PUBM 10-Q
PubMatic, Inc. (PUBM)
10-Q
2021-05-14
For: 2021-03-31
View Original
Added on
April 12, 2026
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021
or
or
For the transition period from________to________
Commission File Number: 001-39748
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | ||||
| Not applicable | Not applicable | ||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||
| Not applicable | |||||
| (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) | |||||
| (Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) | |||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | o | Accelerated filer | o | ||||||||||||||
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||||||||||||||||
Emerging growth company | |||||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x
As of April 30, 2021, the registrant had 8,967,003 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and 40,399,914 shares of Class B common stock outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except par values and share data)
(Unaudited)
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||||||
| Current Assets | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Marketable securities | |||||||||||
| Accounts receivable - net | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | |||||||||||
| Total Current Assets | |||||||||||
| Property, equipment and software - net | |||||||||||
| Goodwill | |||||||||||
| Deferred income tax asset | |||||||||||
| Other assets, non-current | |||||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||||||||
| Current Liabilities | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total Current Liabilities | |||||||||||
| Deferred tax liability | |||||||||||
| Other liabilities, non-current | |||||||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | |||||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 6) | |||||||||||
| Stockholders' Equity | |||||||||||
Preferred stock, $ | |||||||||||
Common stock, par value $ | |||||||||||
Treasury stock, at cost - | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | |||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | |||||||||||
| Retained earnings | |||||||||||
| Total Stockholders' Equity | |||||||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
1
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Cost of revenue | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Technology and development | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | |||||||||||
| General and administration | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Operating income | |||||||||||
| Interest income | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | |||||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | |||||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Net income per share attributable to common stockholders: | |||||||||||
| Basic | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Diluted | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share attributable to common stockholders: | |||||||||||
| Basic | |||||||||||
| Diluted | |||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
2
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | |||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities, net of tax | ( | ||||||||||
| Comprehensive income | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
3
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except share data)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible Preferred Stock | Redeemable Common Stock | Common Stock | Treasury Stock | Additional Paid-In Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) | Retained Earnings | Total Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of stock options | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Repurchase of treasury stock, at cost | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — March 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible Preferred Stock | Redeemable Common Stock | Common Stock | Treasury Stock | Additional Paid-In Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income | Retained Earnings | Total Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — December 31, 2019 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of stock options | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — March 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
4
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||||||
| Net Income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | |||||||||||
| Provision for doubtful accounts | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes | |||||||||||
| Amortization of premiums on marketable securities | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Other | ( | ||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | ( | ||||||||||
| Accounts payable | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Other liabilities, non-current | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | |||||||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Capitalized software development costs | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Purchases of marketable securities | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of marketable securities | |||||||||||
| Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | ( | ||||||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: | |||||||||||
| Payments for offering costs | ( | ||||||||||
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options | |||||||||||
| Payments to acquire treasury stock | ( | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | ( | ||||||||||
| NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS | ( | ||||||||||
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - Beginning of period | |||||||||||
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - End of period | $ | $ | |||||||||
| SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION: | |||||||||||
| Income taxes paid | $ | $ | |||||||||
| SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING INFORMATION: | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation capitalized as internal use software costs | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Capitalized software costs included in accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
5
PUBMATIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to condensed consolidated financial statements
(Unaudited)
Note 1 - Organization and Description of Business
Note 2 – Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Fiscal Year
The Company’s fiscal year ends on December 31, and its fiscal quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. References to fiscal year 2021, for example, refer to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Information
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PubMatic, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and following the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim reporting. As permitted under those rules, certain footnotes or other financial information that are normally required by GAAP can be condensed or omitted. These financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the Company’s annual financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s financial information. These interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 or for any other interim period or for any other future year. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related financial information should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on March 26, 2021 (the “Annual Report”).
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PubMatic, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Initial Public Offering
The Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (the “IPO Registration Statement”) related to its initial public offering (“IPO”) was declared effective on December 8, 2020, and the Company’s Class A common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on December 9, 2020. On December 11, 2020, the Company completed its IPO, in which the Company sold 2,655,000 shares of Class A common stock at a price to the public of $20.00 per share. The Company received aggregate net proceeds of $45.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering costs. In connection with the IPO, all of the shares of convertible preferred stock outstanding automatically converted into an aggregate of 33,443,969 shares of Class B common stock.
Deferred offering costs consisted primarily of accounting, legal, and other fees related to the IPO. Prior to the IPO, all deferred offering costs were capitalized in Prepaid expenses and other current assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Upon consummation of the IPO, the $4.4 million of deferred offering costs were
6
reclassified to stockholders’ equity and recorded against the proceeds from the offering. No offering costs were capitalized as of March 31, 2021.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities reported, disclosures about contingent assets and liabilities, and reported amounts of revenue and expenses.
The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors and adjusts those estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates and assumptions. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making assumptions and estimates, events and changes in circumstances arising after March 31, 2021, including those resulting from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in actual outcomes that differ from those contemplated by the Company’s assumptions and estimates.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes and measures compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards granted to employees, directors, and nonemployees, including stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and the employee stock purchase plan (the “ESPP”) based on the fair value of the awards on the date of grant. The fair value of stock options and shares of common stock to be issued under the ESPP is estimated using the Black Scholes option pricing model. The grant date fair value of RSUs is based on the closing market price of the Company’s Class A common stock on the date of grant. The Black Scholes option pricing model is impacted by the fair value of the Company’s common stock, as well as changes in assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to, the expected common stock price volatility over the term of the stock options, the expected term of the stock options, risk-free interest rates, and the expected dividend yield. Stock-based compensation expense for ESPP awards is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of each ESPP offering period.
For additional information regarding stock-based compensation and the assumptions used for determining the fair value of stock options and ESPP awards, refer to Note 9 — “Stockholders’ Equity and Stock Option Plans.”
Concentration of Revenue and Accounts Receivable
The Company defines its revenue concentration based on revenue recognized from individual publishers. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, one publisher represented 20 % and 24 %, respectively, of the Company’s revenue. As of March 31, 2021, three buyers accounted for 29 %, 15 % and 14 %, respectively, of accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2020, four buyers accounted for 33 %, 14 %, 13 % and 11 %, respectively, of accounts receivable.
Net Income Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders
Basic and diluted net income per share attributable to Class A and Class B common stock is computed in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities. The Company considers the preferred stock as participating securities. Holders of participating securities do not have a contractual obligation to share in the Company’s losses. In accordance with the two-class method, earnings allocated to these participating securities and the related number of outstanding shares of the participating securities have been excluded from the computation of basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders.
Distributed and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities are subtracted from net income in determining net income attributable to common stockholders. Basic net income per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of the Company’s Class A and Class B common stock outstanding.
7
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
Under the JOBS Act, the Company meets the definition of an emerging growth company and can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the Company is no longer an emerging growth company or until the Company affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period.
In February 2016, FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, which requires an entity to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. The guidance offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, lessor, and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with the classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The guidance is effective for the Company for fiscal year 2022 and requires a modified retrospective adoption, with early adoption permitted. Although the Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its condensed consolidated financial statements, the Company expects that most of its operating lease commitments will be recognized as operating lease liabilities and right-of-use assets upon adoption of the new guidance.
In June 2016, FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13). This update changes the accounting for recognizing impairments of financial assets, such that credit losses for certain types of financial instruments will be estimated based on expected losses. The update also modifies the impairment models for available-for-sale debt securities and for purchased financial assets with credit deterioration since their origination. ASU 2016-13 is effective for the Company in fiscal year 2023. Early adoption is permitted after for periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company has not yet determined the potential effects of this new accounting guidance on its condensed consolidated financial statements.
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (ASU 2017-04). ASU 2017-04 eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test which measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Under ASU 2017-04, an entity should perform its annual or interim goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, and should recognize an impairment loss for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, with the loss not exceeding the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 will be effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2023. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. At adoption, this update will require a prospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting guidance on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2019 the FASB issued ASU 2019-12—Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (ASU 2019-12). ASU 2019-12 simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to general principles in Topic 740 and clarifies and amends existing guidance for clarity and consistent application. This guidance is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2022. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting guidance on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
8
Note 3 – Fair Value Measurements
The following table sets forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis by level within the fair value hierarchy (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level I | Level II | Level III | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial Assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury and government debt securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level I | Level II | Level III | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial Assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash equivalents | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury and government debt securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
The Company’s financial assets consist of Level I and II assets. The Company had no Level III assets or liabilities for the periods presented. The Company classifies its cash equivalents and marketable securities within Level I or Level II because they are valued using either quoted market prices or inputs other than quoted prices which are directly or indirectly observable in the market, including readily-available pricing sources for the identical underlying security which may not be actively traded. The Company’s fixed income available-for-sale securities consist of high quality, investment grade securities from diverse issuers. The valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of the Company’s marketable securities were derived from non-binding market consensus prices that are corroborated by observable market data and quoted market prices for similar instruments.
Note 4 – Balance Sheet Components
Marketable Securities
The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable securities by significant investment categories (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortized Cost | Gross Unrealized Gains | Gross Unrealized Loss | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury and government debt securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortized Cost | Gross Unrealized Gains | Gross Unrealized Loss | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury and government debt securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
9
The remaining contractual maturity of all marketable securities was within one year as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. Realized gains and losses were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020. As of March 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no securities that were in an unrealized loss position for more than twelve months.
Property, Equipment and Software, Net
Property, equipment and software, net consists of the following (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| Internal-use software | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Network hardware, computer equipment and software | |||||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | |||||||||||
| Furniture and fixtures | |||||||||||
| Property, equipment and software, gross | |||||||||||
| Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total property, equipment and software, net | $ | $ | |||||||||
Depreciation and amortization expense related to property, equipment, and software (excluding amortization of internal use software) was $2.9 million and $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The Company capitalized $2.1 million and $1.7 million in software development costs during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Amortization expense of internal use software was $1.6 million and $1.4 million, respectively. These costs are included within cost of revenue in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.
The Company did not recognize any impairment charges on its long-lived assets during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Accounts Payable
Accounts payable consists of the following (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| Payable to publishers | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||
| Total accounts payable | $ | $ | |||||||||
Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| Accrued compensation | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued and other current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total accrued expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
10
Note 5 – Loan and Security Agreement
Note 6 – Commitments and Contingencies
Operating Leases and Other Contractual Obligations
The Company has commitments for future payments related to office facilities leases and other contractual obligations. The Company leases its office facilities under operating lease agreements that expire over varying time periods through the year ending December 31, 2023. Certain of these lease agreements have free or escalating rent payment provisions or fund certain leasehold improvements, which the Company accounts as lease incentives. The Company recognizes rent expense under such agreements on a straight-line basis over the lease term, with any lease incentive amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the lease term. The Company also has other contractual obligations expiring over varying time periods through the year ending December 31, 2022. Other contractual obligations primarily relate to minimum contractual payments due to data center providers.
Future annual minimum commitments as of March 31, 2021, are as follows (in thousands):
| Leases | Other Contractual Obligations | ||||||||||
| 2021 (for remaining 9 months) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | |||||||||||
| Total future minimum commitments, net | $ | $ | |||||||||
Rent expense, net of sublease income, incurred under operating leases was $0.6 million and $0.6 million for three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Rent expense was offset by sublease income of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. No rent expense was offset by sublease income for the three months ended March 31, 2021.
Letters of Credit
As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had an irrevocable letter of credit outstanding related to noncancelable facilities leases in the amounts of $0.7
11
Legal Matters
From time to time, the Company has become involved in claims and other legal matters arising in the normal course of business. The Company investigates these claims as they arise and accrues for contingencies when the Company believes that a loss is probable and that the Company can reasonably estimate the amount of any such loss. The Company has made an assessment of the probability of incurring any such losses and whether or not those losses are estimable and although claims are inherently unpredictable the Company concluded that these losses are not material to the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. To the extent there is a reasonable possibility that a loss exceeding amounts already recognized may be incurred, and the amount of such additional loss would be material, the Company will either disclose the estimated additional loss or state that such an estimate cannot be made.
In June 2020, one of the Company’s buyers which had filed for bankruptcy in March 2019, brought a cause of action to recover amounts paid to the Company 90 days prior to its bankruptcy filing on the basis that such payments constituted preferential payments by the buyer. This matter is being managed by the bankruptcy court in consolidation with the buyer’s overall bankruptcy process. The Company has settled the matter for $0.3 million.
Indemnification
In the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnification. The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown because it involves future claims that may be made against the Company, but have not yet been made. To date, the Company has not paid any material claims or been required to defend any actions related to its indemnification obligations. However, the Company may record charges in the future as a result of these indemnification obligations. In addition, the Company has indemnification agreements with certain of its directors and executive officers that require it, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise due to their status or service as directors or officers of the Company. The terms of such obligations may vary.
Note 7 – Convertible Preferred Stock
Upon completion of the IPO in December 11, 2020, all shares of convertible preferred stock outstanding, totaling 33,443,969 shares, were automatically converted into an equivalent number of shares of Class B common stock on a one-to-one basis and their carrying value of $61.2 million was reclassified into stockholders’ equity. As of March 31, 2021, there were no shares of convertible preferred stock issued and outstanding.
In connection with the IPO, the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation became effective, which authorized the issuance of 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by the Company’s board of directors.
Note 8 – Stockholders’ Notes Receivable and Redeemable Common Stock
In August 2018, the Company loaned its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Growth Officer a total of $4.0 million under secured nonrecourse promissory notes (the “Notes”). The Notes bear interest at a rate of 2.42 % per annum compounded annually and mature on August 30, 2021, with interest and principal due at maturity. The Notes are secured by pledges of 1.6 million shares of outstanding common stock of the Company owned by the two officers (the “Pledged Shares”). The Notes may be prepaid in cash at any time without penalty. At maturity and in certain events of default, the Notes may, at the option of the two officers, be repaid in cash or surrender and cancellation of the Pledged Shares at fair market value. If the Pledged Shares are insufficient to repay the entire amount due under the Notes, then the value of the Pledged Shares will be deemed to be the full amount due under the Notes.
As the Company’s only recourse on the Notes and associated interest is the Pledged Shares then the Notes were accounted for as nonrecourse and recorded to stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2020. This was accounted for as though the Company repurchased the Pledged Shares and in exchange issued the Notes and granted 1.6 million fully
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vested stock options with an exercise price equal to the face value of Notes plus interest. No principal or interest payments were paid during the three months ended March 31, 2020. During the quarter ended September 30, 2020, all principal and interest due under the notes were prepaid.
In connection with the Notes, the Company provided the officers with a right to sell to the Company outstanding shares of common stock upon settlement of the Notes (the “Put Option”). The officers may only exercise the Put Option upon repayment of the Notes using the Pledged Shares or upon the prepayment of the Notes using proceeds from the officers’ sale or disposal of the Pledged Shares at a price less than the face value of the Notes. The Put Option allows the officers to require the Company to repurchase any or all common stock held or beneficially owned to offset their tax liabilities resulting from the settlement of the Notes via one of the above methods. As the exercisability of the Put Option and therefore redemption of the common stock is outside the control of the Company then all common stock held or beneficially owned by the officers requires temporary equity classification. The Company therefore classified $19.0 million of common stock outside of stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2020, which represented the fair value of the shares held or beneficially owned on the transaction date. The Company did not adjust the carrying value of the redeemable common stock during the three months ended March 31, 2020 since a redemption event was not probable. The Put Option expired unexercised upon the repayment of the Notes and during the Company’s quarter ended September 30, 2020, the $19.0 million of redeemable common stock has been reclassified back to common stock.
Note 9 – Stockholders’ Equity and Stock Option Plans
Common Stock
In connection with the IPO in December 2020, the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation became effective, which authorized 1,000,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 1,000,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share. Class A and Class B common stock are referred to as common stock throughout the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements, unless otherwise noted.
Equity Incentive Plans
Upon completion of the IPO, the Company adopted the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (“2020 Plan”), pursuant to which the Company may grant stock options, restricted stock awards, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), deferred share units (“DSUs”) performance awards, and stock bonus awards. As of March 31, 2021, the Company has reserved 7,546,410 shares of Class A common stock for the issuance of awards under the 2020 Plan. These available shares will increase automatically on January 1 for each of the first ten calendar years during the term of the 2020 Plan by the number of shares equal to the lesser of five percent (5%) of the aggregate number of outstanding shares of all classes of the Company’s common stock outstanding as of the immediately preceding December 31, or a number as may be determined by the Company’s board of directors or compensation committee. To the extent outstanding awards under the 2017 Plan and the 2006 Plan are forfeited, lapse unexercised, or would otherwise have been returned to the share reserve under the Prior Plans, the shares of Class B common stock subject to such awards instead will be available for future issuance as Class A common stock under the 2020 Plan. No new awards were issued under the 2006 Plan or 2017 Plan after the effective date of the 2020 Plan.
Stock Options
A summary of stock option activity under the Company’s equity incentive plan and related information is as follows:
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| Stock Options | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Shares Underlying Outstanding Options | Weighted-Average Exercise Price | Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years) | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding — December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options granted | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Options exercised | ( | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options canceled | ( | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options expired | ( | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding — March 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vested — March 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
As of March 31, 2021, unrecognized stock-based compensation of $22.7 million related to unvested stock options will be recognized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average period of 3.35 years.
Restricted Stock Units
A summary of RSU activity under the Company’s equity incentive plan and related information is as follows:
| RSUs | |||||||||||
| Number of Shares | Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share | ||||||||||
| Unvested — December 31, 2020 | $ | ||||||||||
| Granted | $ | ||||||||||
| Unvested — March 31, 2021 | $ | ||||||||||
As of March 31, 2021, unrecognized stock-based compensation of $8.4 million related to unvested RSUs will be recognized on a straight-line basis over a weighted average period of 3.48 years.
2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
In November 2020, the Company’s board of directors adopted, and its stockholders approved, the 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), which became effective in connection with the IPO. A total of 500,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock were initially reserved for issuance under the ESPP.
