HOUSTON, Nov. 13, 2023 /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 the Company has placed 108th on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech and energy tech companies in North America, now in its 29th year. During the measurement period, Direct Digital Holdings grew 1,325%, making it the 8th ranked company in Deloitte’s Digital Content / Media / Entertainment division. The Company placed among the top 20% of all companies on the list and was ranked #6 in Texas.
“We are honored to be included on this prestigious list of fellow industry-leading companies, and I would personally like to thank Deloitte for recognizing our company,” said Mark D. Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Direct Digital Holdings. “This recognition is a testament to the strength and effectiveness of our business model as well as our technological capabilities and highly diversified customer base. We remain committed to providing best-in-class advertising solutions to our partners as our number of clients, average client-size and total impressions per month all continue to increase.”
The Company attributes its significant growth to current market dynamics benefitting its technology-driven and differentiated approach to advertising solutions. On November 9, 2023, the Company reported its third quarter earnings ended September 30, 2023. Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side advertising segment revenue grew to $51.6 million or 174% growth over the $18.9 million of sell-side revenue in the same period of 2022. The Company’s buy-side advertising segment revenue grew to $7.9 million or 10% growth over the $7.1 million of buy-side revenue in the same period of 2022.
Direct Digital Holdings’ subsidiaries bring distinct offerings to the ecosystem, contributing to the Company’s advancement. Colossus SSP is focused on connecting brands of all sizes with a full range of diverse and multicultural audiences, as well as the general market, serving as a one-stop-shop for media inventory needs. On the buy-side, with Huddled Masses and Orange142, the Company provides data-driven digital marketing solutions to businesses in the underserved SMB and middle market landscape. Those two buy-side companies also work seamlessly with Colossus SSP to bring the benefits of its inclusive marketplace and approach to SMB and middle market clients – with significant results.
“We are pleased that the recent strategic and operational investments in our technology stack have resulted in industry-leading growth across our sell-side advertising platforms,” said Anu Pillai, Direct Digital Holdings’ Chief Technology Officer. “As we also continue to capitalize on the shift in media spend from traditional to digital, as well as the growing media spend targeted at the middle market, the result has been advertising solutions that are utilized by businesses across all industries due to the strength of our technology stack and our proven, differentiated approach. We are proud to collaborate with fellow leaders in the industry such as Amazon Publisher Services, FreeWheel’s Beeswax and HPE GreenLake, and look forward to continuing to offer the high-quality advertising solutions we have become known and trusted to provide.”
Statements from Deloitte “Each year, I look forward to reviewing the progress and innovations of our Technology Fast 500 winners as these companies truly demonstrate how important new ideas are to progressing our society and the world, especially during difficult times,” said Paul Silverglate, Vice Chair, Deloitte LLP and U.S. Technology Sector Leader. “While software and services and life sciences continue to dominate the top 10, I am encouraged to see other categories making their mark. Congratulations to all the winners who show us how creativity, hard work and perseverance can lead to success.”
“As a growing company, it’s always rewarding to be recognized for the ongoing commitment it takes to navigate obstacles, transform when necessary and ultimately create a thriving business,” said Christie Simons, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP and industry leader for technology, media and telecommunications within Deloitte’s audit and assurance practice. “Over the nearly 30 years we’ve been compiling the Technology Fast 500 we’ve seen new categories emerge, growth rates explode, and certain regional markets shine from the bright talent they attract. We are proud of all the winners for achieving this well-deserved honor.”
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 on average over 125,000 clients monthly, generating over 300 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
About the 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Now in its 29th year, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies — both public and private — in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2019 to 2022.
In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least US$50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least US$5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.
Third Quarter 2023 Revenue Up 129% Year-Over-Year to $59.5 Million
Company Raises Full-Year 2023 Revenue Guidance to $170 Million – $190 Million
HOUSTON, Nov. 9, 2023 /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, 2023.
Mark D. Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In recent quarters, we have made significant investments in our technology stack, advertising platform and operational structure. We initially expected to see the impact of these investments in 2024, however, we are pleased to report that these benefits have arrived much earlier in 2023. Our strong technology partnerships and our overarching business strategy have enabled us to meet a growing number of customers’ demands and further the capabilities of our sell-side technology platform. On both the sell-side and the buy-side, increased spend from our buying partners has resulted in an associated increase in our impression count and organic growth profile with a direct positive impact on net income and adjusted EBITDA(1).”
Keith Smith, President, added, “The growth seen in this quarter, as well as the past year, has been fueled by a combination of our strategic investments and partnerships, our differentiated approach to advertising solutions, as well as a set of market dynamics which have been highly beneficial to our position in the industry. We have capitalized on the shift in ad spend towards digital media on both the sell- and buy-side and will continue to grow our presence in the space through our recent partnerships and advancements of our technology stack. We remain committed to executing on the same growth and investment initiatives that led us to the strong third quarter results we are reporting today.”
Third Quarter 2023 Business Highlights
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2023, Direct Digital Holdings processed over 400 billion monthly impressions through its sell-side advertising segment, an increase of 220% over the same period of 2022.
In addition, the Company’s sell-side advertising platforms received over 34 billion monthly bid responses in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of over 210% over the same period in 2022. Sell-side revenue per advertiser for the third quarter of 2023 increased 241% compared to the same period of 2022.
The Company’s buy-side advertising segment served approximately 228 customers in the third quarter of 2023 and buy-side revenue per customer increased 14% compared to the same period of 2022.
Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights:
Revenue was $59.5 million in the third quarter of 2023, an increase of $33.5 million, or 129% over the $26.0 million in the same period of 2022.
Sell-side advertising segment revenue grew to $51.6 million and contributed $32.8 million of the increase, or 174% growth over the $18.9 million of sell-side revenue in the same period of 2022.
Buy-side advertising segment revenue grew to $7.9 million and contributed $0.7 million of the increase, or 10% growth over the $7.1 million of buy-side revenue in the same period of 2022.
Consolidated operating income in the third quarter of 2023 was $4.5 million compared to consolidated operating income of $1.8 million in the same period of 2022, an increase of 144% year-over-year.
Net income was $3.4 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared to net income of $0.8 million in the same period of 2022, an increase of 313% year-over-year.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $5.4 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $2.4 million in the same period of 2022, an increase of 123% year-over-year.
Financial Outlook
Assuming the U.S. economy does not experience any major economic conditions that deteriorate or otherwise significantly reduce advertiser demand, we are increasing our previously issued estimate as disclosed in our second quarter 2023 update:
For fiscal year 2023, we expect revenue to be in the range of $170 million to $190 million, or 101% year-over-year growth at the mid-point.
“We are thrilled to announce the raising of our fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance to $180 million at the midpoint, a 101% increase over full-year 2022 results. This increase reflects our belief in our ability to execute on our various growth strategies, demonstrates the strength of our operating leverage and highlights the favorable market trends that we expect to continue for the remainder of this year,” commented Diana Diaz, Chief Financial Officer.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Direct Digital will host a conference call on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s third quarter 2023 financial 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.
