PodcastOne, Inc. (PODC) Q2 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Podcast One's Fiscal Second Quarter 2027 Financial Results and Business Update Conference Call. During today's call, all participants will be in listen-only mode. Presenting on today's call is Kit Gray, President and Founder of Podcast One. I would like to remind you that some of the statements made on today's call are forward-looking and are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve various risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future performance of the company, including expected future financial results and expected future growth in the business. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed on this call for a variety of reasons. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for information about factors which could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements, including those described in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending March 31, 2026 and subsequent SEC filings. You'll find reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures discussed today in the company's earning release, which is posted on its Investor Relations website. The company encourages you to periodically visit its Investor Relations website for important content. The following discussion contains time-sensitive information and reflects management's view as of the date of this call, November 12, 2026. As exempt as required by law, the company does not undertake any obligations to update or revise this information after today's call. I'd like to highlight to all participants that this call is being recorded. The company will make it available to investors and media via webcast, and a replay will be available on its website in the Investor Relations section shortly following the conclusion of the call. Additionally, it is the property of the company, and any redistribution, transmission, or rebroadcast of this call, or the webcast in any form without the company's express written consent is strictly prohibited. I would now like to turn the call over to Podcast One's President, Kit Gray.

Thank you, and welcome to our fiscal second quarter 2027 earnings call. We continued building on the momentum established earlier this year with a focus on expanding our content portfolio, strengthening strategic partnerships, and growing audiences across our network. During the quarter, we continued to attract established creators in premium programming while investing in the technology and marketing infrastructure that supports our long-term growth. Podcast One continues to distinguish itself as the leading pure play podcasting platform in the public markets through our vertically integrated model, which combines talent development, content creation, distribution, analytics, monetization, and operational efficiencies, all supported by our AI-powered infrastructure. Our AI toolkit continues to enhance performance across every aspect of the business. FlightPath drives predictive profitability, booster scales advertising management and proposal recommendations. Adobe Audition ensures best-in-class audio quality. PodEngine supports discoverability through SEO and insights. Magellan AI powers advertising attribution. And Opus Pro converts long-form video into short-form content that fuels audience growth across platforms. Our team also continues leveraging AI-based search capabilities to identify emerging talent, discover audience interests, and connect timely topics with programming across our network. These capabilities continue to strengthen our ability to develop content, grow audiences, and operate more efficiently as we scale the business. Throughout the quarter, we continued executing on our strategy of expanding our network through premium creator partnerships, exclusive distribution agreements, original content development, and long-term relationships with established talent. We were pleased to see Podcast One ranked number eight on PodTrack's U.S. podcast publisher rankings for September, reinforcing our position among the leading podcast networks in the country. This continued recognition reflects the strength and diversity of our programming, the dedication of our creators, and our ongoing investment and audience development. We also expanded our entertainment portfolio through a multi-year agreement securing exclusive sales and distribution rights to Dropping Names and Other Things with Brent and Johnny, hosted by actors Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes, featuring guests like William Shatner, Noah Wiley, Seth MacFarlane, and many more. The addition of this established entertainment franchise further strengthens our presence in pop culture and entertainment programming, while creating new opportunities for audience development and advertising partnerships. We also continued expanding our programming across comedy, lifestyle, and entertainment with the acquisition of Fluently Forward, hosted by Shannon McNamara. The show explores celebrity culture, entertainment news, and the stories and speculation driving popular conversation. Additionally, we launched People Pleasers, a new original Podcast One series hosted by comedians Leah Rudick and Jessica Michelle Singleton. Blending comedy, lifestyle, relationships, and self-improvement, the show brings two distinctive comedic voices together in a relatable and irreverent format. These additions reflect our continued focus on both acquiring established celebrity and creator-led programming and developing original shows that expand our reach across new audience categories. One particularly encouraging example of audience growth this quarter has been the prosecutors. Alice and Brett's coverage of the Lindsay Clancy case in real time generated significant audience interest. The show's growing visibility has extended beyond its podcast audience as well. Both Alice and Brett have continued expanding their media presence, with Alice recently appearing on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on October 31st, following Brett's earlier appearance. These opportunities reinforce the growing recognition of our creators as trusted voices in the true crime space. We believe this momentum highlights an important opportunity within podcasting. Audiences increasingly turn to trusted podcast hosts for context, analysis, and ongoing coverage of high-profile current events and active court cases. As these stories develop, podcast creators can play an important role in how audiences follow and engage with them. We are focused on supporting our talent and building on this momentum and expanding their reach across additional media platforms. Our partnership with PAVE Studios and A&E also continued to demonstrate the value of bringing established media brands into our distribution network. Our A&E programming slate includes The First 48, History's Greatest Mysteries, Celebrity Ghost Stories, The Unbelievable, and The Unexplained. These titles give us access to recognizable intellectual property and established audiences while expanding our presence in the highly engaged true crime and mystery categories. We have seen particularly encouraging momentum across this portfolio, with the first 48 in history's greatest mysteries demonstrating strong audience engagement. Our cross-promotional strategy across Podcast One's True Crime Network, combined with targeted feed drops that leverage A&E's established podcast audiences, has helped drive discovery and introduce these programs to new listeners. This is a strong example of how we can leverage our existing network and distribution infrastructure to build audiences around premium content. Across the broader network, we also continued investing in audience growth and creator development, building on our existing relationships and expanding opportunities for our talent across audio, video, and social platforms. As our network continues to grow, we remain focused on strengthening the infrastructure that supports audience discovery, engagement, and monetization. During the quarter, we launched a redesigned Podcast One website, representing an important investment in our digital presence and long-term audience development strategy. The new platform creates a stronger foundation for show discovery, improved search engine optimization, and organic audience acquisition while providing a more streamlined experience for listeners exploring our network and its programming. We believe these investments are increasingly important as podcast discovery continues to evolve. Audiences are finding and consuming content across a growing number of platforms, including traditional audio, YouTube, social media, and major streaming services. Our ability to connect programming across these channels creates additional opportunities to expand, reach, and generate value for both creators and advertisers. At the same time, our investments in advertising technology, audience analytics, and programmatic infrastructure continue to strengthen our ability to connect brands with highly engaged

