• Outbrain, a content recommendation and discovery platform, reported its Q4 2021 and full-year (FY2021) results. The firm achieved a revenue of USD 290 million (18% YoY growth) for Q4 2021. This growth was driven by both existing users, which contributed ~USD 26 million, as well as new users, which contributed ~USD 18 million. For FY2021, revenue reached USD 1.01 billion (32% YoY growth).

• During the quarter, the firm’s adjusted EBITDA was USD 23.9 million (13% YoY growth), which was above the firm’s guidance provided in Q3 2021. The growth was mainly due to higher ex-TAC (excluding acquisition costs) revenue growth, partially offset by increased operating expenses as a result of growth investments and costs of operating as a public company. For FY2021, adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to USD 88.9 million (compared with USD 41.1 million in FY 2020).  

• The firm reported that its acquisition of Vi, a contextual video analytics platform, announced in Q4 2021, was completed in January 2022. The firm also stated that Smartlogic, a proprietary webfeed personalization tool has been deployed in 70% of Outbrain’s mobile web feeds and they are now beginning its desktop deployment. 

• For the full year of 2022, the firm revised its ex-TAC gross profit target to between USD 324 million and USD 332 million (~21% YoY growth at the midpoint) compared with Q3 2021’s guidance of USD 269.9 million and USD 271.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA target was revised to between USD 94 million and USD 103 million (~11% YoY growth at the midpoint) compared with USD 87.5 million and USD 88.5 million. 

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: The firm’s guidance for 2022E, which expects double-digit growth in gross profit and EBITDA on the back of a strong year, reflects the management’s confidence in its ability to capitalize on its technology investments, such as its AI-based marketing campaign automation tool , as well as in realizing the full potential of its acquisition of Vi , which is expected to give Outbrain an edge over its peers with respect to video advertising, a fast-growing segment.</ul>