Robinhood’s One Percent Match Program is an Industry First – Can it Attract More Buy and Hold Users?
Robinhood (HOOD) has entered the IRA market and is offering a 1% match on each dollar contributed to a retirement account on its platform. For someone putting away $5,000 in a qualified account, the funds would also be credited with an additional $50. The thought on this new product is that this seemingly small amount could compound dramatically over the years into much more than the original incentive.
While Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth and Traditional) are standard brokerage offerings, Robinhood is a decidedly different animal than most. A high percentage of its 22.9 million users tend to view themselves as shorter-term traders or investors in highly speculative assets. This customer trait tends to buck the trend at other brokerage firms that see a higher percentage of assets parked in market-indexed ETFs instead of individual stocks. In one quarter of 2021, 26% of Robinhood’s revenue came from trading in Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency that started out as a goof on crypto.
Developing an account base with larger, more stable assets per account is important for the company’s development. Robinhood users generally hold less in their accounts than at other brokerage firms. Shortly before the company went public last year, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said in a report that the median Robinhood user had $240 in their account. A move toward longer-term savings that builds over time could help increase the average size. And it is important enough to the company that they decided they would compensate investors with the first-of-its-kind a matching program.
“We recognize that this is a pretty big moment for us as a company,” said Sam Nordstrom, an executive in product management at Robinhood. “Retirement is something that folks take very seriously, and we fully expect them to need to trust the institutions that help them save for retirement. So we’re looking to earn that trust over a period of time.”
What’s the IRA Match?
The Robinhood IRA Match provides an extra 1% paid by the brokerage firm. It’s not counted toward the account holders annual contribution limits and is typically available to invest immediately.
The IRA contribution limits for 2022 are $6,000 for people under age 50, which means they can earn up to $60 extra. For people age 50 and over, the limit is $7,000, which means they can earn up to $70 on top of their contributions.
Take Away
Developing a more diverse customer base by offering standard brokerage products has investment app Robinhood providing IRAs to its offerings on the platform.
In typical Robinhood style, they rolled out the offerings just before IRA season with a twist. And the twist may be just what it takes to earn new accounts and attract rollover assets from existing qualified money.
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 5, 2022 /Harte Hanks, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company announced today that on December 2, 2022, the Company completed the closing of its June 30th, 2022, definitive agreement with Wipro, LLC, to repurchase all of the Company’s outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Shares (the “Preferred Shares”) from Wipro, LLC, the sole holder of the Preferred Shares.
At closing the Preferred Shares were repurchased in exchange for (i) a cash payment equal to their liquidation value, or $9,926,000 and (ii) 100,000 shares of Harte Hanks common stock, following the reissuance of the Preferred Shares by the State of New Jersey. The full cash portion of the repurchase price had been held in escrow since June 30, 2022 and was released at the time of closing by PNC Bank. Other than the release of previously escrowed funds, no additional cash was paid by Harte Hanks at the time of closing.
“The repurchase our Preferred Shares emphasizes our ongoing commitment to improve shareholder value. The completion of this transaction eliminated the dilutive impact of the Preferred Shares and eliminated restrictions on our use of capital and our ability to borrow funds,” said Brian Linscott, Harte Hanks’ CEO. Linscott continued, “we would like to again thank Wipro for finalizing this agreement, and for Wipro’s investment in our Company”.
About Harte Hanks: Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) is a leading global customer experience company whose mission is to partner with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract, and engage their customers.
Using its unparalleled resources and award-winning talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment and Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has a proven track record of driving results for some of the world’s premier brands including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony, and IBM among others. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
As used herein, “Harte Hanks” or “the Company” refers to Harte Hanks, Inc. and/or its applicable operating subsidiaries, as the context may require. Harte Hanks’ logo and name are trademarks of Harte Hanks.
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements, which involve several risks and uncertainties. Harte Hanks cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information due to several factors, including those listed from time to time in reports that Harte Hanks files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2022 /Harte Hanks Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of InsideOut Solutions, LLC, an inside sales optimization firm. InsideOut offers inbound and outbound sales outsourcing and experimentation services for partners globally.
