Riskified (RSKD) Q1 2026: Multi-Product Merchants Jump 50%, Expanding Platform Margins
Riskified’s first quarter marked a decisive shift toward platform breadth, with multi-product merchant adoption surging and new verticals accelerating gross profit growth. Strategic partnerships and product launches extended the company’s reach into emerging payment methods and geographies, while disciplined cost execution drove a 370% adjusted EBITDA increase. Raised full-year guidance and robust free cash flow reinforce Riskified’s positioning for profitable expansion as it broadens its role across the e-commerce risk lifecycle.
Summary
- Multi-Product Adoption Surges: Merchants using more than one Riskified product grew 50%, deepening platform stickiness and margins.
- ACH and Alternative Payments Scale: Expansion into ACH and non-card flows accelerated data advantage and addressable market.
- Platform Leverage Drives Guidance Raise: Cost discipline and diversified growth led to a guidance bump and strong free cash flow outlook.
Business Overview
Riskified provides AI-powered fraud prevention and risk management solutions for global e-commerce merchants. The company earns revenue primarily through transaction-based fees and guarantee models, spanning core chargeback protection, policy abuse mitigation, and a growing set of non-payment fraud products. Major segments include tickets and travel, money transfer and payments, and fashion and luxury, with expansion into ACH, identity intelligence, and platform integrations.
Performance Analysis
Riskified delivered broad-based growth in Q1 2026, with revenue up 7% and gross profit up 13% year-over-year, driven by continued merchant wins, upsells, and the onboarding of new verticals. The company’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) rose 9% to $37.2 billion, reflecting healthy transaction growth across core and emerging segments. Billings outpaced revenue, growing 11%, a gap attributed to timing differences under the company’s guarantee accounting framework, which management expects to normalize over the year.
Segment performance was led by tickets and travel (up 18%) and money transfer and payments (up 30%), with both categories benefiting from upsell momentum and new use case adoption. The U.S. returned to double-digit growth, while international regions, including APAC and EMEA, posted 11% to 15% gains. Notably, tickets and live events reversed previous declines, becoming a positive contributor again. The fashion and luxury segment lagged due to tough prior-year comps but is expected to recover as the year progresses.
- Multi-Product Merchants Now Drive 30%+ of Revenue: Accounts using more than one product expanded sharply, boosting retention and incremental gross profit.
- ACH Fraud Intelligence Gains Traction: Three of the top ten deals were ACH-related, including the largest new logo, deepening data and model advantages.
- Operating Leverage Evident: Non-GAAP operating expenses fell to 45% of revenue, supporting a 370% jump in adjusted EBITDA and a narrower net loss.
Free cash flow reached $9 million for the quarter, and share repurchases reduced outstanding shares by 3%, underscoring disciplined capital allocation. The company ended Q1 with $276 million in cash and no debt, providing ample strategic flexibility.
Executive Commentary
"Our pipeline grew substantially year-over-year, with the U.S. being the largest contributor, alongside continued momentum in international markets such as Japan and Latam... Our competitive win rates in the first quarter remained above 75%, a testament to the strength and differentiation of our platform."
Ido Gall, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
"Billings growth in the first quarter was growth-based across nearly all of our categories, led by tickets and travel and money transfer and payments... We believe that our strong balance sheet and liquidity position are strategic assets that provide us with the flexibility to navigate a range of operating environments."
Agi Gocheva, Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Positioning
1. Platform Expansion Beyond Card Payments
Riskified’s investment in ACH-specific fraud models and features is paying off, with ACH-related deals now a material contributor to gross profit. The company’s ability to secure transactions across a spectrum of payment methods—ACH, digital wallets, stablecoins, and cards—positions it as a consolidated risk vendor for merchants facing a fragmented payments landscape.
2. Multi-Product Penetration and Margin Enhancement
Merchants adopting multiple Riskified products increased 50% year-over-year, now accounting for over 30% of revenue. These relationships deliver higher retention and stronger incremental margins, validating the company’s cross-sell strategy and supporting long-term profitability.
3. Data Graph and AI Differentiation
The launch of Riskified’s standalone identity data product and ARIA AI risk analyst leverages a proprietary graph database of hundreds of millions of identities. This enables new monetization streams (e.g., embedded risk scoring in service consoles) and cements Riskified as a critical intelligence layer across the e-commerce customer journey.