The aggregate number of shares reserved for sale under the ESPP will increase automatically on January 1st of each of the first ten calendar years during the term of the ESPP after the first offering date by the number of shares equal to the lesser of 1 % of the total outstanding shares of all classes of the Company’s common stock as of the immediately preceding December 31, (rounded down to the nearest whole share) provided that the Company’s board of directors or the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, reduce the amount of the increase in any particular year. The aggregate number of shares issued over the term of the ESPP, subject to stock dividends, recapitalizations, stock splits, reverse stock splits, subdivisions, combinations, reclassifications or similar changes to the Company’s capital structure, may not exceed 7,500,000 shares of Class A common stock. As of March 31, 2021, the Company has reserved 989,881 shares of its common stock for issuance under the ESPP.
Under the current ESPP, Class A common stock will be purchased for the accounts of employees participating in the ESPP on each Purchase Date at a price per share equal to eighty-five percent (85 %) of the lesser of: (a) the Fair Market Value on the Offering Date or (b) the Fair Market Value on the Purchase Date. No employee may purchase shares under the ESPP at a rate in excess of $25,000 in Fair Market Value for each calendar year in which
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such Offering Period is in effect or 3,500 shares. The 2020 ESPP provides for, at maximum, 27 months offering periods with each offering period may itself consist of one or more six (6)-month purchase periods, generally in May and November each year, beginning December 9, 2020 through May 31, 2022 with Purchase Date on the last day of each Purchase Period. As of March 31, 2021, $1.9 million has been withheld on behalf of employees for a future purchase under the ESPP due to the timing of payroll deductions and is included in accrued and other current liabilities. There were no purchases for the three months ended March 31, 2021 related to the 2020 ESPP.
As of March 31, 2021, unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the ESPP was $4.4 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.17 years.
Stock-Based Compensation
The total stock-based compensation recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income is as follows (in thousands):
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Technology and development | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | |||||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | |||||||||||
| Tax benefit from stock-based compensation | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation, net of tax effect | $ | $ | |||||||||
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Note 10 – Net Income Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders
The following table sets forth the computation of the Company’s basic and diluted net income per share (in thousands, except share and per share data):
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | ||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share data) | |||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
| Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ||||||||||||
| Reallocation of net income attributable to common stockholders | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to common stockholders – basic | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
| Denominator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income per share attributable to common stockholders – basic: | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
| Numerator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income attributable to common stockholders - diluted | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
| Denominator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding – basic | |||||||||||||||||
| Options to purchase common stock | |||||||||||||||||
| Warrants to purchase common stock | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income per share attributable to common stockholders – diluted | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
The following weighted-average outstanding shares of common stock equivalents were excluded from the computation of diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders for the periods presented because including them would have been anti-dilutive:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | ||||||||||||||
Options to purchase common stock | |||||||||||||||||
Common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible preferred stock | |||||||||||||||||
Total excludable from net income per share attributable to common stockholders – diluted | |||||||||||||||||
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Note 11 – Income Taxes
The Company computes its provision for income taxes by applying the estimated annual effective tax rate to pretax income and adjusts the provision for discrete tax items recorded in the period.
The Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $1.9 million and $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The effective income tax rate was 28 % for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2021 differs from the statutory federal rate of 21% due to nondeductible stock-based compensation, a higher tax rate in certain foreign countries where the Company operates, partially offset by a deduction for foreign-sourced revenue, and federal and state research credits. The effective income tax rate was 31 % for the three months ended March 31, 2020 differs from the statutory federal rate of 21% primarily due to nondeductible stock-based compensation and foreign rate differential partially offset by federal and state research credits.
Realization of the Company’s deferred tax assets is dependent primarily on the generation of future taxable income. In considering the need for a valuation allowance, the Company considers its historical, as well as future projected, taxable income along with other objectively verifiable evidence. Objectively verifiable evidence includes the Company’s realization of tax attributes, assessment of tax credits, and utilization of net operating loss carryforwards during the year.
Note 12 – Segment Information
The following table represents total revenue by geographic area based on the publisher’s billing address (in thousands):
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| United States | $ | $ | |||||||||
| EMEA | |||||||||||
| APAC | |||||||||||
| Rest of the world | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
The Company’s long-lived assets, net by geographic area are summarized as follows (in thousands):
| March 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| United States | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Rest of the world | |||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | |||||||||
Note 13 – 401(k) Plan
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Note 14 – Subsequent Events
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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “expect,” and similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding our ability to maintain our growth and profitability, our ability to attract and retain publishers, our expectations concerning the advertising industry, and our ability to successfully navigate our business through the COVID-19 pandemic.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance, or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Overview
PubMatic fuels the endless potential of Internet content creators.
Our company provides a specialized cloud infrastructure platform that enables real-time programmatic advertising transactions. We believe that our purpose-built technology and infrastructure provides superior outcomes for both Internet content creators (publishers) and advertisers (buyers). In March 2021, our platform efficiently processed approximately 211 billion ad impressions daily, each in a fraction of a second.
Our cloud infrastructure platform provides superior monetization for publishers by increasing the value of an impression and providing incremental demand through our deep and growing relationships with buyers. We are aligned with our publisher and app developer partners by being independent. We do not own media and therefore do not have a vested interest in driving ad revenue to specific media properties. Our global platform is omnichannel, supporting a wide array of ad formats and digital device types. As of March 31, 2021, we served approximately 1,250 publishers and app developers, including many of the leading digital companies such as Verizon Media Group and News Corp. We have demonstrated that we can retain and grow revenues from our publisher customers, as evidenced by our net dollar-based retention rate of 130% for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2021 and 112% for the twelve months ended March 31, 2020.
We generate revenue from publishers primarily through revenue share agreements, generally one-year contracts that renew automatically for successive one-year periods, unless terminated prior to renewal.
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We primarily work with publishers and app developers who allow us direct access to their ad inventory, as well as select channel partners that meet our quality and scale thresholds. We refer to our publishers, app developers, and channel partners collectively as our publishers.
We help monetize valuable impressions for our clients across a wide array of ad formats and digital device types, including mobile app, mobile web, desktop, display, video, over-the-top (“OTT”), connected television (“CTV”), and rich media. As of March 31, 2021, we served approximately 1,250 publishers and app developers representing over 88,000 individual domains and apps worldwide on our platform across a diverse group of content verticals including news, eCommerce, gaming, media, weather, fashion, technology, and more.
We enter into written service agreements with our DSP buyers that allow them to use our platform to buy ad inventory, but we earn revenue from our publishers. Our platform service agreements with DSPs generally have one-year terms that renew automatically for successive one-year periods, unless terminated prior to renewal. The tenure of each of the top ten DSP buyers on our platform at the end of March 2021 was over eight years. We also negotiate Supply Path Optimization (“SPO”) agreements with agencies and advertisers that encourage these buyers to spend a higher share of their advertising budgets on our platform by providing custom data and workflow integrations, product features, and volume-based business terms. SPO agreements typically have a one-year term and renewal terms are generally discussed one quarter prior to a new term. The effect of these SPO agreements is to increase the volume of ad spend on our platform without corresponding increases in technology costs.
Our ability to efficiently add and monetize valuable impressions on our platform has led to revenue growth, profitability, and operating cash flow (GAAP net cash provided by operating activities). By focusing on valuable ad impressions, investing in our own specialized cloud software and hardware infrastructure, optimizing platform utilization, and implementing workflow automation, we have achieved strong gross margins. For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and the three months ended March 31, 2020, our gross margin was 72% and 65%, our net income margin (net income as a percentage of revenue) was 11% and 5%, our adjusted EBITDA margin (adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue) was 33% and 18%, and operating cash flow margin (operating cash flows as a percentage of revenue) was 29% and 52%, respectively.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and the three months ended March 31, 2020, we derived approximately 64% and 69% of our revenue from Americas-based publishers, 26% and 21% from Europe-based publishers, Middle East and Africa-based (EMEA) publishers, and 10% and 10% from Asia-Pacific (APAC)-based publishers, respectively. We are focused on expanding outside the United States and expect to increase our proportion of revenue from non-U.S. geographies in the future. We classify publishers by geography based on the billing address of the publisher transacting with us.
In the first quarter of 2021, mobile (including mobile video) and video (including OTT/CTV) combined comprised approximately 63% of our revenue. We anticipate mobile to continue increasing as a percentage of our total impressions and revenue in the future. We further expect video to constitute an increasingly important component of our business.
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted, and is expected to continue to result, in a global slowdown of economic activity which is likely to decrease demand for a broad variety of goods and services, including those provided by certain of the advertisers on our platform. This situation could also potentially limit our ad buyers’ budgets or disrupt sales channels and advertising and marketing activities generally. The duration of these disruptive effects will continue for an unknown period of time until the virus is contained or economic activity normalizes. During the first quarter of 2021, revenue from a number of advertising categories returned to pre-COVID spending levels, while certain categories including travel, auto, and entertainment remain below pre-COVID spending levels. Although our revenue has returned to growth, the impact of the pandemic on our future growth and our results of operations is unknown and we are unable to accurately predict the future impact. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance will depend on a variety of factors, including the duration and spread of the virus and its impact on our publishers, ad buyers, industry, and employees, all of which are
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uncertain at this time and cannot be accurately predicted. See “Risk Factors” for further discussion of the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business.
The table below summarizes the financial highlights of our business:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 43,608 | $ | 28,348 | |||||||
Operating income | 6,642 | 1,029 | |||||||||
Net income | 4,918 | 904 | |||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA(1) | 14,494 | 5,124 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 12,687 | $ | 14,695 | |||||||
_______________
(1)For a definition of Adjusted EBITDA, an explanation of our management’s use of this measure, and a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measure”
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe our growth and financial performance are dependent on many factors, including those described below.
Growing access to valuable ad impressions
Our recent growth has been driven by a variety of factors including increased access to mobile web (display and video) and mobile app (display and video) impressions and desktop video impressions. Our performance is affected by our ability to maintain and grow our access to valuable ad impressions from current publishers as well as through new relationships with publishers. The number of ad impressions processed on our platform was approximately 18.5 trillion and 9.0 trillion for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Monetizing ad impressions for publishers and buyers
We focus on monetizing digital impressions by coordinating daily over a hundred billion real-time auctions and nearly a trillion bids globally, using our specialized cloud software, machine learning algorithms, and scaled transaction infrastructure. Valuable ad impressions are transparent and data rich, viewable by humans, and verifiable. Each ad impression we auction consists of over 400 independent data parameters, which can yield valuable insights if recorded and analyzed properly. This processing of voluminous data for each ad impression must occur in less than half a second as consumers expect a seamless digital ad experience. By deploying our specialized software and hardware and continuously optimizing our machine learning algorithms, we are able to derive superior outcomes by increasing advertiser return on investment (“ROI”) and publisher revenue, while increasing the cost efficiency of our platform and our customers’ businesses. We continually assess impressions from new and existing publishers through a rigorous validation process. We add or remove impressions from our platform based on an assessment of the projected value of the impressions, which is influenced by the type of publisher and its related consumers, as well as the potential volume of monetizable impressions and ad format types, such as digital video. We continuously create and iterate algorithms that leverage vast datasets flowing through our infrastructure to improve the liquidity in our marketplace. Our ability to drive successful outcomes in the real-time auction process on behalf of our publishers and buyers will affect our operating results.
Identifying valuable ad impressions that we can profitably monetize at scale
We continuously review our available inventory from existing publishers across every format (mobile, desktop, digital video, OTT, CTV, and rich media). The factors we consider to determine which impressions we process include transparency, viewability, and whether or not the impression is human sourced. By consistently applying these criteria, we believe that the ad impressions we process will be valuable and marketable to advertisers. In addition, using a combination of proprietary analysis driven by machine learning algorithms that are continuously updated along with specialized third-party tools, we aim to exclude low value impressions from our platform and, in
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some cases, may suspend certain publishers, or particular publisher sites and apps, from using our platform if they do not meet our standards. Our confidence in our ability to achieve our quality goals is backed by a fraud-free guarantee to all of our buyers which we introduced in 2017. We believe that this rigorous commitment to quality helps us maintain our reputation as a leader in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Our financial performance depends in part on how efficiently and effectively we can conduct these activities at scale.
Increasing revenue from publishers and advertising spend from buyers
We leverage our extensive platform capabilities and the subject matter expertise of our team members to grow revenue from our publishers and increase advertising spending from our buyers. Our sales and marketing team includes customer success pods to enhance customer knowledge and implementation of best practices. Once we onboard a new customer, we seek to expand our relationship with existing publishers by establishing multiple header bidding integrations by leveraging our omnichannel capabilities to maximize our access to publishers’ ad formats and devices, and expanding into the various properties that a publisher may own around the world. We may also up-sell additional products to publisher customers including our header bidding management, identity, and audience solutions. We automate workflow processes whenever feasible to drive predictable and value-added outcomes for our customers and increase productivity of our organization.
Net dollar-based retention rate is an important indicator of publisher satisfaction and usage of our platform, as well as potential revenue for future periods. We calculate our net dollar-based retention rate at the end of each quarter for a cumulative twelve months. We calculate our net dollar-based retention rate by starting with the revenue from publishers in the prior trailing twelve month period (“Prior Period Revenue”). We then calculate the revenue from these same publishers in the current trailing twelve month period (“Current Period Revenue”). Current Period Revenue includes any upsells and is net of contraction or attrition, but excludes revenue from new publishers. Our net dollar-based retention rate equals the Current Period Revenue divided by Prior Period Revenue. Our net dollar-based retention rate was 130% for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2021 and 112% for the twelve months ended March 31, 2020. Our growth in the period ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of ad impressions processed from our publishers, upselling additional products, penetration of header bidding for mobile app and digital video, and increased demand from the growth of our buyer relationships primarily through SPO agreements.
We work with DSPs to help them reduce their costs and improve advertiser ROI, which in turn makes us the specialized cloud infrastructure platform of choice for many of our buying partners. As buyers increasingly consolidate their spending with fewer larger technology platforms, we seek to bring an increased proportion of their digital ad spending to our platform through direct deals. We have entered into SPO agreements directly with buyers, advertisers and agencies through various arrangements ranging from custom data and workflow integrations, product features, and volume-based business terms. The effect of these SPO agreements is to increase the volume of ad spend on our platform without corresponding increases in technology costs.
Managing industry dynamics
We operate in the rapidly evolving digital advertising industry. Due to the scale and complexity of the digital advertising ecosystem, direct sales via manual, person-to-person processes are insufficient for delivering a real-time, personalized ad experience, creating the need for programmatic advertising. In turn, advances in programmatic technologies have enabled publishers to auction their ad inventory to more buyers, simultaneously, and in real time through a process referred to as header bidding. Header bidding has also provided advertisers with transparent access to ad impressions. As advertisers keep pace with ongoing changes in the way that consumers view and interact with digital media there will be further innovation and we anticipate that header bidding will be extended into new areas such as OTT/CTV. We believe our focus on publishers and buyers has allowed us to understand their needs and our ongoing innovation has enabled us to quickly adapt to changes in the industry, develop new solutions and do so cost effectively. Our performance depends on our ability to keep pace with industry changes such as header bidding and the evolving needs of our publishers and buyers while continuing our cost efficiency.
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Expanding and managing investments
We make software and hardware infrastructure investment decisions to meet expected increases in ad impressions on both a global and regional data center level throughout the calendar year based on the projected quantity, ad format type, and associated data requirements. In parallel, we seek to continuously improve our infrastructure utilization. Our ability to identify and monetize high value impressions allows us to operate more efficiently because the cost of processing low-value impressions and high-value impressions are approximately the same. We believe that increasing utilization of our platform leads to improved outcomes for our customers and more efficient and effective operations for us. To achieve improved utilization, we leverage the data on our platform through extensive application of artificial intelligence technologies, including machine learning and natural language processing. The magnitude and timing of our investments in our software and hardware may lead to fluctuations in our operating results.
Expanding internationally
We plan to continue expanding our international presence and making additional investments in sales and marketing and infrastructure to support our long-term growth and to position ourselves for expected increases in the penetration of programmatic advertising globally. We expect programmatic advertising to grow at different rates in different geographic markets. Our publishers outside of the United States typically have smaller amounts of programmatic inventory, and as a result, our sales and marketing expenses associated with non-U.S. publishers are generally proportionally higher. We are constantly evaluating new markets with a strategy to use our existing infrastructure and adjacent sales offices, or by expanding our infrastructure footprint and placing personnel directly in those markets. Our ability to efficiently expand into new markets will affect our operating results.
Managing Seasonality
The global advertising industry experiences seasonal trends that affect the vast majority of participants in the digital advertising ecosystem. Most notably, advertisers have historically spent relatively more in the fourth quarter of the calendar year to coincide with the holiday shopping season, and relatively less in the first quarter. We expect seasonality trends to continue, and our ability to manage our resources in anticipation of these trends will affect our operating results.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), including, in particular operating income, net cash provided by operating activities, and net income, we believe that adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is useful in evaluating our operating performance. We define adjusted EBITDA as net income adjusted for stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, impairments of long-lived assets, interest income, and provision for income taxes.
The following table presents a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income for each of the periods indicated:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 4,918 | $ | 904 | |||||||
| Add back (deduct): | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 3,165 | 495 | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 4,550 | 3,586 | |||||||||
| Interest income | (62) | (260) | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 1,923 | 399 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 14,494 | $ | 5,124 | |||||||
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Key Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We generate revenue from publishers who use our platform. Our platform allows publishers to sell, in real time, customized ad inventory to buyers and provides automated inventory management and monetization tools to publishers across various device types and digital ad formats. We generate revenue primarily through fees charged to our publishers, which are generally a percentage of the value of the advertising impressions that publishers monetize on the platform. We report revenue on a net basis. This represents gross billings to buyers, net of amounts we pay publishers. We record our accounts receivable at the amount of gross billings to buyers, net of allowances, for the amounts we are responsible to collect, and we record our accounts payable at the net amount payable to publishers. Accordingly, both accounts receivable and accounts payable appear large in relation to revenue, which is reported on a net basis.
