Allegations
According to the complaint, defendants provided investors with material information concerning AppLovin’s financial growth and stability. Defendants’ statements included, among other things, confidence in AppLovin’s launch of its AXON 2.0 digital ad platform and using “cutting-edge AI technologies” to more efficiently match advertisements to mobile games, in addition to expanding into web-based marketing and e-commerce. Moreover, defendants publicly reported impressive financial results, outlooks, and guidance to investors, all while using dishonest advertising practices.
The truth emerged on February 26, 2025, when analyst research reports emerged stating that AppLovin was reverse engineering and exploiting advertising data from Meta Platforms. The reports further alleged AppLovin was utilizing manipulative practices to artificially inflate their own ad click-through and app download rates, such as by having ads click on themselves or utilizing design gimmicks to trigger forced shadow downloads, erroneously inflating installation numbers and, in turn, its profit figures.
Following this news, the price of AppLovin’s stock declined from $377.06 per share on February 25, 2025 to $331.00 per share on February 26, 2025.