4. Channel and Partnership Acceleration
Distribution partnerships with Shopify (Dispute Resolve) and Radial, plus deeper integration with Amadeus’s Outpace, are broadening Riskified’s reach into new merchant ecosystems. These moves lower adoption friction and embed the platform deeper into merchant workflows globally.
5. Disciplined Cost Structure and Capital Allocation
Operating expense leverage and continued share buybacks signal a commitment to shareholder returns. The company’s zero-debt, cash-rich balance sheet supports ongoing investment and opportunistic capital deployment.
Key Considerations
This quarter marks a turning point in Riskified’s evolution from a single-product fraud vendor to a horizontal risk intelligence platform. The company’s ability to cross-sell, expand into new payment flows, and embed its data assets into merchant operations creates multiple vectors for durable growth and margin expansion.
Key Considerations:
- Multi-Product Adoption Drives Stickiness: Accounts using more than one product are more profitable and less likely to churn, supporting long-term revenue stability.
- ACH and Alternative Payment Penetration Expands TAM: Success in non-card flows opens new addressable markets and strengthens Riskified’s competitive moat.
- AI and Data Graph Monetization Potential: Early-stage identity and ARIA launches could unlock new revenue streams beyond core chargeback protection.
- Regional Growth Resilience: Balanced growth across the U.S., EMEA, APAC, and Latam mitigates concentration risk and signals global market share gains.
- Expense Discipline Fuels Profitability: Declining opex as a percent of revenue and ongoing buybacks enhance shareholder value.
Risks
Macro volatility, merchant retention, and the pace of new product ramp-up remain key watchpoints. The company’s exposure to large merchants and cyclical verticals (e.g., fashion, travel) could pressure revenue if economic conditions soften or competitive intensity rises. Execution risk around new product monetization and integration, as well as potential regulatory shifts in payments and data privacy, also warrant close monitoring.
Forward Outlook
For Q2 2026, Riskified guided to:
- Revenue and gross profit growth consistent with Q1’s performance, with billings and revenue growth converging as the year progresses.
- Operating expenses of approximately $43 million for Q2, with $42 million to $43 million per quarter in the second half.
For full-year 2026, management raised the low end of guidance:
- Revenue between $376 million and $384 million (midpoint $380 million).
- Adjusted EBITDA between $28 million and $34 million (midpoint $31 million).
Management emphasized that timing of new merchant go-lives, upsell success, and macro trends will drive range outcomes. Free cash flow is expected to reach $40 million for the year.
- Tickets and travel, money transfer and payments, and fashion and luxury to comprise roughly 75% of billings.
- Fashion and luxury expected to return to growth as comparables ease.
Takeaways
Riskified’s Q1 results underscore a business gaining platform leverage and expanding its strategic relevance across the digital commerce risk stack.
- Platform Expansion is Working: Multi-product adoption and new payment flows are translating to higher margins and deeper merchant relationships, validating the company’s cross-sell strategy.
- Execution and Cost Control Stand Out: Revenue and gross profit outperformance, combined with expense discipline, are driving operating leverage and supporting a guidance raise.
- Watch for Product Monetization and Upsell: As identity data and AI products mature, their contribution to revenue and merchant stickiness will be critical for sustaining above-market growth.
Conclusion
Riskified’s platform evolution and disciplined execution are driving both growth and profitability, with multi-product adoption and new payment flows emerging as durable growth engines. The company’s strong cash position and guidance raise reinforce confidence in its ability to scale as a core risk partner for global e-commerce merchants.
Industry Read-Through
Riskified’s results signal a broader industry shift toward integrated risk management platforms that address the full spectrum of digital fraud and abuse, not just chargebacks. Rising demand for ACH and alternative payment protection points to increasing complexity in e-commerce payments, creating new opportunities for vendors able to secure multiple transaction types. The traction of AI-driven identity and risk intelligence products suggests that embedding data and analytics deeper into merchant workflows is likely to become a key differentiator industry-wide. Competitors and ecosystem partners should expect continued convergence of fraud, identity, and customer experience solutions, with cross-sell and platform breadth emerging as critical levers for growth and retention.