Fluent Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial Results; Strategic Pivot Accelerates with Growth of Commerce Media Solutions

About this update from Fluent, Inc.

NEW YORK, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT), a commerce media solutions provider, today reported unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. Don Patrick, Fluent’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our first quarter results showed the fifth consecutive quarter of strong year-over-year growth in our Commerce Media Solutions business. As we continue to execute on our strategic pivot to focus on what we see as a core, long-term growth opportunity in the commerce media marketplace, this segment has been the foundational driver of our evolving model, achieving nearly triple-digit year-over-year growth since its launch in early 2023. Underscoring our growth are the impressive partnerships with top-tier media partners and advertisers across a diverse range of market verticals. After the close of the first quarter we announced a breakthrough partnership with Rebuy Engine, a leading ecommerce personalization platform for Shopify brands. With the combined expertise of both companies, Rebuy Ads powered by Fluent is set to redefine how Shopify merchants engage with performance-driven advertising." Mr. Patrick continued, "While Commerce Media Solutions is performing exceptionally well, we experienced some additional attrition in our Owned and Operated business primarily due to a reduction in media supply, particularly from social media. This trend has continued into the second quarter. To address this, we’re actively expanding our supply channels to mitigate long-term impacts. Importantly, as we continue efforts to stabilize this cash-flow positive Owned and Operated business, it remains a productive driver of our Commerce Media Solutions growth strategy. With the growth of our Commerce Media Solutions business and shifting revenue mix, we anticipate consolidated second quarter revenue to remain in line with the first quarter of 2025." "Overall, we’re encouraged by our progress in the quarter, and with our visibility today, we expect to continue driving meaningful growth in our Commerce Media Solutions business through 2025 as we build a more predictable and valuable business for our shareholders," Mr. Patrick concluded. First Quarter Financial Highlights Business Outlook & Goals Conference Call Fluent, Inc. will host a conference call on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 4:30 PM ET to discuss its 2025 first quarter financial results. The conference call can be accessed by phone after registering online at  https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI2c18ceec43da4e809374edc6b958fefe . The call will also be webcast simultaneously on the Fluent website at https://investors.fluentco.com/ . Following the completion of the earnings call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available for those unable to participate. To listen to the telephone replay, please connect via  https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/qsf7a838 . The replay will be available for one year, via the Fluent website  https://investors.fluentco.com . About Fluent, Inc. Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a commerce media solutions provider connecting top-tier brands with highly engaged consumers. Leveraging exclusive ad inventory, robust first-party data, and proprietary machine learning, Fluent unlocks additional revenue streams for partners and empowers advertisers to acquire their most valuable customers at scale. Founded in 2010, Fluent uses its deep expertise in performance marketing to drive monetization and increase engagement at key touchpoints across the customer journey. For more insights visit  http://www.fluentco.com/ . Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 The matters contained in this press release may be considered to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations or anticipations of Fluent and members of our management team. Factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: These and additional factors to be considered are set forth under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fluent undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations, except as required by law. Definitions, Reconciliations and Uses of Non-GAAP Financial Measures The following non-GAAP measures are used in this release: Media margin is defined as that portion of gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) reflecting variable costs paid for media and related expenses and excluding non-media cost of revenue. Gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) represents revenue minus cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization). Media margin is also presented as a percentage of revenue. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), excluding (1) income taxes, (2) interest expense, net, (3) depreciation and amortization, (4) share-based compensation expense, (5) loss on early extinguishment of debt, (6) accrued compensation expense for put/call consideration, (7) goodwill impairment, (8) impairment of intangible assets, (9) loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment, (10) fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes with related parties, (11) acquisition-related costs, (12) restructuring and other severance costs, and (13) certain litigation and other related costs. Adjusted net income is defined as net income (loss) excluding (1) share-based compensation expense, (2) loss on early extinguishment of debt, (3) accrued compensation expense for put/call consideration, (4) goodwill impairment, (5) impairment of intangible assets, (6) loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment, (7) fair value adjustment of Convertible Notes with related parties (8) acquisition-related costs, (9) restructuring and other severance costs, and (10) certain litigation and other related costs. Adjusted net income is also presented on a per share (basic and diluted) basis. Below is a reconciliation of media margin from gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure. (1) Represents the portion of cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) not attributable to variable costs paid for media and related expenses. Below is a reconciliation of media margin from gross profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, for Commerce Media Solutions. (1) Represents the portion of cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) not attributable to variable costs paid for media and related expenses. Below is a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA from net loss, which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure. Below is a reconciliation of adjusted net income and the related measure of adjusted net income per share from net income (loss), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure. We present media margin, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income as supplemental measures of our financial and operating performance because we believe they provide useful information to investors. More specifically: Media margin, as defined above, is a measure of the efficiency of the Company’s operating model. We use media margin and the related measure of media margin as a percentage of revenue as primary metrics to measure the financial return on our media and related costs, specifically to measure the degree by which the revenue generated from our digital marketing services exceeds the cost to attract the consumers to whom offers are made through our services. Media margin is used extensively by our management to manage our operating performance, including evaluating operational performance against budgeted media margin and understanding the efficiency of our media and related expenditures. We also use media margin for performance evaluations and compensation decisions regarding certain personnel. Adjusted EBITDA, as defined above, is another primary metric by which we evaluate the operating performance of our business, on which certain operating expenditures and internal budgets are based and by which, in addition to media margin and other factors, our senior management is compensated. The first three adjustments represent the conventional definition of EBITDA, and the remaining adjustments are items recognized and recorded under U.S. GAAP in particular periods but might be viewed as not necessarily coinciding with the underlying business operations for the periods in which they are so recognized and recorded. These adjustments include certain litigation and other related costs associated with legal matters outside the ordinary course of business. We consider items one-time in nature if they are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual and have not occurred in the past two years or are not expected to recur in the next two years, in accordance with SEC rules. There were no adjustments for one-time items in the periods presented. Adjusted net income, as defined above, excludes certain items that are recognized and recorded under U.S. GAAP in particular periods but might be viewed as not necessarily coinciding with the underlying business operations for the periods in which they are so recognized and recorded. We believe adjusted net income affords investors a different view of the overall financial performance of the Company than adjusted EBITDA and the U.S. GAAP measure of net (loss) income. Media margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and adjusted net income per share are non-GAAP financial measures with certain limitations regarding their usefulness. They do not reflect our financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, as they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our condensed consolidated statements of operations. Accordingly, these metrics are not indicative of our overall results or indicators of past or future financial performance. Further, they are not financial measures of profitability and are neither intended to be used as a proxy for the profitability of our business nor to imply profitability. The way we measure media margin, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and may not be identical to corresponding measures used in our various agreements. Annual Revenue Run Rate Annual Revenue Run Rate is an operational metric that represents the annualized revenue of the Company’s media partnerships at current monetization levels, as of the end of the reporting period. The Company calculates Annual Revenue Run Rate as follows: The way the Company measures Annual Revenue Run Rate may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies and should not be viewed as a projection of future revenue. Contact Information:  Investor Relations Fluent, Inc. [email protected]

View stock analysis, news, and events for Fluent, Inc.