Eventbrite Inc (EB) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Revenue Challenges and Strategic Growth Initiatives

Eventbrite Inc (EB) surpasses revenue expectations despite year-over-year declines, focusing on creator acquisition and financial resilience.

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  • Revenue: $77.8 million for Q3 2024, above the $74 million to $77 million outlook range, but down 5% year-over-year.
  • Ticketing Revenue: Decreased by 11% year-over-year.
  • Non-Ticketing Revenue: Represented 12% of total revenue for the quarter.
  • Paid Creators: Declined 12% year-over-year to 163,000 in Q3 2024.
  • Events per Creator: Increased by 3% year-over-year.
  • Tickets per Event: Declined by 5% year-over-year.
  • Paid Tickets Issued: 19.7 million, down 14% year-over-year.
  • Average Ticket Price: Increased by 3% year-over-year to $40.30.
  • Revenue Take Rate: 9.8% in Q3 2024, 60 basis points higher than a year ago.
  • Revenue per Ticket: $3.97 in Q3 2024, compared to $3.57 a year ago.
  • Gross Profit: $53.3 million, down 4% year-over-year.
  • Gross Margin: 68.5%, compared to 68.3% a year ago.
  • Total Operating Expenses: $62.2 million, compared to $67.2 million a year ago.
  • Net Loss: $3.8 million for Q3 2024, compared to a net loss of $9.9 million in Q3 2023.
  • Adjusted EBITDA: $5.8 million, including $5.4 million in severance and other costs.
  • Cash and Cash Equivalents: $531 million at the end of Q3 2024.
  • Long-term Debt: Reduced to $240 million from $359 million a quarter ago.
  • Share Repurchase Program: $39 million in share repurchases year-to-date, reducing shares outstanding by approximately 7% since the start of the year.
  • Q4 2024 Revenue Outlook: Expected to be within a range of $74 million to $77 million.
  • Full Year 2024 Revenue Outlook: Expected to be within a range of $322 million to $326 million.

Release Date: November 07, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

  • Eventbrite Inc (EB, Financial) exceeded its revenue outlook for the third quarter, reporting $77.8 million.
  • The company has seen success with its new creator acquisition strategy following pricing changes in September.
  • Eventbrite Inc (EB) has strengthened its financial position while continuing to invest in growth.
  • The introduction of a free tier has shown positive impacts on creator acquisition and ticket volume.
  • Eventbrite Inc (EB) has improved its customer support model, achieving an 80% reduction in response times and expanding to 24/7 phone support for premium creators.

Negative Points

  • Third quarter revenue was down 5% year-over-year due to ticket volume headwinds.
  • Ticketing revenue declined by 11% compared to the previous year.
  • The total number of paid creators decreased by 12% year-over-year.
  • Tickets per event declined by 5%, with a total of 19.7 million paid tickets issued, down 14% year-over-year.
  • Eventbrite Inc (EB) faced increased chargebacks and fraud remediation expenses, totaling $6.8 million in the quarter.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide more color on where paid creators went after leaving the platform due to organizer fee transitions, and what initiatives have been effective in winning them back?
A: Julia Hartz, CEO, explained that many creators moved to homegrown solutions or startup competitors rather than major competitors. Eventbrite is winning them back through marketing channel activations, incentivizing returns with pricing changes, and updating them on new platform features like TikTok integration and 24/7 support. Since early September, Eventbrite has won back creators who have sold over three-quarters of a million tickets.

Q: How should we think about the impact of the free tier on paid creator growth and take rates in Q4?
A: Julia Hartz noted that the marketplace transformation is showing early success, with over 13,000 creators returning. Revenue per paid ticket remains strong, and the sales team is focusing on strategic inventory. Lanny Baker, CFO, added that while organizer fees will decrease, the core ticketing take rate should remain stable, and Eventbrite ads continue to drive revenue growth.

Q: What is the status of the TikTok partnership, and are there specific event categories benefiting from it?
A: Julia Hartz stated that daily impressions from TikTok have remained stable. The partnership allows creators to embed event links in TikTok posts, targeting the 21- to 35-year-old demographic. Popular categories benefiting include music, food and drink, and community events.

Q: What are the key growth drivers for Eventbrite moving forward?
A: Julia Hartz highlighted the marketplace transformation, expanded free tier, successful win-back campaigns, and strong consumer reach as key growth drivers. The focus is on driving adoption of Eventbrite ads and enhancing the consumer app to improve discovery and demand.

Q: How is Eventbrite managing its financial outlook and cash flow?
A: Lanny Baker mentioned that Eventbrite expects Q4 revenue between $74 million and $77 million, with a full-year adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 10%. The company is committed to buying back up to $50 million in stock this year and has already reduced shares outstanding by about 7%.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.