• AcuityAds, an AdTech firm that provides customer data insights, reported its second-quarter financial performance (Q2 2022). The firm achieved a revenue of USD 28.3 million (7% YoY dip) for Q2 2022, 7% below analyst estimates. The firm stated that the dip in revenue was expected given its transition away from its legacy solutions toward its customer journey analytics platform “Illumin,” which recorded a 96% YoY growth and added six new clients during the quarter and accounted for 36% of overall revenue. The management also stated that Illumin’s self-serve revenue grew by 94% QoQ, while the number of self-serve clients grew by 24% QoQ during the period.

• During the quarter, the firm recorded an adjusted EBITDA of USD 1.5 million (compared with 5.4 million in Q2 2021) due to higher sales, marketing, and R&D expenses relating to the further development of its Illumin platform. However, net income per share was USD 0.02 (compared with USD 0.06 in Q2 2021), which was above analyst expectations of a loss of USD 0.02 per share. This was primarily due to a USD 3.2 million foreign exchange gain in Q2 2022 (compared with a gain of USD 1.3 million in Q2 2021). 

• The firm’s share price rose by ~19% subsequent to the release of its earnings report.    

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: While revenue dipped for a second consecutive quarter , the strong growth in Illumin’s self-serve revenue is a noteworthy development and indicates that the management investments in a dedicated sales team to focus on self-serve activities are beginning to yield results. This is likely to improve the scalability of its product with the potential for expanding margins and improving its bottom line performance. These sentiments are likely to have contributed to the noteworthy rise in its stock price after having hit a 21-month low during the previous quarter. </ul>