLovin shares surged over 13% in after-hours trading. The stock was down 6% for 2025 through Wednesday’s close, but more than quadrupled in value over the last 12 months.
In the first quarter, AppLovin reported revenue of $1.48 billion, up 40% year-over-year and above the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Net income of $576.42 million, or $1.67 per share, compared to $236.18 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier, surpassing Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, the company said it anticipates advertising revenue of $1.2 billion to $1.22 billion in the second quarter, above the $1.11 billion analysts called for.
The results come after a tough start to the year for the adtech company’s stock following allegations of “scammy” practices by short seller Muddy Waters, which on Wednesday said a blog post from AppLovin executives in response to the claims contained “demonstrably false statements.” Muddy Waters’ allegations followed similar reports from two other short-seller firms in February.
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