Shutterstock Inc.
02/25/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/25/2025 06:11
Annual Report for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2024 (Form 10-K)
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this filing. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements including statements about our plans, estimates and beliefs. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. See "Forward Looking Statements" above. See also the "Risk Factors" disclosure in Item 1A above for additional discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements.
Merger Agreement with Getty Images
On January 6, 2025, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") to combine in a merger-of-equals transaction with Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GETY) ("Getty Images") (such transaction referred to herein as the "Merger"). Subject to terms and conditions in the Merger Agreement, the aggregate consideration to be paid by Getty Images in respect of the outstanding shares of common stock of Shutterstock will be:
(a)An amount in cash equal to the product of $9.50 multiplied by the number of shares of Shutterstock common stock outstanding immediately prior to the transaction close (including vested Shutterstock restricted stock units and performance stock units); and
(b)A number of shares of Getty Images common stock equal to the product of 9.17 multiplied by the number of shares of Shutterstock common stock outstanding immediately prior to the transaction close (including vested Shutterstock restricted stock units and performance stock units).
Each holder of Shutterstock common stock immediately prior to the transaction close will have the option to receive, subject to proration, for each share of Shutterstock common stock held by such holder:
(a)Cash consideration of $9.50 and 9.17 shares of Getty Images common stock;
(b)Cash consideration of $28.8487; or
(c)13.67237 shares of Getty Images common stock.
The Merger is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, further described below, including receipt of required regulatory approvals, the approval of Getty Images and Shutterstock stockholders and the extension or refinancing of Getty Images' existing debt obligations. Subject to the satisfaction of the closing conditions, upon closing of the Merger, Shutterstock's common stock will be delisted from the NYSE and deregistered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The closing of the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions, including:
•adoption of the Merger Agreement by Shutterstock stockholders (the "Shutterstock Stockholder Approval") and the Getty Images Stockholder Approval, which condition was subsequently satisfied by the Getty Images Stockholder Written Consent,
•Getty Images' registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed in connection with the Merger having become effective and the mailing of an information statement to Getty Images stockholders at least 20 business days prior to the closing,
•absence of any order, injunction or other order or law in certain jurisdictions prohibiting the Merger or making the closing of the Merger illegal,
•expiration of the applicable waiting period (and extensions thereof) under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the receipt of other regulatory approvals deemed necessary or advisable,
•shares of Getty Images Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Merger having been approved for listing on the NYSE,
•accuracy of each party's representations and warranties, subject to certain standards set forth in the Merger Agreement,
•performance and compliance in all material respects of each party's agreements and covenants under the Merger Agreement,
•absence of any Getty Images material adverse effect or Shutterstock material adverse effect, as applicable and subject to the definition thereof in the Merger Agreement,
•delivery of an opinion of tax counsel that the Second Merger and the Third Merger as defined in the Merger Agreement, taken together, will qualify as a "reorganization" within the meaning of section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and
•Getty Images having amended or otherwise refinanced its existing term loans and senior notes to extend the maturity of each to no earlier than February 19, 2028 (the "Existing Debt Modifications").
Overview and Other Recent Developments
Shutterstock is a leading global creative platform connecting brands and businesses to high quality content.
Our platform brings together users and contributors of content by providing readily-searchable content that our customers pay to license and by compensating contributors as their content is licensed. Contributors upload their content to our web properties in exchange for royalty payments based on customer download activity. Beyond content, customers also leverage our platform to assist with the entire creative process from ideation through creative execution.
Digital content licensed to our customers for their creative needs includes images, footage, music, and 3D models (our "Content" offering). Our Content revenues represent the majority of our business and are supported by our searchable creative platform and driven by our large contributor network.
In addition, our customers have needs that are beyond traditional content license products and services. These include (i) licenses to metadata associated with our images, footage, music tracks and 3D models through our data offering, (ii) distribution and advertising services from our Giphy business, which consists of GIFs (graphics interchange format visuals) that serve as a critical ingredient in text- and message- based conversations and in contextual advertising settings, (iii) specialized solutions for high-quality content matched with production tools and services through Shutterstock Studios and (iv) other tailored white-glove services (collectively, our "Data, Distribution, and Services" offerings).
The Company's Content and Data, Distribution, and Services offering revenues are as follows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Content | $ | 760,011 | $ | 737,264 | $ | 789,306 | ||||||||||||||
| Data, Distribution, and Services | 175,251 | 137,323 | 38,520 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 935,262 | $ | 874,587 | $ | 827,826 | ||||||||||||||
Our Content Offering:
Our Content offering include:
•Images - consisting of photographs, vectors and illustrations. Images are typically used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications and other similar uses.
•Footage - consisting of video clips, premium footage filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects, available in HD and 4K formats. Footage is often integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns and cinematic productions.
•Music - consisting of high-quality music tracks and sound effects, which are often used to complement images and footage.
•3 Dimensional ("3D") Models - consisting of 3D models, used in a variety of industries such as advertising, media and video production, gaming, retail, education, design and architecture.
•Generative AI Content - consisting of images generated from algorithms trained with high-quality, ethically sourced content. Customers can generate images by entering a description of their desired content into model prompts.
Our Content is distributed to customers under the following brands: Shutterstock; Pond5; TurboSquid; PicMonkey; PremiumBeat; Splash News; Bigstock; Envato; and Offset.
Shutterstock, our flagship brand, includes various content types such as image, footage, music and editorial. For customers seeking specialized solutions, Shutterstock Studios extends our offerings by providing custom, high-quality content matched with production tools and services at scale.
Pond5 is a video-first content marketplace which expands the Company's content offerings across footage, image and music. TurboSquid operates a marketplace that offers more than one million 3D models and a 2 dimensional ("2D") marketplace derived from 3D objects. PicMonkey is a leading online graphic design and image editing platform. PremiumBeat offers exclusive high-quality music tracks and provides producers, filmmakers and marketers the ability to search handpicked production music from the world's leading composers. Splash News provides editorial image and video content across celebrity and red carpet events. Bigstock maintains a separate content library tailored for creators seeking to incorporate cost-effective imagery into their projects. Our Offset brand provides authentic and exceptional content for high-impact use cases that require extraordinary images, featuring work from top assignment photographers and illustrators from around the world.
Over 4.0 million active, paying customers contributed to our revenue in 2024. Our contributors made their images, footage and music tracks available in our collection, which has grown to 800 million images and 59 million footage clips as of December 31, 2024. This makes our collection of content one of the largest of its kind, and we delivered 134.3 million paid downloads to our customers across all of our brands during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Contributors of Content typically earn a royalty each time their work is licensed. Content contributors generally earn royalties based on our published earnings schedule that is based on annual licensing volume, which determines the contributor's earnings tier and the purchase option under which the content was licensed. Royalties represent the largest component of our operating expenses, are reported within cost of revenue, tend to fluctuate proportionately with revenue and paid downloads and may be impacted by the mix of products sold.
