Shares of Ibotta Inc (NYSE: IBTA) are soaring 9.44% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following the release of its impressive first-quarter 2025 financial results and a wave of analyst upgrades. The digital promotions network operator significantly outperformed market expectations, demonstrating robust performance and providing an optimistic outlook for the coming quarter.

Ibotta reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36 for Q1 2025, dramatically beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.01. Although this represents a year-over-year decrease from $0.54 per share, the substantial outperformance relative to expectations fueled the stock's rally. Revenue for the quarter grew 3% year-over-year to $84.6 million, surpassing the analyst forecast of $82.1 million. The company also provided encouraging guidance for the second quarter of 2025, expecting Q2 revenue to be in the range of $86.5 million to $92.5 million, with the midpoint slightly above the analyst consensus of $89.2 million.

Following the strong results, several analysts raised their price targets for Ibotta. Wells Fargo increased its target price to $60 from $52, UBS raised its target to $55 from $42, and Needham boosted its target to $70 from $60. These upgrades reflect growing confidence in Ibotta's business model and future prospects. CEO Bryan Leach highlighted significant progress in establishing Ibotta as a leading performance marketing platform for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, noting that brands are increasingly adopting Ibotta's CPID (cost per incremental dollar) model to manage promotional spend based on measurable ROIs. This shift in brand behavior and the company's innovative approach to performance marketing appear to be key drivers of investor enthusiasm, contributing to the stock's significant surge.