Zeta Delivers Record Revenue in 3Q’23
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA), the AI-Powered Marketing Cloud, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.
“Our third quarter of 2023 was one of our most eventful and productive quarters yet,” said David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta. “Our record attendance at Zeta Live and our record revenue reflect our growing awareness in the marketplace. Zeta is committed to leading the intelligence-powered marketing transformation, delivering better experiences for consumers and better results for brands.”
“The third quarter was a continuation of our strong execution,” said Chris Greiner, Zeta’s CFO. “Our strong revenue growth, with over 90 percent of our portfolio growing in the mid-30s and rapid new customer additions, is evidence of the growing adoption and expansion of the Zeta Marketing Platform. The combination of robust demand, disciplined expense management and better productivity continues to drive strong Adjusted EBITDA and FCF expansion.”
Third Quarter 2023 Highlights
Guidance
Zeta anticipates revenue and Adjusted EBITDA as follows:
Fourth Quarter 2023
Full Year 2023
Investor Conference Call and Webcast
Zeta will host a conference call today, Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss financial results for the third quarter 2023. A supplemental earnings presentation and a live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the Company’s investor relations website (https://investors.zetaglobal.com/) where they will remain available for one year.
About Zeta
Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) is the AI-Powered Marketing Cloud that leverages advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and trillions of consumer signals to make it easier for marketers to acquire, grow, and retain customers more efficiently. Through the Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP), our vision is to make sophisticated marketing simple by unifying identity, intelligence, and omnichannel activation into a single platform – powered by one of the industry’s largest proprietary databases and AI. Our enterprise customers across multiple verticals are empowered to personalize experiences with consumers at an individual level across every channel, delivering better results for marketing programs. Zeta was founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley and is headquartered in New York City with offices around the world. To learn more, go to www.zetaglobal.com.
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1 Free Cash Flow, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA margin are not measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. See “Non-GAAP Measures” for more information and, where applicable, reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release, together with other statements and information publicly disseminated by the Company, contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and includes this statement for purposes of complying with these safe harbor provisions. Any statements made in this press release or during the earnings call that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about our fourth quarter and full year 2023 guidance, the Zeta 2025 plan, the financial targets of Zeta 2025 and the timing of when we will achieve the Zeta 2025 plan, the capabilities of AI and Zeta’s platform, and the growth and expansion of the Zeta Marketing Platform are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our anticipated future financial performance, our market opportunities and our expectations regarding our business plan and strategies. These statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggests,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “guidance” and other similar expressions. We base these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, plans and assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances at such time. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, you should be aware that many factors could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or results.
The forward-looking statements are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Factors that may materially affect such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: global supply chain disruptions; macroeconomic and industry trends and adverse developments in the debt, consumer credit and financial services markets and other macroeconomic factors beyond Zeta’s control; increases in our borrowing costs as a result of changes in interest rates and other factors; the impact of inflation on us and on our customers; potential fluctuations in our operating results, which could make our future operating results difficult to predict; underlying circumstances, including cash flows, cash position, financial performance, market conditions and potential acquisitions; prevailing stock prices, general economic and market condition; the impact of COVID-19 and other future pandemics, epidemics and other health crises on the global economy, our customers, employees and business; the war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical tensions as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the escalating conflict in Israel, Gaza and surrounding areas; our ability to innovate and make the right investment decisions in our product offerings and platform; the impact of new generative AI capabilities and the proliferation of AI on our business; our ability to attract and retain customers, including our scaled and super-scaled customers; our ability to manage our growth effectively; our ability to collect and use data online; the standards that private entities and inbox service providers adopt in the future to regulate the use and delivery of email may interfere with the effectiveness of our platform and our ability to conduct business; a significant inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal information we process, or a security breach of our or our customers’, suppliers’ or other partners’ computer systems; and any disruption to our third-party data centers, systems and technologies. These cautionary statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and the forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
The fourth quarter and full year 2023 guidance provided herein and Zeta 2025 targets are based on Zeta’s current estimates and assumptions and are not a guarantee of future performance. The guidance provided and Zeta 2025 targets are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors discussed in the Company’s reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), that could cause actual results to differ materially. There can be no assurance that the Company will achieve the results expressed by this guidance or the targets.
Availability of Information on Zeta’s Website and Social Media Profiles
Investors and others should note that Zeta routinely announces material information to investors and the marketplace using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and the Zeta investor relations website at https://investors.zetaglobal.com (“Investors Website”). We also intend to use the social media profiles listed below as a means of disclosing information about us to our customers, investors and the public. While not all of the information that the Company posts to the Investors Website or to social media profiles is of a material nature, some information could be deemed to be material. Accordingly, the Company encourages investors, the media, and others interested in Zeta to review the information that it shares on the Investors Website and to regularly follow our social media profile links located at the bottom of the page on www.zetaglobal.com. Users may automatically receive email alerts and other information about Zeta when enrolling an email address by visiting «Investor Email Alerts» in the «Resources» section of the Investors Website.
