Cellebrite's 2026 Industry Trends Report Reveals Smartphones as the Leading Source of Digital Evidence in Investigations at 97%

Rhea-AI Summary

Cellebrite (NASDAQ: CLBT) released its 2026 Industry Trends Report surveying 1,200 practitioners across 63 countries. Key findings: 97% cite smartphones as the top source of digital evidence (up 24 points from 2024), 95% say digital evidence raises solvability, and 65% expect AI to accelerate investigations.

Cloud receptiveness rose to 42%, though two-thirds still share evidence via physical media, creating custody risks. Guardian platform saw triple-digit YoY growth in customers, users and data stored in 2025.

Positive

• Smartphone relevance: 97% of practitioners cite smartphones as top digital-evidence source
• 65% of public safety respondents believe AI can accelerate investigations
• Cloud receptiveness rose to 42% in 2026, up from 38% in 2025
• Guardian platform achieved triple-digit year-over-year growth in customers, users and data stored in 2025

Negative

• Two-thirds of respondents still share evidence via physical media, risking chain of custody
• 94% report complexity is straining caseloads, while only 62% are shifting resources to digital methods
• About one-third of agencies report policies that prevent AI use despite interest from practitioners

News Market Reaction

-2.58%

1 alert

-2.58% News Effect

On the day this news was published, CLBT declined 2.58%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Smartphones as evidence source: 97% Digital evidence boosts solvability: 95% Complexity strains caseloads: 94% +5 more

8 metrics

Smartphones as evidence source 97% Investigators citing smartphones as top digital evidence source in 2026 report

Digital evidence boosts solvability 95% Public safety respondents agreeing digital evidence increases case solvability

Complexity strains caseloads 94% Respondents saying complexity of digital evidence strains caseloads

AI can accelerate investigations 65% Public safety respondents believing AI can speed investigations

Cloud receptiveness 2026 42% Receptiveness to cloud for digital evidence management in 2026

Cloud receptiveness 2025 38% Receptiveness to cloud for digital evidence management in 2025

eDiscovery use case share 54% Private sector investigations citing eDiscovery as a top use case

Mobile data in investigations 66% Investigations where mobile data appears in private sector findings

Market Reality Check

Price: $14.26 Vol: Volume 3,553,003 is 2.05x...

high vol

$14.26 Last Close

Volume Volume 3,553,003 is 2.05x the 20-day average of 1,733,820, indicating elevated trading interest ahead of this report. high

Technical Shares trade below the 200-day MA of 17 with price at 13.95, closer to the 52-week low of 13.1 than the high of 26.3.

Peers on Argus

CLBT was down 2.31% while key software infrastructure peers like AVPT (+0.96%), ...

1 Up

CLBT was down 2.31% while key software infrastructure peers like AVPT (+0.96%), BOX (+2.87%), CALX (+3.2%), PAY (+2.57%) and QLYS (+2.52%) traded higher. Momentum scanner only flagged TENB up 9.03% with no news, highlighting CLBT’s move as stock-specific rather than sector-driven.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 21 (Neutral)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 21	Earnings date notice	Neutral	-3.9%	Announcement of Q4 and full-year 2025 results date and call details.
Dec 02	Acquisition announcement	Positive	+3.9%	Completion of Corellium acquisition to extend AI-powered investigation platform.
Nov 12	Quarterly results	Positive	+1.7%	Q3 2025 beat with ARR and revenue growth and reiterated 2025 guidance.
Oct 30	Leadership change	Neutral	-1.3%	Appointment of new General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.
Oct 28	User summit update	Neutral	-0.1%	Announcement of 2026 C2C User Summit headliner and product showcase plans.

Pattern Detected

Recent news events have mostly led to modest, directionally aligned price moves, with corporate and financial updates generating small reactions rather than outsized swings.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Cellebrite has focused on financial reporting, acquisitions, and brand-building. On Nov 12, 2025, Q3 2025 results showed growing ARR and revenue with reiterated 2025 guidance, followed by a positive price reaction. The Dec 2025 Corellium acquisition announcement also saw shares rise. Earlier, governance and event-related news in October triggered only minor moves. Today’s industry trends report fits into this narrative of reinforcing product adoption and market positioning.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement underscores how central digital evidence has become, with 97% of investigators cit...

