AppLovin just cut 120 jobs, a startling move for a company whose stock has delivered the single best performance among tech firms valued above $5 billion this year.
The Palo Alto advertising software maker filed a WARN notice Wednesday, one week after its market value exploded by $41 billion across just two trading days. Since January, AppLovin shares have surged more than 600%, pushing the company’s valuation near $98 billion as of Friday, according to CNBC and FactSet data.
The layoff notice shows 11 employees lose their positions this Friday. Another 109 workers have already been let go within the past 90 days. The cuts sweep across senior leadership, including three vice presidents and nine directors, along with more than two dozen software engineers. Workers at subsidiaries Lion Studios, Wurl, and MZ Games also appear in the filing.
The company’s recent WARN activity paints a confusing picture. AppLovin filed separate notices in August affecting 61 workers, early October covering 65, and mid-October for 58 more. The latest document states the company identified all positions from the previous 90 days “out of an abundance of caution.”
What’s driving the reductions remains murky. AppLovin did not respond to requests for comment. However, CEO Adam Foroughi told investors on a November 6 earnings call that the company keeps its business team “pretty lean.” CFO Matt Stumpf echoed that sentiment, saying AppLovin wants to invest in tech in the “most lean and cost-efficient way possible.”
The layoffs at Lion Studios point toward stagnation in the company’s mobile gaming division. AppLovin’s Apps segment, home to titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike, now generates essentially flat revenue. Meanwhile, the software arm that sells AI-driven ad targeting tools grew 66% year-over-year last quarter.
That software momentum powered the recent stock rally. Foroughi, who owns roughly 10% of the company, saw his stake climb to about $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.
