Yes. Avito reported RUB 39 billion (~$620M) net profit on RUB 100-101 billion revenue in 2023, roughly a 45% net margin, making it one of Russia's most profitable tech companies, per Moscow Times reporting dated 2025-04-28.

As of April 28, 2025, ownership is split 50/50 between Russian state-owned Rosselkhozbank and Kismet Capital Group (Ivan Tavrin), which had bought Avito from Prosus in October 2022 for RUB 151 billion (~$2.4B).

Is Avito planning an IPO?

Co-owner Ivan Tavrin told the Moscow Exchange on April 16, 2026 that Avito is 'truly ready' for an IPO, citing tripled revenue since 2022, but gave no firm date and linked timing to further Bank of Russia rate cuts (currently 15%).

Could AI replace Avito's marketplace business?

Unlikely soon. Avito's moat is two-sided network liquidity (43M monthly real estate users as of April 2026) and transaction infrastructure like Avito Delivery, which a standalone AI tool cannot replicate without the underlying listing and buyer supply.

Is Yandex beating Avito in Russia?

No clear evidence of share loss. Yandex competes with Avito across autos, real estate, jobs and marketplace verticals but has not visibly dislodged Avito's leadership as of 2026, per company and market reporting.

Did Avito try to buy CIAN?

Yes. In 2021, Avito's attempt to acquire real estate rival CIAN was blocked by Russia's antitrust regulator FAS on market-concentration grounds, according to Wikipedia sourcing dated 2026-03-13.

E-commerce and marketplaces · subsidiary of Kismet Capital Group / Rosselkhozbank (co-owners: 50% each as of April 2025) · Russia

Avito

avito.ru ↗

Russia's largest classifieds and marketplace platform for goods, cars, real estate, and jobs.

Protection under test

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Signaled Moscow Exchange IPO contingent on further Bank of Russia rate cuts

The call

The business runs a profitable, dominant marketplace inside Russia, but half of it now sits with a state bank and equity access for outside holders stays murky.

Avito is a huge online classified ads platform in Russia where people buy and sell stuff like real estate, cars, and services. It has been hard to knock off because it has so many users (43 million people visit each month) and makes a lot of money, which has even stopped Yandex from taking over the whole market. But the company is now half-owned by a Russian state bank, and because of sanctions and capital controls, it may only go public on a Russian stock exchange in rubles, which means non-Russian investors probably cannot easily buy or sell shares. The big question is whether the company stays independent or gets pulled further under state control.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI chat tools help write listings but nobody has shipped an agent that replaces a two sided marketplace with 43M buyers and sellers already there. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Yandex (Auto.ru, Yandex Realty, Yandex Uslugi, Yandex Market). Yandex competes vertical by vertical with deep pockets and search distribution, but has not visibly taken share from Avito's core listings volume yet. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Massive built up buyer and seller liquidity across categories that took years to accumulate and is hard to replicate inside Russia's closed internet market.

What would change this call

Avito publishes audited 2024 to 2025 financials confirming Tavrin's tripled revenue claim. Would show real growth versus unverified owner claims.
Avito schedules or completes a Moscow Exchange IPO with a real public float. Would clarify whether non Russian holders get any accessible equity path.
Rosselkhozbank or another state entity increases its stake beyond 50 percent. Would show deepening state control over the company.

Key numbers

2023 revenue RUB 100-101B (~$1.1-1.6B) (2023)
2023 net profit RUB 39B, ~45% margin (2023)
43M monthly users on real estate vertical alone (2026-04-23)

Named risks

50% state-bank ownership (Rosselkhozbank since April 2025) limits equity realizability for non-Russian holders. Severity: high
No audited full-year 2024/2025 financials publicly disclosed as of mid-2026. Severity: medium
July 2026 platform outage generated 3,800+ complaints, signaling reliability fragility. Severity: medium
IPO timing remains undated and tied to volatile Russian central bank rate policy. Severity: medium
Further state consolidation beyond current 50% stake could deepen governance uncertainty. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Yandex	contesting	Competes across auto, real estate, jobs verticals but hasn't visibly taken share as of 2026
CIAN	losing to	Avito's 43M monthly real estate users dwarf CIAN; Avito's 2021 CIAN buyout was blocked by FAS
Ozon/Wildberries	contesting	Overlap in Goods vertical; both also saw state-aligned ownership shifts by 2025
HeadHunter (hh.ru)	contesting	Adjacent competition in white-collar jobs vs Avito Rabota vertical, unverified strength comparison

Questions people ask

Is Avito profitable?: Yes. Avito reported RUB 39 billion (~$620M) net profit on RUB 100-101 billion revenue in 2023, roughly a 45% net margin, making it one of Russia's most profitable tech companies, per Moscow Times reporting dated 2025-04-28.
Who owns Avito now?: As of April 28, 2025, ownership is split 50/50 between Russian state-owned Rosselkhozbank and Kismet Capital Group (Ivan Tavrin), which had bought Avito from Prosus in October 2022 for RUB 151 billion (~$2.4B).
Is Avito planning an IPO?: Co-owner Ivan Tavrin told the Moscow Exchange on April 16, 2026 that Avito is 'truly ready' for an IPO, citing tripled revenue since 2022, but gave no firm date and linked timing to further Bank of Russia rate cuts (currently 15%).
Could AI replace Avito's marketplace business?: Unlikely soon. Avito's moat is two-sided network liquidity (43M monthly real estate users as of April 2026) and transaction infrastructure like Avito Delivery, which a standalone AI tool cannot replicate without the underlying listing and buyer supply.
Is Yandex beating Avito in Russia?: No clear evidence of share loss. Yandex competes with Avito across autos, real estate, jobs and marketplace verticals but has not visibly dislodged Avito's leadership as of 2026, per company and market reporting.
Did Avito try to buy CIAN?: Yes. In 2021, Avito's attempt to acquire real estate rival CIAN was blocked by Russia's antitrust regulator FAS on market-concentration grounds, according to Wikipedia sourcing dated 2026-03-13.

Timeline

2026-07-03Platform outage draws over 3,800 user complaints
2026-04-16Co-owner Tavrin tells Moscow Exchange Avito is ready for IPO
2025-04-28State-owned Rosselkhozbank acquires 50% stake in Avito
2025-03-31Avito announces RUB 12B generative AI investment plan through 2028
2024Forbes Russia ranks Avito 4th in RuNet at ~$4.6B valuation
2023Avito reports RUB 100-101B revenue and RUB 39B net profit
2022-10-13Prosus sells 100% of Avito to Kismet Capital for RUB 151B
2021Avito's attempted acquisition of CIAN blocked by FAS antitrust regulator
2013Avito absorbs Slando.ru and OLX.ru to become market leader
2007Avito founded in Moscow by Jonas Nordlander and Filip Engelbert

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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