Rekor Systems Q3 2026 revenue declined year over year, according to CFO Joseph Nalepa, who reported $10.9 million in third-quarter revenue compared with $14.2 million in the same period of 2025. The drop was primarily tied to high-margin perpetual ALPR software licenses in the company’s public safety business that did not occur this year.
What Drove the Revenue Gap
Nalepa attributed the year-over-year decrease to the absence of those perpetual ALPR software license transactions in the public safety segment. Such licenses had contributed to the prior-year quarter’s top line but were not repeated in the 2026 period.
The CFO’s remarks focused on the comparison between the two quarters and identified the missing license deals as the main factor behind the decline. He did not, in the portion of the call summarized, provide additional breakdowns by segment or discuss other potential contributors.
Quarter in Context
The third-quarter results place revenue at $10.9 million, down from $14.2 million a year earlier. The company discussed the figures during its earnings call on November 12, 2026, following the release of its quarterly results.
Rekor’s public safety business includes ALPR, or automatic license plate recognition, software. Perpetual licenses of that type are structured as one-time sales, and their timing can affect quarter-to-quarter comparisons when they are present in one period but not another.
Forward-Looking Caveats
The call included standard forward-looking statements about future revenues, results of operations, financial position, markets, economic conditions, products, product releases, and partnerships. Those statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
Rekor directed listeners to the risk disclosures in its November 12, 2026 earnings release, available in the investor relations section of its website, as well as to the risk factors described in its annual and quarterly filings with the SEC. The company also noted that non-GAAP results discussed on the call are provided as supplementary information for informational purposes only.
Key Figures at a Glance
- Q3 2026 revenue: $10.9 million
- Q3 2025 revenue: $14.2 million
- Primary factor cited: High-margin perpetual ALPR software licenses in the public safety business that did not occur this year
- Call date: November 12, 2026
The revenue comparison was the central financial item presented by Nalepa during the prepared remarks summarized from the call. No further financial detail was included in that portion of the discussion.