QUINSTREET, INC - Quarter Report: 2010 March (Form 10-Q)
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
þ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2010
or
o | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File No. 001-34628
QuinStreet, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware | 77-05121 | |
(State or Other Jurisdiction of | (IRS Employer | |
Incorporation or Organization) | Identification No.) |
1051 East Hillsdale Blvd., Suite 800 | 94404 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
650-578-7700
Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code
Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has
been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its
corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted
pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large
accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer o | Non-accelerated filer þ | Smaller reporting company o | |||
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
As
of May 10, 2010, there were 45,063,081 shares of the registrants common stock outstanding.
QUINSTREET, INC.
INDEX
INDEX
2
Table of Contents
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
QUINSTREET, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
March 31, | June 30, | |||||||
2010 | 2009 | |||||||
Assets |
||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 175,318 | $ | 25,182 | ||||
Accounts receivable, net |
47,334 | 33,283 | ||||||
Deferred tax assets |
5,531 | 5,543 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
8,322 | 1,228 | ||||||
Total current assets |
236,505 | 65,236 | ||||||
Property and equipment, net |
5,351 | 4,741 | ||||||
Goodwill |
145,803 | 106,744 | ||||||
Other intangible assets, net |
45,824 | 33,990 | ||||||
Deferred tax assets, noncurrent |
| 1,525 | ||||||
Other assets, noncurrent |
684 | 642 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 434,167 | $ | 212,878 | ||||
Liabilities, Convertible Preferred Stock and
Stockholders Equity |
||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 19,019 | $ | 13,408 | ||||
Accrued liabilities |
28,011 | 21,794 | ||||||
Deferred revenue |
1,257 | 718 | ||||||
Debt |
18,096 | 12,890 | ||||||
Total current liabilities |
66,383 | 48,810 | ||||||
Deferred revenue, noncurrent |
370 | 820 | ||||||
Debt, noncurrent |
84,636 | 44,350 | ||||||
Other liabilities, noncurrent |
2,405 | 2,309 | ||||||
Total liabilities |
153,794 | 96,289 | ||||||
Commitments
and contingencies (Note 9) |
||||||||
Convertible preferred stock: $0.001 par value; 5,000,000 and 30,000,000
shares authorized; 0 and 21,176,533 shares issued and outstanding at
March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, respectively; liquidation value of $0
and $69,564 at March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, respectively |
| 43,403 | ||||||
Stockholders equity |
||||||||
Common stock: $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 and 45,000,000 shares
authorized; 47,237,175 and 15,413,000 shares issued, and 45,059,723 and
13,315,348 shares outstanding at March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009,
respectively |
47 | 15 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
214,331 | 20,634 | ||||||
Treasury stock, at cost (2,177,452 and 2,097,652 shares at March 31,
2010 and June 30, 2009, respectively) |
(7,779 | ) | (7,064 | ) | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
21 | 21 | ||||||
Retained earnings |
73,753 | 59,580 | ||||||
Total stockholders equity |
280,373 | 73,186 | ||||||
Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders equity |
$ | 434,167 | $ | 212,878 | ||||
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Net revenue |
$ | 90,773 | $ | 69,813 | $ | 246,288 | $ | 192,726 | ||||||||
Cost of revenue (1) |
66,268 | 46,780 | 177,872 | 135,030 | ||||||||||||
Gross profit |
24,505 | 23,033 | 68,416 | 57,696 | ||||||||||||
Operating expenses: (1) |
||||||||||||||||
Product development |
5,325 | 3,512 | 14,534 | 10,992 | ||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
4,575 | 3,594 | 12,190 | 12,017 | ||||||||||||
General and administrative |
4,467 | 2,865 | 14,111 | 9,772 | ||||||||||||
Operating income |
10,138 | 13,062 | 27,581 | 24,915 | ||||||||||||
Interest income |
16 | 44 | 33 | 221 | ||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(1,302 | ) | (879 | ) | (2,931 | ) | (2,749 | ) | ||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
(64 | ) | (16 | ) | 221 | (256 | ) | |||||||||
Income before income taxes |
8,788 | 12,211 | 24,904 | 22,131 | ||||||||||||
Provision for taxes |
(3,538 | ) | (5,818 | ) | (10,731 | ) | (10,084 | ) | ||||||||
Net income |
$ | 5,250 | $ | 6,393 | $ | 14,173 | $ | 12,047 | ||||||||
Net income attributable to common stockholders |
||||||||||||||||
Basic |
$ | 3,714 | $ | 2,150 | $ | 6,371 | $ | 3,697 | ||||||||
Diluted |
$ | 3,797 | $ | 2,301 | $ | 6,790 | $ | 3,981 | ||||||||
Net income per share attributable to common stockholders |
||||||||||||||||
Basic |
$ | 0.12 | $ | 0.16 | $ | 0.33 | $ | 0.28 | ||||||||
Diluted |
$ | 0.11 | $ | 0.15 | $ | 0.31 | $ | 0.26 | ||||||||
Weighted average shares used in computing net income per
share attributable to common stockholders |
||||||||||||||||
Basic |
30,795 | 13,297 | 19,156 | 13,287 | ||||||||||||
Diluted |
33,938 | 14,890 | 22,008 | 15,032 | ||||||||||||
(1) Cost of revenue and operating expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows: |
||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenue |
$ | 653 | $ | 470 | $ | 2,143 | $ | 1,477 | ||||||||
Product development |
686 | 176 | 1,570 | 494 | ||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
1,163 | 455 | 2,504 | 1,352 | ||||||||||||
General and administrative |
624 | 373 | 4,002 | 1,061 |
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
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Nine Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, | ||||||||
2010 | 2009 | |||||||
Cash flows from operating activities |
||||||||
Net income |
$ | 14,173 | $ | 12,047 | ||||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by |
||||||||
operating activities: |
||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
13,678 | 12,386 | ||||||
Provision for sales returns and doubtful accounts receivable |
(234 | ) | 1,363 | |||||
Stock-based compensation |
10,219 | 4,384 | ||||||
Excess tax benefits from exercise of stock options |
(1,821 | ) | (362 | ) | ||||
Other non-cash adjustments, net |
567 | 560 | ||||||
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions: |
||||||||
Accounts receivable |
(11,261 | ) | (6,463 | ) | ||||
Prepaid expenses and other assets |
(5,251 | ) | 386 | |||||
Other assets, noncurrent |
(22 | ) | 332 | |||||
Deferred tax assets |
(123 | ) | 18 | |||||
Accounts payable |
4,338 | 5,643 | ||||||
Accrued liabilities |
5,635 | (3,722 | ) | |||||
Deferred revenue |
(57 | ) | (627 | ) | ||||
Deferred tax liabilities |
134 | | ||||||
Other liabilities, noncurrent |
(12 | ) | (43 | ) | ||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
29,963 | 25,902 | ||||||
Cash flows from investing activities |
||||||||
Restricted cash |
15 | 711 | ||||||
Proceeds from sales of property and equipment |
52 | | ||||||
Capital expenditures |
(2,159 | ) | (1,276 | ) | ||||
Business acquisitions, net of notes payable and cash acquired |
(52,899 | ) | (19,808 | ) | ||||
Internal software development costs |
(1,009 | ) | (813 | ) | ||||
Proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities |
| 2,302 | ||||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(56,000 | ) | (18,884 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities |
||||||||
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock |
138,076 | | ||||||
Proceeds from exercise of common stock options |
1,550 | 300 | ||||||
Proceeds from bank debt |
43,300 | 8,607 | ||||||
Principal payments on bank debt |
(2,250 | ) | (2,750 | ) | ||||
Principal payments on acquisition-related notes payable |
(5,609 | ) | (6,764 | ) | ||||
Excess tax benefits from exercise of stock options |
1,821 | 362 | ||||||
Repurchases of common stock |
(715 | ) | (1,369 | ) | ||||
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities |
176,173 | (1,614 | ) | |||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
| (20 | ) | |||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
150,136 | 5,384 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
25,182 | 24,953 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
$ | 175,318 | $ | 30,337 | ||||
Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities |
||||||||
Accrued stock issuance costs |
1,273 | | ||||||
Notes payable issued in connection with business acquisitions |
10,750 | 5,891 |
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
5
Table of Contents
QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
1. ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
QuinStreet, Inc. (the Company) is an online media and marketing company. The Company was
incorporated in California on April 16, 1999 and reincorporated in Delaware on December 31, 2009.
The Company provides vertically oriented customer acquisition programs for its clients. The Company
also provides hosted solutions for direct selling companies. The corporate headquarters are located
in Foster City, California, with offices in Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, India and the United Kingdom.
Initial Public Offering
In connection with the Companys reincorporation in Delaware in December 2009, the Company
increased its authorized number of shares of common and preferred stock to 50,500,000 and
35,500,000, respectively, and established the par value of each share of common and preferred stock
to be $0.001. The previously outstanding 5,367,756 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock
were converted on a two-for-one basis into 10,735,512 shares of Series A convertible preferred
stock of the reincorporated company. Conversion, dividend and liquidation rights of Series A
convertible preferred stock were adjusted consistent with the conversion. Common stock and
additional paid-in capital amounts in these financial statements have been adjusted to reflect the
par value of common stock.
In February 2010, the Company completed an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock
in which it sold and issued 10,000,000 shares of common stock at an issue price of $15.00 per
share. A total of $150,000 in gross proceeds were raised from the IPO or $136,803 in net proceeds
after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $10,500 and other offering costs of
$2,697. As of March 31, 2010, $1,273 of offering costs remained unpaid and these costs are expected
to be paid in the Companys fourth fiscal quarter. Upon the closing of the offering, all shares of
the Companys then-outstanding convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 21,176,533
shares of common stock.
After the completion of the IPO in February 2010, the Company amended its certificate of
incorporation and increased its authorized number of shares of common stock to 100,000,000 and
reduced the authorized number of shares of preferred stock to 5,000,000.
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its
subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Unaudited Interim Financial Information
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes to the condensed
consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2010 and for the three and nine months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009 are unaudited. These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements
have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
(GAAP) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
regarding interim financial reporting. Certain information and note disclosures normally included
in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted
pursuant to such rules and regulations. Accordingly, these interim consolidated financial
statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes
thereto contained in the Companys prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, with the SEC on February 11, 2010. The condensed consolidated balance sheet
as of June 30, 2009 included herein was derived from the audited financial statements as of that
date, but does not include all disclosures including notes required by GAAP.
The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on
the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and in the opinion of management
include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for the fair
presentation of the Companys condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2010, its
condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2010
and 2009, and its condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended March 31,
2010 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2010 or any other future period.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of
revenue and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates are based on information
available as of the date of the financial statements; therefore, actual results could differ from
those estimates.
Foreign Currency Translation
The Companys foreign operations are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. The majority of
the Companys sales is denominated in U.S. dollars. The functional currency for the
majority of the Companys foreign subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. For these subsidiaries, assets
and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are remeasured into U.S. dollars at current
exchange rates for monetary assets and liabilities and historical exchange rates for nonmonetary
assets and liabilities. Net revenue, cost of revenue and expenses are generally remeasured at
average exchange rates in effect during each period. Gains and losses from foreign currency
remeasurement are included in net earnings. Certain foreign subsidiaries designate the local
currency as their functional currency. For those subsidiaries, the assets and liabilities are
translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and
expense items are translated at average exchange rates for the period. The foreign currency
translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate
component of stockholders equity. Foreign currency transaction gains or losses are recorded in
other income (expense), net.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Concentrations of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of
credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. Cash and cash
equivalents are deposited with financial institutions that management believes are creditworthy.
The deposits exceed federally insured amounts. To date, the Company has not experienced any losses
of its deposits of cash and cash equivalents.
The Companys accounts receivable are derived from clients located principally in the United
States. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluation of its clients, does not require collateral,
and maintains allowances for potential credit losses on client accounts when deemed necessary. To
date, such losses have been within managements expectations.
One client accounted for 18% of total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and
10% and 19% for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. No client accounted
for 10% or more of the net accounts receivable as of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009,
respectively.
Revenue Recognition
The Company derives its revenue from two sources: Direct Marketing Services (DMS) and Direct
Selling Services (DSS). DMS revenue, which constituted 99% of net revenue for each of the three
and nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, is derived primarily from fees which are earned
through the delivery of qualified leads or clicks. The Company recognizes revenue when persuasive
evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable and
collectability is reasonably assured. Delivery is deemed to have occurred at the time a qualified
lead or click is delivered to the client provided that no significant obligations remain.
From
time to time, the Company may agree to credit a client for certain leads or clicks if
they fail to meet the contractual or other guidelines of a particular client. The Company has
established a sales reserve based on historical experience. To date, such credits have been
immaterial and within managements expectations.
For a portion of its revenue, the Company
has agreements with providers of online media or
traffic (Publishers) used in the generation of leads or clicks. The Company receives a fee from
its clients and pays a fee to Publishers either on a cost per lead, cost per click or cost per
thousand impressions basis. The Company is the primary obligor in the transaction. As a result, the
fees paid by the Companys clients are recognized as revenue and the fees paid to its Publishers
are included in cost of revenue.
DSS revenue, which constituted 1% of net revenue for each of the three and nine months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009, comprises (i) set-up and professional services fees and (ii) usage fees.
Set-up and professional service fees that do not provide stand-alone value to a client are
recognized over the contractual term of the agreement or the expected client relationship period,
whichever is longer, effective when the application reaches the go-live date. The Company defines
the go-live date as the date when the application enters into a production environment or all
essential functionalities have been delivered. Usage fees are recognized on a monthly basis as
earned.
Deferred revenue is comprised of contractual billings in excess of recognized revenue and
payments received in advance of revenue recognition.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Companys financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, accounts
receivable, accounts payable, acquisition-related notes payable, a term loan and a revolving credit
facility. The fair value of the Companys cash equivalents is determined based on quoted prices in
active markets for identical assets. The recorded values of the Companys accounts receivable and
accounts payable approximate their current fair values due to the relatively short-term nature of
these accounts. The fair value of acquisition-related notes payable approximates their recorded
amounts at March 31, 2010 as the interest rates on similar financing arrangements available to the
Company at March 31, 2010 approximates the interest rates implied when these acquisition-related
notes payable were originally issued and recorded. The Company believes that the fair values of the
term loan and revolving credit facility approximate their recorded amounts at March 31, 2010 as the
interest rates on these instruments are variable and based on market
interest rates.
Goodwill
Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis and whenever
events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable.
Application of the goodwill impairment test requires judgment, including the identification of
reporting units, assigning assets and liabilities to reporting units, assigning goodwill to
reporting units, and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Significant judgments
required to estimate the fair value of reporting units include estimating future cash flows and
determining appropriate discount rates, growth rates and other assumptions. Changes in these
estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value for each
reporting unit which could trigger impairment.
The Company has determined that DMS and DSS constitute two separate reporting units. The
Company performs its annual goodwill impairment review during its fourth fiscal quarter. No
impairment charges were recorded in the periods presented.
Long-Lived Assets
The Company evaluates long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and purchased
intangible assets with finite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company applies judgment
when assessing the fair value of the assets based on the undiscounted future cash flows the assets
are expected to generate and recognizes an impairment loss if estimated undiscounted future cash
flows expected to result from the use of the asset plus net proceeds expected from disposition of
the asset, if any, are less than the carrying value of the asset. When the Company identifies an
impairment, it reduces the carrying amount of the asset to its estimated fair value based on a
discounted cash flow approach or, when available and appropriate, to comparable market values. No
impairment charges were recorded in the periods presented.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Internal Software Development Costs
The Company incurs costs to develop software for internal use. The Company expenses all
costs that relate to the planning and post-implementation phases of development as product
development expense. Costs incurred in the development phase are capitalized and amortized over the
products estimated useful life if the product is expected to have a useful life beyond six months.
Costs associated with repair or maintenance of existing sites or the development of website content
are included in cost of revenue in the accompanying statements of operations. The Companys policy
is to amortize capitalized internal software development costs on a product-by-product basis using
the straight-line method over the estimated economic life of the application, which is generally
two years. Amortization of internal software development costs was $340 and $331 in the three
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and $941 and $1,195 in the nine months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and is reflected in cost of revenue.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company records stock-based compensation expense for employee stock options granted or
modified on or after July 1, 2006 based on estimated fair values for these stock options. The
Company continues to account for stock options granted to employees prior to July 1, 2006 based on
the intrinsic value of those stock options.
Fair values of share-based payment awards are determined on the date of grant using an
option-pricing model. The Company has selected the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate
the fair value of its stock options awards to employees. In applying the Black-Scholes option
pricing model, the Companys determination of fair value of the share-based payment award on the
date of grant is affected by the Companys estimated fair value of common shares for options
granted prior to the Companys IPO, as well as assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and
subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to, the Companys expected stock
price volatility over the term of the stock options and the employees actual and projected stock
option exercise and pre-vesting employment termination behaviors.
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period
using the straight-line method, based on awards ultimately expected to vest. The Company estimates
future forfeitures at the date of grant and revises the estimates, if necessary, in subsequent
periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.
