Release Date: November 12, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- Comscore Inc (SCOR, Financial) reported a 34% growth in cross-platform revenue compared to the third quarter of the previous year.
- The company renewed key agreements, including a new three-year commitment from a major agency holding company, enhancing partnerships.
- Predictive Audiences revenue more than doubled compared to the third quarter of 2023, showing strong recovery and adoption.
- Comscore Campaign Ratings saw significant recovery, measuring over five times the number of ad campaigns by the end of October compared to the beginning of the year.
- The integration with Meta platforms allows advertisers to measure social ads across Facebook and Instagram, enhancing cross-platform measurement capabilities.
Negative Points
- Total revenue for the third quarter was $88.5 million, down 2.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
- Content and ad measurement revenue remained flat, with lower revenue from syndicated audience offerings.
- Research and insight solutions revenue decreased by 14% due to lower deliveries of custom digital solutions and Lift products.
- Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was down 24% from the prior-year quarter, resulting in a lower adjusted EBITDA margin.
- The company continues to face pricing pressures from legacy media clients, impacting National TV and syndicated digital products.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you elaborate on the progress made in cross-platform revenue and its impact on the company's growth strategy?
A: Jonathan Carpenter, CEO, highlighted a 34% growth in cross-platform revenue compared to the previous year. This growth is attributed to key wins with agency holding companies and the expansion of partnerships. The company is focused on integrating cross-platform measurement into programmatic transaction flows, which is expected to drive future revenue growth.
Q: How has the Oracle announcement affected Comscore's Proximic business, and what are the expectations moving forward?
A: Mary Curry, CFO, noted that the Oracle announcement initially impacted Proximic in the second quarter. However, the business has since recovered, contributing to revenue growth in the third quarter. The company anticipates this trend to continue, with Proximic playing a significant role in future revenue growth.
Q: What are the key factors driving the adoption of Comscore's Predictive Audiences offering?
A: Jonathan Carpenter, CEO, explained that the Predictive Audiences offering, which is AI-enabled and ID-free, has seen accelerated adoption due to its alignment with market needs amidst evolving privacy regulations. The product's ability to provide privacy-forward solutions is a key driver of its success.
Q: Can you discuss the financial performance and outlook for Comscore's content and ad measurement revenue?
A: Mary Curry, CFO, reported that content and ad measurement revenue was flat year-over-year, with declines in syndicated audience offerings offset by cross-platform revenue growth. The company expects cross-platform solutions to continue offsetting declines in other areas, contributing to overall revenue stabilization.
Q: What strategic steps is Comscore taking to address the challenges posed by the shift to Connected TV?
A: Jonathan Carpenter, CEO, emphasized the need for cross-platform solutions to address the fragmentation caused by the shift to Connected TV. Comscore is focusing on big data, innovative data science, and AI to provide solutions that help advertisers reach target audiences across multiple platforms.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