Our revenue recognition policies are discussed in more detail under “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.”
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue consists of data center co-location costs, depreciation expense related to hardware supporting our platform, amortization expense related to capitalized internal use software development costs, personnel costs, and allocated facilities costs. Personnel costs include salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and employee benefit costs, and are primarily attributable to our cloud operations group, which maintains our servers, and our client operations group, which is responsible for the integration of new publishers and buyers and providing customer support for existing customers. We expect cost of revenue to generally increase in absolute dollars in future periods.
Operating Expenses
Technology and Development. Technology and development expenses consist of personnel costs, including salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits costs, allocated facilities costs, and professional services. These expenses include costs incurred in the development, implementation and maintenance of internal use software, including platform and related infrastructure. We expend technology and development costs as incurred, except to the extent that such costs are associated with internal use software development that qualifies for capitalization. We expect technology and development expenses to generally increase in absolute dollars in future periods.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel costs, including salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits costs, for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, marketing, business development, and customer relationship functions. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to promotional, advertising and marketing activities, allocated facilities costs, travel, and entertainment primarily related to sales activity and professional services. We expect sales and marketing expenses to increase in absolute dollars in future periods.
General and Administrative. General and administrative expenses consist of personnel costs, including salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation, and employee benefits costs for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, information technology, and other administrative employees. General and administrative expenses also include outside consulting, legal and accounting services, allocated facilities costs, and travel and entertainment primarily related to intra-office travel and conferences.
We expect to invest in corporate infrastructure and incur additional expenses associated with the transition to and operation as a public company, including increased legal and accounting costs, increased investor relations costs, higher insurance premiums, and compliance costs associated with developing the requisite infrastructure
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required for internal controls. As a result, we expect general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars in future periods.
Total Other Income (expense), Net
Total other income (expense), net consists of interest income and other income (expense), net. Interest income is generated by investing excess cash into money market accounts and marketable securities. Other income (expense), net consists primarily of gains and losses from foreign currency exchange transactions.
Provision for Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes consists primarily of federal, state, and foreign income taxes. Our income tax provision may be significantly affected by changes to our estimates for tax in jurisdictions in which we operate and other estimates utilized in determining the global effective tax rate. Actual results may also differ from our estimates based on changes in economic conditions. Such changes could have a substantial impact on the income tax provision. We reevaluate the judgments surrounding our estimates and make adjustments, as appropriate, each reporting period.
Our effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate due to state taxes, foreign tax rate differences, technology and development tax credits, and stock-based compensation.
Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent primarily on the generation of future taxable income. In considering the need for a valuation allowance, we consider our historical, as well as future projected, taxable income along with other objectively verifiable evidence. Objectively verifiable evidence includes our realization of tax attributes, assessment of tax credits, and utilization of net operating loss carryforwards during the year.
Results of Operations
The following tables set forth our condensed consolidated results of operations data and such data as a percentage of revenue for the periods presented. The period-to-period comparison of results is not necessarily indicative of results for future periods.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations: | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 43,608 | $ | 28,348 | |||||||
Cost of revenue(1) | 12,300 | 10,056 | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 31,308 | 18,292 | |||||||||
Operating expenses(1): | |||||||||||
| Technology and development | 3,738 | 2,919 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 12,789 | 9,995 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 8,139 | 4,349 | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 24,666 | 17,263 | |||||||||
| Operating income | 6,642 | 1,029 | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | 199 | 274 | |||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | 6,841 | 1,303 | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 1,923 | 399 | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | 4,918 | $ | 904 | |||||||
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_______________
(1)Amounts include stock-based compensation before tax benefit as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 168 | $ | 10 | |||||||
| Technology and development | 481 | 74 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 1,161 | 180 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 1,355 | 231 | |||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation expense | $ | 3,165 | $ | 495 | |||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (as percentage of revenue) | |||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | |||||||
| Cost of revenue | 28 | 35 | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 72 | 65 | |||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Technology and development | 9 | 10 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 29 | 35 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 19 | 15 | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 57 | 60 | |||||||||
| Operating income | 15 | 5 | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | — | 1 | |||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | 15 | 6 | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 4 | 1 | |||||||||
Net income | 11 | % | 5 | % | |||||||
Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
Revenue, Cost of Revenue and Gross Profit
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 43,608 | $ | 28,348 | $ | 15,260 | 54 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 12,300 | 10,056 | 2,244 | 22 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 31,308 | 18,292 | 13,016 | 71 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit margin | 72 | % | 65 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2021 increased by $15.3 million, or 54%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020, driven by growth in impressions processed on our platform from both existing and new publishers. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, we served approximately 1,250 publishers worldwide on our platform, which represented over 60,000 domains and 28,000 apps in total, compared to approximately 900 publishers worldwide for the three months ended March 31, 2020, which represented approximately 42,000 domains and 8,000 apps in total. For purposes of our publisher count, we aggregate multiple business accounts from separate divisions, segments or subsidiaries into a single “master” publisher based on our assessment of the related nature of the group. In addition, in the first quarter of 2021, we completed a number of SPO initiatives which increased buyer spend on our platform.
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We expect revenue to continue to grow in 2021 primarily due to the acceleration of mobile and omnichannel video driven by the increase in open Internet activity globally.
Cost of revenue increased $2.2 million, primarily due to a $1.0 million increase in depreciation of data center equipment and amortization of internal use software and a $1.0 million increase in personnel costs as headcount increased by 41% in order to support our growing business. Overall, our cost of revenue per impression processed for the three months ended March 31, 2021 declined by approximately 40% compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020.
Our gross margin of 72% for the three months ended March 31, 2021 increased compared to 65% for the three months ended March 31, 2020 due to greater utilization of our platform offset by investments for capacity expansion.
We expect the cost of revenue to be higher in 2021 compared to 2020 in absolute dollars as we continue to expand our capacity to process impressions. Cost of revenue may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and period to period, on an absolute dollar basis and as a percentage of revenue, depending on revenue levels and the volume of transactions we process supporting those revenues, and the timing and amounts of depreciation and amortization of equipment and software.
Technology and Development
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology and development | $ | 3,738 | $ | 2,919 | $ | 819 | 28 | % | |||||||||||||||
Percent of revenue | 9 | % | 10 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The increase in technology and development costs was primarily due to an increase of $1.4 million in personnel costs partially offset by $0.4 million related to the capitalization of internal use software and $0.1 million for travel and entertainment due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We expect technology and development expenses to continue to increase in 2021 compared to 2020 in absolute dollars, primarily due to investment in technological innovation and additional headcount.
Sales and Marketing
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales and marketing | $ | 12,789 | $ | 9,995 | $ | 2,794 | 28 | % | |||||||||||||||
Percent of revenue | 29 | % | 35 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Sales and marketing costs increased primarily due to a $3.4 million increase in personnel costs as headcount increased by 26%. These increased costs were partially offset by reduced spending of $0.8 million for travel and entertainment due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We expect sales and marketing expenses to increase in 2021 compared to 2020 in absolute dollars primarily due to additional headcount investment and marketing programs.
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General and Administrative
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative | $ | 8,139 | $ | 4,349 | $ | 3,790 | 87 | % | |||||||||||||||
Percent of revenue | 19 | % | 15 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expense increased primarily due to a $2.2 million increase in personnel costs associated with a 12% increase in headcount and higher stock-based compensations costs, a $0.9 million increase in professional services composed primarily of legal and other consulting fee, and a $0.8 million increase for insurance expenses, partially offset by a $0.3 million decrease in bad debt expense.
We expect general and administrative expenses to increase in 2021 compared to 2020 in absolute dollars primarily due to the additional headcount and increased costs associated with being a public company.
Total Other Income (Expense), net
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Total other income (expense), net | $ | 199 | $ | 274 | $ | (75) | (27) | % | |||||||||||||||
Total other income (expense), net decreased for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to the prior year period, as a result of lower interest rates and as a result of holding a larger portion of our excess cash in lower yielding money market investments.
Provision for Income Taxes
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Provision for income taxes | $ | 1,923 | $ | 399 | $ | 1,524 | 382 | % | |||||||||||||||
The difference between the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2021 of 28% and the federal statutory income tax rate of 21% was primarily due to nondeductible stock-based compensation, a higher tax rate in certain foreign countries where we operate, partially offset by a deduction for foreign-sourced revenue, and federal and state research credits. The effective income tax rate was 31% for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The difference in our effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was primarily due to a higher tax rate in certain foreign countries where we operate.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have financed our operations and capital expenditures primarily through utilization of cash generated from operations, as well as borrowings under our credit facilities. As of March 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $110.0 million and net working capital, consisting of current assets less current liabilities, of $145.9 million. As of March 31, 2021, we had retained earnings of $47.6 million.
We believe our existing cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and anticipated net cash provided by operating activities, together with available borrowings under our credit facility, will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, if our operating performance during the next 12 months is below our expectations, our liquidity and ability to operate our business could be adversely affected.
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Our future capital requirements and the adequacy of available funds will depend on many factors, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on buyers and sellers and those set forth under “Risk Factors.”
In the future, we may attempt to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities or through equity-linked or debt financing arrangements. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity or equity-linked securities, the ownership of our existing stockholders will be diluted. If we raise additional financing by incurring additional indebtedness, we may be subject to increased fixed payment obligations and could also be subject to additional restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any future indebtedness we incur may result in terms that could be unfavorable to equity investors. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to raise additional capital in the future on favorable terms, or at all. Any inability to raise capital could adversely affect our ability to achieve our business objectives.
Revolving Line of Credit
In February 2011, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”), with Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”), which was subsequently amended at various times to provide us with additional borrowing capacity and/or flexibility.
As of March 31, 2021, the amount we can borrow under the Loan Agreement was the lesser of $45.0 million or 80% of eligible accounts receivable less certain reserves, minus the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding advances. Interest accrues on advances under the Loan Agreement at a variable rate equal to the prime rate. For any quarter where the average closing outstanding balance under the Loan Agreement is less than $5 million, a fee for such unused capacity in the amount of 0.30% per annum of the average unused portion is charged and is payable in arrears. As of March 31, 2021, the applicable interest rate under the Loan Agreement was 3.25%. In April 2021, we amended the Loan Agreement to extend its maturity date to June 6, 2021. As of March 31, 2021, there were no outstanding borrowings under the Loan Agreement.
Our obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured by substantially all of our assets excluding its intellectual property. The Loan Agreement contains affirmative covenants including financial covenants that, among other things, require us to maintain an adjusted quick ratio of no less than 1.0 to 1.0. The adjusted quick ratio is defined as the ratio of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents at SVB, plus billed accounts receivable to total accounts payable plus all SVB loans outstanding and outstanding letters of credit. The Loan Agreement also restricts us from paying dividends to stockholders without prior consent from SVB. We were in compliance with the covenants as of March 31, 2021.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 12,687 | $ | 14,695 | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (16,848) | 174 | |||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (381) | 74 | |||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | (4,542) | $ | 14,943 | |||||||
Operating Activities
Our cash flows from operating activities are primarily influenced by growth in our operations, increases or decreases in collections from our buyers and related payments to our publishers, as well as our investment in personnel to support the anticipated growth of our business. Cash flows from operating activities have been affected by changes in our working capital, particularly changes in accounts receivable and accounts payable. The timing of
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cash receipts from buyers and payments to publishers can significantly impact our cash flows from operating activities. In addition, we expect seasonality to impact quarterly cash flows from operating activities.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, net cash provided by operating activities of $12.7 million resulted primarily from net income of $4.9 million, adjustments for non-cash expenses of $8.0 million, including $4.6 million for depreciation and amortization and $3.2 million for stock-based compensation, and a decrease in accounts receivable of $46.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in accounts payable of $40.9 million.
Investing Activities
Our investing activities primarily included investments in marketable securities, purchases of equipment as we expanded the infrastructure in our third-party data centers, and capitalized internal-use software costs in support of enhancing our platform. Purchases of property and equipment may vary from period-to-period due to the timing of the expansion of our data centers, the addition of headcount, and the development cycles of our software development. As our business grows, we expect our capital expenditures and our investment activity to continue to increase.
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, we used $16.8 million of cash in investing activities, consisting of $0.3 million in purchases of property and equipment (primarily data center infrastructure), $3.0 million of investments in capitalized internal use software and a net increase in investments of marketable securities of $13.6 million.
Financing Activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2021, net cash used in financing activities of $0.4 million was primarily due to the payment of offering costs from our IPO in the amount $0.8 million, offset by proceeds from exercise of stock options of $0.5 million.
Contractual Obligations and Future Cash Requirements
Our principal contractual obligations consist of non-cancelable leases for our various facilities. In certain cases, the terms of the lease agreements provide for rental payments that increase over time.
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations, at March 31, 2021 (in thousands):
| Payments due by period | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1 - 3 years | 3 - 5 years | More than 5 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leases | $ | 2,609 | $ | 1,472 | $ | 1,137 | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||
Other contractual obligations(1) | 9,141 | 4,168 | 4,973 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 11,750 | $ | 5,640 | $ | 6,110 | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||
______________
(1)Other contractual obligations consist primarily of contractual obligations to third-party data center providers.
As of March 31, 2021, we had $3.7 million of long-term income tax liabilities, including interest, related to uncertain tax positions. Because of the high degree of uncertainty regarding the settlement of these liabilities, we are unable to estimate the years in which future cash outflows may occur.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Through March 31, 2021, we did not have any relationships with unconsolidated organizations or financial partnerships, such as structured finance or special purpose entities that would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We prepare our condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts of assets and liabilities reported, disclosures about contingent assets and liabilities, and reported amounts of revenue and expenses. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, and adjust those estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates and assumptions.
We believe estimates and assumptions associated with the evaluation of revenue recognition criteria, including the determination of revenue reporting as net versus gross in our revenue arrangements, as well as internal use software development costs, fair values of stock-based awards, and income taxes have the greatest potential impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements. Therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies and estimates. There have been no significant changes in our accounting policies from those disclosed in our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2020 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our revenue recognition policy is further described below, which is consistent with the policy included in our Annual Report referenced above.
Revenue Recognition
We generate revenue through the monetization of publisher ad impressions processed on our platform. Our platform allows publishers to sell, in real time, ad impressions to buyers and provides automated inventory management and monetization tools to publishers across various device types and digital ad formats. We charge publishers a fee, which is typically a percentage of the value of the impressions monetized through our platform.
We maintain agreements with each publisher and buyer in the form of written service agreements, which set out the terms of the relationship, including payment terms (typically ninety days or less) and access to our platform.
We invoice buyers for publisher digital advertising inventory purchased through its platform. We recognize revenue when a bid is won and a buyer purchases inventory on our platform. We estimate and records reductions to revenue for volume discounts based on expected volumes during the incentive term.
The determination as to whether revenue should be reported gross of amounts billed to buyers (gross basis) or net of payments to publishers (net basis) requires significant judgment, and is based on our assessment of whether we are acting as the principal or an agent in the transaction. We have determined that we do not act as the principal in the purchase and sale of digital advertising inventory because we do not control the advertising inventory and do not set the price which is the result of an auction within the marketplace. Based on these and other factors, we report revenue on a net basis.
We generally invoice buyers at the end of each month for the full purchase price of ad impressions monetized in that month. Accounts receivable are recorded at the amount of gross billings for the amounts it is responsible to collect, and accounts payable are recorded at the net amount payable to publishers. Accordingly, both accounts receivable and accounts payable appear large in relation to revenue reported on a net basis.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For information regarding recent accounting pronouncements, refer to Note 2 “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
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We are exposed to certain market risks in the ordinary course of our business. These risks primarily include:
Interest Rate Risk
We had cash and cash equivalents of $76.6 million and marketable securities of $33.4 million as of March 31, 2021, which consisted of bank deposits, money market accounts, commercial paper, U.S. Treasury and government debt securities. The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve principal while maximizing income without significantly increasing risk. Because our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities have a relatively short maturity, our portfolio’s fair value is relatively insensitive to interest rate changes. Our line of credit is at variable interest rates. We had no amounts outstanding under our credit facility as of March 31, 2021. We do not believe that an increase or decrease in interest rates of 100 basis points would have a material effect on our operating results or financial condition. In future periods, we will continue to evaluate our investment policy relative to our overall objectives.
Currency Exchange Risk
Our condensed consolidated results of operations and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Historically, the majority of our revenue contracts have been denominated in U.S. Dollars. Our expenses are generally denominated in the currencies in which our operations are located, primarily the U.S. Dollar, Indian Rupee and British Pound. To date, we have not entered into any hedging arrangements with respect to foreign currency risk or other derivative instruments. In the event our foreign sales and expenses increase, our operating results may be more greatly affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, which can affect our operating income. A hypothetical 10% change in the U.S. Dollar to India Rupee exchange rate could result in a change of $0.3 million in our operating income for the Three months ended March 31, 2021. A hypothetical 10% change in the U.S. Dollar to British Pound exchange rate could result in a change of $0.3 million in our operating income for the Three months ended March 31, 2021.
Inflation Risk
We do not believe that inflation has had a material effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition. If our costs were to become subject to significant inflationary pressures, for example in India, we might not be able to fully offset such higher costs through price increases. Our inability or failure to do so could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), as of March 31, 2021. Based on such evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Inherent Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures
Our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, do not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designated and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are
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resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, we may become involved in legal or regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and other claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. In view of the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of such matters, we cannot state what the eventual outcome of such matters will be. However, based on our knowledge, we are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, or cash flows. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us due to defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, negative publicity and reputational harm, and other factors. For additional information, see Note 6, “Commitments and Contingencies,” to our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making an investment decision. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that affect us. If any of the following risks materializes, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed, which could cause the price of our Class A common stock to decline, and cause any investment in our Class A common stock to lose some or all of its value.
Summary of Risk Factors
Consistent with the foregoing, our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those risks discussed at length below. These risks include, among others, the following, which we consider our most material risks:
•Our revenue and results of operations are highly dependent on the overall demand for advertising.
