The RealReal Q3 2026 GMV Rises 23% as Adjusted EBITDA Margin Expands

The RealReal (NASDAQ: REAL) reported record third-quarter 2026 gross merchandise value and revenue as buyer growth accelerated and operating efficiencies lifted adjusted EBITDA margin. The luxury resale platform also issued fourth-quarter and full-year targets that call for continued growth and positive adjusted EBITDA.

GMV rose 23% year over year to $642 million, more than 40% higher on a two-year stacked basis. Revenue increased 19% to $206 million, with consignment revenue up 18% and direct revenue up 19%. Orders grew 15%, the company’s strongest order growth since 2022.

Trailing-12-month active buyers reached 1.152 million, up 13% from 1.024 million a year earlier. The company said Gen Z has been its fastest-growing buyer cohort, expanding by more than 60% over three years.

Margins expand as operating costs decline relative to revenue

Gross profit increased 20% to $154 million, while gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 74.9%. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $17.0 million from $9.3 million in the prior-year quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin reached 8.3%, up 290 basis points and above the high end of the company’s previous guidance.

Total operating expenses declined by approximately 440 basis points as a percentage of revenue, reflecting efficiencies in operations and technology and in selling, general and administrative costs. Operations and technology expenses fell to 27.3% of revenue from 29.7%, while SG&A declined to 38.1% from 40.7%. Those improvements were partly offset by growth investments, with marketing expense rising to 8.8% of revenue from 8.1%.

The RealReal highlighted automation and artificial intelligence as important contributors to its efficiency strategy. Its Athena system remains on track to process about half of all items by year-end. An automated storage and retrieval system is also operating at the company’s Perth Amboy facility, reducing pick-and-pack time by as much as threefold.

Consignor growth supports supply

The active consignor base grew at a double-digit rate year over year. The company said 52% of consignors over the trailing 12 months also purchased items on the platform, while 44% of new consignors came from its existing buyer base, illustrating the overlap between supply and demand.

The RealReal is also broadening its sources of inventory. Its Trusts & Estates channel supplied 35% more units than a year earlier, and the number of Japanese dropship vendors expanded to seven. The company opened a store in Boston during the quarter and conducted pop-up events in test markets.

Fourth-quarter and full-year outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2026, The RealReal expects GMV of $720 million to $735 million, revenue of $218 million to $222 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $27.5 million to $29.0 million.

For the full year, management projects GMV of $2.585 billion to $2.600 billion and revenue of $806 million to $810 million. Full-year adjusted EBITDA is expected to range from $71.1 million to $72.6 million.

The company also completed a $150 million refinancing that it said will reduce annual interest expense by $4 million and extend its maturity profile to 2033. Total debt principal has declined by more than $80 million since the beginning of 2024. The presentation outlined a potential route to reducing total debt to $150 million, but stressed that the illustration is not a forecast, projection or target and depends on cash flow, the trading price of its common stock and decisions by noteholders.

Management remains focused on revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and converting higher adjusted EBITDA into operating cash flow. Risks identified by the company include inflation, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, an inability to secure sufficient consigned inventory, pricing pressure caused by discounting in the new-goods market, operational challenges in merchandising and fulfillment, and labor shortages. The outlook also depends on assumptions about growth, generative AI and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially.