Comscore Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
"During the third quarter, we announced our transformational ROI strategy, which was designed to realign our business and cost structure, optimize our operations, and invest in higher-potential growth areas. Our team executed against this new operating model with a strong sense of urgency, allowing us to achieve significant cost savings in the quarter," said
Business and Financial Highlights
- Revenue for the third quarter was
$76.2 million compared to$88.9 million in Q3 2025 ($79.4 million in Q3 2025 on a pro forma basis, excluding revenue of$9.5 million from the recently divested Movies business) - Net loss of
$65.5 million compared to net income of$0.5 million in Q3 2025, primarily due to a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of$57.3 million and restructuring costs of$5.5 million in Q3 2026 - Adjusted EBITDA1 of
$5.8 million compared to$11.0 million in Q3 2025 - Reaffirming full year 2026 outlook, with revenue range between
$315 million and$325 million
Third Quarter Summary Results
Revenue in the third quarter was
Core operating expenses, which include cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses, were
Due in part to a decline in the Company's stock price and market capitalization and the implementation of the realignment plan in the third quarter, management performed an interim review of the Company's goodwill, which resulted in a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of
Primarily due to the goodwill impairment charge and restructuring costs, net loss for the quarter was
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of
As of
2026 Outlook
The Company does not provide GAAP net income (loss) or net income (loss) margin on a forward-looking basis because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty its future stock-based compensation expense, fair value adjustments, litigation and restructuring expense, strategic transaction costs, foreign currency transaction impact, and any unusual gains or losses without unreasonable effort. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could be material to results computed in accordance with GAAP. For this reason, the Company is unable without unreasonable effort to provide a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin, on a forward-looking basis.
Conference Call Information for Today,
Management will host a conference call to discuss the results on
About
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal and state securities laws, including, without limitation, the Company's expectations, forecasts, plans and opinions regarding future value creation; the timing, scope and impact of the Company's realignment plan and ROI-based operating model; the amount and potential use of expected cost savings from the realignment plan; planned operational improvements; future growth opportunities and investments; and full year 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from expectations, including, but not limited to, impediments to the Company's ability to execute the realignment plan as currently contemplated; higher-than-expected costs to implement the plan; changes to the assumptions upon which the estimated charges and savings are based; unintended consequences from the plan that could negatively impact the Company's business or strategy; cash flow and liquidity challenges related to plan implementation and the loss of non-strategic revenue; changes in the Company's business, customer or vendor relationships, including evolving restrictions on data collection and matching; litigation and regulatory costs; external market conditions; and the Company's ability to achieve its expected strategic, financial and operational plans. For additional discussion of risk factors, please refer to the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings that the Company makes from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the
Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend or undertake, and expressly disclaims any duty or obligation, to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To provide investors with additional information regarding the Company's financial results, the Company is disclosing in this press release adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, which are non-GAAP financial measures used by management to understand and evaluate the Company's core operating performance and trends. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating the Company's operating results, as they permit investors to view core business performance using the same metrics that management uses to evaluate performance. Nevertheless, the Company's use of these non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under GAAP. Instead, investors should consider these measures alongside GAAP-based financial performance measures, net income (loss), net income (loss) margin, various cash flow metrics, and the Company's other GAAP financial results. Set forth below are reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin. These reconciliations should be carefully evaluated.
| Media |
| Marie Scoutas |
| (917) 213-2032 |
| Press@comscore.com |
| Investors |
| (617) 466-9257 |
| Investor@comscore.com |
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
| As of | As of | ||||||
| (In thousands, except share and per share data) | (Unaudited) | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 19,280 | $ | 23,621 | |||
| Restricted cash | 197 | 3,179 | |||||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowances of |
39,432 | 57,260 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 16,065 | 12,210 | |||||
| Total current assets | 74,974 | 96,270 | |||||
| Property and equipment, net | 38,616 | 43,714 | |||||
| Operating right-of-use assets | 4,062 | 8,565 | |||||
| Deferred tax assets | 2,628 | 3,154 | |||||
| Intangible assets, net | 632 | 2,529 | |||||
| 127,870 | 248,636 | ||||||
| Other non-current assets | 6,231 | 4,841 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 255,013 | $ | 407,709 | |||
| Liabilities, Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Equity | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 22,482 | $ | 16,956 | |||
| Accrued expenses | 42,059 | 44,879 | |||||
| Contract liabilities | 31,438 | 36,575 | |||||
| Customer advances | 4,499 | 7,605 | |||||
| Current operating lease liabilities | 6,234 | 8,783 | |||||
| Other current liabilities | 5,066 | 8,093 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 111,778 | 122,891 | |||||
| Secured term loan | — | 39,297 | |||||
| Non-current operating lease liabilities | 803 | 6,238 | |||||
| Non-current portion of accrued data costs | 19,553 | 24,917 | |||||
| Deferred tax liabilities | — | 1,997 | |||||
| Non-current payable to preferred stockholders | 4,920 | 4,457 | |||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 3,955 | 6,751 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 141,009 | 206,548 | |||||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||||
| Series C convertible redeemable preferred stock, |
89,654 | 89,722 | |||||
| Stockholders' equity: | |||||||
| Preferred stock, |
— | — | |||||
| Common stock, |
15 | 15 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 1,784,117 | 1,781,265 | |||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (13,275 | ) | (9,862 | ) | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,516,523 | ) | (1,429,995 | ) | |||
| (229,984 | ) | (229,984 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders' equity | 24,350 | 111,439 | |||||
| Total liabilities, convertible redeemable preferred stock and stockholders' equity | $ | 255,013 | $ | 407,709 | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except share and per share data) | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 76,158 | $ | 88,906 | $ | 240,726 | $ | 264,004 | |||||||
| Cost of revenues (1) (2) | 47,324 | 52,783 | 151,294 | 157,629 | |||||||||||
| Selling and marketing (1) (2) | 11,262 | 14,551 | 41,696 | 46,017 | |||||||||||
| Research and development (1) (2) | 6,456 | 7,184 | 21,396 | 23,106 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative (1) (2) | 14,566 | 12,050 | 42,344 | 37,397 | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 633 | 633 | 1,897 | 1,897 | |||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 57,300 | — | 57,300 | — | |||||||||||
| Restructuring | 5,496 | — | 5,496 | — | |||||||||||
| (Gain) loss on divestiture of business, net | (116 | ) | — | 2,566 | — | ||||||||||
| Total expenses from operations | 142,921 | 87,201 | 323,989 | 266,046 | |||||||||||
| (Loss) income from operations | (66,763 | ) | 1,705 | (83,263 | ) | (2,042 | ) | ||||||||
| Other income, net | 1,256 | — | 1,673 | — | |||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | (171 | ) | (1,699 | ) | (2,942 | ) | (5,010 | ) | |||||||
| (Loss) gain from foreign currency transactions | (266 | ) | 136 | 1,494 | (5,410 | ) | |||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — | — | (3,970 | ) | — | ||||||||||
| (Loss) income before income taxes | (65,944 | ) | 142 | (87,008 | ) | (12,462 | ) | ||||||||
| Income tax benefit (provision) | 449 | 311 | 480 | (570 | ) | ||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (65,495 | ) | $ | 453 | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (13,032 | ) | ||||
| Net loss available to common stockholders: | |||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (65,495 | ) | $ | 453 | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (13,032 | ) | ||||
| Convertible redeemable preferred stock dividends | — | (4,971 | ) | — | (13,904 | ) | |||||||||
| Total net loss available to common stockholders | $ | (65,495 | ) | $ | (4,518 | ) | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (26,936 | ) | |||