See Note 10 for further information.
Comprehensive Income
Comprehensive income consists of two components, net income and other comprehensive income
(loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) refers to revenue, expenses, gains, and losses that under
GAAP are recorded as an element of stockholders equity but are excluded from net income. The
Companys other comprehensive income (loss) consists of foreign currency translation adjustments
from those subsidiaries not using the U.S. dollar as their functional currency and unrealized gains
and losses on marketable securities categorized as available-for-sale. Total accumulated other
comprehensive income (loss) is displayed as a separate component of stockholders equity.
As of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, marketable securities were not in unrealized gain or
loss positions.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability approach to record deferred
taxes. The Companys deferred income tax assets represent temporary differences between the
financial statement carrying amount and the tax basis of existing assets and liabilities that will
result in deductible amounts in future years, including net operating loss carry forwards. Based on
estimates, the carrying value of the Companys net deferred tax assets assumes that it is more
likely than not that the Company will be able to generate sufficient future taxable income in
certain tax jurisdictions. The Companys judgments regarding future profitability may change due to
future market conditions, changes in U.S. or international tax laws and other factors.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting
standard that changes the accounting for business combinations, including the measurement of
acquirer shares issued in consideration for a business combination, the recognition of contingent
consideration, the accounting for pre-acquisition gain and loss contingencies, the recognition of
capitalized in-process research and development, the accounting for acquisition-related
restructuring cost accruals, the treatment of acquisition-related transaction costs and the
recognition of changes in the acquirers income tax valuation allowance. The new standard applies
prospectively to business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning
of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008 and to changes in
valuation allowances for deferred tax assets and acquired income tax uncertainties arising from
past business combinations. The adoption of the new standard on July 1, 2009 did not have a
material effect on the Companys condensed consolidated financial statements.
In October 2009, the FASB amended the accounting standards for revenue recognition to remove
tangible products containing software components and non-software components that function together
to deliver the products essential functionality from the scope of industry-specific software
revenue recognition guidance. In October 2009, the FASB also amended the accounting standards for
multiple deliverable revenue arrangements to
| provide updated guidance on whether multiple deliverables exist, how the deliverables in an arrangement should be separated, and how the consideration should be allocated; |
| require an entity to allocate revenue in an arrangement using estimated selling price (ESP) of deliverables if a vendor does not have vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE) of selling price or third-party evidence (TPE) of selling price; |
| and eliminate the use of the residual method and require an entity to allocate revenue using the relative selling price method. |
Both standards will be effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.
Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not anticipate that the adoption of these standards
will have a material effect on its condensed consolidated financial statements.
In January 2010, the FASB issued a new fair value accounting standard update. This update
requires additional disclosures about (i) the different classes of assets and liabilities measured
at fair value, (ii) the valuation techniques and inputs used, (iii) the activity in Level 3 fair
value measurements, and (iv) the transfers between Levels 1, 2, and 3. This update is effective for
interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009. The adoption of the new
standard in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 did not have a material effect on the Companys
condensed consolidated financial statements.
In February 2010, the FASB amended its accounting guidance for the accounting and disclosure
of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued. In
particular, the new amendment sets forth that a registrant is no longer required to disclose the
date through which it has evaluated subsequent events. The amended guidance is effective
immediately and was adopted by the Company in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
8
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
3. NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS AND NET INCOME PER SHARE
Basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders is presented in
conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities. In February 2010, all
of the Companys outstanding convertible preferred stock converted into common stock in connection
with the IPO. Prior to the conversion, holders of Series A, Series B and Series C convertible
preferred stock were each entitled to receive 8% per annum non-cumulative dividends, payable prior
and in preference to any dividends on any other shares of the
Companys capital stock. No such dividends were paid.
For periods prior to the conversion of the convertible preferred stock, net income per
share information is computed using the two-class method. Under the two-class method, basic net
income per share attributable to common stockholders is computed by dividing the net income
attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding
during the period. Net income attributable to common stockholders is computed by subtracting from
net income the portion of current year-to-date earnings that the preferred stockholders would have
been entitled to receive pursuant to their dividend rights had all of the year-to-date earnings
been distributed. Diluted net income per share is computed by using the weighted-average number of
common shares outstanding, including potential dilutive shares of common stock assuming the
dilutive effect of outstanding stock options using the treasury stock method.
The following table presents the calculation of basic and diluted net income per share
attributable to common stockholders:
Three
Months Ended March 31, |
Nine
Months Ended March 31, |
|||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||||||||||
Basic: |
||||||||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 5,250 | $ | 6,393 | $ | 14,173 | $ | 12,047 | ||||||||
8% non-cumulative dividends on convertible preferred stock |
(373 | ) | (819 | ) | (2,018 | ) | (2,457 | ) | ||||||||
Undistributed earnings allocated to convertible preferred stock |
(1,163 | ) | (3,424 | ) | (5,784 | ) | (5,893 | ) | ||||||||
Net income attributable to common stockholders basic |
$ | 3,714 | $ | 2,150 | $ | 6,371 | $ | 3,697 | ||||||||
Diluted: |
||||||||||||||||
Net income attributable to common stockholders basic |
$ | 3,714 | $ | 2,150 | $ | 6,371 | $ | 3,697 | ||||||||
Undistributed earnings re-allocated to common stock |
83 | 151 | 419 | 284 | ||||||||||||
Net income attributable to common stockholders diluted |
$ | 3,797 | $ | 2,301 | $ | 6,790 | $ | 3,981 | ||||||||
Denominator: |
||||||||||||||||
Basic: |
||||||||||||||||
Weighted average shares of common stock used in
computing basic net income per share |
30,795 | 13,297 | 19,156 | 13,287 | ||||||||||||
Diluted: |
||||||||||||||||
Weighted average shares of common stock used in
computing basic net income per share |
30,795 | 13,297 | 19,156 | 13,287 | ||||||||||||
Add weighted average effect of dilutive securities: |
||||||||||||||||
Stock options |
3,143 | 1,593 | 2,852 | 1,745 | ||||||||||||
Weighted average shares of common stock
used in computing diluted net income per share |
33,938 | 14,890 | 22,008 | 15,032 | ||||||||||||
Net income per common share: |
||||||||||||||||
Basic |
$ | 0.12 | $ | 0.16 | $ | 0.33 | $ | 0.28 | ||||||||
Diluted |
$ | 0.11 | $ | 0.15 | $ | 0.31 | $ | 0.26 | ||||||||
Weighted average shares from options in the amount of 2,494,823 and 4,650,359 for the
three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and 2,801,310 and 4,384,760 for the nine
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, were excluded from the dilutive shares
outstanding because their effect was anti-dilutive.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
4. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer
a liability (i.e., the exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the
measurement date. A hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value has been defined to minimize
the use of unobservable inputs by requiring the use of observable market data when available.
Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability
based on active market data. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Companys assumptions
about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the
best information available in the circumstances.
The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels:
Level 1 | Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. |
Level 2 | Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly through market corroboration, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument. |
Level 3 | Inputs are unobservable inputs based on the Companys assumptions. |
As of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, the Company did not hold marketable securities other
than money market funds. Money market funds are classified as cash equivalents on the balance sheet
and are categorized as follows in the fair value hierarchy as of March 31, 2010 and June 30,
2009.
Quoted Prices in | ||||||||
Active Markets | ||||||||
for Identical Assets | ||||||||
Total | (Level 1) | |||||||
Assets: |
||||||||
Money market funds |
$ | 8,054 | $ | 8,054 | ||||
Balance at June 30, 2009 |
$ | 8,054 | $ | 8,054 | ||||
Assets: |
||||||||
Money market funds |
$ | 147,078 | $ | 147,078 | ||||
Balance at March 31, 2010 |
$ | 147,078 | $ | 147,078 | ||||
5. ACQUISITIONS
Acquisition of Internet.com
On November 30, 2009, the Company acquired the website business of Internet.com, a
division of WebMediaBrands, Inc., in exchange for $16,000 in cash paid upon closing of the
acquisition and the issuance of a $2,000 non-interest-bearing promissory note payable in one
installment. The results of Internet.coms operations have been included in the consolidated
financial statements since the acquisition date. The Company acquired Internet.com to broaden its
media access and client base in the business-to-business market. The total purchase price recorded
was as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 16,000 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $46 of imputed interest) |
1,954 | |||
$ | 17,954 |
The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase business combination. The Company
allocated the purchase price to tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and identifiable
intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price
over the aggregate fair values was recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is deductible for tax
purposes. The following table summarizes the preliminary allocation of the purchase price and the
estimated useful lives of the identifiable intangible assets acquired as of the date of the
acquisition:
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Tangible assets acquired |
$ | 2,663 | ||||||
Liabilities assumed |
(634 | ) | ||||||
Customer relationships |
1,900 | 7 years | ||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
2,500 | 5 years | ||||||
Content |
4,300 | 4 years | ||||||
Noncompete agreements |
200 | 2 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
7,025 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 17,954 | |||||||
Acquisition of Insure.com
On October 8, 2009, the Company acquired the website business Insure.com, an
Illinois-based online marketing company, in exchange for $15,000 in cash paid upon closing of the
acquisition and the issuance of a $1,000 non-interest-bearing promissory note payable in one
installment. The results of Insure.coms acquired operations have been included in the consolidated
financial statements since the acquisition date. The Company acquired Insure.com for its capacity
to generate online visitors in the financial services market. The total purchase price recorded was
as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 15,000 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $24 of imputed interest) |
976 | |||
$ | 15,976 | |||
The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase business combination. The Company
allocated the purchase price to identifiable intangible assets acquired based on their estimated
fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the aggregate fair values was recorded as
goodwill. The goodwill is deductible for tax purposes. The following table summarizes the
allocation of the purchase price and the estimated useful lives of the identifiable intangible
assets acquired as of the date of the acquisition:
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Noncompete agreements |
$ | 900 | 3 years | |||||
Website/trade/domain names |
1,250 | 8 years | ||||||
Content |
3,900 | 8 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
9,926 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 15,976 | |||||||
Acquisition of Payler Corp. D/B/A HSH Associates Financial Publishers (HSH)
On September 14, 2009, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of HSH, a New
Jersey-based online marketing business, in exchange for $6,000 in cash paid upon closing of the
acquisition and the issuance of $4,000 in non-interest-bearing promissory notes payable in five
installments over the next five years. The results of HSHs acquired operations have been included
in the consolidated financial statements since the acquisition date. The Company acquired HSH for
its capacity to generate online visitors in the financial services market. The total purchase price
recorded was as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 6,000 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $241 of imputed interest) |
3,759 | |||
$ | 9,759 | |||
The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase business combination. The Company
allocated the purchase price to tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and identifiable
intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price
over the aggregate fair values was recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is not deductible for tax
purposes. The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price and the estimated
useful lives of the identifiable intangible assets acquired as of the date of the acquisition:
11
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Tangible assets acquired |
$ | 50 | ||||||
Liabilities assumed |
(1,695 | ) | ||||||
Advertiser relationships |
1,100 | 3 years | ||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
800 | 6 years | ||||||
Content |
1,400 | 6 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
8,104 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 9,759 | |||||||
Acquisition of U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc. (CardRatings)
On August 5, 2008, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of CardRatings, an
Arkansas-based online marketing company, in exchange for $10,000 in cash paid upon closing of the
acquisition and the issuance of $5,000 in non-interest-bearing promissory notes payable in five
installments over the next five years, secured by the assets acquired. The Company paid $372 in
working capital adjustment following the closing of the acquisition. The results of CardRatings
acquired operations have been included in the consolidated financial statements since the
acquisition date. The Company acquired CardRatings for its capacity to generate online visitors in
the financial services market. The total purchase price recorded was as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 10,372 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $722 of imputed interest) |
4,278 | |||
Acquisition-related costs |
20 | |||
$ | 14,670 | |||
The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase business combination. The Company
allocated the purchase price to tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and identifiable
intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price
over the aggregate fair values was recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is entirely deductible for
tax purposes. The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price and the estimated
useful lives of the identifiable intangible assets acquired as of the date of the acquisition:
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Tangible assets acquired |
$ | 834 | ||||||
Liabilities assumed |
(206 | ) | ||||||
Advertiser relationships |
2,325 | 7 years | ||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
776 | 5 years | ||||||
Noncompete agreements |
124 | 3 years | ||||||
Content |
140 | 2 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
10,677 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 14,670 | |||||||
Other Acquisitions
During the nine months ended March 31, 2010, in addition to the acquisition of HSH,
Insure.com and Internet.com, the Company acquired operations from 22 other online publishing
businesses in exchange for $14,598 in cash paid upon closing of the acquisitions and $4,356 payable
in the form of non-interest-bearing, unsecured promissory notes payable over a period of time
ranging from one to five years. The aggregate purchase price recorded was as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 14,598 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $295 in imputed interest) |
4,061 | |||
$ | 18,659 | |||
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The acquisitions were accounted for as purchase business combinations. In each of the
acquisitions, the Company allocated the purchase price to identifiable intangible assets acquired
based on their estimated fair values and liabilities assumed, if any. The excess of the purchase
price over the aggregate fair values of the identifiable intangible assets was recorded as
goodwill. Goodwill deductible for tax purposes is $13,014. The following table summarizes the
preliminary allocation of the purchase prices of these other acquisitions during the nine months
ended March 31, 2010 and the estimated useful lives of the identifiable intangible assets acquired
as of the respective dates of these acquisitions:
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Tangible
assets acquired |
$ | 1 | ||||||
Content |
2,526 | 1-6 years | ||||||
Customer / publisher relationships |
687 | 1-7 years | ||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
1,101 | 5 years | ||||||
Noncompete agreements |
141 | 2-3 years | ||||||
Acquired technology |
199 | 3 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
14,004 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 18,659 | |||||||
During fiscal year 2009, in addition to the acquisition of CardRatings, the Company
acquired operations from 33 other online publishing businesses in exchange for $14,606 in cash paid
upon closing of the acquisitions and $4,268 payable primarily in the form of non-interest-bearing,
unsecured promissory notes payable over a period of time ranging from one to five years. The
aggregate purchase price recorded was as follows:
Amount | ||||
Cash |
$ | 14,606 | ||
Fair value of debt (net of $395 of imputed interest) |
3,873 | |||
Acquisition-related costs |
134 | |||
$ | 18,613 | |||
The acquisitions were accounted for as purchase business combinations. In each of the
acquisitions, the Company allocated the purchase price to identifiable intangible assets acquired
based on their estimated fair values and liabilities assumed, if any. No tangible assets were
acquired. The excess of the purchase price over the aggregate fair values of the identifiable
intangible assets was recorded as goodwill. The goodwill is entirely deductible for tax purposes.
The following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase prices of these other fiscal year
2009 acquisitions and the estimated useful lives of the identifiable intangible assets acquired as
of the respective dates of these acquisitions:
Estimated | Estimated | |||||||
Fair Value | Useful Life | |||||||
Liabilities assumed |
$ | (22 | ) | |||||
Content |
2,538 | 1-6 years | ||||||
Customer/publisher relationships |
1,952 | 1-7 years | ||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
2,418 | 5 years | ||||||
Noncompete agreements |
236 | 5 years | ||||||
Acquired technology |
392 | 3 years | ||||||
Goodwill |
11,099 | Indefinite | ||||||
$ | 18,613 | |||||||
Pro Forma Financial Information
The unaudited pro forma financial information in the table below summarizes the combined
results of operations for the Company and other companies that were acquired since the beginning of
fiscal year 2009. The pro forma financial information includes the business combination accounting
effects resulting from these acquisitions including amortization charges from acquired intangible
assets and the related tax effects as though the aforementioned companies were combined as of the
beginning of each period presented. The unaudited pro forma financial information as presented
below is for informational purposes only and is not indicative of the results of operations that
would have been achieved if the acquisitions had taken place at the beginning of each period
presented.
13
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Total revenue |
$ | 91,518 | $ | 75,003 | $ | 254,277 | $ | 208,825 | ||||||||
Net income |
5,220 | 4,459 | 15,219 | 9,903 | ||||||||||||
Basic net income per share |
$ | 0.12 | $ | 0.11 | $ | 0.36 | $ | 0.22 | ||||||||
Diluted net income per share |
$ | 0.11 | $ | 0.10 | $ | 0.34 | $ | 0.21 |
6. INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET
Intangible assets, net balances, excluding goodwill, consisted of the following:
March 31, 2010 | June 30, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Gross | Net | Gross | Net | |||||||||||||||||||||
Carrying | Accumulated | Carrying | Carrying | Accumulated | Carrying | |||||||||||||||||||
Amount | Amortization | Amount | Amount | Amortization | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||
Customer/publisher relationships |
$ | 26,669 | $ | (9,472 | ) | $ | 17,197 | $ | 22,982 | $ | (6,299 | ) | $ | 16,683 | ||||||||||
Content |
30,271 | (15,039 | ) | 15,232 | 18,145 | (10,546 | ) | 7,599 | ||||||||||||||||
Website/trade/domain names |
14,838 | (4,400 | ) | 10,438 | 9,187 | (2,988 | ) | 6,199 | ||||||||||||||||
Acquired technology and other |
11,474 | (8,517 | ) | 2,957 | 10,034 | (6,525 | ) | 3,509 | ||||||||||||||||
$ | 83,252 | $ | (37,428 | ) | $ | 45,824 | $ | 60,348 | $ | (26,358 | ) | $ | 33,990 | |||||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets was $4,110 and $3,189 in the three months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009, respectively, and $11,070 and $9,584 in the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and
2009, respectively.
