Outbrain Inc. (OB): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Outbrain Inc. (OB) has been a pioneer in content discovery for years, but are you clear on how its massive $900 million acquisition of Teads in February 2025 fundamentally changed its entire business model? You need to understand this new scale, as the combined entity is now an omnichannel platform expected to pull in an estimated $1.45 billion in revenue for the full 2025 fiscal year, up significantly from prior-year performance. This new structure, where Altice Teads S.A. now holds approximately 47% of the company's common stock, positions it not just for native advertising, but as a dominant force in premium, full-funnel advertising across all screens, including Connected TV (CTV). We'll cut through the jargon to show you defintely how this new Teads-branded operation works, who owns the pieces, and what its core business model means for your investment decisions.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Outbrain Inc., the story of how a content recommendation pioneer evolved into a major force in the open internet advertising space, especially after its massive 2025 acquisition. Honestly, the company's trajectory is a classic case of a smart, early idea adapting to the shifting sands of digital advertising. The key takeaway is simple: Outbrain started as a content discovery engine in Israel and fundamentally changed its market position in 2025 by merging with Teads to create a full-funnel, omnichannel platform.

Outbrain Inc.'s Founding Timeline

Year established

Outbrain was founded in 2006, positioning itself early in the content recommendation market before it became a standard feature on publisher sites.

Original location

The company was initially established in Giv'atayim, Israel, but its current corporate headquarters is in New York City, New York, U.S.

Founding team members

The company was co-founded by Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav. Galai served as CEO for many years, and Lahav was the co-founder, Chief Technology Officer, and General Manager of Israel.

Initial capital/funding

The first capital injection was a $1 million Seed round in January 2007, led by GlenRock Israel. This was quickly followed by a $5 million Series A round in February 2008, with Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners participating.

Outbrain Inc.'s Evolution Milestones

Outbrain Inc.'s Transformative Moments

The company's history is marked by two major shifts: pioneering content discovery and the 2025 pivot to a full-funnel advertising platform. The initial innovation was moving beyond banner ads to native, personalized content recommendations. That was a game changer.

The most recent and profound shift is the acquisition of Teads in February 2025 for about $900 million, comprised of $625 million in cash and 43.75 million shares of common stock. This wasn't just another acquisition; it was a strategic overhaul to compete with the walled gardens (like Google and Meta).

• The combined company, now operating under the Teads brand, aims for at least $180 million in Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2025, reflecting synergy confidence.
• First Quarter 2025 revenue was $286.4 million, with Ex-TAC gross profit hitting $103.1 million, showing the immediate impact of the merger.
• The merger created one of the largest direct supply paths, reaching over 2 billion consumers across the open internet and Connected TV (CTV).
• The new focus is on a 'brandformance' strategy, combining Teads' high-margin video and branding expertise with Outbrain's performance solutions.

What this estimate hides is the one-time integration costs; for Q1 2025 alone, the company reported a net loss of $54.8 million due to acquisition-related and restructuring charges. Still, the long-term goal is clear: to be the scaled, independent alternative for advertisers seeking measurable outcomes. If you want to dive deeper into the strategic rationale, you can read their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Outbrain Inc. (OB).

Outbrain Inc. (OB) Ownership Structure

The ownership structure of Outbrain Inc. (OB) has undergone a defintely significant shift in 2025, transforming from a widely-held public company to one dominated by a single, strategic corporate shareholder following its acquisition of Teads in February 2025. The company, which officially changed its name to Teads Holding Co. and ticker to TEAD in June 2025, is now fundamentally controlled by the former owner of Teads, Altice Teads S.A., which holds a near-majority stake.

Given Company's Current Status

Outbrain Inc. (OB) operates as a publicly traded company, but its governance is now heavily influenced by a major corporate investor. It is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, though its ticker symbol officially transitioned from OB to TEAD in June 2025, marking the completion of the corporate rebranding following the $900 million acquisition of Teads. This merger created one of the largest omnichannel advertising platforms on the open internet, with a trailing 12-month revenue as of September 30, 2025, of approximately $1.18 billion for the combined entity. The key takeaway here is that while the stock trades publicly, the largest shareholder has a strategic seat at the table, which is a big change for public investors. For a deeper look at the financial implications of this merger, you should read Breaking Down Outbrain Inc. (OB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The acquisition of Teads in early 2025 fundamentally reshaped the shareholder base. Altice Teads S.A., the seller of Teads, received 43.75 million shares of common stock as part of the deal, establishing them as the dominant shareholder group. This concentration of ownership means that the strategic direction of the company is heavily influenced by a single entity, Altice Teads S.A., which also has the right to nominate two directors to the 10-member Board.

Given Company's Leadership

The leadership team is a blend of executives from both legacy companies, reflecting the post-merger integration strategy. This structure is designed to leverage the performance-based strength of Outbrain with the brand-focused, omnichannel expertise of Teads.

The top executives steering the combined company as of November 2025 include:

• David Kostman: Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Kostman, formerly Outbrain's CEO, became the sole CEO in 2024 and led the Teads merger.
• Yaron Galai: Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board.
• Jason Kiviat: Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
• Jeremy Arditi: Co-President, Chief Business Officer of the Americas (Former Teads CEO).
• Bertrand Quesada: Co-President, Chief Business Officer of International (Former Teads CEO).
• Asaf Porat: Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• Veronica Gonzalez: Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel.

The dual Co-President structure, bringing in the former Teads leadership, is a clear move to ensure a smooth integration and continued focus on the Teads brand's core strengths.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) Mission and Values

The core purpose of Outbrain Inc., following its strategic acquisition of Teads in February 2025, is to redefine the open internet by providing an omnichannel platform that drives measurable business outcomes for advertisers while ensuring a sustainable, high-quality experience for publishers and consumers.

Outbrain Inc.'s Core Purpose

The company's cultural DNA is rooted in supporting the open internet-the vast ecosystem outside of the major walled gardens (like Google and Meta)-by fostering an environment of trust, transparency, and high-quality engagement. This focus is what allows them to target a full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA of at least $180 million, a clear signal that their values translate directly into financial performance.

Official mission statement

The mission of the new Outbrain Inc. (operating as Teads) is explicitly focused on delivering lasting, elevated value to all three primary stakeholders in the digital advertising ecosystem.

• Invite marketers to expect better, measurable outcomes.
• Enable media owners to expect sustainable value and success.
• Ensure consumers expect elevated, non-disruptive experiences.

Honestly, this mission is a powerful commitment to the entire ecosystem, not just a promise to shareholders. It's what differentiates the open internet from closed platforms.

Vision statement

The vision is to be the definitive, end-to-end platform for the open internet, extending its reach and capabilities across all media types. The company is now one of the largest platforms, reaching 2.2 billion consumers and partnering directly with over 10,000 media environments globally.

• Create the open internet advertising platform for elevated outcomes.
• Empower advertisers to connect with high-value audiences across every screen, including CTV (Connected TV) and mobile.
• Lead the way in shaping the future of Open Internet advertising through AI and scale.

Here's the quick math: in Q1 2025, the combined company achieved an Ex-TAC gross profit of $103.1 million, showing the immediate success of this vision in action. For a deeper dive into the numbers, you should check out Breaking Down Outbrain Inc. (OB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Outbrain Inc. slogan/tagline

The company's messaging highlights its dual focus on measurable results and premium delivery, which is exactly what a trend-aware realist demands in today's market.

• Driving Performance, Elevating Outcomes.
• The omnichannel outcomes platform for the open internet.

The core values that underpin this mission are critical; they include transparency and trust, which are defintely non-negotiable for premium publishers. Plus, the platform's AI engine processes over one billion predictions each minute, proving their commitment to data-driven results and agility.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) How It Works

Outbrain Inc. (OB) operates as an omnichannel outcomes platform, following its February 2025 acquisition of Teads, connecting premium digital publishers with advertisers through a sophisticated, AI-driven recommendation engine. This platform delivers personalized content and native advertising across the open internet, driving full-funnel results from brand awareness to direct performance for marketers.

Outbrain Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

The core offerings, especially post-merger, focus on leveraging proprietary AI to optimize ad delivery and publisher monetization across various digital formats.

Outbrain Inc.'s Operational Framework

The operational process is a two-sided marketplace driven by proprietary technology, ensuring both publishers and advertisers see a strong return on investment (ROI). It's a simple loop, but the tech behind it is defintely complex.