As the use cases for our creative solutions expand, we believe our customers are seeking alternative means to consume our offerings. As a result, we have seen demand for our monthly subscription products. Our monthly subscriptions provide for either a fixed number of content licenses or credits that may be used to download content during the period. Our subscription-based pricing model makes the creative process easier because customers can download content in our collection for use in their creative process without incremental costs, which provides greater creative freedom and helps improve work product. In addition, customers may also purchase licenses through other contractual plans where the customer commits to buy a predetermined quantity of content licenses that may be downloaded over a period of time, generally between one month to one year. For users who need less content, individual content licenses may also be purchased on a transactional basis, paid for at the time of download.
Our Data, Distribution, and Services offering address customer demand for products and services that are beyond our Content licenses. These products and services include, among other things, the use of our metadata, leveraging our Giphy, Inc. platform, and customized Shutterstock Studios offerings.
We have seen increased demand for access to our metadata for machine learning and generative artificial intelligence model training. We offer ethically sourced and licenseable metadata at industry leading scales and quality. Our metadata customer base ranges from large technology and media companies to smaller start-up organizations.
In 2023, we completed our acquisition of Giphy, Inc. ("Giphy"). Giphy is a content platform that allows users to personalize casual conversations with GIFs, and generates billions of monthly impressions through over 14,000 API partners. We believe customers in all industries will look to use Giphy in marketing campaigns as another advertising outlet.
In 2024, we completed the acquisitions of Backgrid and Envato. The Company believes that Backgrid expands Shutterstock Editorial's Newsroom offerings of editorial images, and Envato enhances digital creative assets and templates.
Our Data, Distribution, and Services offering also includes high-quality production and custom content at scale provided by Shutterstock Studios ("Studios"). Studios is a cost-effective solution for brands and agencies looking to meet their content needs and create fresh dynamic digital assets. Customers can bring an idea, and our Studios team will provide a 360-degree content creation solution. We offer a whole spectrum of services at pre-production, production, live production and post-production stages.
Key Operating Metrics
In addition to key financial metrics, we regularly review a number of key operating metrics to evaluate our business, determine the allocation of resources and make decisions regarding business strategies. We believe that these metrics can be useful for understanding the underlying trends in our business.
Subscribers, subscriber revenue and average revenue per customer from acquisitions are included in these metrics beginning twelve months after the closing of the respective business combination. Accordingly, the metrics include Subscribers, Subscriber revenue, and Average revenue per customer from Pond5 and Splash News beginning May 2023, and for Average Revenue per Customer, from Giphy beginning July 2024. These metrics exclude the respective counts and revenues from Backgrid and Envato.
Subscribers
We define subscribers as those customers who purchase one or more of our monthly recurring products for a continuous period of at least three months, measured as of the end of the reporting period. We believe the number of subscribers is an important metric that provides insight into our monthly recurring business. We believe that an increase in our number of subscribers is an indicator of engagement in our platform and potential for future growth.
Subscriber Revenue
We define subscriber revenue as the revenue generated from subscribers during the period. We believe subscriber revenue, together with our number of subscribers, provide insight into the portion of our business driven by our monthly recurring products.
Average Revenue Per Customer
Average revenue per customer is calculated by dividing total revenue for the last twelve-month period by customers. We define customers as total active, paying customers that contributed to total revenue over the last twelve-month period. Changes in our average revenue per customer will be driven by changes in the mix of our subscription-based and transactional products as well as pricing in our transactional business.
Paid Downloads
We define paid downloads as the number of downloads that our customers make in a given period of our content. Paid downloads exclude content related to our Studios business, downloads of content that are offered to customers for no charge (including our free trials), and downloads associated with our data offering. Measuring the number of paid downloads that our customers make in a given period is important because it is a measure of customer engagement on our platform and triggers the recognition of revenue and contributor royalties.
The following table summarizes our key operating metrics, which are unaudited, for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022:
___________________________________________________
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Shutterstock1
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Envato2
|
Pro Forma3
|
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| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subscribers (end of period) | 459,000 | 629,000 | 1,088,000 | 523,000 | 586,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subscriber revenue (in millions) | $ | 318.6 | $ | 134.0 | $ | 452.6 | $ | 351.5 | $ | 346.6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Average revenue per customer (last twelve months) | $ | 450 | $ | 90 | $ | 255 | $ | 412 | $ | 341 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Paid downloads (in millions) | 134.3 | 322.4 | 456.7 | 153.0 | 173.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1Represents Shutterstock, Inc. key operating metrics before combining the Envato related metrics. Subscribers, Subscriber Revenue and Average Revenue Per Customer from acquisitions are included in these metrics beginning twelve months after the closing of the respective business combination. Accordingly, the metrics include Subscribers, Subscriber revenue, and Average revenue per customer from Pond5 and Splash News beginning May 2023, and for Average Revenue per Customer, from Giphy beginning July 2024. These metrics exclude the respective counts and revenues from our acquisitions of Backgrid and Envato.
2Envato Subscribers and Subscriber Revenue are presented as if Envato was acquired as of the beginning of the period presented, and represent metrics incremental to amounts presented under the "Shutterstock, Inc." heading. Envato Average revenue per customer is derived from Envato historical results over the last twelve months.
3 The Pro Forma key operating metrics are derived from (i) the Shutterstock amounts before combining with Envato and (ii) the historical Envato metrics, as discussed in footnote 2 above.
Basis of Presentation
Revenue
A significant portion of our revenues are earned from licensing content. Content licenses are generally purchased on a monthly or annual basis, whereby a customer pays for a predetermined quantity of content that may be downloaded over a specific period of time, or, on a transactional basis, whereby a customer pays for individual content licenses at the time of download. We also generate revenue from tools made available through our platform.
For contracts that contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation based on a relative standalone selling price. The standalone selling price is determined based on the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately, or if not observable through past transactions, is estimated taking into account available information including internally approved pricing guidelines and pricing information of comparable products.
We recognize revenue upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. We recognize revenue on both our subscription-based and transaction-based products when content is downloaded by a customer, at which time the license is provided. In addition, for subscription-based products in which the customer obtains an allotted number of digital assets to download, we estimate expected unused licenses and recognize the revenue associated with the unused licenses as digital assets are downloaded and licenses are obtained for such content by the customer during the subscription period. The estimate of unused licenses is based on historical download activity and future changes in the estimate could impact the timing of revenue recognition of our subscription products. For unlimited download subscription-based products, we recognize revenue in a manner that reflects estimated content download patterns during the subscription period. The estimate of content download patterns is based on historical download activities from the unlimited download products. Revenue associated with tools available through our platform is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period. We expense contract acquisition costs as incurred, to the extent that the amortization period would otherwise be one year or less.
