Cardlytics (CDLX) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $82.17M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 846.18K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 2.70
• Revenue Growth: -14.41%
• EPS Growth: 65.67%
• Country: US
• Employees: 440
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Advertising Agencies
• EPS (TTM): -1.36
• Shares Outstanding: 54,056,550
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 989,164
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 846,183
• PEG Ratio: -0.16
• Price to Book (P/B): 2.56
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.64
• P/FCF Ratio: -6.38
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 3.74
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.22
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 2.76
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: -4.16
• 1Y Price Target: $1.63
• Price Target Upside: 7.24% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 4
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 47 Neutral
• Price Target: $1.50 ▼(-1.32% Downside)

The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance (declining revenue, heavy losses, high leverage/negative equity, and deteriorating free cash flow). Technicals show some short-term improvement but the longer-term trend remains negative. The earnings call was mixed—strong cost control and positive adjusted EBITDA are positives, but significant billings/revenue declines and FI-partner restrictions remain major risks. Valuation and lack of dividend support do not meaningfully mitigate these concerns.

Positive Factors

CRP Partnership Expansion

Adding three CRP partners including OpenTable materially broadens Cardlytics' supply and advertiser reach, enabling access to new consumer touchpoints and verticals. This diversifies revenue sources versus reliance on a few FI partners and supports more stable, durable demand from advertisers over time.

High Adjusted Contribution Margin

A 57.7% adjusted contribution margin signals strong unit economics for the platform, indicating scalable core economics as revenue grows. High contribution margins give the company structural ability to fund sales/marketing and R&D, improving the pathway to sustained profitability if top-line stabilizes.

Experienced Financial Leadership Hired

Reappointing a seasoned CFO with prior experience through the IPO and scale-up provides durable benefits: steadier capital allocation, disciplined turnaround execution, and improved investor communication. Strong financial stewardship can materially aid restructuring and liquidity management.

Negative Factors

High Leverage and Negative Equity

A 3.75 debt-to-equity ratio and negative equity indicate meaningful solvency strain that limits strategic flexibility. High leverage increases refinancing and interest risks, constrains M&A or marketing investment, and raises the probability the company must prioritize balance-sheet repair over growth initiatives.

Dependence on Largest FI Partner; Content Restrictions

Significant reliance on a single FI partner whose content restrictions blocked about a third of billings represents a structural concentration risk. Such partner-imposed limits can persist, depress ACPU and billings long term, and force costly business-model adjustments or slower revenue recovery.

Weak Cash Generation / Declining Free Cash Flow

A steep -52% free cash flow growth indicates deteriorating cash generation and reliance on external financing or cost cuts to sustain operations. Persistent negative FCF undermines reinvestment capacity, increases refinancing risk under high leverage, and could limit ability to scale product and partner initiatives.

Cardlytics Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cardlytics, Inc. operates an advertising platform in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers Cardlytics platform, a proprietary native bank advertising channel that enables marketers to reach customers through their network of financial institution partners through digital channels, such as online, mobile applications, email, and various real-time notifications; and Bridg platform, a customer data platform which utilizes point-of-sale data and enables marketers to perform analytics and targeted loyalty marketing, as well as measure the impact of their marketing. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

How the Company Makes Money

Cardlytics generates revenue primarily through its advertising services, which are based on a performance model. The company's key revenue streams include fees from brands and advertisers for placing offers and promotions within its network. Additionally, Cardlytics earns revenue by charging financial institutions for the integration and use of its platform, allowing these institutions to enhance their customer engagement efforts. Strategic partnerships with major banks and financial service providers are crucial to its business model, as they facilitate access to a large pool of consumer transaction data, which in turn enhances the effectiveness of targeted advertising campaigns. The company's ability to analyze this data and deliver measurable results for advertisers is a significant contributor to its revenue growth.

Cardlytics Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Cardlytics faces significant financial challenges across all verticals. The income statement shows declining revenue and profitability, the balance sheet indicates high leverage and potential solvency issues, and the cash flow statement reflects declining cash generation. The company needs to address these issues to improve financial stability and performance.

