Viant(DSP)2024-05-01 02:10Financial Data and Key Metrics - Revenue for Q1 2024 was 34.1 million, up 22% year-over-year, above the midpoint of guidance [11] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 was 3.5 million increase from the prior year [12] - Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of contribution ex-TAC was 9%, a 10 percentage point improvement year-over-year [12] - The company ended Q1 with 227 million in positive working capital, and no debt [62] Business Line Performance - CTV grew over 50% year-over-year and represented over 40% of total ad spend on the platform [32] - Streaming audio achieved record spend levels, nearly doubling year-over-year, and accounted for 10% of total ad spend [6][32] - Video, including CTV, represented 60% of total ad spend on the platform in Q1 [61] - Over 50% of CTV spend in Q1 was through the Direct Access program, up from over 40% in Q4 [59] Market Performance - CTV and streaming audio together represented more than half of total ad spend on the platform in Q1 [71] - The company is capturing market share in CTV due to its Direct Access program, which connects customers directly with premium CTV inventory from Disney and Paramount [5][30] - Streaming audio is gaining momentum due to its scale, premium content, and targeting capabilities [6][86] Strategic Direction and Industry Competition - The company's vision for autonomous advertising includes simplifying programmatic ad buying, leveraging AI-driven automation, and providing comprehensive campaign reporting [8] - The Household ID technology is a key differentiator, enabling superior campaign performance across all channels [7][69] - The company is investing in AI-based features and products, including AI Bid Optimizer 2.0 and Chat with Data, to drive efficiency and higher return on ad spend [9][74][98] - The company expects to continue outpacing overall market growth, with contribution ex-TAC growing faster than non-GAAP operating expenses [79] Management Commentary on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - The company expects Q2 2024 revenue to be in the range of 66.5 million, representing a 14% year-over-year increase [34] - Contribution ex-TAC for Q2 is expected to be in the range of 42 million, representing 22% year-over-year growth [34] - The company expects adjusted EBITDA for Q2 to be in the range of 9 million, a 25% year-over-year increase [63] - The company remains optimistic about its prospects, with a large pipeline of highly scalable advertisers and strong customer adoption of its newer products [78][79] Other Important Information - The company has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $50 million of its common shares [102] - The company has a strong partnership with Roku, leveraging the Roku ID match to the Viant Household ID [105] - The company has made progress in the political advertising category, with high hopes for revenue growth in this vertical [51] Q&A Session Summary Question: Linearity of demand in Q1 and visibility into the back half of 2024 - Demand in Q1 built throughout the quarter, with each month being better than the prior month [16] - The company expects to continue outpacing the market, with U.S. programmatic growth expectations in the 15% to 16% range [82] Question: Drivers behind the growth in streaming audio - Streaming audio benefits from high ad recall rates, dedicated listeners, and increasing supply from major audio platforms [40][108] Question: Expansion of the Direct Access program beyond Disney and Paramount - The company is focused on adding more premium CTV partners and expects this trend to continue throughout the year [46] Question: Impact of Google's delay in cookie deprecation - The company remains focused on making programmatic ad buying easy and efficient, with less than 10% of ad spend utilizing cookies across its platform [84] Question: Growth in the political advertising category - The company has made significant progress in political advertising and expects digital to be a significant beneficiary this year [51] Question: Success in moving upstream with mid-market customers - The company is seeing increased spend from mid-market customers due to strong results and word-of-mouth referrals [113]