| Net loss per common share: | |||||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted | $ | (4.26 | ) | $ | (0.86 | ) | $ | (5.67 | ) | $ | (5.24 | ) | |||
| Weighted-average number of shares used in per share calculation - Common Stock: | |||||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted | 15,387,694 | 5,252,039 | 15,257,019 | 5,136,696 | |||||||||||
| Comprehensive (loss) income: | |||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | (65,495 | ) | $ | 453 | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (13,032 | ) | ||||
| Other comprehensive (loss) income: | |||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment | (479 | ) | (325 | ) | (2,968 | ) | 7,590 | ||||||||
| Total comprehensive (loss) income | $ | (65,974 | ) | $ | 128 | $ | (89,496 | ) | $ | (5,442 | ) | ||||
| (1) Excludes amortization of intangible assets, which is presented as a separate line item. | |||||||||||||||
| (2) Stock-based compensation expense is included in the line items above as follows: | |||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 75 | $ | 54 | $ | 145 | $ | 615 | |||||||
| Selling and marketing | 9 | 17 | 140 | 524 | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 47 | 31 | 83 | 367 | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 842 | 275 | 1,341 | 1,357 | |||||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation expense | $ | 973 | $ | 377 | $ | 1,709 | $ | 2,863 | |||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
| Nine Months Ended |
|||||||
| (In thousands) | 2026 | 2025 | |||||
| Operating activities: | |||||||
| Net loss | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (13,032 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 57,300 | — | |||||
| Depreciation | 17,239 | 17,650 | |||||
| Non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt | 3,477 | — | |||||
| Non-cash operating lease expense | 3,268 | 3,744 | |||||
| Amortization expense of finance leases | 2,744 | 2,794 | |||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 1,897 | 1,897 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 1,709 | 2,863 | |||||
| Gain on divestiture of business | (1,294 | ) | — | ||||
| Deferred tax (benefit) provision | (1,865 | ) | 520 | ||||
| Unrealized foreign currency (gain) loss | (2,158 | ) | 4,788 | ||||
| Other | 1,639 | 1,984 | |||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts receivable | 16,481 | 13,990 | |||||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | (1,559 | ) | 504 | ||||
| Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities | 5,487 | (3,214 | ) | ||||
| Contract liabilities and customer advances | (5,567 | ) | (8,454 | ) | |||
| Operating lease liabilities | (6,577 | ) | (6,545 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 5,693 | 19,489 | |||||
| Investing activities: | |||||||
| Proceeds from divestiture of business, net of cash transferred | 55,740 | — | |||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | (756 | ) | (649 | ) | |||
| Capitalized internal-use software costs | (16,689 | ) | (16,757 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 38,295 | (17,406 | ) | ||||
| Financing activities: | |||||||
| Principal payments of term loan | (44,550 | ) | (338 | ) | |||
| Principal payments on finance leases | (3,001 | ) | (2,978 | ) | |||
| Principal payments on insurance financing | (1,957 | ) | (1,796 | ) | |||
| Payment of preferred stock and common stock issuance costs | (1,219 | ) | — | ||||
| Contingent consideration payment at initial value | — | (859 | ) | ||||
| Payment of financing and debt issuance costs | — | (559 | ) | ||||
| Other | (503 | ) | (6 | ) | |||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (51,230 | ) | (6,536 | ) | |||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (81 | ) | 868 | ||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (7,323 | ) | (3,585 | ) | |||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period | 26,800 | 33,468 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 19,477 | $ | 29,883 | |||
| As of |
|||||||
| 2026 |
2025 |
||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 19,280 | $ | 26,705 | |||
| Restricted cash | 197 | 3,178 | |||||
| Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 19,477 | $ | 29,883 | |||
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The following table presents a reconciliation of GAAP net (loss) income and net (loss) income margin to non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for each of the periods identified:
| Three Months Ended |
Nine Months Ended |
||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2026 (Unaudited) | 2025 (Unaudited) | 2026 (Unaudited) | 2025 (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| GAAP net (loss) income | $ | (65,495 | ) | $ | 453 | $ | (86,528 | ) | $ | (13,032 | ) | ||||
