Cellebrite exits 2025 with accelerated ARR growth, margin expansion and strategic acquisitions

Cellebrite closed 2025 with a performance profile that emphasizes recurring revenue scale and margin improvement rather than one-off gains. The company reported annual recurring revenue approaching half a billion dollars and year-over-year ARR growth in the low double digits, supported by subscription sales and a lift from a late-December acquisition. Revenue and subscription intake both advanced, translating into higher operating leverage: gross margins remained robust and adjusted EBITDA expanded as a share of sales. Management flagged the recent purchase of a portable drone‑forensics specialist as a strategic move to capture a rising source of investigative evidence, positioning Cellebrite to ingest new telemetry and imagery types into its analytics stack. The firm also highlighted sustained investment in AI — including an innovation center and agent-based tooling — that it says will underpin product differentiation across mobile access, multi-source analytics and new investigative workflows. Cash generation strengthened materially, with operating cash flow and free cash flow both outpacing the prior year and underwriting the acquisition cash outlay. For 2026 the company provided ARR, revenue and adjusted EBITDA ranges that imply continued ARR reacceleration combined with maintained profitability targets and a targeted 30%-plus free cash flow margin. Risks remain: exposure to geopolitical dynamics, federal budget variability in the U.S., and the usual execution demands tied to integrating acquisitions and scaling AI features. Overall, the quarter reads as validation of a transition toward a higher recurring‑revenue, software‑centric model while preserving strong cash conversion and margin discipline.