Reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measures are available in today's earnings press release, which is available on our investor relations website at ir.doubleverify.com. Advertiser growth was positive across all key industry verticals in the quarter as we continue to benefit from our focus on further diversification of customer engagements and ad spend across various client types. We also repurchased $100 million worth of shares year-to-date, reflecting confidence in our business and our commitment to returning capital to shareholders as a core element of our long-term value creation strategy. DV is the independent, essential trust layer that marketers rely on to ensure their ad spend is protected from fraud and unsuitable context, and most importantly, delivers the highest possible return on investment.

This essential role in the ecosystem continues to expand as new product innovations power our growth flywheel. Driven by continued success on Meta, social measurement grew 23% year-over-year, a significant acceleration from Q4. Social activation, our fastest-growing solution set, grew 92% year-over-year in Q1, up from 62% in the fourth quarter. Our midterm goal remains to increase the contribution of social, streaming TV, and AI-driven solutions from under 30% of total revenue today to approximately 50%.

We remain focused on creating a revenue mix that closely aligns with the fastest-growing global digital ad sectors. DV continues to drive new revenue opportunities, distance ourselves from competition, and create meaningful margin expansion through AI efficiencies and product innovation. Shifting focus to the role that AI is playing in the ongoing expansion of our product-led growth cycle, we continue to lean into AI to operate more efficiently, launch products faster, and improve margins. As the emerging AI advertising universe evolves, it is creating new revenue opportunities that expand our TAM as we extend our essential role in this burgeoning environment.

What went well
  • Revenue grew 10% year over year to $181 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin reached 31% ($55 million), up sharply from a 27% margin in Q1 2025, exceeding expectations on AI-fueled operational efficiencies.
  • Social activation, DV's fastest-growing solution set, grew 92% year over year, up from 62% in Q4, and social measurement grew 23% year over year, a significant acceleration from Q4.
  • Meta activation reached 87 advertisers utilized since launch (up from 68 in Q4), including 31 of the top 100 clients, and hit a $12 million annualized run rate, while DV Authentic AdVantage on YouTube was raised to a projected $10 million of expected ACV in 2026 (up from $8 million).
  • Measurement revenue grew 16% year over year and international revenue grew 18%, while CTV measurement impression volumes grew 28% in the quarter on higher attach rates for new verified streaming TV solutions.
  • AI SlopStopper's measurement solution was already applied to over 40% of measured impressions, one of DV's fastest-scaling attach rates, and total operating expenses (product development, sales and marketing, G&A) rose just 2% against 10% revenue growth, driving the margin expansion.
  • DV repurchased $100 million of stock year to date (about 6% of year-end 2025 shares outstanding), reiterated full-year guidance of $810 million-$826 million (8%-10% growth) and approximately 34% margin, and continued to project a full-year decline in stock-based compensation from a 40%-plus reduction in equity grant value.
What went wrong
  • Overall revenue growth was a modest 10%, and activation revenue grew only 6% year over year (in line with Q4) as the core mobile and online video and display business remained essentially flat/stable.
  • Measured transaction fees (MTF) declined 4% year over year, continuing the price/mix pressure as impressions shift toward not-yet-fully-penetrated premium social products.
  • Net cash from operating activities was just $4 million in the quarter, impacted by timing of collections and payments at quarter-end, and full-year free cash flow conversion was guided to only about 60%, down from roughly 70% in 2025.
  • Q2 2026 guidance of $199 million-$205 million implied only about 7% year-over-year growth at the midpoint (against a tough 21% comp in Q2 2025), with adjusted EBITDA margin of about 32%.
  • Management stressed that the sizable AI/LLM chatbot advertising opportunity has not yet materialized into revenue, with monetization still dependent on future adoption.

More on DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc.

Reported 2026-05-06 · figures from the DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. Q1 2026 earnings call.

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