Business Description
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. operates as a technology enterprise, delivering sophisticated enterprise data connectivity solutions throughout the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Its product portfolio includes: RampID: A fundamental identifier focused on individuals. Safe Haven: A robust platform designed to empower businesses with data utilization. LiveRamp Data Marketplace: A key tool that facilitates the fluid integration of audience data from various proprietors within the broader marketing landscape. AbiliTec: A specialized platform for resolving offline identity discrepancies. LiveRamp serves a diverse clientele spanning numerous sectors, including finance, insurance, investment services, retail, automotive, telecommunications, high technology, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, travel, entertainment, non-profit organizations, and governmental bodies, among many others. Established initially as Acxiom Holdings, Inc., the entity officially adopted the name LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. in October 2018, the same year it was formally incorporated under this new designation. The company maintains its corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Business History
Generated: Jun 16, 2026 3:02amPrice Overview
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:00am (11d ago)Price History (1 Year)
Revenue & Net Income Trend
| Period | Revenue | Net Income | Net Margin | YoY/QoQ |
|---|
Key Metrics
EPS (Diluted): 2.30
Total Equity: $971.98M
Shares: 63,382,000
Total Debt: $0.00
Cash: $379.55M
EBITDA: $111.46M
Total Debt: $0.00
Cash: $379.55M
Revenue: $812.94M
Revenue: $812.94M
Revenue: $812.94M
Total Equity: $971.98M
Tax Rate: -47.6%
Equity: $971.98M
Total Debt: $0.00
Cash: $379.55M
Current Liabilities: $264.79M
Long-Term Debt: $0.00
Total Debt: $0.00
Total Equity: $971.98M
Shares: 63,382,000
Shares: 63,382,000
CapEx: -$1.38M
Shares: 63,382,000
Stock Price: $37.57
Net Income: $145.95M
Industry Benchmarks
Advanced Analysis Forensic deep-dive · three lenses
LiveRamp has quietly transformed over five years. Revenue compounded from $528.7M (2022) to $812.9M (2026), gross margins held in a tight 70-73% band, and operating margin swung from -12.4% to +10.9% with net income reaching $146M in 2026 after years of GAAP losses. FCF nearly doubled from $103M (2024) to $167.6M (2026), and the company sits on $387M of net cash with no debt drag — survival math is not a question.
Capital allocation looks unusually disciplined for a software company of this size. SBC at 10.2% of revenue is meaningful but is being more than offset by buybacks (buyback/SBC = 118.8%), and diluted share count has actually fallen from 68.2M to 63.4M — a -1.8% CAGR. Earnings-quality screens are clean: Beneish M -2.4, Altman Z 7, accruals -8.8% of assets, and OCF dwarfs net income across the series (FCF $167.6M vs. NI $146M in 2026, and FCF $154.6M in 2025 against roughly breakeven NI), meaning the reported turn is backed by cash, not accrual gymnastics.
The one quality question is durability of the operating-margin step-up — going from 1.7% to 10.9% in a single year is large, and gross margin actually ticked down 70 bps, so the leverage is coming from opex discipline rather than pricing power. Insider tape is non-directional (only F-InKind tax withholdings and A-Awards in the last window; the two reported 'sells' look like routine equity-comp mechanics, not conviction sales).
Verify before trusting this (6)
- Composition of the 2026 operating-margin jump — any one-time legal/restructuring reversals or genuinely sustainable opex reset?
- Customer concentration in data connectivity / Data Marketplace segments (10-K customer disclosure)
- Net revenue retention and subscription vs. usage mix — durability of the ~71% GM
- Whether 2026 net income includes a deferred tax asset release or other non-cash benefit inflating GAAP NI vs. FCF
- Competitive position vs. Snowflake/Databricks-native clean-room offerings and Google/Meta first-party data initiatives
- Goodwill and intangibles balance — prior years showed large losses; check for any remaining impairment risk
The e2e composite and signal-adjusted fair values both land at $27.78, while the stock trades at $37.57 — roughly a 35% premium to deserved value, not a discount. Earnings quality is high (so no haircut warranted) and the Company-Quality lens calls this a Strong business (91), which justifies pushing deserved value above a mechanical DCF, but not by this much. A reasonable quality premium of 10–15% on $27.78 gets you to ~$31–32, still meaningfully below today's price.