Amortization expense for the Companys acquisition-related intangible assets as of March 31,
2010 for each of the next five years and thereafter is as follows:
Year Ending June 30, | ||||
2010 (remaining three months) |
$ | 5,502 | ||
2011 |
13,122 | |||
2012 |
10,594 | |||
2013 |
7,897 | |||
2014 |
3,795 | |||
2015 |
2,578 | |||
Thereafter |
2,336 | |||
$ | 45,824 | |||
7. GOODWILL
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the nine months ended March 31, 2010
were as follows:
DMS | DSS | Total | ||||||||||
Balance at June 30, 2009 |
$ | 105,513 | $ | 1,231 | $ | 106,744 | ||||||
Additions |
39,059 | | 39,059 | |||||||||
Balance at March 31, 2010 |
$ | 144,572 | $ | 1,231 | $ | 145,803 | ||||||
In the nine months ended March 31, 2010, the additions to goodwill relate to the Companys
acquisitions as described in Note 5, and primarily reflect the value of the synergies expected to
be generated from combining the Companys technology and know-how with the acquired businesses
access to online visitors.
14
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
8. DEBT
Promissory Notes
During the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and fiscal year 2009, the Company issued total
promissory notes for the acquisition of businesses of $10,750 and $8,151, respectively, net of
imputed interest amounts of $606 and $1,117, respectively. The majority of the promissory notes are
non-interest-bearing. For these notes interest was imputed such that the notes carry an interest
rate commensurate with that available to the Company in the market for similar debt instruments.
The Company recorded accretion of notes payable of $15 and $265 for the three months ended March
31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and $217 and $541 for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and
2009, respectively. Certain of the promissory notes are secured by the assets acquired in respect
to which the notes were issued.
Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility
In September 2008, the Company replaced its existing revolving credit facility of $60,000
with a credit facility totaling $100,000. The new facility consisted of a $30,000 five-year term
loan and a $70,000 revolving credit line.
In
November 2009, the Company entered into an amendment of its
existing credit facility
pursuant to which the Companys lenders agreed to increase the maximum amount available under the
Companys revolving credit line from $70,000 to $100,000.
In
January 2010, the Company replaced its existing credit facility with
a new credit facility
with total borrowing capacity of $175,000. The new credit facility consists of a $35,000 four-year term
loan, with principal amortization of 10%, 15%, 35% and 40% annually, and a $140,000 four-year
revolving credit line with an optional increase of $50,000.
Borrowings
under the credit facility are collateralized by the Companys assets and interest
is payable quarterly at specified margins above either LIBOR or the Prime Rate. The interest rate
varies dependent upon the ratio of funded debt to adjusted EBITDA and ranges from LIBOR + 2.125% to
2.875% or Prime + 1.00% to 1.50% for the revolving credit line and from LIBOR + 2.50% to 3.25%
or Prime + 1.00% to 1.50% for the term loan. The revolving
credit line also
requires a quarterly facility fee of
0.375% of the revolving credit line. The credit facility expires in January 2014. The loan and
revolving credit line agreement restricts the Companys ability to raise additional debt
financing and pay dividends. In addition, the Company is required to maintain financial ratios
computed as follows:
1. Quick ratio: ratio of (i) the sum of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and trade
receivables less than 90 days from invoice date to (ii) current liabilities and face amount of any
letters of credit less the current portion of deferred revenue.
2. Fixed charge coverage: ratio of (i) trailing twelve months of Adjusted EBITDA to (ii) the
sum of capital expenditures, net cash interest expense, cash taxes, cash dividends and trailing
twelve months payments of indebtedness. Payment of unsecured indebtedness is excluded to the degree
that sufficient unused revolving credit line exists such that the relevant debt payment could
be made from the credit facility.
3. Funded debt to Adjusted EBITDA: ratio of (i) the sum of all obligations owed to lending
institutions, the face amount of any letters of credit, indebtedness owed in connection with
acquisition-related notes and indebtedness owed in connection with capital lease obligations to
(ii) trailing twelve months of Adjusted EBITDA.
The credit facility also requires the Company to comply with other nonfinancial covenants. The
Company was in compliance with the financial ratios as of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009.
Upfront arrangement fees incurred in connection with credit facilities are deferred and
amortized over the remaining term of the arrangement.
As of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, $35,000 and $28,500 was outstanding under the term
loan and $41,754 and $6,257 was outstanding under the revolving
credit line, respectively.
15
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Debt Maturities
The maturities of debt as of March 31, 2010 were as follows:
Term loan and | ||||||||
revolving | ||||||||
Notes | credit | |||||||
Year Ending June 30, | Payable | line | ||||||
2010 (remaining three months) |
$ | 2,400 | $ | 850 | ||||
2011 |
14,419 | 3,963 | ||||||
2012 |
6,204 | 7,000 | ||||||
2013 |
2,834 | 12,688 | ||||||
2014 |
2,273 | 52,253 | ||||||
2015 |
500 | | ||||||
28,630 | 76,754 | |||||||
Less: imputed interest and unamortized discounts |
(1,288 | ) | (1,364 | ) | ||||
Less: current portion |
(14,955 | ) | (3,141 | ) | ||||
Noncurrent portion of debt |
$ | 12,387 | $ | 72,249 | ||||
Letters of Credit
The Company has a $350 letter of credit agreement with a financial institution that is
used as collateral for fidelity bonds placed with an insurance company. The letter of credit
automatically renews annually in September without amendment unless cancelled by the financial
institution within 30 days of the annual expiration date.
The Company has a $223 letter of credit agreement with a financial institution that is used as
collateral for the Companys existing corporate headquarters operating lease. The letter of credit
automatically renews annually without amendment unless cancelled by the financial institution
within 30 days of the annual expiration date.
The Company has a $500 letter of credit agreement with a financial institution that is used as
collateral for the Companys new corporate headquarters operating lease. The letter of credit
automatically renews annually without amendment unless cancelled by the financial institution
within 30 days of the annual expiration date.
9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Leases
The Company leases office space and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases with
various expiration dates through 2018. Rent expense for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and
2009 was $787 and $662, respectively, and $2,457 and $1,886 for the nine months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009, respectively. The Company recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the
lease period and accrues for rent expense incurred but not paid.
Future annual minimum lease payments under all noncancelable operating leases as of March 31,
2010 were as follows:
Operating | ||||
Year Ending June 30, | Leases | |||
2010 (remaining three months) |
$ | 783 | ||
2011 |
1,459 | |||
2012 |
1,146 | |||
2013 |
2,073 | |||
2014 |
2,332 | |||
2015 |
2,379 | |||
Thereafter |
8,269 | |||
$ | 18,441 | |||
16
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
The existing lease for the Companys corporate headquarters located at 1051 Hillsdale
Boulevard, Foster City, California expires in October 2010.
In February, 2010, the Company entered into a new lease agreement for office space located at
950 Tower Lane, Foster City, California. The term of the lease begins on November 1, 2010 and
expires on the last day of the 96th full calendar month commencing on or after November 1, 2010.
The monthly base rent will be abated for the first 12 calendar months under the lease. Thereafter,
the monthly base rent will be $118 through the 24th calendar month of the term of the lease, after which
the monthly base rent will increase to $182 for the subsequent 12 months. In the
following years the monthly base rent will increase approximately 3% after each 12-month
anniversary during the term of the lease, including any extensions under the Companys options to
extend.
The Company has two options to extend the term of the lease for one additional year for each
option following the expiration date of the lease or renewal term, as applicable.
Concurrently with the execution of the lease, the Company delivered to the landlord, as
collateral for the full performance by the Company of all of its obligations under the lease, and
for all losses and damages the landlord may suffer as a result of any default by the Company under
the lease, a letter of credit in the face amount of $500.
Guarantor Arrangements
The Company has agreements whereby it indemnifies its officers and directors for certain
events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was serving, at the Companys request in
such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for the officer or directors lifetime.
The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these
indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, the Company has a director and officer insurance
policy that limits its exposure and enables the Company to recover a portion of any future amounts
paid. As a result of its insurance policy coverage, the Company believes the estimated fair value
of these indemnification agreements is minimal. Accordingly, the Company had no liabilities
recorded for these agreements as of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, respectively
In the ordinary course of its business, the Company enters into standard indemnification
provisions in its agreements with its clients. Pursuant to these provisions, the Company
indemnifies its clients for losses suffered or incurred in connection with third-party claims
that a Company product infringed upon any United States patent, copyright or other intellectual
property rights. Where applicable, the Company generally limits such infringement indemnities to
those claims directed solely to its products and not in combination with other software or
products. With respect to its DSS products, the Company also generally reserves the right to
resolve such claims by designing a non-infringing alternative or by obtaining a license on
reasonable terms, and failing that, to terminate its relationship
with the client. Subject to
these limitations, the term of such indemnity provisions is generally coterminous with the
corresponding agreements.
The potential amount of future payments to defend lawsuits or settle indemnified claims under
these indemnification provisions is unlimited; however, the Company believes the estimated fair
value of these indemnity provisions is minimal, and accordingly, the Company had no liabilities
recorded for these agreements as of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009, respectively.
During fiscal year 2009, the Company settled an indemnity obligation with respect to one
ongoing litigation matter. See discussion below for further details.
17
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Litigation
In August 2005, the Company was notified by one of its DSS segment clients that epicRealm
Licensing, LLC (epicRealm LLC), a non-operating patent holding company, had filed a lawsuit
against such client in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging
that certain web-based services provided by the Company and others to such client infringed patents
held by epicRealm LLC.
In August 2006, the Company filed suit against epicRealm Licensing LP (epicRealm LP) in the
United States District Court for the District of Delaware seeking to invalidate certain patents
owned by epicRealm LP. In April 2007, epicRealm LP filed counterclaims against the Company alleging
patent infringement. Parallel Networks, LLC was later substituted for epicRealm LP as the patent
holder and party-in-interest.
In April 2009, the Company entered into a settlement and license agreement (Agreement) with
Parallel Networks pertaining to the patents in question (Licensed Patents). Under the terms of
the Agreement, Parallel Networks granted the Company a perpetual, royalty-free, non-sublicensable
and generally non-transferable, worldwide right and license under the Licensed Patents: (i) to use
any product technology or service covered by or which embodies any one or more claims of the
Licensed Patents (as defined in the Agreement); and (ii) to practice any method covered by any one
or more claims of the Licensed Patents in connection with the activities in clause (i).
Additionally, Parallel Networks covenants not to sue the Company.
The Company paid Parallel Networks a one-time, non-refundable fee of $850. The Company
recognized an intangible asset of $226 related to the estimated fair value of the license and
expensed the remaining $624 as a settlement expense.
10. EQUITY BENEFIT PLANS
In November 2009, the Companys board of directors adopted the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan (the
2010 Incentive Plan) and the Companys stockholders approved the 2010 Incentive Plan in January
2010. The 2010 Incentive Plan became effective upon the completion of the IPO. Awards granted
after January 2008 but before the adoption of the 2010 Incentive Plan continue to be governed by
the terms of the 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2008 Plan). All outstanding stock awards granted
before January 2008 continue to be governed by the terms of the Companys amended and restated 1999
Equity Incentive Plan (the 1999 Plan).
The 2010 Incentive Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonstatutory stock
options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights,
performance-based stock awards and other forms of equity compensation. In addition, the 2010
Incentive Plan provides for the grant of performance cash awards. The Company may issue incentive
stock options (ISOs) only to its employees. Non-qualified stock options (NQSOs) and all other
awards may be granted to employees, including officers, nonemployee directors and consultants. ISOs
and NQSOs are generally granted to employees with an exercise price equal to the market price of
the Companys common stock at the date of grant, as determined by the Companys board of directors.
Stock options granted to employees generally have a contractual term of seven years and vest over
four years of continuous service, with 25 percent of the stock options vesting on the one-year
anniversary of the date of grant and the remaining 75 percent vesting in equal monthly installments
over the 36-month period thereafter.
The aggregate number of shares of the Companys common stock initially reserved for issuance
under the 2010 Incentive Plan was 282,277 and will be increased by any outstanding stock awards
that expire or terminate for any reason prior to their exercise or settlement. The number of shares
of the Companys common stock reserved for issuance may be increased annually from July 1, 2010
through July 1, 2019 by up to five percent of the total number of shares of the Companys common
stock outstanding on the last day of the preceding fiscal year. The maximum number of shares that
may be issued under the 2010 Incentive Plan is 30,000,000.
In November 2009, the Companys board of directors adopted the 2010 Non-Employee Directors
Stock Award Plan (the Directors Plan) and the stockholders approved the Directors Plan in
January 2010. The Directors Plan became effective upon the completion of the Companys IPO. The
Directors Plan provides for the automatic grant of nonstatutory stock options to purchase shares
of the Companys common stock to non-employee directors and also provides for the discretionary
grant of restricted stock units.
An aggregate of 300,000 shares of the Companys common stock are reserved for issuance under
the Directors Plan. This amount may be increased annually, by the sum of 200,000 shares and the
aggregate number of shares of the Companys common stock subject to awards granted under the
Directors Plan during the immediately preceding fiscal year.
The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards at the date of grant using the
Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Options are granted with an exercise price equal to the fair
value of the common stock as of the date of grant. Compensation expense is amortized net of
estimated forfeitures on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the options,
which is generally four years.
The weighted average Black-Scholes model assumptions for the three and nine months ended March
31, 2009 and 2010 were as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Risk-free interest rate |
2.43 | % | 1.76 | % | 2.39 | % | 2.81 | % | ||||||||
Expected term (years) |
4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | ||||||||||||
Expected volatility |
56 | % | 70 | % | 67 | % | 62 | % | ||||||||
Expected
dividend yield |
0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % |
The weighted average grant date fair value of employee stock options granted was $9.18 and
$5.08 during the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and $9.52 and $5.28
during the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
11. STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
In February 2010, the Company completed its IPO, whereby it sold 10,000,000 shares of common
stock for a price of $15.00 per share. The Company received $136,803 net of offering costs.
Approximately $13,197 in offering costs were incurred and have been deducted from additional
paid-in capital.
Prior to the closing of the IPO, the Company had outstanding three series of convertible
preferred stock. On February 11, 2010, in conjunction with the closing of the IPO, all of the
Companys 21,176,533 outstanding preferred shares automatically converted on a one-for-one basis
into 21,176,533 shares of common stock. At March 31, 2010, the Company had no preferred shares
outstanding.
In the nine months ended March 31, 2010, the Company repurchased 79,800 shares of its
outstanding common stock at a total cost of $715 and an average cost of $8.96 per share.
The following table sets forth the components of comprehensive income for the three and nine
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 5,250 | $ | 6,393 | $ | 14,173 | $ | 12,047 | ||||||||
Other comprehensive income (loss) |
||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment |
8 | (26 | ) | | 14 | |||||||||||
Comprehensive income |
$ | 5,258 | $ | 6,367 | $ | 14,173 | $ | 12,061 | ||||||||
12. SEGMENT INFORMATION
Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial
information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or
decision making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The
Companys chief operating decision maker is its chief executive officer. The Companys chief
executive officer reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by
information about operating segments, including net sales and operating income before depreciation,
amortization and stock-based compensation expense.
The Company determined its operating segments to be DMS, which derives substantially all of
its revenue from fees earned through the delivery of qualified leads and clicks, and DSS, which
derives substantially all of its revenue from the sale of direct selling services through a hosted
solution. The Companys reportable operating segments consist of DMS and DSS. The accounting
policies of the two reportable operating segments are the same as those described in Note 2.
The Company evaluates the performance of its operating segments based on net sales and
operating income before depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation expense.
The Company does not allocate most of its assets, as well as its depreciation and amortization
expense, stock-based compensation expense, interest income, interest expense and income tax expense
by segment. Accordingly, the Company does not report such information.
