Fluent, Inc.

What they do

Fluent runs performance-based digital marketing campaigns that acquire customers for advertiser clients, using proprietary ad-serving technology, first-party data and machine learning. It reaches consumers through its Commerce Media Solutions marketplace, which places advertising inside e-commerce and digital media transaction flows on partner sites and mobile apps, and through its own owned and operated websites that attract registered users via promotional offerings and opt-in consent. Over the trailing 12 months it served more than 350 consumer brands, direct marketers and agencies across media and entertainment, financial services, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment.

Revenue drivers

• Commerce Media Solutions — Embedded advertising on partner e-commerce sites and apps, often post-transaction; exclusive partner agreements run one to five years with revenue share or impression-based compensation. Q2 2026 revenue was $30.5M, 63% of consolidated revenue, with gross margin of 27%.
• Owned and Operated (O&O) Sites — Promotional-offer websites and apps where consumers register and provide contact information and opt-in consent, used to serve targeted offers. Q2 2026 revenue was $16.3M, down 24% year over year, as the mix shifts toward Commerce Media.
• Advertiser client base — Advertisers pay for customer acquisition across media and entertainment, financial products and services, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment; over 350 brands, direct marketers and agencies were served over the last 12 months.
• In-store commerce media — Newly launched offering that brings Commerce Media Solutions to the physical retail point of sale. Management expects it to begin contributing materially to revenue in 2027, so it is not yet a reported revenue line.

Recent performance

Q2 2026 consolidated revenue was $48.4M, up 8% from $44.7M in Q2 2025, the first year-over-year growth after a decline in the first half. Commerce Media Solutions revenue rose 90% to $30.5M, or 63% of consolidated revenue, while Owned and Operated revenue fell 24% to $16.3M. Consolidated gross profit was $14.0M, or 29% of revenue, up from 23% a year earlier, and Commerce Media gross profit was $8.2M, or 27% of revenue. Net loss was $6.2M, or $0.20 per share, and adjusted EBITDA loss was $1.8M, improving from a $2.8M loss in Q2 2025. H1 2026 revenue was $93.3M, down 7% from $99.9M, reflecting the January 2026 sale of Call Solutions and the prior-year discontinuation of the ACA business.

Strategy

Management is deliberately shifting the revenue mix toward Commerce Media Solutions and away from Owned and Operated, and states that Commerce Media's annual revenue run rate now exceeds $125M. The company added several new media partners in the second quarter and launched an in-store commerce media offering that applies its marketplace to the physical retail point of sale. It expects margin expansion to follow as newer partnerships mature, and reported consolidated gross margin rising to 29% from 23% in Q2 2026. The stated plan for the second half of 2026 is to prove out the in-store model ahead of material revenue contribution in 2027.

Risks

• Continued net losses and cash burn — Fluent reported a $6.2M net loss in Q2 2026 and annual net losses every year from 2021 through 2025, including $27.2M in 2025.
• Owned and Operated decline — O&O revenue fell 24% in Q2 2026 and 39% in the first half as the company shifted mix, so consolidated growth depends on Commerce Media growing faster than O&O shrinks.
• Dependence on partner agreements — Commerce Media revenue comes from exclusive media partner agreements with one to five year terms, so loss or non-renewal of major partners would directly reduce revenue.
• Thin balance sheet and small equity base — At June 30, 2026 total liabilities were $67.0M against $75.1M of assets, leaving $8.1M of shareholder equity and $6.9M of cash, with $5.2M of long-term debt.

Outlook

Management continues to expect full-year double-digit revenue growth on its aggregate continuing businesses and improvement in full-year adjusted EBITDA for 2026, citing Commerce Media now being the majority of revenue and the strongest seasonal quarters still ahead. It characterizes the in-store commerce media launch as a new high-volume revenue stream that it will prove out in the second half of 2026, with material revenue contribution expected in 2027. The company does not provide specific revenue or earnings guidance figures in the release.