$CLBT Q1 2026 earnings: Solid ARR Growth and Strategic Expansion Unlocks 2026 Momentum
Cellebrite delivered a solid Q1, matching its 'prudent' guidance philosophy with 21% YoY ARR growth and robust 32% TTM Free Cash Flow margins. The strategic pieces for a massive 2026 are falling into place: the US Department of Justice-sponsored FedRAMP High Authorization was achieved, unlocking pent-up federal budgets, and the SCG Canada drone acquisition closed. However, profitability took a sequential step back, with Adjusted EBITDA margins dipping to 23.9% (from near 30% in late 2025). The Q2 guidance signals ARR growth acceleration, but implies continued near-term margin compression before a heavily weighted second half.
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๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฌ๐
โข ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ โ The DOJ officially sponsored Cellebrite Government Cloud for FedRAMP High. This removes a major procurement roadblock and paves the way to tap into previously delayed U. S. Federal spending.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ โ Total ARR grew 21% YoY in Q1, and Q2 guidance projects 22-23% YoY growth. This proves the core demand environment remains highly resilient despite earlier federal lumpiness.
๐ป ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐
โข ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ Adjusted EBITDA margins reversed from nearly 30% in H2 2025 down to 23.9% in Q1. Q2 guidance implies further sequential compression to 22.5% at the midpoint, reflecting acquisition integration costs and FX headwinds.
โข ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ The recurring revenue dollar-based net retention rate decelerated to 115%, down from 116% in 25Q4 and 121% a year ago, suggesting upsell velocity may be slowing slightly.
โ๏ธ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐๐ญ: ๐ข
Bullish. The top-line momentum (ARR) is accelerating, and the federal spending floodgates are primed to open with FedRAMP High status. The margin dip appears to be a mix of typical H1 seasonality and M&A integration, rather than a structural flaw.
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๐ข๐ข ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ค๐๐ [NEW]
The long-awaited FedRAMP High Authorization was achieved with the U. S. Department of Justice acting as the authorizing agency. This milestone confirms that Cellebrite Government Cloud meets the most stringent federal security requirements. After a choppy 2025 federal spending environment, this authorization serves as the primary mechanism to unlock petabytes of data opportunity across government-wide adoptions.
๐ข ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ [NEW]
Innovation is accelerating with the introduction of 'Cellebrite Genesis,' a purpose-built agentic AI product. It uses conversation-like experiences to analyze mobile extractions, call records, and multimedia. This transforms raw data into actionable insights for complex cases (human trafficking, narcotics). If successfully monetized, this creates an entirely new upsell vector within the existing software stack.
๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐
๐จ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฌ
The acquisition of SCG Canada officially closed on March 1, 2026. This expands Cellebrite's reach into UAVs (drones)โan emerging category seeing robust global growth. SCG provides rapid extraction from over 80 common UAVs at the point of collection, giving law enforcement and defense intelligence a critical new data source.
๐ด ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐
Despite top-line strength, Adjusted EBITDA margins are decelerating significantly compared to the back half of 2025. After peaking at 29.9% in 25Q3 and 29.8% in 25Q4, margins fell to 23.9% in 26Q1 and are guided down to 22.5% in 26Q2. Management previously cited the absorption of Corellium and FX headwinds, but this places immense execution pressure on the second half of 2026 to hit the 26-27% full-year margin target.
๐ด ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก
A notable divergence is occurring between forward-looking ARR and recognized revenue. While Q2 ARR guidance implies an accelerating 22.5% YoY growth, total revenue guidance implies decelerating 16% YoY growth. This transition dynamics, typical of SaaS shifts, requires monitoring as the mix heavily tilts away from upfront term licenses.
โช ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฌ
Beyond defense and intelligence, Corellium (acquired late 2025) is gaining traction with automotive manufacturers. By virtualizing Arm-based systems at the hardware level, automotive software teams can recreate and test vehicle environments (infotainment, autonomous driving) in the cloud. This provides Cellebrite with a rare enterprise foothold outside of traditional public safety.
๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฌ
๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ ๐
๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐
๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ (๐๐๐๐): $158.6 million
Stable. The TTM FCF margin sits at a highly lucrative 32.0%. Q1 operating cash flow was $19.9M, funding $3.0M in CapEx to yield $16.8M in quarterly free cash flow. This liquidity fully supports the company's aggressive M&A playbook without requiring external financing.
๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ซ-๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐ (๐๐๐): 115%
Decelerating. Down from 116% in 25Q4 and 121% in 25Q1. While 115% remains healthy for public sector software, the gradual sequential slide highlights the necessity of new product launches (like Guardian Investigate and Genesis AI) to stimulate deeper cross-selling and upsells within the existing base.
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ (๐๐๐): $510 - $513 million
Accelerating. The midpoint of $511.5M represents 22.5% YoY growth, an acceleration from Q1's 21%. Management notes that this reflects sequential stability as they gear up to monetize the influx of newly launched products.
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐: $130 - $133 million
Decelerating. The midpoint of $131.5M implies approximately 16% YoY growth, stepping down from the 19% YoY growth delivered in Q1. The lag between ARR growth and revenue growth reflects the ongoing mix shift toward ratable SaaS contracts.
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐: $29 - $31 million (22-23% margin)
Decelerating. Margins are guided lower sequentially from Q1's 23.9%. This reflects upfront investments in go-to-market for the Spring release cycle and the integration costs of SCG Canada.
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๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ (๐๐๐): $567 - $573 million
Stable. The full-year outlook is maintained, implying 18-19% YoY growth. With Q1 outperforming and Q2 accelerating, this full-year guide currently looks highly conservative.
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๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐: $149 - $155 million (26-27% margin)
Reversing. Because H1 2026 margins are hovering in the 22-24% range, achieving the full-year target of 26-27% requires a massive profitability ramp in the second half of the year, echoing typical seasonal patterns where ~60% of EBITDA is generated in H2.
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๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐
With Q1 Adjusted EBITDA margins at 23.9% and Q2 guided to 22.5%, achieving the full-year 26-27% target requires significant H2 leverage. What specific catalysts or expense roll-offs give you confidence in that back-half profitability ramp?
๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Cellebrite Genesis is currently in beta testing. Does the maintained 2026 guidance framework continue to assume zero revenue contribution from these new AI features, and when do you expect them to become a material driver of NRR?
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๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐
Now that FedRAMP High Authorization is secured, how long is the typical sales cycle to convert this clearance into actual contracted ARR from federal agencies?