For customers making electronic payments, collectability is probable at the time the order or contract is entered. A significant portion of our customers purchase products by making electronic payments with a credit card at the time of the transaction. Customer payments received in advance of revenue recognition are contract liabilities and are recorded as deferred revenue. Customers that do not pay in advance are invoiced and are required to make payments under standard credit terms. Collectability for customers who pay on credit terms allowing for payment beyond the date at which service commences, is based on a credit evaluation for certain new customers and transaction history with existing customers.
We recognize revenue gross of contributor royalties because we are the principal in the transaction as we are the party responsible for the performance obligation and control the product or service before transferring it to the customer. We also license content to customers through third-party resellers, who are our direct customers. Third-party resellers sell our products directly to end users as the principal in those transactions. Accordingly, we recognize revenue net of costs paid to resellers.
We also report revenue net of return and chargeback allowances. These allowances are based off historical trends when available.
Costs and Expenses
Cost of Revenue.Cost of revenue consists of royalties paid to contributors, credit card processing fees, content review costs, customer service expenses, infrastructure and hosting costs related to maintaining our creative platform and cloud-based software platform, depreciation and amortization of capitalized internal-use software, purchased content and acquisition-related intangible assets, allocated facility costs and other supporting overhead costs. Cost of revenue also includes employee compensation, including non-cash equity-based compensation, bonuses and benefits associated with the maintenance of our creative platform and cloud-based software platform.
Sales and Marketing.Sales and marketing expenses include third-party marketing, advertising, branding, public relations and sales expenses. Sales and marketing expenses also include associated employee compensation, including non-cash equity-based compensation, bonuses and benefits, and commissions as well as allocated facility and other supporting overhead costs.
Product Development.Product development expenses consist of employee compensation, including non-cash equity-based compensation, bonuses and benefits, and expenses related to vendors engaged in product management, design, development and testing of our websites and products. Product development costs also includes software and other IT equipment costs, allocated facility expenses and other supporting overhead costs.
General and Administrative.General and administrative expenses include employee compensation, including non-cash equity-based compensation, bonuses and benefits for executive, finance, accounting, legal, human resources, internal information technology, internet security, business intelligence and other administrative personnel. In addition, general and
administrative expenses include outside legal, tax and accounting services, bad debt expense, insurance, facilities costs, other supporting overhead costs and depreciation and amortization expense.
Impairment of Lease and Related Assets. Impairment of lease and related assets includes impairment charges related to a portion of the Company's right-of-use assets and property and equipment triggered by the decision to cease using certain office spaces.
Bargain Purchase Gain. A bargain purchase gain is recognized subsequent to an acquisition, if the fair value of the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed exceeds the net consideration.
Interest Expense. Interest expense consists of interest on our debt and amortization of deferred financing fees.
Other Income / (Expense), Net. Other income / (expense), net consists of non-operating costs such as foreign currency transaction gains and losses, in addition to unrealized gains and losses on investments and interest income and expense.
Income Taxes.We compute income taxes using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted statutory income tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce net deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the periods indicated. The period-to-period comparisons of results are not necessarily indicative of results for future periods.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Operations: | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 935,262 | $ | 874,587 | $ | 827,826 | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 396,297 | 352,630 | 314,306 | ||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 222,704 | 214,749 | 203,154 | ||||||||||||||
| Product development | 88,417 | 96,162 | 65,434 | ||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 159,136 | 142,646 | 132,644 | ||||||||||||||
| Impairment of lease and related assets | - | - | 18,664 | ||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 866,554 | 806,187 | 734,202 | ||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 68,708 | 68,400 | 93,624 | ||||||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | - | 50,261 | - | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (10,561) | (1,857) | (1,336) | ||||||||||||||
| Other income / (expense), net | 4,401 | 5,664 | (1,251) | ||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 62,548 | 122,468 | 91,037 | ||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 26,616 | 12,199 | 14,934 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 35,932 | $ | 110,269 | $ | 76,103 | |||||||||||
The following table presents the components of our results of operations for the periods indicated as a percentage of revenue:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Operations: | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 42 | % | 40 | % | 38 | % | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 24 | % | 25 | % | 25 | % | |||||||||||
| Product development | 9 | % | 11 | % | 8 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 17 | % | 16 | % | 16 | % | |||||||||||
| Impairment of lease and related assets | - | % | - | % | 2 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 93 | % | 92 | % | 89 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 7 | % | 8 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | - | % | 6 | % | - | % | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | (1) | % | - | % | - | % | |||||||||||
| Other income / (expense), net | - | % | 1 | % | - | % | |||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 7 | % | 14 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 3 | % | 1 | % | 2 | % | |||||||||||
| Net income | 4 | % | 13 | % | 9 | % | |||||||||||
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023
The following table presents our results of operations for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 935,262 | $ | 874,587 | $ | 60,675 | 7 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 396,297 | 352,630 | 43,667 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 222,704 | 214,749 | 7,955 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Product development | 88,417 | 96,162 | (7,745) | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 159,136 | 142,646 | 16,490 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 866,554 | 806,187 | 60,367 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 68,708 | 68,400 | 308 | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | - | 50,261 | (50,261) | * | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (10,561) | (1,857) | (8,704) | 469 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 4,401 | 5,664 | (1,263) | (22) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 62,548 | 122,468 | (59,920) | (49) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 26,616 | 12,199 | 14,417 | 118 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 35,932 | $ | 110,269 | $ | (74,337) | (67) | % | |||||||||||||||
* Not meaningful
Revenue
Revenue increased by $60.7 million, or 7%, to $935.3 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. Foreign currency fluctuations did not have a significant impact on our revenue in the year ended December 31, 2024.
Our Content revenues increased by 3%, to $760.0 million in 2024, as compared to 2023. Foreign currency fluctuations did not have a significant impact on our Content license revenues in 2024. The increase in our Content license revenues was driven by revenue from Envato, which was acquired on July 22, 2024.
Our Data, Distribution, and Services revenues increased by 28%, to $175.3 million in 2024, as compared to 2023. Foreign currency fluctuations did not have a significant impact on our Data, Distribution, and Services revenues in 2024. The increase in Data, Distribution, and Services revenues was primarily driven by growth in our data offering, which grew 15% in the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, as well as growth in our Distribution and Services offerings.
Changes in our revenue by region were as follows: revenue from North America increased by $46.9 million, or 11%, to $474.7 million; revenue from Europe increased by $14.6 million, or 6%, to $245.7 million; and revenue from outside Europe and North America remained relatively flat, decreasing by $0.9 million to $214.9 million, in the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 2023.
Cost and Expenses
Cost of Revenue.Cost of revenue increased by $43.7 million, or 12%, to $396.3 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. As a percent of revenue, cost of revenues increased to 42% for the year ended December 31, 2024, from 40% for 2023. This increase was driven by increased royalty and content costs, costs associated with website hosting, hardware and software licenses, employee related costs, and depreciation and amortization driven by the acquisition of Envato. We expect that our cost of revenue will continue to fluctuate in line with changes in revenue.
