COMSCORE, INC. Q4 FY2024 earnings call

• In 2024, cross-platform audience solution Cluxtimic and cross-platform ad measurement product grew 20% for the year and 22% in Q4. Advertisers leaned into Comscore's cross-platform capabilities. - Made progress with major holding companies by signing new multiyear contracts for cross-platform and currency measurement offerings. - Shored up cash position with new financing, restructured deal with Charter saving over $35M, and added key talent to leadership team. - In Q4 2024, revenue was $94.9M, nearly flat year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA up 4.4%. Strength in cross-platform offerings and TV currency. - Comscore has an unmatched view of audiences across platforms with measurement on various screens and social actions. - In 2025, expect high double-digit growth from cross-platform solutions, ProximaC to continue high double-digit growth, Comscore campaign ratings to scale, Comscore content measurement launched in Jan 2025 with strong interest and pipeline, and TV currency product to drive growth.

For 2024, total revenue was $356 million, down 4.1% from $371.3 million in 2023. Content and ad measurement revenue was $301.1 million, down 2.8% from 2023, with lower revenue from syndicated audience offering partially offset by increase in cross-platform revenue. Movies business generated $37.1 million in revenue, up 5% from prior year. Cross-platform revenue was $40.5 million, up 20% compared to prior year. Research and Insight Solutions revenue was $54.9 million, down 10.6% from 2023. For the fourth quarter of 2024, total revenue was $94.9 million, nearly flat with prior year. Content and ad measurement revenue was $81 million, up 1% from 2023, with cross-platform revenue up 22% over prior year quarter. Movies business revenue was $9.4 million, up 3% from Q4 2023. Research and Insight Solutions revenue was $13.9 million, down 6.5% from prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for 2024 was $42.4 million, and for the fourth quarter was $17.2 million, up 4.4% versus prior year quarter.

• Total revenue for 2025 expected to be between $360 million and $370 million. - Q1 2025 revenue roughly flat compared to Q1 2024, with return to growth in subsequent quarters as demand for cross-platform products rises. - Adjusted EBITDA margin expected to be between 12% and 15% in 2025, driven by greater share of revenue from higher-margin cross-platform solutions and cost containment efforts.

• Actual results may differ materially from current expectations due to number of risks and uncertainties outlined in SEC filings. - Macro-economic factors could impact ad spend. - Consumer privacy and regulations state by state could affect business.

Q: You've just seen a lot of volatility in results through Q4 and the early stages of Q1. I'm just wondering if you can maybe give us a lay of the land of what you're seeing if you've seen pockets of volatility or most things have been pretty stable for you.

A: Hi, Jason. Thanks. I would say, you know, we've seen really good momentum coming out of and throughout the fourth quarter, and we believe that momentum carries nicely into 2025. We know that the first quarters, in terms of just the sheer size of the ad spend in the marketplace, from a digital standpoint, always the lowest quarter. We've got that appropriately factored into the guidance that Mary Margaret indicated for Q1. We haven't seen a lot of specifics in terms of macroeconomic factors that are pulling on anything here coming out of 2024. We feel really good about the momentum that we've built and fully expect that to carry forward and have that reflected appropriately in how we try to guide for the year.

Q: If we're going into a world of more uncertainty, do you think that creates more opportunity for a solution like ProximaC that can basically help marketers find efficiencies in the media spend?

A: Yeah. I mean, we certainly think so. Part of, you know, not just the uncertainty, but, you know, you've got a loss that continues to permeate throughout the digital ecosystem. You've got, increased consumer privacy and regulations state by state. As you know, our ProximaC offering and the ID-free solution that we provide to the marketplace is something that continues to scale and against that backdrop, we anticipate it is only going to continue to benefit.

Q: You had called out more currency utilization in Q4 than you've ever seen before. You had paired that with some new agency contracts that you won. Is that the driver, or do you think there are others, like external drivers that are creating better currency adoption?

A: It's probably a combination of both. There is certainly no shortage of press in the marketplace around the goal of clients to see better and improved innovation around TV currency. We've been a beneficiary of that certainly in the fourth quarter. But our focus at the agency holco level specifically over the course of the last call it, twelve months, has been an area that we've called out that we're clearly focused on. That work and that effort paid off with a couple of the big agency whole companies as their contract came up really leaning into the offerings that we have, and multiyear contracts that are also coupled with a focus on currency adoption. We saw that pay off in the fourth quarter with greater ad spend against our offerings, and we certainly anticipate seeing that continue throughout the year.