Revenue up 9% year over year

GAAP Operating Margin of 5% and Non-GAAP Operating Margin of 20%

Operating Cash Flow of $36 million

Raises Fiscal 2024 Guidance

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LiveRamp® (NYSE: RAMP), the leading data collaboration platform, today announced its financial results for the fiscal 2024 second quarter ended September 30, 2023.




Q2 Financial Highlights1

  • Total revenue was $160 million, up 9%.
  • Subscription revenue was $126 million, up 5%, and accounted for 79% of total revenue.
  • Marketplace & Other revenue was $34 million, up 25%.
  • GAAP gross profit was $119 million, up 13%. GAAP gross margin of 74% expanded by 3 percentage points. Non-GAAP gross profit was $121 million, up 9%. Non-GAAP gross margin of 75% was flat year-on-year.
  • GAAP operating income was $8 million compared to a loss of $29 million. GAAP operating margin was 5% compared to negative 20%. Non-GAAP operating income was $32 million compared to $17 million. Non-GAAP operating margin of 20% expanded by 8 percentage points.
  • GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.07 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.43.
  • Net cash provided by operating activities was $36 million compared to $21 million.
  • Share repurchases in the second quarter totaled approximately 490,000 shares for $15 million, bringing the fiscal first half total to 1.3 million shares for $35 million.

A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the schedules to this press release.

“We posted strong second quarter results, with both revenue and operating income exceeding our expectations; operating margin was a record high and operating cash flow was positive for a fifth consecutive quarter,” said LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe. “We had our best new logo quarter in two years, including the addition of multiple Fortune 500 customers, demonstrating the traction our Data Collaboration Platform has with marketers looking to more fully leverage their first-party customer data across the digital advertising ecosystem.”

______________

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all comparisons are to the prior year period.

GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial results for the fiscal 2024 second quarter ended September 30, 2023 ($ in millions, except per share amounts):

 

 

 

 

 

GAAP

 

Non-GAAP

 

Q2 FY24

Q2 FY23

 

Q2 FY24

Q2 FY23

Subscription revenue

$126

$120

 

YoY change %

5%

14%

 

Marketplace & Other revenue

$34

$27

 

YoY change %

25%

25%

 

Total revenue

$160

$147

 

YoY change %

9%

16%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross profit

$119

$105

 

$121

$111

% Gross margin

74%

71%

 

75%

75%

YoY change, pts

3 pts

(1 pt)

 

0 pts

(2 pts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

$8

($29)

 

$32

$17

% Operating margin

5%

(20%)

 

20%

12%

YoY change, pts

25 pts

(15 pts)

 

8 pts

(2 pts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

$5

($30)

 

$29

$15

Diluted earnings (loss) per share

$0.07

($0.45)

 

$0.43

$0.22

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares to calculate diluted EPS

67.9

67.1

 

67.9

67.6

YoY change %

1%

(1%)

 

0%

(3%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net operating cash flow

$36

$21

 

Free cash flow to equity

 

$36

$19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totals may not sum due to rounding.

A detailed discussion of our non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the schedules attached to this press release.

Additional Business Highlights & Metrics

  • In August 2023 we were selected as a 2023 Google Cloud Partner of the Year. LiveRamp was recognized as a “Global Industry Technology Partner of the Year” for delivering embedded solutions that help customers enrich their Google Cloud environment and extend value to wherever their data lives.
  • In October 2023 we announced that our identity capabilities are now natively available within AWS Entity Resolution and support additional identifier types. With this integration, marketers, publishers, tech platforms, and agencies can extend the interoperability of data in the cloud to marketing and advertising destinations using RampID.
  • In August 2023 we expanded our reach in the MarTech space by announcing a new partnership with Sendbird, a global in-app conversations platform with over 300 million monthly active users. Joint customers of Sendbird and LiveRamp can now power personalized marketing and consumer experiences using LiveRamp’s identity solutions. For the first time marketers can bring together media exposure logs and marketing technology exposure logs to build a more robust view of the customer journey.
  • The Company’s globally scaled Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) has more than 165 supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-side platforms (DSPs) live or committed to bid on RampID™ and ATS, including The Trade Desk, Xandr, Yahoo, Amobee, Criteo, Adobe Ad Cloud, and Roku Oneview.
  • To date, over 16,000 publisher domains and over 70% of the comScore 100 publishers, have adopted ATS, including Amazon Publisher Services, Microsoft, Hearst, CafeMedia, Leaf Group, Prisma Media and Burda. Through these integrations, LiveRamp is now connected to over 92% of consumer time spent online in the US.
  • We recently announced new partnerships with Epsilon, FreeWheel, and Yahoo that extend the RampID footprint and give brands greater reach to data-driven premium advertising inventory:

