Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) moved its second-quarter earnings release from August 25 to August 19, focusing attention on whether another guidance increase is coming. First-quarter revenue rose 23% to $175.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 30% to $42.0 million. Both exceeded the company’s guidance, and the shares gained 5.3% following the report.
The financial momentum has been accompanied by faster adoption in valuable Western markets. Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) said combined MAUs for its Android and iOS browsers increased 66% year over year in the U.K. and 40% in the U.S. during the second quarter. Its built-in AI can search, answer questions, and generate content without requiring users to leave the browser.
The question is whether Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) is building a durable AI-browser franchise or simply finding better ways to monetize traffic through advertising and search partners.
Bull Case: User Growth Is Producing Better Economics
Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) entered the second quarter with encouraging operating leverage. Average monthly active users reached 288 million in the first quarter, up four million sequentially, while annualized revenue per user increased 25% year over year to $2.43. Adjusted EBITDA grew faster than revenue, and free cash flow from operations nearly tripled to $35.5 million.
Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) also raised its full-year outlook after exceeding first-quarter guidance. The company projected revenue of $727 million to $740 million and adjusted EBITDA of $170 million to $174 million. Its second-quarter forecast called for revenue growth of 23% to 25% and adjusted EBITDA of $40 million to $42 million, equivalent to a 23% margin at the midpoints.
The combination of higher-value users, rising monetization and stable margins suggests that Opera’s overall business is scaling. The second quarter will test whether AI-led engagement is contributing materially to that progress.
Bear Case: The Business Still Runs on Ads and Queries
The revenue model at Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) remains highly concentrated. Advertising generated $117.0 million in the first quarter, while query revenue contributed $58.3 million. Together, those businesses accounted for $175.3 million of the company’s $175.8 million in quarterly sales.
That leaves Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) exposed to advertising demand, search-partner economics and distribution decisions by operating-system and app-store providers. Its user gains must also be viewed against competition from Chrome, Safari, Edge and a growing field of AI-focused browsers. Built-in AI can attract downloads, but lasting value depends on retention, engagement and profitable searches.
Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) must show that user growth is strengthening its economics rather than increasing its dependence on the partners that distribute and monetize its traffic.
Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund Data
Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database shows that 14 hedge funds held positions in Opera Limited (NASDAQ:OPRA) at the end of the first quarter, compared with 19 funds at the end of the preceding quarter. These figures do not capture trades made after that date or investors’ reactions to the accelerated earnings schedule.
Conclusion
Opera has user growth, improving revenue per user, and cash generation to support another guidance increase. The unresolved question is how much of that momentum belongs to its AI products and how much still comes from favorable advertising and query economics.
Another increase would strengthen the growth narrative. A durable re-rating requires AI adoption to produce lasting engagement and better per-user economics without deepening dependence on distribution and search partners.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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