NIQ Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results

Results exceed Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS guidance for the 6th straight quarter
Positive GAAP EPS for the first time since IPO
Achieves 2.9x net leverage ratio milestone one quarter ahead of plan and announces $150 million share repurchase authorization

• Delivered 6.3% reported revenue growth, including 5.8% organic constant currency ("OCC") growth, led by 11.5% Americas OCC growth, 5.5% Intelligence OCC growth, and 7.0% Activation OCC growth
• Generated positive net income of $35.8 million, or $0.12 per basic and diluted share for the first time since IPO; Adjusted net income improved to $87.8 million, or $0.30 per basic and diluted share
• Grew Adjusted EBITDA 17.8% to $263.6 million and expanded Adjusted EBITDA margin by 230 bps to 23.6%
• Produced Levered free cash flow of $181.2 million; year-to-date Levered free cash flow improved to $132.1 million
• Raised full year 2026 financial guidance to 5.5% – 5.7% OCC revenue growth, 23.6% – 23.8% Adjusted EBITDA margin, $249M – $257M of Levered free cash flow and $1.16 – $1.20 of Adjusted EPS
• Reached 2.9x net leverage ratio and broadened capital allocation framework through board-authorized share repurchase program; enabling the ability to buy up to $150 million of ordinary shares

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NIQ Global Intelligence plc (NYSE: NIQ) (the "Company", or "NIQ"), a leading global consumer intelligence company, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Third Quarter 2026 Results

Revenue:

• Total revenue grew 6.3% year-over-year to $1,119.1 million, for 5.8% OCC revenue growth
• OCC growth was comprised of Americas growth of 11.5%, EMEA growth of 2.9%, and APAC growth of 0.2%; EMEA results were impacted by ongoing volatility in the Middle East, while APAC was flat against a difficult year-over-year growth comparison
• Intelligence revenue (as reported) grew 6.1%, or 5.5% in OCC; Activation revenue (as reported) grew 7.2%, or 7.0% in OCC
• Annualized Intelligence Subscription revenue grew 5.5% to $3,061.8 million with 105% Intelligence Subscription Net Dollar Retention and 99% Gross Dollar Retention

Earnings:

• Net income attributable to NIQ was $35.8 million, or $0.12 per basic share; Adjusted net income improved to $87.8 million, or $0.30 per basic share
• Adjusted EBITDA grew $39.9 million year-over-year, or 17.8%, to $263.6 million; Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 230 basis points year-over-year to 23.6%
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $254.4 million, Unlevered free cash flow was $238.0 million, and Levered free cash flow was $181.2 million. Year-over-year performance was driven primarily by the timing of vendor payments benefitting Q3 2025 and higher cash paid for capital expenditures to support growth investments. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, Levered free cash flow increased by $187.2 million driven by increased Adjusted EBITDA, as well as debt repayment and refinancing activity around our July 2025 IPO

"Q3 was a milestone quarter — we exceeded the top end of our guidance across all key metrics for the sixth consecutive quarter, delivered positive GAAP earnings per share for the first time since our IPO, and reached our net leverage milestone a quarter ahead of plan," said Jim Peck, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our 11th consecutive quarter of mid-single-digit organic constant currency growth reflects durable client demand for our core measurement and analytics across our global footprint. On AI, momentum is turning into commercial traction. We've grown our ConnectAI charter pipeline to nearly 80 clients, we're working with OpenAI DeployCo to embed NIQ intelligence directly into client workflows, and we've expanded our partnership with Google to bring NIQ product data into its Shopping Graph. With a strong core and momentum with our AI solutions, we believe we're positioned well heading into 2027."

"Levered free cash flow of $181 million brings our year-to-date improvement to $187 million and net leverage ratio to 2.9-times," Chief Financial Officer Mike Burwell added. "Deleveraging remains our top priority, and our $150 million share repurchase authorization adds return of capital to a disciplined framework that also funds organic growth, AI investment, and strategic M&A. We're raising our full year 2026 guidance to reflect Q3 outperformance, and we expect further strengthening in 2027."

Summary Third Quarter 2026 & Recent Business Highlights

Key client developments, including:

• Closed 24 seven-figure wins with brand and retailer clients, including an eight-figure deal with a global home-furnishings retailer that upgraded its 25-year relationship to its first multi-year, 60+ market commitment
• Drove 20%+ growth across Consumer Panel and eCommerce, extending NIQ's integrated 'Full View' through a strong upsell
• Entered a strategic retail collaboration with Maverik — a top U.S. convenience and fuel retailer with 830+ locations in 20 states
• Expanded measurement of Amazon's $56 billion marketplace to cover third-party (3P) Health & Beauty sellers — 68% of category sales — giving brands a fuller view of growth

Progressed AI-native growth strategy, including:

