Viant Technology Inc. (DSP) Earnings

Management highlights

- Overall Q1 2026 Performance * Delivered new Q1 company records across all key metrics, with results exceeding guidance ranges * Adjusted EBITDA expanded nearly 700 basis points as a percentage of contribution ex-TAC year-over-year * Trailing 12-month contribution ex-TAC per employee increased over 9% year-over-year, marking 11 straight quarters of operational efficiency gains * Ended the quarter with $185.7 million in cash, no debt, and $39.4 million remaining in the share repurchase authorization - Strategic Positioning and Market Dynamics * Viant is positioned to capitalize on two early-stage industry tailwinds: ongoing migration of linear TV ad spend to CTV, and diversion of search and social performance budgets to CTV * Major advertisers and agencies are increasingly seeking independent, objective buy-side partners free of conflicts of interest, a gap Viant fills with its differentiated offering * The company holds the largest sales RFP pipeline in its history, with strong traction across all stages of the funnel, including tests from large customers and 2027 bid opportunities * Viant's model is built around advertiser interests: it does not own publisher inventory, so it has no incentive to steer spend to specific properties, unlike walled garden competitors such as Amazon and Google - Product and Platform Developments * IRIS ID, Viant's proprietary content identifier, reached nearly 50% penetration across all biddable CTV inventory in Q1, with additional major streaming services set to go live later this year that will push penetration over 75%; it enables granular show-level and contextual targeting unavailable from competitors limited to app-level targeting * Viant's patented Household ID identity solution is embedded in 96% of all CTV bid requests, with 95% of all U.S. household addresses mapped to its ID graph, delivering over 4x the coverage of competing identity offerings * Outcomes, Viant's fully autonomous AI-powered performance ad solution, launched in January 2026; it is already capturing performance budgets previously allocated to search and social, and is expected to become a meaningful long-term growth driver * On May 1, 2026, Viant closed the acquisition of TVision, a leading TV measurement provider with proprietary attention-based insights from a nationally representative U.S. household panel; TVision data will be integrated as a prebid signal to enable attention-adjusted CPM bidding, creating a unique competitive advantage no other platform can match * Viant is transitioning from a media execution platform to an advertising intelligence company, combining proprietary data (content, identity, attention), independent measurement, and real-time activation to build a sustainable competitive moat

Guidance

- Q2 2026 guidance includes a partial-quarter contribution from the TVision acquisition (closed May 1, 2026): * Expected revenue: $98.5 million to $101.5 million, representing 28% year-over-year growth at the midpoint * Expected contribution ex-TAC: $58.5 million to $60.5 million, representing 23% year-over-year growth at the midpoint * Expected adjusted EBITDA: $13 million to $14 million, representing 20% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, with an expected 23% adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of contribution ex-TAC at the midpoint - Full year 2026 outlook: * Contribution ex-TAC growth is expected to outpace the broader U.S. programmatic market (projected to grow 13%), driving further market share gains * Year-over-year contribution ex-TAC growth rates are expected to accelerate sequentially through 2026, driven by new client onboarding, organic growth, political ad spend in the second half, and the addition of TVision * Revenue and contribution ex-TAC are expected to grow faster than non-GAAP operating expenses, leading to modest full-year adjusted EBITDA margin expansion - Long-term targets: Viant aims to deliver consistent 20%+ annual top-line growth and continued adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, with a target of reaching 40%+ adjusted EBITDA margins over the next several years

Segment performance

Total company revenue for Q1 2026 was $88.5 million, a 25% year-over-year increase. Contribution ex-TAC was $50.3 million, up 18% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $9.8 million, an 81% year-over-year increase, representing 19% of contribution ex-TAC. Non-GAAP net income was $5.6 million, up nearly 100% year-over-year. CTV is the core growth segment, accounting for over 50% of total platform spend (a new record high for Q1), with CTV contribution ex-TAC growing over 40% year-over-year for the third consecutive year. Video overall (inclusive of CTV) represents over 65% of total platform spend, while customer-directed purchasing across emerging digital channels (CTV, streaming audio, digital out-of-home) collectively represents over 60% of total platform spend, up from 54% for full year 2025. Growth is broad-based across verticals, with financial services, health care, consumer goods, and industrials leading performance.

Risks & headwinds

- CTV ad spend has greater volatility than legacy linear TV ad spend, as DSP platforms give advertisers the flexibility to quickly pause or adjust campaigns in response to macro or geopolitical disruptions - Large walled garden competitors (Amazon, Google) continue to expand in the demand-side platform space, with inherent conflicts of interest from their ownership of publisher inventory that draw advertiser criticism, but remain significant competitive threats - RFP processes for large enterprise DSP contracts are lengthy, with most current pipeline opportunities not expected to convert to revenue until 2027, creating uncertainty around the timing of incremental growth - Political ad spend contribution is concentrated in the second half of the year, with 2026 midterm election spend expected to be lower than 2024 presidential cycle spend

Analyst Q&A

• Q: Why is Viant's growth rate meaningfully higher than other independent DSPs, and do you have plans to enter proprietary supply/content to build additional moats?

  A: Viant's faster growth is driven by its intense, long-term focus on CTV combined with unique proprietary data assets (content, identity, attention) and its Direct Access offering that eliminates unnecessary middleman fees for advertisers. Viant has no plans to own proprietary content or supply, as that would create a conflict of interest; the company's model is built exclusively around aligning with advertiser interests to deliver objective, unbiased budget allocation recommendations across all available inventory.

• Q: How is the record RFP pipeline progressing through the funnel, and when can we expect converted opportunities to contribute revenue?

  A: The pipeline has strong traction across three stages: closed large customer wins, active test budgets from other large prospects, and ongoing formal RFP processes. Most large current RFP opportunities are for 2027 DSP contracts, with most budget expected to roll in starting Q1 2027. Early wins with major Fortune 500 advertisers have created a snowball effect: Viant is now included in nearly every major RFP, as winning large clients derisks the platform for subsequent prospects.

• Q: What is the adoption outlook for the Outcomes AI product, and what is the expected timing of political ad spend contribution in 2026?

  A: Outcomes is still early with a small base, but early performance results have been exceptional, as autonomous millisecond-scale optimization outperforms human-led campaign management. The product targets the entire $60% of total ad spend allocated to performance marketing, creating massive long-term growth opportunity. Political spend will be negligible in Q2, and will kick in meaningfully in the second half of 2026, split roughly equally between Q3 and Q4. 2026 midterm spend is expected to be lower than the 2024 presidential cycle, which added 500 basis points of growth in H2 2024.

• Q: Have recent industry reports of advertiser dissatisfaction with legacy DSP relationships benefited Viant's pipeline, and how large is this incremental opportunity?

  A: Advertiser sentiment around lack of transparency from conflicted incumbent DSPs has been building for some time, and the formal process of issuing RFPs for alternative platforms is now well underway. Viant is already winning test budgets from this trend and expects incremental new spend throughout the rest of the year. The opportunity is driven by Viant's superior product offering, not just market discontent, as marketers have recognized Viant's differentiated value and are ready to switch.