•If our existing customers do not expand their usage of our platform, or if we fail to attract new publishers and buyers, our growth will suffer. Moreover, any decrease in the use of the advertising channels that we primarily depend on, or failure to expand into emerging channels, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
•Our business depends on our ability to maintain and expand access to valuable ad impressions from publishers, including our largest publishers.
•Our business depends on our ability to maintain and expand access to spend from buyers, including a limited number of DSPs, agencies, and advertisers.
•If the use of digital advertising is rejected by consumers, through opt-in, opt-out or ad-blocking technologies or other means, it could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
•If we fail to make the right investment decisions in our platform, or if we fail to innovate and develop new solutions that are adopted by publishers, we may not attract and retain publishers, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
•The extent to which the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the resulting global economic uncertainty, and measures taken in response to the pandemic, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and difficult to predict.
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•Our business depends on our ability to collect, use, and disclose data to deliver advertisements. Any limitation imposed on our collection, use or disclosure of this data could significantly diminish the value of our solution and cause us to lose publishers, buyers, and revenue. Consumer tools, regulatory restrictions and technological limitations all threaten our ability to use and disclose data.
•If the use of third-party “cookies,” mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies is restricted without similar or better alternatives, our platform’s effectiveness could be diminished and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
•Our operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects and may increase the risk associated with your investment.
•The digital advertising industry is intensely competitive, and if we do not effectively compete against current and future competitors, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.
•Our sales and marketing efforts may require significant investments and, in certain cases, involve long sales cycles, and may not yield the results we seek.
•If we do not manage our growth effectively, the quality of our platform and solutions may suffer, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected
•Market pressure may reduce our revenue per impression.
•If publishers, buyers, and data providers do not obtain necessary and requisite consents from consumers for us to process their personal data, we could be subject to fines and liability.
•We are subject to laws and regulations related to data privacy, data protection, information security, and consumer protection across different markets where we conduct our business, including in the United States and Europe, and industry requirements and such laws, regulations, and industry requirements are constantly evolving and changing.
•Seasonal fluctuations or market changes in digital advertising activity could adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
•Our efforts to offer private marketplace solutions may not be successful, or we may not be able to scale our platform to meet this demand in a timely manner, and, as a result, we may not realize a return from our investments in that area.
•We are subject to payment-related risks if DSPs dispute or do not pay their invoices, and any decreases in payments or in our overall take rate could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. These risks may be heightened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn.
• Our use and reliance upon technology and development resources in India may expose us to unanticipated costs and liabilities, which could affect our ability to realize cost savings from our technology operations in India.
•If mobile devices or their operating systems and Internet browsers develop in ways that prevent advertisements from being delivered to consumers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition generally, will be adversely affected.
•If CTV develops in ways that prevent advertisements from being delivered to consumers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.
•Our continued business success depends upon our ability to offer high-quality inventory with appropriate viewability capabilities, and if our inventory quality declines or if we are unable to offer functionality that addresses quality concerns of both advertisers and publishers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
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•We rely on publishers, buyers, and partners to abide by contractual requirements and relevant laws, rules, and regulations when using our platform, and legal claims or enforcement actions resulting from their actions could expose us to liabilities, damage our reputation, and be costly to defend.
•We may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay significant damages and could limit our ability to use technology or intellectual property.
•Insiders have substantial control over our company, including as a result of the dual class structure of our common stock, which could limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters, including the election of directors and the approval of any change of control transaction.
•Sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public markets, or the perception that they might occur, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.
•Our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage takeover attempts and other corporate governance changes.
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
Our revenue and results of operations are highly dependent on the overall demand for advertising. Factors that affect the amount of advertising spending, such as economic downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic, can make it difficult to predict our revenue and could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our business depends on the overall demand for advertising and on the economic health of our current and prospective publishers and buyers. For example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession in the United States and global economy in the second quarter of 2020, advertising demand on our platform decreased and did not recover to pre-COVID-19 levels for two months. Various macroeconomic factors could cause advertisers to reduce their advertising budgets, including adverse economic conditions and general uncertainty about economic recovery or growth, particularly in North America, Europe, and Asia, where we do most of our business; instability in political or market conditions generally; and any changes in tax treatment of advertising expenses and the deductibility thereof. Reductions in overall advertising spending as a result of these factors could make it difficult to predict our revenue and could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If our existing customers do not expand their usage of our platform, or if we fail to attract new publishers and buyers, our growth will suffer. Moreover, any decrease in the use of the advertising channels that we primarily depend on, or failure to expand into emerging channels, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We depend upon our buyer and publisher relationships to continue to grow the usage of our platform. In doing so, we compete for both supply and demand with larger, well-established companies that may have technological advantages stemming from their experience in the market. We must continue to adapt and improve our technology to compete effectively, and customers have not always embraced our offering due to various factors, including switching costs from moving away pre-existing technology integrations, such as already implemented header bidding wrappers, and lack of awareness of our omni-channel offerings. Although we believe we provide superior transparency and accountability to such competitors, certain customers may place technological or financial demands that we are unable to meet. These and other factors may make it difficult for us to increase our business with our publishers and buyers, cause some buyers to reduce their spending with us, or increase our costs of doing business, adversely affecting our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Historically, our buyers have predominantly used our platform to purchase mobile, display, and video advertising inventory from our publishers. We expect that these will continue to be significant channels used by our customers for digital advertising in the future. We also believe that our revenue growth may depend on our ability to expand within mobile, video, and in particular, CTV, and we have been, and are continuing to, enhance such channels. We may not be able to accurately predict changes in overall advertiser demand for the channels in which we operate and cannot assure you that our investment in formats will correspond to any such changes. Any decrease
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in the use of mobile, display, and video advertising, whether due to customers losing confidence in the value or effectiveness of such channels, regulatory restrictions or other causes, or any inability to further penetrate CTV or enter new and emerging advertising channels, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain and expand access to valuable ad impressions from publishers, including our largest publishers.
Our business depends on our access to valuable ad impressions. We depend upon publishers, including channel partners, which aggregate large numbers of smaller publishers, to provide advertising space which we can offer to prospective buyers. A relatively small number of premium publishers have historically accounted for a significant portion of the ad impressions sold on our platform, as well as a significant portion of our revenue from publishers, including a relatively small number of channel partners. In particular, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, 20% and 24%, respectively, of our revenue was derived from ad impressions sold on our platform from our largest publisher, Verizon Media Group. Our agreement with Verizon Media Group, signed in 2015, automatically renews each year for successive one-year terms unless either party provides 30 days’ prior written notice. Either party may also terminate for convenience immediately upon written notice. We expect to depend upon a relatively small number of premium publishers and channel partners for the foreseeable future. To support our continued growth, we will seek to add additional publishers to our platform, and to expand current utilization with our existing publishers.
We have no minimum commitments from publishers, so the amount, quality, and cost of ad impressions available to us can change at any time, and we cannot assure you that we will have access to a consistent volume or quality of ad impressions at a reasonable cost, or at all. For example, in January 2020, MoPub disabled all access to traffic from Grindr due to a European consumer advocacy group filing a complaints against it for alleged violations of the GDPR, which resulted in a pause of all monetization on Grindr for nearly two months and reduced the number of ad impressions available on our platform. Any disruptions in our relationships with premium publishers or largest channel partners could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If we cannot retain or add individual publishers with valuable ad impressions, or if such publishers decide not to make their valuable ad impressions available to us, then our buyers may be less inclined to use our platform, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain and expand access to spend from buyers, including a limited number of DSPs, agencies, and advertisers.
Our business depends on our ability to maintain and expand our access to ad campaigns and spending from buyers such as DSPs, as well as agencies and advertisers (which execute their purchases through DSPs), to purchase advertising impressions from our publishers. A limited number of large DSPs – The Trade Desk and Google DV360 in particular – account for a significant portion of the ad impressions purchased on our platform. Our agreements with each of The Trade Desk and Google LLC, originally signed in 2011 and 2012, respectively, automatically renew each year for successive one-year terms unless, in the case of our agreement with Google LLC, either party provides at least 60 days’ prior written notice. In addition, either party may terminate for convenience upon providing at least 30 days’ prior written notice. We expect to depend upon these DSPs for a large percentage of impressions purchased for the foreseeable future. Any disruptions in our relationships with DSPs, agencies or advertisers could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. To support our continued growth, we will seek to expand upon current levels of utilization with these DSPs, agencies, and advertisers.
We have no minimum commitments from buyers to spend on our platform, so the amount of demand available to us can change at any time, and we cannot assure you that we will have access to a consistent volume or quality of ad campaigns or demand for our ad impressions at a reasonable, or at all. If a buyer or group of buyers representing a significant portion of the demand in our marketplace decides to materially reduce use of our platform, it could cause an immediate and significant decline in our revenue and profitability and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Additionally, if we overestimate future usage, we may incur additional expenses in adding infrastructure without a commensurate increase in revenue, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
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If the use of digital advertising is rejected by consumers, through opt-in, opt-out or ad-blocking technologies or other means, it could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Consumers can, with increasing ease, implement technologies that limit our ability to collect and use data to deliver advertisements, or otherwise limit the effectiveness of our platform. Cookies may be deleted or blocked by consumers. The most commonly used Internet browsers allow consumers to modify their browser settings to block first-party cookies (placed directly by the publisher or website owner that the consumer intends to interact with) or third-party cookies (placed by parties, like us, that have no direct relationship with the consumer), and some browsers block third-party cookies by default. For example, Apple recently announced its intention to move to “opt-in” privacy models, requiring users to voluntarily choose to receive targeted ads, which may reduce the value of ad impressions on its iOS mobile application platform. Many applications and other devices allow consumers to avoid receiving advertisements by paying for subscriptions or other downloads. Mobile devices using Android and iOS operating systems limit the ability of cookies to track consumers while they are using applications other than their web browser on the device. As a consequence, fewer of our cookies or publishers' cookies may be set in browsers or be accessible in mobile devices, which adversely affects our business.
Some consumers also download free or paid “ad blocking” software on their computers or mobile devices, not only for privacy reasons, but also to counteract the adverse effect advertisements can have on the consumer experience, including increased load times, data consumption, and screen overcrowding. Ad-blocking technologies and other global privacy controls may prevent some third-party cookies, or other tracking technologies, from being stored on a consumer's computer or mobile device. If more consumers adopt these measures, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected. Ad-blocking technologies could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition if they reduce the volume or effectiveness and value of advertising. In addition, some ad blocking technologies block only ads that are targeted through use of third-party data, while allowing ads based on first-party data (i.e., data owned by the publisher). These ad blockers could place us at a disadvantage because we rely on third-party data, while some large competitors have troves of first-party data they use to direct advertising. Other technologies allow ads that are deemed “acceptable,” which could be defined in ways that place us or our publishers at a disadvantage, particularly if such technologies are controlled or influenced by our competitors. Even if ad blockers do not ultimately have an adverse effect on our business, investor concerns about ad blockers could cause our stock price to decline.
Our results of operations may fluctuate significantly and may not meet our expectations or those of securities analysts and investors.
Our results of operations have fluctuated in the past, and future results of operations are likely to fluctuate as well. In addition, because our business is evolving, our historical results of operations may be of limited utility in assessing our future prospects. Factors that can cause our results of operations to fluctuate include:
•changes in demand and pricing for ad impressions sold on our platform;
•changes in our access to valuable ad impressions from publishers;
•addition or loss of publishers on our platform, and costs associated with adding or attempting to retain them;
•seasonality in our business;
•changes in the structure of the buying and selling of ad impressions;
•changes in the pricing policies of publishers and competitors;
•changes in costs of third-party services;
•changes and uncertainty in our legislative, regulatory, and industry environment, particularly in the areas of data protection and consumer privacy;
•introduction of new technologies or solutions;
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•unilateral actions taken by DSPs, agencies, advertisers, or publishers; and
•changes in our capital expenditures as we acquire hardware, technologies, and other assets for our business.
Any one or more of the factors above may result in significant fluctuations in our results of operations. You should not rely on our past results as an indicator of our future performance.
Because many of our expenses are based upon forecasted demand and may be difficult to reduce in the short term, volatility in quarterly revenue could cause significant variations in quarterly results of operations. We may not forecast our revenue or expenses accurately, causing our results of operations to diverge from our estimates or the expectations of securities analysts, and investors. If we fail to meet or exceed such expectations for these or any other reasons, the trading price of our Class A common stock could fall, and we could face costly litigation, including securities class action lawsuits.
If we fail to make the right investment decisions in our platform, or if we fail to innovate and develop new solutions that are adopted by publishers, we may not attract and retain publishers, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We face intense competition in the marketplace and are confronted by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, and consumer preferences, regulatory changes, and the frequent introduction of new solutions by our competitors that we must adapt and respond to. We need to continuously update our platform and the technology we invest in and develop, including our machine learning and other proprietary algorithms, in order to attract publishers and buyers and keep ahead of changes in technology, evolving industry standards and regulatory requirements. Our platform is complex and new solutions can require a significant investment of time and resources to develop, test, introduce, and enhance. These activities can take longer than we expect. Moreover, we may not make the right decisions regarding these investments. New formats and channels, such as mobile header bidding and CTV, present unique challenges that we must address in order to succeed. Our success in new formats and channels depends upon our ability to integrate our platform with these new formats and channels. If our mobile and video solutions or our new CTV solutions are not widely adopted by publishers, we may not retain publishers. In addition, new demands from publishers and buyers, superior offerings by competitors, changes in technology, or new industry standards or regulatory requirements could render our platform or our existing solutions less effective and require us to make unanticipated changes to our platform or business model. Our failure to adapt to a rapidly changing market, anticipate publisher and buyer demand, or attract and retain publishers would cause our revenue or revenue growth rate to decline, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The extent to which the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the resulting global economic uncertainty, and measures taken in response to the pandemic, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and difficult to predict.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the flow of the economy and put unprecedented strains on governments, health care systems, educational institutions, businesses, and individuals around the world and resulted in regional quarantines, labor shortages or stoppages, changes in consumer purchasing patterns, disruptions to service providers to deliver data on a timely basis, or at all, and overall economic instability. The impact on the global population and the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to assess or predict. It is even more difficult to predict the impact on the global economic market, which will be highly dependent upon the actions of governments, businesses, and other enterprises in response to the pandemic and the effectiveness of those actions. The pandemic has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets and economic uncertainty. Although the advertising market and our business have generally recovered from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it did initially adversely impact our sales and operations. We continue to monitor our operations, the operations of publishers, DSPs, and agencies, as well as government recommendations as the pandemic continues to impact the U.S. and global economy.
In light of the uncertain and rapidly evolving situation relating to the spread of COVID-19, we have taken temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of the virus to our employees, our customers, and the communities in which we participate, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, or
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financial condition. As a company with employees, customers, partners, and investors across the globe, we believe in upholding our company value of being good people by doing our part to help slow the spread of the virus. To this end, we are temporarily requiring most employees to work remotely, have suspended all non-essential travel worldwide for our employees, are canceling or postponing company-sponsored events, and are discouraging employee attendance at industry events and in-person work-related meetings. We have also downsized our offices in the Bay Area as we expect greater numbers of our employees to work remotely in the short-term future, reducing our operating costs. Although we continue to monitor the situation and may adjust our current policies as more information and guidance become available, temporarily suspending travel and doing business in-person could negatively impact our marketing efforts, lengthen sales cycles and result in an increase in certain prospective and current customers seeking lower prices or other more favorable contract terms, slow down our recruiting efforts, or create operational or other challenges due to a fully-remote workforce, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
A recession, depression, or other sustained adverse market events resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as the value of our common stock. Our customers or potential customers, particularly in industries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic including transportation, travel and hospitality, retail, and energy, may reduce their advertising spending or delay their advertising initiatives, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We may also experience curtailed customer demand, reduced customer spend or contract duration, delayed collections, lengthened payment terms, and increased competition due to changes in terms and conditions and pricing of our competitors’ products and services.
Our business depends on our ability to collect, use, and disclose data to deliver advertisements. Any limitation imposed on our collection, use or disclosure of this data could significantly diminish the value of our solution and cause us to lose publishers, buyers, and revenue. Consumer tools, regulatory restrictions and technological limitations all threaten our ability to use and disclose data.
As we process transactions through our platform, we collect large amounts of data about advertisements and where they are placed, such as advertiser and publisher preferences for media and advertising content. We also collect data on ad specifications such as placement, size and format, ad pricing, and auction activity such as price floors, bid response behavior, and clearing prices. Further, we collect data on consumers that does not identify the individual, including browser, device location and characteristics, online browsing behavior, exposure to and interaction with advertisements, and inferential data about purchase intentions, and preferences. We collect this data through various means, including from our own systems, pixels that publishers allow us to place on their websites to track consumer visits, software development kits installed in mobile applications, cookies, and other tracking technologies. Our publishers, buyers, and data providers may choose to provide us with their proprietary data about consumers.
We aggregate this data and analyze it in order to enhance our services, including the pricing, placement, and scheduling of advertisements. As part of our real-time analytics service offering we also share the data, or analyses based on it, with our publishers and buyers. Our ability to collect, use and share data about advertising transactions and consumer behavior is critical to the value of our services. There are many technical challenges relating to our ability to collect, aggregate and associate the data, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so effectively. Evolving regulatory standards could place restrictions on the collection, management, aggregation and use of information, which could result in a material increase in the cost of collecting or otherwise obtaining certain kinds of data and could limit the ways in which we may use or disclose information. Internet users can, with increasing ease, implement practices or technologies that may limit our ability to collect and use data to deliver advertisements, or otherwise inhibit the effectiveness of our platform. Although our publishers and buyers generally permit us to aggregate and use data from advertising placements, subject to certain restrictions, publishers or buyers might decide to restrict our collection or use of their data.