What's priced in: continued margin expansion from the recent 11% operating-margin inflection, durable double-digit revenue growth, and RampID winning the cookieless-identity layer. That's the platform-monopoly bull case taken largely at face value. The bear case — that customers have more leverage than the narrative implies and the cookieless catalyst keeps slipping — is not in the price. With net cash on the balance sheet you do get some downside cushion, but margin of safety against the deserved-value anchor is negative, not positive.
This is the classic 'good company, full price' setup. I'd call it Rich rather than Overvalued because the quality is real and the fair-value model may be under-crediting the FCF inflection, but I'm not paying up here.
Verify before trusting this (5)
- FY guidance on operating margin sustainability — is 11% a new floor or a peak?
- Net revenue retention and customer concentration in the subscription book
- Quantified progress on RampID adoption (active connections, % of top-100 advertisers)
- SBC trajectory vs buyback — is the share-count discipline sustainable at current SBC dollar levels?
- Any one-time items inflating the recent margin print
The dominant sentiment force on RAMP is not the cookieless-identity narrative anymore - it is the May 18 Publicis cash bid at roughly $2.2B that drove a 27% gap up. With the stock at $37.63 and analyst targets clustered at $38.50, the tape is trading this as a deal stock, not a thesis stock. That collapses beta, mutes the neutral-to-mildly-headwind macro backdrop, and largely sterilizes the platform-monopoly debate until the deal closes or breaks.
Verify before trusting this (4)
- Publicis deal regulatory progress in EU and US
- Any competing bid or revised terms
- Deal spread vs offer price as a real-time sentiment gauge
- Insider/arb commentary on closing timeline
Deep Analysis
Pre-flight intelligence scans the company first, then routes to the right analytical methods.
Income Statement (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:03am (11d ago)| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $528.7M | $596.6M | $659.7M | $745.6M | $812.9M |
| Cost of Revenue | $147.4M | $170.1M | $179.5M | $215.9M | $238.1M |
| Gross Profit | $381.2M | $426.5M | $480.2M | $529.7M | $574.8M |
| Operating Expenses | $446.8M | $552.3M | $468.8M | $524.3M | $486.4M |
| Operating Income | -$65.5M | -$125.8M | $11.4M | $5.4M | $88.5M |
| Net Income | -$33.8M | -$118.7M | $11.9M | $-814,000 | $146.0M |
| EBITDA | -$39.8M | -$97.7M | $46.3M | $40.2M | $111.5M |
| EPS | $-0.50 | $-1.79 | $0.18 | $-0.01 | $2.30 |
| EPS (Diluted) | — | — | — | — | — |
Balance Sheet (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:02am (11d ago)| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash & Equivalents | $600.2M | $464.4M | $336.9M | $413.3M | $379.5M |
| Total Current Assets | $815.8M | $714.6M | $602.0M | $656.2M | $653.1M |
| Total Assets | $1.3B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.3B |
| Current Liabilities | $184.6M | $174.8M | $216.6M | $247.5M | $264.8M |
| Long-Term Debt | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Liabilities | $270.7M | $246.6M | $282.3M | $310.5M | $322.2M |
| Total Equity | $1.1B | $926.1M | $949.1M | $948.9M | $972.0M |
| Retained Earnings | $1.4B | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.5B |
Cash Flow (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:02am (11d ago)| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash Flow | $78.1M | $39.8M | $107.4M | $155.7M | $168.9M |
| Capital Expenditure | -$4.5M | -$4.7M | -$4.3M | -$1.0M | -$1.4M |
| Free Cash Flow | $73.6M | $35.1M | $103.2M | $154.6M | $167.6M |
