CNBC59 minutes agoBusiness2 min read

Figma sinks after earnings beat as company prioritizes long-term growth with AI changes

Quick Look

Figma shares fell 7% in extended trading after Q3 results beat Wall Street estimates, with revenue of $391.4 million and adjusted EPS of 10 cents.
The company raised its full-year forecast despite shares being down 41% in 2026.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Figma reported third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street predictions, with revenue of $391.4 million versus $375.8 million expected and adjusted earnings per share of 10 cents versus 5 cents expected. Revenue grew about 43% year over year. Net loss narrowed to $81.3 million from $1.10 billion a year earlier. The company raised its full-year forecast to an 11% operating margin and $1.497 billion to $1.499 billion in revenue. Shares have fallen about 41% so far in 2026 while the S&P 500 gained 12%. Earlier this year, investors became concerned that AI models could pose a competitive risk to Figma.

Font size

Figma shares tumbled 7% in extended trading after the company reported third-quarter results and guidance that surpassed Wall Street's predictions.

Here's how the company performed relative to LSEG consensus:

Earnings per share: 10 cents adjusted vs. 5 cents expected

Revenue: $391.4 million vs. $375.8 million expected

Figma's revenue grew about 43% year over year in the quarter, according to a statement. Net loss narrowed to $81.3 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with a loss of $1.10 billion, or $2.72 per share, a year earlier.

The company's 12% adjusted operating margin exceeded the 6.1% consensus among analysts polled by StreetAccount.

Executives lifted the full-year forecast. Figma now anticipates an 11% operating margin, up from 9% as of August, and $1.497 billion to $1.499 billion in revenue, compared with $1.463 billion to $1.467 billion before. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $1.471 billion in 2026 revenue.

The company sees fourth-quarter revenue growth slowing to about 33%. Analysts polled by LSEG had predicted 28% growth.

Figma's announcement comes a day after highly valued design software startup Canva said it would cut 22% of its employees.

Shares have come down about 41% so far in 2026, while the S&P 500 index has gained 12%. Earlier this year, investors became concerned that artificial intelligence models could pose a competitive risk to Figma. Across much of software, AI panic has largely subsided as incumbents have posted persistent growth.

Figma wants to benefit from the rising adoption of AI to build websites and apps. During the quarter, the company started giving more AI credits to clients while maintaining prices.

"What that means is you're potentially trading off near-term revenue, investing in your customers, and then allowing yourself to then grow durably over the long term," Figma's finance chief, Praveer Melwani, told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday.

The number of weekly users working at organizations that spend over $10,000 on Figma who used AI credits increased by almost 50% during the quarter, Figma said in the statement. The share of work the company's own AI model performs doubled, and the rate of people undoing AI-generated work has fallen.

"If there's certain actions that we can power for our customers at lower latency, lower cost, or similar quality to third party, we're open to that as well," Melwani said.

Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.

WATCH: Options Action: Bullish action in software

Open Questions

Why did Figma shares fall 7% despite beating estimates and raising guidance?
What specific competitive risks do AI models pose to Figma?
What were the results of the conference call with analysts?