• Publisher Integration: Premium media owners integrate Outbrain's recommendation widgets (Smartfeed) into their websites and apps, providing a stream of content and ads.
• AI-Driven Matching: Proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms analyze user context, behavior, and content to serve the most relevant recommendations-both editorial links and paid advertisements-in real-time.
• Revenue Generation: Advertisers pay Outbrain Inc. on a cost-per-click (CPC) or other performance-based model. The company then shares a significant portion of this revenue with the publisher, typically around 75% of the ad revenue generated from the publisher's site.
• Omnichannel Expansion: Following the Teads acquisition, the platform now extends beyond native advertising to include high-impact video and display formats, particularly in-article and CTV environments, broadening the inventory for advertisers.
• Financial Scale: Analyst consensus projects the company's full-year 2025 revenue to be approximately $1.45 billion, reflecting the combined scale.

Here's the quick math: The company's Q1 2025 revenue was $286.4 million, showing a 32% increase year-over-year, largely due to the merger. You can learn more about who is investing in this growth by Exploring Outbrain Inc. (OB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Outbrain Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

The company maintains its market position by capitalizing on a few core strengths, especially the new scale and technology gained from the merger, which helps map near-term risks to clear actions.

• Premium Publisher Network: Outbrain Inc. holds long-term, often exclusive, partnerships with thousands of premium digital media owners globally, providing advertisers with a high-quality, brand-safe environment that many competitors can't match.
• Proprietary AI and Data: Decades of investment in recommendation algorithms and a massive, unique dataset allow for superior content and ad personalization, optimizing for user engagement and advertiser performance. This is the engine.
• Omnichannel Scale: The merger with Teads created a scaled platform that can offer full-funnel advertising solutions, from native content discovery to in-stream video and CTV, giving it a stronger competitive footing against larger ad tech players.
• Cost Synergy Realization: The company is focused on operational efficiency post-merger, expecting to realize a benefit from cost synergies of approximately $40 million in 2025, which directly supports profitability.
• Focus on Profitability: Management is guiding for full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of at least $180 million, demonstrating a clear action plan to drive better financial returns from the combined entity.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) How It Makes Money

Outbrain Inc., now operating under the Teads brand following the February 2025 acquisition of Teads, generates its revenue by operating a global, omnichannel digital advertising platform. The company essentially acts as a middleman, connecting advertisers who want to reach a target audience with premium publishers who have ad space on their websites and connected TV (CTV) properties.

It makes money by selling ad inventory through a programmatic auction system, primarily on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-mille (CPM) basis, and then retaining a portion of the advertiser's spend after paying the publisher their share (Traffic Acquisition Costs, or TAC). The combined entity's strategy is a 'brandformance' approach, merging Teads' high-margin brand-building video and CTV solutions with Outbrain's performance-driven native advertising.

Given Company's Revenue Breakdown

The company's revenue structure is in a period of transition as it integrates the higher-margin, video-centric Teads business. While the legacy native advertising business still drives the majority of total revenue, the high-growth Connected TV segment is the key driver of margin expansion.

Here's the quick math: The core revenue stream is the legacy business, primarily native content recommendations and display ads on the open web, which accounts for the lion's share, roughly 95% of total ad spend in Q1 2025. This segment is facing headwinds, as evidenced by management reporting a 10-15% pageview decline across its publisher network in Q3 2025, largely due to the rise of AI-powered search summaries. But, the Connected TV (CTV) segment is the engine for future, higher-margin growth, experiencing over 100% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2025, though it only represented about 5% of total ad spend at that time. You need to watch that 5% number; it has to grow for the new strategy to pay off.

Business Economics

The core economic model is defined by the take rate-the percentage of advertiser spend the company keeps after paying the publisher. This is measured by Ex-Traffic Acquisition Cost (Ex-TAC) Gross Profit, which is a much cleaner view of the business health than raw revenue.