    • In September 2023 we announced that our connectivity solution, ATS, is now interoperable with Epsilon’s identity framework.
    • In September 2023 we announced that we are integrating RampID with FreeWheel, a leading supply-side platform for CTV publishers.
    • In October 2023 we announced an expanded partnership with Yahoo to scale advertising addressability and reach by making Yahoo’s ConnectID interoperable with RampID.
  • LiveRamp ended the quarter with 99 customers whose subscription contracts exceed $1 million in annual revenue, compared to 92 in the prior year period.
  • LiveRamp ended the quarter with 895 direct subscription customers, compared to 920 in the prior year period.
  • Second quarter subscription net retention was 101% and platform net retention was 104%.
  • Current remaining performance obligations (CRPO), which is contracted and committed revenue expected to be recognized over the next 12 months, was $339 million, up 16% compared to the prior year period.

Financial Outlook

LiveRamp’s non-GAAP operating income guidance excludes the impact of non-cash stock compensation, purchased intangible asset amortization, and restructuring and related charges.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2024, LiveRamp expects to report:

  • Revenue of $165 million, an increase of 4%
  • GAAP operating income of $8 million
  • Non-GAAP operating income of $29 million

For fiscal 2024, LiveRamp updates its guidance and expects to report:

  • Revenue of between $632 million and $637 million, an increase of between 6% and 7%
  • GAAP operating income of between $8 million and $11 million
  • Non-GAAP operating income of between $97 million and $100 million

Conference Call

LiveRamp will hold a conference call today at 1:30 p.m. PT to further discuss this information. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call which will be broadcast via the Internet and can be found on LiveRamp’s investor site. A slide presentation will be referenced during the call and can be accessed here.

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp is the data collaboration platform of choice for the world’s most innovative companies. A groundbreaking leader in consumer privacy, data ethics, and foundational identity, LiveRamp is setting the new standard for building a connected customer view with unmatched clarity and context while protecting precious brand and consumer trust. LiveRamp offers complete flexibility to collaborate wherever data lives to support the widest range of data collaboration use cases—within organizations, between brands, and across its premier global network of top-quality partners. Hundreds of global innovators, from iconic consumer brands and tech giants to banks, retailers, and healthcare leaders, turn to LiveRamp to build enduring brand and business value by deepening customer engagement and loyalty, activating new partnerships, and maximizing the value of their first-party data while staying on the forefront of rapidly evolving compliance and privacy requirements. LiveRamp is based in San Francisco, California with offices worldwide. Learn more at LiveRamp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended (the “PSLRA”). These statements, which are not statements of historical fact, may contain estimates, assumptions, projections and/or expectations regarding the Company’s financial position, results of operations for fiscal 2024 and beyond, market position, product development, growth opportunities, economic conditions, and other similar forecasts and statements of expectation. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “foresee,” or the negative of these terms or other similar variations thereof.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results and experiences to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements.

Among the factors that may cause actual results and expectations to differ from anticipated results and expectations expressed in forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to rising interest rates, cost increases, the possibility of a recession, general inflationary pressure, geo-political circumstances that could result in increased economic uncertainties and the associated impacts of these potential events on our suppliers, customers and partners; the Company’s dependence upon customer renewals; new customer additions and upsell within our subscription business; our reliance upon partners, including data suppliers; competition; rapidly changing technology’s impact on our products and services; and attracting, motivating and retaining talent. Additional risks include maintaining our culture and our ability to innovate and evolve while operating in a hybrid work environment, with some employees working remotely at least some of the time within a rapidly changing industry, while also avoiding disruption from reductions in our current workforce as well as disruptions resulting from acquisition, divestiture and other activities affecting our workforce. Our global workforce strategy could possibly encounter difficulty and not be as beneficial as planned. Our international operations are also subject to risks, including the performance of third parties as well as impacts from war and civil unrest, that may harm the Company’s business. The risk of a significant breach of the confidentiality of the information or the security of our or our customers’, suppliers’, or other partners’ data and/or computer systems, or the risk that our current insurance coverage may not be adequate for such a breach, that an insurer might deny coverage for a claim or that such insurance will continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, could be detrimental to our business, reputation and results of operations. Other business risks include unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry; interruptions or delays in service from data center or cloud hosting vendors we rely upon; and our dependence on the continued availability of third-party data hosting and transmission services. Our clients’ ability to use data on our platform could be restricted if the industry’s use of third-party cookies and tracking technology declines due to technology platform changes, regulation or increased user controls. Changes in regulations relating to information collection and use represents a risk, as well as changes in tax laws and regulations that are applied to our customers which could cause enterprise software budget tightening. In addition, third parties may claim that we are infringing their intellectual property or may infringe our intellectual property which could result in competitive injury and / or the incurrence of significant costs and draining of our resources.

