10-K: Viant Technology Inc. Reports Fiscal Year 2023 Results, Revenue Up 13.1%

Viant Technology Inc. announced its fiscal year 2023 results, highlighting a 13.1% increase in revenue and a significant improvement in profitability.

Summary

• Viant Technology Inc. reported a revenue of $222.9 million for fiscal year 2023, a 13.1% increase compared to $197.2 million in 2022.
• The company's gross profit reached $102.5 million, a 27.4% increase from $80.4 million in the previous year.
• Contribution excluding traffic acquisition costs (ex-TAC) was $143.4 million, up 15% from $124.7 million in 2022.
• Viant recorded a net loss of $9.9 million in 2023, a significant improvement from the $48.1 million loss in 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA for 2023 was $29.1 million, a substantial turnaround from the negative $6.1 million in 2022.
• The company's platform enables programmatic advertising across various channels, including desktop, mobile, connected TV, linear TV, in-game, streaming audio, and digital billboards.
• Viant's proprietary identity graph links approximately 115 million households to an estimated 1 billion connected devices.

Sentiment

Score: 8

Explanation: The document presents a positive outlook with strong revenue growth and a significant improvement in profitability. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on industry trends, but there are still risks to consider.

Positives

• The company experienced a significant increase in revenue, gross profit, and contribution ex-TAC.
• There was a substantial improvement in net loss and adjusted EBITDA, indicating a strong turnaround in profitability.
• Viant's AI Bid Optimizer is providing significant cost savings for customers.
• The company's platform offers a wide range of advertising inventory across multiple channels.
• Viant has a strong customer satisfaction rating of 90% or greater for the last four years.
• The company has achieved carbon neutrality for its known and measurable emissions by the end of 2023.

Negatives

• The company still reported a net loss for the fiscal year 2023, although it was significantly reduced compared to the previous year.
• The company is subject to payment-related risks and may incur write-offs for bad debt.
• The company is dependent on third-party data and hosting services, which could pose risks to its operations.

Risks

• The company's success depends on enhancing its platform and educating customers, and failure to do so could impact revenue.
• The shift away from cookie-based tracking may not happen as quickly as expected, and competitors may adapt.
• Failure to innovate and make the right investment decisions could lead to a decline in revenue and customer retention.
• The programmatic advertising market is evolving, and slower or different development could adversely affect the company.
• The loss of key advertising agencies as customers could harm the business.
• Long sales cycles can make it difficult to project new customers and revenue.
• Macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events could negatively impact the business.
• Diminished access to advertising inventory or people-based data could decrease the effectiveness of the platform.
• Stringent and changing data privacy and security obligations could lead to regulatory actions and financial penalties.
• Changes in technology initiated by technology companies or government regulation could impact the platform.
• A significant breach of IT systems or confidential data could be detrimental to the business.
• Proprietary rights may be difficult to enforce, enabling others to copy technology.
• The market price of Class A common stock may be volatile.
• Operations are subject to risks associated with climate change and environmental, social and governance matters.
• The company is a controlled company and relies on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

Future Outlook

The company intends to continue investing in its platform, sales and marketing, and acquisitions to capitalize on the shift towards programmatic advertising and expand its market opportunity. They also plan to strengthen omnichannel partnerships and extend their leadership in people-based advertising.

Management Comments

• The company is driven to be a leader in innovation, automation, transparency, customer focus and responsible media.
• The company believes its solutions will accelerate the shift of advertising budgets to programmatic advertising.
• The company is focused on ad buyers and believes that its solutions will accelerate the shift of advertising budgets to programmatic advertising.

Industry Context

The document highlights the ongoing shift towards programmatic advertising, particularly in connected TV, and the increasing demand for people-based platforms as alternatives to cookie-based tracking. The company is positioning itself to capitalize on these trends.

Comparison to Industry Standards

• The document mentions eMarketer's forecast that the U.S. programmatic advertising market is expected to grow at a 14% CAGR from 2022 to 2025, reaching $178.3 billion by 2025. Viant's 13.1% revenue growth in 2023 is slightly below this industry growth rate.
• The document notes that 83% of connected TV ad spend was transacted programmatically in 2022, and this is expected to increase to 84% in 2025. Viant's focus on omnichannel and connected TV positions it to benefit from this trend.
• The document states that U.S. programmatic advertising is forecasted to represent 43% of total U.S. media spend by 2025, increasing from 36% in 2022. Viant's platform is designed to capture this increasing share of programmatic budgets.
• The document mentions that the U.S. programmatic advertising market is expected to grow from $121.8 billion in 2022 to $178.3 billion in 2025, a 14% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Viant's revenue growth of 13.1% in 2023 is slightly below this industry growth rate.
• The document notes that the U.S. connected TV ad spend is expected to grow from $20.5 billion in 2022 to $42.4 billion in 2027, a 16% CAGR. Viant's focus on connected TV positions it to benefit from this high-growth market.

Stakeholder Impact

• Shareholders will benefit from the improved financial performance and growth prospects.
• Employees will benefit from the company's continued growth and investment in its platform.
• Customers will benefit from the company's innovative solutions and focus on customer service.
• Suppliers will benefit from the company's continued growth and expansion.

Next Steps

• Continue to invest in customer success.
• Add new customers and increase existing customer usage of the platform.
• Strengthen omnichannel partnerships.
• Expand sales and marketing investments.
• Extend leadership in people-based advertising.
• Invest in growth through acquisitions.

Key Dates

Keywords

programmatic advertising, demand side platform, DSP, omnichannel, connected TV, CTV, digital advertising, people-based data, identity graph, AI, machine learning, ROAS, Household ID, HHID, Adtricity