Evolv (NASDAQ: EVLV) ARR grows twice as fast as revenue, but net loss widens

Posted by Jeff Wilder on Nov 11th, 2026

What happened

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVLV) grew annual recurring revenue (ARR) 20% to $140.5 million in the third quarter. Revenue grew 10%.

ARR is the number that shows whether Evolv is a subscription business. The company defines it as the final month of subscription revenue plus recurring service revenue from purchase subscriptions, multiplied by 12.

Total revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $47.3 million, up from $42.9 million in the third quarter of 2025. President and Chief Executive Officer John Kedzierski said growth came against a tough prior-year comparison. Last year's results included the largest contract in the company's history.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Ending ARR, Q3 2026	$140.5 million	from $117.2 million, +20%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Total revenue, Q3 2026	$47.3 million	from $42.9 million, +10%	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Net loss, Q3 2026	-$15.6 million	from -$1.8 million	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Adjusted EBITDA, Q3 2026	$4.7 million	from $5.1 million	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
2026 revenue guidance	$182 million to $185 million		SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1
Cash, equivalents, securities and restricted cash	$66.9 million	+$3.5 million sequentially	SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1

What the revenue mix shows

Recurring revenue rose to $32.5 million, or 69% of total revenue, from $28.7 million and 67% a year earlier. Non-recurring revenue includes product, shipping, installation and training. It was $14.8 million, against $14.2 million.

Product revenue rose to $12.3 million from $9.2 million. Subscription revenue grew more slowly, to $24.5 million from $22.7 million. Over nine months, product revenue reached $34.9 million against $14.1 million. Total revenue for the nine months grew 28% to $137.4 million from $107.4 million.

Remaining performance obligation stood at $325.8 million, up $13.2 million from the prior quarter.

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Losses widen while cash flow improves

The net loss was $15.6 million, or $0.09 per share. A year earlier it was $1.8 million, or $0.01 per share. The net profit margin was negative 32.9%.

Two items in the filing's tables bear on that gap. Loss from operations widened to $14.4 million from $8.6 million. The company's reconciliation lists $4.8 million of other non-recurring legal and regulatory costs in the quarter. Total other income, net, was $6.8 million a year earlier. This quarter it was a $1.2 million net expense.

Adjusted EBITDA was $4.7 million, down from $5.1 million. The margin was 10.0% against 12.0%. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $3.2 million, compared with negative $11.5 million a year earlier. Cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash ended at $66.9 million, up $3.5 million from the prior quarter.

For nine months, the net loss narrowed to $29.9 million from $44.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $13.1 million from $9.3 million.

Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Evolv is a high-upside but still-unproven bet. The bet is that AI-enabled, subscription-based weapons screening becomes a defensible category rather than a better hardware rollout. This report supports the subscription half of that argument and leaves the proof incomplete.

ARR added $23.3 million in 12 months, and the recurring share of revenue edged up. That is what the subscription argument needs. But product revenue is still a large and fast-growing part of the top line, and the adjusted EBITDA margin slipped.

The caveats are in the filing itself. Kedzierski pointed to a tough prior-year comparison. The filing says ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and is not a forecast of it. The quarterly loss also widened sharply. OptimistFi reads the quarter as mixed for the case.

What's next

Evolv expects 2026 revenue of $182 million to $185 million, or approximately 25% to 27% growth. The range depends on the mix of new unit deployments between purchase subscription and pure subscription models. The range issued Aug. 11 was $180 million to $185 million.

It kept its year-end ARR target at approximately $148 million to $150 million. That would be growth of approximately 23% to 25%, faster than the third quarter's. It raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $15.5 million to $16.5 million from $15 million to $16 million, with margins in the high single digits.

Management planned a call and webcast at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 10. Kedzierski also pointed to a long-term model, outlined at Investor Day. It has revenue growth ramping toward an approximately 25% compound annual rate through 2031.

The next report, covering results through Dec. 31, is the test. Ending ARR inside the guided range would back the subscription case. A shortfall against the ARR or revenue ranges would weaken it.