New York, Feb 22, 2026, 11:46 EST — Market closed.
- AppLovin shares last closed up 1.6% on Friday. (Applovin)
- The SEC told Bloomberg an investigation involving AppLovin is “still active and ongoing,” Reuters reported. (Reuters)
- Traders head into Monday watching for fresh regulatory headlines and a week of heavyweight tech earnings. (Investopedia)
AppLovin shares head into Monday’s reopening with a fresh regulatory overhang after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signaled an investigation involving the mobile advertising company remains “still active and ongoing,” Reuters reported, citing Bloomberg. (Reuters)
Why it matters now: AppLovin has traded like a high-beta momentum name, and regulatory noise tends to hit those first. Even without formal accusations, an active probe can slow deals, spook partners and keep a lid on valuation.
The timing also collides with renewed chatter about expansion beyond ads, after reports tied the company to early work on a social platform. That kind of pivot can excite some investors and unsettle others, depending on the price tag and the timeline. (Investors)
The stock last closed at $418.68 on Friday, up 1.62% on the day. It traded between $414.59 and $435.00, with about 8.67 million shares changing hands, according to the company’s investor relations quote page. (Applovin)
In the SEC matter, Bloomberg sought documents related to the inquiry, but the agency declined, saying disclosure could harm an ongoing enforcement investigation, according to the Reuters report. The SEC has not specified the scope of the probe and has not accused AppLovin or its executives of wrongdoing, Reuters said. (Reuters)
The reported inquiry traces back to allegations that AppLovin breached platform partners’ service agreements to enable more targeted advertising, and it stems from a whistleblower complaint and short-seller reports, Reuters reported. (Short sellers are investors who profit when a stock falls.) (Reuters)
Separately, AppLovin drew fresh attention after reports it is planning a social media platform, including a job posting for an engineer to help “architect the digital backbone” of a “next-generation social platform.” AppLovin executive Giovanni Ge discussed the approach on a Chinese-language podcast, the report said, framing it as an inversion of Meta’s model of building audience first and monetizing later. (Investors)
That move would put AppLovin closer to consumer-facing platforms at a time when regulators are already combing through data practices across advertising, apps and social media.
The broader tape was supportive into the weekend. U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs, with the S&P 500 up 0.69% and the Nasdaq up 0.90%, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
But there’s a clear downside case. If the SEC probe widens or turns into a formal enforcement action, AppLovin could face restrictions on products, new compliance costs, or reputational damage with publishers and advertisers — the kind of risk that can outlast a single headline.
For now, the next test is simple: how the stock trades when U.S. markets reopen on Monday, and whether AppLovin or the SEC adds anything on the record. Later in the week, investors also have Nvidia’s quarterly report on Wednesday as a bellwether for risk appetite in AI-linked tech. (Investopedia)