Social Media Profiles:
www.twitter.com/zetaglobal
www.facebook.com/ZetaGlobal/
www.linkedin.com/company/zetaglobal
www.instagram.com/zetaglobal/
The Following Definitions Apply to the Terms Used Throughout this Release, the Supplemental Earnings Presentation and Investor Conference Call
Non-GAAP Measures
In order to assist readers of our consolidated financial statements in understanding the core operating results that our management uses to evaluate the business and for financial planning purposes, we describe our non-GAAP measures below. We believe these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in evaluating our performance by providing an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our financial performance over multiple periods.
Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Free Cash Flow provide us with useful measures for period-to-period comparisons of our business as well as comparison to our peers. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in analyzing our financial and operational performance. Nevertheless our use of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Free Cash Flow has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP. Other companies may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures differently than us, thereby limiting the usefulness of these non-GAAP financial measures as a comparative tool. Because of these and other limitations, you should consider our non-GAAP measures only as supplemental to other GAAP-based financial performance measures, including revenues and net loss.
We calculate forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Free Cash Flow based on internal forecasts that omit certain amounts that would be included in forward-looking GAAP net income (loss). We do not attempt to provide a reconciliation of forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Free Cash Flow guidance and targets to forward looking GAAP net income (loss), GAAP net income (loss) margin or cash flows from operating activities, respectively, because forecasting the timing or amount of items that have not yet occurred and are out of our control is inherently uncertain and unavailable without unreasonable efforts. Further, we believe that such reconciliations would imply a degree of precision and certainty that could be confusing to investors. Such items could have a substantial impact on GAAP measures of financial performance.
Zeta Global Holdings Corp.Condensed Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets(In thousands, except shares, per share and par values)
As of
September 30, 2023 December 31, 2022
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 120,796 $ 121,110
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $3,271 and $1,882 as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively 140,408 106,322
Prepaid expenses 6,493 7,150
Other current assets 1,835 1,866
Total current assets $ 269,532 $ 236,448
Non-current assets:
Property and equipment, net $ 7,456 $ 5,981
Website and software development costs, net 33,183 36,713
Right-to-use assets – operating leases, net 5,943 7,388
Intangible assets, net 50,099 44,358
Goodwill 140,894 133,069
Deferred tax assets, net 835 745
Other non-current assets 3,403 1,800
Total non-current assets $ 241,813 $ 230,054
Total assets $ 511,345 $ 466,502
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 59,173 $ 33,668
Accrued expenses 73,135 72,364
Acquisition-related liabilities 21,812 14,743
Deferred revenue 2,332 2,228
Other current liabilities 6,086 5,707
Total current liabilities $ 162,538 $ 128,710
Non-current liabilities:
Long-term borrowings $ 184,044 $ 183,953
Acquisition-related liabilities 8,481 17,932
Other non-current liabilities 6,504 7,877
Total non-current liabilities $ 199,029 $ 209,762
Total liabilities $ 361,567 $ 338,472
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Class A common stock $ 0.001 per share par value, up to 3,750,000,000 shares authorized, 184,189,613 and 175,266,917 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively $ 184 $ 175
Class B common stock $ 0.001 per share par value, up to 50,000,000 shares authorized, 29,859,321 and 32,099,302 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively 30 32
Additional paid-in capital 1,074,943 900,924
Accumulated deficit (923,256 ) (771,056 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (2,123 ) (2,045 )
Total stockholders’ equity $ 149,778 $ 128,030
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 511,345 $ 466,502
Condensed Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Three months endedSeptember 30, Nine months endedSeptember 30,
2023 2022 2023 2022
Revenues $ 188,984 $ 152,252 $ 518,403 $ 415,821
Operating expenses:
Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization) 73,480 57,529 189,867 149,487
General and administrative expenses 50,706 53,584 154,022 162,598
Selling and marketing expenses 70,669 76,987 215,714 223,044
Research and development expenses 18,062 16,954 53,924 52,223
Depreciation and amortization 13,233 13,367 37,654 39,448
Acquisition-related expenses — — 203 344
Restructuring expenses — — 2,845 —
Total operating expenses $ 226,150 $ 218,421 $ 654,229 $ 627,144
Loss from operations (37,166 ) (66,169 ) (135,826 ) (211,323 )
Interest expense 2,894 2,038 8,139 5,002
Other expenses 2,436 1,142 7,138 12,111
Change in fair value of warrants and derivative liabilities — (805 ) — 410