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QUINSTREET, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Summarized information by segment was as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Net revenue by segment: |
||||||||||||||||
DMS |
$ | 90,511 | $ | 68,925 | $ | 244,841 | $ | 190,208 | ||||||||
DSS |
262 | 888 | 1,447 | 2,518 | ||||||||||||
Total net revenue |
90,773 | 69,813 | 246,288 | 192,726 | ||||||||||||
Segment operating income before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based
compensation expense: |
||||||||||||||||
DMS |
18,266 | 18,085 | 50,672 | 40,425 | ||||||||||||
DSS |
73 | 486 | 806 | 1,260 | ||||||||||||
Total segment operating income before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based
compensation expense |
18,339 | 18,571 | 51,478 | 41,685 | ||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
5,075 | 4,035 | 13,678 | 12,386 | ||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense |
3,126 | 1,474 | 10,219 | 4,384 | ||||||||||||
Operating income |
$ | 10,138 | $ | 13,062 | $ | 27,581 | $ | 24,915 | ||||||||
The following tables set forth net revenue, assets and long-lived assets by geographic
area:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
Net revenue: |
||||||||||||||||
North America |
$ | 90,764 | $ | 69,769 | $ | 245,754 | $ | 192,498 | ||||||||
Europe |
9 | 44 | 534 | 228 | ||||||||||||
Total net revenue |
$ | 90,773 | $ | 69,813 | $ | 246,288 | $ | 192,726 | ||||||||
March 31, | June 30, | |||||||
2010 | 2009 | |||||||
Assets: |
||||||||
North America |
$ | 433,074 | $ | 211,337 | ||||
Europe |
488 | 927 | ||||||
Asia/Pacific |
605 | 614 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 434,167 | $ | 212,878 | ||||
Long-lived assets: |
||||||||
North America |
$ | 5,176 | $ | 4,485 | ||||
Europe |
| 35 | ||||||
Asia/Pacific |
175 | 221 | ||||||
Total long-lived assets |
$ | 5,351 | $ | 4,741 | ||||
20
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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENTS 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 our condensed consolidated financial statements and related
notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our prospectus filed pursuant
to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act with the SEC on February 11, 2010.
This quarterly report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could
cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that are not purely
historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as, but not limited to,
anticipate, believe, can, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, will,
plan, project, seek, should, target, will, would, and similar expressions or
variations intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the
beliefs and assumptions of our management based on information currently available to management.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors
that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future
results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below, and those
discussed in the section titled Risk Factors included in our prospectus filed pursuant to Rule
424(b) under the Securities Act with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2010.
Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Except as
required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
Management Overview
Quinstreet is a leader in vertical marketing and media on the Internet. We have built a strong
set of capabilities to engage Internet visitors with targeted media and to connect our marketing
clients with their potential customers online. We focus on serving clients in large,
information-intensive industry verticals where relevant, targeted media and offerings help visitors
make informed choices, find the products that match their needs, and thus become qualified customer
prospects for our clients.
We deliver cost-effective marketing results to our clients most typically in the form of a
qualified lead or click. These leads or clicks can then convert into a customer or sale for the
client at a rate that results in an acceptable marketing cost to them. We get paid by clients
primarily when we deliver qualified leads or clicks as defined by our agreements with them. Because
we bear the costs of media, our programs must deliver a value to our
clients and provide for a media yield, or
our ability to generate an acceptable margin on our media costs that provides a sound financial
outcome, for us. Our general process is:
| We own or access targeted media; | ||
| We run advertisements or other forms of marketing messages and programs in that media to create visitor responses or clicks through to client offerings; | ||
| We match these responses or clicks to client offerings or brands that meet visitor interests or needs, converting visitors into qualified leads or clicks; and | ||
| We optimize client matches and media yield such that we achieve desired results for clients and a sound financial outcome for us. |
Our primary financial objective has been and remains creating revenue growth, from sustainable
sources, at target levels of profitability. Our primary financial objective is not to maximize
profits, but rather to achieve target levels of profitability while investing in various growth
initiatives, as we believe we are in the early stages of a large, long-term market.
Our Direct Marketing Services, or DMS, business accounted for 99% of our net revenue in each
of the first three and nine months of fiscal year 2010 and 2009. Our DMS business derives
substantially all of its net revenue from fees earned through the delivery of qualified leads and
clicks to our clients. Through a vertical focus, targeted media presence and our technology
platform, we are able to deliver targeted, measurable marketing results to our clients.
Our two largest client verticals are financial services and education. Our education client
vertical represented 42% and 55% of net revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
respectively, and 47% and 58% of net revenue in the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
respectively. Our financial services client vertical represented 46% and 35% of net revenue in the three months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009, respectively, and 43% and 30% of net revenue in the nine months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009, respectively. Other DMS verticals, consisting primarily of home services,
business-to-business, or B2B, and medical, represented 12% and 10% of net revenue in the three
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and 10% and 12% of net revenue in the nine
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
In addition, we derived 1% of our net revenue in each of the three and nine months ended March
31, 2010 and 2009, from the provision of a hosted solution and related services for
clients in the direct selling industry, also referred to as our Direct Selling Services, or DSS,
business.
We generated substantially all of our revenue from sales to clients in the United States.
We face an additional challenge with regard to a significant client, which accounted for 18%
of our net revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2009, and 10% and 19% in the nine months
ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. This client has recently retained an advertising
agency and has reduced its purchases of leads from us. We have been addressing this challenge by
working with this client and the agency to understand their evolving
needs and strategies and understand how
we can best serve them going forward. In addition, we have been expanding our business with other
clients in our education client vertical. We are also expanding our client base in education to
replace visitor matches previously delivered to this client.
Trends Affecting our Business
Seasonality
Our results are subject to significant fluctuation as a result of seasonality. In particular,
our quarters ending December 31 (our second fiscal quarter) typically demonstrate seasonal
weakness. In the second fiscal quarters, there is lower availability of lead supply from some forms
of media during the holiday period on a cost effective basis and some of our clients often request
fewer leads due to holiday staffing. For example, in the quarters ended December 31, 2009 and 2008
net revenue from our education clients declined 10% and 13%, respectively, from the previous
quarter. In our quarters ending March 31 (our third fiscal quarter), this trend generally reverses
with better lead availability and often new budgets at the beginning of the year for our clients
with financial years ending December 31.
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Acquisitions
Beginning in fiscal year 2008, we increased our level of strategic acquisition activity to
expand our existing verticals and diversify our business among these verticals by substantially
increasing our spending on acquisitions of businesses and technologies. For example, in February
2008, we acquired ReliableRemodeler.com, Inc., or ReliableRemodeler, an Oregon-based company
specializing in online home renovation and contractor referrals for $17.5 million in cash and $8.0
million in non-interest-bearing, unsecured promissory notes, in an effort to increase our presence
within our home services vertical. In April 2008, we acquired Cyberspace Communication Corporation,
an Oklahoma-based online marketing company doing business as SureHits, for $27.5 million in cash
and $18.0 million in potential earn-out payments, in an effort to increase our presence within the
financial services vertical. During fiscal years 2008 and 2009, in addition to the acquisitions
mentioned above, we acquired an aggregate of 21 and 34 online publishing businesses, respectively.
In September 2009, we acquired Payler Corp. D/B/A HSH Associates Financial Publishers, or HSH,
for $6.0 million in cash and a $4.0 million non-interest-bearing, unsecured promissory note. In
October 2009, we acquired the website business Insure.com from Life Quotes, Inc., or Insure.com,
for $15.0 million in cash and a $1.0 million non-interest- bearing, unsecured promissory note. In
November 2009, we acquired the website assets of the Internet.com division of WebMediaBrands, Inc.,
or Internet.com, for $16.0 million in cash and a $2.0 million non-interest-bearing, unsecured
promissory note. During the nine months ended March 31, 2010, in addition to the acquisitions of
HSH, Insure.com and Internet.com, we acquired an aggregate of 22 online publishing businesses.
Our acquisition strategy may result in significant fluctuations in our available working
capital from period to period and over the years. We may use cash, stock or promissory notes to
acquire various businesses or technologies, and we cannot accurately predict the timing of those
acquisitions or the impact on our cash flows and balance sheet. Large acquisitions or multiple
acquisitions within a particular period may significantly affect our financial results for that
period. We may utilize debt financing to make acquisitions, which could give rise to higher
interest expense and more restrictive operating covenants. We may also utilize our stock as
consideration, which could result in substantial dilution.
Client Verticals
To date, we have generated the majority of our revenue from clients in our education client
vertical. We expect that a majority of our revenue in fiscal year 2010 will be generated from
clients in our education and financial services client verticals. Marketing budgets for clients in
our education vertical are affected by a number of factors, including the availability of student
financial aid, the regulation of for-profit financial institutions and economic conditions. Over
the past year, some segments of the financial services industry, particularly mortgages, credit
cards and deposits, have seen declines in marketing budgets given the difficult market conditions.
In addition, the education and financial services industries are highly regulated. Changes in
regulations or government actions may negatively affect our clients businesses and marketing
practices and therefore, adversely affect our financial results.
Development and Acquisition of Vertical Media
One of the primary challenges of our business is finding or creating media that is targeted
enough to attract prospects economically for our clients and at costs that work for our business
model. In order to continue to grow our business, we must be able to continue to find or develop
quality vertical media on a cost-effective basis. Our inability to find or develop vertical media
could impair our growth or adversely affect our financial performance.
Basis of Presentation
General
We operate in two segments: DMS and DSS. For further discussion or financial information about
our reporting segments, see Note 12 to our condensed consolidated financial statements.
Net Revenue
DMS. We derive substantially all of our revenue from fees earned through the delivery of
qualified leads or paid clicks. We deliver targeted and measurable results through a vertical focus
that we classify into the following client verticals: education, financial services and other
(which includes home services, B2B and medical).
DSS. We derived approximately 1% of net revenue from our DSS business in each of the three
and nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. We expect DSS to continue to represent
an immaterial portion of our business.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of media costs, personnel costs, amortization of
acquisition-related intangible assets, depreciation expense and amortization of internal software
development costs on revenue-producing technologies. Media costs consist primarily of fees paid to
website publishers that are directly related to a revenue-generating event and PPC ad purchases
from Internet search companies. We pay these Internet search companies and website publishers on a
revenue-share, cost-per-lead, or CPL, cost-per-click, or CPC, and cost-per-thousand-impressions, or
CPM, basis. Personnel costs include salaries, bonuses, stock-based compensation expense and
employee benefit costs. Compensation expense is primarily related to individuals associated with
maintaining our servers and websites, our editorial staff, client management, creative team,
compliance group and media purchasing analysts.
Costs associated with software incurred in the development phase or obtained for internal use
are capitalized and amortized in cost of revenue over the products estimated useful life. We
anticipate that our cost of revenue will increase in absolute dollars.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses into three categories: product development, sales and
marketing, and general and administrative. Our operating expenses consist primarily of personnel
costs and, to a lesser extent, professional fees, rent and allocated costs. Personnel costs for
each category of operating expenses generally include salaries, bonuses and commissions,
stock-based compensation expense and employee benefit costs.
Product Development. Product development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and
professional services fees associated with the development and maintenance of our technology
platforms, development and launching of our websites, product-based quality assurance and testing.
We believe that continued investment in technology is critical to attaining our strategic
objectives and, as a result, we expect technology development and enhancement expenses to increase
in absolute dollars in future periods.
Sales and Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and,
to a lesser extent, allocated overhead, professional services, advertising, travel and marketing
materials. We expect sales and marketing expenses to increase in absolute dollars as we hire
additional personnel in sales and
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marketing to support our increasing revenue base and product offerings.
General and Administrative. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of
personnel costs of our executive, finance, legal, corporate and business development, employee
benefits and compliance, and other administrative personnel, as well as accounting and legal
professional services fees and other corporate expenses. We expect general and administrative
expenses to increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we continue to invest in corporate
infrastructure and incur additional expenses associated with being a public company, including
increased legal and accounting costs, investor relations costs, higher insurance premiums and
compliance costs associated with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net
Interest and other income (expense), net, consists primarily of interest income and interest
expense. Interest expense is related to our credit facility and promissory notes issued in
connection with our acquisitions and includes imputed interest. The outstanding balance of our
credit facility and acquisition-related promissory notes was $76.8 million and $28.6 million,
respectively, as of March 31, 2010. Borrowings
under our credit facility and related interest expense could increase as we continue to implement our
acquisition strategy. Interest income represents interest received on our cash and cash
equivalents, which we expect will increase in the near term as a result of the investment of the
net proceeds from the IPO.
Income Tax Expense
We are subject to tax in the United States as well as other tax jurisdictions or countries in
which we conduct business. Earnings from our limited non-U.S. activities are subject to local
country income tax and may be subject to current U.S. income tax.
As of March 31, 2010, we did not have net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax
purposes and had approximately $2.8 million in California state net operating loss carryforwards
that begin to expire in March 2011 and that we expect to utilize in an amended return. The
California net operating loss carryforwards will not offset future taxable income, but may instead
result in a refund of historical taxes paid.
As of March 31, 2010, we had net deferred tax assets of $5.5 million. Our net deferred tax
assets consist primarily of accruals, reserves and stock-based compensation expense not currently
deductible for tax purposes. We assess the need for a valuation allowance on the deferred tax
assets by evaluating both positive and negative evidence that may exist. Any adjustment to the
deferred tax asset valuation allowance would be recorded in the income statement of the periods
that the adjustment is determined to be required.
Critical Accounting Policies, Estimates and Judgments
In presenting our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally
accepting accounting principles, or GAAP, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that
affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related
disclosures.
Some of the estimates and assumptions we are required to make relate to matters that are
inherently uncertain as they pertain to future events. We base these estimates and assumptions on
historical experience or on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable and appropriate
under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, we reconsider and evaluate our estimates and
assumptions. Actual results may differ significantly from these estimates.
We believe that the critical accounting policies listed below involve our more significant
judgments, assumptions and estimates and, therefore, could have the greatest potential impact on
our consolidated financial statements. There have been no material changes to our critical
accounting policies.
We believe that the following critical accounting policies involve our more significant
judgments, assumptions and estimates:
| Revenue recognition; | ||
| Goodwill; | ||
| Long-lived assets; | ||
| Internal software development costs; | ||
| Stock-based compensation; and | ||
| Income taxes. |
For further information on our critical and other significant accounting policies, see Note 2
to our condensed consolidated financial statements and our prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)
under the Securities Act with the SEC on February 11, 2010.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our consolidated statement of operations for the periods
indicated:
Three Months Ended March 31, | Nine Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net revenue |
$ | 90,773 | 100.0 | % | $ | 69,813 | 100.0 | % | $ | 246,288 | 100.0 | % | $ | 192,726 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenue (1) |
66,268 | 73.0 | 46,780 | 67.0 | 177,872 | 72.2 | 135,030 | 70.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gross profit |
24,505 | 27.0 | 23,033 | 33.0 | 68,416 | 27.8 | 57,696 | 29.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses (1): |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product development |
5,325 | 5.9 | 3,512 | 5.0 | 14,534 | 5.9 | 10,992 | 5.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
4,575 | 5.0 | 3,594 | 5.2 | 12,190 | 5.0 | 12,017 | 6.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative |
4,467 | 4.9 | 2,865 | 4.1 | 14,111 | 5.7 | 9,772 | 5.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating income |
10,138 | 11.2 | 13,062 | 18.7 | 27,581 | 11.2 | 24,915 | 12.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
16 | 0.0 | 44 | 0.1 | 33 | 0.0 | 221 | 0.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(1,302 | ) | (1.4 | ) | (879 | ) | (1.3 | ) | (2,931 | ) | (1.2 | ) | (2,749 | ) | (1.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
(64 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (16 | ) | (0.0 | ) | 221 | 0.1 | (256 | ) | (0.1 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Income before income taxes |
8,788 | 9.7 | 12,211 | 17.5 | 24,904 | 10.1 | 22,131 | 11.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Provision for taxes |
(3,538 | ) | (3.9 | ) | (5,818 | ) | (8.3 | ) | (10,731 | ) | (4.3 | ) | (10,084 | ) | (5.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Net income |
$ | 5,250 | 5.8 | % | $ | 6,393 | 9.2 | % | $ | 14,173 | 5.8 | % | $ | 12,047 | 6.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) Cost of revenue and operating expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenue |
$ | 653 | $ | 470 | $ | 2,143 | $ | 1,477 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product development |
686 | 176 | 1,570 | 494 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
1,163 | 455 | 2,504 | 1,352 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative |
624 | 373 | 4,002 | 1,061 |
Net Revenue
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | Three- | Nine- | |||||||||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | Month | Month | |||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | % Change | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net revenue |
$ | 90,773 | $ | 69,813 | $ | 246,288 | $ | 192,726 | 30 | % | 28 | % | ||||||||||||
Cost of revenue |
66,268 | 46,780 | 177,872 | 135,030 | 42 | % | 32 | % |
Net revenue increased $21.0 million, or 30%, for the three months ended March 31, 2010,
compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009. The majority of this increase was attributable
to an increase in revenue from our financial services client vertical and, to a lesser extent, our
other client verticals. Financial services client vertical revenue increased $17.1 million, or 70%,
for the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009. The
increase in financial services client vertical revenue was driven by lead and click volume
increases at relatively steady prices. Our other client verticals revenue increased $4.2 million,
or 64%, for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March 31,
2009. The increase in our other client vertical revenue was primarily affected by growth in our
B2B client vertical revenue resulting from our acquisition of the website business of Internet.com,
a division of WebMediaBrands, Inc., in November 2009 and, to a lesser extent, due to growth in our
home services client vertical due to the improved economic environment. Our education client
vertical revenue remained flat, declining $0.4 million, or 1%, for the three months ended March 31,
2010, compared to the corresponding 2009 period. The slight decline was driven by a decline in
revenue from a significant client, almost entirely offset by revenue growth from other education
clients.