Sales and Marketing.Sales and marketing expenses increased by $8.0 million, or 4%, to $222.7 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. As a percent of revenue, sales and marketing expenses decreased to 24% for the year ended December 31, 2024, from 25% for the same period in 2023.This increase was driven by increases in employee-related costs, occupancy expenses, and other administrative expenses, partially offset by a decline in performance marketing spend and consulting expenses. In addition, there were $4.3 million and $0.6 million increases from recurring and non-recurring Giphy Retention
Compensation, respectively. We expect sales and marketing expenses to continue to fluctuate as we optimize our sales channels and invest in new customer acquisition, products and geographies.
Product Development.Product development expenses decreased by $7.7 million, or 8%, to $88.4 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. The decrease in product development was driven by decreases in outside consultant expenses and employee-related costs. This was partially offset by an increase in software licenses. In addition, there was a $1.3 million increase and a $4.8 million decrease from recurring and non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation expenses, respectively. We expect product development expenses, of which a portion will be capitalized, to continue in the foreseeable future, as we pursue opportunities to invest in developing new products and internal tools and enhance the functionality of our existing products and technologies.
General and Administrative.General and administrative expenses increased by $16.5 million, or 12%, to $159.1 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. The increase was driven by an increase in professional fees associated with the acquisitions of Envato and Backgrid, consisting of $7.6 million of transaction costs, and increases in employee-related costs and software licenses driven by the acquisition of Envato. This was partially offset by a decrease in bad debt expense. In addition, there was a $0.1 million decrease and a $2.6 million decrease from recurring and non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation expenses, respectively.
Bargain Purchase Gain. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a bargain purchase gain of $50.3 million related to the acquisition of Giphy, which represents the excess of the fair value of the net assets acquired in addition to the net negative purchase price.
Interest Expense. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we recognized interest expense of $10.6 million and $1.9 million, respectively related to our credit facility and the amortization of deferred financing fees. Interest expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 increased due to borrowings under the A&R Credit Agreement entered into during the quarter ended September 30, 2024 to fund the acquisition of Envato.
Other Income, Net. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, other income, net substantially consisted of $4.1 million of interest income and $2.2 million of unrealized gains related to our investment in Meitu, Inc., partially offset by $1.8 million of unrealized foreign currency losses. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, other income, net consisted of $4.8 million of interest income and $0.9 million of unrealized foreign currency gains. As we increase the volume of business transacted in foreign currencies resulting from international expansion and as currency rates fluctuate, we expect foreign currency gains and losses to continue to fluctuate.
Income Taxes.Income tax expense increased by $14.4 million, to $26.6 million in 2024 as compared to 2023. Our effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were approximately 42.6% and 10.0%, respectively.
The 2024 effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarily due to non-deductible equity compensation and a one-time charge for the foreign rate differential on acquired intangible assets, partially offset by the effect of the U.S. Research and Development ("R&D") tax credit and the foreign-derived intangible income deduction.
The 2023 effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarily due to the non-taxable bargain purchase gain associated with the acquisition of Giphy, the effect of the U.S. Research and Development ("R&D") tax credit and the foreign-derived intangible income deduction.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022
The following table presents our results of operations for the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Operations Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 874,587 | $ | 827,826 | $ | 46,761 | 6 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | 352,630 | 314,306 | 38,324 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 214,749 | 203,154 | 11,595 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Product development | 96,162 | 65,434 | 30,728 | 47 | |||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 142,646 | 132,644 | 10,002 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Impairment of long-lived assets | - | 18,664 | (18,664) | * | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 806,187 | 734,202 | 71,985 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 68,400 | 93,624 | (25,224) | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | 50,261 | - | 50,261 | * | |||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (1,857) | (1,336) | (521) | 39 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other income / (expense), net | 5,664 | (1,251) | 6,915 | (553) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 122,468 | 91,037 | 31,431 | 35 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 12,199 | 14,934 | (2,735) | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 110,269 | $ | 76,103 | $ | 34,166 | 45 | % | |||||||||||||||
* Not meaningful
Revenue
Revenue increased by $46.8 million, or 6%, to $874.6 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased approximately 5% in the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 2022.
Content license revenues decreased by 7%, to $737.3 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. On a constant currency basis, Content revenues decreased by 7% in 2023, as compared to 2022. The decline in our Content license revenues was driven by weakness in new customer acquisition, partially offset by increases in Pond5. Pond5 contributed to revenues for the full year in 2023 compared to seven months in 2022.
Data, Distribution, and Services revenues increased by 256%, to $137.3 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. Foreign currency fluctuations did not have a significant impact on our Data, Distribution, and Services revenues in 2023. The increase in Data, Distribution, and Services revenues was primarily driven by growth in our data offering, which accounted for $84.9 million of the growth from 2022 to 2023 and $10.5 million of revenue generated from Giphy.
Changes in our revenue by region were as follows: revenue from North America increased by $74.5 million, or 21%, to $427.7 million, revenue from Europe decreased by $12.0 million, or 5%, to $231.0 million and revenue from outside Europe and North America decreased by $15.8 million, or 7%, to $215.8 million, in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022.
Cost and Expenses
Cost of Revenue.Cost of revenue increased by $38.3 million, or 12%, to $352.6 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. As a percent of revenue, cost of revenues increased to 40% for the year ended December 31, 2023, from 38% for 2022. This increase was primarily driven by: (i) increased depreciation and amortization expense driven by our recent acquisitions; (ii) increased royalty, content and reviewer costs; (iii) higher costs associated with website hosting, hardware and software licenses; and (iv) Giphy employee-related costs comprised of $4.9 million of recurring Giphy Retention Compensation and $4.3 million of non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation. We expect that our cost of revenue will continue to fluctuate in line with changes in revenue.
Sales and Marketing.Sales and marketing expenses increased by $11.6 million, or 6%, to $214.7 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. As a percent of revenue, sales and marketing expenses was 25% for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. The increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily driven by (i) $5.1 million in higher employee-related costs; (ii) $3.1 million in higher consultant costs; and (iii) Giphy employee-related costs comprised of $1.4 million of recurring Giphy Retention Compensation and $1.0 million of non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation not considered necessary to operate our business. We expect sales and marketing expenses to continue to fluctuate as we optimize our sales channels and invest in new customer acquisition, products and geographies.
Product Development.Product development expenses increased by $30.7 million, or 47%, to $96.2 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. This increase was primarily driven by (i) Giphy employee-related costs comprised of $5.5 million of recurring Giphy Retention Compensation, net of capitalized labor and $20.9 million of non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation not considered necessary to operate our business and (ii) $2.8 million in higher non-cash compensation expense. We expect product development expenses, of which a portion will be capitalized, to continue in the foreseeable future, as we pursue opportunities to invest in developing new products and internal tools and enhance the functionality of our existing products and technologies.
