Cardlytics, Inc.

What the company does

• Operates a commerce media platform consisting of:
  • Cardlytics Platform (financial media network): uses anonymized purchase data from financial institution (FI) partners to deliver targeted advertising within partners’ digital channels (online banking and mobile apps) and to measure actual purchase impact with closed-loop attribution. The platform includes an Ad Server and Ads Manager for campaign creation, management, and publishing, with data flows that remain within FI partners’ environments or on Cardlytics’ systems behind partners’ firewalls.
  • Bridg Platform (merchant data platform): an enterprise customer data platform built on point-of-sale (POS) data from merchant partners to support marketing analytics, targeted loyalty marketing, and measurement. In 2023, Bridg launched Rippl, a regional retail media product for grocers, brands, and consumer packaged goods companies.
• Revenue model: sells advertising and measurement services to marketers. Costs include Consumer Incentives paid to customers and a Partner Share paid to FI and data partners.
• Corporate action: plans to sell substantially all Bridg assets to an affiliate of PAR Technology Corporation; the transaction was announced in January 2026.

Platform details

• Cardlytics Platform
  • Operates in the U.S. and U.K.
  • Uses FI-partner channels (digital banking environments) to present relevant offers and track activity.
  • Measures performance based on actual in-store and online purchases rather than probabilistic models.
  • FI partners provide anonymized purchase data; Cardlytics does not receive personal data from FI partners.
  • Ad Server interfaces with FI partners’ systems to receive anonymized purchase data, assign a unique consumer ID, and aggregate engagement metrics (impressions, activations).
• Bridg Platform
  • Uses merchant POS data to build anonymized profiles with product-level purchase history and customer attributes.
  • Supports analytics, targeted loyalty marketing, and marketing impact measurement.
• Data and analytics
  • Maintains large data assets and advanced analytics to predict future spend and optimize campaign performance.
  • Capabilities include identifying share of wallet, cross-category insights, and attribution across in-store and online channels.

Data sources and privacy

• Purchase data from FI partners is anonymized; no personal data leaves FI partners’ environments.
• Bridg uses merchant POS data with anonymized identifiers and emphasizes privacy protections and regulatory compliance.
• The company follows privacy-by-design principles and adheres to applicable privacy laws and industry standards.

Customers and partners

• FI partners have included Chase (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), Wells Fargo, and American Express. Bank of America provided non-renewal notice in April 2025 and the relationship ended by February 16, 2026.
• Marketers and agencies across industries (everyday spend, retail, restaurant, travel, entertainment) use the platform.
• Top-FI concentration: in 2025, the top three FI partners accounted for over 80% of the Partner Share paid.
• Top-marketer concentration: in 2025, the top five marketers represented 20% of revenue and 30% of accounts receivable at year-end 2025.

Financial highlights (2025)

• Revenue: $233.3 million (2025); $278.3 million (2024), down 16.2% year over year.
• Billings: $385.0 million (2025); $443.8 million (2024), down 13.3% year over year.
• Net income (loss): net loss of $103.5 million (2025); net loss of $189.3 million (2024).
• Accumulated deficit: approximately $1.4 billion as of December 31, 2025.
• The majority of revenue and billings historically come from the Cardlytics platform; the Bridg platform has been subject to a sale process.

Workforce and operations

• Employees: 275 full-time employees as of December 31, 2025 (29 in delivery, 105 in sales & marketing, 95 in R&D, 46 in G&A).
• Global footprint: headquarters in Atlanta, GA; offices in Los Angeles, CA; Champaign, IL; London, U.K.; and Taipei, Taiwan; remote work is also used.
• Data infrastructure: uses Amazon Web Services for data storage and processing.

Corporate governance, security, and risk management

• Bridg sale: entered into a definitive agreement in January 2026 to sell substantially all Bridg assets to an affiliate of PAR Technology Corporation; closing conditions apply.
• Security and risk management: maintains a risk management program aligned with NIST CSF; the board and audit committee oversee cybersecurity risk. The company reports SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II certifications for certain environments. Incidents, privacy, and data protection are material risk areas.

Intellectual property and regulatory

• Holds patents and trademarks, including Cardlytics, Bridg, and Rippl; undertakes ongoing IP protection and potential licensing efforts.
• Subject to data privacy and security laws across the U.S., E.U., U.K., and other jurisdictions, including requirements related to cross-border data transfers, data localization, and AI compliance.
• Relies on third-party data providers for identifier matching and data enrichment, which creates exposure if a provider withdraws identifiers or access.

Other notes

• Many marketer contracts do not include material long-term commitments; several FI partner agreements are terminable on short notice (for example, 90 days).
• The company measures marketing impact using actual purchase data and operates network effects across marketers, FI partners, and merchants.
• The company’s stock has shown historical volatility; there is potential exposure to regulatory and security-related liabilities, as well as securities litigation or activism.