Total other expenses $ 5,330 $ 2,375 $ 15,277 $ 17,523
Loss before income taxes (42,496 ) (68,544 ) (151,103 ) (228,846 )
Income tax provision/(benefit) 590 $ 896 1,097 $ (1,360 )
Net loss $ (43,086 ) $ (69,440 ) $ (152,200 ) $ (227,486 )
Other comprehensive loss:
Foreign currency translation adjustment 283 774 78 1,421
Total comprehensive loss $ (43,369 ) $ (70,214 ) $ (152,278 ) $ (228,907 )
Net loss per share
Net loss available to common stockholders $ (43,086 ) $ (69,440 ) $ (152,200 ) $ (227,486 )
Basic loss per share $ (0.27 ) $ (0.49 ) $ (0.99 ) $ (1.66 )
Diluted loss per share $ (0.27 ) $ (0.49 ) $ (0.99 ) $ (1.66 )
Weighted average number of shares used to compute net loss per share
Basic 158,055,789 140,594,128 154,262,386 136,793,272
Diluted 158,055,789 140,594,128 154,262,386 136,793,272
The Company recorded stock-based compensation under respective lines of the above condensed unaudited consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss:
Three monthsendedSeptember 30, Nine months endedSeptember 30,
2023 2022 2023 2022
Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation and amortization) $ 546 $ 1,536 $ 2,098 $ 4,436
General and administrative expenses 21,223 28,193 66,221 88,873
Selling and marketing expenses 29,266 38,868 92,933 117,765
Research and development expenses 6,637 6,621 18,494 20,215
Total $ 57,672 $ 75,218 $ 179,746 $ 231,289
Condensed Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows(In thousands)
Nine months ended September 30,
2023 2022
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss $ (152,200 ) $ (227,486 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 37,654 39,448
Stock-based compensation 179,746 231,289
Deferred income taxes (96 ) (3,114 )
Change in fair value of warrant and derivative liabilities — 410
Change in fair value of acquisition-related liabilities 6,681 12,234
Others, net 1,186 (216 )
Change in non-cash working capital (net of acquisitions):
Accounts receivable (33,306 ) (4,595 )
Prepaid expenses 872 (489 )
Other current assets 31 (241 )
Other non-current assets (607 ) 150
Deferred revenue (311 ) (765 )
Accounts payable 22,614 7,253
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 1,225 1,778
Other non-current liabilities 72 (267 )
Net cash provided by operating activities 63,561 55,389
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures (14,886 ) (17,165 )
Website and software development costs (12,344 ) (12,820 )
Acquisitions and other investments, net of cash acquired (18,246 ) (9,209 )
Net cash used for investing activities (45,476 ) (39,194 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
Cash paid for acquisition-related liabilities (8,710 ) (2,292 )
Proceeds from credit facilities, net of issuance cost 11,250 5,625
Issuance under employee stock purchase plan 1,567 1,320
Exercise of options 224 165
Repurchase of shares (11,487 ) (4,310 )
Repayments against the credit facilities (11,250 ) (5,625 )
Net cash used for financing activities (18,406 ) (5,117 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 7 (129 )
Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents (314 ) 10,949
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 121,110 103,859
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 120,796 $ 114,808
Supplemental cash flow disclosures including non-cash activities:
Cash paid for interest, net $ 7,686 $ 4,003
Cash paid for income taxes, net $ 1,274 $ 1,114
Liability established in connection with acquisitions $ 7,670 $ 19,773
Capitalized stock-based compensation as website and software development costs $ 2,634 $ 4,131
Shares issued in connection with acquisitions and other agreements $ 1,343 $ 14,936
Non-cash consideration for website and software development costs $ 784 $ 981
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(in thousands)
The following table reconciles adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin to net loss and net loss margin, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.
Three months endedSeptember 30, Nine months endedSeptember 30,
2023 2022 2023 2022
Net loss $ (43,086 ) $ (69,440 ) $ (152,200 ) $ (227,486 )
Net loss margin 22.8 % 45.6 % 29.4 % 54.7 %
Add back:
Depreciation and amortization 13,233 13,367 37,654 39,448
Restructuring expenses – – 2,845 –
Acquisition related expenses – – 203 344
Stock-based compensation 57,672 75,218 179,746 231,289
Other expenses 2,436 1,142 7,138 12,111
Change in fair value of warrants and derivative liabilities – (805 ) – 410
Interest expense 2,894 2,038 8,139 5,002
Income tax provision / (benefit) 590 896 1,097 (1,360 )
Adjusted EBITDA $ 33,739 $ 22,416 $ 84,622 $ 59,758
Adjusted EBITDA margin 17.9 % 14.7 % 16.3 % 14.4 %
The following table reconciles Cash Flows from Operating Activities in the Condensed Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows to Free Cash Flow:
Three monthsendedSeptember 30, Nine monthsendedSeptember 30,
2023 2022 2023 2022
Cash Flows from Operating Activities $ 22,828 $ 19,539 $ 63,561 $ 55,389
Capital expenditures (5,936 ) (5,654 ) (14,886 ) (17,165 )
Website and software development costs (3,438 ) (4,234 ) (12,344 ) (12,820 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (94 ) (295 ) 7 (129 )
Free Cash Flow $ 13,360 $ 9,356 $ 36,338 $ 25,275
Investor Relations
Scott Schmitz
ir@zetaglobal.com
Press
James A. Pearson
press@zetaglobal.com
Source: Zeta Global