Opera's AI Gambit: Strong Growth Fuels Challenge to Browser Giants

OSLO, NORWAY – January 09, 2026 – When Opera Limited's Chief Financial Officer, Frode Jacobsen, presents at the 28th Annual Needham Growth Conference next week, he will be speaking from a position of considerable strength. The company is not just bringing a standard financial update; it's armed with a narrative of record-breaking growth and a strategic pivot that redefines its role from a simple browser provider to a leading 'AI agent company.'

This presentation on January 15th offers the Oslo-based firm a platform to detail how its aggressive push into artificial intelligence is fueling both its bottom line and its ambitions to challenge the tech titans dominating the web. With a string of quarters beating expectations and a stock buoyed by positive analyst sentiment, all eyes are on Opera to see if its AI-centric strategy is the key to sustained growth in a fiercely competitive market.

A Year of Record Growth and Raised Expectations

Opera's financial performance in 2025 painted a clear picture of a company on an accelerated growth trajectory. The firm consistently surpassed its own guidance, culminating in a standout third quarter. Opera reported a record quarterly revenue of $151.9 million, a 23% year-over-year surge that comfortably beat its own projections. This performance prompted the company to raise its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to a range of $600 million to $603 million, marking a projected 25% increase over 2024 and a third consecutive year of accelerating annual growth.

This financial momentum is built on diversified revenue streams. Advertising revenue, which constitutes 63% of the total, grew by an impressive 27% year-over-year in Q3. Query revenue, increasingly tied to the company's AI initiatives, also saw a healthy 17% increase. Profitability has kept pace, with adjusted EBITDA for Q3 reaching $36.3 million, exceeding guidance with a robust 24% margin. The company's annualized average revenue per user (ARPU) also climbed 28% to $2.13, demonstrating an enhanced ability to monetize its 284 million monthly active users.

Adding to investor confidence is a strong balance sheet. As of its last report, Opera held over $119 million in cash with no financial debt, giving it the flexibility to continue investing heavily in its strategic priorities, chief among them being artificial intelligence.

The AI Playbook: From Browser to 'Agent'

At the heart of Opera's strategy is the transformation of the web browser into an intelligent, proactive partner. The company's native AI assistant, Aria, has been central to this vision. Integrated directly into its browsers, Aria is powered by Opera's 'Composer' infrastructure, a multi-model system that leverages technologies from partners like OpenAI and, more recently, Google.

A significant milestone in this strategy was the deepened collaboration with Google. In December 2025, Opera rolled out a major update across its browsers, integrating Google's latest Gemini models. This enhancement brought advanced capabilities like contextual page summaries, voice-activated queries, and image analysis directly into the browser's side panel, powered by a rebuilt AI engine promising 20% faster responses.

However, Opera's ambition extends beyond a simple AI assistant. The company is pioneering the concept of the "agentic AI browser" with the launch of Opera Neon. Introduced in September 2025, Neon represents a new, premium tier of browsing. This subscription-based product is designed for power users, offering an advanced AI assistant capable of automating complex tasks. According to the company, Neon can be delegated to run multi-step projects, monitor websites for changes, complete forms, and automate other repetitive online processes, effectively acting as a user's personal digital agent. This dual-pronged approach—offering a powerful, free AI for its mass-market user base and a premium, agentic experience for professionals—is a core tenet of its plan to capture value across the user spectrum.

Navigating a Crowded AI Browser Battlefield

Opera's AI-fueled ambition does not exist in a vacuum. The entire browser landscape is being reshaped by artificial intelligence, igniting a new phase of the 'browser wars' centered on intelligence and autonomy. Google is integrating its Gemini AI into Chrome, Microsoft has its AI-powered Copilot deeply embedded in Edge, and privacy-focused competitor Brave offers its own AI assistant, Leo.

Beyond the established players, a new wave of 'AI-first' browsers like Perplexity Comet, Dia Browser, and Sigma AI Browser are emerging, each built from the ground up around agentic AI capabilities. These new entrants are vying to become the intelligent workspaces of the future, capable of not just searching but also summarizing, automating, and collaborating with users.

In this crowded field, Opera is leveraging its unique position. With a user base of hundreds of millions, it has the scale to deploy and refine its AI features rapidly. Its long-standing partnership with Google gives it access to cutting-edge models, allowing it to compete on features with much larger rivals. The company's strategy appears to be a calculated blend of offense and defense: democratizing access to powerful AI for its existing users to maintain loyalty and engagement, while simultaneously creating a new, high-value category with Opera Neon to attract a new segment of paying customers and challenge the emerging agentic browser market.

Wall Street's Verdict: Cautious Optimism for OPRA

Investors and analysts have largely responded positively to Opera's strategic direction. The combination of strong financial execution and a clear vision for AI-driven growth has earned the company's stock, OPRA, a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating from Wall Street analysts. Price targets reflect this optimism, with the average 12-month forecast hovering around $24 to $26, suggesting a significant potential upside from its recent trading levels.

This positive sentiment is underpinned by more than just the AI narrative. Analysts point to the company's consistent revenue growth, expanding profit margins, and debt-free status as indicators of strong operational discipline. Opera’s recognition by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing companies in 2025 further solidifies its reputation as a high-performer in the tech sector.

While some short-term technical analysis might suggest market volatility, the fundamental outlook remains strong. Frode Jacobsen's upcoming presentation will be a critical opportunity to reinforce this narrative. Investors will be listening intently for details on the adoption rates of AI features, the early performance of the premium Opera Neon browser, and the company's roadmap for sustaining its growth and profitability as the AI browser wars continue to heat up.