Net revenue increased $53.6 million, or 28%, for the nine months ended March 31, 2010,
compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The majority of this increase was attributable to
an increase in revenue from our financial services client vertical and, to a lesser extent, our
education and other client verticals. Financial services client vertical revenue increased $47.5
million, or 82%, for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the nine months ended March
31, 2009. The increase in financial services client vertical revenue was driven by lead and click
volume increases at relatively steady prices. Our education client vertical revenue increased $3.0
million, or 3%, for the nine months ended March 31, 2010, compared to the corresponding 2009
period, due to lead volume increases. The increase in our education client vertical revenue was
largely offset by a decline in revenue from a significant client. Our other client verticals
revenue increased $3.1 million, or 13%, for the nine months ended March 31, 2010, compared to the
corresponding 2009 period. The increase in revenue from our other client verticals was primarily
due to the acquisition of the website business of ElderCarelink.com in April 2009 within our medical
client vertical and the acquisition of the website business of Internet.com within our B2B client
vertical in November 2009.
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Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased $19.5 million, or 42%, for the three months ended March 31,
2010, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009. The
increase in cost of revenue was driven by a $12.8 million increase in media costs due to lead
and click volume increases and, to a lesser extent, increased personnel costs of $4.2 million due
to a 46% increase in average headcount and related compensation expense increases, as well as
increased amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets of $0.9 million resulting from
acquisitions in the previous twelve months. The increase in average headcount was affected by the acquisition of the website business of
Internet.com, as well as by a reduction in workforce in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009.
Gross margin, which is the difference between net revenue and cost of revenue as a percentage of
net revenue, declined from 33% in the three months ended March 31, 2009 to 27% in the three months
ended March 31, 2010, due to the above-mentioned increase in headcount and related compensation
expense, as well as due to a higher mix of traffic from third parties.
Cost of revenue increased $42.8 million, or 32%, for the nine months ended March 31, 2010,
compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in cost of revenue was driven by a
$31.9 million increase in media costs due to lead and click volume increases and, to a lesser
extent, increased personnel costs of $6.7 million due to a 7% increase in average headcount and
related compensation expense increases, as well as increased amortization of acquisition-related
intangible assets of $1.5 million resulting from acquisitions in
the previous twelve months. The increase in average headcount was affected by
the acquisition of the website business of Internet.com, as well as by a reduction in workforce in
the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. Gross margin declined from 30% in the nine months ended
March 31, 2009 to 28% in the nine months ended March 31, 2010, due to a higher mix of traffic from
third parties. Gross margin was further affected by the above-mentioned increase in headcount and
related compensation expense.
Operating Expenses
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | Three- | Nine- | |||||||||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | Month | Month | |||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | % Change | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product development |
$ | 5,325 | $ | 3,512 | $ | 14,534 | $ | 10,992 | 52 | % | 32 | % | ||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
4,575 | 3,594 | 12,190 | 12,017 | 27 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
General and administrative |
4,467 | 2,865 | 14,111 | 9,772 | 56 | % | 44 | % | ||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
$ | 14,367 | $ | 9,971 | $ | 40,835 | $ | 32,781 | 44 | % | 25 | % | ||||||||||||
Product Development Expenses
Product development expenses increased $1.8 million, or 52%, for the three months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended
March 31, 2009, due to increased personnel costs.
The increase in personnel costs is attributable primarily to increased compensation expense of $1.0 million and increased stock-based compensation expense of
$510,000. The increase in compensation expense is due to a 38% increase in average headcount
affected by a reduction in workforce in the third quarter of fiscal
year 2009, additional hiring in connection with development projects, increased performance bonus expense due to the achievement of specified financial metrics for
the year-to date period and an increase in the number of individuals eligible for such
bonus.
Product development expenses increased $3.5 million, or 32%, for the nine months ended March
31, 2010, compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009, due to increased personnel costs and,
to a lesser extent, increased professional services fees. The increase in personnel costs is
attributable to increased compensation expense of $1.7 million and increased
stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million. The increased performance bonus expense is due
to the achievement of specified financial metrics for the year-to-date period, as well as an
increase in the number of individuals eligible for such bonus. The increase in compensation expense
is due to increased performance bonus expense due to the achievement
of specified financial metrics for the year-to-date period and an
increase in the number of individuals eligible for such bonus, as
well as a 12% increase in average headcount affected by a reduction
in workforce in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 and additional hiring in connection with development projects. Professional services fees increased $394,000 also due to these
development projects.
Sales and Marketing Expenses
Sales and marketing expenses increased $1.0 million, or 27%, for the three months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009 due to increased personnel costs.
The increase in personnel costs is due to increased stock-based compensation expense of $708,000
and, to a lesser extent, increased compensation expense of $295,000. The increase in compensation
expense is due to increased performance bonus and commission expenses associated with the
achievement of specified financial metrics for the year-to-date period, partially offset by a 17%
decline in average headcount.
Sales and marketing expenses increased $173,000, or 1%, for the nine months ended March 31,
2010, compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009 due to
increased personnel costs. The increase in personnel costs is due to
increased stock-based compensation
expense of $1.2 million, partially offset by a decline in
compensation expense of $0.9 million. The decline in compensation
expense is due to a decrease of 21% in average headcount.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased $1.6 million, or 56%, for the three months
ended March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009, due to increased
professional service fees of $618,000, increased compensation expense of
$323,000, increased stock-based compensation expense of $251,000 and various smaller increases in
general and administrative expenses. Professional service fees increased due to our continued
investment in corporate infrastructure and related expenses associated with being a public company,
including increased legal, accounting and tax costs, investor relations, higher insurance premiums
and compliance costs. Compensation expense increased due to a 31%
increase in average headcount and increased performance bonus expense
associated with the achievement of specified financial metrics for
the year-to-date period.
General and administrative expenses increased $4.3 million, or 44%, for the nine months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009, due to increased stock-based
compensation expense of $2.9 million, increased professional services fees of $524,000, increased
compensation expense of $620,000, direct acquisition costs of $281,000 and
various smaller increases in general and administrative expenses, partially offset by a
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decline in legal expenses of $544,000. The increase in stock-based compensation expense was
driven by the grant of fully-vested options to certain members of our board of directors in
conjunction with an increase in the fair value our common stock. Professional services fees
increased due to our continued investment in corporate infrastructure and related expenses
associated with being a public company, including increased accounting and tax costs, investor
relations, higher insurance premiums and compliance costs. The increase in compensation expense is due to a 13% increase in average headcount due to our continued
investment in corporate infrastructure, as well as increased
performance bonus expense associated with
the achievement of specified financial metrics for the year-to-date period. The decline in legal
expense is due to the settlement of an ongoing legal matter in the fourth quarter of fiscal year
2009.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | Three- | Nine- | |||||||||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | Month | Month | |||||||||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | % Change | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interest income |
$ | 16 | $ | 44 | $ | 33 | $ | 221 | (64) | % | (85 | )% | ||||||||||||
Interest expense |
(1,302 | ) | (879 | ) | (2,931 | ) | (2,749 | ) | 48 | % | 7 | % | ||||||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
(64 | ) | (16 | ) | 221 | (256 | ) | (300) | % | 186 | % | |||||||||||||
$ | (1,350 | ) | $ | (851 | ) | $ | (2,677 | ) | $ | (2,784 | ) | (59) | % | 4 | % | |||||||||
Interest and other income (expense), net declined $499,000, or 59%, for the three months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009, due to the draw down on our
credit facility.
Interest and other income (expense), net increased $107,000, or 4%, for the nine months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2009, due to an increase in other
income (expense) of $477,000, partially offset by an increase in interest expense of $182,000 and a
decline in interest income of $188,000. Other income (expense), net increased due to a legal
settlement payment received in the second quarter of fiscal year 2010, as well as foreign exchange
gains recorded in connection with the weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar. The
decline in interest income is attributable to lower interest rates on investments.
The increase in interest expense is attributable to the draw down on our credit facility,
partially offset by lower non-cash imputed interest on acquisition-related notes payable.
Provision for Taxes
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
Provision for taxes |
$ | 3,538 | $ | 5,818 | $ | 10,731 | $ | 10,084 | ||||||||
Effective tax rate |
40 | % | 48 | % | 43 | % | 46 | % |
The
decrease in our effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2010
compared to the three and nine months ended March 31, 2009, was driven by a decrease in our
deferred tax assets in fiscal 2009 due to state tax law changes and
the release of tax-related reserves in fiscal 2010.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary operating cash requirements include the payment of media costs, personnel costs,
costs of information technology systems and office facilities.
Our principal sources of liquidity as of March 31, 2010, consisted of cash and cash
equivalents of $175.3 million and our revolving credit facility which had $98.2 million available
for borrowing. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, available borrowings under the
credit facility and cash generated from operations will be sufficient to satisfy our currently
anticipated cash requirements through at least the next 12 months.
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $30.0 million and $25.9 million in the nine
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Our net cash provided by operating activities
is primarily the result of our net income adjusted by non-cash expenses such as depreciation and
amortization, stock-based compensation expense and changes in working capital components, and is
influenced by the timing of cash collections from our clients and cash payments for purchases of
media and other expenses.
Net cash provided by operating activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2010, was due to
net income of $14.2 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation
expense of $23.9 million and an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $10.0
million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $11.3 million, an increase in
prepaid expenses and other assets of $5.3 million and an increase in excess tax benefits from the
exercise of stock options of $1.8 million. The increase in accounts receivable and accrued
liabilities, which include accrued media costs, is attributable to increased revenue, as well as
timing of receipts. The increase in prepaid expenses and other
assets and accounts payable are
primarily due to timing of payments.
Net cash provided by operating activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2009 was driven
by net income of $12.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation
expense of $16.8 million, a net increase in accounts payable and
accrued liabilities of $1.9
million and an increase in our provision for sales returns and doubtful accounts receivable of $1.4
million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $6.5 million. The increase in
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accounts receivable is attributable to increased revenue, as well as timing of receipts.
The net increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities is due to timing of payments. The
increase in our provision for sales returns is due to the adverse market conditions during the
second half of fiscal year 2009.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
Our investing activities include acquisitions of media websites and businesses; purchases,
sales and maturities of marketable securities; capital expenditures; and capitalized internal
development costs. Net cash used in investing activities was $56.0 million and $18.9 million in the
nine months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2010 was primarily due to
our acquisitions of Internet.com, Insure.com and HSH. We acquired the website business of the
Internet.com division of WebMediaBrands, Inc. for an initial $16.0 million cash payment. We
acquired the website business of Insure.com from LifeQuotes, Inc., an Illinois-based online
insurance quote service and brokerage business, for an initial $15.0 million cash payment. We
acquired HSH, a New Jersey-based online company providing comprehensive mortgage rate information,
for an initial $6.0 million cash payment. Cash used in investing activities in the nine months
ended March 31, 2010 was also affected by purchases of the operations of 22 other website
publishing businesses for an aggregate of $14.6 million in cash payments, which included $4.5
million of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Surehits in fiscal year 2008.
Cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2009 was affected by the
acquisition of U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc, or CardRatings, an Arkansas-based
online marketing company, for an initial cash payment of $10.4 million, as well as purchases of the
operations of 25 other website publishing businesses for $10.1 million in cash payments. Sales and
maturities of marketable securities contributed $2.3 million to cash flows from investing
activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2009.
Capital expenditures and internal software development costs totaled $3.2 million and $2.1
million in the nine months ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Net Cash Provided by or Used in Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities was $176.2 million in the nine months ended March 31, 2010,
compared to $1.6 million of cash used in financing activities in nine months ended March 31, 2009.
Cash provided by financing activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2010 was primarily due to
proceeds from our IPO, net of issuance costs, of $138.1 million and the draw-down of our credit
facility of $43.3 million, partially offset by $7.9 million in principal payments on
acquisition-related notes payable and our term loan.
Cash used in financing activities in the nine months ended March 31, 2009 was due to $9.5
million in principal payments on acquisition-related notes payable and our term loan, as well as
$1.4 million paid to repurchase our common stock, offset by proceeds from a draw-down of our credit
facility of $8.6 million.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any
off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under SEC rules, such as relationships with
unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, which are often referred to as structured
finance or special purpose entities, established for the purpose of facilitating financing
transactions that are not required to be reflected on our balance sheet.
Contractual Obligations
Our contractual obligations relate primarily to borrowings under credit facilities, notes
payables, operating leases and purchase obligations.
New
Credit Facility
In January 2010, we replaced our existing credit facility with a credit facility totaling
$175.0 million. The new facility consist of a $35.0 million four-year term loan, with principal
amortization of 10%, 15%, 35% and 40% annually, and a $140.0 million four-year revolving credit
line with an optional increase of $50.0 million. Borrowings under the credit facility are
collateralized by our assets and interest is payable quarterly at specified margins above either
LIBOR or the Prime Rate. The interest rate varies dependent upon the ratio of funded debt to
adjusted EBITDA and ranges from LIBOR + 2.125% to 2.875% or Prime + 1.00% to 1.50% for the
revolving credit line and from LIBOR + 2.50% to 3.25% or Prime + 1.00% to 1.50% for the term
loan. The revolving credit line also requires a quarterly facility fee of 0.375% of the revolving credit
line. The credit facility expires in January 2014. The loan and
revolving credit line
agreement restricts our ability to raise additional debt financing and pay dividends. In addition,
we are required to maintain financial ratios computed as follows:
1. Quick ratio: ratio of (i) the sum of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and trade
receivables less than 90 days from invoice date to (ii) current liabilities and face amount of any
letters of credit less the current portion of deferred revenue.
2. Fixed charge coverage: ratio of (i) trailing twelve months of Adjusted EBITDA to (ii) the
sum of capital expenditures, net cash interest expense, cash taxes, cash dividends and trailing
twelve months payments of indebtedness. Payment of unsecured indebtedness is excluded to the degree
that sufficient unused revolving credit line exists such that the relevant debt payment could
be made from the credit facility.
3. Funded debt to Adjusted EBITDA: ratio of (i) the sum of all obligations owed to lending
institutions, the face amount of any letters of credit, indebtedness owed in connection with
acquisition-related notes and indebtedness owed in connection with capital lease obligations to
(ii) trailing twelve months of Adjusted EBITDA.
The credit facility also requires us to comply with other non-financial covenants. We were in
compliance with the financial ratios as of March 31, 2010 and June 30, 2009.
New Lease
As the existing lease for our corporate headquarters located at 1051 Hillsdale Boulevard,
Foster City, California expires in October 2010, we entered into a new lease agreement in February
2010 for approximately 63,998 square feet of office space located at 950 Tower Lane, Foster City,
California. The term of the lease begins on November 1, 2010 and expires on the last day of the
96th full calendar month commencing on or after November 1, 2010. The monthly base rent will be
abated for the first 12 calendar months under the lease. Thereafter the base rent will be $118,000
through the 24th calendar month of the term of the lease, after which the monthly base rent will
increase to $182,000 for the subsequent 12 months. In the following years the monthly base
rent will increase approximately 3% after each 12-month anniversary during the term of the lease,
including any extensions under our options to extend.
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We have two options to extend the term of the lease for one additional year for each option
following the expiration date of the lease or renewal term, as applicable.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
To date, our international client agreements have been denominated solely in U.S. dollars,
and accordingly, we have not been exposed to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations related to
client agreements, and do not currently engage in foreign currency hedging transactions. However,
as the local accounts for our India and Canada operations are maintained in the local currency of
India and Canada, we are subject to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations associated with
remeasurement to U.S. dollars. A hypothetical change of 10% in foreign currency exchange rates
would not have had a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of
operations for the nine months ended March 31, 2010 and the year ended June 30, 2009.
Interest Rate Risk
We invest our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments primarily in money market
funds and short-term deposits with original maturities of less than three months. The unrestricted
cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are held for working capital purposes and
acquisition financing. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. We
believe that we do not have any material exposure to changes in the fair value as a result of
changes in interest rates due to the short-term nature of our cash equivalents and short-term
investments. Declines in interest rates would reduce future investment income. However, a
hypothetical decline of 1% in the interest rate on our cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investments would not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of
operations.
As
of March 31, 2010, we had an outstanding credit facility with a total borrowing capacity of
$175.0 million. Interest on borrowings under the credit facility is payable quarterly at specified
margins above either LIBOR or the Prime Rate. Our exposure to interest rate risk under the credit
facility will depend on the extent to which we utilize such facility. As of March 31, 2010, we had
$76.8 million outstanding under our credit facility. A hypothetical increase of 1% in the
LIBOR-based interest rate on our credit facility would result in an increase in our quarterly
interest expense of $0.2 million, assuming consistent borrowing levels.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief
Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of
March 31, 2010. The term disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are
designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it
files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the
time periods specified in the SECs rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include,
without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be
disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is
accumulated and communicated to the companys management, including its principal executive and
principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and
operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management
necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls
and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31,
2010, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our
disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection
with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred
during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully
consider the risks described below and the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
If any of such risks actually occur, our business, operating results or financial condition could
be adversely affected. In those cases, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you
may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We operate in an immature industry and have a relatively new business model, which makes it
difficult to evaluate our business and prospects.