“With the acquisition of InsideOut and its inside sales capabilities, Harte Hanks is uniquely positioned to help customers drive growth by optimizing sales and marketing demand generation programs,” commented Brian Linscott, Harte Hanks CEO. “We couldn’t be more pleased with this acquisition, and we are excited to welcome the talented InsideOut team to Harte Hanks. The acquisition of InsideOut will not only provide short-term revenue growth opportunities, but also will be immediately accretive to HHS value. We anticipate cost synergies alone will drive the post-acquisition valuation in the 3-4x EBITDA range.”
“Harte Hanks’ proven ability to drive marketing leads with our cross-segment Marketing Services and Customer Care team and InsideOut’s talent, processes, and experience in delivering sales-qualified leads will drive higher value for our clients,” added Linscott. “InsideOut clients can now come to Harte Hanks for a broad scope of marketing (including data & analytics), customer care, fulfillment and logistics services.”
“We are thrilled to have InsideOut join the Harte Hanks team. What attracted us to Harte Hanks was the clear alignment in culture and values, the like-minded commitment to our partners and a focus on our people, who we believe are the cornerstone for our successes,” remarked Christina Cherry, CEO of InsideOut. Ms. Cherry continued, “This transaction enables us to scale faster and support further growth for our partners, and to provide additional opportunities for our exceptional team of employees, given Harte Hanks’ broader scope of services.”
The combined organizations will begin operations as Harte Hanks on December 1, 2022, with 136 employees joining the Harte Hanks team. Harte Hanks also adds a seventh location to its North American offices with the acquisition of InsideOut’s 7,500-square-foot headquarter facility based in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Transaction Details Harte Hanks has acquired substantially all the assets of InsideOut on December 1, 2022 for a purchase price of $7.5 million, to be paid with a combination of cash and shares of HHS common stock.
Additional information about the completed acquisition will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Harte Hanks with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.
About InsideOut: InsideOut specializes in building, scaling and optimizing inside sales initiatives for some of the world’s largest corporations. In the last seven years the Florida-based organization has partnered with leading Fortune 500 companies including Google, IBM, T-Mobile and Honeywell.
Deploying an analytically driven approach to inside sales experimentation and testing, InsideOut has gained global recognition as one of the most innovative revenue development organizations in the United States. For more information, visit insideoutlab.com.
InsideOut was represented in the transaction by its investment banker Novistra Capital.
About Harte Hanks: Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) is a leading global customer experience company that partners with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract and engage their customers.
Using its resources and talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment, Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has driven results for some of the world’s premier brands, including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony and IBM. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit hartehanks.com.
World Cup 2022: How Sponsorship has Become Less About Selling Drinks and More About Geopolitics
The Fifa men’s World Cup 2022 in Qatar is arguably the most political in history.
Even during the seemingly innocuous performance of South Korean pop star Jung Kook at the tournament’s opening ceremony, geopolitics were center stage. For Kook, 25, is not just a good-looking young man with a global fan base and a multi-million dollar fortune. In addition, he has a lucrative endorsement deal with the South Korean car maker Hyundai-Kia, which also happens to be a major Fifa sponsor.
This kind of relationship is neither an accident nor a simple business arrangement. For years, the South Korean government has been pursuing a strategy aimed at building and projecting “soft power”, developing its engagement with target audiences around the world. This has happened not just through football, music and cars, but also through Oscar winning films like Parasite and the massively popular TV series Squid Games.
And it’s not just South Korea taking advantage of the audiences that Fifa can provide. For while sellers of soft drinks and burgers are still part of the sponsorship roster, Fifa’s key partners are increasingly big corporations from countries keen to benefit from the global reach of football.
State-owned Qatar Airways for example, is busy selling plane tickets as Fifa’s official airline partner, but also plays a pivotal role in attempts by the Qatari government to establish Hamad International Airport as a major hub of global travel.
