CDLX - Cardlytics Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results

ATLANTA, March 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardlytics, Inc., (NASDAQ: CDLX), a digital advertising platform, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. Supplemental information is available on the Investor Relations section of the Cardlytics' website at http://ir.cardlytics.com/.

“We see a path to modest growth for 2023, especially after we lap the exit of a large customer from our channel in the second half of the year. We believe our numerous product initiatives that we are putting into place are setting us up for short and long-term success,” said Karim Temsamani, CEO of Cardlytics. “We remain laser focused on driving product innovation and solutions for our partners and advertisers, and are excited about the expanded reach, revenue opportunities and efficiency this focus will create."

“Our fourth quarter performance was in line with our quarterly guidance ranges, and despite macro-related headwinds impacting consumer spending and ad budgets, we delivered double-digit year-over-year growth in 2022,” said Andy Christiansen, CFO of Cardlytics. “We know our success is dependent on executing with a disciplined approach, and I am confident that our strategy and priorities are positioning the company for liquidity, long-term growth, and profitability.”

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Results

• Total revenue was $82.5 million, a decrease of (8.4)%, compared to $90.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $(378.3) million, or $(11.32) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $(11.8) million, or $(0.35) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP net loss was $(9.7) million, or $(0.29) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $(5.0) million, or $(0.15) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Billings, a non-GAAP metric, was $126.1 million, a decrease of (5.9)%, compared to $134.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted contribution, a non-GAAP metric, was $40.0 million, a decrease of (9.2)%, compared to $44.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric, was $(6.1) million, a decrease of $8.7 million, compared to $2.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results

• Total revenue was $298.5 million, an increase of 11.8%, compared to $267.1 million in 2021.
• Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $(465.3) million, or $(13.92) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $(128.6) million, or $(3.99) per diluted share, based on 32.2 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in 2021.
• Non-GAAP net loss was $(57.4) million, or $(1.72) per diluted share, based on 33.4 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in 2022, compared to a loss of $(38.7) million, or $(1.20) per diluted share, based on 32.2 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in 2021.
• Billings, a non-GAAP metric, was $442.5 million, an increase of 12.3%, compared to $394.1 million in 2021.
• Adjusted contribution, a non-GAAP metric, was $143.0 million, an increase of 10.3%, compared to $129.6 million in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric, was a loss of $(45.2) million, a decrease of $(32.9) million, compared to a loss of $(12.2) million in 2021.

Key Metrics

• Cardlytics MAUs in the quarter were 182.7 million, an increase of 4.2%, compared to 175.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. For full year 2022, Cardlytics MAUs were 186.7 million, an increase of 9.2%, compared to 170.9 million in 2021.
• Cardlytics ARPU in the quarter was $0.45, a decrease of (7.8)%, compared to $0.49 in the fourth quarter of 2021. For full year 2022, Cardlytics ARPU was $1.55, an increase of 2.6%, compared to $1.51 in 2021.
• Bridg ARR was $23.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 51.3% compared to $15.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
  

Definitions of MAUs, ARPU and ARR are included below under the caption “Non-GAAP Measures and Other Performance Metrics.”

First Quarter 2023 Financial Expectations

Cardlytics anticipates billings, revenue, and adjusted contribution to be in the following ranges (in millions):

Earnings Teleconference Information

Cardlytics will discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 financial results during a teleconference today, March 1, 2023, at 5:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM PT. A live dial-in will be available after registering at http://ir.cardlytics.com/. Shortly after the conclusion of the call, a replay of this conference call will be available through 8:00 PM ET on March 8, 2023 on the Cardlytics Investor Relations website at http://ir.cardlytics.com/. Following the completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on Cardlytics’ website.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX) is a digital advertising platform. We partner with financial institutions to run their rewards programs that promote customer loyalty and deepen relationships. In turn, we have a secure view into where and when consumers are spending their money. We use these insights to help marketers identify, reach, and influence likely buyers at scale, as well as measure the true sales impact of marketing campaigns. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cardlytics has offices in New York, Palo Alto, Austin, Los Angeles, Detroit, Champaign, and London. Learn more at www.cardlytics.com.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, our financial guidance for the first quarter of 2023, our path to modest growth, the short- and long-term success of our product initiatives, our ability to achieve liquidity, long-term growth and profitability, the potential benefits of expanding our range of offerings and addressable markets and continuing progress across our strategic priorities. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should," "believe," "hope," "target," "project," "goals," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "may," "will," "might," "could," "intend," or variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control.

Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: risks related to unfavorable conditions in the global economy and the industries that we serve; our quarterly operating results have fluctuated and may continue to vary from period to period; our ability to sustain our revenue growth and billings; risks related to the integration of Dosh, Bridg and Entertainment with our company; potential payments under the Merger Agreement with Bridg; risks related to our substantial dependence on our Cardlytics platform; risks related to our substantial dependence on JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (“Chase”), Bank of America, National Association ("Bank of America"), Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”) and a limited number of other financial institution (“FI”) partners; risks related to our ability to maintain relationships with Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America; the amount and timing of budgets by marketers, which are affected by budget cycles, economic conditions and other factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; our ability to generate sufficient revenue to offset contractual commitments to FIs; our ability to attract new partners, including FI partners, and maintain relationships with bank processors and digital banking providers; our ability to maintain relationships with marketers; our ability to adapt to changing market conditions, including our ability to adapt to changes in consumer habits, negotiate fee arrangements with new and existing partners and retailers, and develop and launch new services and features; and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2023 and in subsequent periodic reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. We undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Non-GAAP Measures and Other Performance Metrics

To supplement the financial measures presented in our press release and related conference call or webcast in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), we also present the following non-GAAP measures of financial performance: billings, adjusted contribution, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted Partner Share and other third party costs, non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP net loss per share as well as certain other performance metrics, such as monthly active users (“MAUs”), average revenue per user (“ARPU”) and annualized recurring revenue ("ARR").

A “non-GAAP financial measure” refers to a numerical measure of our historical or future financial performance or financial position that is included in (or excluded from) the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in our financial statements. We provide certain non-GAAP measures as additional information relating to our operating results as a complement to results provided in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP financial information presented herein should be considered in conjunction with, and not as a substitute for or superior to, the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered a measure of liquidity. There are significant limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures. Further, these measures may differ from the non-GAAP information, even where similarly titled, used by other companies and therefore should not be used to compare our performance to that of other companies.We have presented billings, adjusted contribution, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted Partner Share and other third party costs, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share as non-GAAP financial measures in this press release. Billings represents the gross amount billed to customers and marketers for services in order to generate revenue. Cardlytics platform billings is recognized gross of both Consumer Incentives and Partner Share. Cardlytics platform GAAP revenue is recognized net of Consumer Incentives and gross of Partner Share. Bridg platform billings is the same as Bridg platform GAAP revenue. We define adjusted contribution as a measure by which revenue generated from our marketers exceeds the cost to obtain the purchase data and the digital advertising space from our partners. Adjusted contribution demonstrates how incremental revenue on our platforms generates incremental amounts to support our sales and marketing, research and development, general and administration and other investments. Adjusted contribution is calculated by taking our total revenue less our Partner Share and other third-party costs exclusive of deferred implementation costs, which is a non-cash cost. Adjusted contribution does not take into account all costs associated with generating revenue from advertising campaigns, including sales and marketing expenses, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses and other expenses, which we do not take into consideration when making decisions on how to manage our advertising campaigns. We define adjusted EBITDA as our net loss before income tax benefit; interest expense, net; depreciation and amortization expense; stock-based compensation expense; foreign currency gain (loss); impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; deferred implementation costs; restructuring and reduction of force costs; acquisition and integration (benefits) costs; and change in fair value of contingent consideration. We define adjusted Partner Share and other third party Costs as our Partner Share and other third party costs excluding non-cash equity expense and amortization of deferred implementation costs. Notably, any impacts related to minimum Partner Share commitments in connection with agreements with certain FI partners are not added back to net loss in order to calculate adjusted EBITDA. We define non-GAAP net loss as our net loss before stock-based compensation expense; foreign currency (gain) loss; acquisition and integration costs (benefits); amortization of acquired intangibles; change in fair value of contingent consideration; impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; income tax benefit; and restructuring and reduction of force costs. We define non-GAAP net loss per share as non-GAAP net loss divided by our weighted-average common shares outstanding, diluted.

We believe the use of non-GAAP financial measures, as a supplement to GAAP measures, is useful to investors in that they eliminate items that are either not part of our core operations or do not require a cash outlay, such as stock-based compensation expense. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures when evaluating operating performance and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures help indicate underlying trends in the business, are important in comparing current results with prior period results, and are useful to investors and financial analysts in assessing operating performance.

We define MAUs as targetable customers or accounts that have logged in and visited online or mobile applications containing offers from, opened an email containing offers from, or redeemed an offer from the Cardlytics platform during a monthly period. We then calculate a monthly average of these MAUs for the periods presented. We define ARPU as the total revenue generated in the applicable period calculated in accordance with GAAP, divided by the average number of MAUs in the applicable period. We define ARR as the annualized GAAP revenue of the final month in the period presented for the Bridg platform. ARR should not be considered in isolation from, or as an alternative to, revenue prepared in accordance with GAAP. We believe that ARR is an indicator of the Bridg platform’s ability to generate future revenue from existing clients.

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Contacts:

Investor Relations:
Robert Robinson
Corporate Development & IR
ir@cardlytics.com