Analysis

This announcement underscores how central digital evidence has become, with 97% of investigators citing smartphones as the top source and cloud receptiveness rising to 42%. It also flags operational challenges, including 94% saying complexity strains caseloads, which supports demand for solutions like Cellebrite’s Guardian platform. In context with past growth and acquisition updates, the report highlights both expanding opportunity and the need to track how effectively the company converts these trends into durable platform adoption.

Key Terms

artificial intelligence (AI), edisovery, chain of custody

3 terms

artificial intelligence (AI) technical

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important technology for enhancing..."

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of computer systems that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, and making decisions. For investors, AI can enhance how businesses analyze data, automate processes, and innovate, potentially leading to increased efficiency and new opportunities in the market.

edisovery technical

"Top use cases: eDiscovery (54%), data theft (46%) and network exploits (44%)"

Electronic discovery, often written e-discovery, is the process of collecting, reviewing and producing digital information — like emails, documents, texts and server logs — for use in legal, regulatory or compliance matters. Investors care because e-discovery can reveal internal problems, regulatory violations or costly litigation risk that may affect a company’s finances and reputation; think of it as opening a company’s digital filing cabinet during an audit or court case.

chain of custody regulatory

"still sharing evidence via portable hard drives and USB sticks, creating chain of custody risks..."

"Chain of custody" is the process of keeping a clear and documented record of how physical or digital evidence is handled, from collection to final use. It ensures that the evidence remains unaltered and trustworthy, much like tracking a package from sender to recipient to confirm it hasn't been tampered with. This is important for investors because it helps verify the integrity and accuracy of information or assets being evaluated.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

• 97% cite smartphones as top evidence source, up 24 points from 2024
• 95% agree digital evidence increases solvability, yet 94% say complexity strains caseloads
• 65% believe AI can accelerate investigations, but one-third say policies prevent its use
• Cloud receptiveness hit 42%, yet two-thirds still rely on physical media

TYSONS CORNER, Va. and PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellebrite (NASDAQ: CLBT), a global leader in AI-powered Digital Investigative and Intelligence solutions for the public and private sectors, today unveiled its 2026 Industry Trends Report, which surveyed 1,200 practitioners across 63 countries, marking the company's seventh annual report on how organizations collect, manage and analyze digital evidence.

Smartphones: Critical to Investigations

Smartphones are more relevant to investigations than ever before, with 97% of investigators citing them as the top source of digital evidence, up 24 points from 73% in 2024. This increase mirrors public expectations, as 97% of agency managers say communities expect digital evidence to be used in most cases.

AI Adoption: Strong Interest, Uneven Policy Support

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important technology for enhancing the speed and efficiency of investigations. Sixty-five percent of public safety respondents believe AI can accelerate investigations, yet nearly a third of these respondents report their agency's policies prevent AI's use. Two-thirds of respondents cite review time as the biggest barrier to moving cases, yet AI can solve this, with respondents agreeing one of its best features is quickly analyzing communications to identify links between people.

Public Safety: Capacity Strained as Digital Evidence Becomes Universal

Public safety findings show 95% agree digital evidence increases case solvability, while 94% say complexity is straining caseloads. However, only 62% of agency leaders are shifting resources from legacy to digital methods. This gap between recognition and action underscores the modernization challenge agencies face. 

"The relationship between the public and the police is fundamental," stated Matt Scott, a U.K. Police and Crime Commissioner. "As new technology is introduced, it is important that the public's consent is sought and that appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure that decision making remains in the hands of officers and staff. The relationship between the public and the police is fundamental. Any use of AI or automation in policing should follow consultation with the public and be applied only where appropriate and where it can responsibly support productivity."

"Digital evidence is increasingly where our investigations begin," said James Howe, Detective, Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police. "This modern reality has us rethinking our workflows across the agency, not just in the lab. Digital evidence shapes how our cases are built from day one."

"It's clear digital evidence is the backbone of modern justice," said David Gee, Chief Marketing Officer of Cellebrite. "Today's investigations involve an exponential explosion of devices, data and complexity that agencies must manage. Their only choice to evolve is to mobilize and leverage technology that will help them process evidence efficiently, while preserving the accuracy and ensuring the defensibility of evidence on which the justice system relies."