General and Administrative.General and administrative expenses increased by $10.0 million, or 8%, to $142.6 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. This increase was primarily driven by (i) $7.9 million in lower non-cash compensation expense and (ii) Giphy employee-related costs comprised of $1.8 million of recurring Giphy Retention Compensation, net of capitalized labor and $5.4 million of non-recurring Giphy Retention Compensation not considered necessary to operate our business. These increases were partially offset by (i) $1.4 million in lower occupancy costs and $1.2 million in lower professional fees. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, general and administrative expenses included $3.0 million and $3.9 million in transaction costs related to the Giphy and Pond5 acquisitions, respectively.
Bargain Purchase Gain. We recognized a bargain purchase gain of $50.3 million in 2023 related to the acquisition of Giphy, which represents the excess of the fair value of the net assets acquired in addition to the net negative purchase price.
Impairment of Lease and Related Assets. Impairment of lease and related assets was $18.7 million in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company completed an analysis of leased-office usage and (i) ceased using certain of its office space, including two floors of its headquarters in New York City as well as (ii) abandoned certain other smaller office spaces. This resulted in an $18.7 million impairment charge, of which $15.9 million and $2.8 million relates to right-of-use assets and property and equipment, respectively. There was no impairment of lease and related assets in 2023.
Interest Expense. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we recognized interest expense of $1.9 million and $1.3 million, respectively related to our credit facility and the amortization of deferred financing fees.
Other income / (expense), net.During 2023, other income / (expense), net substantially consisted of $4.8 million of interest income and $0.9 million of favorable unrealized foreign currency fluctuations. As we increase the volume of business transacted in foreign currencies resulting from international expansion and as currency rates fluctuate, we expect foreign currency gains and losses to continue to fluctuate.
During 2022, other income / (expense), net substantially consisted of $1.3 million of expense due to foreign currency fluctuations.
Income Taxes. Income tax expense decreased by $2.7 million, to $12.2 million in 2023 as compared to 2022. Our effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were approximately 10.0% and 16.4%, respectively.
The 2023 effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory tax rate primarily due to the non-taxable bargain purchase gain associated with the acquisition of Giphy, the effect of the U.S. Research and Development ("R&D") tax credit, and the foreign-derived intangible income deduction. The 2022 effective tax rate differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to the effect of the U.S. R&D tax credit and the foreign-derived intangible income deduction.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling $111.3 million, which primarily consisted of bank balances. Since inception, we have financed our operations primarily through cash flows generated from operations. In addition, if necessary, we have the ability to draw on our A&R Credit Agreement dated July 22, 2024.
Historically, our principal uses of cash have included funding our operations, capital expenditures, and content acquisitions. In addition, our capital allocation strategies also include funding business combinations and asset acquisitions that enhance our strategic position, cash dividend payments, principal and interest payments under our credit facilities and share
purchases under our share repurchase programs. We plan to finance our operations, capital expenditures and corporate actions largely through cash generated by our operations and our credit facility. Since our results of operations are sensitive to the level of competition we face, increased competition could adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources.
Dividends
We declared and paid cash dividends of $1.20 per share of common stock, or $42.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024.
On January 27, 2025, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share of outstanding common stock payable on March 20, 2025 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 6, 2025. The Company currently expects to continue to pay comparable cash dividends on a quarterly basis in the future. Future declarations of dividends are subject to the final determination of our Board of Directors, and will depend on, among other things, our future financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, contractual restrictions, anticipated cash needs, business prospects, provisions of applicable law and other factors our Board of Directors may deem relevant.
Share Repurchase Program
In June 2023, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program (the "2023 Share Repurchase Program"), providing authorization to repurchase up to $100 million of our common stock.
We expect to fund future repurchases, if any, through a combination of cash on hand, cash generated by operations and future financing transactions, if appropriate. Accordingly, our 2023 Share Repurchase Program is subject to us having available cash to fund repurchases. Under the share repurchase program, management is authorized to purchase shares of our common stock from time to time through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions at prevailing prices as permitted by securities laws and other legal requirements, and subject to market conditions and other factors.
As of December 31, 2024, we have repurchased approximately 5.5 million shares of our common stock since 2015 under our repurchase programs (including our 2015 and 2017 Share Repurchase Programs and our 2023 Share Repurchase Program) at an average per-share cost of $48.86. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares of our common stock at an average per share cost of $37.42. As of December 31, 2024, we had $30.2 million of remaining authorization for purchases under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program.
Credit Facility and A&R Credit Agreement
On May 6, 2022, we entered into a five-year $100 million unsecured revolving loan facility (the "Credit Facility") with Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and other lenders. The Credit Facility includes a letter of credit sub-facility and a swingline facility and it also permitted, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, up to $100 million of additional revolving loan commitments with the consent of the Administrative Agent.
On July 22, 2024, we entered into an amended and restated credit agreement (the "A&R Credit Agreement"), which was entered into among us, as borrower, certain direct and indirect subsidiaries of our as guarantors, the lenders party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent for the lenders. The A&R Credit Agreement provides for a five-year (i) senior unsecured term loan facility (the "Term Loan") in an aggregate principal amount $125 million and (ii) senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the "Revolver") in an aggregate principal amount of $250 million. The A&R Credit Agreement provides for a letter of credit subfacility and a swingline facility.
At our option, loans under the A&R Credit Agreement accrue interest at a per annum rate based on either (i) the base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.375% to 0.750%, determined based on our consolidated leverage ratio or (ii) the Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") (for interest periods of 1, 3 or 6 months) plus a margin ranging from 1.375% to 1.750%, determined based on our consolidated leverage ratio, plus a credit spread of 0.100%. We are also required to pay an unused commitment fee ranging from 0.175% to 0.250%, determined based on our consolidated leverage ratio. In connection with the execution of this agreement, we paid debt issuance costs of approximately $2.2 million.
The A&R Credit Agreement replaces our existing Credit Facility, which was fully repaid and terminated upon the effectiveness of the A&R Credit Agreement. In connection with the closing of the Credit Facility, we repaid $30 million of existing outstanding borrowings and accrued interest.
As of December 31, 2024, we had a remaining borrowing capacity of $94 million, net of standby letters of credit.
The A&R Credit Agreement contains financial covenants and requirements restricting certain of our activities, which are customary for this type of credit facility. We are also required to maintain compliance with a consolidated leverage ratio and a consolidated interest coverage ratio, in each case, determined in accordance with the terms of the A&R Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with these covenants.
Our outstanding debt (in thousands) is reflected in the table below. We classify the Revolver as a current liability since we could draw upon and repay the outstanding amount as needed. The maturity of the Revolver is in 2029.