We derive nearly all of our revenue from the sale of online marketing and media services,
which is an immature industry that has undergone rapid and dramatic changes in its short history.
The industry in which we operate is characterized by rapidly-changing Internet media, evolving
industry standards, and changing user and client demands. Our business model is also evolving and
is distinct from many other companies in our industry, and it may not be successful. As a result of
these factors, the future revenue and income potential of our business is uncertain. Although we
have experienced significant revenue growth in recent periods, we may not be able to sustain
current revenue levels or growth rates. Any evaluation of our business and our prospects must be
considered in light of these factors and the risks and uncertainties often encountered by companies
in an immature industry with an evolving business model such as ours. Some of these risks and
uncertainties relate to our ability to:
| maintain and expand client relationships; | ||
| sustain and increase the number of visitors to our websites; | ||
| sustain and grow relationships with third-party website publishers and other sources of web visitors; | ||
| manage our expanding operations and implement and improve our operational, financial and management controls; | ||
| raise capital at attractive costs, or at all; | ||
| acquire and integrate websites and other businesses; | ||
| successfully expand our footprint in our existing client verticals and enter new client verticals; | ||
| respond effectively to competition and potential negative effects of competition on profit margins; | ||
| attract and retain qualified management, employees and independent service providers; | ||
| successfully introduce new processes and technologies and upgrade our existing technologies and services; | ||
| protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights; and | ||
| respond to government regulations relating to the Internet, personal data protection, email, software technologies and other aspects of our business. |
If we are unable to address these risks, our business, results of operations and prospects
could suffer.
If we do not effectively manage our growth, our operating performance will suffer and we may lose
clients.
We have experienced rapid growth in our operations and operating locations, and we expect to
experience continued growth in our business, both through acquisitions and internal growth. This
growth has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and our
operational and financial infrastructure. In particular, continued rapid growth and acquisitions
may make it more difficult for us to accomplish the following:
| successfully scale our technology to accommodate a larger business and integrate acquisitions; | ||
| maintain our standing with key vendors, including Internet search companies and third-party website publishers; | ||
| maintain our client service standards; and | ||
| develop and improve our operational, financial and management controls and maintain adequate reporting systems and procedures. |
In addition, our personnel, systems, procedures and controls may be inadequate to support our
future operations. The improvements required to manage our growth will require us to make
significant expenditures, expand, train and manage our employee base and allocate valuable
management resources. If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our operating performance will
suffer and we may lose clients, key vendors and key personnel.
We depend upon Internet search companies to attract a significant portion of the visitors to our
websites, and any change in the search companies search algorithms or perception of us or our
industry could result in our websites being listed less prominently in either paid or algorithmic
search result listings, in which case the number of visitors to our websites and our revenue could
decline.
We depend in significant part on various Internet search companies, such as Google, Microsoft
and Yahoo!, and other search websites to direct a significant number of visitors to our websites to
provide our online marketing services to our clients. Search websites typically provide two types
of search results, algorithmic and
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paid listings. Algorithmic, or organic, listings are determined and displayed solely by a set
of formulas designed by search companies. Paid listings can be purchased and then are displayed if
particular words are included in a users Internet search. Placement in paid listings is generally
not determined solely on the bid price, but also takes into account the search engines assessment
of the quality of website featured in the paid listing and other factors. We rely on both
algorithmic and paid search results, as well as advertising on other websites, to direct a
substantial share of the visitors to our websites.
Our ability to maintain the number of visitors to our websites from search websites and other
websites is not entirely within our control. For example, Internet search websites frequently
revise their algorithms in an attempt to optimize their search result listings or to maintain their
internal standards and strategies. Changes in the algorithms could cause our websites to receive
less favorable placements, which could reduce the number of users who
visit our websites. Throughout the years we have
experienced fluctuations in the search result rankings for a number of our websites. We may make
decisions that are suboptimal regarding the purchase of paid listings or our proprietary bid
management technologies may contain defects or otherwise fail to achieve their intended results,
either of which could also reduce the number of visitors to our websites or cause us to incur
additional costs. We may also make decisions that are suboptimal regarding the placement of
advertisements on other websites and pricing, which could increase our costs to attract such
visitors or cause us to incur unnecessary costs. Our approaches may be deemed similar to those of
our competitors and others in our industry that Internet search websites may consider to be
unsuitable or unattractive. Internet search websites could deem our content to be unsuitable or
below standards or less attractive or worthy than those of other or competing websites. In either
such case, our websites may receive less favorable placement. Any reduction in the number of
visitors to our websites would negatively affect our ability to earn revenue. If visits to our
websites decrease, we may need to resort to more costly sources to replace lost visitors, and such
increased expense could adversely affect our business and profitability.
Our future growth depends in part on our ability to identify and complete acquisitions.
Our growth over the past several years is in significant part due to the large number of
acquisitions we have completed. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2007, we have completed over 100
acquisitions of third-party website publishing businesses and other businesses that are
complementary to our own. We intend to pursue acquisitions of complementary businesses and
technologies to expand our capabilities, client base and media. We have evaluated, and expect to
continue to evaluate, a wide array of potential strategic transactions. However, we may not be
successful in identifying suitable acquisition candidates or be able to complete acquisitions of
such candidates. In addition, we may not be able to obtain financing on favorable terms, or at all,
to fund acquisitions that we may wish to pursue.
Any acquisitions that we complete will involve a number of risks. If we are unable to address
and resolve these risks successfully, such acquisitions could harm our business, results of
operations and financial condition.
The anticipated benefit of any acquisitions that we complete may not materialize. In addition,
the process of integrating acquired businesses or technologies may create unforeseen operating
difficulties and expenditures. Some of the areas where we may face acquisition-related risks
include:
| diversion of management time and potential business disruptions; | ||
| difficulties integrating and supporting acquired products or technologies; | ||
| expenses, distractions and potential claims resulting from acquisitions, whether or not they are completed; | ||
| retaining and integrating employees from any businesses we may acquire; | ||
| issuance of dilutive equity securities, incurrence of debt or reduction in cash balances; | ||
| integrating various accounting, management, information, human resource and other systems to permit effective management; | ||
| incurring possible impairment charges, contingent liabilities, amortization expense or write-offs of goodwill; | ||
| unexpected capital expenditure requirements; | ||
| insufficient revenue to offset increased expenses associated with acquisitions; | ||
| underperformance problems associated with acquisitions; and | ||
| becoming involved in acquisition-related litigation. |
Foreign acquisitions would involve risks in addition to those mentioned above, including those
related to integration of operations across different cultures and languages, currency risks and
the particular economic, political, administrative and management, and regulatory risks associated
with specific countries. We may not be able to address these risks successfully, or at all, without
incurring significant costs, delay or other operating problems. Our inability to resolve such risks
could harm our business and results of operations.
A substantial portion of our revenue is generated from a limited number of clients and, if we lose
a major client, our revenue will decrease and our business and prospects would be adversely
impacted.
A substantial portion of our revenue is generated from a limited number of clients. Our top
three clients accounted for 32% and 24% of our net revenue for the fiscal year 2009 and the
nine-month period ended March 31, 2010, respectively. Our clients can generally terminate their
contracts with us at any time, with limited prior notice or penalty. DeVry Inc., one of our large
clients, has recently retained an advertising agency and has reduced its purchases of leads from
us. DeVry and other clients may reduce their current level of business with us, leading to lower
revenue. We expect that a limited number of clients will continue to account for a significant
percentage of our revenue, and the loss of, or material reduction in, their marketing spending with
us could decrease our revenue and harm our business.
We are dependent on two market verticals for a majority of our revenue.
To date, we have generated a majority of our revenue from clients in our education vertical.
We expect that a majority of our revenue in fiscal year 2010 will be generated from clients in our
education and financial services verticals. A downturn in economic or market conditions adversely
affecting the education industry or the financial services industry would negatively impact our
business and financial condition. Over the past year and a half, education marketing spending has
remained relatively stable, but this stability may not continue. Marketing budgets for clients in
our education vertical are affected by a number of factors, including the availability of student
financial aid, the regulation of for-profit financial institutions and economic conditions. Over
the past year, some segments of the financial services industry, particularly mortgages, credit
cards and deposits, have seen declines in marketing budgets given the difficult market conditions.
These declines may continue or worsen. In addition, the education and financial services industries
are highly regulated. Changes in regulations or government actions may negatively impact our
clients marketing practices and budgets and, therefore, adversely affect our financial results.
The United States Higher Education Act, administered by the U.S. Department of Education,
provides that to be eligible to participate in Federal student
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financial aid programs, an educational institution must enter into a program participation
agreement with the Secretary of the Department of Education. The agreement includes a number of
conditions with which an institution must comply to be granted initial and continuing eligibility
to participate. Among those conditions is a prohibition on
institutions providing to any individual or entity engaged in recruiting or
admission activities any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments.
The regulations
promulgated under the Higher Education Act specify a number of types of compensation, or safe
harbors, that do not constitute incentive compensation in violation of this agreement. One of
these safe harbors permits an institution to award incentive compensation for Internet-based
recruitment and admission activities that provide information about the institution to prospective
students, refer prospective students to the institution, or permit prospective students to apply
for admission online. From November 2009 until January 2010, the U.S. Department of Education
engaged in a negotiated rulemaking process during which it suggested repealing all existing safe
harbors regarding incentive compensation in recruiting, including the Internet safe harbor.
Because the negotiated rulemaking did not reach consensus on proposed regulations, the Department
of Education has announced that it will be issuing proposed regulations on incentive compensation
and other matters. The statutory deadline for publication of final regulations is November 1,
2010. While we do not believe that compensation for our services constitutes incentive
compensation under the Higher Education Act, the elimination of the safe harbors could create
uncertainty for our education clients and impact the way in which we are paid by our clients and,
accordingly, could reduce the amount of revenue we generate from the education client vertical.
In addition, some of our clients have had and may in the future have issues regarding their
academic accreditation, which can adversely affect their ability to offer certain degree programs.
If any of our significant education clients lose their accreditation, they may reduce or eliminate
their marketing spending, which could adversely affect our financial results.
If we are unable to retain the members of our management team or attract and retain qualified
management team members in the future, our business and growth could suffer.
Our success and future growth depend, to a significant degree, on the continued contributions
of the members of our management team. Each member of our management team is an at-will employee
and may voluntarily terminate his or her employment with us at any time with minimal notice. We
also may need to hire additional management team members to adequately manage our growing business.
We may not be able to retain or identify and attract additional qualified management team members.
Competition for experienced management-level personnel in our industry is intense. Qualified
individuals are in high demand, particularly in the Internet marketing industry, and we may incur
significant costs to attract and retain them.
Members of our management team have also become, or will
soon become, substantively vested in their stock option grants.
Management team members may be more likely to leave as a result of
the recent establishment of a public market for our common stock.
If we lose the services of any of our senior managers
or if we are unable to attract and retain additional qualified senior managers, our business and
growth could suffer.
We need to hire and retain additional qualified personnel to grow and manage our business. If we
are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, our business and growth could be seriously
harmed.
Our performance depends on the talents and efforts of our employees. Our future success will
depend on our ability to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled personnel in all areas of our
organization and, in particular, in our engineering/technology, sales and marketing, media, finance
and legal/regulatory teams. We plan to continue to grow our business and will need to hire
additional personnel to support this growth. We have found it difficult from time to time to locate
and hire suitable personnel. If we experience similar difficulties in the future, our growth may be
hindered. Qualified individuals are in high demand, particularly in the Internet marketing
industry, and we may incur significant costs to attract and retain them. Many of our employees have
also become, or will soon become, substantially vested in their stock option grants. Employees may
be more likely to leave us as a result of the recent establishment of a public market for our
common stock. If we are unable to attract and retain the personnel we need to succeed, our business
and growth could be harmed.
We depend on third-party website publishers for a significant portion of our visitors, and any
decline in the supply of media available through these websites or increase in the price of this
media could cause our revenue to decline or our cost to reach visitors to increase.
A significant portion of our revenue is attributable to visitors originating from advertising
placements that we purchase on third-party websites. In many instances, website publishers can
change the advertising inventory they make available to us at any time and, therefore, impact our
revenue. In addition, website publishers may place significant restrictions on our offerings. These
restrictions may prohibit advertisements from specific clients or specific industries, or restrict
the use of certain creative content or formats. If a website publisher decides not to make
advertising inventory available to us, or decides to demand a higher revenue share or places
significant restrictions on the use of such inventory, we may not be able to find advertising
inventory from other websites that satisfy our requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner.
In addition, the number of competing online marketing service providers and advertisers that
acquire inventory from websites continues to increase. Consolidation of Internet advertising
networks and website publishers could eventually lead to a concentration of desirable inventory on
a small number of websites or networks, which could limit the supply of inventory available to us
or increase the price of inventory to us. We cannot assure you that we will be able to acquire
advertising inventory that meets our clients performance, price and quality requirements. If any
of these things occur, our revenue could decline or our operating costs may increase.
We have incurred a significant amount of debt, which may limit our ability to fund general
corporate requirements and obtain additional financing, limit our flexibility in responding to
business opportunities and competitive developments and increase our vulnerability to adverse
economic and industry conditions.
As of March 31, 2010, we had an outstanding term loan with a principal balance of $35.0
million and a revolving credit line pursuant to which we can borrow up to an additional $140.0
million. As of such date, we had drawn $41.8 million from our
revolving credit line. As of March
31, 2010, we also had outstanding notes to sellers arising from numerous acquisitions in the total
principal amount of $28.6 million. As a result of our debt:
| we may not have sufficient liquidity to respond to business opportunities, competitive developments and adverse economic conditions; | ||
| we may not have sufficient liquidity to fund all of these costs if our revenue declines or costs increase; and | ||
| we may not have sufficient funds to repay the principal balance of our debt when due. |
Our debt obligations may also impair our ability to obtain additional financing, if needed.
Our indebtedness is secured by substantially all of our assets, leaving us with limited collateral
for additional financing. Moreover, the terms of our indebtedness restrict our ability to take
certain actions, including the incurrence of additional indebtedness, mergers and acquisitions,
investments and asset sales. In addition, even if we are able to raise needed equity financing, we
are required to use a portion of the net proceeds of certain types of equity financings to repay
the outstanding balance of our term loan. A failure to pay interest or indebtedness when due could
result in a variety of adverse consequences, including the acceleration of our indebtedness. In
such a situation, it is unlikely that we would be able to fulfill our obligations under our credit
facilities or repay the accelerated indebtedness or otherwise cover our costs.
The severe economic downturn in the United States poses additional risks to our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
The United States has experienced, and is continuing to experience, a severe economic
downturn. The credit crisis, deterioration of global economies,
potential insolvency of one or more countries globally, high unemployment and reduced
equity valuations all create risks that could harm our business. If macroeconomic conditions
worsen, we are not able to predict the impact such worsening conditions will have on the online
marketing industry in general, and our results of operations specifically. Clients in particular
verticals such as financial services, particularly mortgage, credit
cards and deposits, small- and
medium-sized business customers and home services are facing very difficult conditions
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and their marketing spend has been negatively affected. These conditions could also damage our
business opportunities in existing markets, and reduce our revenue and profitability. While the
effect of these and related conditions poses widespread risk across our business, we believe that
it may particularly affect our efforts in the mortgage, credit cards
and deposits, small- and
medium-sized business and home services verticals, due to reduced availability of credit for
households and business and reduced household disposable income. Economic conditions may not
improve or may worsen.
Our operating results have fluctuated in the past and may do so in the future, which makes our
results of operations difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall short of
analysts and investors expectations.
While we have experienced continued revenue growth, our prior quarterly and annual operating
results have fluctuated due to changes in our business, our industry and the general economic
climate. Similarly, our future operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due
to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our fluctuating results could cause
our performance to be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, causing the
price of our common stock to fall. Because our business is changing and evolving, our historical
operating results may not be useful to you in predicting our future operating results. Factors that
may increase the volatility of our operating results include the following:
| changes in demand and pricing for our services; | ||
| changes in our pricing policies, the pricing policies of our competitors, or the pricing of Internet advertising or media; | ||
| the addition of new clients or the loss of existing clients; | ||
| changes in our clients advertising agencies or the marketing strategies our clients or their advertising agencies employ; | ||
| changes in the economic prospects of our clients or the economy generally, which could alter current or prospective clients spending priorities, or could increase the time or costs required to complete sales with clients; | ||
| changes in the availability of Internet advertising or the cost to reach Internet visitors; | ||
| changes in the placement of our websites on search engines; | ||
| the introduction of new product or service offerings by our competitors; and | ||
| costs related to acquisitions of businesses or technologies. |
Our quarterly revenue and operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter due
to seasonal fluctuations in advertising spending.
