TechTarget Inc - Quarter Report: 2017 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2017

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 1-33472

TECHTARGET, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 431-9200

(Former name, former address and formal fiscal year, if changed since last report): Not applicable

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  ☒    No  ☐

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  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of April 28, 2017, the registrant had 27,444,296 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

TECHTARGET, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

Unaudited

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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TechTarget, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income

(in thousands, except per share data)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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TechTarget, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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TECHTARGET, INC.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

(In thousands, except share and per share data, where otherwise noted, or instances where expressed in millions)

1. Organization and Operations

TechTarget, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) is a leading provider of specialized online content for buyers of enterprise information technology (“IT”) products and services, and a leading provider of purchase-intent marketing and sales services for enterprise technology vendors. The Company’s service offerings enable technology vendors to better identify, reach, and influence corporate IT decision makers actively researching specific IT purchases. The Company improves vendors’ ability to impact these audiences for business growth using advanced targeting, analytics, and data services complemented with customized marketing programs that integrate demand generation and brand advertising techniques. The Company operates a network of over 140 websites, each of which focuses on a specific IT sector such as storage, security, or networking. IT professionals have become increasingly specialized, and they have come to rely on the Company’s sector-specific websites for purchasing decision support. The Company’s content platform enables IT professionals to navigate the complex and rapidly changing IT landscape where purchasing decisions can have significant financial and operational consequences. At critical stages of the purchase decision process, these content offerings, through different channels, meet IT professionals’ needs for expert, peer, and IT vendor information and provide a platform on which IT vendors can launch targeted marketing campaigns which generate measurable return on investment. Based upon the logical clustering of users’ respective job responsibilities and the marketing focus of the products being promoted by the Company’s customers, the Company categorizes its content offerings to address the key market opportunities and audience extensions across a portfolio of distinct media groups: Security; Networking; Storage; Data Center and Virtualization Technologies; CIO/IT Strategy; Business Applications and Analytics; Application Architecture and Development; Channel; and TechnologyGuide.com.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the application of certain significant accounting policies as described below and elsewhere in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, TechTarget Securities Corporation (“TSC”), TechTarget Limited, TechTarget (HK) Limited (“TTGT HK”), TechTarget (Beijing) Information Technology Consulting Co. Ltd. (“TTGT Consulting”), TechTarget (Australia) Pty Ltd., TechTarget (Singapore) Pte Ltd., E-Magine Médias SAS (“LeMagIT”) and TechTarget Germany GmbH. TSC is a Massachusetts corporation. TechTarget Limited is a subsidiary doing business principally in the United Kingdom. TTGT HK is a subsidiary incorporated in Hong Kong in order to facilitate the Company’s activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, TTGT HK and TTGT Consulting, the Company effectively controls a variable interest entity (“VIE”), Keji Wangtuo Information Technology Co., Ltd., (“KWIT”), which was incorporated under the laws of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). TechTarget (Australia) Pty Ltd. and TechTarget (Singapore) Pte Ltd. are the entities through which the Company does business in Australia and Singapore, respectively; LeMagIT and TechTarget Germany GmbH, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of TechTarget Limited, are entities through which the Company does business in France and Germany, respectively. Bitpipe, Inc., previously a wholly-owned subsidiary, was merged into TechTarget, Inc. in the second quarter of 2016.

PRC laws and regulations prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of Internet-related services and advertising businesses. To comply with these foreign ownership restrictions, the Company operates its websites and provides online advertising services in the PRC through KWIT. The Company entered into certain exclusive agreements with KWIT and its shareholders through TTGT HK, which obligated TTGT HK to absorb all of the risk of loss from KWIT’s activities and entitled TTGT HK to receive all of its residual returns. In addition, the Company entered into certain agreements with the authorized parties through TTGT HK, including Management and Consulting Services, Voting Proxy, Equity Pledge and Option Agreements. TTGT HK assigned all of its rights and obligations to the newly formed wholly foreign-owned enterprise (“WFOE”), TTGT Consulting. TTGT Consulting is established and existing under the laws of the PRC, and is wholly-owned by TTGT HK.

