Kaltura lifts 2026 outlook after $47.3 million Q3 revenue

By Tom Whitfield

$47.3 million in third-quarter revenue, up 8% year over year, was a company record for the third quarter. More than doubled sequential subscription bookings and AI-related transaction growth supported a third 2026 increase to full-year guidance.

What did the quarter show?

Revenue for the three months ended September 30 reached $47.3 million. Subscription revenue rose 9% to $45.9 million, and both measures topped the high end of company guidance.

Adjusted EBITDA of $6 million also exceeded the high end of guidance. The metric rose 45% year over year and produced a 13% margin. Kaltura still reported a GAAP net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, against a $2.6 million loss, or $0.02, a year earlier.

The quarter cleared management's own thresholds, but did not remove the accounting loss.

Did bookings strengthen?

New subscription bookings more than doubled from the prior quarter. Co-Founder and CEO Ron Yekutiel said the company recorded its strongest quarter for new subscription bookings since 2024.

Kaltura signed 11 transactions with total contract values of at least six figures, including three seven-figure agreements. The larger deals included expansions with existing customers and two new customer wins.

Those figures indicate stronger bookings, but Kaltura did not disclose a dollar value for new subscription bookings.

How much AI growth is standalone?

Kaltura signed 15 transactions that included at least one AI offering. Their combined total contract value reached approximately $3.8 million, compared with approximately $1 million in the second quarter.

Yekutiel cautioned: "Those amounts represent the full value of the transactions, not standalone AI product bookings." The disclosure therefore does not isolate revenue or bookings attributable to AI.

A substantial portion of the increase came from a seven-figure expansion with a U.S. university seeking to support digital accessibility requirements. Yekutiel said AI-powered workflow automation and metadata enrichment were key factors in the decision.

Of the 15 transactions, 12 were expansions or renewals with existing customers. Nine included Agentic Avatars or related capabilities, while eight included Content Lab; some customers adopted both.

The AI-linked deal value is rising, but 12 of 15 transactions were existing-customer expansions or renewals, and the values can include non-AI products.

Can the AI pipeline convert?

The AI-related sales pipeline contained approximately 500 opportunities. Roughly half had assigned potential commercial value, and those quantified opportunities represented about $24 million in unweighted potential annual contract value, up more than 40% sequentially.

Yekutiel said the pipeline figures may include other Kaltura products and should not be read as standalone AI revenue. He added: "Not all opportunities will close."

Kaltura had more than 80 AI-related proofs of concept active, planned or being scoped, compared with more than 60 in the prior quarter. Most remained in planning or scoping because large enterprises need time to address AI governance, security, privacy and legal requirements.

After quarter-end, the company announced a one-year partnership with Israel's Ministry of Education for an AI-based STEM learning pilot. The program covers about 2,000 students across 20 middle schools and was not included in third-quarter AI figures.

The pipeline offers scale, not booked certainty; conversion and deal mix remain the tests.

What does retention reveal?

Annualized recurring revenue reached $184.7 million, up 9% year over year. Net dollar retention improved to 97% from 96% in the second quarter, although it merely matched the third quarter of 2025.

Yekutiel said gross churn increased because of several legacy contracts across Kaltura and the acquired PathFactory customer base. He expects some churn pressure to continue in the fourth quarter, while management still expects full-year consolidated gross retention to improve from 2025.

Segment results were uneven. EE&T revenue rose 14% year over year to $36.9 million, while Media & Telecom revenue fell 10% to $10.3 million.

Kaltura generated $7.6 million of operating cash flow during the quarter and ended September with $41 million in cash, equivalents and marketable securities.

Net dollar retention improved only slightly, while churn and Media & Telecom weakness remained visible.

What does Kaltura sell?

Kaltura provides cloud-based video technology and software for creating, managing, distributing and analyzing video. Its platform serves businesses, educational institutions, media companies and other organizations using video for communications, collaboration, training, learning and audience engagement.

Offerings include video management and hosting, live and on-demand streaming, virtual events, webinars, video conferencing, virtual classrooms and interactive video experiences.

The product set is broad, while the disclosed AI deal mix remains concentrated in expansions and renewals.

What has management forecast?

For 2026, Kaltura expects:

• Total revenue: $185 million to $185.7 million.
• Subscription revenue: $179 million to $179.7 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $19.5 million to $20.5 million.

The adjusted EBITDA forecast exceeds the $18.6 million reported in 2025, despite investments in acquisition integration and new products.

For the fourth quarter, the company projects:

• Total revenue: $46.2 million to $46.9 million.
• Subscription revenue: $44.3 million to $45 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $2 million to $3 million.

Yekutiel said revenue from newer AI offerings remains at an early stage, but the company expects their contribution to become more meaningful in 2027. AI costs could put modest short-term pressure on gross margin, while the company maintains an expectation for margins to grow over the longer term.

Management's forecast requires revenue growth, better gross retention and margin progress; its pipeline offers potential, not commitment.