ACCESS Newswire, Inc. Q4 FY2025 earnings call

Ryan Bell-Byrne and Steve Nur discussed the year's transformational nature. Ryan highlighted strategic focus, operational improvement, and subscription-first business. Steve went into details of revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, GAAP and non-GAAP metrics, cash flow, and deferred revenue. Brian Bell-Byrne talked about 2025 accomplishments like rebrand, divestiture of compliance business, reduced debt, OPEX reduction, back office retooling, subscription revenue growth, ARR per subscriber increase, AI editorial validation deployment, launch of Access EDU, abatement study competition, PressRelease.com, Access Verified (social monitoring), Kill the Report (AI-powered report), and EDU program expansion. Also mentioned product launches and innovations for 2026

Fourth quarter revenue was $5.8 million, up ~$100k sequentially and flat year over year. Adjusted EBITDA increased slightly to $881,000 from $871,000, representing 15% of revenue. Gross margin continued to be strong at 77%, up from 75% in the same quarter of last year. Full year 2025 revenue was $22.6 million, down 438,000 or 2% from 2024. Core press release revenue up approximately 2% from the same quarter of the prior year and 1% for the full year of 2025 compared to 2024. Subscription revenue increased to 53% of total revenue in Q4 2025 compared to 45% in the same quarter of the prior year. Gross margin percentages improved to 77% for both fourth quarter and full year of 2025, compared to 75% and 76% in the same periods of 2024 respectively. Operating loss for Q4 2025 was $761,000 and for full year 2025 was $1.9 million. Non-GAAP EBITDA for Q4 2025 was $251,000 (4% of revenue) and full year 2025 was $1.3 million (6% of revenue). Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2025 was $881,000 (15% of revenue) and full year 2025 was $3.2 million (14% of revenue). Deferred revenue balance increased $522,000 (11%) to $5.3 million as of December 31, 2025

Target to reach up to 1500 subscription customers by end of 2026. Expect adjusted EBITDA margins to move into mid to high teens by second half of 2026. Focus on top line growth driven by subscription expansion, new product monetization, and enterprise customer acquisition. Product momentum including full monetization of enterprise bundle, AI editorial assistance, and Kill the Report platform through Q1 and full year

Known and unknown risks affecting actual results differing from forward-looking statements. Churn related to credit card failures and payments. Economic and industry factors impacting the business. Risks associated with AI advancements and their effect on competitors and the market

Q: Mike Grondahl inquired about incremental revenue through premium subscription tiers and per release pricing, volume and pricing trends on newswire side, and OPEX in 2026.

A: Explained about premium subscription tiers, per release options, volume trends and pricing, and OPEX optimization plans.

Q: Jacob Stephan asked about breaking down KPIs, EDU customer details, ARR and gross margin improvements.

A: Discussed EDU customer schools, ARR model for EDU, and contribution of ARR expansion and AI to gross margin improvements.

Q: Brock Irwin asked about share repurchases and churn.

A: Talked about share repurchase plan progress and actions to address churn related to credit card issues and payment terms