Any limitations on this ability could impair our ability to deliver effective solutions, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
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If the use of third-party “cookies,” mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies is restricted without similar or better alternatives, our platform’s effectiveness could be diminished and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We use “cookies,” or small text files placed on consumer devices when an Internet browser is used, as well as mobile device identifiers, to gather data that enables our platform to be more effective. Our cookies and mobile device IDs do not identify consumers directly, but record information such as when a consumer views or clicks on an advertisement, when a consumer uses a mobile app, the consumer’s location, and browser or other device information. Publishers and partners may also choose to share their information about consumers’ interests or give us permission to use their cookies and mobile device IDs. We use data from cookies, mobile device IDs, and other tracking technologies to help advertisers decide whether to bid on, and how to price, an ad impression in a certain location, at a given time, for a particular consumer. Without cookies, mobile device IDs, and other tracking technology data, transactions processed through our platform would be executed with less insight into consumer activity, reducing the precision of advertisers' decisions about which impressions to purchase for an advertising campaign. This could make placement of advertising through our platform less valuable, and harm our revenue. If our ability to use cookies, mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies is limited, we may be required to develop or obtain additional applications and technologies to compensate for the lack of cookies, mobile device IDs and other tracking technology data, which could be time consuming or costly to develop, less effective, and subject to additional regulation.
Our operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects and may increase the risk associated with your investment.
We operate in an evolving industry with ever-changing customer needs, and, as a result, our business has evolved over time such that our operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and future prospects. Although we have experienced substantial revenue growth, we may not be able to sustain this growth rate, current revenue levels or profitability. We expect to face challenges, risks, and difficulties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly developing industries, including those relating to:
•recruiting, integrating, and retaining qualified and motivated employees, particularly engineers;
•developing, maintaining, and expanding relationships with publishers, DSPs, agencies, and advertisers;
•innovating and developing new solutions that are adopted by and meet the needs of publishers, DSPs, agencies, and advertisers;
•competing against companies with a larger customer base or greater financial or technical resources;
•global economic disruption and technological changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic;
•further expanding our business internationally;
•managing expenses as we invest in our infrastructure and platform technology to scale our business and operate as a public company; and
•responding to evolving industry standards and government regulations that impact our business, particularly in the areas of data protection and consumer privacy.
If we are not successful in addressing these and other issues, our business may suffer, our revenue may decline and we may not be able to achieve further growth or sustain profitability.
The digital advertising industry is intensely competitive, and if we do not effectively compete against current and future competitors, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.
The digital advertising ecosystem is competitive and complex due to a variety of factors. While programmatic header bidding has enabled the purchasing and selling of vast amounts of digital advertising inventory, there now exist significant challenges related to proliferation of media across platforms, transaction speed, increased costs,
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transparency, and regulatory requirements. To address these issues at scale for both buyers and sellers, we provide specialized software and hardware infrastructure to optimally power technology-driven transactions. To successfully grow our business, we compete with SSPs like Magnite, Inc., smaller private SSPs in markets around the world, as well as divisions of larger companies like Google.
Some of our competitors have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, and greater financial, technical, sales, and marketing resources than we have. In addition, some competitors, particularly those with greater scale or a more diversified revenue base and a broader offering, have greater flexibility than we do to compete aggressively on the basis of price and other contract terms, or to compete with us by including in their product offerings services that we may not provide. Some competitors are able or willing to agree to contract terms that expose them to risks that might be more appropriately allocated to publishers or buyers of advertising (including inventory risk and the risk of having to pay publishers for unsold advertising impressions), and in order to compete effectively we might need to accommodate risks that could be difficult to manage or insure against. Some existing and potential buyers have their own relationships with publishers or are seeking to establish such relationships, and many publishers are investing in capabilities that enable them to connect more effectively directly with buyers. Our business suffers to the extent that publishers and buyers purchase and sell advertising inventory directly from one another or through other intermediaries other than us, reducing the amount of advertising spend on our platform. If we are unable to compete effectively for publishers’ ad impressions and buyer’s advertising spend, we may experience less demand for the ad impressions processed on our platform, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
There has also been rapid evolution and consolidation in the advertising technology industry, and we expect these trends to continue, thereby increasing the capabilities and competitive posture of larger companies, particularly those that are already dominant in various ways, and enabling new or stronger competitors to emerge. Many publishers and buyers are large consolidated organizations that may need to acquire other companies in order to grow. Smaller publishers and buyers may need to consolidate in order to compete effectively. There is a finite number of large publishers and buyers in our target markets, and any consolidation of publishers or buyers may give the resulting enterprises greater bargaining power or result in the loss of publishers and buyers that use our platform, reducing our potential base of publishers and buyers, each of which would lead to erosion of our revenue.
Some of our competitors may also choose to sell products or services competitive to ours at lower prices by accepting lower margins and profitability, or may be able to sell products or services competitive to ours at lower prices given proprietary ownership of data, technical superiority, or economies of scale. Such introduction of competent, competitive products, pricing strategies, or other technologies by our competitors that are superior to or that achieve greater market acceptance than our products and services could adversely affect our business. In such event, we could experience a decline in market share and revenues and be forced to reduce our prices, resulting in lower profit margins for us. Loss of existing or future market share to new competitors and increased price competition could substantially harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our sales and marketing efforts may require significant investments and, in certain cases, involve long sales cycles, and may not yield the results we seek.
Our sales and marketing teams educate prospective publishers and buyers about the use, technical capabilities, and benefits of our platform. Our sales cycle, from initial contact to contract execution and implementation, can take significant time with certain buyers, including agencies. We are often required to explain how our platform can optimize the value of a premium publisher’s ad impressions or how a DSP can discover valuable ad impressions. We may spend substantial time and resources prospecting for new business or responding to requests for proposals from potential publishers and buyers, and it may not result in revenue. Following contract execution and implementation, ongoing sales cycles and account management can take significant time. We are often required to explain how an additional platform integration can enhance incremental demand or engage multiple trading teams within an advertising agency to source ad campaigns and create additional demand. We may not succeed in attracting new publishers despite our significant investment in our business development, sales and marketing organizations, and it is difficult to predict when new publishers will begin generating revenue through our platform, and the extent of that revenue. We may not succeed in expanding relationships with existing publishers and buyers, despite our significant
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investment in our sales, account management, and marketing organizations, and it is difficult to predict when additional products will generate revenue through our platform, and the extent of that revenue.
If we do not manage our growth effectively, the quality of our platform and solutions may suffer, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.
The continued growth in our business may place demands on our infrastructure and our operational, managerial, administrative, and financial resources. Our success will depend on the ability of our management to manage growth effectively. Among other things, this will require us at various times to:
•strategically invest in the development and enhancement of our platform and data center infrastructure;
•improve coordination among our engineering, product, operations, and other support organizations;
•manage multiple relationships with various partners, customers, and other third parties;
•manage international operations;
•develop our operating, administrative, legal, financial, and accounting systems and controls; and
•recruit, hire, train, and retain personnel.
If we do not manage our growth well, the efficacy and performance of our platform may suffer, which could harm our reputation and reduce demand for our platform and solutions. Failure to manage future growth effectively could harm our business and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Market pressure may reduce our revenue per impression.
Our revenue may be affected by market changes, new demands by publishers and buyers, new solutions, and competitive pressure. Our solutions may be priced too high or too low, either of which may carry adverse consequences. We may receive requests from publishers for discounts, fee revisions, rebates, and refunds, or from DSPs, agencies and advertisers for volume discounts, fee revisions, and rebates. Any of these developments could adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
In addition, although header bidding is well-established, some of our other, newer products such as OpenWrap and Audience Encore utilize different pricing approaches, and we do not know whether our current or potential customers or the market in general will continue to accept such approaches going forward. Any failure for our pricing approaches to gain acceptance could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We must scale our platform infrastructure to support anticipated growth and transaction volume. If we fail to do so, we may limit our ability to process ad impressions, and we may lose revenue.
Our business depends on processing ad impressions in milliseconds, and we must handle an increasingly large volume of such transactions. The addition of new solutions, such as header bidding in mobile and the CTV and OTT formats, support of evolving advertising formats, handling, and use of increasing amounts of data, and overall growth in impressions place growing demands upon our platform infrastructure. If we are unable to grow our platform to support substantial increases in the number of transactions and in the amount of data we process, on a high-performance, cost-effective basis, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected. We expect to continue to invest in our platform in order to meet these requirements, and that investment may adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
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If we fail to detect or prevent fraud on our platform, or malware intrusion into the systems or devices of our publishers and their consumers, publishers could lose confidence in our platform, and we could face legal claims that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We may be subject to fraudulent or malicious activities undertaken by persons seeking to use our platform for improper purposes. For example, someone may attempt to divert or artificially inflate advertiser purchases through our platform, or to disrupt or divert the operation of the systems, and devices of our publishers, and their consumers in order to misappropriate information, generate fraudulent billings or stage cyberattacks, or for other illicit purposes. For example, sophisticated bot-nets and other complex forms of click fraud might be used to generate fraudulent impressions and divert advertising revenue from legitimate websites of publishers. Those activities could also introduce malware through our platform in order to commandeer or gain access to information on consumers’ computers. We use third-party tools and proprietary technology to identify non-human traffic and malware, and we may reduce or terminate relationships with publishers that we find to be engaging in such activities. For example, in May 2020, we terminated a publisher for sending traffic that was part of the Icebucket spoofing scheme, where cybercriminals sent traffic mimicking connected TVs to fraudulently take CTV advertising dollars. During the investigative phase, we terminated the publisher which was reportedly a major vector for this particular spoofing attack. Although we continuously assess the quality and performance of advertising on publishers’ digital media properties, it may be difficult to detect fraudulent or malicious activity, and we rely on our own and third-party tools, as well as the controls of publishers. Further, perpetrators of fraudulent impressions and malware frequently change their tactics and may become more sophisticated over time, requiring both us and third parties to improve processes for assessing the quality of publisher inventory and controlling fraudulent activity. If we fail to detect or prevent fraudulent or malicious activity of this sort, our reputation could be damaged, publishers may contest payment, demand refunds, or fail to give us future business, or we could face legal claims from publishers. Even if we are not directly involved in fraud or malicious activity, any sustained failures of others in our industry to adequately detect and prevent fraud could generate the perception that programmatic trading is unsafe and lead our publishers to avoid programmatic advertising.
If publishers, buyers, and data providers do not obtain necessary and requisite consents from consumers for us to process their personal data, we could be subject to fines and liability.
Because we do not have direct relationships with consumers, we rely on publishers, buyers, and data providers, as applicable, to obtain the consent of the consumer on our behalf to process their data and deliver interest-based advertisements, and to implement any notice or choice mechanisms required under applicable laws, but if publishers, buyers, or data providers do not follow this process (and in any event as the legal requirements in this area continue to evolve and develop), we could be subject to fines and liability. We may not have adequate insurance or contractual indemnity arrangements to protect us against any such claims and losses.
Prominent technology companies have announced plans to replace cookies with alternative mechanisms, and if cookies are discontinued in favor of proprietary tracking mechanisms, our costs to develop alternatives could increase.
Some prominent technology companies, including Google, have announced intentions to discontinue the use of cookies, and to develop alternative methods and mechanisms for tracking consumers. For example, in January 2020, Google announced its intention to limit the use of third-party cookies potentially starting in 2022 in its Chrome web browser. As companies replace cookies, it is possible that such companies may rely on proprietary algorithms or statistical methods to track consumers without cookies, or may utilize log-in credentials entered by consumers into other web properties owned by these companies, such as their email services, to track web usage, including usage across multiple devices. Alternatively, such companies may build different and potentially proprietary consumer tracking methods into their widely-used web browsers. For example, in March 2021, Google announced its intention to limit the use of alternate user-level identifiers and browsing history in its own ad platforms and products. Although we believe our platform is well-positioned to adapt and continue to provide key data insights to our publishers without cookies, this transition could be more disruptive, slower, or more expensive than we currently anticipate, and could materially affect our ability to serve our customers, and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
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We are subject to laws and regulations related to data privacy, data protection, and information security, and consumer protection across different markets where we conduct our business, including in the United States and Europe and industry requirements and such laws, regulations, and industry requirements are constantly evolving and changing. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We receive, store, and process data about or related to consumers in addition to our customers, employees, and services providers. Our handling of this data is subject to a variety of federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations and is subject to regulation by various government authorities. Our data handling also is subject to contractual obligations and may be deemed to be subject to industry standards.
The U.S. federal and various state and foreign governments have adopted or proposed limitations on the collection, distribution, use, and storage of data relating to individuals, including the use of contact information and other data for marketing, advertising and other communications with individuals and businesses. In the United States, various laws and regulations apply to the collection, processing, disclosure, and security of certain types of data. Additionally, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws as imposing standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. If we fail to comply with any such laws or regulations, we may be subject to enforcement actions that may not only expose us to litigation, fines, and civil and/or criminal penalties, but also require us to change our business practices as well as have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The regulatory framework for data privacy issues worldwide is currently evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. The occurrence of unanticipated events often rapidly drives the adoption of legislation or regulation affecting the use, collection, or other processing of data and manners in which we conduct our business. Restrictions could be placed upon the collection, management, aggregation, and use of information, which could result in a material increase in the cost of collecting or otherwise obtaining certain kinds of data and could limit the ways in which we may use or disclose information. In particular, interest-based advertising, or the use of data to draw inferences about a user’s interests and deliver relevant advertising to that user, and similar or related practices (sometimes referred to as behavioral advertising or personalized advertising), such as cross-device data collection and aggregation, steps taken to de-identify personal data, and to use and distribute the resulting data, including for purposes of personalization and the targeting of advertisements, have come under increasing scrutiny by legislative, regulatory, and self-regulatory bodies in the United States and abroad that focus on consumer protection or data privacy. Much of this scrutiny has focused on the use of cookies and other technology to collect information about Internet users’ online browsing activity on web browsers, mobile devices, and other devices, to associate such data with user or device identifiers or de-identified identities across devices and channels. In addition, providers of Internet browsers have engaged in, or announced plans to continue or expand, efforts to provide increased visibility into, and certain controls over, cookies and similar technologies and the data collected using such technologies. For example, in January 2020, Google announced that at some point in the following 24 months the Chrome browser will block third-party cookies. Because we, and our customers, rely upon large volumes of such data collected primarily through cookies and similar technologies, it is possible that these efforts may have a substantial impact on our ability to collect and use data from Internet users, and it is essential that we monitor developments in this area domestically and globally, and engage in responsible privacy practices, including providing consumers with notice of the types of data we collect and how we use that data to provide our services.
In the United States, the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, along with federal regulatory authorities have recently increased their attention on matters concerning the collection and use of consumer data. In the United States, non-sensitive consumer data generally may be used under current rules and regulations, subject to certain restrictions, so long as the person does not affirmatively “opt-out” of the collection or use of such data. If an “opt-in” model or other more restrictive regulations were to be adopted in the United States, less data would be available, and the cost of data would be higher.
California recently enacted legislation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) that became operative on January 1, 2020 and became enforceable by the California Attorney General on July 1, 2020, along with related regulations which came into force on August 14, 2020. The CCPA creates individual privacy rights for California residents and increases the privacy and security obligations of businesses handling personal data. The
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CCPA is enforceable by the California Attorney General and there is also a private right of action relating to certain data security incidents. The CCPA generally requires covered businesses to, among other things, provide new disclosures to California consumers and afford California consumers new abilities to opt-out of certain sales of personal information, a concept that is defined broadly, and although formal guidance has not been issued, behavioral advertising is believed to be a sale under CCPA by us, consumer advocacy groups and in some cases our larger competitors. We cannot yet fully predict the impact of the CCPA or subsequent guidance on our business or operations, but it may require us to further modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Decreased availability and increased costs of information could adversely affect our ability to meet our customers’ requirements and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Additionally, a recent California ballot initiative, the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), imposes additional data protection obligations on companies doing business in California, including additional consumer rights processes and opt-outs for certain uses of sensitive data and sharing of personal data starting in January 2023. As voted into law by California residents in November 2020, the CPRA could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. The effects of the CCPA and CPRA are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply and increase our potential exposure to regulatory enforcement and/or litigation.
The CCPA has encouraged “copycat” laws and in other states across the country, such as in Nevada, New Hampshire, Illinois, and Nebraska. In March 2020, Virginia passed the Consumer Data Protection Act (the “CDPA”) which takes effect in January 2023. The CDPA is enforceable by the Virginia Attorney General and creates individual privacy rights for Virginia residents and increases the privacy obligations of businesses handling sensitive personal data. We cannot yet fully predict the impact of the CDPA or subsequent guidance on our business or operations, but it may require us to further modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply. Other proposed legislation may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions, and potential legal risk, require additional investment in resources to compliance programs, and could impact strategies and availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies.
In Europe, the GDPR took effect on May 25, 2018 and applies to products and services that we provide in Europe, as well as the processing of personal data of EU citizens, wherever that processing occurs. The GDPR includes operational requirements for companies that receive or process personal data of residents of the European Union that are different than those that were in place in the European Union. For example, we have been required to offer new controls to data subjects in Europe before processing data for certain aspects of our service. Failure to comply with GDPR may result in significant penalties for non-compliance of up to the greater of €20 million or 4% of an enterprise’s global annual revenue. In addition to the foregoing, a breach of the GDPR could result in regulatory investigations, reputational damage, orders to cease/ change our processing of our data, enforcement notices, and/ or assessment notices (for a compulsory audit). We may also face civil claims including representative actions and other class action type litigation (where individuals have suffered harm), potentially amounting to significant compensation or damages liabilities, as well as associated costs, diversion of internal resources, and reputational harm.