Footnotes
(1) “Adjusted EBITDA” is 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 the Company. 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 press 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; 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; our limited operating history, which could result in our past results not being indicative of future operating performance; 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, on 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 Securities and Exchange Commission 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 press 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 on average over 125,000 clients monthly, generating over 300 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)
September 30, 2023
December 31, 2022
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$
5,481,949
$
4,047,453
Accounts receivable, net
54,637,634
26,354,114
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
1,426,925
883,322
Total current assets
61,546,508
31,284,889
Property, equipment and software, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $219,386 and $34,218, respectively
625,028
673,218
Goodwill
6,519,636
6,519,636
Intangible assets, net
12,172,396
13,637,759
Deferred tax asset, net
5,082,424
5,164,776
Operating lease right-of-use assets
674,846
798,774
Other long-term assets
127,492
46,987
Total assets
$
86,748,330
$
58,126,039
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable
$
45,021,034
$
17,695,404
Accrued liabilities
4,071,128
4,777,764
Liability related to tax receivable agreement, current portion
41,141
182,571
Notes payable, current portion
1,146,250
655,000
Deferred revenues
1,044,069
546,710
Operating lease liabilities, current portion
49,977
91,989
Income taxes payable
113,355
174,438
Related party payables
1,428,093
1,448,333
Total current liabilities
52,915,047
25,572,209
Notes payable, net of short-term portion and deferred financing cost of $1,722,716 and $2,115,161, respectively
22,323,534
22,913,589
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
150,000
150,000
Liability related to tax receivable agreement, net of current portion
4,245,234
4,149,619
Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion
717,632
745,340
Total liabilities
80,351,447
53,530,757
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 9)
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 160,000,000 shares authorized, 2,991,792 and 2,900,000 shares issued and outstanding, respectively
2,992
2,900
Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 11,278,000 shares issued and outstanding
11,278
11,278
Additional paid-in capital
8,782,092
8,224,365
Accumulated deficit
(2,399,479)
(3,643,261)
Total stockholders’ equity
6,396,883
4,595,282
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$
86,748,330
$
58,126,039
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended
For the Nine Months Ended
September 30,
September 30,
2023
2022
2023
2022
Revenues
Buy-side advertising
$
7,850,058
$
7,130,736
$
27,092,816
$
22,283,044
Sell-side advertising
51,622,066
18,854,639
89,006,018
36,333,976
Total revenues
59,472,124
25,985,375
116,098,834
58,617,020
Cost of revenues
Buy-side advertising
3,113,491
2,471,170
10,650,541
7,694,987
Sell-side advertising
44,605,815
16,053,461
77,189,787
30,344,670
Total cost of revenues
47,719,306
18,524,631
87,840,328
38,039,657
Gross profit
11,752,818
7,460,744
28,258,506
20,577,363
Operating expenses
Compensation, taxes and benefits
4,747,081
3,845,918
12,934,406
9,895,646
General and administrative
2,512,330
1,770,002
8,717,584
5,187,875
Total operating expenses
7,259,411
5,615,920
21,651,990
15,083,521
Income from operations
4,493,407
1,844,824
6,606,516
5,493,842
Other income (expense)
Other income
83,331
—
175,472
47,982
Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loan
—
—
—
287,143
Loss on redemption of non-participating preferred units
—
—
—
(590,689)
Contingent loss on early termination of line of credit
—
—
(299,770)
—
Interest expense
(1,059,890)
(905,605)
(3,104,684)
(2,269,643)
Total other expense
(976,559)
(905,605)
(3,228,982)
(2,525,207)
Income before taxes
3,516,848
939,219
3,377,534
2,968,635
Tax expense
165,994
128,436
165,658
215,112
Net income
$
3,350,854
$
810,783
$
3,211,876
$
2,753,523
Net income per common share:
Basic
$
0.23
$
0.06
$
0.23
$
0.23
Diluted
$
0.23
$
0.06
$
0.22
$
0.23
Weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding:
Basic
14,268,168
14,178,000
14,216,211
11,846,601
Diluted
14,827,165
14,545,241
14,817,770
11,996,969
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited)
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
2023
2022
Cash Flows Provided By Operating Activities:
Net income
$
3,211,876
$
2,753,523
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of deferred financing costs
434,847
463,008
Amortization of intangible assets
1,465,363
1,465,364
Amortization of right-of-use assets
123,928
94,974
Amortization of capitalized software
159,057
—
Depreciation of property and equipment
26,112
—
Stock-based compensation
545,504
85,437
Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loan
—
(287,143)
Deferred income taxes
82,352
(40,591)
Payment on tax receivable agreement
(45,815)
—
Loss on redemption of non-participating preferred units
—
590,689
Contingent loss on early termination of line of credit
299,770
—
Bad debt expense
97,740
2,717
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(28,381,260)
(13,520,067)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(524,098)
482,190
Accounts payable
27,325,629
10,008,327
Accrued liabilities
(513,138)
1,555,037
Income taxes payable
(61,083)
94,440
Deferred revenues
497,359
(201,907)
Operating lease liability
(69,720)
(75,396)
Related party payable
—
(70,801)
Net cash provided by operating activities
4,674,423
3,399,801
Cash Flows Used In Investing Activities:
Cash paid for capitalized software and property and equipment
(136,978)
—
Net cash used in investing activities
(136,978)
—
Cash Flows Used In Financing Activities:
Proceeds from note payable
—
4,260,000
Payments on term loan
(491,250)
(412,500)
Payments of litigation settlement
(193,500)
—
Payments on lines of credit
—
(400,000)
Payment of deferred financing costs
(442,181)
(525,295)
Proceeds from Issuance of Class A common stock, net of transaction costs
—
11,167,043
Redemption of common units
—
(7,200,000)
Redemption of non-participating preferred units
—
(7,046,251)
Proceeds from options exercised
215
—
Proceeds from warrants exercised
12,100
—
Distributions to members
(1,988,333)
(916,433)
Net cash used in financing activities
(3,102,949)
(1,073,436)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
1,434,496
2,326,365
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period
4,047,453
4,684,431
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period
$
5,481,949
$
7,010,796
Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:
Cash paid for taxes
$
348,862
$
133,401
Cash paid for interest
$
2,667,283
$
1,744,365
Non-cash Financing Activities:
Transaction costs related to issuances of Class A shares included in accrued liabilities
$
—
$
1,000,000
Outside basis difference in partnership
$
—
$
3,234,000
Tax receivable agreement payable to Direct Digital Management, LLC
$
—
$
278,900
Tax benefit on tax receivable agreement
$
—
$
485,100
Issuance related to vesting of restricted stock units, net of tax withholdings
$
90
$
—
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), including, in particular operating income, net cash provided by operating activities, and net income, we believe that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), as adjusted for stock compensation expense, loss on early termination of line of credit, and loss on early extinguishment of debt, and loss on early redemption of non-participating preferred units (“Adjusted EBITDA”), a non-GAAP financial measure, is useful in evaluating our operating performance. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted EBITDA is net income (loss).
In addition to operating income and net income, we use Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operational efficiency. We believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of our business and in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
Adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items such as depreciation and amortization, interest expense, provision for income taxes, and certain one-time items such as acquisition transaction costs and gains from settlements or loan forgiveness that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
Our management uses Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, including the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of operating performance and the effectiveness of our business strategies and in communications with our board of directors concerning our financial performance; and
Adjusted EBITDA provides consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, and also facilitates comparisons with other peer companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results.
Our use of this non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP. The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) for each of the periods presented:
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL METRICS (unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended September 30,
For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
2023
2022
2023
2022
Net income
$
3,350,854
$
810,783
$
3,211,876
$
2,753,523
Add back (deduct):
Interest expense
1,059,890
905,605
3,104,684
2,269,643
Amortization of intangible assets
488,455
488,455
1,465,364
1,465,364
Stock-based compensation
241,491
70,030
545,504
85,438
Depreciation and amortization of capitalized software, property and equipment
63,689
—
185,169
—
Contingent loss on early termination of line of credit
—
—
299,770
—
Tax expense
165,994
128,436
165,658
215,112
Forgiveness of PPP loan
—
—
—
(287,163)
Loss on early redemption of non-participating preferred units
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 6, 2023 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company focused on bringing companies closer to customers for 100 years, today announced that Ron Lee, an experienced executive with a proven track record of driving revenue growth and operational improvement by developing talent, leveraging analytics and innovating through technology modernization, has joined Harte Hanks as Senior Vice President of Sales Services. Mr. Lee will lead Harte Hanks’ sales offering, which includes inside sales outsourcing, sales transformation and optimization, and sales play development.
