Cardlytics, Inc. (CDLX) Stock Price & How to Invest

Cardlytics, Inc. operates what it calls a purchase intelligence platform: an advertising network that runs inside the online and mobile banking channels of its financial institution (FI) partners. Banks share anonymized transaction data with Cardlytics, which uses it to target offers (for example, 10% back at a restaurant chain) to the bank's own customers. Most campaigns are priced on a Cost per Served Sale basis, a percentage of all purchases made by consumers who were shown the offer. Revenue is reported net of the cash-back paid to consumers and gross of the Partner Share paid to banks, which is why the company also reports billings, the gross amount charged to marketers. Named FI partners include Chase, Wells Fargo and American Express, plus regional banks, fintechs and digital banks.

The business is almost entirely the United States and the United Kingdom. In the first half of 2026, US revenue was ~$57.2 million and UK revenue ~$14.0 million, so the UK is roughly a fifth of sales and was the part still growing (up ~11% year over year). Top five marketers made up ~20% of 2025 revenue, with none above 10%. Revenue is seasonal: marketers tend to spend more in the fourth quarter around the holidays and pull back in the first.

Cardlytics was incorporated in Delaware in June 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta. It listed on Nasdaq in February 2018 at $13 a share and, before the reverse split, traded as high as $161.47. It bought Dosh (a cash-back app, shut down in February 2025) and Bridg (a point-of-sale data platform) in 2021; Bridg was sold to PAR Technology in March 2026 for PAR shares that Cardlytics later sold for ~$23.0 million net. Amit Gupta is CEO, and David Evans, CFO from 2016 to 2020, returned to the role after Alexis DeSieno resigned in December 2025. There is no controlling shareholder.

The investment picture is now a balance-sheet story. Q2 2026 revenue fell 36% year over year to $36.9 million, which the 10-Q ties to a US FI partner exiting the platform (Bank of America had given notice of non-renewal in April 2025). Adjusted EBITDA stayed slightly positive, but free cash flow was negative $10.7 million, cash was $28.0 million at June 30, 2026, and stockholders' equity was a $16.0 million deficit. A 1-for-10 reverse split on June 5, 2026 followed a Nasdaq bid-price notice, and the shares have roughly halved since, from ~$4 to ~$2. Management points to cost cuts, more advertisers and better margins per dollar of revenue.

The central risk is the capital structure: at roughly $12 million of market value, the equity is small next to $172.5 million of convertible notes due April 2029 and a $15.0 million credit line, and stockholders' equity was already a $16.0 million deficit at June 30, 2026, so a refinancing or exchange could heavily dilute or largely wipe out existing shareholders. Cash fell to $28.0 million at mid-2026 with free cash flow of about negative $18.6 million in the first half, and the credit line requires at least $20.0 million of unrestricted cash plus a minimum adjusted EBITDA, which leaves a thin buffer. The 10-K says the company is substantially dependent on Chase, Wells Fargo and a few other FI partners, and losing one large US partner has already cut revenue by about a third. Banks can build their own offer programs or switch providers, and rules on sharing consumer financial data could change what partners may provide. Advertiser budgets are cyclical, and management cited quick-service restaurant spending shifting toward delivery. Listing risk remains: the June 2026 reverse split followed a Nasdaq bid-price notice, and the stock has roughly halved since. Goodwill of $110.3 million on the US business is flagged in the 10-Q as susceptible to impairment. Leadership has turned over, with a new CFO in early 2026 and the chief legal officer leaving in July 2026, and insiders filed Form 144 notices of planned sales in July, August and October 2026.

4 analysts publish price targets on CDLX, averaging $6.00 against a $2.06 price as of October 2026, or +191.3%. The published targets run from $4.00 to $10.00, a wide spread, and the ratings split 0 buy, 3 hold, 1 sell. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full CDLX forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Cardlytics, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Stabilizing billings after the bank partner loss. Billings fell 34% year over year to $65.5 million in Q2 2026, and Q3 guidance of $61 million to $67 million implies another 20% to 27% decline. The most optimistic published target, $10.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. The central risk is the capital structure: at roughly $12 million of market value, the equity is small next to $172.5 million of convertible notes due April 2029 and a $15.0 million credit line, and stockholders' equity was already a $16.0 million deficit at June 30, 2026, so a refinancing or exchange could heavily dilute or largely wipe out existing shareholders. The most pessimistic target, $4.00, is roughly what CDLX is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on CDLX, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Cardlytics, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM, continuing ops): ~$169M
• Billings (TTM): ~$297M
• Q2 2026 revenue: $36.9M (-36% YoY)
• Adjusted EBITDA (H1 2026): ~$1.9M
• Free cash flow (H1 2026): ~-$18.6M
• Convertible notes / cash (June 30, 2026): $172.5M / $28.0M

Trailing revenue of ~$169 million against a market value of roughly $12 million (about 5.8 million shares near $2) puts the stock at well under 0.1x sales, a level that reflects the debt more than the size of the business. Adding the convertible notes and credit line and subtracting cash gives an enterprise value near ~$160 million, about 1x revenue. Billings run ~$297 million over twelve months; revenue is lower because cash-back paid to consumers is netted out. Adjusted EBITDA is near break-even while free cash flow is negative, and Q3 2026 guidance calls for $34 million to $39 million of revenue.

Other names that sit close to CDLX: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get CDLX exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so CDLX sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where CDLX fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

CDLX is a distressed turnaround: a real ad network with ~$169 million of trailing revenue whose equity is worth a fraction of its 2029 convertible debt. The outcome depends on billings stabilizing before cash and refinancing options run out.

Whether CDLX is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is CDLX a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the CDLX stock forecast.

For income investors, whether CDLX pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does CDLX pay a dividend? And to weigh CDLX against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: CDLX vs V and CDLX vs MA.