Income Statement

Cardlytics has experienced declining revenue growth with a negative rate of -5.65% in the TTM period. The company also faces significant profitability challenges, with a negative net profit margin of -68.87% and negative EBIT and EBITDA margins. Despite a relatively stable gross profit margin, the overall income statement reflects financial instability and declining performance.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows a concerning debt-to-equity ratio of 3.75, indicating high leverage. The negative stockholders' equity and return on equity of -279.38% highlight significant financial distress. The equity ratio is also negative, suggesting potential solvency issues. Overall, the balance sheet reflects high financial risk and instability.

Cash Flow

Cardlytics' cash flow statement reveals a negative free cash flow growth rate of -52.11% in the TTM period, indicating declining cash generation. The operating cash flow to net income ratio is negative, reflecting cash flow challenges. However, the free cash flow to net income ratio is relatively high, suggesting some efficiency in converting net income to free cash flow despite overall negative cash flow figures.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	251.18M	278.30M	309.20M	298.54M	267.12M	186.89M
Gross Profit	111.46M	120.89M	130.38M	112.63M	103.34M	63.27M
EBITDA	-73.98M	-152.53M	-99.00M	-420.41M	-88.21M	-40.78M
Net Income	-110.83M	-189.30M	-134.70M	-465.26M	-128.56M	-55.42M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	292.81M	392.71M	574.14M	691.24M	1.26B	422.54M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	43.96M	65.59M	91.83M	121.91M	233.47M	293.24M
Total Debt	221.43M	221.65M	266.11M	235.26M	197.23M	188.11M
Total Liabilities	297.51M	322.72M	439.35M	479.63M	573.10M	265.35M
Stockholders Equity	-4.70M	69.99M	134.80M	211.60M	690.70M	157.19M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-9.64M	-28.12M	-12.58M	-67.39M	-51.09M	-17.71M
Operating Cash Flow	-741.00K	-8.82M	-185.00K	-53.90M	-38.52M	-7.60M
Investing Cash Flow	-17.11M	-18.75M	-10.06M	-15.76M	-506.69M	-10.12M
Financing Cash Flow	-5.31M	1.44M	-20.03M	-39.99M	486.00M	206.43M

Cardlytics Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 1.52
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CDLX, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 1.52 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 1.16, above the 50-day MA of 1.30, and below the 200-day MA of 1.64, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.03 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 67.68 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 92.50 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CDLX.

Cardlytics Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
CRTO	76 Outperform	$1.09B	6.87	15.37%	―	0.32%	69.78%
ZD	69 Neutral	$1.38B	14.17	6.26%	―	5.70%	97.88%
QNST	66 Neutral	$870.00M	85.17	4.55%	―	43.12%	―
EEX	62 Neutral	$955.41M	220.37	1.21%	1.29%	11.18%	―
Sector *	60 Neutral	$48.67B	4.58	-11.27%	4.14%	2.83%	-41.78%
CDLX	47 Neutral	$82.17M	-0.73	-341.04%	―	-14.41%	65.67%

Cardlytics Corporate Events

Cardlytics Reappoints David Evans as Chief Financial Officer

On December 18, 2025, Cardlytics announced that company alumnus David Evans will return as Chief Financial Officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer effective January 12, 2026, succeeding outgoing CFO Alexis DeSieno, who will remain in a non-officer advisory role through March 6, 2026 to ensure a smooth transition. Evans, who previously helped steer Cardlytics through its early growth and 2018 IPO and later served as CEO of Passport Labs and an advisor and board member to several technology firms, will oversee finance, accounting and investor relations as the company navigates a self-described critical stage of its turnaround, with a compensation package that includes a $400,000 base salary, a target bonus equal to his salary, a 1,000,000-unit RSU inducement grant with staged vesting, a $200,000 signing bonus subject to clawback if he departs within 12 months, and severance protections that underscore the board’s bid to secure experienced financial leadership and signal continuity and renewed discipline to investors and other stakeholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (CDLX) stock is a Hold with a $1.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cardlytics stock, see the CDLX Stock Forecast page.

Cardlytics CFO Alexis DeSieno Announces Resignation

On December 3, 2025, Cardlytics announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Alexis DeSieno, plans to resign by March 6, 2026, or upon the appointment of her successor. Her resignation is not due to any disagreements with the company, and she will continue in an advisory role until her departure. The company has expressed gratitude for her contributions, particularly in improving the balance sheet and optimizing the cost structure.

The most recent analyst rating on (CDLX) stock is a Sell with a $1.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cardlytics stock, see the CDLX Stock Forecast page.