Lee joins Harte Hanks from Procore Technologies, a leading SaaS provider specializing in the construction industry, where he served as the Head of Revenue Planning and Productivity. Previously, he spent 10 years at ADP developing and executing the global inside sales strategy, transforming the sales & marketing tech stack and implementing predictive analytics within GTM processes. Mr. Lee started his career at PwC and has also served in sales operations and finance leadership roles at Lucent Technologies, D&B and Merck. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Villanova University and a MBA in Marketing, Finance and International Business from New York University.
Kirk Davis, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We continue to recruit top sales talent to revitalize our growth engine. Ron, along with Kelly Waller, our new Corporate SVP for Sales and Marketing, are both accomplished leaders with a deep understanding of how to create solutions for enterprise clients. Ron takes the helm of Harte Hanks’ Sales Services division, which originated through our acquisition of InsideOut last December. Ron is a critical hire at a pivotal time. Inside sales is a valuable offering for our clients, and an area in which we expect to achieve a strong rebound, accelerating growth and higher profitability in 2024.”
“Inside sales is essential for the growth and transformation of sales through digital technology, cost savings, and the ability to meet the changing preferences of buyers,” commented Mr. Lee. “Harte Hanks has built powerful tools to streamline this process for clients, and this offering provides a quantifiable return on investment. I look forward to bringing this value proposition to new logos and expanding our relationships with existing customers.”
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.
Our press release and related earnings conference call contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. All such statements are qualified by this cautionary note, provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements other than historical facts are forward-looking and may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “seeks,” “could,” “intends,” or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on current information, expectations and estimates and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. In that event, our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected and investors in our securities could lose part or all of their investments. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include: (a) local, national and international economic and business conditions, including (i) the outbreak of diseases, such as the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has curtailed travel to and from certain countries and geographic regions, created supply chain disruption and shortages, disrupted business operations and reduced consumer spending, (ii) market conditions that may adversely impact marketing expenditures, (iii) the impact of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on the global economy and our business, including impacts from related sanctions and export controls and (iv) the impact of economic environments and competitive pressures on the financial condition, marketing expenditures and activities of our clients and prospects; (b) the demand for our products and services by clients and prospective clients, including (i) the willingness of existing clients to maintain or increase their spending on products and services that are or remain profitable for us, and (ii) our ability to predict changes in client needs and preferences; (c) economic and other business factors that impact the industry verticals we serve, including competition and consolidation of current and prospective clients, vendors and partners in these verticals; (d) our ability to manage and timely adjust our facilities, capacity, workforce and cost structure to effectively serve our clients; (e) our ability to improve our processes and to provide new products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner though development, license, partnership or acquisition; (f) our ability to protect our facilities against security breaches and other interruptions and to protect sensitive personal information of our clients and their customers; (g) our ability to respond to increasing concern, regulation and legal action over consumer privacy issues, including changing requirements for collection, processing and use of information; (h) the impact of privacy and other regulations, including restrictions on unsolicited marketing communications and other consumer protection laws; (i) fluctuations in fuel prices, paper prices, postal rates and postal delivery schedules; (j) the number of shares, if any, that we may repurchase in connection with our repurchase program; (k) unanticipated developments regarding litigation or other contingent liabilities; (l) our ability to complete anticipated divestitures and reorganizations, including cost-saving initiatives; (m) our ability to realize the expected tax refunds; and (n) other factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 which was filed on March 31, 2023. The forward-looking statements in this press release and our related earnings conference call are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.
Investor Relations Contact:
Rob Fink or Tom Baumann 646.809.4048 / 646.349.6641 FNK IR HHS@fnkir.com
HOUSTON, Oct. 31, 2023 /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 it completed the redemption of its outstanding warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) that remained outstanding following 5:00 p.m. New York City Time on October 30, 2023 (the “Redemption Date”), for a cash redemption price of $0.35 per Warrant. A notice of redemption was distributed on October 23, 2023 to the registered holders of outstanding Warrants announcing the redemption pursuant to the terms of the Warrant Agency Agreement, dated as of February 15, 2022, by and between the Company and Equiniti Trust Company, LLC (formerly known as American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC), governing the Warrants. The redemption follows the expiration and closing of the Company’s offer to each holder of outstanding Warrants to purchase any and all outstanding Warrants for $1.20 in cash per Warrant, without interest.
The Warrants were listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “DRCTW.” In connection with the redemption, the Warrants ceased trading on Nasdaq and were delisted, with the trading halt announced after close of market on October 30, 2023. The Common Stock continues to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “DRCT.”
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 on average over 136,000 clients monthly, generating approximately 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Entravision (NYSE: EVC), a leading global advertising solutions, media and technology company, announced that it will release its third quarter 2023 financial results after market close on Thursday, November 2, 2023. The Company will host a conference call that day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the third quarter 2023 results.
To access the conference call, please dial (844) 836-8739 (U.S.) or (412) 317-5440 (International) ten minutes prior to the start time. The call will also be available via live webcast on the investor relations portion of the Company’s website located at www.entravision.com.
If you cannot listen to the conference call at its scheduled time, there will be a replay available through Thursday, November 16, 2023, which can be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 (U.S.) or (412) 317-6671 (International) and entering the passcode 10182461. The webcast will also be archived on the Company’s website.
About Entravision
Entravision is a global advertising solutions, media and technology company. Over the past three decades, we have strategically evolved into a digital powerhouse, expertly connecting brands to consumers in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Our digital segment, the company’s largest by revenue, offers a full suite of end-to-end advertising services in 40 countries. We have commercial partnerships with Meta, X Corp. (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, and Spotify, and marketers can use our Smadex and other platforms to deliver targeted advertising to audiences around the globe. In the U.S., we maintain a diversified portfolio of television and radio stations that target Hispanic audiences and complement our global digital services. Entravision remains the largest affiliate group of the Univision and UniMás television networks. Shares of Entravision Class A Common Stock trade on the NYSE under ticker: EVC. Learn more about our offerings at entravision.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Christopher T. Young Chief Financial Officer Entravision 310-447-3870
Holding Group’s Colossus SSP Integrates with Basis to Increase Advertisers’ Programmatic Reach of Multicultural / Diverse Media Inventory
Buy-Side Company Huddled Masses Collaborates with Basis to Serve SMB & Middle-Market Advertisers
HOUSTON and CHICAGO, Oct. 26, 2023 /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 a new partnership with Basis Technologies (“Basis”), a global provider of programmatic advertising and media automation solutions.
As part of the agreement, Colossus SSP has directly integrated with the Basis media automation platform to enable more agencies and brands to increase diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by scaling spend on multicultural / diverse audiences and media, and minority-owned properties such as Blavity, Ebony and Univision.
In addition, Basis has been named a preferred demand-side platform (DSP) by Huddled Masses – which specializes in working with small- and mid-sized business (SMB) and middle-market business clients. With these types of advertisers often having smaller budgets, preventing them from accessing bigger technology platforms, this deal enables Basis to increase its reach with this set of underserved marketers.
“Basis Technologies is aligned with Direct Digital Holding’s focus on democratizing programmatic advertising for all,” said Mark Walker, CEO and Co-Founder, Direct Digital Holdings. “The omnichannel capabilities and wide scale of Basis will bolster Colossus SSP’s and Huddled Masses’ abilities. In turn, the relationship with Huddled Masses is also giving Basis expanded reach to an often overlooked – but extremely valuable – group of advertisers.”
“Direct Digital Holdings and Basis Technologies want to be part of the solution to overcome the barriers that underserved groups on the buy- and sell-side face in digital media,” said Tyler Kelly, President, Basis Technologies. “The need for the technology and services that Direct Digital Holdings offers is obvious, as they provide the heft and influence that can channel ad technology innovations for the benefit of a wider set of organizations.”
Currently, Colossus SSP represents 22,000 media properties – offering inventory from both multicultural / diverse and general market publishers. The company has 136,000 advertisers accessing its platform monthly, generating over 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media.