Further, in the European Union, regulators are increasingly focusing on compliance with requirements in the online behavioral advertising ecosystem, and current national laws that implement the ePrivacy Directive will be replaced by an EU Regulation, known as the ePrivacy Regulation, which will significantly increase fines for non-compliance and impose burdensome requirements around obtaining consent. While the text of the ePrivacy Regulation is still under development, a recent European court decision and regulators’ recent guidance are driving increased attention to cookies and tracking technologies. As regulators start to enforce the strict approach (which has already begun to occur in Germany, where data protection authorities have initiated a probe on third-party cookies), this could lead to substantial costs, require significant systems changes, limit the effectiveness of our marketing activities, divert the attention of our technology personnel, adversely affect our margins, increase costs, and subject us to additional liabilities. In addition, some countries are considering or have passed legislation implementing data protection requirements or requiring local storage and processing of data or similar requirements that could increase
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the cost and complexity of delivering our services, including Brazil’s General Data Protection law and Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act. Any failure to achieve required data protection standards (which are not currently clear when applied to the online advertising ecosystem) may result in lawsuits, regulatory fines, or other actions or liability, all of which may harm our results of operations. Because the interpretation and application of privacy and data protection laws such as the CCPA and GDPR, and the related regulations and standards, are uncertain, it is possible that these laws, regulations and standards may be interpreted and applied in manners that are, or are asserted to be, inconsistent with our data management practices or the technological features of our solutions.
We are also subject to laws and regulations that dictate whether, how, and under what circumstances we can transfer, process and/or receive certain data that is critical to our operations, including data shared between countries or regions in which we operate and data shared among our products and services.
In addition to government regulation, privacy advocacy and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that either legally or contractually apply to us or our customers. We are members of self-regulatory bodies that impose additional requirements related to the collection, use, and disclosure of consumer data. Under the requirements of these self-regulatory bodies, in addition to other compliance obligations, we are obligated to provide consumers with notice about our use of cookies and other technologies to collect consumer data and of our collection and use of consumer data for certain purposes, and to provide consumers with certain choices relating to the use of consumer data. Some of these self-regulatory bodies have the ability to discipline members or participants, which could result in fines, penalties, and/or public censure (which could in turn cause reputational harm). Additionally, some of these self-regulatory bodies might refer violations of their requirements to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission or other regulatory bodies. If we were to be found responsible for such a violation, it could adversely affect our reputation, as well as our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our success depends on our ability to retain key members of our management team, and on our ability to hire, train, retain, and motivate new employees.
Our success depends upon the continued service of members of our senior management team and other key employees. Our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Rajeev K. Goel, is critical to our overall management, as well as the continued development of our platform and relationships with publishers, DSPs, and agencies, and our strategic direction. We do not maintain key-person insurance on any of our employees. Some of our key employees may receive significant proceeds from sales of our common stock, which may reduce their motivation to continue to work for us. As a result, we may be unable to retain them, which could make it difficult to operate our business, cause us to lose expertise or know-how, and increase our recruitment and training costs.
Our success also depends on our ability to hire, train, retain, and motivate new employees. Competition for employees in our industry can be intense, and we compete for experienced personnel with many companies that have greater resources than we have. The market for talent in our key areas of operations, especially in engineering, and competition for qualified personnel is particularly intense in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pune, India, and New York, where we maintain offices.
Seasonal fluctuations or market changes in digital advertising activity could adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
We generate all of our revenue directly or indirectly from the purchase and sale of digital ad impressions processed on our platform. Our revenue, net cash provided by operating activities, results of operations, and other key operating and performance metrics may vary from quarter to quarter due to the seasonal nature of digital advertising spending. For example, digital advertisers tend to devote a large portion of their budgets to campaigns in the fourth quarter of the year, to coincide with consumer holiday spending, and then have a significantly smaller advertising budget in the first calendar quarter. Pricing of digital ad impressions in the fourth quarter is likely to be higher due to increased demand. In addition, adverse economic conditions or economic uncertainty may cause advertisers to decrease purchases of digital ad impressions, adversely affecting our revenue and results of operations. For example, if the walled gardens of Google and Facebook become the preferred destinations for advertisers, lower demand for ad impressions processed on our platform could cause publishers to reduce their use of our platform or to cease using it altogether. A decline in the market for programmatic advertising or the failure of that market to
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grow as expected could also adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Any decline in the volume or perceived quality of the ad impressions available on our platform could further reduce demand. Any such developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our efforts to offer private marketplace solutions may not be successful, or we may not be able to scale our platform to meet this demand in a timely manner, and, as a result, we may not realize a return from our investments in that area.
We believe there is significant and growing demand for private marketplace solutions (“PMPs”), and we are making significant investments to meet that demand and grow our market share of PMPs. PMPs may involve lower fees than we can charge for our real-time bidding services, which may not be fully offset by anticipated higher pricing. In some cases, we have experienced fee pressure as we have built out our PMP offering, and we expect this fee pressure to increase as more competitors, including new entrants as well as publishers themselves, build their own technology and infrastructure to enter this business. Even if the market for these solutions develops as we anticipate, publishers and buyers might not embrace our offerings to the degree we expect due to various factors such as inertia from moving off of existing implementations of competitive products. Additionally, even if publishers and buyers embrace our offerings, the positive effect of our PMP offerings on our results of operations may be offset or negated if PMPs cannibalize our open marketplace transaction volumes, by similar offerings from our competitors, or other adverse developments.
We are subject to payment-related risks if DSPs dispute or do not pay their invoices, and any decreases in payments or in our overall take rate could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. These risks mays be heightened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn.
We generate revenue primarily through revenue share agreements with our publishers. We invoice DSPs and collect the full purchase price for the digital ad impressions they purchase, retain our fees, and remit the balance to the publisher. However, in some cases, we are required to pay publishers for digital ad impressions delivered even if we are unable to collect from the buyer that purchased the digital ad impressions. In the past, certain buyers have sought to slow their payments to us or been forced into filing for bankruptcy protection, resulting in us not receiving payment. These challenges have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic impact, as many of our buyers are experiencing financial difficulties and liquidity constraints. In certain cases, buyers have been unable to timely make payments and we have suffered losses. For example, in early 2019, the advertising company Sizmek declared bankruptcy, which led us to lose approximately $6 million in contracted spending on our platform. While our contracts generally do not contain such exposure, there are certain agreements under which we may be responsible for the whole amount of contracted spending, whether or not ultimately paid by the buyer.
In addition, a prolonged economic downturn, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, may lead additional buyers to slow or default on payments or in some cases seek bankruptcy protection. We cannot assure you that we will not experience bad debt in the future, and write-offs for bad debt could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition in the periods in which the write-offs occur. If our cash collections are significantly diminished as a result of these dynamics, our revenue and/or cash flow could be adversely affected, and we may need to use working capital to fund our accounts payable pending collection from the buyers. This may result in additional costs and cause us to forgo or defer other more productive uses of that working capital.
Moreover, a majority of our advertising spend comes from buyers purchasing advertising inventory programmatically on our platform through their DSPs. We experience requests from publishers and buyers for discounts, fee concessions or revisions, rebates, or other forms of consideration, refunds, and greater levels of pricing transparency and specificity, in some cases as a condition to maintain the relationship or to increase the amount of advertising spend that the buyer sends to our platform. In addition, we charge fees to publishers for use of our platform, and we may decide to offer discounts or other pricing concessions in order to attract more inventory or demand, or to compete effectively with other providers that have different or lower pricing structures and may be able to undercut our pricing due to greater scale or other factors. Our revenue, take rate, the value of our business,
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and the price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected if we cannot maintain and grow our revenue and profitability through volume increases that compensate for any price reductions, or if we are forced to make significant fee concessions, rebates, or refunds, or if buyers reduce spending with us, or publishers reduce inventory available through our exchange due to fee disputes or pricing issues.
Our international operations subject us to additional costs and risks, and may not yield returns, and our continued international expansion may not be successful.
We have entered into several international markets and we expect to continue to expand our international operations. Further expansion may require significant management attention and financial resources and may place burdens on our management, administrative, operational, legal, and financial infrastructure. The costs and risks inherent in conducting business internationally include:
•difficulty and cost associated with maintaining effective controls at foreign locations;
•adapting our platform and solutions to non-U.S. publishers’ preferences and customs;
•difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations;
•difficulties in enforcing our intellectual property rights;
•new and different sources of competition;
•regulatory and other delays and difficulties in setting up foreign operations;
•compliance with anti-bribery laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act 2010, by us, our employees, and our business partners;
•compliance with export and import control and economic sanctions, laws and regulations, such as those administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control;
•compliance with foreign data privacy laws, such as the EU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR;
•restrictions on the transfers of funds;
•currency exchange rate fluctuations and foreign exchange controls;
•economic and political instability in some countries;
•health or similar issues, such as a pandemic or epidemic;
•compliance with the laws of numerous taxing jurisdictions where we conduct business, potential double taxation of our international earnings, and potentially adverse tax consequences due to changes in applicable U.S. and foreign tax laws; and
•the complexity and potential adverse consequences of U.S. tax laws as they relate to our international operations.
As we continue to expand our business globally, our success will depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these risks. These factors and others could harm our ability to increase international revenues and, consequently, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. The expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets will require significant management attention and financial resources. Our failure to manage these risks successfully could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
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Our use and reliance upon technology and development resources in India may expose us to unanticipated costs and liabilities, which could affect our ability to realize cost savings from our technology operations in India.
Most of our technology and development work is conducted in Pune, India. We cannot assure you that our reliance upon development resources in India will enable us to achieve meaningful cost reductions or greater resource efficiency. Further, our development efforts and other operations in India involve significant risks, including:
•difficulty hiring and retaining engineering and management resources due to intense competition for such resources and resulting wage inflation;
•heightened exposure to changes in economic, security, and political conditions in India;
•the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on general health and economic conditions in India; and
•fluctuations in currency exchange rates and tax compliance in India.
In addition, enforcement of intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in India may not be as effective as in the United States or other countries. Policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive, and we might need to resort to litigation to protect our trade secrets and confidential information. The experience and capabilities of Indian courts in handling intellectual property litigation vary, and outcomes are unpredictable. Further, such litigation may require significant expenditure of cash and management efforts and could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. An adverse determination in any such litigation will impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We expect to continue to rely on significant cost savings obtained by concentrating our technology and development and engineering work in India, rather than in the United States, but difficulties resulting from the factors noted above and other risks related to our operations in India could increase our expenses and harm our competitive position. The historical rate of wage inflation has been higher in India than in the United States. In addition, if the Rupee strengthens against the U.S. Dollar, our costs would increase. If the cost of technology and development work in India significantly increases or the labor environment in India changes unfavorably, our cost savings may be diminished. Any such developments could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We must provide value to both publishers and buyers of advertising without being perceived as favoring one over the other or being perceived as competing with them through our service offerings.
We provide a platform that intermediates between publishers seeking to sell advertising space and buyers seeking to purchase that space. Although only the publishers are our direct customers and represent nearly all of our revenue, we believe we have strong relationships with the DSPs, agencies, and advertisers that purchase advertisements through our programmatic bidding and other solutions. Our ability to provide quality impressions with price transparency and competitive pricing to both publishers and buyers is critical to our ability to succeed, and if we were to be perceived as favoring one side of the transaction to the detriment of the other, or presenting a competitive challenge to their own businesses, demand for our platform from publishers or buyers would decrease and our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
We depend on third-party data centers, the disruption of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We host our company-owned infrastructure at third-party data centers. Any damage to or failure of our systems generally would prevent us from operating our business. We rely on the Internet and, accordingly, depend upon the continuous, reliable, and secure operation of Internet servers, related hardware and software, and network infrastructure. While we control and have access to our servers and all of the components of our network that are located in our external data centers, we do not control the operation of these facilities. The owners of our data center facilities have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are unable to renew these agreements on commercially reasonable terms, or if one of our data center operators is
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acquired, we may be required to transfer our servers and other infrastructure to new data center facilities, and we may incur significant costs and possible service interruption in connection with doing so.
Problems faced by our third-party data center operations, with the telecommunications network providers with whom we or they contract, or with the systems by which our telecommunications providers allocate capacity among their customers, including us, could adversely affect the experience of publishers. Additionally, improving our platform’s infrastructure and expanding its capacity in anticipation of growth in new channels and formats, as well as implementing technological enhancements to our platform to improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness are key components of our business strategy, and if our data centers are unable to keep up with our growing needs for capacity, this could have an adverse effect on our business. Any changes in third-party service levels at our data centers or any errors, defects, disruptions, or other performance problems could adversely affect our reputation, expose us to liability, cause us to lose customers, or otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Service interruptions might reduce our revenue, trigger refunds to publishers, subject us to potential liability, or adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or the occurrence of a natural disaster, an act of terrorism, vandalism or sabotage, or other unanticipated problems at these facilities could result in interruptions in the availability of our platform. While we have disaster recovery arrangements in place, they have not been tested under actual disasters or similar events and may not effectively permit us to continue to provide our products and services in the event of any problems with respect to our data centers. Moreover, because we do not currently have full redundancy with respect to the services at each data center, if one of our data centers shuts down there may be a period of time that our products or services, or some of our products or services, will be unavailable to publishers served by that data center. If any of these events were to occur to our business, our business, results of operations, or financial condition could be adversely affected.
Platform outages or disruptions, including any interruptions due to cyberattacks or to our failure to maintain adequate security and supporting infrastructure as we scale, could damage our reputation and our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
As we grow our business, we expect to continue to invest in our platform infrastructure, including hardware and software solutions, network services and database technologies, as well as potentially increase our reliance on open source software. Without these improvements, our operations might suffer from unanticipated system disruptions, slow transaction processing, unreliable service levels, impaired quality or delays in reporting accurate information regarding transactions in our platform, any of which could negatively affect our reputation and ability to attract and retain publishers. The steps we take to enhance the reliability, integrity and security of our platform as it scales are expensive and complex, and poor execution could result in operational failures. In addition, cyberattack techniques are constantly evolving and becoming increasingly diverse growing increasingly more sophisticated and could involve denial-of-service attacks or other maneuvers that have the effect of disrupting the availability of services on our platform, which could seriously harm our reputation and business. Other types of cyberattacks could harm us even if our platform operations are left undisturbed. For example, attacks may be designed to deceive employees into releasing control of their systems to a hacker, while others may aim to introduce computer viruses or malware into our systems with a view to stealing confidential or proprietary data. We are also vulnerable to unintentional errors or malicious actions by persons with authorized access to our systems that exceed the scope of their access rights, distribute data erroneously, or, unintentionally or intentionally, interfere with the intended operations of our platform. Incidents like this can give rise to a variety of losses and costs, including legal exposure, and regulatory fines, damages to deputation, amongst others. Although we maintain insurance coverage, it may be insufficient to protect us against all losses and costs stemming from security breaches, cyberattacks and other types of unlawful activity, or any resulting disruptions from such events. Outages and disruptions of our platform, including any caused by cyberattacks, may harm our reputation and our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Maintaining the security and availability of our platform, network, and internal IT systems and the security of information we hold on behalf of our customers is a critical issue for us and our customers. Attacks on our customers and our own network are frequent and take a variety of forms, including DDoS attacks, infrastructure attacks, botnets, malicious file attacks, cross-site scripting, credential abuse, ransomware, bugs, viruses, worms, and malicious software programs.
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Our software platform could be susceptible to errors, defects, or unintended performance problems that could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We depend upon the sustained and uninterrupted performance of our platform to operate our business. Software bugs, faulty algorithms, technical or infrastructure problems, or system updates could lead to an inability to process data to place advertisements or price inventory effectively, or cause advertisements to display improperly or be placed in proximity to inappropriate content, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. These risks are compounded by the complexity of our technology and the large amounts of data we utilize. Because our software is complex, undetected material defects, errors and failures may occur. Despite testing, errors, or bugs in our software may not be found until the software is in our live operating environment. For example, changes to our solution have in the past caused errors in the measurements of transactions conducted through our platform, resulting in disputes raised by publishers. Errors or failures in our solution, even if caused by the implementation of changes by publishers or partners to their systems, could also result in negative publicity, damage to our reputation, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our solution, increased costs or loss of revenue, or loss of competitive position. In such an event, we may be required or choose to expend additional resources to help mitigate any problems resulting from defects, errors and failures in our software. As a result, defects or errors in our products or services could harm our reputation, result in significant costs to us, impair the ability of publishers to sell and for buyers to purchase inventory and impair our ability to fulfill obligations with publishers and partners. Any significant interruptions could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Legal uncertainty and industry unpreparedness for new regulations may mean substantial disruption and inefficiency, demand constraints, and reduced inventory supply and value.
Some of our publishers may be unprepared to comply with evolving regulatory guidance under the CCPA, CPRA, GDPR, CDPA or other new regulations, and may therefore remove personal data from their inventory before passing it into the bid stream, at least temporarily. This may lower their inventory, resulting in loss of ad spend and revenue for us. Further, since do not have direct relationships with end users, we rely on publishers to obtain such consents as required. While we can and do provide training and guidance on compliance, the nature of the ecosystem and technology does not support 100% verification that consent from end users has been obtained, when required, and we may pass on unknowingly pass on consumer personal information when we should not be. This exposes us to potential regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, penalties, and other legal and financial exposure. Additionally, privacy and data protection laws are evolving, and it is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our safeguards and practices that could result in fines, lawsuits and other penalties, and significant changes to our publishers business practices and inventory. Even well-prepared publishers and buyers may be confronted with difficult choices and administrative and technical hurdles as they implement their compliance programs and integrate with multiple other parties in the ecosystem. Privacy and data protection laws are evolving, and it is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our safeguards and practices that could result in fines, lawsuits and other penalties, and significant changes to our publisher’s business practices. Further, compliance program design and implementation will be an ongoing process as understanding of the CCPA, GDPR, or other new regulations increase and industry compliance standards evolve. The resulting process friction could result in substantial inefficiency and loss of inventory and demand, as well as increased burdens upon our organization as we seek to assist customers and adapt our own technology and processes as necessary to comply with the law and adapt to industry practice. The uncertain regulatory environment caused by the CCPA, GDPR, or other new regulations may disadvantage us in comparison to large, integrated competitors such as Google and Facebook, which have greater compliance resources and can take advantage of their direct relationships with end users to secure consents from end users. Changes in the business practices of such large integrated competitors could impose additional requirements with respect to the retention and security of our handling or ability to handle customer and end user data, could limit our marketing and core business activities, and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Recent rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield as a lawful means for transferring personal data from the European Union to the United States; this introduces
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increased uncertainty and may require us to change our EU data practices and/or rely on an alternative legally sufficient compliance measure.
