Reddit posts massive Q2 revenue growth as AI investments and ad innovations pay off.
Quick Summary TLDR:
- Reddit’s Q2 2025 revenue hit $500 million, a 78% year-over-year increase, exceeding expectations.
- 93% of revenue came from advertising, powered by new AI features and tools.
- Data licensing deals with Google and OpenAI also added to revenue.
- Reddit’s AI-driven product “Reddit Answers” now serves 6 million weekly users.
What Happened?
Reddit has delivered a stellar Q2 performance, reporting $500 million in revenue, far surpassing analyst forecasts. The social platform’s focus on AI-powered advertising and data licensing is paying off, with advertising alone contributing $465 million, or 93% of its total revenue.
AI and Advertising Drive Revenue Boom
Reddit’s AI-first strategy is clearly yielding results. With the launch of tools like Reddit Insights and Conversation Summary Add-ons, the company is helping advertisers tap into real-time trends and incorporate authentic Reddit conversations directly into their campaigns.
- Advertising revenue hit $465 million, driven by AI marketing tools
- New ad formats like conversation placement ads and subreddit-specific targeting are gaining traction
- Licensing Reddit data to AI giants like Google and OpenAI brought in an additional $35 million, a 24% increase year-over-year
Reddit Answers and the Power of Human Insight
Reddit’s AI tool Reddit Answers, which launched in December, is now being used by 6 million people weekly, up from 1 million last quarter. The tool pulls responses from subreddits to give conversational, community-driven answers. It’s quickly becoming part of Reddit’s core search experience, which saw 70 million weekly searches.
Interestingly, Reddit noted that 40% of its content is commercial in nature, and 80% of users trust Reddit answers more than generic AI summaries, reinforcing the platform’s potential as a search and product discovery engine.
User Growth and Global Reach
Reddit now has 110.4 million daily active users, marking a 21% year-over-year increase, although growth has slowed in international markets. To counter this, Reddit launched machine translation support in 23 languages, aiming to improve accessibility and engagement abroad.
Despite strong growth, CEO Steve Huffman acknowledged that Google Search traffic has become volatile, impacted by changes in Google’s algorithm and AI Overviews.
Financial Highlights
Reddit’s strong financials have investors optimistic:
- Earnings per share reached $0.45, far exceeding analyst estimates of $0.19
- The company forecasts Q3 revenue between $535 million and $545 million
- Adjusted EBITDA expected to land between $185 million and $195 million, again above market predictions
Still, rising costs related to AI investments could impact margins in the coming quarters.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I’m impressed by how fast Reddit has transformed into a serious tech player. They’ve taken what people already love about Reddit, real talk, authentic opinions and made it useful for brands and AI models alike. The mix of community-driven insights and smart ad tools is a rare combo. That said, slowing international growth is a red flag. If they don’t fix that, even $500 million quarters won’t keep the momentum going. But for now, they’re on a hot streak.
