RESTON, Va., May 9, 2023 – Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting, and evaluating media across platforms, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
"Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, I am pleased with the progress we're making against our strategic and operational priorities," said Jon Carpenter, CEO of Comscore. "Our wins over the course of the first quarter, including Warner Bros. Discovery, YouTube and IPG Mediabrands, highlight the breadth of our offerings and the confidence our clients have in the scale, transparency and interoperability of our solutions. We remain focused on execution, delivering best in class cross-platform audience solutions for our clients and value creation for our shareholders."
Q1 2023 Financial Highlights
Recent Business Developments
First Quarter Summary ResultsRevenue in the first quarter was $91.6 million, down 2.6% from $94.0 million in Q12022, primarily due to a decline in Digital Ad Solutions revenue from Q12022 as a result of slower ad spend, which impacted our custom digital solutions and other digital products. Cross Platform Solutions revenue was up from Q12022, with double-digit growth in local TV and continued strength in our movies business.
Our core operating expenses, which include cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses, were $91.6 million, a decrease of 6.3% compared to $97.7 million in Q12022. The primary driver of the decline was employee compensation, which decreased from ongoing restructuring efforts and a higher amount of capitalization related to internally developed software.
Net loss for the quarter was $8.7 million, compared to $9.3 million in Q12022. After accounting for dividends on our convertible preferred stock, loss per share attributable to common shares was $(0.13) and $(0.14) for Q12023 and Q1 2022, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $5.2 million, compared to $6.8 million in Q12022, resulting in adjusted EBITDA margins of 5.7% and 7.2%, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency transactions, FX adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $6.7 million, compared to $6.4 million in Q12022. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, amortization of cloud-computing implementation 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 March 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $20.7 million. Total debt principal, including $16.0 million in outstanding borrowings under our senior secured revolving credit agreement, was $18.7 million.
2023 OutlookBased on current trends and expectations, we are maintaining our guidance for full year 2023 revenue and adjusted EBITDA, with revenue growth in the low to mid single digits over 2022 and an adjusted EBITDA margin in the double digits.
We do not provide GAAP net (loss) income 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 (loss) income, on a forward-looking basis.
Conference Call Information for Today, Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ETManagement will host a conference call to discuss the results on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live audio webcast along with supplemental information will be accessible at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations. Participants can obtain dial-in information by registering for the call at the same web address and are advised to register in advance of the call to avoid delays. Following the conference call, a replay will be available via webcast at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations.
About ComscoreComscore is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, OTT and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make 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 StatementsThis 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 growth and adjusted EBITDA margin for 2023, the impact of new customer contracts and partnerships on our business and revenue prospects, evolving economic and industry trends, currency opportunities, product integration and innovation, and restructuring plans and cost-reduction initiatives. 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; changes or declines in ad spending or other macroeconomic factors; evolving privacy and regulatory standards; and our ability to achieve our expected strategic, financial and operational plans, including the restructuring plan we announced in September 2022. 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), 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 measure, net income (loss). These reconciliations should be carefully evaluated.
Q1 2023 Earnings Report.pdf
MediaMarie ScoutasComscore, Inc. press@comscore.com
InvestorsJohn TinkerComscore, Inc.(212) 203-2129jtinker@comscore.com