The award winning airline is an effective instrument of soft power, transmitting signals to global audiences about what Qatar is and what it aspires to be. In turn, the airline, and the very act of hosting the 2022 World Cup, are both illustrations of a nation intent on telling the world a particular story about itself – that it is a legitimate, trustworthy and important member of the international community.
The same applies to China, even though sporting and industrial progress have stalled somewhat since the pandemic. Its roster of four key World Cup sponsors featuring electronics (Hisense), mobile phones (Vivo), dairy products (Mengiu) and everything from property to media (Wanda) remains significant for a country hopeful of one day staging the tournament itself and a government keen to spread China’s influence around the world.
Rebels With a Cause
Alongside the World Cup’s main sponsors, a tradition has emerged of business competitors during tournament engaging in “ambush” marketing. This involves brands using the mega-event as a marketing tool without the considerable expense of an official link (Fifa is reportedly charging around US$100 million (£82 million) for a four-year sponsorship deal).
One notably successful ambush was perpetrated by Bavaria Beer’s provocative campaigns at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and again in 2010 in South Africa. These stunts involved equipping spectators with branded clothing, which was smuggled into stadiums. This gained huge global attention which was no doubt frustrating for the tournaments’ “official” beer, Budweiser.
Brightly colored ambush in 2010. EPA/STR
Yet even ambush marketing now appears to have become geopoliticised. For instance, during this World Cup, the authorities in nearby Dubai have been trying to draw attention away from Qatar with a tourism campaign featuring international football stars. The rival emirate will also be staging its own football tournament at the same time as the World Cup, featuring the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan and Arsenal.
And while in 2010, Bavaria Beer used women wearing orange dresses in its ambush, the UK-based brewer and pub chain BrewDog is trying to get in on this year’s action with its strident anti-World Cup marketing campaign.
Through a series of provocative billboards (in the UK), BrewDog is using references to autocracy, human rights abuses and corruption, all targeted at beer drinkers perturbed about Qatar’s staging of football’s biggest global event. While the bottom-line remains the same for BrewDog – to make a profit by selling beer – it is nevertheless contributing to the transformation of advertising and sponsorship from simple marketing to geopolitical posturing.
In a similar way, apparel brand Hummel has decided to hide its name and logos and the Danish football association’s badge from its kit. This is in protest against the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar and in support of LGBTQ+ communities.
In the company’s mission statement, Hummel emphasises its commitment to “Danishness” – and indeed, Denmark has been highly vocal in its condemnation of Qatar. Whenever the national team takes to the field, it will be in shirts that directly challenge the World Cup hosts.
So Qatar’s expensive ambitions in staging this tournament have come up against criticism and protest from countries and corporations alike. In 2022 it seems that football sponsorship is no longer just for kicks, or even customers. Everywhere you look, there are geopolitical points to be scored.
This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It represents the research-based findings and thoughts of Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMA Business School.
HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced that the Company will be participating in The Benchmark Company 11th Annual Discovery One-on-One Investor Conference taking place on December 1, 2022 at The New York Athletic Club in New York, NY.
Keith Smith, President of Direct Digital Holdings, and Susan Echard, Chief Financial Officer of Direct Digital Holdings, will be attending on behalf of the Company and available for meetings during the conference. For more information, or to schedule a meeting with management, please reach out to your Benchmark Company representative.
About Direct Digital Holdings Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. The company has been named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 17, 2022 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company, today announced that Brian Linscott, Harte Hanks’ Chief Executive Officer, will be presenting at the Benchmark Company’s 11th Annual Discovery One-on-One Investor Conference to be held Thursday, December 1, 2022 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.
Harte Hanks is scheduled to participate in one-on-one meetings with institutional analysts and investors throughout the day.
Harte Hanks (Nasdaq: HHS) is a leading global customer experience company whose mission is to partner with clients to provide them with CX strategy, data-driven analytics and actionable insights combined with seamless program execution to better understand, attract, and engage their customers.