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Based on these contractual arrangements, the Company consolidates the financial results of KWIT as required by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810-10, Consolidation: Overall, because the Company holds all the variable interests of KWIT through TTGT Consulting, which is the primary beneficiary of KWIT. Despite the lack of technical majority ownership, there exists a parent-subsidiary relationship between the Company and the VIE through the aforementioned agreements, whereby the equity holders of KWIT assigned all of their voting rights underlying their equity interest in KWIT to TTGT Consulting. In addition, through the other aforementioned agreements, the Company demonstrates its ability and intention to continue to exercise the ability to obtain substantially all of the profits and absorb all of the expected losses of KWIT. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions between the Company, its subsidiaries, and KWIT have been eliminated in consolidation.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or “GAAP”) in the United States (“U.S.”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. for complete financial statements. All adjustments, which, in the opinion of management, are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations for the periods shown, are of a normal recurring nature and have been reflected in the consolidated financial statements. The results of operations for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other interim periods or for the full year. The information included in these consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in this report and the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Reclassifications

The adoption of a recent accounting pronouncement, described in more detail in the Accounting Guidance Adopted in 2017 section below, resulted in an in immaterial adjustment to the Accumulated Deficit in the prior period Consolidated Balance Sheet and an immaterial reclassification between Operating Activities and Financing Activities in the prior period Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.  There was no effect on the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to revenues, long-lived assets, goodwill, the allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation, earnouts, self-insurance accruals, and income taxes. Estimates of the carrying value of certain assets and liabilities are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates substantially all of its revenues from the sale of targeted marketing and advertising campaigns, which are delivered via its network of websites, data analytics solutions, and, historically, events. In all cases, revenues are recognized only when the price is fixed or determinable, persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the service is performed, and collectability of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

The majority of the Company’s online media sales involve multiple service and product offerings, which are described in more detail below. Because neither vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value nor third-party evidence of fair value exists for all elements in the Company’s bundled product offerings, the Company uses an estimated selling price which represents management's best estimate of the stand-alone selling price for each deliverable in an arrangement. The Company establishes best estimates considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, class of client, size of transaction, available media inventory, pricing strategies and market conditions. The Company believes the use of the best estimate of selling price allows revenue recognition in a manner consistent with the underlying economics of the transaction. The Company uses the relative selling price method to allocate consideration at the inception of the arrangement to each deliverable in a multiple element arrangement. The relative selling price method allocates any discount in the arrangement proportionately to each deliverable on the basis of the deliverable's best estimated selling price. Revenues are then recognized as delivery occurs. The Company typically offers standard 30 day cancellation terms under its agreements.

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The Company evaluates all deliverables of an arrangement at inception and each time an item is delivered, to determine whether they represent separate units of accounting. Based on this evaluation, the arrangement consideration is measured and allocated to each of these elements. Additionally, the Company offers sales incentives to certain customers, primarily in the form of volume rebates, which are classified as a reduction of revenues and are calculated based on the terms of the specific customer’s contract. The Company accrues for these sales incentives based on contractual terms and historical experience.

Online Offerings

IT Deal Alert™. This suite of products and services includes IT Deal Alert: Qualified Sales Opportunities™, which profiles specific in-progress purchase projects, IT Deal Alert: Priority Engine™, which is a subscription service powered by the Company’s Activity Intelligence™ platform that integrates into salesforce.com and delivers information to allow marketers and sales personnel to identify those accounts who are actively researching new technology purchases, IT Deal Alert: Deal Data™, which is a customized solution aimed at sales intelligence and data scientist functions that makes the Company’s Activity Intelligence data directly consumable by the customer’s internal applications, and IT Deal Alert: TechTarget Research™, which is a subscription product that sources proprietary information about purchase transactions from IT professionals who are making and have recently completed these purchases. Qualified Sales Opportunities revenues are recognized when the Qualified Sales Opportunity is delivered to the Company’s customer, Priority Engine revenues are recognized ratably over the duration of the service, Deal Data revenues are recognized upon delivery of the data to the Company’s customer, and TechTarget Research revenues are recognized when the report is delivered.

