Opera Beats Expectations, Announces Buyback
Web browser developer Opera reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results that exceeded expectations. Q4 revenue grew 22% year-over-year to $177.2 million. In conjunction with the results, the company announced a new $300 million share repurchase program.
- A significant portion of Opera's revenue growth is driven by advertising, which saw a 44% increase in Q2 2025, complemented by an 11% rise in search revenue. - The company is making a strategic push into gaming with its Opera GX browser, which has surpassed 25 million monthly active users by offering features like CPU and RAM limiters for gamers. - Opera is expanding into financial technology with its Dify cashback and digital wallet service in Europe and MiniPay, a stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain that has grown to over 10.5 million wallets. - While a smaller player with 2.4% of the global browser market, Opera has found a strong foothold in specific regions like Africa and Southeast Asia, partnering with smaller OEMs to become the default browser on 12 million devices in 2025. - The company has been integrating artificial intelligence into its products, such as the "Aria" AI assistant, to drive user engagement and introduce potential premium subscription opportunities. - Opera holds a 9.4% minority stake in the mobile payment fintech company OPay, which is focused on emerging markets like Nigeria and Egypt. - Prior to this new program, Opera had already returned approximately $500 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks since 2020. - As of February 2026, the consensus rating from Wall Street analysts for Opera's stock was a "Moderate Buy," with an average 12-month price target of $22.75.