Using its unparalleled resources and award-winning talent in the areas of Customer Care, Fulfillment and Logistics, and Marketing Services, Harte Hanks has a proven track record of driving results for some of the world’s premier brands including Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Pfizer, HBOMax, Volvo, Ford, FedEx, Midea, Sony and IBM, among others. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Harte Hanks has over 2,500 employees in offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
As used herein, “Harte Hanks” or “the Company” refers to Harte Hanks, Inc. and/or its applicable operating subsidiaries, as the context may require. Harte Hanks’ logo and name are trademarks of Harte Hanks.
Investor Relations Contact:
FNK IR Rob Fink or Tom Baumann (646) 809-4048 / (646) 349-6641 HHS@fnkir.com
HOUSTON, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced that the Company will be participating in the ROTH 11th Annual Technology Event taking place on November 16, 2022 at The Yale Club in New York, NY.
Keith Smith, President of Direct Digital Holdings, and Susan Echard, Chief Financial Officer of Direct Digital Holdings, will be attending on behalf of the Company and available for meetings during the conference. For more information, or to schedule a meeting with management, please reach out to your ROTH representative.
About Direct Digital Holdings Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. The company has been named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Patrick McCann, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Strong Q3 results. The company reported another strong quarter, beating our estimates on both revenue and adj. EBITDA. Revenue of $26.0 million was 41% better than our forecast of $18.4 million and adj. EBITDA of $2.4 million beat our forecast of $1.8 million by 34%.
Sell-side revenue jumps. Sell-side revenue from Colossus SSP continues to drive the company’s impressive growth. The SSP generated $18.9 million in the quarter, 64% better than our forecast of $11.5 million.
This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
PHOENIX, Nov. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QuoteMedia, Inc. (OTCQB: QMCI), a leading provider of market data and financial applications, announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.
QuoteMedia provides banks, brokerage firms, private equity firms, financial planners and sophisticated investors with a more economical, higher quality alternative source of stock market data and related research information. We compete with several larger legacy organizations and a modest community of other smaller companies. QuoteMedia provides comprehensive market data services, including streaming data feeds, on-demand request-based data (XML/JSON), web content solutions (financial content for website integration) and applications such as Quotestream Professional and Quotestream Web Trader.
Highlights for Q3 2022 include the following:
Quarterly revenue increased to $4,390,667 in Q3 2022 from $3,818,713 in Q3 2021, an increase of $571,954 (15%).
Gross Margin percentage improved to 52% in Q3 2022, compared to 47% in Q3 2021.
Net income for Q3 2022 was $309,543 compared to $154,931 in Q3 2021, an increase of $154,612.
Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2022 was $670,145 compared to $539,534 in Q3 2021, an improvement of $130,611.
“We are very pleased with what we accomplished this quarter, and over the year to date,” said Robert J. Thompson, Chairman of the Board. “We have closed several major agreements with high profile clients including two of Canada’s largest banks, with the second contract commencing in November 2022. We achieved record profits this quarter, and we expect to improve upon this moving forward. We anticipate that the pace of our revenue growth will continue in the coming quarters, with the launch of more enterprise deployments and exciting partnerships.
“We have made extensive time and financial investments into operations and infrastructure improvements this year, to ensure we are able to provide the highest levels of service, support and security for our clients, and we expect that these investments will yield dividends in the months and years to come.
“Due to the significant devaluation of the Canadian dollar, we are revising our revenue growth projection for the 2022 year. A substantial number of our contracts (and new contracts) are denominated in Canadian dollars, and this is re-measured into US Dollars when reporting our financial results. We are now projecting a 16% revenue growth for 2022, down from 19%. This will not have a meaningful impact on our bottom-line profitability, as our Canadian dollar revenue and expenses are almost equal. In fact, we anticipate significantly increased profitability in upcoming quarters.”
QuoteMedia will host a conference call Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time to discuss the Q3 2022 financial results and provide a business update.
