Zeta Global was upgraded to Overweight with a $22 price target ahead of its first-quarter report, driving a 2.1% premarket share gain. Analysts highlighted the company’s usage-based model as a direct lever for revenue growth tied to AI-driven campaign automation.

Athena, Zeta’s AI-powered marketing agent built on OpenAI and generally available since March 24, has prompted materially higher spending from early beta customers. The tool is positioned as an accelerant for larger recurring-revenue mix and increased average revenue per user.

Following the Marigold acquisition, recurring revenue is forecast to rise to roughly 60% of total revenue by 2025, up from 55% in 2023. Zeta’s proprietary identity graph, covering 245 million U.S. citizens, serves as a competitive moat by enriching customer first-party data for improved ad spend returns.

Approximately one-third of Zeta’s revenue flows through non-Zeta platforms, which carry lower gross margins and may cap free cash flow expansion. Free cash flow margins, excluding stock-based compensation, were negative 1% in 2025 but are expected to turn positive in 2026 as stock-based costs decline.