NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 revenue rose 6.3% to $1,119.1M; organic constant-currency growth was 5.8%, the 11th consecutive quarter of mid-single-digit growth and sixth consecutive quarter above guidance.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.8% to $263.6M, with margin up 230 bps to 23.6%; GAAP net income was $35.8M, or $0.12 per share.

• Net leverage reached 2.9x one quarter ahead of plan; FY26 guidance was raised and a share repurchase authorization of up to $150M was approved.

Financial highlights

• Reported operating income was $106.4M versus a $34.7M loss; adjusted net income was $87.8M, or $0.30 per share, versus $9.2M and $0.03 per share.

• Q3 operating cash flow was $254.4M and levered free cash flow was $181.2M, versus $272.2M and $224.4M, respectively, a year earlier.

• Nine-month levered free cash flow was $132.1M versus negative $55.1M; operating cash flow was $330.9M versus $110.0M.

• Q3 SG&A fell 14.8% to $387.5M and D&A declined 15.2% to $141.5M; prior-year vendor-payment timing and higher growth capex affected cash-flow comparisons.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 reported revenue guidance is $4,513M-$4,520M, with 7.5%-7.7% reported growth and 5.5%-5.7% organic constant-currency growth.

• FY26 adjusted EBITDA guidance is $1,065M-$1,073M, with 16%-17% growth and 23.6%-23.8% margin; adjusted EPS is $1.16-$1.20.

• FY26 levered free cash flow guidance was raised to $249M-$257M; net leverage is expected below 3.0x.

• Q4 guidance includes 5.4%-5.7% organic constant-currency revenue growth, 26.3%-26.7% adjusted EBITDA margin and $0.43-$0.47 adjusted EPS.

• The cost program targets $70M-$80M of annualized savings; Q4 and Q1 cash flow are affected by tax, CapEx, vendor-payment timing and seasonal technology spending.