Conference Call Details:
Date: November 10, 2022
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern
Dial-in number: 800 445-7795; 203-518-9843
Conference ID: QUOTEMEDIA
An audio rebroadcast of the call will be available later at: www.quotemedia.com
About QuoteMedia
QuoteMedia is a leading software developer and cloud-based syndicator of financial market information and streaming financial data solutions to media, corporations, online brokerages, and financial services companies. The Company licenses interactive stock research tools such as streaming real-time quotes, market research, news, charting, option chains, filings, corporate financials, insider reports, market indices, portfolio management systems, and data feeds. QuoteMedia provides industry leading market data solutions and financial services for companies such as the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, TMX Group (TSX Stock Exchange), Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), London Stock Exchange Group, FIS, U.S. Bank, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Broadridge Financial Systems, JPMorgan Chase, Scotiabank, CI Financial, Canaccord Genuity Corp., Hilltop Securities, HD Vest, Stockhouse, Zacks Investment Research, General Electric, Boeing, Bombardier, Telus International, Business Wire, PR Newswire, FolioFN, Regal Securities, ChoiceTrade, Cetera Financial Group, Dynamic Trend, Inc., Qtrade Financial, CNW Group, IA Private Wealth, Ally Invest, Inc., Suncor, Leede Jones Gable, Firstrade Securities, Charles Schwab, First Financial, Equisolve, Stock-Trak, Mergent, Cision, Warrior Trading and others. Quotestream®, QMod TM and Quotestream Connect TM are trademarks of QuoteMedia. For more information, please visit www.quotemedia.com .
Statements about QuoteMedia’s future expectations, including future revenue, earnings, and transactions, as well as all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. QuoteMedia intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that are identified from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports and filings and are subject to change at any time. QuoteMedia’s actual results and other corporate developments could differ materially from that which has been anticipated in such statements.
Below are the specific forward-looking statements included in this press release:
We achieved record profits this quarter, and we expect to improve upon this moving forward. We anticipate that the pace of our revenue growth will continue in the coming quarters, with the launch of more enterprise deployments and exciting partnerships.
Due to the significant depreciation of the Canadian dollar, we are revising our revenue growth projection for the 2022 year. A substantial number of our contracts (and new contracts) are denominated in Canadian dollars, and this is re-measured into US Dollars when reporting our financial results. We are now projecting a 16% revenue growth for 2022, down from 19%. This will not have a meaningful impact on our bottom-line profitability, though, as our Canadian dollar revenue and expenses are almost equal. In fact, we anticipate significantly increased profitability in upcoming quarters.
We believe that Adjusted EBITDA, as a non-GAAP pro forma financial measure, provides meaningful information to investors in terms of enhancing their understanding of our operating performance and results, as it allows investors to more easily compare our financial performance on a consistent basis compared to the prior year periods. This non-GAAP financial measure also corresponds with the way we expect investment analysts to evaluate and compare our results. Any non-GAAP pro forma financial measures should be considered only as supplements to, and not as substitutes for or in isolation from, or superior to, our other measures of financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, such as net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc.
We define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc., plus: 1) depreciation and amortization, 2) stock compensation expense, 3) interest expense, 4) foreign exchange loss (or minus a foreign exchange gain), and 5) income tax expense. We disclose Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is a useful metric by which to compare the performance of our business from period to period. We understand that measures similar to Adjusted EBITDA are broadly used by analysts, rating agencies, investors and financial institutions in assessing our performance. Accordingly, we believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors. The table below provides a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc., the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.
QuoteMedia, Inc. Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation to Net Income
Third Quarter 2022 Revenue Up 211% Year-Over-Year to $26.0 Million
Third Quarter Net Income Up Year-Over-Year to $0.8 Million, or $0.06 per Share
Company Raises Revenue Guidance to $85 Million-$90 Million for Full-Year 2022
HOUSTON, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) (“Direct Digital Holdings” or the “Company”), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus SSP”), Huddled Masses LLC (“Huddled Masses”) and Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”), today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.