The timing of our revenue, particularly from our education client vertical, is affected by
seasonal factors. For example, the first quarter of each fiscal year typically demonstrates
seasonal strength and our second fiscal quarter typically demonstrates seasonal weakness. In our
second fiscal quarter, our education clients often take fewer leads due to holiday staffing and
lower availability of lead supply caused by higher media pricing for some forms of media during the
holiday period, causing our revenue to be sequentially lower. Our fluctuating results could cause
our performance to be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, causing the
price of our common stock to fall. To the extent our rate of growth slows, we expect that the
seasonality in our business may become more apparent and may in the future cause our operating
results to fluctuate to a greater extent.
We may need additional capital in the future to meet our financial obligations and to pursue our
business objectives. Additional capital may not be available or may not be available on favorable
terms and our business and financial condition could therefore be adversely affected.
While we anticipate that our existing cash and cash equivalents, together with availability
under our existing credit facility, cash balances and cash from operations, will be sufficient to
fund our operations for at least the next 12 months, we may need to raise additional capital to
fund operations in the future or to finance acquisitions. If we seek to raise additional capital in
order to meet various objectives, including developing future technologies and services, increasing
working capital, acquiring businesses and responding to competitive pressures, capital may not be
available on favorable terms or may not be available at all. In addition, pursuant to the terms of
our credit facility, we are required to use a portion of the net proceeds of certain equity
financings to repay the outstanding balance of our term loan. Lack of sufficient capital resources
could significantly limit our ability to take advantage of business and strategic opportunities.
Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity or debt securities with an equity
component would dilute our stock ownership. If adequate additional funds are not available, we may
be required to delay, reduce the scope of, or eliminate material parts of our business strategy,
including potential additional acquisitions or development of new technologies.
If we fail to compete effectively against other online marketing and media companies and other
competitors, we could lose clients and our revenue may decline.
The market for online marketing is intensely competitive. We expect this competition to
continue to increase in the future. We perceive only limited barriers to entry to the online
marketing industry. We compete both for clients and for limited high quality advertising inventory.
We compete for clients on the basis of a number of factors, including return on marketing
expenditures, price, and client service.
We compete with Internet and traditional media companies for a share of clients overall
marketing budgets, including:
| online marketing or media services providers such as Monster Worldwide in the education vertical and Bankrate in financial services; | ||
| offline and online advertising agencies; | ||
| major Internet portals and search engine companies with advertising networks such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL; | ||
| other online marketing service providers, including online affiliate advertising networks and industry-specific portals or lead generation companies; | ||
| website publishers with their own sales forces that sell their online marketing services directly to clients; | ||
| in-house marketing groups at current or potential clients; | ||
| offline direct marketing agencies; and | ||
| television, radio and print companies. |
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Competition for web traffic among websites and search engines, as well as competition with
traditional media companies, could result in significant price pressure, declining margins,
reductions in revenue and loss of market share. In addition, as we continue to expand the scope of
our services, we may compete with a greater number of websites, clients and traditional media
companies across an increasing range of different services, including in vertical markets where
competitors may have advantages in expertise, brand recognition and other areas. Large Internet
companies with brand recognition, such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL, have significant numbers of
direct sales personnel and substantial proprietary advertising inventory and web traffic that
provide a significant competitive advantage and have significant impact on pricing for Internet
advertising and web traffic. The trend toward consolidation in the Internet advertising arena may
also affect pricing and availability of advertising inventory and web traffic. Many of our current
and potential competitors also enjoy other competitive advantages over us, such as longer operating
histories, greater brand recognition, larger client bases, greater access to advertising inventory
on high-traffic websites, and significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources.
As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully. If we fail to deliver results that are
superior to those that other online marketing service providers achieve, we could lose clients and
our revenue may decline.
If the market for online marketing services fails to continue to develop, our future growth may
be limited and our revenue may decrease.
The online marketing services market is relatively new and rapidly evolving, and it uses
different measurements than traditional media to gauge its effectiveness. Some of our current or
potential clients have little or no experience using the Internet for advertising and marketing
purposes and have allocated only limited portions of their advertising and marketing budgets to the
Internet. The adoption of Internet advertising, particularly by those entities that have
historically relied upon traditional media for advertising, requires the acceptance of a new way of
conducting business, exchanging information and evaluating new advertising and marketing
technologies and services. In particular, we are dependent on our clients adoption of new metrics
to measure the success of online marketing campaigns. We may also experience resistance from
traditional advertising agencies who may be advising our clients. We cannot assure you that the
market for online marketing services will continue to grow. If the market for online marketing
services fails to continue to develop or develops more slowly than we anticipate, our ability to
grow our business may be limited and our revenue may decrease.
Third-party website publishers can engage in unauthorized or unlawful acts that could subject us to
significant liability or cause us to lose clients.
We generate a significant portion of our web visitors from media advertising that we purchase
from third-party website publishers. Some of these publishers are authorized to display our
clients brands, subject to contractual restrictions. In the past, some of our third-party website
publishers have engaged in activities that certain of our clients have viewed as harmful to their
brands, such as displaying outdated descriptions of a clients offerings or outdated logos. Any
activity by publishers that clients view as potentially damaging to their brands can harm our
relationship with the client and cause the client to terminate its relationship with us, resulting
in a loss of revenue. In addition, the law is unsettled on the extent of liability that an
advertiser in our position has for the activities of third-party website publishers. We could be
subject to costly litigation and, if we are unsuccessful in defending ourselves, damages for the
unauthorized or unlawful acts of third-party website publishers.
Poor perception of our business or industry as a result of the actions of third parties could harm
our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business is dependent on attracting a large number of visitors to our websites and
providing leads and clicks to our clients, which depends in part on our reputation within the
industry and with our clients. There are companies within our industry that regularly engage in
activities that our clients customers may view as unlawful or inappropriate. These activities,
such as spyware or deceptive promotions, by third parties may be seen by clients as characteristic
of participants in our industry and, therefore, may have an adverse effect on the reputation of all
participants in our industry, including us. Any damage to our reputation, including from publicity
from legal proceedings against us or companies that work within our industry, governmental
proceedings, consumer class action litigation, or the disclosure of information security breaches
or private information misuse, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results
of operations.
Because many of our client contracts can be cancelled by the client with little prior notice or
penalty, the cancellation of one or more contracts could result in an immediate decline in our
revenue.
We derive our revenue from contracts with our Internet marketing clients, most of which are
cancelable with little or no prior notice. In addition, these contracts do not contain penalty
provisions for cancellation before the end of the contract term. The non-renewal, renegotiation,
cancellation, or deferral of large contracts, or a number of contracts that in the aggregate
account for a significant amount of our revenue, is difficult to anticipate and could result in an
immediate decline in our revenue.
Unauthorized access to or accidental disclosure of consumer personally-identifiable information
that we collect may cause us to incur significant expenses and may
negatively affect our
credibility and business.
There is growing concern over the security of personal information transmitted over the
Internet, consumer identity theft and user privacy. Despite our implementation of security
measures, our computer systems may be susceptible to electronic or physical computer break-ins,
viruses and other disruptions and security breaches. Any perceived or actual unauthorized
disclosure of personally-identifiable information regarding website visitors, whether through
breach of our network by an unauthorized party, employee theft, misuse or error or otherwise, could
harm our reputation, impair our ability to attract website visitors and attract and retain our
clients, or subject us to claims or litigation arising from damages suffered by consumers, and
thereby harm our business and operating results. In addition, we could incur significant costs in
complying with the multitude of state, federal and foreign laws regarding the unauthorized
disclosure of personal information.
If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights, our competitive position and
business may suffer.
Our ability to compete effectively depends upon our proprietary systems and technology. We
rely on trade secret, trademark and copyright law, confidentiality agreements, technical measures
and patents to protect our proprietary rights. We currently have one patent application pending in
the United States and no issued patents. Effective trade secret, copyright, trademark and patent
protection may not be available in all countries where we currently operate or in which we may
operate in the future. Some of our systems and technologies are not covered by any copyright,
patent or patent application. We cannot guarantee that: (i) our intellectual property rights will
provide competitive advantages to us; (ii) our ability to assert our intellectual property rights
against potential competitors or to settle current or future disputes will not be limited by our
agreements with third parties; (iii) our intellectual property rights will be enforced in
jurisdictions where competition may be intense or where legal protection may be weak; (iv) any of
the patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets or other intellectual property rights that we
presently employ in our business will not lapse or be invalidated, circumvented, challenged, or
abandoned; (v) competitors will not design around our protected systems and technology; or (vi)
that we will not lose the ability to assert our intellectual property rights against others.
We are a party to a number of third-party intellectual property license agreements and in the
future, may need to obtain additional licenses or renew existing license agreements. We are unable
to predict with certainty whether these license agreements can be obtained or renewed on
commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
We have from time to time become aware of third parties who we believe may have infringed on
our intellectual property rights. The use of our intellectual property rights by others could
reduce any competitive advantage we have developed and cause us to lose clients, third-party
website publishers or otherwise harm our business. Policing unauthorized use of our proprietary
rights can be difficult and costly. In addition, litigation, while it may be necessary to enforce
or protect our intellectual property rights or to defend litigation brought against us, could
result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention and could adversely
affect our business, even if we are successful on the merits.
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Confidentiality agreements with employees, consultants and others may not adequately prevent
disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.
We have devoted substantial resources to the development of our proprietary systems and
technology. In order to protect our proprietary systems and technology, we enter into
confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, independent contractors and other
advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized disclosure of confidential
information or unauthorized parties from copying aspects of our services or obtaining and using
information that we regard as proprietary. Moreover, these agreements may not provide an adequate
remedy in the event of such unauthorized disclosures of confidential information and we cannot
assure you that our rights under such agreements will be enforceable. In addition, others may
independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we could not
assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be
necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or
maintain trade secret protection could reduce any competitive advantage we have and cause us to
lose clients, publishers or otherwise harm our business.
Third parties may sue us for intellectual property infringement which, if successful, could
require us to pay significant damages or curtail our offerings.
We cannot be certain that our internally-developed or acquired systems and technologies do not
and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, we license content,
software and other intellectual property rights from third parties and may be subject to claims of
infringement if such parties do not possess the necessary intellectual property rights to the
products they license to us. We have in the past and may in the future be subject to legal
proceedings and claims that we have infringed the patent or other intellectual property rights of a
third-party. These claims sometimes involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners
who have no relevant product revenue and against whom our own patents, if any, may therefore
provide little or no deterrence. In addition, third parties have asserted and may in the future
assert intellectual property infringement claims against our clients, which we have agreed in
certain circumstances to indemnify and defend against such claims. Any intellectual property
related infringement claims, whether or not meritorious, could result in costly litigation and
could divert management resources and attention. Moreover, should we be found liable for
infringement, we may be required to enter into licensing agreements, if available on acceptable
terms or at all, pay substantial damages, or limit or curtail our systems and technologies.
Moreover, we may need to redesign some of our systems and technologies to avoid future infringement
liability. Any of the foregoing could prevent us from competing effectively and increase our costs.
Additionally, the laws relating to use of trademarks on the Internet are currently unsettled,
particularly as they apply to search engine functionality. For example, other Internet marketing
and search companies have been sued in the past for trademark infringement and other intellectual
property-related claims for the display of ads or search results in response to user queries that
include trademarked terms. The outcomes of these lawsuits have differed from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction. For this reason, it is conceivable that certain of our activities could expose us to
trademark infringement, unfair competition, misappropriation or other intellectual property related
claims which could be costly to defend and result in substantial damages or otherwise limit or
curtail our activities, and adversely affect our business or prospects.
Our proprietary technologies may include design or performance defects and may not achieve their
intended results, either of which could impair our future revenue growth.
Our proprietary technologies are relatively new, and they may contain design or performance
defects that are not yet apparent. The use of our proprietary technologies may not achieve the
intended results as effectively as other technologies that exist now or may be introduced by our
competitors, in which case our business could be harmed.
If we fail to keep pace with rapidly-changing technologies and industry standards, we could lose
clients or advertising inventory and our results of operations may suffer.
The business lines in which we currently compete are characterized by rapidly-changing
Internet media and marketing standards, changing technologies, frequent new product and service
introductions, and changing user and client demands. The introduction of new technologies and
services embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices could
render our existing technologies and services obsolete and unmarketable or require unanticipated
investments in technology. Our future success will depend in part on our ability to adapt to these
rapidly-changing Internet media formats and other technologies. We will need to enhance our
existing technologies and services and develop and introduce new technologies and services to
address our clients changing demands. If we fail to adapt successfully to such developments or
timely introduce new technologies and services, we could lose clients, our expenses could increase
and we could lose advertising inventory.
Changes in government regulation and industry standards applicable to the Internet and our business
could decrease demand for our technologies and services or increase our costs.
Laws and regulations that apply to Internet communications, commerce and advertising are
becoming more prevalent. These regulations could increase the costs of conducting business on the
Internet and could decrease demand for our technologies and services.
In the United States, federal and state laws have been enacted regarding copyrights, sending
of unsolicited commercial email, user privacy, search engines, Internet tracking technologies,
direct marketing, data security, childrens privacy, pricing, sweepstakes, promotions, intellectual
property ownership and infringement, trade secrets, export of encryption technology, taxation and
acceptable content and quality of goods. Other laws and regulations may be adopted in the future.
Laws and regulations, including those related to privacy and use of personal information, are
changing rapidly outside the United States as well which may make compliance with such laws and
regulations difficult and which may negatively affect our ability to expand internationally. This
legislation could: (i) hinder growth in the use of the Internet generally; (ii) decrease the
acceptance of the Internet as a communications, commercial and advertising medium; (iii) reduce our
revenue; (iv) increase our operating expenses; or (v) expose us to significant liabilities.
The laws governing the Internet remain largely unsettled, even in areas where there has been
some legislative action. While we actively monitor this changing legal and regulatory landscape to
stay abreast of changes in the laws and regulations applicable to our business, we are not certain
how our business might be affected by the application of existing laws governing issues such as
property ownership, copyrights, encryption and other intellectual property issues, libel, obscenity
and export or import matters to the Internet advertising industry. The vast majority of such laws
were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet. As a result, they do not
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contemplate or address the unique issues of the Internet and related technologies. Changes in
laws intended to address such issues could create uncertainty in the Internet market. It may take
years to determine how existing laws apply to the Internet and Internet marketing. Such uncertainty
makes it difficult to predict costs and could reduce demand for our services or increase the cost
of doing business as a result of litigation costs or increased service delivery costs.
In particular, a number of U.S. federal laws impact our business. The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act, or DMCA, is intended, in part, to limit the liability of eligible online service
providers for listing or linking to third-party websites that include materials that infringe
copyrights or other rights. Portions of the Communications Decency Act, or CDA, are intended to
provide statutory protections to online service providers who distribute third-party content. We
rely on the protections provided by both the DMCA and CDA in conducting our business. In addition,
the United States Higher Education Act provides that to be eligible to participate in Federal
student financial aid programs, an educational institution must enter into a program participation
agreement with the Secretary of the Department of Education. The agreement includes a number of
conditions with which an institution must comply to be granted initial and continuing eligibility
to participate. Among those conditions is a prohibition on
institutions providing to any individual or entity engaged in recruiting or admission activities any commission,
bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments.
The regulations
promulgated under the Higher Education Act specify a number of types of compensation, or safe
harbors, that do not constitute incentive compensation in violation of this agreement. One of
these safe harbors permits an institution to award incentive compensation for Internet-based
recruitment and admission activities that provide information about the institution to prospective
students, refer prospective students to the institution, or permit prospective students to apply
for admission online. From November 2009 to January 2010,
the U.S. Department of Education engaged in a
negotiated rulemaking process in which it suggested repealing all existing safe harbors regarding
incentive compensation in recruiting, including the Internet safe harbor. Because the negotiated
rulemaking did not reach consensus on proposed regulations, the Department of Education has
announced it will be issuing proposed regulations on incentive compensation and other matters. The
statutory deadline for publication of final regulations is November 1, 2010. Any changes in these
laws or judicial interpretations narrowing their protections will subject us to greater risk of
liability and may increase our costs of compliance with these regulations or limit our ability to
operate certain lines of business.
The financial services, education and medical industries are highly regulated and our
marketing activities on behalf of our clients in those industries are also regulated. For example,
our mortgage websites and marketing services we offer are subject to various federal, state and
local laws, including state mortgage broker licensing laws, federal and state laws prohibiting
unfair acts and practices, and federal and state advertising laws. Any failure to comply with these
laws and regulations could subject us to revocation of required licenses, civil, criminal or
administrative liability, damage to our reputation or changes to or limitations on the conduct of
our business. Any of the foregoing could cause our business, operations and financial condition to
suffer.
New tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce may adversely affect the commercial use
of our marketing services and our financial results.