Huddled Masses is a marketing technology partner passionate about helping clients grow their business and serves as a long-term partner extension of the team, with decades of expertise to maximize the impact and efficiency of every client’s media investment as well as drive performance marketing.
About Basis Technologies
Basis Technologies is a global provider of programmatic advertising and media automation software and services for enterprises. The Basis platform improves omnichannel marketing performance by unifying programmatic and direct media buying, workflow automation, cross-channel campaign planning, universal reporting and business intelligence. It delivers a comprehensive selection of buying methods across all channels and devices, utilizing all major creative types and formats. Delivered through a world-class media services team or a SaaS model, Basis solves digital media complexity and drives profitability through a single system of record, seamless team collaboration, and actionable data-driven insights. Headquartered in Chicago with offices servicing North America, South America, and Europe, Basis Technologies has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture. Learn more at https://basis.com.
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 on average over 136,000 clients monthly, generating approximately 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
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.
Media Contacts Laura Goldberg LBG Public Relations for Direct Digital Holdings laura@lbgpr.com +1-347-683-1859
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Entravision (NYSE: EVC), a leading global advertising solutions, media and technology company, today announced the following updates to its Board of Directors (“the Board”), effective immediately, as part of the Company’s ongoing commitment to corporate governance practices and enhancing stockholder value:
Michael Christenson, Entravision’s Chief Executive Officer, was appointed as a director of the Company.
Lara Sweet, currently a director of MediaAlpha, Inc. and previously the Chief People Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Accounting Officer and Controller of Snap Inc., was appointed as an independent director of the Company. Ms. Sweet will serve on the Audit Committee as a financial expert and on the Compensation Committee.
Juan Saldivar von Wuthenau, Entravision’s Chief Digital, Strategy and Accountability Officer, has resigned as a director of the Company. Mr. Saldivar will remain in his current executive role at Entravision which he has held since November 2020.
“We are pleased to welcome both Mr. Christenson and Ms. Sweet as directors, consistent with our commitment to corporate governance and periodically refreshing the Board with new perspectives, skill sets and experiences,” commented Paul Zevnik, Chair of Entravision’s Board of Directors. “We look forward to benefiting from Mr. Christenson’s extensive experience with high-growth public and private technology companies and, in conjunction with his role as CEO of the Company, building on our strategy to drive growth and stockholder value. In addition, Ms. Sweet has valuable leadership experience in finance and human resources at major technology companies. These updates align with our ongoing Board refreshment and succession planning, which includes the appointment earlier this year of Brad Bender, who brings significant digital advertising industry experience, and Tom Strickler, who added deep knowledge of the media and entertainment industry as well as significant business leadership expertise. I’d also like to thank Mr. Saldivar for his contributions to the Board over the past nine years and for remaining in his executive role as the Company continues to build value with our digital media, advertising and technology platforms.”
Mr. Saldivar added, “It has been an honor to serve as a director since 2014, while helping develop and implement the Company’s digital strategy as an external consultant since 2011 and a member of the executive team for the past three years. I believe Entravision’s future is bright and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Board and executive team as we advance our strategy of being a premiere global media, advertising solutions and technology company.”
Ms. Sweet has been a director of MediaAlpha, Inc., a marketing technology company that uses technology and data science to help businesses optimize their customer acquisition efforts, since the completion of its initial public offering in October 2020 and serves as the chair of its Audit Committee. In addition, Ms. Sweet serves as an advisor to private technology companies. From May 2019 to June 2021, Ms. Sweet served as the Chief People Officer at Snap Inc., a social media company and owner of the Snapchat application. Prior to that, Ms. Sweet served as Snap’s Interim Chief Financial Officer from January 2019 to May 2019, and as Chief Accounting Officer and Controller from June 2016 to September 2019. During her tenure in these roles, Ms. Sweet was integrally involved in developing and implementing best practices across Snap’s accounting and financial reporting functions, among other key initiatives. Prior to Snap, Ms. Sweet served as Controller and Chief Accounting Officer at AOL. She has also held the positions of Senior Director, External Reporting at Freddie Mac and Senior Manager, Internal Audit at Marriott International. Ms. Sweet received a B.S. in Accounting from George Mason University.
About Entravision Communications Corporation
Entravision is a global advertising solutions, media and technology company. Over the past three decades, we have strategically evolved into a digital powerhouse, expertly connecting brands to consumers in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Our digital segment, the company’s largest by revenue, offers a full suite of end-to-end advertising services in 40 countries. We have commercial partnerships with Meta, X Corp. (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, and Spotify, and marketers can use our Smadex and other platforms to deliver targeted advertising to audiences around the globe. In the U.S., we maintain a diversified portfolio of television and radio stations that target Hispanic audiences and complement our global digital services. Entravision remains the largest affiliate group of the Univision and UniMás television networks. Shares of Entravision Class A Common Stock trade on the NYSE under ticker: EVC. Learn more about our offerings at entravision.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Christopher Young Chief Financial Officer Entravision 310-447-3870
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 24, 2023 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company focused on bringing companies closer to customers for 100 years, today announced that Kelly Waller, a proven executive with a diverse and successful career in global marketing/demand generation, field/inside sales, client retention and sales enablement, has agreed to join Harte Hanks as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Ms. Waller is relocating to Boston, working in close proximity to Kirk Davis, Chief Executive Officer, as part of the Harte Hanks senior leadership team.
For the past seven years, Ms. Waller has served as Global Vice President, Mid-Market (Marketing Demand Generation, GTM & Sales) for Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces with $1.85 billion in revenue. In this role, she managed the revenue generating function for Mid-Market for Finastra, consisting of over 120 global employees. Previously, she served as Inside Sales Director for Extreme Networks managing inside sales account managers, new logo sales, and services sales team across EMEA and APAC. Previous sales leadership roles include tenures at SunGard, Kantar Media and Durrants.
Kirk Davis, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Kelly brings robust experience and a significant track record of success in lead generation, sales organization leadership and client retention, with particular expertise in selling marketing solutions, making her the ideal executive to lead our sales organization going forward. Her experience is especially well-aligned with Harte Hanks’ future, leveraging data assets and technology to drive modern solutions for our customers. I welcome her to the Harte Hanks leadership team.”
“Harte Hanks is a company with decades of history, but a modern approach to delivering innovative solutions, and I am excited to pursue new logo growth, customer retention, and process excellence to drive long-term growth,” commented Ms. Waller. “Global organizations are seeking new ways to identify and target customers, harnessing technology to deliver customized solutions, and Harte Hanks is well-positioned to meet this growing need.”
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.
Our press release and related earnings conference call contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. All such statements are qualified by this cautionary note, provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements other than historical facts are forward-looking and may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “seeks,” “could,” “intends,” or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on current information, expectations and estimates and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. In that event, our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected and investors in our securities could lose part or all of their investments. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include: (a) local, national and international economic and business conditions, including (i) the outbreak of diseases, such as the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has curtailed travel to and from certain countries and geographic regions, created supply chain disruption and shortages, disrupted business operations and reduced consumer spending, (ii) market conditions that may adversely impact marketing expenditures, (iii) the impact of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on the global economy and our business, including impacts from related sanctions and export controls and (iv) the impact of economic environments and competitive pressures on the financial condition, marketing expenditures and activities of our clients and prospects; (b) the demand for our products and services by clients and prospective clients, including (i) the willingness of existing clients to maintain or increase their spending on products and services that are or remain profitable for us, and (ii) our ability to predict changes in client needs and preferences; (c) economic and other business factors that impact the industry verticals we serve, including competition and consolidation of current and prospective clients, vendors and partners in these verticals; (d) our ability to manage and timely adjust our facilities, capacity, workforce and cost structure to effectively serve our clients; (e) our ability to improve our processes and to provide new products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner though development, license, partnership or acquisition; (f) our ability to protect our facilities against security breaches and other interruptions and to protect sensitive personal information of our clients and their customers; (g) our ability to respond to increasing concern, regulation and legal action over consumer privacy issues, including changing requirements for collection, processing and use of information; (h) the impact of privacy and other regulations, including restrictions on unsolicited marketing communications and other consumer protection laws; (i) fluctuations in fuel prices, paper prices, postal rates and postal delivery schedules; (j) the number of shares, if any, that we may repurchase in connection with our repurchase program; (k) unanticipated developments regarding litigation or other contingent liabilities; (l) our ability to complete anticipated divestitures and reorganizations, including cost-saving initiatives; (m) our ability to realize the expected tax refunds; and (n) other factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 which was filed on March 31, 2023. The forward-looking statements in this press release and our related earnings conference call are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.