| Acquisitions (net) | -$19.1M | $0 | -$170.3M | -$2.0M | $-595,000 |
| Debt Repayment | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends Paid | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stock Buybacks | -$58.6M | -$150.0M | -$60.5M | -$101.2M | -$194.5M |
| Net Change in Cash | $18.5M | -$135.7M | -$125.0M | $74.5M | -$34.4M |
Analyst Estimates (Annual)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:00am (11d ago)| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue |
$812.4M $808.0M – $816.4M
|
$886.1M $881.3M – $890.4M
|
$982.2M $977.0M – $987.1M
|
$1.0B $1.0B – $1.0B
|
| EBITDA |
$305.2M $303.6M – $306.7M
|
$332.9M $331.1M – $334.5M
|
$369.0M $367.0M – $370.8M
|
$384.7M $382.7M – $386.6M
|
| Net Income |
$145.6M $144.8M – $146.4M
|
$187.3M $178.1M – $196.5M
|
$241.1M $232.0M – $250.3M
|
$0 |
| EPS | — | — | — | — |
Growth Trends (YoY %)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:03am (11d ago)| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | +12.8% | +10.6% | +13.0% | +9.0% |
| Gross Profit Growth | +11.9% | +12.6% | +10.3% | +8.5% |
| Operating Income Growth | -91.9% | +109.1% | -52.6% | +1,536.9% |
| Net Income Growth | -250.8% | +110.0% | -106.9% | +18,030.2% |
| EBITDA Growth | -145.4% | +147.4% | -13.1% | +177.2% |
Insider Trading (Recent)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:03am (11d ago)All SEC Form 4 codes
- P Purchase
- Open-market or private purchase of shares.
- S Sale
- Open-market or private sale of shares.
- A Award / grant
- Grant or award of securities (RSUs, options, etc.) under Rule 16b-3.
- D Return to issuer
- Securities disposed back to the company under Rule 16b-3.
- F In-kind (tax)
- Shares withheld or delivered to pay the option-exercise price or tax — not an open-market sale.
- I Discretionary
- Discretionary transaction under an employee plan — Rule 16b-3(f).
- M Option exercise
- Exercise or conversion of a derivative (option/RSU) into shares — exempt.
- C Conversion
- Conversion of a derivative security into the underlying shares.
- E Short expiration
- Expiration of a short derivative position.
- H Long expiration
- Expiration or cancellation of a long derivative position with value received.
- O OTM exercise
- Exercise of an out-of-the-money derivative.
- X ITM exercise
- Exercise of an in-the-money or at-the-money derivative.
- G Gift
- Bona fide gift of securities.
- L Small acquisition
- Small acquisition under Rule 16a-6.
- W Inheritance
- Acquisition or disposition by will or the laws of descent.
- Z Voting trust
- Deposit into or withdrawal from a voting trust.
- J Other
- Other acquisition or disposition (explained in a Form 4 footnote).
- K Equity swap
- Transaction in an equity swap or similar instrument.
- U Tender / buyout
- Disposition via tender of shares in a change-of-control transaction.
Compensation-plan codes (A, D, F, M) are routine and rarely directional. Open-market P (buy) and S (sale) carry the most signal.
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | Sharma Vihan | F-InKind | 1,232.00 | $37.61 | $46,336 |
| 2026-05-29 | JONES JERRY C | F-InKind | 801.00 | $29.66 | $23,758 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | A-Award | 28,405.00 | $0.00 | $0 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | F-InKind | 2,180.00 | $37.70 | $82,186 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | A-Award | 50,273.00 | $0.00 | $0 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | F-InKind | 1,602.00 | $37.70 | $60,395 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | F-InKind | 7,260.00 | $37.70 | $273,702 |
| 2026-05-22 | Sharma Vihan | F-InKind | 25,137.00 | $37.70 | $947,665 |