Due to the global nature of the Internet, it is possible that, although our services and the
Internet transmissions related to them originate in California and Nevada, and in some cases,
England, governments of other states or foreign countries might attempt to regulate our
transmissions or levy sales, income or other taxes relating to our activities. We have experienced
certain states taking expansive positions with regard to their taxation of our services. Tax
authorities at the international, federal, state and local levels are currently reviewing the
appropriate tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce. New or revised state tax
regulations may subject us or our affiliates to additional state sales, income and other taxes. We
cannot predict the effect of current attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on commerce
over the Internet. New or revised taxes and, in particular, sales taxes, would likely increase the
cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of advertising and selling goods and
services over the Internet. New taxes could also create significant increases in internal costs
necessary to capture data, and collect and remit taxes. Any of these events could have an adverse
effect on our business and results of operations.
Limitations on our ability to collect and use data derived from user activities could significantly
diminish the value of our services and cause us to lose clients and revenue.
When a user visits our websites, we use technologies, including cookies, to collect
information such as the users Internet Protocol, or IP, address, offerings delivered by us that
have been previously viewed by the user and responses by the user to those offerings. In order to
determine the effectiveness of a marketing campaign and to determine how to modify the campaign, we
need to access and analyze this information. The use of cookies has been the subject of regulatory
scrutiny and users are able to block or delete cookies from their browser. Periodically, certain of
our clients and publishers seek to prohibit or limit our collection or use of this data.
Interruptions, failures or defects in our data collection systems, as well as privacy concerns
regarding the collection of user data, could also limit our ability to analyze data from our
clients marketing campaigns. This risk is heightened when we deliver marketing services to clients
in the financial and medical services client verticals. If our access to data is limited in the
future, we may be unable to provide effective technologies and services to clients and we may lose
clients and revenue.
As a creator and a distributor of Internet content, we face potential liability and expenses for
legal claims based on the nature and content of the materials that we create or distribute. If we
are required to pay damages or expenses in connection with these legal claims, our operating
results and business may be harmed.
We create original content for our websites and marketing messages and distribute third-party
content on our websites and in our marketing messages. As a creator and distributor of original
content and third-party provided content, we face potential liability based on a variety of
theories, including defamation, negligence, deceptive advertising, copyright or trademark
infringement or other legal theories based on the nature, creation or distribution of this
information. It is also possible that our website visitors could make claims against us for losses
incurred in reliance upon information provided on our websites. In addition, as the number of users
of forums and social media features on our websites increases, we could be exposed to liability in
connection with material posted to our websites by users and other third parties. These claims,
whether brought in the United States or abroad, could divert management time and attention away
from our business and result in significant costs to investigate and defend, regardless of the
merit of these claims. In addition, if we become subject to these types of claims and are not
successful in our defense, we may be forced to pay substantial damages.
Wireless devices and mobile phones are increasingly being used to access the Internet, and our
online marketing services may not be as effective when accessed through these devices, which could
cause harm to our business.
The number of people who access the Internet through devices other than personal computers has
increased substantially in the last few years. Our online marketing services were designed for
persons accessing the Internet on a desktop or laptop computer. The smaller screens, lower
resolution graphics and less convenient typing capabilities of these devices may make it more
difficult for visitors to respond to our offerings. In addition, the cost of mobile advertising is
relatively high and may not be cost-effective for our services. If our services continue to be less
effective or economically attractive for clients seeking to engage in marketing through these
devices and this segment of web traffic grows at the expense of traditional computer Internet
access, we will experience difficulty attracting website visitors and attracting and retaining
clients and our operating results and business will be harmed.
We may not succeed in expanding our businesses outside the United States, which may limit our
future growth.
One potential area of growth for us is in the international markets. However, we have limited
experience in marketing, selling and supporting our services outside of the United States and we
may not be successful in introducing or marketing our services abroad. There are risks inherent in
conducting business in international markets, such as:
| the adaptation of technologies and services to foreign clients preferences and customs; |
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| application of foreign laws and regulations to us, including marketing and privacy regulations; | ||
| changes in foreign political and economic conditions; | ||
| tariffs and other trade barriers, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and potentially adverse tax consequences; | ||
| language barriers or cultural differences; | ||
| reduced or limited protection for intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions; | ||
| difficulties and costs in staffing, managing or overseeing foreign operations; and | ||
| education of potential clients who may not be familiar with online marketing. |
If we are unable to successfully expand and market our services abroad, our business and
future growth may be harmed and we may incur costs that may not lead to future revenue.
We rely on Internet bandwidth and data center providers and other third parties for key aspects of
the process of providing services to our clients, and any failure or interruption in the services
and products provided by these third parties could harm our business.
We rely on third-party vendors, including data center and Internet bandwidth providers. Any
disruption in the network access or co-location services provided by these third-party providers or
any failure of these third-party providers to handle current or higher volumes of use could
significantly harm our business. Any financial or other difficulties our providers face may have
negative effects on our business, the nature and extent of which we cannot predict. We exercise
little control over these third-party vendors, which increases our vulnerability to problems with
the services they provide. We license technology and related databases from third parties to
facilitate analysis and storage of data and delivery of offerings. We have experienced
interruptions and delays in service and availability for data centers, bandwidth and other
technologies in the past. Any errors, failures, interruptions or delays experienced in connection
with these third-party technologies and services could adversely affect our business and could
expose us to liabilities to third parties.
Our systems also heavily depend on the availability of electricity, which also comes from
third-party providers. If we or third-party data centers which we utilize were to experience a
major power outage, we would have to rely on back-up generators. These back-up generators may not
operate properly through a major power outage and their fuel supply could also be inadequate during
a major power outage or disruptive event. Furthermore, we do not currently have backup generators
at our Foster City, California headquarters. Information systems such as ours may be disrupted by
even brief power outages, or by the fluctuations in power resulting from switches to and from
back-up generators. This could give rise to obligations to certain of our clients which could have
an adverse effect on our results for the period of time in which any disruption of utility services
to us occurs.
Interruption or failure of our information technology and communications systems could impair our
ability to effectively deliver our services, which could cause us to lose clients and harm our
operating results.
Our delivery of marketing and media services depends on the continuing operation of our
technology infrastructure and systems. Any damage to or failure of our systems could result in
interruptions in our ability to deliver offerings quickly and accurately and/or process visitors
responses emanating from our various web presences. Interruptions in our service could reduce our
revenue and profits, and our reputation could be damaged if people believe our systems are
unreliable. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes,
terrorist attacks, floods, fires, power loss, break-ins, hardware or software failures,
telecommunications failures, computer viruses or other attempts to harm our systems, and similar
events.
We lease or maintain server space in various locations, including in San Francisco,
California. Our California facilities are located in areas with a high risk of major earthquakes.
Our facilities are also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism, and to
potential disruptions if the operators of these facilities have financial difficulties. Some of our
systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all
eventualities. The occurrence of a natural disaster, a decision to close a facility we are using
without adequate notice for financial reasons or other unanticipated problems at our facilities
could result in lengthy interruptions in our service.
Any unscheduled interruption in our service would result in an immediate loss of revenue. If
we experience frequent or persistent system failures, the attractiveness of our technologies and
services to clients and website publishers could be permanently harmed. The steps we have taken to
increase the reliability and redundancy of our systems are expensive, reduce our operating margin,
and may not be successful in reducing the frequency or duration of unscheduled interruptions.
Any constraints on the capacity of our technology infrastructure could delay the effectiveness of
our operations or result in system failures, which would result in the loss of clients and harm our
business and results of operations.
Our future success depends in part on the efficient performance of our software and technology
infrastructure. As the numbers of websites and Internet users increase, our technology
infrastructure may not be able to meet the increased demand. A sudden and unexpected increase in
the volume of user responses could strain the capacity of our technology infrastructure. Any
capacity constraints we experience could lead to slower response times or system failures and
adversely affect the availability of websites and the level of user responses received, which could
result in the loss of clients or revenue or harm to our business and results of operations.
We could lose clients if we fail to detect click-through or other fraud on advertisements in a
manner that is acceptable to our clients.
We are exposed to the risk of fraudulent clicks or actions on our websites or our third-party
publishers websites. We may in the future have to refund revenue that our clients have paid to us
and that was later attributed to, or suspected to be caused by, fraud. Click-through fraud occurs
when an individual clicks on an ad displayed on a website or an automated system is used to create
such clicks with the intent of generating the revenue share payment to the publisher rather than to
view the underlying content. Action fraud occurs when on-line forms are completed with false or
fictitious information in an effort to increase the compensable actions in respect of which a web
publisher is to be compensated. From time to time we have experienced fraudulent clicks or actions
and we do not charge our clients for such fraudulent clicks or actions when they are detected. It
is conceivable that this activity could negatively affect our profitability, and this type of
fraudulent act could hurt our reputation. If fraudulent clicks or actions are not detected, the
affected clients may experience a reduced return on their investment in our marketing programs,
which could lead the clients to become dissatisfied with our campaigns, and in turn, lead to loss
of clients and the related revenue. Additionally, we have from time to time had to terminate
relationships with web publishers who we believed to have engaged in fraud and we may have to do so
in future. Termination of such relationships entails a loss of revenue associated with the
legitimate actions or clicks generated by such web publishers.
We incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, which may adversely
affect our operating results and financial condition.
As a public company, we incur significant accounting, legal and other expenses that we did not
incur as a private company. We incur costs associated with our
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public company reporting requirements. We also incur costs associated with corporate
governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and The NASDAQ Global Market. We expect
these rules and regulations to continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to
make some activities more time-consuming and costly. Our management and other personnel will need
to continue to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Furthermore,
these laws and regulations could make it more difficult or more costly for us to obtain certain
types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to
accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or
similar coverage. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to
attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as
executive officers. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may
incur to respond to these requirements. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments
with respect to these rules, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we
may incur or the timing of such costs.
In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective
internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular,
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing
of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and our independent registered
public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404. Our compliance
with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial expense and expend significant management
time on compliance-related issues.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate
financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired, which would adversely affect our ability
to operate our business.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles. We may in the future discover areas of our internal
financial and accounting controls and procedures that need improvement. Our internal control over
financial reporting will not prevent or detect all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter
how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the
control systems objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control
systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error
or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected. If we
are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce
accurate financial statements on a timely basis, which could adversely affect our ability to
operate our business and could result in regulatory action.
Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Common Stock
Our stock price may be volatile, and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or
above the price you paid.
Prior to our initial public offering there was no public market for shares of our common
stock, and an active public market for our shares may not develop or be sustained. The trading
price of our common stock could be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in
response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include those
discussed in this Risk Factors section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and others such as:
| changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts; | ||
| announcements by us or our competitors of new services, significant contracts, commercial relationships, acquisitions or capital commitments; | ||
| developments with respect to intellectual property rights; | ||
| our ability to develop and market new and enhanced products on a timely basis; | ||
| our commencement of, or involvement in, litigation; | ||
| changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals; and | ||
| a slowdown in our industry or the general economy. |
In recent years, the stock market in general, and the market for technology and Internet-based
companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been
unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and
industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our
actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the
overall market and the market price of a particular companys securities, securities class action
litigation has often been instituted against these companies. Such litigation, if instituted
against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managements attention and
resources.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if
they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume
could decline.
The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that
industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who cover
us issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or
more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly,
we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or
trading volume to decline.
Our directors, executive officers and principal stockholders and their respective affiliates have
substantial control over us and could delay or prevent a change in corporate control.
As of March 31, 2010, our directors, executive officers and holders of more than 5% of our
common stock, together with their affiliates, beneficially owned, in the aggregate the majority of
our outstanding common stock. As a result, these stockholders, acting together, have substantial
control over the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the
election of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our
assets. In addition, these stockholders, acting together, have significant influence over the
management and affairs of our company. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may have the
effect of:
| delaying, deferring or preventing a change in corporate control; | ||
| impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us; or |
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| discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. |
Future sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.
If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intent to sell, substantial amounts of our
common stock in the public market after the 180-day contractual lock-up pertaining to our public
offering, which period expires in August 2010, the trading price of our common stock could
decline significantly. Based on shares outstanding as of March 31, 2010, we have outstanding
45,059,723 shares of common stock. Of these shares, only the 10,000,000 shares of common sold in
the initial public offering stock are freely tradable, without restriction, in the public market.
The underwriters of our initial public offering may, in their sole discretion, permit our officers,
directors, employees and current stockholders to sell shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up
agreements.
After the lock-up agreements pertaining to our common stock expire in August 2010 and based on
shares outstanding as of March 31, 2010, the remaining 35,059,723 shares will be eligible for sale
in the public market. In addition, (i) the 11,661,764 shares subject to outstanding options under
our equity incentive plans as of March 31, 2010 and (ii) the shares reserved for future issuance
under our equity incentive plans will become eligible for sale in the public market in the future,
subject to certain legal and contractual limitations. If these additional shares are sold, or if it
is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the price of our common stock could
decline substantially.
We have broad discretion to determine how to use the funds raised in our initial public offering
and may use them in ways that may not enhance our operating results or the price of our common
stock.
Our management has broad discretion over the use of proceeds from our initial public offering,
and we could spend the proceeds from the initial public offering in ways our stockholders may not
agree with or that do not yield a favorable return. We have been using and intend to continue to
use the net proceeds from our initial public offering for working capital, capital expenditures and
other general corporate purposes. We may also use and continue to use a portion of the net proceeds
to make repayments on our debt or acquire other businesses, products or technologies. If we do not
invest or apply the proceeds of our initial public offering in ways that improve our operating
results, we may fail to achieve expected financial results, which could cause our stock price to
decline.
Provisions in our charter documents under Delaware law and in contractual obligations, could
discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable and may lead to entrenchment of
management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could
have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management without
the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include:
| a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors; | ||
| no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates; | ||
| the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors; | ||
| the ability of our board of directors to determine to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer; | ||
| a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders; | ||
| the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer or the board of directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors; and | ||
| advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirors own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. |
We are subject to certain anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law. Under Delaware law, a
corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of
its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the
board of directors has approved the transaction. For a description of our capital stock, see
Description of Capital Stock.
We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our common stock and, consequently, your ability to
achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We do not intend to declare and pay dividends on our capital stock for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to fund our growth. Additionally, the
terms of our credit facility restrict our ability to pay dividends. Therefore, you are not likely
to receive any dividends on your common stock for the foreseeable future.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
On February 4, 2010, prior to our initial public offering, we granted options to purchase
322,300 shares of our common stock under our 2008 Equity Incentive Plan with an exercise price of
$19.00. From January 1, 2010 to March 17, 2010, the date we filed a Registration Statement on
Form S-8 with regard to such plan, certain of our employees exercised options to purchase 137,126
shares of our common stock pursuant to options issued under the Companys 2008 Equity Incentive
Plan at an average purchase price of $2.08 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $284,820.
These issuances were exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
pursuant to the exemption provided in Rule 701 or Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
Use of Proceeds
On February 10, 2010, our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-163228) was
declared effective for our initial public offering, pursuant to which we registered the offering
and sale of 10,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $15.00 per share. The
underwriters were Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith
Incorporated and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. The offering was completed on February 17, 2010.
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As a result of the offering, we received net proceeds of $150.0 million, less underwriting
discounts and commissions of $10.5 million and other offering costs of approximately $2.7 million,
of which a portion remains unpaid. None of such payments was a direct or indirect payment to any of
our directors or officers or their associates, to persons owning ten percent or more of our common
stock or any of our other affiliates.
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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
Exhibit | ||
Number | Description of Document | |
3.1(1)
|
Amended and restated certificate of incorporation. | |
3.2(1)
|
Amended and restated bylaws. | |
4.1(1)
|
Form of common stock certificate. | |
4.2(1)
|
Second Amended and Restated Investor Rights Agreement, by and between the registrant, Douglas Valenti and the investors listed on Schedule 1 thereto, dated May 28, 2003. | |
10.1
|
Office Lease Metro Center, dated as of February 24, 2010, between the registrant and CA-Metro Center Limited Partnership. | |
21.1(1)
|
List of subsidiaries. | |
31.1
|
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
31.2
|
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.1
|
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.2
|
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
(1) | Previously filed as an exhibit to the registrants registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-163228) and incorporated by reference herein. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
QUINSTREET, INC. |
||||
/s/ Kenneth Hahn | ||||
Kenneth Hahn | ||||
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and duly authorized signatory) Date: May 12, 2010 |
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Exhibit | ||
Number | Description of Document | |
3.1(1)
|
Amended and restated certificate of incorporation. | |
3.2(1)
|
Amended and restated bylaws. | |
4.1(1)
|
Form of common stock certificate. | |
4.2(1)
|
Second Amended and Restated Investor Rights Agreement, by and between the registrant, Douglas Valenti and the investors listed on Schedule 1 thereto, dated May 28, 2003. | |
10.1
|
Office Lease Metro Center, dated as of February 24, 2010, between the registrant and CA-Metro Center Limited Partnership. | |
21.1(1)
|
List of subsidiaries. | |
31.1
|
Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
31.2
|
Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.1
|
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.2
|
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
(1) | Previously filed as an exhibit to the registrants registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-163228) and incorporated by reference herein. |
42