ACCESS Newswire, Inc. Q4 FY2026 earnings call

Past year was transformational. Completed strategic rebrand, divested legacy compliance business, reduced debt, cut OPEX, retooled back office systems. Grew subscription revenue to ~53% of total revenue. Deployed AI editorial validation, launched Access EDU, pressrelease.com. Q1 launched Access Verified social monitoring, Kill the Report. Plan for 2026 includes reaching up to 1,500 subscription customers, moving adjusted EBITDA margins into mid to high teens, full monetization of products.

Fourth quarter revenue was $5.8 million, up ~$100,000 sequentially and essentially flat year over year. Adjusted EBITDA increased slightly to $881,000 from $871,000, representing 15% of revenue. Gross margin was strong at 77%, up from 75% in the same quarter last year. Total active customers grew to 12,802, up 4% year over year. Average reoccurring revenue per subscription customer increased 16% year over year from 10,844 to 12,534. For the full year 2025, revenue was $22.6 million, down 2% from 2024. Core press release revenue was up ~2% in Q4 and 1% for the full year. Subscription revenue占比 Q4 was 53% vs. 45% same quarter prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2025 was $3.2 million, or 14% of revenue, up from $1.8 million, or 8% of revenue in 2024.

Target to reach up to 1,500 subscription customers by end of 2026. Expect adjusted EBITDA margins to move into mid to high teens by second half of 2026. Testing lower subscription commitments to see market response,推进产品全面 monetization.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks. Subscription business has 70% churn due to credit card failures and payments. Economic landscape changes may impact business.

Q: Mike Grondahl asked about examples of premium subscription tiers and per release pricing, volume and pricing trends on newswire side, and OPEX in 2026.

A: Brian responded on examples like fixed fee subscriptions upgrading and per product options, volume expected to increase due to AI and market trends, and further OPEX optimization.

Q: Jacob Stephan asked about EDU customer breakdown, ARR in EDU, and gross margin improvement contributors.

A: Brian explained EDU customers are universities, EDU customers in Bateman program are zero AR model, and gross margin improvement is 50-50 from ARR expansion and AI.

Q: Brock Irwin asked about Q1 share repurchases and addressing subscription customer churn.

A: Brian said there's remaining share repurchase plan to resume, and 70% churn is due to credit card failures, retooling payment systems and improving customer experience to address churn.