Our debt consists of the following (in thousands):
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||
| Current Debt: | |||||||||||
| Revolver - Credit Facility | - | 30,000 | |||||||||
| Revolver - A&R Credit Agreement | 155,000 | - | |||||||||
| Term Loan - A&R Credit Agreement | 3,106 | ||||||||||
| Non-Current Debt: | |||||||||||
| Term Loan - A&R Credit Agreement | 119,598 | - | |||||||||
Based on Level 2 inputs, the carrying value of our debt approximates its fair value, as borrowings are subject to variable interest rates that adjust with changes in market rates and market conditions and the current interest rate approximates that which would be available under similar financial arrangements.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized interest expense of $10.6 million. As of December 31, 2024, unamortized debt issuance cost related to the Term Loan - A&R Credit Agreement is $0.7 million.
Sources and Uses of Funds
We believe, based on our current operating plan, that our cash and cash equivalents, and cash from operations, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months. Our longer-term liquidity is contingent upon future operating performance. Future capital expenditures will generally relate to building enhancements to the functionality of our current platform, the acquisition of additional storage, servers, network connectivity hardware, security apparatus and software, leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures related to office expansion and relocation, content and general corporate infrastructure.
As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately $56 million in unconditional cash obligations, consisting primarily of purchase obligations related to contracts for cloud-based services, infrastructure and other business services as well as minimum royalty guarantees in connection with certain content licenses, of which the majority is due to be paid within the next two years. In addition, as of December 31, 2024, we had approximately $38 million in operating lease obligations with lease payments extending through 2029.
See Notes 17 and 18 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding our lease and other non-lease commitments, respectively, as of December 31, 2024.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flow data for 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 32,646 | $ | 140,552 | $ | 158,451 | |||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (166,168) | $ | (54,316) | $ | (275,550) | |||||||||||
| Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities | $ | 150,096 | $ | (102,704) | $ | (79,487) | |||||||||||
Operating Activities
Our primary source of cash from operating activities is cash collections from our customers. The majority of our revenue is generated from credit card transactions and is typically settled within one to five business days. Our primary uses of cash for operating activities are for the payment of royalties to content contributors, employee-related expenditures and the payment of other operating expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $32.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $140.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, operating cash flows included a $10.3 million increase in the recurring and non-recurring payments made to the Giphy workforce, the reimbursement of which is reflected in Investing Activities on the Statement of Cash Flows. In addition, in the twelve months ended
December 31, 2024, operating cash flows included $63.3 million of cash outflows made for liabilities assumed which were triggered upon the closing of the Envato acquisition ('the Envato Seller Obligations"). The acquired cash from Envato included $63.4 million to fund the Envato Seller Obligations.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $140.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $158.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decline in cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was impacted by the timing of payments and cash receipts in the ordinary course of business which can cause operating cash flow to fluctuate from period to period.
In addition, operating cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2023 were unfavorably impacted by the recurring and non-recurring payments made to the Giphy workforce, the reimbursement of which is reflected in Investing Activities on the Statement of Cash Flows.
Investing Activities
Our investing activities have consisted primarily of capital expenditures, business combinations, asset acquisitions, investments and content acquisitions. Starting in 2023, investing activities also includes amounts related to the Giphy Retention Compensation. Capital expenditures include internal-use software and website development costs, purchases of software equipment, and capitalization of leasehold improvements. Capital expenditures are primarily attributable to investments in internally developed software. We continue to invest significantly in product development to enhance our customer experience and increase the efficiency with which we deploy new products and features. Cash used in investing activities totaled $166.2 million, $54.3 million and $275.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $166.2 million, consisting primarily of (i) $179.1 million cash used in the acquisitions of Envato and Backgrid, net of cash acquired; (ii) capital expenditures of $47.2 million for internal-use software and website development costs and purchases of software and equipment; and (iii) $4.0 million paid to acquire the rights to distribute certain digital content into perpetuity. These cash outflows were partially offset by $64.0 million of Giphy Retention Compensation, as reimbursed by the Giphy seller.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $54.3 million, consisting primarily of (i) $53.7 million cash used in the acquisition of Giphy, net of cash acquired; (ii) capital expenditures of $44.6 million for internal-use software and website development costs, and purchase of software and equipment, and (iii) $11.1 million paid to acquire the rights to distribute certain digital content in perpetuity. These cash outflows were partially offset by $53.7 million of Giphy Retention Compensation, as reimbursed by the Giphy seller.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $275.6 million, consisting primarily of (i) $211.8 million cash used in the acquisitions of Pond5 and Splash News, net of cash acquired; (ii) capital expenditures of $43.3 million for internal-use software and website development costs, and purchase of software and equipment, and (iii) $16.8 million to acquire the rights to distribute certain digital content in perpetuity.
Financing Activities
Our financing activities have consisted primarily of payments associated with cash dividends, settlements of tax withholding obligations related to employee stock-based compensation awards and repurchases of common stock under our share repurchase program. Our financing activities also includes proceeds from and payments of our A&R Credit Agreement and our Credit Facility, and proceeds received in connection with the exercise of stock options. Cash provided by financing activities totaled $150.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, and cash used in financing activities totaled $102.7 million and $79.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, respectively.
Cash provided by financing activities during 2024 was $150.1 million, consisting of (i) $280.0 million received from our A&R Credit Agreement; (ii) $31.6 million used for the repayment of our Credit Facility and A&R Credit Agreement; (iii) $42.4 million, related to the payment of the quarterly cash dividend; (vi) $41.6 million paid in connection with the repurchase of common stock under our 2023 Share Repurchase Program; (v) $12.2 million paid in the settlement of tax withholding obligations related to employee stock-based compensation awards; and (vi) $2.2 million paid for debt issuance costs.
Cash used in financing activities during 2023 primarily consisted of (i) $50.0 million used for the repayment of our Credit Facility; (ii) $38.7 million, related to the payment of the quarterly cash dividend; (iii) $28.2 million in connection with the repurchase of common stock under our 2023 Share Repurchase Program; and (iv) $15.8 million, paid in settlement of tax withholding obligations related to employee stock-based compensation awards. These amounts were partially offset by approximately $30.0 million in proceeds received from our Credit Facility.
Cash used in financing activities during 2022 primarily consisted of (i) $73.5 million in connection with the repurchase of common stock under our share repurchase program; (ii) $34.6 million related to the payment of the quarterly cash dividend; and
(iii) $22.6 million paid in settlement of tax withholding obligations related to employee stock-based compensation awards. These amounts were partially offset by approximately $50.0 million in proceeds received from our Credit Facility.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, our management considers certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, collectively referred to as non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted common share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage), and adjusted free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are included solely to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results and are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly-titled measures presented by other companies.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP Financial Measures (in thousands): | |||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net income | $ | 138,742 | $ | 157,581 | $ | 141,548 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 247,115 | $ | 240,776 | $ | 218,074 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted free cash flow | $ | 108,693 | $ | 138,468 | $ | 98,334 | |||||||||||
| Revenue growth on a constant currency basis | 7 | % | 5 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||||
These non-GAAP financial measures have not been calculated in accordance with GAAP, should be considered only in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP measures. In addition, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted common share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage) and adjusted free cash flow should not be construed as indicators of our operating performance, liquidity or cash flows generated by operating, investing and financing activities, as there may be significant factors or trends that they fail to address. We caution investors that non-GAAP financial information, by its nature, departs from traditional accounting conventions; accordingly, its use can make it difficult to compare our current results with our results from other reporting periods and with the results of other companies.
Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures, in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, as an integral part of managing the business and to, among other things: (i) monitor and evaluate the performance of our business operations, financial performance and overall liquidity; (ii) facilitate management's internal comparisons of the historical operating performance of its business operations; (iii) facilitate management's external comparisons of the results of its overall business to the historical operating performance of other companies that may have different capital structures and debt levels; (iv) review and assess the operating performance of our management team and, together with other operational objectives, as a measure in evaluating employee compensation; (v) analyze and evaluate financial and strategic planning decisions regarding future operating investments; and (vi) plan for and prepare future annual operating budgets and determine appropriate levels of operating investments.
Management believes that adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted common share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage) and adjusted free cash flow are useful to investors because these measures enable investors to analyze Shutterstock's operating results on the same basis as that used by management. Additionally, management believes that adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted common share, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin provide useful information to investors about the performance of the Company's overall business because such measures eliminate the effects of unusual or other infrequent charges that are not directly attributable to Shutterstock's underlying operating performance and revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage), provides useful information to investors by eliminating the effect of foreign currency fluctuations that are not directly attributable to Shutterstock's operating performance. Management also believes that providing these non-GAAP financial measures enhances the comparability for investors in assessing Shutterstock's financial reporting. Management believes that adjusted free cash flow is useful for investors because it provides them with an important perspective on the cash available for strategic measures, after making necessary capital investments in internal-use software and website development costs to support the Company's ongoing business operations and provides them with the same measures that management uses as the basis for making resource allocation decisions.
Our use of non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results as reported under GAAP, as the excluded items may have significant effects on our operating results and financial condition. Additionally, our methods for measuring non-GAAP financial measures may differ from other companies' similarly titled measures. When evaluating our performance, these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income and our other GAAP results.
Our method for calculating adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted common share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage) and adjusted free cash flow, as well as a reconciliation of the differences between each of our non-GAAP financial measures (adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, revenue growth (including by product offering) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage) and adjusted free cash flow), and each measure's most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, is presented below.
The expense associated with the Giphy Retention Compensation related to (i) the one-time employment inducement bonuses and (ii) the vesting of the cash value of unvested Meta equity awards held by the employees prior to closing, which are reflected in operating expenses (together, the "Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring"), are required payments in accordance with the terms of the acquisition. Meta's sale of Giphy was directed by the CMA and accordingly, the terms of the acquisition were subject to CMA preapproval. Management considers the operating expense associated with these required payments to be unusual and non-recurring in nature. The Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring is not considered ongoing expense necessary to operate the Company's business. Therefore, such expenses have been included in the below adjustments for calculating adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted common share. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Company also incurred $21.4 million of Giphy Retention Compensation expense related to recurring employee costs, which is included in operating expenses, and is not included in the below adjustments for calculating adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted common share.
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Per Diluted Common Share
We define adjusted net income as net income adjusted for the impact of non-cash equity-based compensation, the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, bargain purchase gain related to the acquisition of Giphy, Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring, impairment of lease and related assets, cost incurred associated with the Getty merger, unrealized gains and losses on investments, severance costs associated with strategic workforce optimizations and the estimated tax impact of such adjustments. We define adjusted net income per diluted common share as adjusted net income divided by weighted average diluted shares.
The following is a reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 35,932 | $ | 110,269 | $ | 76,103 | |||||||||||
| Add / (less) Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||||||
| Non-cash equity-based compensation | 56,330 | 48,577 | 35,740 | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of non-cash equity-based compensation(1)(2)
|
(6,883) | (11,416) | (8,397) | ||||||||||||||
|
Acquisition-related amortization expense(3)
|
37,967 | 34,737 | 29,302 | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of acquisition-related amortization expense(1)
|
(8,922) | (8,163) | (6,886) | ||||||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | - | (50,261) | - | ||||||||||||||
| Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring | 22,116 | 31,577 | - | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring(1)
|
(5,197) | (7,421) | - | ||||||||||||||
| Impairment of lease and related assets | - | - | 18,664 | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of impairment of lease and related assets(1)
|
- | - | (4,199) | ||||||||||||||
| Merger-related costs | 2,750 | - | - | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of merger-related costs(1)
|
(619) | - | - | ||||||||||||||
|
Other(4)
|
7,425 | 12,493 | 1,576 | ||||||||||||||
|
Tax effect of other(1)
|
(2,157) | (2,811) | (355) | ||||||||||||||
|
Adjusted net income(4)
|
$ | 138,742 | $ | 157,581 | $ | 141,548 | |||||||||||
| Net income per diluted common share | $ | 1.01 | $ | 3.04 | $ | 2.08 | |||||||||||
| Adjusted net income per diluted common share | $ | 3.89 | $ | 4.35 | $ | 3.87 | |||||||||||
| Weighted average diluted shares | 35,658 | 36,242 | 36,546 | ||||||||||||||
(1)Statutory tax rates are used to calculate the tax effect of the adjustments.
(2)For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the tax effect of non-cash equity-based compensation includes a $6.2 million add-back for the reduction of deferred tax assets associated with the expiration of performance-based stock options and restricted stock units granted the Company's Founder and Executive Chairman in 2014. The performance-based metrics were not met, the awards were not exercisable, and the Company recognized a non-cash tax expense for the change in deferred taxes.
(3)Of these amounts, $32.7 million, $31.6 million and $27.0 million are included in cost of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The remainder of acquisition-related amortization expense is included in general and administrative expense in the Statement of Operations.
(4)Other consists of unrealized gains and losses on investments and severance costs associated with strategic workforce optimizations.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin
We define adjusted EBITDA as net income adjusted for depreciation and amortization, non-cash equity-based compensation, bargain purchase gain related to the acquisition of Giphy, Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring, impairment of lease and related assets, foreign currency transaction gains and losses, severance costs associated with strategic workforce optimizations, unrealized gains and losses on investments, transaction costs associated with the Getty merger, interest income and expense and income taxes. We define adjusted EBITDA margin as the ratio of adjusted EBITDA to revenue.
