Release Date: August 06, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- comScore Inc (SCOR, Financial) is making progress with its turnaround strategy, focusing on emerging areas in media measurement.
- The company has seen encouraging strength in its cross-platform offerings, particularly the Proximic business and CCR product.
- Revenue from the movies business grew by 5% over the prior year, indicating stability in this segment.
- comScore Inc (SCOR) has successfully integrated CCR into The Trade Desk, a significant channel in the programmatic ecosystem.
- The company has made significant strides in strengthening its balance sheet, including paying down $6 million of its outstanding credit facility balance and restructuring preferred shareholder agreements.
Negative Points
- Total revenue for the second quarter was $85.8 million, down 8.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
- Content and ad measurement revenue declined by 6.7%, primarily due to lower revenue from syndicated audience offerings.
- Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $6.9 million, down 22.8% from the prior year quarter.
- The company has revised its full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance downward, expecting a decline of 3% to 6% over 2023.
- Revenue from cross-platform offerings declined due to a pause in CCR usage with a large enterprise client and lower-than-expected Proximic revenue.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Given all of the changes and the challenges in the legacy business, what really is the path forward here given that the newer products that you're focused on are much more part of the business at this point?
A: (Jonathan Carpenter, CEO) Big picture, we're focused on areas where comScore has significant opportunity, particularly in our cross-platform capabilities and building out solutions that our clients are asking for. This includes expanding CCR integrations, our cross-platform content planning product, and continued investment in Proximic. These areas represent the most significant growth opportunities as we look ahead to the remainder of this year and into 2025.
Q: From a headwinds perspective, what's the risk that these headwinds remain material for a significant period of time? Are there strategic alternatives or options, for example, the movies business, that you can think about?
A: (Jonathan Carpenter, CEO) I'm not going to comment on specific strategic points, but regarding the traditional businesses, we expect to have revised much of the churn by the end of this year. We have good visibility into how the business stabilizes itself as we exit the third quarter and enter the fourth quarter.
Q: How should we be thinking about the ramp in Proximic and CCR? Are we measuring that in quarters or how should we talk about where you want to be at a certain point?
A: (Jonathan Carpenter, CEO) With CCR, we're integrating with very big platforms, and the timeline is not always in our control. Looking back at Proximic, it took 3 to 6 months to see meaningful momentum. For CCR, specifically with the Trade Desk, it got into the platform in early July, so we are still in the early innings. We are talking about months and quarters for these things to scale.
Q: Can you provide more details on the financial performance and expectations for the rest of the year?
A: (Mary Curry, CFO) Total revenue for the second quarter was $85.8 million, down 8.4% from the same quarter a year ago. We are revising our full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, now expecting full-year revenue for 2024 to be between $350 million and $360 million, a decline of 3% to 6% over 2023. We expect revenue for the third quarter to be down 4% to 6% over 2023, with a moderation in the decline towards the end of the year as Proximic and CCR ramp up.
Q: What are the key areas of focus for Comscore moving forward?
A: (Jonathan Carpenter, CEO) We are focused on solving the biggest, fastest-growing problems facing the market. This includes expanding our cross-platform YouTube audience measurement, integrating CCR under the Trade Desk, and making significant strides with Proximic. We are also developing new products and services, such as insights into consumers' usage of AI tools and an omnichannel content measurement offering.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