Investor Relations Contact:
Rob Fink or Tom Baumann 646.809.4048 / 646.349.6641 FNK IR HHS@fnkir.com
HOUSTON, Oct. 19, 2023 /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 report financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 ended September 30, 2023 on Thursday, November 9, 2023 after the U.S. stock market closes.
Management will host a conference call and webcast on the same day at 5:00 PM ET to discuss the results. The live webcast and replay can be accessed at https://ir.directdigitalholdings.com/.
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 on average over 136,000 clients monthly, generating approximately 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
HOUSTON, Oct. 18, 2023 /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 appointed Diana Diaz, who had been serving as the Company’s interim Chief Financial Officer, as permanent Chief Financial Officer, effective October 16, 2023.
Ms. Diaz served as interim Chief Financial Officer of Direct Digital Holdings beginning June 5, 2023. As permanent Chief Financial Officer, she will continue to lead the Company’s finance, accounting and treasury organization and report directly to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
Mark D. Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication Diana has provided our team over the past several months and greatly excited to appoint her as our permanent Chief Financial Officer. She has been a trusted partner and an excellent leader of our finance division. With the help of her leadership and financial acumen, we are now more confident than ever in our team’s ability to execute our various strategies for growth in the coming months and years.”
Ms. Diaz joined the Company from Sharps Compliance Corp. (previously Nasdaq listed (SMED)) until its acquisition, a leading national healthcare waste management provider to customers in multiple healthcare-related markets, specializing in regulated waste streams including medical, pharmaceutical and hazardous, where she served for a total of 13 years, including as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from June 2010 to February 2022. Ms. Diaz’s prior positions include Chief Financial Officer of University General Hospital in Houston, Texas from September 2006 to May 2009, Controller at Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Texas Medical Center from September 2002 to August 2006 and Controller of the wholesale group at Reliant Energy from July 1998 to May 2002. Ms. Diaz received her BBA in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin and her MBA from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.
Ms. Diaz said of her appointment, “This is a very exciting time to have joined Direct Digital Holdings. As Chief Financial Officer, I will continue to work closely with my fellow executive team members to capitalize on the Company’s strategic position and current favorable market dynamics to continue our growth. I am grateful for this appointment and look forward to continuing my work with this incredible team.”
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 the Company. 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 press 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; 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; our limited operating history, which could result in our past results not being indicative of future operating performance; 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, on 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 Securities and Exchange Commission 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 press 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 on average over 136,000 clients monthly, generating approximately 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
Interim appointment of seasoned executive supports the growth-phase strategic plan launched earlier this year
CHELMSFORD, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 16, 2023 / Harte Hanks, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHS), a leading global customer experience company focused on bringing companies closer to customers for 100 years, today announced the appointment of David Garrison, an experienced finance executive with more than 20 years of public company CFO experience, as Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective October 23, 2023. Lauri Kearnes is stepping down as CFO but will continue to advise the Company as needed through year end to support a smooth transition. Kearnes’ departure is not related to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices.
Garrison brings 20 years of public company CFO experience, with particular expertise in cost containment, streamlining operations, and ERP implementations. He joins Harte Hanks from Digital Lumens Incorporated, an IoT lighting fixture and factory automation technology company that was spun out of Osram Sylvania, where he served as CFO for the last two years. As part of this role, he was instrumental in selling a product line to a strategic buyer and selling the remaining operating entity to a foreign company. Previously, he spent three years as Chief Financial Officer for Sensera, Inc., an Australian listed medical and IoT technology company, where he played an important role in turning around operations to facilitate a sale. Previously, he served as Managing Director of IW Ventures LLC, a financial consultant, and TTcogen LLC, a joint venture between Tecogen Inc. and TEDOM a.s. From 2014 to 2017, Garrison served as CFO of Tecogen Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company that designs, manufactures, and sells industrial and commercial cogeneration systems, where he supported growth with cost controls to drive margin expansion and profitability. He has an MBA from Boston University and has led several Greater Boston-based companies through successful growth-driven integrations, transactions, and implementations.
“Lauri has been a valued, long-standing member of our team and we appreciate all of her contributions as Harte Hanks has evolved over the years,” said Kirk Davis, Chief Executive Officer. “She played an instrumental role in providing the company with stability through restructuring and implementing a foundation for profitable growth. David is a proven financial and operational leader who will help advance the next phase of our comprehensive business plan. He brings a deep background in all facets of SEC reporting, compliance, and governance. Importantly, he brings specific and relevant expertise in information technologies and integration, data analytics, customer satisfaction, and expense management.”
Harte Hanks has already initiated a formal search process to select a permanent Chief Financial Officer to advance the company’s current growth plans and new market goals. Garrison’s interim appointment supports the strategic direction and growth-phase plan launched earlier this year after Harte Hanks celebrated its 100-year anniversary. The plan, which kicked off with the appointment of industry-veteran Kirk Davis as new CEO, is strategically designed to help Harte Hanks continue to adapt, change, and modernize, as it has done successfully for a century in business.
The company’s strategic plan includes a collaboration with the Kearney organization, a highly respected global management consulting firm. “I’ve had previous experience working with Kearney and am confident in their ability to help us mitigate inflation, benefit from their excellence in procurement and for our team to gain a deeper understanding of our profit potential,” said Davis. “Our engagement with Kearney is underway and will conclude before year end. The goal is to achieve the flexibility to not only drive profitability, but also make strategic investments that will support growth and further our technical aptitude.”
The company has also hired a new SVP of Sales and Marketing, with a formal announcement on this role to occur later this month.
“Having just completed my first full quarter with Harte Hanks, I am confident these actions will support our ambitions to have a strong 2024,” said Davis. Davis also noted that he remains comfortable with the most recently disclosed revenue baseline for fiscal 2023.
“Harte Hanks has a proud heritage, and the momentum we have right now is a very positive sign for our next 100 years,” continued CEO Kirk Davis. “We have a highly capable team in place, including many key long-term members of our management team and a creative, smart, motivated group of employees across all departments. We are very enthusiastic about the future and see profitable opportunities ahead for Harte Hanks.”
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.
Our press release and related earnings conference call contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. All such statements are qualified by this cautionary note, provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements other than historical facts are forward-looking and may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “seeks,” “could,” “intends,” or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on current information, expectations and estimates and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. In that event, our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected and investors in our securities could lose part or all of their investments. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include: (a) local, national and international economic and business conditions, including (i) the outbreak of diseases, such as the COVID-19 coronavirus, which has curtailed travel to and from certain countries and geographic regions, created supply chain disruption and shortages, disrupted business operations and reduced consumer spending, (ii) market conditions that may adversely impact marketing expenditures, (iii) the impact of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on the global economy and our business, including impacts from related sanctions and export controls and (iv) the impact of economic environments and competitive pressures on the financial condition, marketing expenditures and activities of our clients and prospects; (b) the demand for our products and services by clients and prospective clients, including (i) the willingness of existing clients to maintain or increase their spending on products and services that are or remain profitable for us, and (ii) our ability to predict changes in client needs and preferences; (c) economic and other business factors that impact the industry verticals we serve, including competition and consolidation of current and prospective clients, vendors and partners in these verticals; (d) our ability to manage and timely adjust our facilities, capacity, workforce and cost structure to effectively serve our clients; (e) our ability to improve our processes and to provide new products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner though development, license, partnership or acquisition; (f) our ability to protect our facilities against security breaches and other interruptions and to protect sensitive personal information of our clients and their customers; (g) our ability to respond to increasing concern, regulation and legal action over consumer privacy issues, including changing requirements for collection, processing and use of information; (h) the impact of privacy and other regulations, including restrictions on unsolicited marketing communications and other consumer protection laws; (i) fluctuations in fuel prices, paper prices, postal rates and postal delivery schedules; (j) the number of shares, if any, that we may repurchase in connection with our repurchase program; (k) unanticipated developments regarding litigation or other contingent liabilities; (l) our ability to complete anticipated divestitures and reorganizations, including cost-saving initiatives; (m) our ability to realize the expected tax refunds; and (n) other factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 which was filed on March 31, 2023. The forward-looking statements in this press release and our related earnings conference call are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.