The GDPR generally prohibits the transfer of personal data of EU subjects outside of the European Union, unless a lawful data transfer solution has been implemented or a data transfer derogation applies. On July 16, 2020, in a case known as Schrems II, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) ruled on the validity of two of the primary data transfer solutions. The first method, EU-US Privacy Shield operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, was declared invalid as a legal mechanism to transfer data from Europe to the United States. As a result, despite the fact that we have certified our compliance to the EU-US Privacy Shield, our customers may no longer rely on this mechanism as a lawful means to transfer European data to us in the United States. For the time being, however, the Department of Commerce continues to operate the EU-US Privacy Shield, and if we fail to comply with the Privacy Shield requirements, we risk investigation and sanction by U.S. regulatory authorities, including the Federal Trade Commission. Such investigation could cost us significant time and resources, and could potentially result in fines, criminal prosecution, or other penalties. While the United States and the European Union are in discussions regarding a replacement to Privacy Shield, we cannot predict if we it will happen or if it does, what impact it will have on our business and industry.
The second mechanism, Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”), an alternative transfer measure that we also offer to our EU customers for extra-EU data transfers, was upheld as a valid legal mechanism for transnational data transfer. However, the ruling requires that European organizations seeking to rely on the SCCs to export data out of the European Union ensure the data is protected to a standard that is “essentially equivalent” to that in the European Union including, where necessary, by taking “supplementary measures” to protect the data. It remains unclear what “supplementary measures” must be taken to allow the lawful transfer of personal data to the United States, and it is possible that EU data protection authorities may determine that there are no supplementary measures that can legitimize EU-US data transfers. For the time being, we will rely on SCCs for EU-US transfers of EU personal data and explore what “supplementary measures” can implemented to protect EU personal data that is transferred to us in the United States. SCCs also contemplate data received from a third party, but may not cover data that is collected directly on behalf of a third party. It remains unclear whether SCCs can cover our use of cookies and other tracking technologies placed directly on consumer’s browsers or devices through our publishers or buyers’ websites.
We may also need to restructure our data export practices as a result of Brexit. European Union law may cease to apply to the United Kingdom. This means that data may not be able to flow freely between the European Union and the United Kingdom, and our United Kingdom subsidiaries may need to enter into SCCs and adopt “supplementary measures” both with customers and other group entities, in order to ensure the continuing flow of data to and from the United Kingdom subsidiary. We would likely need to restructure our transfers of European data via another European subsidiary and have such entity enter into the SCCs with other group entities and implement “supplementary measures” to ensure the continuing flow of data from the European Union to the United States. In the event that use of the SCCs is subsequently invalidated as a solution for data transfers to the United States, or there are additional changes to the data protection regime in the European Union resulting in any inability to transfer personal data from the European Union to the United States in compliance with data protection laws, European customers may be more inclined to work with businesses that do not rely on such compliance mechanisms to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, such as EU-based companies or other competitors that do not need to transfer personal data to the United States in order to avoid the above-identified risks and legal issues. Such changes could cause us to incur penalties under GDPR and could increase the cost and complexity of operating our business.
If mobile devices or their operating systems and Internet browsers develop in ways that prevent advertisements from being delivered to consumers, our header bidding business, as well as our business, results of operations, and financial condition generally, will be adversely affected.
Our success in the mobile channel depends upon the ability of our platform to provide advertising for mobile connected devices, the major operating systems or Internet browsers that run on them, and the thousands of applications that are downloaded onto them. The design of mobile devices and operating systems or browsers is controlled by third parties that may also introduce new devices and operating systems or modify existing ones, and network carriers may affect our ability to access specified content on mobile devices. For example, Apple recently announced its intent to eliminate the Identifier for Advertisers, which we and other advertising firms have used to
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deliver targeted advertisements to consumers. While the effects of this development are uncertain and would not prevent us from operating our header bidding technology on Apple products, it could reduce the value of the ad impressions we offer. If our platform cannot operate effectively with popular devices, operating systems, or Internet browsers, including Apple devices and iOS, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Our platform utilizes header bidding, a nascent technology solution for mobile advertising, by which impressions that would have previously been exposed to different potential sources of demand in a sequence dictated by ad server priorities are instead available for concurrent competitive bidding by demand sources. This can help publishers increase revenue by exposing their inventory to more bidders, thereby allocating more inventory to demand sources that value it most highly. Header bidding allows us to compete with demand sources that would previously have been above us in publishers' ad server sequences.
We sell advertisement inventory directly through mobile application publishers, as well as through software development kits such as our OpenWrap SDK, and other proprietary technology of third parties, such as aggregators. From time to time our relationships with these third parties are terminated, the scale of these third parties' business with application providers is reduced, these third parties develop their own solutions that render ours obsolete, and the third parties' customers begin transacting directly between each other rather than through the third party, which causes the amount of mobile inventory available through our platform to decline. Any rapid or significant decline in mobile inventory would adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If CTV develops in ways that prevent advertisements from being delivered to consumers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.
As online video advertising has continued to scale and evolve, the amount of online video advertising being bought and sold programmatically has increased dramatically; this market continues to grow with the increased popularity of CTV and OTT media. However, despite the opportunities created by programmatic advertising, programmatic solutions for CTV and OTT publishers are still nascent compared to desktop and mobile video solutions. Many CTV publishers have backgrounds in cable or broadcast television and have limited experience with digital advertising, and in particular programmatic advertising. For these publishers, it is extremely important to protect the quality of the viewer experience to maintain brand goodwill and ensure that online advertising efforts do not create sales channel conflicts or otherwise detract from their direct sales force. In this regard, programmatic advertising presents a number of potential challenges, including the ability to ensure that ads are brand safe, comply with business rules around competitive separation, are not overly repetitive, are played at the appropriate volume, and do not cause delays in load-time of content. We believe that our platform is well-positioned to allow publishers the opportunity to achieve these goals and also reliably achieve “ad potting,” or the placement of the desired number of advertisements in commercial breaks. In fact, our OpenWrap OTT platform was designed to address these challenges and we have invested significant time and resources cultivating relationships with CTV publishers to establish best practices and evangelize the benefits of programmatic CTV. While we believe that programmatic advertising will continue to grow as a percentage of overall CTV advertising, there can be no assurance that CTV publishers will adopt programmatic solutions such as ours, or the rate at which they may adopt such solutions, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Failure to comply with industry self-regulation could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
In addition to complying with government regulations, we participate in trade associations and industry self-regulatory groups that promote best practices or codes of conduct addressing privacy. For example, we have undertaken to comply with industry codes of conduct in the United States and Europe. On our website, we offer consumers the ability to opt out of receiving advertisements based on cookies or other technologies. If we encounter difficulties implementing such guidelines, or our opt-out mechanisms fail to work as designed, we may experience negative publicity and be the subject of investigations or litigation. Any representations that we make regarding our adherence to self-regulatory standards could result in regulatory action if we fail to meet them. Any such action against us could be costly and time consuming, require us to change our business practices, cause us to divert
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management’s attention and our resources, and be damaging to our reputation and our business. New self-regulatory guidelines that are inconsistent with our practices or in conflict with applicable laws and regulations in the United States and other countries where we do business could arise. If we fail to abide by or are perceived as not operating in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and industry best practices or any industry guidelines or codes with regard to privacy or the provision of Internet advertising, our reputation may suffer and we could lose relationships with our publishers or others.
In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates, and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that may apply to us, and are constantly evolving in the United States, European Union, and other countries. Because the interpretation and application of privacy and data protection laws, regulations, rules, and other standards are still uncertain, it is possible that these laws, rules, regulations, and other actual or alleged legal obligations, such as contractual or self-regulatory obligations, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or the functionality of our platform. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits, and other claims, we could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our software, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We generally do not have a direct relationship with consumers who view advertisements placed through our platform, so we may not be able to disclaim liabilities from such consumers through terms of use on our platform.
Advertisements on websites, applications and other digital media properties of publishers purchased through our platform are viewed by consumers visiting the publishers’ digital media properties. Those publishers often have terms of use in place with their consumers that disclaim or limit their potential liabilities to consumers, or pursuant to which consumers waive rights to bring class actions against the publishers. We generally do not have terms of use in place with such consumers, so we cannot disclaim or limit potential liabilities to them through terms of use, which may expose us to greater liabilities than certain of our competitors.
Our continued business success depends upon our ability to offer high-quality inventory with appropriate viewability capabilities, and if our inventory quality declines or if we are unable to offer functionality that addresses quality concerns of both advertisers and publishers, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We must address quality concerns of both advertisers and publishers. Publishers require ad quality tools that enable granular control over the characteristics of the ads that run on their ad impressions, including those relating to the advertiser, industry and content for a particular ad. We must also provide automatic or ad hoc blocking of ads that contain malware or other ads the publisher deems undesirable. Our inventory quality tools must continue to help publishers demonstrate the value and quality of their ad impressions to DSPs, advertisers, and agencies with automated fraud detection and viewability reporting. Maintaining and upgrading our capabilities associated with ad quality and inventory quality is complex and costly. If we fail to maintain high quality controls for our publishers and partners, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
In addition, the viewability of ad impressions is important to certain advertisers, because it enables them to assess the value of particular ad impressions as a means to reach a target audience. However, there is no consensus regarding the definition of viewability or the minimum standard viewability thresholds and metrics that should apply for different ad formats. We cannot predict whether consensus views will emerge, or what they will be. Incorporating accepted viewability approaches fully into our business as they evolve will require us to incur additional costs to integrate relevant technologies and process additional information through our platform. In addition, ad impressions that are well differentiated on the basis of viewability will also typically be differentiated on the basis of value, with those that are less viewable valued lower. In this context, if we are not able to effectively transact ad impressions with higher viewability and to incorporate appropriate viewability capabilities into our platform, we could be competitively disadvantaged and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
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Future acquisitions or strategic investments could be difficult to identify and integrate, divert the attention of management, and could disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
As part of our growth strategy, we may acquire or invest in other businesses, assets or technologies that are complementary to and fit within our strategic goals. Any acquisition or investment may divert the attention of management and require us to use significant amounts of cash, issue dilutive equity securities or incur debt. We have limited experience in acquiring other businesses. In addition, the anticipated benefits of any acquisition or investment may not be realized, and we may be exposed to unknown risks, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition, including risks arising from:
•difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies, product or service offerings, administrative systems, and personnel of acquired businesses, especially if those businesses operate outside of our core competency or geographies in which we currently operate;
•ineffectiveness or incompatibility of acquired technologies or solutions;
•potential loss of key employees of the acquired business;
•inability to maintain key business relationships and reputation of the acquired business;
•diversion of management attention from other business concerns;
•litigation arising from the acquisition or the activities of the acquired business, including claims from terminated employees, customers, former stockholders or other third parties;
•assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights, or increase our risk of liability;
•complications in the integration of acquired businesses or diminished prospects, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its global economic effects;
•failure to generate the expected financial results related to an acquisition on a timely manner or at all;
•failure to accurately forecast the impact of an acquisition transaction; and
•implementation or remediation of effective controls, procedures, and policies for acquired businesses.
To fund future acquisitions, we may pay cash or issue additional shares of our Class A common stock, which could dilute our stockholders or diminish our cash reserves. Borrowing to fund an acquisition would result in increased fixed obligations and could also subject us to covenants or other restrictions that could limit our ability to effectively run our business.
We rely on publishers, buyers, and partners to abide by contractual requirements and relevant laws, rules, and regulations when using our platform, and legal claims or enforcement actions resulting from their actions could expose us to liabilities, damage our reputation, and be costly to defend.
The publishers, buyers, and partners engaging in transactions through our platform impose various requirements upon each other, and they and the underlying advertisers are subject to regulatory requirements by governments and standards bodies applicable to their activities. We may assume responsibility for satisfying or facilitating the satisfaction of some of these requirements through the contracts we enter into with publishers, buyers, and partners. In addition, we may have responsibility for some acts or omissions of publishers, buyers, or partners transacting business through our platform under applicable laws or regulations or as a result of common law duties, even if we have not assumed responsibility contractually. These responsibilities could expose us to significant liabilities, perhaps without the ability to impose effective mitigating controls upon, or to recover from, publishers and buyers. Moreover, for those third parties who are both publishers and buyers on our platform, it is feasible that they could use our platform to buy and sell advertisements in an effort to inflate their own revenue. We could be subject to
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litigation as a result of such actions, and, if we were sued, we would incur legal costs in our defense and cannot guarantee that a court would not attribute some liability to us.
We contractually require our publishers, buyers, data providers, and partners to abide by relevant laws, rules and regulations, and restrictions by their counterparties, when transacting on our platform, and we generally attempt to obtain representations from buyers that the advertising they place through our platform complies with applicable laws and regulations and does not violate third-party intellectual property rights, and from publishers about the quality and characteristics of the impressions they provide. We also generally receive representations from publishers, buyers, and data providers about their privacy practices and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including their maintenance of adequate privacy policies that disclose and permit our data collection practices. Nonetheless, there are many circumstances in which it is difficult or impossible for us to monitor or evaluate their compliance. For example, we cannot control the content of publisher’s media properties, and we are often unable to determine exactly what information a partner collects after an ad has been placed, and how the buyer uses any such collected information. Moreover, we are unable to prevent DSPs from aggregating bid requests from publishers and directing it to their own buying platforms or even reselling such bid data to advertisers or third parties.
If publishers, buyers, data providers, or partners fail to abide by relevant laws, rules and regulations, or contract requirements, when transacting over our platform, or after such a transaction is completed, we could potentially face liability to consumers for such misuse. Potential sources of liability to consumers include malicious activities, such as the introduction of malware into consumers’ computers through advertisements served through our platform, and code that redirects consumers to sites other than the ones consumers sought to visit, potentially resulting in malware downloads or use charges from the redirect site. Publishers often have terms of use in place with their consumers that disclaim or limit their potential liabilities to such consumers, or pursuant to which consumers waive rights to bring class-action lawsuits against the publishers related to advertisements. Similarly, if such misconduct results in enforcement action by a regulatory body or other governmental authority, we could become involved in a potentially time-consuming and costly investigation or we could be subject to some form of sanction or penalty. We may not have adequate indemnity to protect us against, and our policies of insurance may not cover, such claims and losses.
We are subject to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and similar laws and non-compliance with such laws can subject us to criminal penalties or significant fines and harm our business and reputation.
We are subject to anti-bribery and similar laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the USA PATRIOT Act, U.S. Travel Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and possibly other anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws have been enforced with great rigor in recent years and are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees and their agents from making or offering improper payments or other benefits to government officials and others in the private sector. The FCPA or other applicable anti-corruption laws may also hold us liable for acts of corruption or bribery committed by our third-party business partners, representatives, and agents, even if we do not authorize such activities. As we increase our international sales and business, and increase our use of third parties, our risks under these laws will increase. As a public company, the FCPA separately requires that we keep accurate books and records and maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to assure management’s control, authority, and responsibility over our assets. We have adopted policies and procedures and conduct training designed to prevent improper payments and other corrupt practices prohibited by applicable laws, but cannot guarantee that improprieties will not occur. Noncompliance with these laws could subject us to investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, other enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, significant fines, damages, other civil and criminal penalties or injunctions, suspension and/or debarment from contracting with specified persons, the loss of export privileges, reputational harm, adverse media coverage, and other collateral consequences. Any investigations, actions, and/or sanctions could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
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We are subject to governmental economic sanctions requirements and export and import controls that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or subject us to liability if we are not in compliance with applicable laws.
We are subject to various U.S. export control and trade and economic sanctions laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations and the various sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (collectively, “Trade Controls”). U.S. Trade Controls may prohibit the shipment of specified products and services to certain countries, governments, and persons. Although we endeavor to conduct our business in compliance with Trade Controls, our failure to successfully comply may expose us to negative legal and business consequences, including civil or criminal penalties, governmental investigations, and reputational harm.
Furthermore, if we export our technology or software, the exports may require authorizations, including a license, a license exception, or other appropriate government authorization or regulatory requirements. Complying with Trade Controls may be time-consuming and may result in the delay or loss of opportunities.
In addition, various countries regulate the import of encryption technology, including the imposition of import permitting and licensing requirements, and have enacted laws that could limit our ability to offer our platform or could limit our customers’ ability to use our platform in those countries. Changes in our platform or future changes in export and import regulations may create delays in the introduction of our platform in international markets or prevent our customers with international operations from deploying our platform globally. Any change in export or import regulations, economic sanctions or related legislation, or change in the countries, governments, persons, or technologies targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our platform by, or in our decreased ability to export our technology and services to, existing or potential customers with international operations. Any decreased use of our platform or limitation on our ability to export our platform would likely adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our corporate culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain it as we grow, we could lose the innovation, creativity, and teamwork fostered by our culture, and our business may be harmed.
We believe our corporate culture has been a critical component of our success as we believe it fosters innovation, creativity, and teamwork across our business, helping to drive our success. We intend to expand our overall headcount and operations both domestically and internationally, with no assurance that we will be able to do so while effectively maintaining our corporate culture. As we expand and change, in particular across multiple geographies or following acquisitions, it may be difficult to preserve our corporate culture, which could reduce our ability to innovate, create, and operate effectively. In turn, the failure to preserve our culture could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition by negatively affecting our ability to attract, recruit, integrate and retain employees, continue to perform at current levels, and effectively execute our business strategy.
Our intellectual property rights may be difficult to enforce and protect, which could enable others to copy or use aspects of our technology without compensating us, thereby eroding our competitive advantages and having an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We rely upon a combination of trade secrets, third-party confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, additional contractual restrictions on disclosure and use, and trademark, copyright, patent, and other intellectual property laws to establish and protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights. We currently own trademark registrations and applications for the “PubMatic” name and variants thereof and other product-related marks in the United States and certain foreign countries. We have also registered numerous Internet domain names related to our business. We also rely on copyright laws to protect computer programs related to our platform and our proprietary technologies, although to date we have not registered for statutory copyright protection. In order to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States, the copyright must be registered. Accordingly, the remedies and damages available to us for unauthorized use of our software may be limited. Historically, we have prioritized keeping our technology architecture, trade secrets, and engineering roadmap private, and as a general matter, have not patented our proprietary technology. As a result, we cannot look to patent enforcement rights to protect much of our proprietary technology. Furthermore, our patent strategy is still in its early stages. We may not be able to obtain
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any further patents, and our pending application may not result in the issuance of a patent. Any issued patents may be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, and any rights granted under these patents may not actually provide adequate defensive protection or competitive advantages to us. Additionally, the process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner.