audiences and deliver measurable results.

As podcast advertising continues to mature, we believe Podcast One is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for trusty creator relationships, premium content, and measurable advertising performance. Now I'd like to review our financial results. As a reminder, our fiscal year 2027 began on April 1st. Revenue in our second quarter of fiscal 2027 was $15.4 million. Operating loss in the second quarter was half a million dollars, compared to an operating loss of $1 million in the same year-ago quarter. This $500,000 increase was driven primarily by an increase in revenue and lower stock-based compensation with G&A. Net loss for the second quarter was half a million dollars, or a negative two cents per basic and diluted share, compared to the net loss of one million dollars, or a negative four cents per share in the same year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was positive $1.4 million, compared to $1.1 million in the same year-ago quarter, driven by revenue growth and contribution margin improvement. We remain encouraged by the progress we've made during the first half of fiscal 2027 and optimistic about the opportunities ahead for Podcast One and the broader podcast industry. The podcast landscape continues to evolve, not only in terms of how audiences consume content, but also how they discover it and how advertisers engage with listeners. Recent industry research, including Sounds Profitable's Podcast Landscape 2026 report, highlights the continued importance of video, major streaming platforms, and new discovery channels in shaping the future of podcast consumption. We are also seeing increasing evidence of the value podcast audiences bring to advertisers. Sounds Profitable's The Super Spender's Report examines the purchasing behavior of highly engaged podcast listeners and the unique value they represent to advertisers. We believe these trends reinforce the strength of the podcast advertising model and the opportunity to connect brands with audiences through trusted creator relationships. At Podcast One, our strategy is to build around being able to participate in this evolving ecosystem. We are not simply focused on adding shows to our network. We are focused on identifying great creators and intellectual property, developing engaged audiences, and building the infrastructure to monetize

that content across multiple platforms.

Our partnerships with A&E and Page Studios demonstrates how we can leverage established programming, target cross-promotion, and our existing distribution network to accelerate audience development. Similarly, our continued investment in premium creator partnerships expands our content portfolio while creating additional opportunities for advertisers and listeners. We also believe our investment in original intellectual property, technology, and audience data position us to participate in the next phase of industry growth. As video becomes a more important part of podcast discovery and consumption, we see opportunities to extend the reach and value of our content across audio, video, social, and other entertainment platforms. AI remains an important component of this strategy, helping us improve operational efficiencies, enhance discoverability, identify emerging listener interests, and better understand the content that resonates with audiences. Combined with our growing content library and audience insights, these capabilities provide an increasingly powerful foundation for developing and monetizing content. As we move through the remainder of fiscal 2027, our focus remains on expanding our creator relationships, strengthening our distribution and advertising capabilities, developing valuable intellectual property, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. I want to thank our team, our creators, our advertising partners, and our shareholders for their continued support.

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.