Investor Relations Contact:
Rob Fink or Tom Baumann 646.809.4048 / 646.349.6641 FNK IR HHS@fnkir.com
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the bottom of the report for important disclosures
Overview: A new small-cap cycle?Small cap stocks have underperformed the large cap stocks for the past several years. Notably, there is a sizable valuation disparity between the two classes, one of the largest in over 20 years. Some of the small cap stocks we follow trade at a modest 2 times Enterprise Value to EBITDA, compared with large cap valuations as high as 13 to 15 times. Are we on a cusp of a small cap cycle?
Digital Media & Technology:Stocks Outperform – But Don’t Get Too Excited. Each of Noble’s Internet and Digital Media Indices, which are market cap weighted, outperformed the S&P 500 in the third quarter, but the double-digit gains from the previous quarter moderated significantly. Despite these relatively positive results, the prevailing theme within each sector was that the largest cap stocks performed the best, while smaller cap stocks across a variety of sectors struggled.
Television Broadcasting:Advertising Stabilizing?As we look toward the third quarter, local advertising appears to be weakening as the economy appears to be slowing. But, national appears to be improving. In addition, while it was assumed that Political would increase in the fourth quarter due to the run-off of the Republican presidential candidates, we believe that President Biden has recently stepped-up advertising in the third quarter, particularly in Hispanic communities.
Radio Broadcasting:Shoring up balance sheets.As many radio companies face a challenged revenue environment and at the same time invested in faster growth digital revenue, some companies have been caught carrying a substantial amount of debt. In this report, we highlight one company that was able to shore up its balance sheet through asset sales.
Publishing:Stocks outperform. It may be hard to imagine for some investors, but the Publishing stocks outperformed in both the latest quarter and for the trailing 12 months the S&P 500! But, there is still a wide valuation gap between most of Publishers and the shares of The New York Times, with the NYT shares at 15 times cash flow and the rest near 5.
Overview
The case for small caps
Small cap investors have gone through a rough period. For the past several years, investors have anticipated an economic downturn. With these concerns, investors turned toward “safe haven” large cap stocks, which typically have the ability to weather the economic headwinds and have enough trading volume should investors need to exit the position. Since 2018, small cap stocks have underperformed the general stock market, with annualized returns of just 3.7% as measured by the S&P 600 Small Cap Index versus the general market of 10.2% as measured by the S&P 500 Index. Another small cap index, the Russell 2000, increased a more modest 2.9% annually over the comparable period. The S&P 500 is larger cap, with the minimum market cap of $14.6 billion. The S&P 600 is smaller cap, a range of $850 million to $3.7 billion, with the Russell 2000 median market cap $950 million. Some of the even smaller cap stocks, those between $100 million to $850 million, have significantly underperformed the S&P 600. This is the first time that small caps underperformed a bullish period for all stocks since the 1940s. Notably, there is a sizable valuation disparity between the two classes, large and small cap, one of the largest in over 20 years.
Some of the small cap stocks we follow trade at a modest 2 times Enterprise Value to EBITDA, compared with large cap valuations as high as 13 to 15 times. By another measure, small cap stocks may be the only class trading below historic 25 year average to the median Enterprise Value to EBIT. Why the large valuation disparity? We believe that there is higher risk in the small cap stocks, especially given that some companies may not be cash flow positive, have capital needs, or have limited share float. But, investors seem to have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. While those small cap stocks are on the more speculative end of the scale, many small cap stocks are growing revenues and cash flow, have capable balance sheets, and/or are cash flow positive. For attractive emerging growth companies, the trading activity will resolve itself over time. Some market strategists suggest that small cap stocks trade at the most undervalued in the market, as much as a 30% to 40% discount to fair value.
Are we on a cusp of a small cap cycle? Some fund managers think so. Such a cycle could last 10 years or longer. In this report, we highlight a few of our small cap favorites in the Media sector, those include companies that have attractive growth characteristics, some with or without an improving economy, capable balance sheets, and limited capital needs. Our current favorites based on growth opportunity and stock valuation include: Direct Digital (DRCT), Entravision (EVC), E.W. Scripps (SSP), Gray Television (GTN), and Townsquare Media (TSQ).
After increasing by 8% in the second quarter of 2023, the S&P 500 was unable to hold onto those gains in the third quarter. The S&P Index decreased by 3.6% in the third quarter, a decline which we attribute to the market revising its interest rate expectations to one in which rates would remain “higher for longer”. Large cap stocks that weighed on the broad market index included tech stocks such as Apple (AAPL: -12%), Microsoft (MSFT: -7%) and Tesla (TSLA: -4%). Despite this small step backwards, the S&P 500 Index increased by 20% through the first nine months of the year.
Each of Noble’s Internet and Digital Media Indices, which are market cap weighted, outperformed the S&P 500 in the third quarter, but the double-digit gains from the previous quarter (2Q 2023) moderated significantly. Digital Media 3-Month Performance Sectors that outperformed the S&P 500’s 4% decrease include Noble’s Digital Media Index (+6%), Social Media Index (+4%), Gaming Index (+3%), Ad Tech Index (+1%) and MarTech Index (-3%). Despite these relatively positive results, the prevailing theme within each sector was that the largest cap stocks performed the best while smaller cap stocks across a variety of sectors struggled.
Figure #1 Digital Media 3-Month Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Perhaps more importantly, each of Noble’s Internet and Digital Media Indices have outperformed the S&P 500 over the latest twelve months as illustrated in Figure #2 Digital Versus S&P 500 LTM. The S&P 500 Index has increased by 20% over the last year (through 9/30/2023), which trailed the performance of the each of Noble’s Internet and Digital Media Indices, as shown in Figure #3 Digital Media LTM Performance.
Figure #2 Digital Versus S&P 500 LTM
Figure #3 Digital Media LTM Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Alphabet Powers Digital Media Index Higher Despite Broader-Based Sector Weakness
The best performing index during the quarter was the Noble’s Digital Media Index, but the sector’s “strong” performance is deceiving. Shares of Alphabet (a.k.a. Google: GOOGL) increased by 9% during the quarter, and the company size relative to its peers helps explain the vast majority of the sector’s performance. Google’s market cap is 8x larger than its next largest “peer” in Netflix, and it is 160 times that of the average market cap of its Digital Media peers. Google beat expectations across all metrics (revenue, EBITDA, free cash flow) and guided to improved profitability as it streamlines workflows. The company is also increasingly perceived as a beneficiary of AI. While Alphabet shares performed well, they mask the fact that shares of only 2 of the sector’s 12 stocks were up during the third quarter. The other Digital Media stock that performed well in the quarter was FUBO (FUBO), whose shares increased by 29% in 3Q 2023. Of the 10 other digital content providers in the sector, 7 of them posted double-digit stock price declines in the third quarter.
Large Cap Meta Powers the Social Media Index Higher
Shares in Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) rose for the third straight quarter. Shares increased by 5% and were up 150% through the first nine months of the year. Meta shares increased by 8% at the start of the third quarter due to excitement around the launch of Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter. Over 100 million people signed up for Threads within the first five days of its rollout and positions the company well for continued revenue growth once it begins to monetize this new opportunity.