While it is our policy to protect and defend our rights to our intellectual property, we cannot predict whether steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement, misappropriation, dilution, or other violations of our intellectual property rights. Third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe our intellectual property rights, third parties may challenge intellectual property rights held by us, and pending and future trademark and patent applications may not be approved. These claims may result in restrictions on our use of our intellectual property or the conduct of our business. In any of these cases, we may be required to expend significant time and expense to prevent infringement or to enforce our rights. We also cannot guarantee that others will not independently develop technology with the same or similar functions to any proprietary technology we rely on to conduct our business and differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Unauthorized parties may also attempt to copy or obtain and use our technology to develop applications with the same functionality as our solutions, and policing unauthorized use of our technology and intellectual property rights is difficult and may not be effective. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not be as protective of intellectual property rights as those of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights (including in particular, the proprietary aspects of our platform) we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage to others who have not incurred the same level of expense, time and effort to create, and protect their intellectual property.
Our customer agreements generally restrict the use of our confidential information solely to such customer’s use in connection with its use of our services. In spite of such limitations, reverse engineering our software or the theft or misuse of our confidential information could occur by customers or other third parties who have access to our technology.
We also endeavor to enter into agreements with our employees and contractors in order to limit access to and disclosure of our confidential information, as well as to clarify rights to intellectual property and technology associated with our business. These agreements may not effectively grant all necessary rights to any inventions that may have been developed by the employees or consultants party thereto. In addition, these agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property or technology and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information, intellectual property, or technology. Furthermore, protecting our intellectual property is particularly challenging after our employees or our contractors end their relationship with us, and, in some cases, decide to work for our competitors. Enforceability of the non-compete agreements that we have in place is not guaranteed, and contractual restrictions could be breached without discovery or adequate remedies.
We rely on licenses to use the intellectual property rights of third parties to conduct our business.
We rely on products, technologies, and intellectual property that we license from third parties, for use in operating our business. We cannot assure you that these third-party licenses, or support for such licensed products and technologies, will continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. We cannot be certain that our licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of others or that our suppliers and licensors have sufficient rights to the technology in all jurisdictions in which we may operate. Some of our license agreements may be terminated by our licensors for convenience. If we are unable to obtain or maintain rights to any of this technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our suppliers and licensors or against us, or if we are unable to continue to obtain the technology or enter into new agreements on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to operate and expand our business could be harmed.
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If publishers or buyers do not have sufficient rights to the content, technology, data, or other material that they provide or make available to us, our business and reputation may be harmed.
If publishers or buyers do not have sufficient rights to the content, technology, data, or other material associated with an ad impression that they provide, or if it infringes or is alleged to infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, we could be subject to claims from those third parties, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. For example, channel partners may aggregate ad impressions across several publishers, and we may not be able to verify that these aggregators own or have rights to all of their digital ad impressions. As a result, we may face potential liability for copyright, patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement, or other claims. Litigation to defend these claims could be costly and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We cannot assure you that we are adequately insured to cover claims of these types or adequately indemnified for all liability that may be imposed on us as a result of these claims.
We may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties, which are costly to defend, could require us to pay significant damages and could limit our ability to use technology or intellectual property.
We operate in an industry with extensive intellectual property litigation. There is a risk that our business, platform, and services may infringe or be alleged to infringe the trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including patents held by our competitors or by non-practicing entities. We may also face allegations that our employees have misappropriated or divulged the intellectual property of their former employers or other third parties. Regardless of whether claims that we are infringing patents or other intellectual property rights have any merit, the claims are time consuming, divert management attention and financial resources and are costly to evaluate and defend. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do and are able to sustain the cost of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater extent and for longer periods of time than we could. Results of these litigation matters are difficult to predict and may require us to stop offering some features, purchase licenses, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all, or modify our technology or our platform while we develop non-infringing substitutes, or incur significant settlement costs. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our platform relies on third-party open source software components. Failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open source software licenses could expose us to liabilities, and the combination of open source software with code that we develop could compromise the proprietary nature of our platform.
Our platform utilizes software licensed to us by third-party authors under “open source” licenses and we expect to continue to utilize open source software in the future. The use of open source software may entail greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. To the extent that our platform depends upon the successful operation of the open source software we use, any undetected errors or defects in this open source software could prevent the deployment or impair the functionality of our platform, delay new solutions introductions, result in a failure of our platform, and injure our reputation. For example, undetected errors or defects in open source software could render it vulnerable to breaches or security attacks, and, in conjunction, make our systems more vulnerable to data breaches. Furthermore, some open source licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the type of open source software we use. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a specific manner, we could, under some open source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This would allow our competitors to create similar solutions with lower development effort and time and ultimately put us at a competitive disadvantage.
Although we monitor our use of open source software to avoid subjecting our platform to conditions we do not intend, we cannot assure you that our processes for controlling our use of open source software in our platform will be effective. If we are held to have breached the terms of an open source software license, we could be required to seek licenses from third parties to continue operating using our solution on terms that are not economically feasible,
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to re-engineer our solution or the supporting computational infrastructure to discontinue use of code, or to make generally available, in source code form, portions of our proprietary code.
Our business is subject to the risk of catastrophic events such as pandemics, earthquakes, flooding, fire, and power outages, and to interruption by man-made problems such as terrorism.
Our business is vulnerable to damage or interruption from pandemics, earthquakes, flooding, fire, power outages, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, acts of war, human errors, break-ins, and similar events. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic, including the reactions of governments, markets, and the general public, may result in a number of adverse consequences for our business, results of operations, and financial condition, many of which are beyond our control. A significant natural disaster could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition, and our insurance coverage may be insufficient to compensate us for losses that may occur. Our corporate offices and one of our data center facilities are located in California, a state known for seismic activity. Significant portions of our development and advertising operations work is located in Pune, India, which is susceptible to earthquakes and flooding. In addition, acts of terrorism, which may be targeted at metropolitan areas that have higher population density than rural areas, could cause disruptions in our or publishers’ and partners’ businesses or the economy as a whole. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, break-ins, denial-of-service attacks, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer systems, which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of critical data. We may not have sufficient protection or recovery plans in some circumstances, such as natural disasters affecting California, New York, Virginia, or Pune, India. As we rely heavily on our data center facilities, computer and communications systems and the Internet to conduct our business and provide high-quality customer service, these disruptions could negatively impact our ability to run our business and either directly or indirectly disrupt publishers’ and partners’ businesses, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We are an emerging growth company subject to reduced disclosure requirements, and there is a risk that availing ourselves of such reduced disclosure requirements will make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, and for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements such as, but not limited to, not being required to obtain auditor attestation of our reporting on internal control over financial reporting, having reduced disclosure obligations about our executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and not being required to hold advisory stockholder votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: the end of the fiscal year in which the market value of the shares of our outstanding capital stock held by non-affiliates is $700 million or more as of the end of the second quarter of that year, the end of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion, the date on which we issue more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt in a three-year period, or December 31, 2025.
If we fail to establish and maintain effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements and other disclosures on a timely basis could be impaired.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to expand our internal controls over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over
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financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs, and significant management oversight. If any of these new or improved controls and systems do not perform as expected, we may experience material weaknesses in our controls. In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures and key metrics may be useful in evaluating our operating performance. We present certain non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics in this report and intend to continue to present certain non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics in future filings with the SEC and other public statements. Any failure to accurately report and present our non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock.
Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our consolidated financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. We are not currently required to comply with the SEC rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. As a public company, we will be required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report on Form 10-K.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition and could cause a decline in the price of our Class A common stock.
Our management team has limited experience managing a public company and we will incur significantly increased costs and devote substantial management time as a result of operating as a public company.
Most members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors, and complying with the increasingly complex laws, rules, and regulations that govern public companies. As a public company, we are subject to significant obligations relating to reporting, procedures and internal controls, and our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage such obligations. These obligations and scrutiny will require significant attention from our management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We expect that compliance with these requirements will increase our compliance costs. We will need to hire additional accounting, financial, and legal staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge and will need to establish an internal audit function. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur as a result of becoming a public company or the timing of these costs.
We also expect that being a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board
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of directors, particularly to serve on our Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, and qualified executive officers.
Our loan agreement contains operating and financial covenants that may restrict our business and financing activities.
As of March 31, 2021, we had no outstanding borrowings under our loan and security agreement with Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”). Borrowings under this agreement are secured by substantially all of our assets, excluding our intellectual property. This loan and security agreement also restricts our ability, without SVB’s written consent, to, among other things:
•dispose of or sell our assets;
•make material changes in our business or management;
•consolidate or merge with other entities;
•incur additional indebtedness;
•create liens on our assets;
•pay dividends;
•make investments;
•enter into transactions with affiliates; and
•pay off or redeem subordinated indebtedness.
In addition, our loan and security agreement with SVB contains covenants requiring us to comply with minimum monthly liquidity requirements.
The operating and financial restrictions and covenants in the loan and security agreement, as well as any future financing arrangements that we may enter into, may restrict our ability to finance our operations, engage in, expand, or otherwise pursue our business activities and strategies. On occasion in the past, we failed to comply with covenants related to providing audited financial statements, for which we obtained waivers from SVB. Our ability to comply with these or other covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, and future breaches of these or other covenants could result in a default under the loan and security agreements. If not waived, future defaults could cause all of the outstanding indebtedness under our loan and security agreement to become immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit.
If we do not have or are unable to generate sufficient cash to repay our debt obligations when they become due and payable, either upon maturity or in the event of a default, we may not be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, if at all, which may negatively impact our ability to operate and continue our business as a going concern.
We are subject to regulation with respect to political advertising, which lacks clarity and uniformity.
We are subject to regulation with respect to political advertising activities, which are governed by various federal and state laws in the United States, and national and provincial laws worldwide. Online political advertising laws are rapidly evolving and our publishers may impose restrictions on receiving political advertising. The lack of uniformity and increasing compliance requirements around political advertising may adversely impact the amount of political advertising spent through our platform, increase our operating and compliance costs, and subject us to potential liability from regulatory agencies.
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We may need additional capital in the future to meet our financial obligations and to pursue our business objectives. Additional capital may not be available on favorable terms, or at all, which could compromise our ability to meet our financial obligations and grow our business.
We may need to raise additional capital to fund operations in the future or to finance acquisitions or other business objectives. Additional capital may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Lack of sufficient capital resources could significantly limit our ability to meet our financial obligations or to take advantage of business and strategic opportunities. Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities would dilute your stock ownership, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our Class A common stock. Any debt financing we secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate material parts of our business strategy, including potential additional acquisitions or development of new technologies and geographic expansion.
Our tax liabilities may be greater than anticipated.
The U.S. and non-U.S. tax laws applicable to our business activities are subject to interpretation and are changing. We are subject to audit by the Internal Revenue Service and by taxing authorities of the state, local and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. Our tax obligations are based in part on our corporate operating structure, including the manner in which we develop, value, use and hold our intellectual property, the jurisdictions in which we operate, how tax authorities assess revenue-based taxes such as sales and use taxes, the scope of our international operations, and the value we ascribe to our intercompany transactions. Taxing authorities may challenge, and have challenged, our tax positions and methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, positions regarding the collection of sales and use taxes, and the jurisdictions in which we are subject to taxes, which could expose us to additional taxes. Any adverse outcomes of such challenges to our tax positions could result in additional taxes for prior periods, interest and penalties, as well as higher future taxes. In addition, our future tax expense could increase as a result of changes in tax laws, regulations or accounting principles, or as a result of earning income in jurisdictions that have higher tax rates. For example, the European Commission has proposed, and various jurisdictions have enacted or are considering enacting laws that impose separate taxes on specified digital services, which may increase our tax obligations in such jurisdictions. Any increase in our tax expense could have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, the determination of our provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant estimates and judgment by management, and the tax treatment of certain transactions is uncertain. Given uncertainty with respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, the income tax benefit/expense we record may vary significantly in future periods. Any changes, ambiguity, or uncertainty in taxing jurisdictions’ administrative interpretations, decisions, policies and positions, including the position of taxing authorities with respect to revenue generated by reference to certain digital services, could also materially impact our income tax liabilities. Although we believe we will make reasonable estimates and judgments, the ultimate outcome of any particular issue may differ from the amounts previously recorded in our financial statements and any such occurrence could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock
The trading price of the shares of our Class A common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and could subject us to litigation.
Technology stocks historically have experienced high levels of volatility. The trading price of our Class A common stock has fluctuated substantially and may continue to do so. These fluctuations could cause you to incur substantial losses, including all of your investment in our Class A common stock. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our Class A common stock include the following:
•significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of technology companies in general and of companies in the digital advertising industry in particular;
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•announcements of new solutions or technologies, commercial relationships, acquisitions, or other events by us or our competitors;
•price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;
•changes in how customers perceive the benefits of our platform and future offerings;
•the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements, and filings with the SEC;
•fluctuations in the trading volume of our shares or the size of our public float;
•sales of large blocks of our common stock; actual or anticipated changes or fluctuations in our results of operations or financial projections;
•changes in actual or future expectations of investors or securities analysts;
•litigation involving us, our industry, or both;
•governmental or regulatory actions or audits;
•regulatory developments applicable to our business, including those related to privacy in the United States or globally;
•general economic conditions and trends;
•major catastrophic events in our domestic and foreign markets; and
•departures of key employees.
In addition, if the market for technology stocks, the stock of digital advertising companies or the stock market, in general, experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, results of operations, or financial condition. The trading price of our Class A common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in the digital advertising industry even if these events do not directly affect us. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If litigation is instituted against us, we could incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources.
Insiders have substantial control over our company, including as a result of the dual class structure of our common stock, which could limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters, including the election of directors and the approval of any change of control transaction.
Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share, and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. As of April 30, 2021, our directors, officers, and holders of more than 5% of our common stock, and their respective affiliates, hold in the aggregate approximately 80% of the voting power of our capital stock. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B and Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock collectively will continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock and therefore be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval until the date that is ten years from the closing of this offering. This concentrated control will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval. The interests of this group of stockholders may not coincide with our interests or the interests of other stockholders. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of deterring, delaying or preventing a change of control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock. Having a dual-class common stock structure may make our Class A common stock less attractive to some investors, such as funds and investment companies that attempt to track the performance of any indexes that prohibit or limit the inclusion of companies with such structures.
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Future transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as transfers effected for estate planning purposes. The conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term. As a result, it is possible that one or more of the persons or entities holding our Class B common stock could gain significant voting control as other holders of Class B common stock sell or otherwise convert their shares into Class A common stock.
Sales of substantial amounts of our Class A common stock in the public markets, or the perception that they might occur, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock into the public market, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers, and principal stockholders, or the perception that these sales might occur, could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline and may make it more difficult for you to sell your common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
Our directors, executive officers and employees hold options and restricted stock units under our equity incentive plans, and the shares issuable upon the exercise of such options or vesting of such restricted stock units has been registered for public resale under the Securities Act. Accordingly, these shares will be able to be freely sold in the public market upon issuance subject to certain legal and contractual requirements.
Additionally, certain holders of approximately of our Class B common stock have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements for the public resale of the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such shares or to include such shares in registration statements that we may file for us or other stockholders. If we were to register these shares for resale, they could be freely sold in the public market. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Our charter documents and Delaware law could discourage takeover attempts and other corporate governance changes.
Our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to elect directors who are not nominated by the current members of our board of directors or take other corporate actions, including effecting changes in our management. These provisions include:
•a provision that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms at such time as the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock represent less than a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of our board;
•the ability of our board to issue shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;
•a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent effective upon such time as the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock represent less than a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock;
•the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board, our chief executive officer, our lead director, or a majority of our board;
•the requirement for the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66-2/3% of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of the voting stock, voting together as a single class, to amend provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation or our restated bylaws;
•the ability of our board to amend the bylaws, which may allow it to take additional actions to prevent an unsolicited takeover and inhibit the ability of an acquirer;
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•the requirement that stockholders submitting notice of a nomination or proposal to be considered at an annual meeting of our stockholders must have continuously beneficially owned at least 1% of our outstanding common stock for a period of one year before giving such notice;
•advance notice procedures with which stockholders must comply to nominate candidates to our board or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting; and
•the dual class common stock structure in which holders of our Class B common stock have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if they own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets.
In addition, our restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for derivative actions, actions asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, actions asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our restated certificate of incorporation or restated bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. Although we believe these provisions collectively provide for an opportunity to obtain greater value for stockholders by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our board, they would apply even if an offer rejected by our board was considered beneficial by some stockholders. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gains.
We have never declared or paid any dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain any earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. In addition, the terms of our existing debt arrangements preclude us from paying dividends and our future debt agreements, if any, may contain similar restrictions. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our Class A common stock if the market price of our Class A common stock increases.
General Risk Factors
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common stock will, to some extent, depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us should downgrade our shares, change their opinion of our business prospects or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price may decline. If one or more of these analysts who cover us ceases coverage of our company or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
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ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
Not applicable.
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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
| Incorporated by Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exhibit Number | Description of Document | Form | File No. | Exhibit | Filing Date | Filed Herewith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10.1 | 8-K | 001-39748 | 10.1 | 04/09/2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31.1 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31.2 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32.1* | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32.2* | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document — the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
________________
* The information in this exhibit is furnished and deemed not filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of PubMatic, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Dated: May 13, 2021
| PUBMATIC, INC. | |||||
| By: | /s/ Steven Pantelick | ||||
| Steven Pantelick | |||||
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) | |||||
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