| Depreciation | 5,490 | 5,976 | 17,239 | 17,650 | |||||||||||
| Amortization expense of finance leases | 906 | 937 | 2,744 | 2,794 | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 633 | 633 | 1,897 | 1,897 | |||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 171 | 1,699 | 2,942 | 5,010 | |||||||||||
| Income tax (benefit) provision | (449 | ) | (311 | ) | (480 | ) | 570 | ||||||||
| EBITDA | (58,744 | ) | 9,387 | (62,186 | ) | 14,889 | |||||||||
| Adjustments: | |||||||||||||||
| Impairment of goodwill | 57,300 | — | 57,300 | — | |||||||||||
| Restructuring | 5,496 | — | 5,496 | — | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 973 | 377 | 1,709 | 2,863 | |||||||||||
| Strategic transaction costs (1) | 588 | 538 | 2,909 | 538 | |||||||||||
| Loss (gain) from foreign currency transactions | 266 | (136 | ) | (1,494 | ) | 5,410 | |||||||||
| Transformation costs (2) | 31 | 507 | 1,203 | 2,549 | |||||||||||
| Amortization of cloud-computing implementation costs | 25 | 362 | 735 | 1,071 | |||||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — | — | 3,970 | — | |||||||||||
| (Gain) loss on divestiture of business, net | (116 | ) | — | 2,566 | — | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA | $ | 5,819 | $ | 11,035 | $ | 12,208 | $ | 27,320 | |||||||
| Net (loss) income margin (3) | (86.0) % | 0.5 | % | (35.9) % | (4.9) % | ||||||||||
| Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin (4) | 7.6 | % | 12.4 | % | 5.1 | % | 10.3 | % | |||||||
(1) Strategic transaction costs represent third-party professional fees and other charges incurred in connection with strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, financings and dispositions, regardless of whether consummated, which the Company otherwise would not have incurred as part of its normal business operations.
(2) Transformation costs represent (1) expenses incurred prior to formal launch of identified strategic projects with anticipated long-term benefits to the Company, generally relating to third-party professional fees and non-capitalizable technology costs tied directly to the identified projects and (2) severance costs associated with the reorganization of teams in connection with the identified projects.
(3) Net (loss) income margin is calculated by dividing net (loss) income by revenues reported on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the applicable period.
(4) Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenues reported on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the applicable period.
Revenues
Revenues from the Company's offerings of products and services are as follows:
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2026 (Unaudited) | % of Revenue | 2025 (Unaudited) | % of Revenue | $ Variance | % Variance | |||||||||||
| Content & Ad Measurement | |||||||||||||||||
| Syndicated Audience (1) | $ | 52,442 | 68.9 | % | $ | 63,220 | 71.1 | % | $ | (10,778 | ) | (17.0) % | |||||
| Cross-Platform | 12,186 | 16.0 | % | 12,299 | 13.8 | % | (113 | ) | (0.9) % | ||||||||
| Total Content & Ad Measurement | 64,628 | 84.9 | % | 75,519 | 84.9 | % | (10,891 | ) | (14.4) % | ||||||||
| Research & |
11,530 | 15.1 | % | 13,387 | 15.1 | % | (1,857 | ) | (13.9) % | ||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 76,158 | 100.0 | % | $ | 88,906 | 100.0 | % | $ | (12,748 | ) | (14.3) % | |||||
| (1) Syndicated Audience revenue includes revenue from the Movies business of |
|||||||||||||||||
| Nine Months Ended |
||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2026 (Unaudited) | % of Revenue | 2025 (Unaudited) | % of Revenue | $ Variance | % Variance | ||||||||||||
| Content & Ad Measurement | ||||||||||||||||||
| Syndicated Audience (1) | $ | 168,202 | 69.9 | % | $ | 190,677 | 72.2 | % | $ | (22,475 | ) | (11.8) % | ||||||
| Cross-Platform | 37,316 | 15.5 | % | 34,761 | 13.2 | % | 2,555 | 7.4 | % | |||||||||
| Total Content & Ad Measurement | 205,518 | 85.4 | % | 225,438 | 85.4 | % | (19,920 | ) | (8.8) % | |||||||||
| Research & |
35,208 | 14.6 | % | 38,566 | 14.6 | % | (3,358 | ) | (8.7) % | |||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 240,726 | 100.0 | % | $ | 264,004 | 100.0 | % | $ | (23,278 | ) | (8.8) % | ||||||
| (1) Syndicated Audience revenue includes revenue from the Movies business, which decreased from |
||||||||||||||||||
1 Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP measures defined in the "Third Quarter Summary Results" section and are reconciled to net income (loss) and net income (loss) margin in the addendum of this release.
Source: Comscore, Inc.