Mark Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Direct Digital Holdings, commented, “We are pleased to report strong revenue and EBITDA for the third quarter of 2022, demonstrating strong growth across both our sell- and buy-side business segments and continued expansion of our portfolio and client reach.”
Keith Smith, President of Direct Digital Holdings, added, “Our team has effectively responded to the recent uncertainty and volatility in the market, capitalizing on brands and businesses moving dollars from less efficient traditional advertising outlets towards digital media. We believe that Direct Digital Holdings is well-positioned to continue its record of strong growth and market expansion or the remainder of the year and, as such, we are thrilled to announce we will be raising revenue guidance for full-year 2022.”
Third Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights:
Revenue increased to $26.0 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of $17.6 million, or up 211% over the $8.4 million in the same period of 2021.
Sell-side advertising segment, consisting of the Colossus SSP business, grew to $18.9 million and contributed $16.5 million of the increase, or up 710% over the $2.3 million in the same period of 2021.
Buy-side advertising segment, consisting of the Huddled Masses and Orange142 businesses, grew to $7.1 million and contributed $1.1 million of the increase, or up 18% over the $6.0 million in the same period of 2021.
Operating income increased $1.3 million, up 225%, to $1.8 million for the third quarter of 2022, compared to income of $0.6 million in the same period of 2021. Increased costs resulting from headcount additions, higher commission and bonus expense, public company related costs, as well as a one-time severance charge of approximately $0.5 million impacted operating income in the third quarter of 2022.
Net income was $0.8 million in the third quarter of 2022, up 458%, compared to ($0.2) million loss in the same period of 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased 128% to $2.4 million in the third quarter 2022, compared to $1.1 million in the same period of 2021.
Net operating cash provided by operating activities for the nine-months ended September 30, 2022 was $3.4 million, compared to a net operating cash of $3.2 million generated in the same period of 2021.
Business Highlights
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2022, Direct Digital Holdings processed approximately 125 billion monthly impressions through its sell-side advertising segment, an increase of 56% over the same period of 2021, with over 1.3 trillion bid requests for the quarter.
In addition, the Company’s sell-side advertising platforms received over 11 billion bid responses, an increase of over 120% over the same period in 2021, through 129,000 buyers for the quarter.
The Company’s buy-side advertising segment served over 200 customers, an increase of 2% compared to the same period of 2021.
Financial Outlook
Direct Digital Holdings’ guidance assumes that the U.S. economy continues to grow at a moderate pace, and there are no major COVID-19-related setbacks or other shocks that may cause economic conditions to deteriorate or otherwise significantly reduce advertiser demand. Direct Digital Holdings plans to offer annual guidance and update it throughout the year. Accordingly, the Company estimates the following:
For fiscal year 2022, Direct Digital Holdings is raising expectations for guidance by approximately 20% to increase from a range of $70 million-$75 million to $85 million-$90 million, or up 130% year-over-year growth at the mid-point, while targeting an Adjusted EBITDA Margin in the double digits.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Direct Digital Holdings will host a conference call on Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s quarterly results. The live webcast and replay can be accessed at https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/. Please access the website at least fifteen minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot access the webcast, a replay will be available at https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/ for a period of twelve months following the live webcast.
Footnote
(1) “Adjusted EBITDA” is a non-GAAP financial measure and Adjusted EBITDA Margin is an operating ratio derived from a non-GAAP financial measure. The section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below describes our usage of non-GAAP financial measures and provides reconciliations between historical GAAP and non-GAAP information contained in this press release.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and which are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties.
As used below, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Direct Digital Holdings. We use words such as “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “likely,” “believe,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project” and other similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but not all forward-looking statements include these words. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements.
