Key Highlights

● Revenue grew 24% year on year to $546.5 million in the quarter.

● Strategic Grow revenue rose 63% to $329.0 million, far outpacing Create revenue.

● Adjusted EBITDA reached $160.2 million, a Margin of 29%, with a small GAAP net loss.

● Third-quarter guidance points to Strategic revenue of $540 million to $550 million.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U) reported second-quarter 2026 results on 6 August 2026, and its chief executive, Matt Bromberg, called it "arguably the best quarter in Unity's history as a public company". The statement is management's own characterisation, but the underlying figures help explain it: revenue grew 24% year on year, adjusted EBITDA reached a 29% margin and free Cash Flow was strong, even though the company still recorded a small net loss.

What Unity does

Unity provides tools to develop, deploy and grow games and interactive experiences across mobile, PC, console and extended reality. Its Business is organised around two broad groups of products. The Create side covers the game engine and related development tools used by studios and independent developers. The Grow side covers Advertising and monetisation software that helps developers acquire users and earn revenue from them.

The company is part of the wider software and digital advertising sector, where results depend on developer activity, advertiser budgets and the effectiveness of data-driven ad systems.

The latest reported results

According to the Form 8-K exhibit filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, revenue for the quarter was $546.5 million, compared with $440.9 million a year earlier. Strategic Grow revenue was $329.0 million, up 63%, while Strategic Create revenue was $157.5 million, up 5%. Unity said Create growth would have been 14% excluding a $12 million one-time item in the second quarter of 2025.

The company reported a GAAP net loss of $22.7 million. The net loss attributable to Unity was $23.6 million, or $0.05 per share. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $160.2 million, and free cash flow was $202.0 million.

Guidance and industry context

For the third quarter of 2026, Unity guided to Strategic revenue of $540 million to $550 million, which it said represented growth of 44% to 47%. It expects Strategic Grow revenue of $380 million to $385 million, up 68% to 70%, and Strategic Create revenue of $159 million to $163 million, up 7% to 10%. Non-Strategic revenue is expected to be about $20 million, and adjusted EBITDA is guided at $185 million to $190 million.

These are management forecasts rather than outcomes, and the distinction between Strategic and Non-Strategic revenue means headline growth rates differ depending on which line is read.

The sharp contrast between Grow and Create growth is a reminder that the two parts of the business face different Demand drivers. Grow depends on the performance of advertising tools and the willingness of advertisers to spend, while Create depends on developers choosing and continuing to pay for Unity's engine and services.

Risks and uncertainties

Unity remains loss-making on a GAAP basis, so the gap between its adjusted and statutory results is worth monitoring. Adjusted EBITDA excludes items that are included in net loss, and the filing's reconciliation explains the differences.

Other uncertainties follow from the business model. Advertising budgets can change quickly, competition among game engines and ad networks is intense, and a high rate of growth in one segment can be difficult to sustain. Create revenue growth of 5% reported, or 14% on the company's adjusted comparison, is also much slower than Grow, so the balance between the segments may matter for future results.

Unity's Grow-Create Growth Gap

The next scheduled developments are Unity's third-quarter 2026 results, where the company's guidance for Strategic revenue and adjusted EBITDA can be compared with actual outcomes. Readers may also wish to follow the growth rate of Create, the trajectory of GAAP net loss and any changes to how Unity defines Strategic and Non-Strategic revenue.

Primary documents, including the 8-K exhibit and the Investor relations release, are the best sources for these figures. Reconciliation tables in the filing link adjusted measures.