For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer to LiveRamp’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year 2023 ended March 31, 2023, and LiveRamp’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q issued in fiscal year 2024.

The financial information set forth in this press release reflects estimates based on information available at this time.

LiveRamp assumes no obligation and does not currently intend to update these forward-looking statements.

To automatically receive LiveRamp financial news by email, please visit www.LiveRamp.com and subscribe to email alerts.

LiveRampand RampIDTM and all other LiveRamp marks contained herein are trademarks or service marks of LiveRamp, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

 
LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
For the Three Months Ended
September 30,

 

 

 

 

$

%

2023

 

2022

 

Variance

Variance

 
Revenues

159,871

 

147,099

 

12,772

 

8.7

%

 
Cost of revenue

41,212

 

42,304

 

(1,092

)

(2.6

%)

Gross profit

118,659

 

104,795

 

13,864

 

13.2

%

% Gross margin

74.2

%

71.2

%

 
Operating expenses:
Research and development

33,733

 

46,139

 

(12,406

)

(26.9

%)

Sales and marketing

44,135

 

45,949

 

(1,814

)

(3.9

%)

General and administrative

26,009

 

28,718

 

(2,709

)

(9.4

%)

Gains, losses and other items, net

6,574

 

13,111

 

(6,537

)

(49.9

%)

Total operating expenses

110,451

 

133,917

 

(23,466

)

(17.5

%)

 
Income (loss) from operations

8,208

 

(29,122

)

37,330

 

128.2

%

% Margin

5.1

%

-19.8

%

 
Total other income, net

6,431

 

2,248

 

4,183

 

186.1

%

 
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes

14,639

 

(26,874

)

41,513

 

154.5

%

 
Income tax expense

10,163

 

3,562

 

6,601

 

185.3

%

 
Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations

4,476

 

(30,436

)

34,912

 

114.7

%

 
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of tax

387

 

 

387

 

n/a

 

 
Net earnings (loss)

4,863

 

(30,436

)

35,299

 

116.0

%

 
Basic earnings (loss) per share:
Continuing operations

0.07

 

(0.45

)

0.52

 

114.9

%

Discontinued operations

0.01

 

 

0.01

 

n/a

 

Basic earnings (loss) per share

0.07

 

(0.45

)

0.53

 

115.8

%

 
Diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Continuing operations

0.07

 

(0.45

)

0.52

 

114.5

%

Discontinued operations

0.01

 

 

0.01

 

n/a

 

Diluted earnings (loss) per share:

0.07

 

(0.45

)

0.53

 

115.8

%

 
Basic weighted average shares

66,284

 

67,096

 

Diluted weighted average shares

67,868

 

67,096

 

 
LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
For the Six Months Ended
September 30,

 

 

 

 

$

 

%

2023

 

2022

 

Variance

 

Variance

 
Revenues

313,940

 

289,342

 

24,598

 

8.5

%

 
Cost of revenue

86,833

 

83,325

 

3,508

 

4.2

%

Gross profit

227,107

 

206,017

 

21,090

 

10.2

%

% Gross margin

72.3

%

71.2

%

 
Operating expenses:
Research and development

68,252

 

93,800

 

(25,548

)

(27.2

%)

Sales and marketing

89,014

 

97,229

 

(8,215

)

(8.4

%)

General and administrative

52,673

 

55,862

 

(3,189

)

(5.7

%)

Gains, losses and other items, net

6,690

 

13,850

 

(7,160

)

(51.7

%)

Total operating expenses

216,629

 

260,741

 

(44,112

)

(16.9

%)

 
Income (loss) from operations

10,478

 

(54,724

)

65,202

 