All of our forward-looking statements involve estimates and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience and our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, many factors could affect our actual operating and financial performance and cause our performance to differ materially from the performance expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: our dependence on the overall demand for advertising, which could be influenced by economic downturns; any slow-down or unanticipated development in the market for programmatic advertising campaigns; the effects of health epidemics, such as the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic; operational and performance issues with our platform, whether real or perceived, including a failure to respond to technological changes or to upgrade our technology systems; any significant inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal information we hold, or of the security of our or our customers’, suppliers’ or other partners’ computer systems; any unavailability or non-performance of the non-proprietary technology, software, products and services that we use; unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry, particularly concerns regarding data privacy and security relating to our industry’s technology and practices, and any perceived failure to comply with laws and industry self-regulation; restrictions on the use of third-party “cookies,” mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies, which could diminish our platform’s effectiveness; any inability to compete in our intensely competitive market; any significant fluctuations caused by our high customer concentration; any violation of legal and regulatory requirements or any misconduct by our employees, subcontractors, agents or business partners; any strain on our resources, diversion of our management’s attention or impact on our ability to attract and retain qualified board members as a result of being a public company; our dependence, as a holding company, of receiving distributions from Direct Digital Holdings, LLC to pay our taxes, expenses and dividends; and other factors and assumptions discussed in the “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations” and other sections of our filings with the SEC that we make from time to time. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual operating and financial performance may vary in material respects from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances, and we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
About Direct Digital Holdings
Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. The company has been named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
Tourism Marketing Leader to Drive Growth for Orange142 & Its Brand Clients
HOUSTON, TX (November 7, 2022) – Direct Digital Holdings, a leading advertising and marketing technology platform, announced today that Scott Schult will be joining Orange142, a demand generation and digital advertising company, in the newly created role of Head of Strategy. Schult will help Orange142’s sales, account management, and marketing teams construct a more strategic approach to client outreach, retention, and production innovation. Schult comes to Orange142 from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, where he served as Chief Marketing Officer.
Before leading marketing at the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation, Schult worked as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. Earlier in his career, he held key roles at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Primco Capital Management, Sierra Health Services, and Marriott Hotels.
“Scott brings unparalleled experience and innovative thought leadership in the travel and tourism industry, along with years of insights and relationships that will serve us well in helping Orange142 grow marketshare and market our services to a broad reach of industries,” said Mark Walker, CEO, Direct Digital Holdings.
“Orange142 is a high-performance digital media company that successfully delivers unmatched value and transparency to its clients,” said Schult. “Their solutions are a big win for the travel and tourism brands I know well, as well as for a range of marketers looking for significant ROI from a team that understand the needs of mid-market businesses.”
Schult holds a B.S. in Hospitality & Tourism Management and an M.S. in Marketing, both from Purdue University.
About Direct Digital Holdings
Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company’s subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. The company has been named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.
About Orange142
Part of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT), Orange142, LLC combines demand-side technology with real-time intelligence and data-driven strategy to support omnichannel marketing. Based in Austin, Texas, Orange142, LLC specializes in driving strong results for mid-market clients in CPG, higher education, government, travel/tourism, and wellness/beauty. For more information, visit www.orange142.com.
Media Contact: Laura Goldberg LBG Public Relations for Direct Digital Holdings laura@lbgpr.com +1-347-683-1859
The Investment Road Less Travelled Has More Opportunity, But Less Available Information
An expanding customer base has always been a solid reason for further exploration of an investment opportunity. An investor’s expectations of growth potential have the power to create initial intrigue and prompt further exploration. This exploration should, at a minimum, include actual data (not hunches), and outside estimates from experts in the field – along with a review of management’s plans.
One also has to understand competition, direct and indirect, and how that is expected to grow. And, of course, current profit and earnings breakdown with an idea of plans for the future. You may even explore if there is a chance the company is a possible acquisition target and how that may impact stock performance. Then, depending on the company or industry, less cursory digging should be done. This is where self-directed investors or small or mid-sized investment advisors get tripped up. They may not have access to someone knowledgeable enough about the company.
Opportunity to Think About
A co-worker asked the other day what I thought of traditional media companies in the U.S. as an investment, including TV and radio. Without thinking too deeply, I said what most people might say, the industry is spread thin as competition for people’s time and attention keeps growing. While anything is good at the right price, if the audience (customer base) is declining, that “right price” is going to be low.
