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Viant(DSP) - 2023 Q4 - Earnings Call Transcript
DSPViant(DSP)2024-03-05 04:22

Financial Data and Key Metrics - Revenue for Q4 2023 grew 18% YoY to 644million,whilecontributionexTACgrew2864 4 million, while contribution ex-TAC grew 28% YoY to 42 6 million [14][58] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2023 increased nearly 400% YoY, with adjusted EBITDA margin reaching 31% [14][107] - Full-year 2023 revenue totaled 2229million,up13222 9 million, up 13% YoY, with contribution ex-TAC at 143 4 million, up 15% YoY [54] - Non-GAAP operating expenses for 2023 decreased by over 13% YoY to 1143million,whileadjustedEBITDAincreasedby114 3 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased by 35 2 million YoY to 291million[54][79]ThecompanyachievedtheRuleof40inQ42023,withcontributionexTACgrowthof2829 1 million [54][79] - The company achieved the Rule of 40 in Q4 2023, with contribution ex-TAC growth of 28% and adjusted EBITDA margins of 31% [92] Business Line Data and Key Metrics - Connected TV (CTV) represented nearly 40% of total ad spend on the platform in Q4 2023, making it the largest channel [38][104] - Over 40% of CTV spend in Q4 2023 was through the Direct Access program, up from over 25% in Q3 2023 [21] - Video formats, including mobile video and CTV, accounted for nearly 60% of total platform spend in Q4 2023 [61] - Streaming audio also showed strong growth, representing nearly 10% of overall spend in Q4 2023 [104] - The Viant Data platform saw early adoption, with 7 out of the top 10 customers using it in 2023 [49] Market Data and Key Metrics - The company is seeing strong momentum in retail, consumer goods, healthcare, travel, and public services verticals [82] - The mid-market segment continues to drive growth, with customers scaling their advertising budgets on the platform [56][80] - The number of percentage spend customers generating at least 500,000 of contribution ex-TAC increased by over 30% YoY in 2023 [60] - Contribution ex-TAC across the top 100 customers grew by over 20% YoY in 2023 [63] Company Strategy and Industry Competition - The company is focused on integrating AI and machine learning into its platform to improve customer experience and drive efficiency [26][27] - Viant's Household ID technology is a key differentiator, with over 90% of CTV ad spend on the platform utilizing it [18][101] - The company is prioritizing larger mid-market customers with significant long-term value over smaller, lower-spending customers [84][85] - Viant is one of only two buy-side-only demand-side platforms in the market, providing a competitive advantage [37][111] - The company is leveraging its Direct Access program to partner with major CTV content owners, offering better pricing and addressability for customers [41][42] Management Commentary on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management highlighted the accelerating momentum across the business, driven by the strategic role in the programmatic ad ecosystem [15] - The company expects continued growth in 2024, with Q1 revenue guidance of 49millionto49 million to 52 million, representing 21% YoY growth at the midpoint [89] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2024 is expected to be in the range of 2millionto2 million to 3 million, a YoY increase of $2 9 million at the midpoint [90] - Management is optimistic about the opportunities in CTV, especially as cookie deprecation drives marketers to re-platform their budgets [6][7] - The company is focused on sustainability, achieving carbon-neutral status in 2023 and launching the Adtricity program to help customers quantify their carbon footprint [24][44] Other Important Information - The company's AI Bid Optimizer product has seen strong adoption, helping customers achieve 35% average savings on CPMs [47] - Viant's AI product suite won the 2024 Innovation Award from the Business Intelligence Group [23] - The company plans to launch the second generation of AI Bid Optimizer in summer 2024, expected to deliver even higher savings [28] - Viant's Household ID technology has lower instances of fraud, higher accuracy, and superior measurement capabilities compared to cookie-based solutions [40][101] Q&A Session Summary Question: How does Viant's Household ID compare to Google's Privacy Sandbox and Trade Desk's UID 2 0? - Viant's Household ID is not limited to the Chrome ecosystem and ties both e-commerce and in-store transactions, offering broader measurement capabilities [99][100] - Over 90% of CTV ad spend on Viant's platform utilizes Household ID, providing significant scale compared to other solutions [101] Question: What is the impact of Direct Access on CPMs? - Direct Access allows marketers to achieve lower CPMs while publishers see higher CPMs, with CTV CPMs increasing by up to 20% [121][122] Question: How is Viant positioned to sustain 20% revenue growth in 2024? - The company is confident in its ability to grow faster than the market, driven by its strong customer pipeline and focus on mid-market customers [148][166] Question: What are the expectations for the second generation of AI Bid Optimizer? - The second generation aims to deliver even higher cost savings for customers and improve automation features, with a focus on customer happiness [154][174] Question: How far can Direct Access grow in CTV? - Direct Access could potentially reach over 80% of CTV spend, driven by customer preference for direct integrations [176][180] Question: What has been the impact of cookie deprecation so far? - The company has seen a mindset shift among marketers, with increased activity and decision-making as cookie deprecation becomes a reality [144][181]