• Expanded ConnectAI Charter Program to 10 signed clients, including Purina and Mars Snacking; grew client pipeline to 79
• Partnered with OpenAI DeployCo to extend and deliver NIQ's proprietary intelligence directly into the enterprise systems and workflows clients use every day via Optiq Bridge
• Announced agentic commerce partnership with Google, combining NIQ’s product intelligence, availability data and measurement capabilities across 265M+ products with Google’s Shopping Graph and AI commerce ecosystem
• Entered collaboration with Similarweb to build new solution to help brands, retailers and technology platforms understand how products are purchased in an increasingly agentic-enabled consumer economy
• Grew AI-powered Connect data engine at approximately 4.7 trillion data records per week, up 24% versus Q3 2025

AI-enabled cost efficiency, including:

• Ongoing integration of advanced technology, including AI, continues to support the Company's 2026 Restructuring Program, which remains on track to deliver anticipated annualized cost savings of approximately $70 million to $80 million (refer to "2026 Restructuring Program" discussion below)

Financial Summary & Operating Metrics

Third Quarter 2026 Segment Results

Third Quarter Revenue Discussion

Revenue increased 6.3% on an as-reported basis, while OCC revenue grew 5.8%. Our Q3 OCC growth was driven primarily by value-based pricing as well as strong upselling and cross-selling of new capabilities and solutions, and, to a lesser extent, penetration in adjacent and high-growth markets.

Americas: Total Americas segment revenue (as reported) increased by $56.0 million, or 13.8% and OCC growth was 11.5%. Intelligence revenue (as reported), grew 12.6% driven by client retention, pricing and continued demand for new capabilities and solutions, including Consumer Panel and eCommerce offerings. Activation revenue (as reported) grew 18.4% driven by ongoing cross-sell activity including Analytics, Innovation and Retailer Analytics solutions. Inorganic items contributed an additional 0.2% to reported growth, while foreign exchange contributed 2.1% to reported growth.

EMEA: Total EMEA segment revenue (as reported) increased by $6.6 million, or 1.4% and OCC growth was 2.9%. Intelligence revenue (as reported), grew 2.5% driven by pricing, continued adoption of new capabilities and solutions, including Consumer Panel and eCommerce offerings. Activation revenue (as reported) decreased 4.7%, reflecting ongoing volatility in the Middle East impacting ad hoc project demand. Foreign exchange decreased reported growth by 1.5%.

APAC: Total APAC segment revenue (as reported) increased by $3.9 million, or 2.4% and OCC growth was 0.2%. Activation revenue (as reported), grew 6.6%, reflecting stronger demand for Analytics and Innovation solutions and improving commercial momentum across the region. Intelligence revenue (as reported) increased 1.0%, driven by pricing and demand for new capabilities and solutions. Inorganic items contributed an additional 2.4% to reported growth, while foreign exchange decreased reported growth by 0.2%.

Liquidity, Capital Resources & Recent Financings

As of September 30, 2026, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $572.6 million and $747.5 million of available capacity under its Revolver, for a total of $1,320.1 million of available liquidity. The Company's Net Leverage Ratio was 2.9x at September 30, 2026, down from 3.1x at June 30, 2026 and 4.6x at the time of the IPO, achieving the Company's sub-3.0x target one quarter ahead of plan.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, cash provided by operating activities was $330.9 million, compared to cash provided by operating activities of $110.0 million in 2025, a $220.9 million improvement, primarily driven by year-over-year improvements in Adjusted EBITDA, net working capital and interest expense, offset by increased year-over-year restructuring expense.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, cash used in investing activities was $194.2 million, compared with $135.8 million in 2025. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, cash paid for capital expenditures was $198.8 million, compared with $165.1 million in 2025, reflecting increased investment in the Connect data platform and AI-native product development.

Cash paid for capital expenditures as a percentage of revenue represented 6% and 5%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, cash used in financing activities was $75.6 million, compared with cash provided by financing activities of $199.3 million in 2025.

Free cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 increased by $187.2 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2025 driven primarily by year-over-year increases in revenue flowing through to Adjusted EBITDA, net working capital improvement and lower interest expense as a result of 2025 IPO proceeds being used to pay down debt and a spread step-down beginning in Q3 2025, offset by the impact of increased year-over-year restructuring costs.

The average unhedged and hedged interest rates at the end of the third quarter of 2026 were 4.6% and 5.6%, respectively, which resulted in a total weighted average rate of 4.9%. The convergence of the all-in rates is due to the lower spreads post refinancing and the declining interest rate environment. Our interest rate hedging program is intended not only to provide protection against dramatic interest rate increases but also to allow us to participate meaningfully in an improving interest rate environment with greater predictability of cash flows.

2026 Restructuring Program

In February 2026, the Company approved an incremental cost realignment program (the "2026 Program") intended to further streamline the organization and drive operational efficiency. The 2026 Program is designed to generate additional annualized cost savings of approximately $70 million to $80 million by the end of fiscal year 2026.

The 2026 Program supports the Company’s ongoing efforts to enhance margin performance through continued optimization of its workforce, enhancements to its sales organization and other support functions and simplification of overall business processes. Investments in automation and artificial intelligence ("AI") are anticipated to accelerate the Company’s optimization efforts as it begins its journey to operationalize these digital tools throughout the organization. Collectively, these actions are expected to improve efficiency, customer satisfaction, product innovation and productivity. The 2026 Program is intended to further reduce costs primarily within selling, general and administrative expenses.

