Software: 2Q26 SaaS Earnings Roundup: Zeta & Freshworks

Research evidence excerpt

M

Update

August 5, 2026 04:01 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Software | North America

Elizabeth Porter, CFA

Equity Analyst

2Q26 SaaS Earnings Roundup:

Zeta & Freshworks

What’s Changed

Zeta Global Holdings Corp (ZETA.N)

From

To

Price Target

$23.00

$25.00

Kathleen A Keyser

Research Associate

Software

North America

Industry View

Attractive

At ZETA, broad-based momentum across channel & use case

expansion, early Athena utilization, & scaling pipeline create path

for durable est revisions ahead. FRSH outperformance skewed

to cost discipline in Q2 while patience required topline

improvement from 2H weighted enterprise deals.

Key Takeaways

ZETA: Solid results with Q2 upside (~5% rev beat), and FY26 guidance raise (+180

bps at midpoint) supported by broad-based momentum …

… see multiple catalysts coming together to sustain growth throughout FY26,

with particular focus on Athena's ability to expand use cases & drive wallet share

FRSH: A skinnier topline beat (1.6%) offset by more meaningful margin upside

highlight a more balanced Q2 performance and FY outlook…

…and while AI-related product traction is encouraging (70% attach in deals >

$30K), need structural topline acceleration and NDR improvement to get more

positive

Zeta Global: Broad-Based Strength Drives Another Solid Quarter. Zeta delivered

another strong quarter, with: 1) a 5.2% revenue beat, as Q2 revenue grew +44% YoY

(+28% excluding M&A, stable from +29% in Q1); 2) a 6.3% EBITDA beat, as margins

expanded 170bps YoY to 20.7%; and 3) a $33M increase to FY26 revenue guidance

at the midpoint, raising the full-year outlook by more than the quarterly revenue

beat (~$23M) while maintaining management's typical 2-5% guidance conservatism

in 2H. Momentum remained broad-based across the business, led by accelerating

Athena adoption and continued expansion of the company's AI platform. In

particular, management noted that >40% of super-scaled customers are already

monthly active Athena users (launched only 130 days ago), while total cross-sell/

upsell activity grew 43%, reflecting the success of One Zeta and early Marigold

integration benefits. Pipeline also grew >60% YoY, and super-scaled ARPU increased

…