| 2026-05-22 | Karasick Matthew | F-InKind | 630.00 | $37.70 | $23,751 |
| 2026-05-22 | Karasick Matthew | F-InKind | 1,888.00 | $37.70 | $71,178 |
| 2026-05-22 | Karasick Matthew | F-InKind | 1,387.00 | $37.70 | $52,290 |
| 2026-05-22 | Howe Scott E | A-Award | 168,924.00 | $0.00 | $0 |
| 2026-05-22 | Howe Scott E | F-InKind | 85,217.00 | $37.70 | $3.2M |
| 2026-05-22 | Howe Scott E | F-InKind | 3,503.00 | $37.70 | $132,063 |
| 2026-05-22 | Howe Scott E | F-InKind | 3,913.00 | $37.70 | $147,520 |
| 2026-05-22 | Howe Scott E | F-InKind | 18,542.00 | $37.70 | $699,033 |
| 2026-05-22 | JONES JERRY C | A-Award | 36,197.00 | $0.00 | $0 |
| 2026-05-22 | JONES JERRY C | F-InKind | 12,665.00 | $37.70 | $477,471 |
| 2026-05-22 | JONES JERRY C | F-InKind | 813.00 | $37.70 | $30,650 |
| 2026-05-22 | JONES JERRY C | F-InKind | 735.00 | $37.70 | $27,710 |
Dividend History (Last 20)
Last updated: Jun 16, 2026 3:00am (11d ago)| Date | Dividend | Declaration | Record | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-08-19 | $0.06 | 2008-08-06 | 2008-08-21 | 2008-09-08 |
| 2008-05-30 | $0.06 | 2008-05-23 | 2008-06-03 | 2008-06-23 |
| 2008-02-21 | $0.06 | 2008-02-13 | 2008-02-25 | 2008-03-17 |
| 2007-11-01 | $0.06 | 2007-10-26 | 2007-11-05 | 2007-11-26 |
| 2007-02-08 | $0.06 | 2007-02-02 | 2007-02-12 | 2007-03-05 |
| 2006-11-09 | $0.06 | 2006-11-02 | 2006-11-13 | 2006-12-04 |
| 2006-08-10 | $0.05 | 2006-08-03 | 2006-08-14 | 2006-09-12 |
| 2006-06-08 | $0.05 | 2006-05-31 | 2006-06-12 | 2006-07-03 |
| 2006-02-15 | $0.05 | 2006-02-09 | 2006-02-20 | 2006-03-13 |
| 2005-11-09 | $0.05 | 2005-11-03 | 2005-11-14 | 2005-12-05 |
| 2005-08-11 | $0.05 | 2005-08-04 | 2005-08-15 | 2005-09-06 |
| 2005-06-02 | $0.05 | 2005-05-25 | 2005-06-06 | 2005-06-27 |
| 2005-02-10 | $0.05 | 2005-02-02 | 2005-02-14 | 2005-03-07 |
| 2004-11-04 | $0.04 | 2004-10-27 | 2004-11-08 | 2004-11-29 |
| 2004-08-05 | $0.04 | 2004-07-29 | 2004-08-09 | 2004-08-30 |
| 2004-06-03 | $0.04 | 2004-05-26 | 2004-06-07 | 2004-06-28 |
| 2004-02-11 | $0.04 | 2004-02-04 | 2004-02-16 | 2004-03-08 |
Narrative Economics
market-narrative step).
Delvantic AI Findings
Looking at the raw numbers first: revenue grew from $528.7M (FY22) to $812.9M (FY26), an 11% CAGR, with the trajectory accelerating modestly — quarterly revenue went from $176M (Jun-24) to $206.1M (Mar-26), about 17% YoY in the latest print. But the headline net income story is misleading. The Q4 FY26 print of $70.9M on $206M revenue (34.4% net margin) doesn't square with the operating margin trajectory — annual operating income was just $88.5M against $146M net income, meaning a significant chunk of FY26 net income came from below-the-line items (likely deferred tax benefit / valuation allowance release). Adjusted for that, real operating earnings power is closer to $88M, putting the genuine P/E nearer 26x, not the 16x screen. That's a meaningful gap the synthesis glosses over.
The FCF picture is the strongest part of the file: $167.6M FCF on $812.9M revenue is a 20.6% FCF margin with essentially no capex ($1.4M), and $379.5M cash with apparently no debt. EV is roughly $1.88B, so EV/FCF ~11x — that genuinely is cheap for infrastructure software IF the FCF is durable. The prior models converge on "Reasonable Premium" against a DCF anchor of $27.78, implying ~35% narrative premium at $37.57. I think they're under-anchoring. At 20% FCF margins, 10-11% revenue growth, no debt, and a real (if contested) position in identity resolution, a 13-15x FCF multiple is defensible, which gets you to $40-46. The DCF anchor seems to assume mid-single-digit growth that the recent quarters don't support — Q4 just printed +17% YoY on revenue.