The Company expects to incur total pre-tax restructuring charges related to the 2026 Program of approximately $65 million to $75 million, the substantial majority of which would result in cash expenditures. As of year-to-date fiscal 2026, the Company has incurred substantially all of the restructuring charges associated with the 2026 Program, and expects the balance to be incurred in the fourth quarter of 2026 and first half of 2027.

Reorganization Pursuant to IPO

On July 22, 2025, in connection with the IPO, NIQ became the direct parent of various entities that were created by Advent International to acquire the business of NIQ from Nielsen Holdings, including AI PAVE Dutchco I B.V. ("AI PAVE") and the indirect parent of other intermediate holding companies, including AI PAVE Dutchco II B.V., AI PAVE Dutchco III B.V. (collectively, with AI PAVE, the "AI PAVE Entities"), and Intermediate Dutch Holdings B.V., a private company with limited liability organized under the laws of the Netherlands ("Dutch Holdings") (the "Reorganization"). All holders of equity interests in AI PAVE became shareholders of NIQ. The "Company," "NIQ," "we," "us" and "our" means, NIQ Global Intelligence plc and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Outlook

Our outlook is based on a number of assumptions that are subject to change, many of which are outside of the control of the Company. The extent to which external factors affect our business and results of operations are inherently uncertain and depends on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict. There can be no assurance that the Company will achieve the results expressed by this guidance.

• Full year 2026 free cash flow guidance range implies $303 million of free cash flow in the second half of 2026.
• Constant currency growth rates assume foreign currency exchange rates are consistent between years. This allows financial results to be evaluated without the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.
• Organic constant currency growth rates are constant currency growth excluding inorganic growth. Inorganic growth represents growth attributable to the first twelve months of activity for recent business acquisitions.
• Refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section of this Earnings Release regarding reconciliations of the above non-GAAP financial measures.

Earnings Webcast Information

In conjunction with this release, NIQ will host a conference call and webcast today at 8:30 am Eastern Time to discuss business results for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The live webcast and a replay of the webcast will be available at the Investor Relations section of NIQ’s website: investors.nielseniq.com.

About NIQ (NYSE: NIQ)

NIQ is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering comprehensive understanding of consumer buying behavior and helping clients identify new pathways to growth. Our global reach spans 90 countries covering approximately 82% of the world’s population, more than half of global gross domestic product, and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend as of December 31, 2025. With a holistic retail read and comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. For more information, please visit www.niq.com.

Availability of Information on NIQ’s Website

Investors and others should note that NIQ routinely announces material information to investors and the marketplace using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and the NIQ Investor Relations website. While not all of the information that the Company posts to the NIQ Investor Relations website is of a material nature, some information could be deemed to be material. Accordingly, the Company encourages investors, the media and others interested in NIQ to review the information that it shares on investors.nielseniq.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by references to future periods or the use of words such as "intend," "designed," "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "would," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "outlook," "guidance," "position," "envision," "predict," "target," "potential," "should," "continue," "contemplate," "project", and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters including financial guidance and projected estimates including expectations regarding revenue, leverage, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EPS and free cash flow; statements about the Company’s financial position, operating results, liquidity and capital allocation priorities, including growth-focused capital expenditures, investments in AI capabilities, potential tuck-in acquisitions, share repurchases or other return of capital and the future availability and use of our Revolver and other financing arrangements; statements regarding the amount, timing and manner of any share repurchases under our newly-authorized share repurchase program; the 2026 Restructuring Program and the Transformation Program, including expected annualized cost savings, anticipated pre-tax restructuring charges, timing and execution of realization, expected improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, product innovation and productivity; and statements regarding expected annualized cost savings and timing of realization, anticipated one-time charges and cash expenditures, the Company’s ability to achieve margin expansion, improve operating efficiency and generate future cash flow, the impact of technology-enabled initiatives including automation and AI on long-term competitiveness, including expectations that AI will strengthen the Company's competitive position, widen its competitive moat, accelerate innovation and structurally lower its cost base; the development, launch, capabilities, adoption, monetization and expected client benefits of new products and solutions; the contribution of new or expanded partnerships to future results; the Company's interest rate hedging strategy and its expected impact on cash flow predictability; the Company’s strategic priorities and future financial performance. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, the workforce reduction may take longer or result in more significant charges or cash expenditures than anticipated or otherwise negatively impact the Company and its business plans during and after the period during which the workforce reduction is being executed; that we derive a significant portion of our revenues from sales of our subscription-based products; if we are unable to attract and retain members of our management team, we may not be able to compete effectively and will not be able to expand our business; that design defects, errors, failures or delays associated with our products or services could negatively impact our business; that we rely on third parties to provide certain data, services and information technology and operations functions in connection with the provision of our current products and services; that we have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; uncertainty in the U.

Investors: investor.relations@nielseniq.com
Media: media@nielseniq.com