Opera Desktop Users Reach 100 Million as Q3 Revenue Climbs 20%

Opera announced on November 3, 2026 that its desktop browser reached 100 million monthly active users in October 2026 and previewed third-quarter 2026 revenue of US$182.8 million, up 20% year over year and at the top of its $181 million to $183 million guidance range.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-IFRS measure that excludes items Opera considers unrepresentative of recurring core operations, was $43.2 million at a 24% margin. That exceeded the high end of the previous $41 million to $43 million range.

Opera described the desktop audience as an all-time high for its highest-ARPU platform, meaning the platform with its highest average revenue per user. The total rose from 94 million monthly active users in Q2 2026 and was 16% above October 2025. The growth followed product releases aligned with Opera’s strategy of offering an alternative to pre-installed default browsers.

Chief Executive Song Lin said the adoption of new AI tools and workstreams makes the browser’s position increasingly strategic. “We are focused on making AI widely accessible through local browser capabilities and native integrations with users’ preferred tools,” he said.

Advertising and Query Revenue Both Grew

Chief Financial Officer Frode Jacobsen attributed the quarter to 17% year-over-year growth in query revenue and 22% growth in advertising revenue. The latest disclosed revenue mix, in Opera’s second-quarter report, shows their relative scale: advertising produced $115.4 million, or 65% of revenue, while query revenue contributed $62.1 million, or 35%.

Those percentages describe Q2’s mix; the Q3 preview gave growth rates without category amounts. The growth rates nevertheless establish that both principal monetization channels expanded, rather than the top-end revenue result resting on a single stream.

Margin Holds as Revenue Growth Moderates

Q2 revenue was $178.1 million, up 25% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of $42.4 million at a 24% margin. Q3 therefore delivered higher sequential revenue and adjusted EBITDA while maintaining that margin, although the pace of year-over-year revenue growth slowed.

The Q3 adjusted figure reconciles from IFRS net income of $27.6 million. The reconciliation adds $6.9 million of share-based compensation, $5.7 million of depreciation and amortization and $5.5 million of income tax expense, among other items, while deducting a $3.3 million impairment reversal on non-financial assets and $0.1 million of other operating income.

Jacobsen said Opera released the highlights because its reporting date is later than usual, giving management time to assess trends before finalizing fourth-quarter guidance. Full Q3 results are scheduled before the market opens on November 17, 2026.

Opera’s August 19, 2026 report had raised full-year 2026 guidance to $734 million to $742 million of revenue and $172 million to $175 million of adjusted EBITDA at a 24% margin. The November preview did not replace those ranges or provide a fourth-quarter range.

The November 17 report will supply the fuller quarterly picture, while the pending fourth-quarter guidance will show how management assesses Opera’s larger desktop audience and growth across advertising and query revenue against the full-year targets established in August.