119.1

%

% Margin

3.3

%

-18.9

%

 
Total other income, net

11,280

 

2,947

 

8,333

 

282.8

%

 
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes

21,758

 

(51,777

)

73,535

 

142.0

%

 
Income tax expense

18,868

 

5,877

 

12,991

 

221.0

%

 
Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations

2,890

 

(57,654

)

60,544

 

105.0

%

 
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of tax

387

 

 

387

 

n/a

 

 
Net earnings (loss)

3,277

 

(57,654

)

60,931

 

105.7

%

 
Basic earnings (loss) per share:
Continuing operations

0.04

 

(0.85

)

0.89

 

105.1

%

Discontinued operations

0.01

 

 

0.01

 

n/a

 

Basic earnings (loss) per share

0.05

 

(0.85

)

0.90

 

105.8

%

 
Diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Continuing operations

0.04

 

(0.85

)

0.89

 

105.0

%

Discontinued operations

0.01

 

 

0.01

 

n/a

 

Diluted earnings (loss) per share:

0.05

 

(0.85

)

0.90

 

105.7

%

 
Basic weighted average shares

66,391

 

67,750

 

Diluted weighted average shares

67,628

 

67,750

 

 
LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP EPS (1)
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
 

For the Three Months Ended

 

For the Six Months Ended

September 30,

 

September 30,

2023

 

2022

 

2023

 

2022

 
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes

14,639

(26,874

)

21,758

(51,777

)

 
Income tax expense

10,163

3,562

 

18,868

5,877

 

 
Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations

4,476

(30,436

)

2,890

(57,654

)

 
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of tax

387

 

387

 

 
Net earnings (loss)

4,863

(30,436

)

3,277

(57,654

)

 
Earnings (loss) per share:
Basic

0.07

(0.45

)

0.05

(0.85

)

Diluted

0.07

(0.45

)

0.05

(0.85

)

 
Excluded items:
Purchased intangible asset amortization (cost of revenue)

1,217

4,637

 

4,507

9,280

 

Non-cash stock compensation (cost of revenue and operating expenses)

15,735

27,293

 

29,027

51,518

 

Transformation costs (general and administrative)

1,250

 

1,875

1,250

 

Restructuring charges (gains, losses, and other)

6,574

13,111

 

6,690

13,850

 

 
Total excluded items, continuing operations

23,526

46,291

 

42,099

75,898

 

 
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and excluding items

38,165

19,417

 

63,857

24,121

 

 
Income tax expense (2)

9,036

4,557

 

15,203

5,794

 

 
Non-GAAP net earnings from continuing operations

29,129

14,860

 

48,654

18,327

 

 
Non-GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations:
Basic

0.44

0.22

 

0.73

0.27

 

Diluted

0.43

0.22

 

0.72

0.27

 

 
Basic weighted average shares

66,284

67,096

 

66,391

67,750

 

Diluted weighted average shares

67,868

67,568

 

67,628

68,384

 

 

(1) This presentation includes non-GAAP measures. Our non-GAAP measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures, and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For a detailed explanation of the adjustments made to comparable GAAP measures, the reasons why management uses these measures and the material limitations on the usefulness of these measures, please see Appendix A.

 

(2) Income taxes were calculated by applying the estimated annual effective tax rate to year-to-date pretax income or loss and adjusting for discrete tax items in the period. The differences between our GAAP and non-GAAP effective tax rates were primarily due to the net tax effects of the excluded items, coupled with larger pre-tax losses for GAAP purposes versus smaller pre-tax losses or income for non-GAAP purposes.

LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP INCOME (LOSS) FROM OPERATIONS (1)
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)
 

For the Three Months Ended

 

For the Six Months Ended

September 30,

 

September 30,

2023

 

2022

 

2023

 

2022

 
Income (loss) from continuing operations

8,208

(29,122

)

10,478

(54,724

)

 
Excluded items:
Purchased intangible asset amortization (cost of revenue)

1,217

4,637

 

4,507

9,280

 

Non-cash stock compensation (cost of revenue and operating expenses)

15,735

27,293

 

29,027

51,518

 

Transformation costs (general and administrative)

1,250

 

1,875

1,250

 

Restructuring charges (gains, losses, and other)

6,574

13,111

 

6,690

13,850

 

 
Total excluded items

23,526

46,291

 

42,099

75,898

 

 
Income from continuing operations before excluded items

31,734

17,169

 

52,577

21,174

 

 

(1) This presentation includes non-GAAP measures. Our non-GAAP measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures, and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For a detailed explanation of the adjustments made to comparable GAAP measures, the reasons why management uses these measures and the material limitations on the usefulness of these measures, please see Appendix A.

LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA (1)
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)
 

For the Three Months Ended

 

For the Six Months Ended

September 30,

 

September 30,

2023

 

2022

 

2023

 

2022

 
Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations

4,476

 

(30,436

)

2,890

 

(57,654

)

 
Income tax expense

10,163

 

3,562

 

18,868

 

5,877

 

 
Other income

(6,431

)

(2,248

)

(11,280

)

(2,947

)

 
Income (loss) from operations

8,208

 

(29,122

)

10,478

 

(54,724

)

 
Depreciation and amortization

1,864

 

5,689

 

5,903

 

11,430

 

 
EBITDA

10,072

 

(23,433

)

16,381

 

(43,294

)

 
Other adjustments:
Non-cash stock compensation (cost of revenue and operating expenses)

15,735

 

27,293

 

29,027

 

51,518

 

Transformation costs (general and administrative)

 

1,250

 

1,875

 

1,250

 

Restructuring charges (gains, losses, and other)

6,574

 

13,111

 

6,690

 

13,850

 

 
Other adjustments

22,309

 

41,654

 

37,592

 

66,618

 

 
Adjusted EBITDA

32,381

 

18,221

 

53,973

 

23,324

 

 

(1) This presentation includes non-GAAP measures. Our non-GAAP measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures, and should be read only in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For a detailed explanation of the adjustments made to comparable GAAP measures, the reasons why management uses these measures, the usefulness of these measures and the material limitations on the usefulness of these measures, please see Appendix A.

 
LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
 

September 30,

 

March 31,

 

$

 

%

2023

 

2023

 

Variance

 

Variance

 
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents

492,169

 

464,448

 

27,721

 

6.0

%

Short-term investments

31,920

 

32,807

 

(887

)

(2.7

%)

Trade accounts receivable, net

174,703

 

157,379

 

17,324

 

11.0

%

Refundable income taxes, net

 

28,897

 

(28,897

)

(100.0

%)

Other current assets

29,054

 

31,028

 

(1,974

)

(6.4

%)

 
Total current assets

727,846

 

714,559

 

13,287

 

1.9

%

 
Property and equipment

38,221

 

39,393

 

(1,172

)

(3.0

%)

Less – accumulated depreciation and amortization

32,647

 

32,308

 

339

 

1.0

%

 
Property and equipment, net

5,574

 

7,085

 

(1,511

)

(21.3

%)

 
Intangible assets, net

5,361

 

9,868

 

(4,507

)

(45.7

%)

Goodwill

360,016

 

363,116

 

(3,100

)

(0.9

%)

Deferred commissions, net

39,937

 

37,030

 

2,907

 

7.9

%

Other assets, net

41,785

 

41,045

 

740

 

1.8

%

 

1,180,519

 

1,172,703

 

7,816

 

0.7

%

 
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Trade accounts payable

79,344

 

86,568

 

(7,224

)

(8.3

%)

Accrued payroll and related expenses

35,331

 

33,434

 

1,897

 

5.7

%

Other accrued expenses

37,133

 

35,736

 

1,397

 

3.9

%

Deferred revenue

20,978

 

19,091

 

1,887

 

9.9

%

Income taxes payable

13,911

 

 

13,911

 

n/a

 

 
Total current liabilities

186,697

 

174,829

 

11,868

 

6.8

%

 
Other liabilities

71,964

 

71,798

 

166

 

0.2

%

 
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock

 

 

 

n/a

 

Common stock

15,473

 

15,399

 

74

 

0.5

%

Additional paid-in capital

1,889,178

 

1,855,916

 

33,262

 

1.8

%

Retained earnings

1,305,568

 

1,302,291

 

3,277

 

0.3

%

Accumulated other comprehensive income

3,567

 

4,504

 

(937

)

(20.8

%)

Treasury stock, at cost

(2,291,928

)

(2,252,034

)

(39,894

)

1.8

%

Total stockholders’ equity

921,858

 

926,076

 

(4,218

)

(0.5

%)

 

1,180,519

 

1,172,703

 

7,816

 

0.7

%

 

Contacts

LiveRamp Investor Relations

Investor.Relations@LiveRamp.com
ERAMP

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