Adam Foroughi on gaming monetization
From Applovin Corp ($APP) Q1 2026 Earnings Call · · Castify Earnings Call
“Games that historically only made money from purchases are now really focused on testing hybrid models where they also unlock incremental revenue for ads. A cookware company or a fashion brand is not competition to a puzzle game. So we fully expect to see a lot of IAP only games start monetizing with ads that will not be deemed competitive.”
On , Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairperson at Applovin Corp, spoke about gaming monetization during Applovin Corp ($APP) Q1 2026 Earnings Call on Castify Earnings Call.
About Adam Foroughi
Adam Foroughi, co-founder and CEO of AppLovin, discussed the company's growth strategy and platform expansion during recent earnings calls and interviews. On the Q1 2026 earnings call, Foroughi stated that in June 2026, AppLovin would open its Axon advertising platform to advertisers globally, allowing them to sign up and run campaigns without human interaction. He projected that new customers would spend over $70,000 per year on the platform, and said that if the company signed 100,000 customers in the next year, advertising spend would be roughly $7 billion. Foroughi also noted that game developers historically focused on in-app purchases were beginning to test hybrid models that include advertising, which he described as a "big deal" because non-gaming advertisers would not be seen as competitors to puzzle games. In interviews, Foroughi reflected on AppLovin's stock price decline from $115 to $9 per share in 2022, during which the company executed a $6 billion share buyback program that he described as "one of the more successful buybacks in the history of companies." He stated that the company's market capitalization fell to $3.8 billion while generating over $1 billion in EBITDA, which he characterized as a valuation that made buybacks attractive. Foroughi also discussed his personal approach to compensation, noting that his pay was tied to stock performance targets, and commented on the challenge of maintaining lean teams, saying that once a company becomes bloated, it is difficult to reverse course because top performers often leave first.