As with the Digital Media Index, the Social Media Index masked underlying weakness across several smaller cap stocks. Of the 6 stocks in the Social Media Index, only Meta shares increased during the quarter. Several social media companies performed poorly during the quarter including Spark Networks (LOVL.Y: -59%), which filed to delist its shares, Nextdoor Holdings (KIND: -44%), which has struggled to reach profitability, and Snap (SNAP: -25%), which guided to revenue declines in 3Q 2023.
“No Love” For Small Cap Stocks
As was the case in the Digital Media and Social Media sectors, the same trends held true in the other sectors: in general, large cap stocks outperformed small cap stocks. For example, Noble’s Video Gaming Index increased by 3% in the third quarter, driven by Activision Blizzard (ATVI: +11%), and to a lesser extent SciPlay Corp (SCP: +16%). However, 7 other stocks in the video gaming sector posted stock price declines in the third quarter. Larger cap names such as EA Sports (EA: -7%) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO: -5%) posted mid-single digit stock price declines while every small cap video gaming stock posted double digit declines.
Noble’s Ad Tech Index increased by 1% during the quarter driven by shares of AppLovin (APP: +55%), and Taboola (TBLA: +22%). However, just 7 of the sector’s 20 stocks were up for the quarter, and 10 stocks in the sector posted double digit declines. One of our favorites is an attractive growth, small cap company, Direct Digital. The DRCT shares declined 20% in the quarter, in spite of posting favorable Q2 revenue that beat expectations and raising full year revenue estimates. Direct Digital leads our list of favorites in the digital Ad Tech companies. As Figure #4 Ad Tech Comparables indicate, Direct Digital is among the cheapest in the industry trading at 4.7 Enterprise Value to our 2024 adj. EBITDA estimate, well below larger cap peers trading at multiples of 12, 13, or even much higher. Finally, Noble’s MarTech Index decreased by 3% (the only index that declined during the quarter), with the sector’s largest companies, Adobe (ADBE: +4%) and Shopify (SHOP: -16%) posting mixed results. Outside of these mega-cap stocks, the theme of underlying weakness prevailed: only 5 of the 20 stocks in the sector posted stock price increases, while one was flat and the other 14 were down. Eleven of the 20 stocks in the MarTech sector posted double digit stock price declines. One of our favorites in the sector, Harte Hanks performed well in the quarter up 18.8%. This was a welcomed bounce from the steep decline in the shares over the past 12 months, down 44%. The company stumbled on quarterly expectations. We believe that the sell-off was over done, providing a compelling opportunity for investors. As Figure #5 MarTech Comparables illustrates, the HHS shares trade at 3.8 times Enterprise Value to our 2024 adj. EBITDA estimate, a fraction of the multiples of many of its larger cap peers. We view the HHS shares as among our favorites in the sector.
Figure #4 Ad Tech Comparables
Source: Company filings & Eikon
Figure #5 MarTech Comparables
Source: Noble estimates & Company filings
Traditional Media
Virtually all traditional media stocks underperformed the general market in the past quarter and trailing 12 months, as illustrated in Figure #6 Traditional Media LTM Performance, save the Publishing group. In the latest quarter, Publishing stocks outperformed the general market, up 3.0% versus down 3.6% for the general market as measured by the S&P 500 Index. The average Publishing stock is up 6.9% over the past 12 months, with some of the larger cap publishing stocks up significantly more, over 20%. More details on the Publishing performance is in the Publishing section of this report. In the last quarter, the Radio stocks were the worse performing group, down on average 10.2%, As illustrated in Figure #7 Traditional Media 3-Month Performance. In addition, the Radio stocks were the worst performing group in the third quarter as well, down and average of 12.7% for the quarter.
Figure #6 Traditional Media LTM Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Figure #7 Traditional Media 3-Month Performance
Source: Capital IQ
Television Broadcasting
Have the TV stocks discounted too much?
We believe that the economic headwinds of rising interest rates and inflation have begun to hit local advertising. Local advertising had been relatively stable, favorably influenced by a resurgence of Auto advertising. Notably, local advertising fared much better than national advertising, which was down in the absence of Political advertising. As we look toward the fourth quarter, local advertising appears to be weakening. But, notably, national advertising appears to be doing much better, driven by an early influx of Political advertising. While it was assumed that Political would increase in the fourth quarter due to the run-off of the Republican presidential candidates, especially in early primary States, we believe that President Biden has recently stepped-up advertising, particularly to the Hispanic community. We have noticed Biden advertising even in Florida! So, what does this mean for media fundamentals?
It is difficult to predict where Political dollars will be spent and not all Political dollars will be spent evenly, geographically or by stations in a particular market. Furthermore, Political dollars may be pulled back in a market should a particular candidate pull ahead in the polls. Political dollars were anticipated to be spent in early primary States, specifically for the Republican candidates. But, the Biden money is a surprise. Biden appears to be spending early and in areas to solidify a key voting block, Hispanics. Of course, the Biden campaign may broaden its spending to other voting blocks as well. In our view, 2024 will be a banner year for Political advertising given the large amount of Political fundraising by the candidates and by Political Action Committees. The prospect of weak local advertising, however, may cast a pall over the current expected strong revenue growth in 2024. Many analysts, including myself, expected that economic prospects would improve in 2024, which would have provided a favorable tailwind for a significant improvement in total TV advertising in 2024. Certainly, it is likely that the Fed may lower interest rates in 2024, potentially providing a boost to local advertising prospects, but that improvement may come late in the year. But, overall, in spite of the weakening Local advertising environment, given the improving National advertising trends, overall TV advertising appears to have stabilized.
For now, we are cautiously optimistic about 2024, with the caveat that revenue growth may be somewhat tempered given the current weak local advertising trends. Nonetheless, we believe that we are nearing the trough for this economic cycle. Some companies, like E.W. Scripps, are in a favorable cycle for Retransmission renewals. Retransmission revenues now account for a hefty 50% of Scripps’ total broadcast revenue. In Scripps’ case, 75% of its subscribers are under renewal, which it recently announced was completed. As such, the company reaffirmed guidance that Retransmission revenue will increase 15% in 2024 and lead to a substantial increase in net Retransmission revenue. We remain constructive on TV stocks, as high margin Political advertising should boost balance sheets and improve stock valuations.
In the latest quarter, TV stocks underperformed the general market. As Figure #7 Traditional Media 3-Month Performanceillustrates, the Noble TV Index decreased 13.2%, underperforming the 3.6% decline in the general market as measured by the S&P 500. The poor performance of the latest quarter adversely affected the trailing 12 month performance, bringing the Noble TV Index to a 17.6% decline for the trailing 12 months. Individual stocks performed more poorly, with only the shares of Fox Corporation registering a modest gain for the trailing 12 months of 2.7%. The Noble TV Index is market cap weighted, and, as such, Fox with a $15 billion market cap, carried the index. Outside of the relatively strong performance of this large cap stock, all of the TV stocks were down and down big, between 18% to 59% over the past 12 months.
We believe that investors have shied away from cyclicals, smaller cap stocks, and from companies with higher debt levels. This accounts for the poor performance of Gray Television and E.W. Scripps, both of which have elevated debt leverage given recent acquisitions. Both were among the poorest performers for the latest quarter and for the trailing 12 months. The GTN shares were down 12% in the third quarter and 38% for the last 12 months; the SSP shares down 40% and 58%, respectively.