The following is a reconciliation of net income to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 35,932 | $ | 110,269 | $ | 76,103 | |||||||||||
| Add / (less) Non-GAAP adjustments: | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 10,561 | 1,857 | 1,336 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest income | (4,072) | (4,785) | (87) | ||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 26,616 | 12,199 | 14,934 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 87,626 | 79,729 | 68,470 | ||||||||||||||
| EBITDA | 156,663 | 199,269 | 160,756 | ||||||||||||||
| Non-cash equity-based compensation | 56,330 | 48,577 | 35,740 | ||||||||||||||
| Bargain purchase gain | - | (50,261) | - | ||||||||||||||
| Giphy Retention Compensation Expense - non-recurring | 22,116 | 31,577 | - | ||||||||||||||
| Merger-related costs | 2,750 | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency loss / (gain) | 1,831 | (879) | 1,338 | ||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain on investment | (2,160) | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Impairment of lease and related assets | - | - | 18,664 | ||||||||||||||
| Workforce optimization - severance | 9,585 | 12,493 | 1,576 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 247,115 | $ | 240,776 | $ | 218,074 | |||||||||||
| Revenue | 935,262 | 874,587 | 827,826 | ||||||||||||||
| Net income margin | 3.8 | % | 12.6 | % | 9.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 26.4 | % | 27.5 | % | 26.3 | % | |||||||||||
Revenue Growth (including by distribution channel) on a Constant Currency Basis
We define revenue growth (including by distribution channel) on a constant currency basis (expressed as a percentage) as the increase in current period revenues over prior period revenues, utilizing fixed exchange rates for translating foreign currency revenues for all periods in the comparison.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Reported revenue (in thousands) | $ | 935,262 | $ | 874,587 | $ | 827,826 | |||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 7 | % | 6 | % | 7 | % | |||||||||||
| Revenue growth on a constant currency basis | 7 | % | 5 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||||
| Content reported revenue (in thousands) | $ | 760,011 | $ | 737,264 | $ | 789,306 | |||||||||||
| Content revenue growth | 3 | % | (7) | % | 4 | % | |||||||||||
| Content revenue growth on a constant currency basis | 3 | % | (7) | % | 8 | % | |||||||||||
| Data, Distribution, and Services reported revenue (in thousands) | $ | 175,251 | $ | 137,323 | $ | 38,520 | |||||||||||
| Data, Distribution, and Services revenue growth | 28 | % | 256 | % | 142 | % | |||||||||||
| Data, Distribution, and Services revenue growth on a constant currency basis | 28 | % | 256 | % | 144 | % | |||||||||||
Adjusted Free Cash Flow
We define adjusted free cash flow as our net cash provided by operating activities, adjusted for capital expenditures, content acquisition, cash received related to Giphy Retention Compensation in connection with the acquisition of Giphy and cash paid for Envato Seller Obligations.
The following is a presentation of cash flow information and a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to adjusted free cash flow for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash flow information: | (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 32,646 | $ | 140,552 | $ | 158,451 | |||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (166,168) | $ | (54,316) | $ | (275,550) | |||||||||||
| Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities | $ | 150,096 | $ | (102,704) | $ | (79,487) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted free cash flow: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 32,646 | $ | 140,552 | $ | 158,451 | |||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | (47,215) | (44,645) | (43,296) | ||||||||||||||
| Content acquisitions | (4,029) | (11,096) | (16,821) | ||||||||||||||
| Cash received related to Giphy Retention Compensation | 63,971 | 53,657 | - | ||||||||||||||
|
Cash paid for Envato Seller Obligations(1)
|
63,320 | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow | $ | 108,693 | $ | 138,468 | $ | 98,334 | |||||||||||
(1)Envato Seller Obligations relate to payments made on behalf of the Envato sellers' after the closing of the acquisition. These liabilities were funded from the acquired cash on the Envato balance sheet and are not indicative of obligations and cash flows to be incurred prospectively.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires our management to make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure or inclusion of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. We evaluate our significant estimates on an ongoing basis, including, but not limited to, estimates related to allowance for doubtful accounts, the volume of expected unused licenses used in revenue recognition for our subscription-based products, the fair value of acquired goodwill and intangible assets, and income tax provisions. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
We believe that the assumptions and estimates associated with our revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of acquired goodwill and intangible assets, and accounting for income taxes have the greatest potential impact on our financial statements. Therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting estimates.
Revenue Recognition
A significant portion of our revenues are earned from the license of content. Content licenses are generally purchased on a monthly or annual basis, whereby a customer pays for a predetermined quantity of content that may be downloaded over a specific period of time, or, on a transactional basis, whereby a customer pays for individual content licenses at the time of download. We also generate revenue from tools available through our platform.
For contracts that contain multiple performance obligations, we allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation based on a relative standalone selling price. The standalone selling price is determined based on the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately, or if not observable through past transactions, is estimated taking into account available information including internally approved pricing guidelines and pricing information of comparable products.
We recognize revenues upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. We recognize revenue on both our subscription-based and transaction-based products when content is downloaded by a customer, at which time the license is provided. In addition, for subscription-based products in which the Customer obtains an allotted number of digital assets to download, we estimate expected unused licenses and recognize the revenue associated with the unused licenses as digital assets are
downloaded and licenses are obtained for such content by the customer during the subscription period. The estimate of unused licenses is based on historical download activity and future changes in the estimate could impact the timing of revenue recognition of our subscription products. For unlimited download subscription-based products, we recognize revenue in a manner that reflects estimated content download patterns during the subscription period. The estimate of content download patterns is based on historical download activities from the unlimited download products. Revenue associated with tools available through our platform is recognized on a straight-line basis over the subscription period. We expense contract acquisition costs as incurred, to the extent that the amortization period would otherwise be one year or less.
For customers making electronic payments, collectability is probable at the time the order or contract is entered. A significant portion of our customers purchase products by making electronic payments with a credit card at the time of the transaction. Customer payments received in advance of revenue recognition are contract liabilities and are recorded as deferred revenue. Customers that do not pay in advance are invoiced and are required to make payments under standard credit terms. Collectability for customers who pay on credit terms allowing for payment beyond the date at which service commences, is based on a credit evaluation for certain new customers and transaction history with existing customers.
We recognize revenue gross of contributor royalties because we are the principal in the transaction as it is the party responsible for the performance obligation and it controls the product or service before transferring it to the customer. We also license content to customers through third-party resellers. Third-party resellers sell our products directly to customers as the principal in those transactions. Accordingly, the Company recognizes revenue net of costs paid to resellers.
The Company also reports revenue net of return and chargeback allowances. These allowances are based off historical trends when available.
Acquisitions
Business combinations are recorded at fair value and the purchase price is allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction. Assets acquired may include intangible assets such as customer relationships, trade names, developed technology and contributor content. Fair values are based on the exit price (i.e., the price that would be received to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date) and valuation methods that may be utilized include the multiple-period excess earnings method, the relief-from-royalty method and the cost-to-recreate method. Determining the fair value requires management to use significant judgment and estimates, including revenue growth rates, the royalty rate, the discount rate, and the economic life related to developed technology and revenue growth rates, the royalty rate, and the the discount rate related to the trademark, among others. Other assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination are recorded based on the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at acquisition date. Changes to these factors could affect the measurement and allocation of fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements, which is incorporated herein by reference.