• Pricing Model: The primary model is a programmatic auction based on a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) model for performance campaigns, with typical costs ranging from $0.03 to $0.30 per click, and a Cost-Per-Mille (CPM) model for brand-focused video and CTV inventory.
• Take Rate (Ex-TAC Margin): The Ex-TAC Gross Margin (Ex-TAC Gross Profit as a percentage of revenue) is the most critical metric, showing the margin after paying publishers. This margin has expanded significantly post-merger, rising from 24.0% in Q1 2024 to 36.0% in Q1 2025 and hitting 42.0% in Q2 2025, reflecting the higher-margin profile of the acquired Teads business.
• Customer Concentration: The platform works with approximately 500 advertisers who spend at least half a million dollars annually, and this group represents about 70% of total customer spend, with an average spend of over $2 million per advertiser. This is a solid base of large, enterprise clients.
• Synergy Targets: The company is focused on realizing synergies from the Teads acquisition, expecting at least $40 million in total synergies in 2025 and between $65 million and $75 million in 2026. This is defintely a key factor in improving net income.

For a deeper dive into the company's long-term strategic direction, you can review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Outbrain Inc. (OB).

Given Company's Financial Performance

The company's 2025 financial performance is characterized by significant growth in top-line revenue and key profitability metrics due to the merger, but also by substantial one-time costs associated with the integration.

• Revenue (Q1-Q3 2025): Quarterly revenue has shown strong scale, reporting $286.4 million in Q1 2025, $343.1 million in Q2 2025, and $318.8 million in Q3 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA (Q1-Q3 2025): This non-GAAP metric, which strips out the large, non-cash and one-time costs, shows a strong trajectory toward profitability, rising from $10.7 million in Q1 2025 to $27.0 million in Q2 2025.
• Full Year 2025 Profitability Outlook: Management is guiding for full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of at least $180 million, demonstrating confidence in the combined entity's operating leverage and synergy realization.
• Net Loss: Despite the strong Adjusted EBITDA, the company reported a significant Net Loss of $54.8 million in Q1 2025, primarily driven by one-time acquisition-related costs, restructuring charges, and bridge facility costs.
• Debt Profile: As of Q1 2025, the company had a Net Debt balance of approximately $471 million, which includes the $627.0 million in total debt obligations, largely from the 10% senior secured notes issued to finance the Teads acquisition.

What this estimate hides is the true cost of the merger-the net loss is a clear indicator of the short-term financial strain from integration, even as the core operational profitability (Adjusted EBITDA) improves.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) Market Position & Future Outlook

Outbrain Inc., operating under the new Teads brand following its February 2025 acquisition of Teads, is repositioning itself as a leader in the open-web 'brandformance' space, blending brand-building video with performance-driven native advertising. The company's strategic pivot focuses on higher-margin Connected TV (CTV) and video inventory, aiming to stabilize revenue and drive profitability, with full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA guidance of at least $180 million.

Competitive Landscape

The core content recommendation market remains highly concentrated, but the combined Outbrain/Teads entity now competes directly with large ad-tech platforms and walled gardens across a broader digital advertising spectrum. For context in the wider advertising market, Outbrain holds a share of approximately 4.70%, which underscores the challenge from major platforms.

Honestly, the closest competitor, Taboola, remains a formidable force, with Q3 2025 revenue of $496.8 million and a stated focus on AI-driven performance at scale. The combined Outbrain/Teads platform's strength now lies in its premium publisher network and its expanded video and CTV capabilities, a defintely necessary counter to the scale of the 'duopoly' (Google and Meta Platforms).

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's future trajectory hinges on successful integration and the ability to monetize its expanded video inventory effectively. Here's the quick map of near-term factors:

Industry Position

Outbrain's industry standing is undergoing a significant transformation, moving from a pure-play content recommendation platform to a full-stack open-web advertising solution. The acquisition of Teads, approved in Q1 2025, positions the new entity as a major independent alternative to the walled gardens, particularly for premium video and high-impact ad formats.

• Diversified Revenue: Revenue from supply beyond traditional feeds, a key indicator of diversification, was approximately 28% of total revenue in Q3 2024, showing a steady expansion of inventory.
• Profitability Focus: Despite a Q1 2025 net loss of $54.8 million due to acquisition and restructuring costs, the company maintains a focus on adjusted profitability, with Q1 Adjusted EBITDA at $10.7 million.
• Strategic Asset: The combined platform now offers a unique cross-screen solution, with over 10% of branding advertisers now active across both CTV and web platforms, validating the 'brandformance' strategy.

The company is betting its future on its ability to deliver measurable performance for brand advertisers on the open internet, leveraging its premium publisher relationships and new video technology, as outlined in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Outbrain Inc. (OB).