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Reddit CEO Steve Huffman hugs mascot Snoo as Reddit begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 21, 2024.

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Shares of Reddit popped 35% on Wednesday, one day after the social media company posted a surprise profit in its third-quarter results and offered rosy guidance.

Reddit’s revenue during the third quarter jumped 68% from a year earlier to $348.4 million, up from the $312.8 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

The company reported a net income of $29.9 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $7.4 million, or a 13-cent loss per share, during the same quarter a year ago. LSEG analysts were expecting a loss of 7 cents per share in Reddit’s third quarter.

Reddit said fourth-quarter revenue will be between $385 million and $400 million, above the average analyst estimate of $357.9 million. 

“It was another strong quarter for Reddit and our communities as we achieved important milestones, including new levels of user traffic, revenue growth, and profitability,” Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said in a press release.

Reddit’s daily active unique users increased 47% year over year to 97.2 million during its third quarter, and analysts at Citi said Wednesday that this user growth underscored the company’s “impressive” results. The analysts reiterated their buy rating and raised their target price on the stock to $120 from $70.

Analysts at JP Morgan said they believe the company is benefiting from structural improvements as it executes across users, product and monetization. They said they’re encouraged by Reddit’s strong revenue growth, improved profitability and growing daily active unique users.

“We look for continued execution across advertiser scale, new ad formats/tech (Search, Conversation Ads, Shopping Ads), & progress toward [management’s] 40% L-T Adj. EBITDA margin target,” the analysts wrote in a Wednesday note.

Bernstein analysts got into the Halloween spirit Wednesday and compared Reddit’s performance in the third quarter to a “real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.” The analysts said the company felt like it was stuck and unable to grow prior to its IPO, but post-IPO, the company is blowing past expectations.

“Reddit looks like a company that’s suddenly an AI winner, growing ad revenues at an unprecedented clip, has a user growth cheat-code in translation + Google, and hitting years-long profitability targets in months — this Dr. Jekyll,” the analysts said in a note. “And right now, Dr. Jekyll is in charge.”

CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.

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The Street’s bad call on Palo Alto – plus, two portfolio stocks reach new highs

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The Street's bad call on Palo Alto – plus, two portfolio stocks reach new highs

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Govini founder Eric Gillespie released on $1 million bond with Pentagon probe ‘ongoing’

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Govini founder Eric Gillespie released on  million bond with Pentagon probe 'ongoing'

Mug shot of Eric Gillespie, Govini Founder and Chairman.

Courtesy: Pennsylvania Attorney General

Govini founder Eric Gillespie, who is charged with four felonies, including multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor, was released on bail.

Gillespie, who lives in Pittsburgh, posted a $1 million bond after his court appearance Thursday. He is not allowed to travel, and his passport has been revoked.

He was initially denied bail following his arrest on Nov. 7, with the judge citing flight risk and public safety concerns.

David Shrager of Shrager Defense Attorneys, who represents Gillespie, insisted that his client did not break any laws.

“Mr. Gillespie has never contacted a minor, either online or in person, and the facts clearly prove that,” Shrager said after the hearing on Thursday.

“Completely false statements, including the use of artificial intelligence between adults made in the context of an online fantasy chat, are not illegal,” he added.

Gillespie’s next court date is Dec. 18.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Gillespie sent lewd photos to an agent posing as a father offering his daughter to be abused, and made graphic comments about sexual acts with children.

Gillespie, 57, commented on the security of the encrypted platforms being used in the chats between him and the undercover agent, according to a criminal complaint obtained by CNBC.

Gillespie is the founder of defense contractor Govini.

He was listed on the company’s website on the leadership page as a board member as recently as Aug. 17, according to an archived version of the page available on the Wayback Machine.

The company terminated Gillespie on Nov. 12.

Earlier this year, Govini landed a nearly $1 billion contract with the Department of Defense. The company’s suite of artificial intelligence-enabled applications is used by every department of the U.S. military and other federal agencies.

Following his arrest, Pentagon officials said they were looking into Gillespie and possible security issues.

CNBC has repeatedly asked the Department of Defense about updates on the status of the probe and potential security concerns with Govini or Gillespie.

“We don’t comment on ongoing investigations,” a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday.

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Tech stocks set for big losing week as AI names get rocked after Nvidia earnings

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Tech stocks set for big losing week as AI names get rocked after Nvidia earnings

Jensen Huang, NVIDIA founder and CEO, has a Q&A session at a press conference during the APEC CEO summit on October 31, 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea.

Woohae Cho | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang couldn’t save the tech and artificial intelligence trade this week.

The chip giant’s talismanic leader trumpeted “off the charts” chip sales and dismissed talk of an “AI bubble,” and for a while, the tide lifted all boats.

“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble,” Huang said during an earnings call this week. “From our vantage point, we see something very different.”

The buzz from the blowout report quickly reversed, sending the AI winners deeply into the red — and few beneficiaries were left unscathed.

Every member of the Magnificent 7, except for Alphabet, was tracking for a losing week, with Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft staring down the biggest losses.

Amazon and Microsoft have led the group’s drop lower, falling about 6% this week. Meanwhile, Alphabet has gained nearly 8%. The search giant is also the only megacap of the group on pace for November gains thanks to a boost from the launch of Gemini 3.

Oracle, which is another major Nvidia customer, slumped about 10%. The chipmaker also supplies major model developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

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Chip stocks have also declined amid the broader tech market turmoil. Advanced Micro Devices and Micron were on pace for 17% losses. Marvell Technology has slumped about 10%. Quantum computing stocks Rigetti, IonQ and D-Wave have dropped at least 10%

CoreWeave, which buys and rents out Nvidia’s chips in data centers, initially soared on the chipmaker’s earnings report, but swiftly reversed course. The company’s stock is looking at an 8% blow this week.

AI fever was cooling in the runup to Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday, and investors looked to the print to alleviate fears that the AI bubble was on shaky ground. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, the stock has helped power the market to new all-time highs.

But concerns have mounted in recent weeks as tech stocks hit stretched valuations.

Major investors, including Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio told CNBC Thursday that the market is definitely in a bubble.

Much of the worries have stemmed from a boom in capital expenditures spending to support AI, with few signs of a payoff in view for many of the players.

Investor Michael Burry recently accused some of the biggest cloud and infrastructure providers of understating depreciation expenses and estimating a longer life cycle for their chips, calling it “one of the more common frauds of the modern era.”

Earlier this month, Burry revealed bets against Nvidia and Palantir.

Shares of the software analytics company, which supplies AI tools to the government and businesses, are down 11% this week. The stock has shed nearly a quarter of its value this month.

WATCH: Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio: We are definitely in a bubble, but that doesn’t mean you should sell

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio: We are definitely in a bubble, but that doesn't mean you should sell

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