Zeta Global Holdings Corp (ZETA.N) continued its upward momentum in premarket trading on Tuesday, with shares reaching $19.85, a 3.4% increase from Monday's close. The stock had already surged 11.6% during the regular session on Monday, closing at $19.19 on heavy volume of over 17 million shares traded.
OpenAI Advertising Agreement
The latest rally follows CEO David Steinberg's announcement at a JPMorgan technology conference that the company has signed an advertising agreement with OpenAI. According to a conference transcript, Steinberg stated that Zeta has "executed an agreement" with OpenAI and will now "run their advertising." While Zeta has previously integrated OpenAI's technology into its platform, this marks the first time the partnership is being leveraged for advertising purposes.
Strategic Shift and AI Integration
Earlier this year, Zeta announced that its marketing AI agent, Athena by Zeta, would utilize OpenAI models. Athena is designed to answer user queries, suggest actions, and handle tasks autonomously. OpenAI Chief Commercial Officer Giancarlo "GC" Lionetti commented at the time, "Zeta is showing AI can go beyond insight and into action." Athena is currently in early testing, with its initial apps, Insights and Advisor, entering beta. Steinberg described Athena as an example of how AI is moving "from the edges of marketing to the center."
Analyst Coverage and Financial Performance
Bank of America reinstated coverage on Zeta Global with a Buy rating and a price target of $24, as reported by TheFly via TipRanks on Tuesday. The company's strong financial performance has also fueled investor optimism. Zeta reported first-quarter revenue of $396 million, a 50% year-over-year increase. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a midpoint of $1.785 billion and also increased its adjusted EBITDA forecast.
Market Context and Competition
Zeta operates in a highly competitive landscape, facing established players such as Salesforce, Adobe, and The Trade Desk, all of which are integrating AI capabilities into their platforms. In January, KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader noted that Zeta's OpenAI deal could provide a competitive edge in a marketing space "where many companies are offering similar AI capabilities."
Data Initiatives and Risks
Last week, Zeta announced it would join Snowflake's Open Semantic Interchange, an open-source project aimed at standardizing business data definitions for AI and analytics. Zeta CTO Christian Monberg emphasized that "AI is only as effective as the data it can trust." However, the company faces risks including intense competition, evolving data privacy regulations, and potential changes in AI regulation, as noted in its latest quarterly filing.
Outlook
While the premarket move is notable, the full impact of the OpenAI advertising deal will become clearer during regular trading hours. Investors will be watching to see if Monday's rally continues or if the stock retraces as a short-term AI-driven trade. Zeta's management remains bullish, with Steinberg declaring the company as "the disruptor" in an AI replacement cycle during the April earnings release.
