Criteo (CRTO) Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026 summary

Strategic direction and market positioning

• Positioned as an AI-driven commerce intelligence platform, focusing on agentic commerce, performance media, and retail media to drive next-generation shopping outcomes.

• Handles over $1 trillion in commerce transactions annually, serving 17,000 clients and reaching up to 3 billion daily active users across channels.

• Emphasizes cross-channel orchestration, enabling brands, retailers, and agencies to optimize commerce outcomes in a fragmented ecosystem.

• Maintains industry leadership in retail media with 235 global retailers and aims to accelerate this through expanded monetization and demand partnerships.

• High client retention is driven by performance, full business partnership, and a client-centric approach.

Key initiatives and product innovation

• Launched a pilot integration with ChatGPT, enabling advertisers to reach users contextually through AI-driven discovery, enhancing campaign discoverability.

• Rolled out a product recommendation service leveraging proprietary commerce data, delivering 60% higher relevancy in LLM environments.

• Commerce Go, a self-service performance product for SMBs, launches soon, offering simplified campaign setup and improved client retention and spend.

• Investments in Commerce Max and auction-based display products support cross-retail campaigns and demand-side growth.

• Ongoing roadmap acceleration and product expansion in performance media, with new discovery products in alpha/beta phases.

Financial outlook and operational efficiency

• Macro environment remains stable, with some softness in U.S. department stores and Asia Pacific, but overall momentum is positive.

• Despite a $75 million headwind, EBITDA guidance remains strong due to efficiency gains and disciplined OpEx management.

• Commerce Go and AI-driven efficiency programs are expected to reduce cost to serve and create new levers for reinvestment or margin improvement.

• Capital allocation priorities: invest in core business, pursue selective M&A, and return capital via buybacks.

• Re-domiciling from France to Luxembourg in Q3 2024, with a planned move to the U.S. in Q1 2027, aims to enhance capital flexibility and index inclusion.