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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

For transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-40325

AppLovin Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1100 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, California 94304

(Address of registrant's principal executive offices, including zip code)

(800) 839-9646

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant on June 30, 2021, the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $15.45 billion based on the closing sales price of the registrant’s Class A common stock on that date. Shares of the registrant's Class A common stock and Class B common stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who may be deemed to be an affiliate of the registrant have been excluded from this computation. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of March 4, 2022, the number of shares of the registrant's Class A common stock outstanding was 297,163,913 and the number of shares of the registrant's Class B common stock outstanding was 78,662,622.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. Such proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

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NOTE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include statements about:

• our future financial performance, including our expectations regarding our revenue, cost of revenue, and operating expenses, and our ability to achieve or maintain future profitability;

• the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity needs;

• the demand for our AppLovin Software Platform and AppLovin Apps;

• our ability to attract and retain business clients and users;

• our ability to develop new products, features, and enhancements for our AppLovin Core Technologies and AppLovin Software Platform and to launch or acquire new AppLovin Apps and successfully monetize them;

• our ability to compete with existing and new competitors in existing and new markets and offerings;

• our ability to successfully acquire and integrate companies and assets and to expand and diversify our operations through strategic acquisitions and partnerships;

• our ability to maintain the security and availability of our AppLovin Core Technologies, AppLovin Software Platform, and AppLovin Apps;

• our expectations regarding the effects of existing and developing laws and regulations, including with respect to taxation and privacy and data protection;

• our ability to manage risk associated with our business;

• our expectations regarding new and evolving markets;

• our ability to develop and protect our brand;

• our expectations and management of future growth;

• our expectations concerning relationships with third parties;

• our ability to attract and retain employees and key personnel;

• our integration plans following our acquisition of MoPub;

• our integration plans and performance expectations for, and the expected timing for the closing of, our acquisition of Wurl;

• our expectations regarding our share repurchase program;

• our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property; and

• the increased expenses associated with being a public company.

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We cannot assure you that the results, events, and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Moreover, the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual

Report on Form 10-K or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, partnerships, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments we may make.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Part I