He asked another question, how many Spanish-speaking people are immigrating to the U.S. each year, and what one product will they likely be using that is generally not consumed by English-speaking residents? Although I didn’t know there was a company that has approximately 65% market share of the Spanish-speaking market, I understood where his line of questioning was going – and became intrigued.
A Few Things I Learned
I did some Googling.
The Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) shows that the total foreign-born or immigrant population in the U.S. hit 47.9 million in September 2022. This is an increase of 2.9 million since January 2021.
Immigrants from Latin American countries other than Mexico account for 60 percent of the increase in the foreign-born population since January 2021. The Mexican-born population in the U.S. actually decreased by 4%.
At 143,000, the average monthly growth in the foreign-born population, which is 60% Hispanic, is at an all-time high pace.
There is a company, Entravision (EVC), which is a diversified Spanish-language media company. They own both television and radio stations to reach Hispanic consumers across the United States.
Entravision owns and/or operates 53 primary television stations and is the largest affiliate group of both the top-ranked Univision television network and Univision’s TeleFutura network. They have television stations in 20 of the nation’s top 50 Hispanic markets. As far as radio, the company also operates one of the largest groups of primarily Spanish-language radio stations in the U.S.
My thoughts are while the business itself is getting fragmented, the rapidly growing demographic that is likely to tune in to an Entravision station is growing at a rapid pace. And there is very little competition.
An Interesting Time to Explore Spanish Language Media
While I’m still doing some due diligence and reading thoughts from the multiple analysts that cover EVC, including one whose research of the company is available on Channelchek (see it here), I’m waiting for their earnings report this Thursday (November 3).
If my intrigue is still high after Thursday, Noble Capital Markets is holding two lunches and a breakfast where investors can attend one and meet with management, hear them discuss their company, and ask any questions to clear up unanswered questions.
These meetings are in Florida, one in Boca Raton on November 8 and two in Central Florida (Orlando and Winter Park), on November 9. If you will be in the area and also find Entravision worth exploring, register for a breakfast or lunch meeting here.
Take Away
The investment “road less traveled” is often lined with gold but also requires a lot more digging to find useful information that makes you comfortable making a decision. Discovering actionable ideas and then exploring them is what Channelchek is about.
The In-Person “Meet the Management” Series, put on by Noble Capital Markets and Channelchek, is a good way for investment professionals and individuals to supplement the data and research on Channelchek with an opportunity most investors never get, a discussion over breakfast or lunch with management.
Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) is an audio-first media company delivering premium content to over a quarter billion people every month — wherever and whenever they want it. Cumulus Media engages listeners with high-quality local programming through 406 owned-and-operated radio stations across 86 markets; delivers nationally-syndicated sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from iconic brands including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, CNN, the AP, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and many other world-class partners across more than 9,500 affiliated stations through Westwood One, the largest audio network in America; and inspires listeners through the Cumulus Podcast Network, its rapidly growing network of original podcasts that are smart, entertaining and thought-provoking. Cumulus Media provides advertisers with personal connections, local impact and national reach through broadcast and on-demand digital, mobile, social, and voice-activated platforms, as well as integrated digital marketing services, powerful influencers, full-service audio solutions, industry-leading research and insights, and live event experiences. Cumulus Media is the only audio media company to provide marketers with local and national advertising performance guarantees. For more information visit www.cumulusmedia.com.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Favorable Q3 results. The company reported Q3 revenue of $233.5 million, just above our expectation of $230 million. Despite revenue decreasing 2% from the previous quarter Adj. EBITDA grew by 1.6% to $46.6 million beating our forecast of $41.7 million by 11.7%.
Lowers guidance. Q4 revenue is expected to decline low to mid single digits in spite of influx of Political advertising, which too appears softer than expected.Local advertising appears to have softened, which implies that local businesses are now feeling the affect of the economic headwinds. Management lowered Adj. EBITDA guidance from a range of $175 million to $200 million to a range of $160 million to $170 million.
This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
