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RESTON, Va., November 12, 2024 – Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms, today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Q3 2024 Financial Highlights
"In the third quarter, we took meaningful steps forward in our cross-platform business, with our revenue in this area growing nearly 34% year-over-year and underpinning several key wins in the market," said Jon Carpenter, CEO. "We've also made steady progress embedding our cross-platform measurement and audience products into the programmatic ecosystem. This progress enables advertisers to more easily target the audiences most important to them and measure their campaign's ability to deliver incremental audiences across platforms. As we look ahead to Q4 and into 2025, I'm confident we will continue to make progress in our transformation, positioning us to become the industry's leading source for cross-platform audience planning and measurement."
Third Quarter Summary Results Revenue in the third quarter was $88.5 million, down 2.8% from $91.0 million in Q3 2023. Content & Ad Measurement revenue was flat compared to the prior-year quarter, with lower revenue from our syndicated audience offerings (primarily related to national TV and syndicated digital products) offset by an increase in our cross-platform revenue, which grew 33.5% over Q3 2023. Research & Insight Solutions revenue declined 14.2% from Q3 2023, primarily due to lower deliveries of certain custom digital products.
Our core operating expenses, which include cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses, were $82.9 million, a decrease of 3.9% compared to $86.3 million in Q3 2023, primarily due to a decline in employee compensation and lower cloud computing costs.
Due in part to a decline in our stock price and market capitalization, we performed an interim review of our goodwill at quarter-end, resulting in a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $63.0 million as of September 30, 2024. This charge does not directly impact our liquidity, cash flows or future operations.
Primarily as a result of the goodwill impairment charge, net loss for the quarter was $60.6 million, compared to net income of $2.6 million in Q3 2023, resulting in net (loss) income margins of (68.5)% and 2.9% of revenue, respectively. After accounting for dividends on our convertible preferred stock, loss per share attributable to common shares was $(12.79) and $(0.34) for Q3 2024 and Q3 2023, respectively.
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $10.1 million, compared to $13.4 million in Q3 2023, resulting in adjusted EBITDA margins of 11.5% and 14.7%, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency transactions, FX adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $12.4 million, compared to $12.3 million in Q3 2023. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude impairment of goodwill, impairment of right-of-use and long-lived assets, amortization of cloud-computing implementation costs, restructuring costs, stock-based compensation, transformation costs, change in fair value of contingent consideration and warrants liability and other items as presented in the accompanying tables. FX adjusted EBITDA excludes these items as well as gain/loss from foreign currency transactions.
Balance Sheet and LiquidityAs of September 30, 2024, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $20.2 million. Total debt principal, including $10.0 million in then-outstanding borrowings under our senior secured revolving credit agreement, was $20.8 million.
On November 1, 2024, we repaid the outstanding principal balance under our senior secured revolving credit agreement, and on November 5, 2024, we amended the agreement to extend the maturity date with respect to our outstanding letters of credit (totaling $3.2 million) to January 31, 2025. We continue to evaluate alternative financing options for the company, including a replacement of this facility, and have engaged outside advisors to assist in our evaluation.
2024 OutlookBased on current trends and expectations, we are tightening our full-year 2024 revenue range, with revenue expected to be between $351 and $355 million for the year, and are reaffirming our guidance for an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 10%. We anticipate a return to growth in 2025 as we continue to invest in and focus on our cross-platform measurement capabilities.
We do not provide GAAP net income (loss) or net income (loss) margin on a forward-looking basis because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty our future stock-based compensation expense, fair value adjustments, variable interest expense, litigation and restructuring expense and any unusual gains or losses without unreasonable effort. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could be material to results computed in accordance with GAAP. For this reason, we are unable without unreasonable effort to provide a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin, on a forward-looking basis.
Conference Call Information for Today, Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. ETManagement will host a conference call to discuss the results on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live audio webcast and supplemental information will be accessible at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations. Participants may also participate via telephone at (800) 715-9871 by using passcode 3850002 or "Comscore Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results". Following the conference call, a replay will be available via webcast at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations.
About ComscoreComscore is a global, trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore empowers media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make meaningful business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry's emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal and state securities laws, including, without limitation, our expectations, forecasts, plans and opinions regarding expected revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin for 2024, a return to growth in 2025, revenue drivers, industry positioning, strategic plans and opportunities, market developments, transformation plans, product and technology investments, and our evaluation of alternative financing options. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from expectations, including, but not limited to, changes in our business and customer, partner and vendor relationships; external market conditions and competition; continued changes or declines in ad spending or other macroeconomic factors; evolving privacy and regulatory standards; product adoption rates; the availability of alternative financing; and our ability to achieve our expected strategic, financial and operational plans. For additional discussion of risk factors, please refer to our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings that we make from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).
Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. We do not intend or undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty or obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresTo provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we are disclosing in this press release adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and FX adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures used by our management to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, as they permit our investors to view our core business performance using the same metrics that management uses to evaluate our performance. Nevertheless, our use of these non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Instead, you should consider these measures alongside GAAP-based financial performance measures, net income (loss), net income (loss) margin, various cash flow metrics, and our other GAAP financial results. Set forth below are reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin. These reconciliations should be carefully evaluated.
Q3 2024 Earnings Report.pdf
MediaMarie ScoutasComscore, Inc. press@comscore.com
InvestorsJohn TinkerComscore, Inc.(212) 203-2129jtinker@comscore.com