The contrarian case the models underweight: insider activity is uniformly F-InKind (tax withholding on vesting) and A-Awards (grants) — there is zero open-market buying. That's not "neutral," that's mildly negative for a stock the team supposedly believes is undervalued post-doubling from 52-week lows. Second, the revenue confidence signal flags "decelerating quarterly trend" — but quarterly revenue actually went 194.8 → 199.8 → 212.2 → 206.1, which looks like seasonality (Q3 holiday spike, Q4 step-down) not deceleration. The signal is misreading the pattern. Third, and most important: the bear story about "cookieless future being 5 years away for 7 years" is correct and the market-forces "neutral" rating is too generous — Google reversed its Chrome cookie deprecation in 2024, which directly undermines the regulatory tailwind thesis. The platform-monopoly narrative is weaker than the models grade it.
Net: I dissent slightly from the synthesis. The "Reasonable Premium" framing is directionally right but the fair-value anchor is too low. Real owner earnings (FCF) of ~$168M against a $1.88B EV is the number that matters, and even discounting the FY26 net income tax benefit, the cash generation is real and growing (27% FCF CAGR). The stock isn't cheap on a story basis — it's reasonably priced on a cash basis with optionality on a narrative that may or may not pay off. I'd put fair value at $38-44 (roughly 13-15x FCF, in line with mature infrastructure software), meaning RAMP at $37.57 is fairly valued to modestly cheap, not premium. The asymmetric risk is that the identity-resolution thesis gets disrupted by walled-garden first-party data strategies (Google, Meta, Amazon) which would compress the multiple back toward 9-10x FCF, or ~$28 — exactly the DCF anchor. So the downside scenario validates the bear DCF; the upside requires the cookieless narrative to actually arrive. Given the FCF floor and clean balance sheet, this is a hold-or-nibble, not a conviction buy.
GPT Critique
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. presents an intriguing case with its significant growth and robust cash flow generation. The raw data indicates a consistent revenue increase from $528.7M in 2022 to $812.9M in 2026, with a quarterly revenue jump from $176M in June 2024 to $206.1M in March 2026, reflecting a 17% year-over-year growth in the latest quarter. The company has improved its net income significantly, swinging from losses in earlier years to a net income of $146M in 2026, and a high net margin of 34.4% in the most recent quarter. The balance sheet is solid, with $379.5M in cash and no debt, supporting a strong free cash flow of $167.6M. These figures suggest a well-managed transition towards profitability and cash efficiency, underscoring the potential for LiveRamp to leverage its strategic position in the evolving data privacy landscape.
I agree with Opus's interpretation that the headline net income figures are somewhat inflated by below-the-line items, such as deferred tax benefits, suggesting that the true operating earnings power is closer to $88M rather than the entire net income figure. This adjustment indeed leads to a higher effective P/E ratio than the reported 16x, aligning with Opus's recalibrated estimate of around 26x. I also concur with Opus on the strength of the free cash flow, which at an EV/FCF of ~11x, positions LiveRamp attractively within the infrastructure software space if this cash flow is sustainable.
However, I diverge from Opus's assessment concerning the insider activity and the narrative around the "cookieless future." While Opus characterizes insider transactions as mildly negative due to the absence of open-market buying, I would interpret this as more neutral. The transactions being largely administrative (tax withholdings and awards) do not necessarily indicate a lack of confidence. Additionally, while the delay in Google's Chrome cookie deprecation could be seen as a setback for the narrative, I argue that regulatory and industry shifts toward privacy-compliant solutions are still likely to benefit LiveRamp in the long term. Therefore, the market-forces signal should perhaps remain neutral rather than negative, acknowledging the ongoing strategic importance of identity resolution.
A careful skeptic might argue that both Opus and I overestimate the durability of LiveRamp's cash flow and market position, especially given the competitive pressures from large tech companies' first-party data strategies. This could potentially compress LiveRamp's future multiples if the anticipated regulatory tailwinds do not materialize or if they face intensified competition.