AppLovin (APP) Stock: Company Plans Its Own Social Network After Failed TikTok Bid

TLDR

• APP stock rose ~2% Thursday after AppLovin confirmed plans to build its own social networking platform.
• The announcement came via a podcast featuring Chief Product and Engineering Officer Giovanni Ge, backed by a live job posting.
• AppLovin failed to acquire TikTok’s non-Chinese assets last year and is now building its own platform instead.
• The move puts AppLovin in direct competition with Meta, Snap, and TikTok in the mobile ad and social space.
• APP is down ~40% in 2026 but holds a consensus Strong Buy from 20 analysts, with an average price target of $674.37.

AppLovin stock climbed around 2% Thursday after the company revealed it is developing its own social networking platform.

AppLovin Corporation, APP

The news came from a Chinese-language podcast featuring Giovanni Ge, AppLovin’s Chief Product and Engineering Officer. A job posting is already live, seeking someone to “architect the digital backbone of our next-generation social platform.”

AppLovin’s existing strength is in ad placement — it helps app developers acquire users and monetize their platforms. After selling off its game portfolio last year, advertising is now its core business.

Why AppLovin Wants Its Own Platform

Ge outlined the logic clearly. AppLovin already has the ad infrastructure that most companies spend years building. What it lacks is a direct pipeline to users and their data. Its own social platform would solve that.

Right now, AppLovin delivers ads inside third-party apps. A social network would give it first-party data and far more control over the mobile advertising ecosystem.

The move follows AppLovin’s failed bid to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations last year, when ByteDance faced pressure from the U.S. government to sell. That deal never came together, so AppLovin is building its own.

No launch date has been announced.

Competition Will Be Fierce

Entering the social media space means going head-to-head with Meta, TikTok, and Snap — all platforms with entrenched user bases and deep ad ecosystems.

It is not a small ask, but AppLovin’s existing ad technology gives it a foundation most newcomers do not have.

Where APP Stock Stands

Despite Thursday’s gain, APP is down roughly 40% in 2026. Short seller reports and investor concern over the company’s push into e-commerce advertising have been the main drag.

AppLovin’s market cap peaked at $248 billion in December 2025. It now sits closer to $140 billion.

Wall Street is still largely on board. APP holds a consensus Strong Buy from 20 analysts — 18 Buy ratings and 2 Holds issued over the past three months. The average price target of $674.37 implies upside of around 66.6% from current levels.

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