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Comscore Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results

RESTON, Va., November 6, 2023 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting, and evaluating media across platforms, today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Q3 2023 Financial Highlights

"Despite challenging end-markets that impacted revenue in the quarter, we delivered double-digit growth in local TV, more than 20% growth in Activation and Comscore Campaign Ratings, and a significant increase in profitability and adjusted EBITDA. As we close out 2023 and look to 2024, we will continue to leverage Comscore's complete view of audiences across platforms to deliver value for our clients and shareholders," said Jon Carpenter, CEO of Comscore.

Third Quarter Summary Results Revenue in the third quarter was $91.0 million, down 1.9% from $92.8 million in Q3 2022. Digital Ad Solutions revenue declined 3.6% from Q3 2022, primarily due to the timing of deliverables for certain custom digital products and lower revenue from our syndicated digital products, partially offset by increased usage of our Activation product and growth in Comscore Campaign Ratings (CCR). On a combined basis, Activation and CCR delivered growth rates of 23% for the quarter and 26% year to date compared to 2022. Cross Platform Solutions revenue was up 0.2% from Q3 2022, driven by continued double-digit growth in local TV revenue, offset by lower national TV revenue. Movies revenue was flat compared to the prior year quarter.

Our core operating expenses, which include cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses, were $86.3 million, a decrease of 4.5% compared to $90.4 million in Q3 2022. The primary driver of the decline was employee compensation, which decreased from ongoing restructuring efforts and a higher amount of capitalization related to internally developed software as we increased our focus on product infrastructure and innovation in 2023. We also abandoned two office spaces during the quarter, which resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of $1.5 million.

Net income was $2.6 million in Q3 2023, compared to net loss of $52.4 million in Q3 2022, resulting in net income (loss) margins of 2.9% and (56.5)% of revenue, respectively. After accounting for dividends on our convertible preferred stock, loss per share attributable to common shares was $(0.02) and $(0.60) for Q3 2023 and Q3 2022, respectively.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $13.4 million, compared to $11.7 million in Q3 2022, resulting in adjusted EBITDA margins of 14.7% and 12.6%, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign currency transactions, FX adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $12.3 million, compared to $8.9 million in Q3 2022. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of cloud-computing implementation costs, restructuring costs, change in fair value of contingent consideration and warrants liability, impairment of goodwill, impairment of right-of-use and long-lived assets, transformation costs (added in Q3 2023 and applied to prior periods), and other items as presented in the accompanying tables. FX adjusted EBITDA excludes these items as well as gain/loss from foreign currency transactions.

Balance Sheet and LiquidityAs of September 30, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled $30.3 million. Total debt principal, including $16.0 million in outstanding borrowings under our senior secured revolving credit agreement, was $21.0 million.

2023 OutlookBased on current trends and expectations, we believe full-year 2023 revenue will be flat to down 1% compared to 2022 and are reaffirming our guidance for an adjusted EBITDA margin in the double digits.

We do not provide GAAP net income (loss) or net income (loss) margin on a forward-looking basis because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty our future stock-based compensation expense, fair value adjustments, variable interest expense, litigation and restructuring expense and any unusual gains or losses without unreasonable effort. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could be material to results computed in accordance with GAAP. For this reason, we are unable without unreasonable effort to provide a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin, on a forward-looking basis.

Conference Call Information for Today, Monday, November 6, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ETManagement will host a conference call to discuss the results on Monday, November 6, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live audio webcast along with supplemental information will be accessible at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations. Participants can obtain dial-in information by registering for the call at the same web address and are advised to register in advance of the call to avoid delays. Following the conference call, a replay will be available via webcast at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations.

About ComscoreComscore is a global, trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore empowers media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make meaningful business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry's emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal and state securities laws, including, without limitation, our expectations, forecasts, plans and opinions regarding expected revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin for 2023, growth areas, strategic and financial focus areas, economic and industry trends, value delivery to clients and shareholders, product infrastructure and innovation, and restructuring plans. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from expectations, including, but not limited to, changes in our business and customer, partner and vendor relationships; external market conditions and competition; changes or declines in ad spending or other macroeconomic factors; evolving privacy and regulatory standards; and our ability to achieve our expected strategic, financial and operational plans, including the restructuring plan we announced in September 2022. For additional discussion of risk factors, please refer to our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings that we make from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. We do not intend or undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty or obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresTo provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we are disclosing in this press release adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and FX adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures used by our management to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, as they permit our investors to view our core business performance using the same metrics that management uses to evaluate our performance. Nevertheless, our use of these non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Instead, you should consider these measures alongside GAAP-based financial performance measures, net income (loss), net income (loss) margin, various cash flow metrics, and our other GAAP financial results. Set forth below are reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin. These reconciliations should be carefully evaluated.

Q3 2023 Earnings Report.pdf

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Comscore Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results - comScore