We believe that the sell-off has been overdone, especially as the industry is expected to cycle toward an improved fundamental environment in 2024. As Figure #8 TV Industry Comparables indicate, the Broadcast TV stocks trade at a modest 5.3 times Enterprise Value to our 2024 adj. EBITDA estimates, well below historic 20 year average trading multiples of 8 to 12 times. We believe that the depressed valuations largely discount the prospect of an economic downturn and do not reflect the revenue and cash flow upside as we cycle into a Political year. Given the steep valuation discount to historic levels, we believe that the stocks are 15% to 20% below levels where the stocks normally would be given a favorable Political cycle. Our favorites in the TV space include: Entravision (EVC), one of the beneficiaries of the influx of Political advertising to Hispanics; E.W. Scripps (SSP), a play on Political, with the favorable fundamental tailwind of strong Retransmission revenue growth; and, Gray Television (GTN), one of the leading Political advertising plays.
Figure #8 TV Industry Comparables
Source: Noble estimates & Eikon
Radio Broadcasting
Shoring up balance sheets.
The Radio industry has struggled in the first half as National advertising weakened throughout the year. On average National advertising was down roughly20% or more for many Radio broadcasters. Local held up relatively well, although down in the range of 3% to 5%. Fortunately, for many broadcasters, a push into Digital, which grew in the first half, helped to stabilize total company revenues. As we look to the fourth quarter, we believe that Local advertising is weakening, expected to be down in the range of 5% to 7%, or more in some of the larger markets. But, for some, National advertising is improving, driven by Political advertising. But, Political is not evenly spread. As such, we anticipate that there will be a cautious outlook for many in the industry for the second half of the year.
For some in the industry, the challenged revenue environment has put a strain on managing cash flows to maintain hefty debt loads. We believe that debt leverage is among the top concern for investors. Many of the poorest performing stocks in the quarter and for the trailing 12 months carry some of the highest debt leverage in the industry. The Noble Radio Index decreased a significant 13.7% in the latest quarter compared with a 3.7% decline for the general market. But, a look at the individual stock performance tells a more disappointing story. The shares of Salem Media declined 38% in the latest quarter, bringing 12 month performance to a 44% decline. The shares of iHeart Media decline 49% for the year.
Notably, Salem Media assuaged much of its liquidity concerns with recent asset sales. Such sales will bring in roughly $30 million, allowing it to fully pay off its $22 million revolver and have some flexibility with remaining cash on its balance sheet. We do not believe that investors have fully credited the significance of the recent asset sales.
One bright spot in the group has been the shares of Townsquare Media. While the TSQ shares gave back a significant 27% in the third quarter, the shares are still up 20% over the past 12 months, among one of the best performance in the industry. We believe that the company’s initiation of a substantial dividend resonated with investors.
While the industry faces fundamental headwinds given the current economic challenges, we believe that most companies have made a shift toward faster growth, digital business models. In addition, we believe that Radio will see a lift from Political advertising in 2024, although not to the extent that the TV industry will see. Nonetheless, we look for an improving advertising scenario in 2024. As such, we are constructive on the industry. One of our current favorites leads the industry in its Digital transition, Townsquare Media. As Figure #9 Radio Industry Comparables indicates, the TSQ shares are among the cheapest in the industry, trading at 5.1 times EV to our 2024 adj. EBITDA estimate, well below the average of 7.1 times for the industry. In addition, we like Saga Communications, one of the cheapest stocks in the industry, trading near 4 times EV to 2024 adj. EBITDA.
Figure #9 Radio Industry Comparables
Source: Noble estimates & Eikon
Publishing
Further cost cutting will cut deep.
Publishers are not likely to be spared from the weakening local advertising business. But, publishers have a play book on areas to cut expenses to manage cash flows. Certainly, we believe that its Digital businesses should help offset some of the anticipated revenue declines on its print legacy business. We believe that publishers are eliminating print days. Such a move likely will indicate further pressure on print revenues, but would not proportionately decrease cash flow. Some print days have very little advertising and/or advertisers may shift some spending to other print days. Lee Enterprises indicated in its last call that it will go down to 3 print days in 44 of its smaller markets. We believe that the move has been a success. While revenues may have decreased slightly more than expected given the current weak advertising environment, we believe that cost savings have been more than anticipated.
While many publishers would like to have a long runway for its cash flowing print business, such possible moves would necessarily increase the digital transition. Notably, with just some stabilization of revenues on the print side, many publishers have the potential to show total company revenue growth given benefit from digital revenue. With the prospect of strategies that may cut print days and the current weak local advertising environment, we believe that total revenue growth may be pushed out to 2025.
Many of the Publishing stocks were written off long ago. But, surprisingly, the Publishing stocks have been among the best stock performers in the latest quarter and for the trailing 12 months. The Noble Publishing Index increased a solid 36% in the trailing 12 months, outperforming the general market (as measured by the S&P 500) of 19% in the comparable time frame. In the third quarter, Publishing stocks increased 3.5%, outperforming the S&P 500, which declined 3.7%. All of the publishers increased, with the exception of Lee Enterprises. The Lee shares increased substantially a year earlier on takeover rumors. Since then the shares have come back down to earth, while the rest of the industry moved higher. The stronger performers in the industry, however, were the larger cap companies, such as News Corp and The New York Times. In the latest quarter, the shares of The New York Times increased roughly 5% and the shares are up 27% for the trailing 12 months. The shares of Gannett increased a solid 9% in the latest quarter, as well.
As Figure #10 Publishing Industry Comparables illustrate, there is a disparity among some of the larger, more diversified companies, like The New York Times and News Corporation. The NYT shares trade at a hefty 15.7 times EV to 2024 adj. EBITDA estimates, well above much of the pack currently trading in the 5 multiple range. We believe that this valuation gap should narrow, especially as many of the companies, like Lee and Gannett, have a burgeoning Digital business. While the industry faces secular challenges of its Print business and there are economic headwinds in the very near term, we believe that companies like Lee Enterprises have the ability to manage cash flows and grow its Digital businesses. Given the compelling stock valuation disparity, the shares of Lee Enterprises lead our list of favorites in the sector.
Figure #10 Publishing Industry Comparables
Source: Noble estimates & Eikon
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Green Tea Technology Instrumental in Forging Relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Ad-Tech Holding Group, Direct Digital Holdings
HOUSTON, Oct. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Direct Digital Holdings (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 it has selected the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform to build a highly reliable, scalable and secure production environment. Green Tea Technology, an authorized HPE partner, will provide installation and support services.
Colossus SSP will now incorporate the HPE GreenLake platform with its on-premises infrastructure and cloud services across its entire marketplace to support Direct Digital Holdings’ sell-side platform. The marketplace manages approximately 136,000 clients monthly, generating over 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app video and other media channels.
“HPE GreenLake has enabled Direct Digital Holdings to deliver a modern cloud experience to customers with flexibility to meet their demands in real time,” said Alexia Clements, VP of worldwide go-to-market for HPE GreenLake Cloud Services, HPE. “We’re focused on delivering differentiated cloud solutions that allow our partners to serve as trusted advisors and help customers modernize their IT environments to improve their business outcomes.”
“Our relationship with HPE is strategic for our company, as we partner with HPE GreenLake for our digital infrastructure for our supply-side technology platform,” said Mark Walker, co-founder and CEO of Direct Digital Holdings. “Thanks to the flexibility provided by HPE GreenLake, we have the ability to continue our accelerated growth as we bring new technology products to our media partners. Green Tea Technology has been an excellent resource and partner in helping us leverage HPE for this strategic platform solution.”
Brad Davis, the owner and CTO of Green Tea Technology, stated that the HPE GreenLake platform is more than a year ahead of its competitors in terms of innovation and edge-to-cloud capabilities. Davis believes that the platform is an excellent solution for Direct Digital Holdings, considering their rapid growth and expansion underway.
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 136,000 clients monthly, generating over 250 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
About Green Tea Technology
Green Tea Technology is a leading IT solutions provider headquartered in Austin, Texas. As an accredited HPE Certified GreenLake integration partner , the company is at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge Hybrid cloud solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of businesses, both large and small. With a commitment to innovation and sustainability, Green Tea Technology is dedicated to architecting robust, scalable, and environmentally-friendly IT infrastructures.
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