NerdWallet(NRDS) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Revenue Performance - Fourth quarter revenue reached $183.8 million, representing a 37% year-over-year increase[2] - Full year revenue totaled $687.6 million, up 15% from the previous year[17] - Insurance revenue surged to $72.0 million, an 821% increase year-over-year, driven by growth in auto insurance products[6] - Credit card revenue decreased by 19% year-over-year to $35.0 million, impacted by ongoing headwinds in organic search traffic[6] - Revenue for Q1 2025 is expected to be in the range of $187-$193 million, reflecting a 17% year-over-year increase at the midpoint[36] User Metrics - Average Monthly Unique Users (MUUs) fell to 19 million, a 20% decline year-over-year, with expectations of stabilization by early 2026[6] - The company anticipates a slight worsening of year-over-year decline in user traffic in Q1 2025 due to ongoing challenges[6] Financial Performance - GAAP net income for Q4 was $38.6 million, translating to $0.51 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $2.3 million in the same quarter last year[4] - Non-GAAP operating income for Q4 was $16.8 million, a 35% increase year-over-year[7] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $30.8 million, reflecting a 5% increase from the previous year[7] - Net income for 2024 was $30.4 million, a significant recovery from a net loss of $11.8 million in 2023[19] - Income from operations for Q4 2024 was $8.7 million, an increase of 89% compared to $4.6 million in Q4 2023[29] - Non-GAAP operating income for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $47.6 million, representing an 80% increase from $26.4 million in 2023[29] - Free cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $50.5 million, a 19% increase from $42.6 million in 2023[31] Cash and Assets - Cash and cash equivalents decreased to $66.3 million in 2024 from $100.4 million in 2023, a decline of 34%[19] - Total assets increased to $437.6 million in 2024 from $418.6 million in 2023, reflecting a growth of 4.3%[18] - Stockholders' equity decreased to $364.2 million in 2024 from $366.9 million in 2023, a reduction of 0.7%[18] - The company reported a net cash provided by operating activities of $71.8 million in 2024, slightly down from $72.1 million in 2023[19] Future Projections - The company expects 2025 annual GAAP operating income to be in the range of $21-$31 million and non-GAAP operating income to be in the range of $50-$60 million[32] - Adjusted EBITDA for the year 2025 is projected to be between $106-$116 million[32] - The company anticipates delivering at least $60 million of GAAP operating income and $80 million of non-GAAP operating income in 2026[33] Management and Strategy - The company appointed John H. Lee as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 17, to oversee finance functions and strategic initiatives[2] - The company plans to continue evaluating its business strategies and performance using non-GAAP measures alongside GAAP results[27] - Non-GAAP operating income (loss) is used to assess performance, excluding certain non-cash charges and acquisition-related costs[20][21] - Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) adjusted for various non-cash items, providing insight into operational performance[22] - Free cash flow for the company is calculated as net cash provided by operating activities minus capitalized software development costs and property purchases[26] Margins - The adjusted EBITDA margin for Q4 2024 was 17%, compared to 22% in Q4 2023[29]