Cloud Adoption Grows as Evidence-Sharing Risks Persist

Using the cloud to store and share digital evidence is steadily becoming essential for agencies of all sizes. Cloud receptiveness for digital evidence management reached 42% in 2026, up from 38% in 2025. Yet physical media remains the default option with two-thirds of respondents still sharing evidence via portable hard drives and USB sticks, creating chain of custody risks and slowing cross-agency collaboration.

Private Sector: Digital Investigations are Business-Critical

Private sector findings show investigations embedded across business operations, with a clear shift in AI adoption from strategic intent to practical application.

• Top use cases: eDiscovery (54%), data theft (46%) and network exploits (44%)
• Mobile data appears in 66% of investigations; computer storage and cloud data each appear in 46%
• 57% say AI-assisted communication analysis accelerates outcomes

"Organizations want to be better prepared, so investigations are no longer just about reacting after something happens," said Colin Duncan, eDiscovery Technologist at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. "Gaining a clear understanding of data across systems, devices, and applications in a consistent and defensible manner is essential. When used responsibly, AI enables teams to accelerate their work without compromising control or accountability."

Implications for Cellebrite

These trends have underpinned strong adoption of Cellebrite's evidence and case management investigative platform, Guardian, primarily among state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, as well as in Latin America and the United Kingdom. In 2025, Guardian delivered triple-digit year-over-year growth across customers, users and data stored on the platform and was also recently made available to enterprise customers.

For more information, read Cellebrite's 2026 Industry Trends Reports for Public Safety and the Private Sector.

References to Websites and Social Media Platforms

References to information included on, or accessible through, websites and social media platforms do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through such websites or social media platforms, and you should not consider such information to be part of this press release.

About Cellebrite

Cellebrite's (Nasdaq: CLBT) mission is to protect communities, nations and businesses as a global leader in digital investigative and intelligence solutions. More than 7,000 global law enforcement agencies, defense and intelligence organizations and enterprises trust Cellebrite's AI-powered software portfolio to make forensically sound digital data more accessible and actionable. Cellebrite technology allows customers to accelerate more than 1.5 million legally sanctioned investigations annually, enhance sovereign security, elevate operational efficacy and efficiency and enable advanced mobile research and application security. Available via cloud, on-premises and hybrid deployments, Cellebrite's technology enables its customers around the globe to advance their missions, elevate public safety and safeguard data privacy. To learn more, visit us at www.cellebrite.com. 

Media Contact
Victor Cooper
Sr. Director of Corporate Communications
victor.cooper@cellebrite.com
+1 404.804.5910

Investor Relations
Andrew Kramer
Vice President, Investor Relations
investors@cellebrite.com
+1 973.206.7760

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SOURCE Cellebrite

FAQ

What did Cellebrite's 2026 report find about smartphones as evidence (CLBT)?

Smartphones are now the leading evidence source: 97% of respondents cited them, up 24 points from 2024. According to Cellebrite, this reflects investigators' increasing reliance on mobile data across investigations globally.

How does the 2026 report describe AI adoption in public safety for CLBT investors?

AI interest is high: 65% of public safety respondents believe AI can speed investigations, but nearly one-third face policy barriers. According to Cellebrite, policy gaps limit operational AI deployment despite clear perceived benefits.

What cloud and evidence-sharing trends did Cellebrite report that affect CLBT stakeholders?

Cloud receptiveness rose to 42% in 2026, yet two-thirds still use portable drives, creating custody risks. According to Cellebrite, this mixed adoption slows cross-agency collaboration and raises chain-of-custody concerns.

What operational strain did the 2026 report highlight for law enforcement relevant to CLBT?

Digital-evidence complexity is significant: 94% say caseloads are strained while 95% say digital evidence increases solvability. According to Cellebrite, agencies face a gap between recognition and resource shifts to digital methods.

How did Cellebrite report Guardian's performance and relevance for CLBT investors?

Guardian saw triple-digit year-over-year growth in customers, users and data stored in 2025, signaling strong adoption. According to Cellebrite, growth was concentrated among state and local law enforcement and expanding into enterprise customers.