Core Online. The Company’s core online offerings enable its customers to reach and influence prospective buyers through content marketing programs designed to generate demand for their solutions, and through display advertising and other brand programs that influence consideration by prospective buyers.

Demand Solutions. As part of its demand solutions campaign offerings, the Company may guarantee a minimum number of sales leads to be delivered over the course of the campaign. The Company determines the content necessary to achieve performance guarantees. Scheduled end dates of campaigns sometimes need to be extended, pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, to satisfy lead guarantees. The Company estimates a revenue reserve necessary to adjust revenue recognition for extended campaigns. These estimates are based on the Company’s experience in managing and fulfilling these offerings. The customer generally has cancellation privileges which normally require advance notice by the customer and require proportional payment by the customer for the portion of the campaign services provided by the Company. The Company recognizes revenues on duration-based campaigns ratably over the duration of the campaigns, which is usually less than six months and recognizes revenues on contracts where pricing is based on cost per lead during the period in which leads are delivered to its customers.

Brand Solutions. Brand solutions consist mostly of banner revenue, which is recognized in the period in which the banner impressions, engagements or clicks occur and microsite revenue, which is recognized over the period during which the microsites are live.

Custom Content Creation. Custom content revenues are recognized when the creation is completed and delivered to the customer.

Other. Includes list rental revenue, which is recognized in the period in which the Company delivers the customer’s content to a list of the Company’s registered members, and revenues from third-party revenue sharing arrangements, which is primarily recognized on a net basis in the period in which the services are performed.

Events

Revenues from vendor-sponsored events, whether sponsored exclusively by a single vendor or in a multi-vendor sponsored event, are recognized upon completion of the event in the period the event occurs. Historically, the majority of the Company’s events were free to qualified attendees and certain events were based on a paid attendee model, but the Company announced on February 14, 2017 that it will be phasing out its events products. The Company recognizes revenues for paid attendee events upon completion of the events.

Amounts collected or billed prior to satisfying the above revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue. The Company excludes from its deferred revenue and accounts receivable balances amounts for which it has billed in advance prior to the start of a campaign or the delivery of services.

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Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and long-term debt. With the exception of long-term debt, the carrying value of these instruments approximates their estimated fair values due to their short-term nature and liquidity. See Note 3 for further information on the fair value of the Company’s investments. The Company classifies all of its short-term and long-term investments as available-for-sale. Amounts outstanding under the Company’s long-term debt are subject to variable rates of interest based on market rates, and as such, the Company believes the carrying amount of these obligations approximates fair value.

Long-lived Assets, Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets

Long-lived assets consist primarily of property and equipment, capitalized software, goodwill and other intangible assets. The Company reviews long-lived assets, including property and equipment and finite intangible assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Conditions that would trigger an impairment assessment include, but are not limited to, a significant adverse change in legal factors or business climate that could affect the value of an asset or an adverse action or a significant decrease in the market price. A specifically identified intangible asset must be recorded as a separate asset from goodwill if either of the following two criteria is met: (1) the intangible asset acquired arises from contractual or other legal rights; or (2) the intangible asset is separable. Accordingly, intangible assets consist of specifically identified intangible assets. Goodwill is the excess of any purchase price over the estimated fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired.

Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized but are reviewed annually for impairment or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. Separable intangible assets that are not deemed to have an indefinite life are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which range from five to ten years, using methods of amortization that are expected to reflect the estimated pattern of economic use, and are reviewed for impairment when events or changes in circumstances suggest that the assets may not be recoverable. Consistent with the Company’s determination that it has only one reporting segment, it has been determined that there is a single reporting unit and goodwill is therefore tested for impairment at the entity level. The Company performs its annual test of impairment of goodwill as of December 31st of each year and whenever events or changes in circumstances suggest that the carrying amount may not be recoverable using the two step process required by ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”). The first step of the impairment test is to identify potential impairment by comparing the reporting unit’s fair value with its net book value (or carrying amount), including goodwill. The fair value is estimated based on a market value approach. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, the reporting unit’s goodwill is not considered to be impaired and the second step of the impairment test is not performed. Whenever indicators of impairment become present, the Company would perform the second step and compare the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill, as defined by ASC 350, to its carrying value to determine the amount of the impairment loss, if any. As of December 31, 2016, there were no indications of impairment based on the step one analysis, and the Company’s estimated fair value exceeded its goodwill carrying value by a significant margin. There were no indications of impairment as of March 31, 2017.

Based on the aforementioned evaluation, the Company believes that, as of the balance sheet dates presented, none of the Company’s goodwill or other long-lived assets were impaired. The Company did not have any intangible assets with indefinite lives as of March 31, 2017 or December 31, 2016.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The Company reduces gross trade accounts receivable for an allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in its existing accounts receivable. The allowance for doubtful accounts is reviewed on a regular basis, and all past due balances are reviewed individually for collectability. Account balances are charged against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Provisions for doubtful accounts are recorded in general and administrative expense.

Property and Equipment and Other Capitalized Assets

Property and equipment and other capitalized assets are stated at cost. Property and equipment acquired through acquisitions of businesses are initially recorded at fair value. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method based on the month the asset is placed in service.

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Internal-Use Software and Website Development Costs

The Company capitalizes costs incurred during the development of its website applications and infrastructure as well as certain costs relating to internal-use software. The estimated useful life of costs capitalized is evaluated for each specific project. Capitalized internal-use software and website development costs are reviewed for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized only if the carrying amount of the asset is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value. The Company capitalized internal-use software and website development costs of $0.8 million and $0.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates. A valuation allowance is established against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company records a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return using a “more likely than not” threshold as required by the provisions of ASC 740-10, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“ASC 740”).

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, in income tax expense.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has two stock-based employee compensation plans which are more fully described in Note 9. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income using the straight-line method over the vesting period of the award. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock option awards.

Comprehensive Income

Comprehensive income includes all changes in equity during a period, except those resulting from investments by stockholders and distributions to stockholders. The Company's comprehensive income includes changes in the fair value of the Company’s unrealized gains on available for sale securities and foreign currency translation adjustments.

There were no reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income in the periods ended March 31, 2017 or 2016.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency for each of the Company’s subsidiaries is the local currency of the country in which it is incorporated. All assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollar equivalents at the exchange rate in effect on the balance sheet date or at a historical rate. Revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates. Translation gains or losses are recorded in stockholders’ equity as an element of accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed based on the weighted average number of common shares and vested restricted stock awards outstanding during the period. Because the holders of unvested restricted stock awards do not have nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents, the Company does not consider these awards to be participating securities that should be included in its computation of earnings per share under the two-class method. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and vested, undelivered restricted stock awards outstanding during the period, plus the dilutive effect of potential future issuances of common stock relating to stock option and restricted stock award programs using the treasury stock method. In calculating diluted earnings per share, the dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock awards is computed using the average market price for the respective period. In addition, the assumed proceeds under the treasury stock method include the average unrecognized compensation expense of stock options and restricted stock awards that are in-the-money. This results in the “assumed” buyback of additional shares, thereby reducing the dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock awards.

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Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Guidance Adopted in 2017

In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU 2016-09”). The updated guidance changes how companies account for certain aspects of share-based payment awards to employees, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the provisions of the new standard on January 1, 2017. Implementing the new pronouncement resulted in the Company recognizing tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to stock compensation deductions as a component of the provision for income tax expense in the reporting period in which they occur. Additionally, the Company has applied the modified retrospective adoption approach, which resulted in the Company recording deferred tax assets of approximately $0.2 million with an offsetting entry to retained earnings. ASU 2016-09 also requires the presentation of excess tax benefit from stock options as an operating activity on the consolidated statement of cash flows instead of as a financing activity, which resulted in an immaterial reclassification in the consolidated statement of cash flows for the first quarter of 2016.  

Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09”), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. ASU 2014-09 is based on the principle that revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date (“ASU 2015-14”). The amendments in ASU 2015-14 defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for all entities by one year. As a result, this guidance is now effective for annual reporting periods (including interim reporting periods within those periods) beginning after December 15, 2017 (January 1, 2018 for the Company) and early adoption is permitted only as of annual reporting periods (including interim reporting periods within those reporting periods) beginning after December 15, 2016. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net), which further clarifies the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations contained in ASU 2014-09. In April and May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, and ASU 2016-12, Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, respectively, each of which provide further implementation guidance for ASU 2014-09.  The Company is currently in the process of assessing the adoption methodology, which allows the standard to be applied retrospectively to each prior period presented, or with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of initial application.  The Company continues to progress in its evaluation of the impact of the adoption of the standard on other areas of its consolidated financial statements but has not yet determined whether the effect will be material to either its reported revenue or its accounting for deferred commissions balances.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures. However, the Company anticipates that this standard will have a material impact on its financial position, primarily due to office space operating leases, for which the company will be required to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on its Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company will continue to assess the potential impacts of this standard, including the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on its results of operations or cash flows, if any.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350), Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment ("ASU 2017-04"). ASU 2017-04 eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill to measure a goodwill impairment charge (step 2 of the goodwill impairment test) and instead requires only a one-step quantitative impairment test, performed by comparing the fair value of goodwill with its carrying amount. ASU 2017-04 is effective on a prospective basis effective for goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

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3. Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis, including cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments and contingent consideration. The fair value of these financial assets and liabilities was determined based on three levels of input as follows: 

The fair value hierarchy of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value and measured on a recurring basis is as follows:

4. Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Investments  

Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at date of purchase. Cash equivalents are carried at cost, which approximates their fair market value. Cash and cash equivalents consisted of the following:

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The Company’s short-term and long-term investments are accounted for as available for sale securities. These investments are recorded at fair value with the related unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, a component of stockholders’ equity, net of tax. The cumulative unrealized loss, net of taxes, was $15 and $30 as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Realized gains and losses on the sale of these investments are determined using the specific identification method. There were no realized gains or losses during the three months ended March 31, 2017 or 2016.

Short-term and long-term investments consisted of the following:

The Company had twenty four debt securities in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2017. All of these securities have been in such a position for no more than eight months. The unrealized loss on those securities was approximately $25 and the fair value was $14.7 million. At March 31, 2016, the Company had seven debt securities in an unrealized loss position, and the unrealized loss on those securities was immaterial and the fair value was $9.0 million at that date. The Company uses specific identification when reviewing these investments for impairment. Because the Company does not intend to sell the investments that are in an unrealized loss position and it is not likely that the Company will be required to sell any investments before recovery of their cost basis, the Company does not consider those investments with an unrealized loss to be other-than-temporarily impaired at March 31, 2017.

The Company’s investments have contractual maturity dates that range from May 2017 to January 2019. All income generated from these investments is recorded as interest income.

5. Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes the Company’s intangible assets, net:

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Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which range from five to ten years, using methods of amortization that are expected to reflect the estimated pattern of economic use. The remaining amortization expense will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 3.18 years. Amortization expense was $40 and $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Amortization expense is recorded within operating expenses as the intangible assets consist of customer-related assets which generate website traffic that the Company considers to be in support of selling and marketing activities. The Company did not write off any fully amortized intangible assets in the first quarter of 2017. The Company wrote off $0.1 million of fully amortized intangible assets in the first quarter of 2016. The change in the gross carrying amount of intangible assets during the three months ended March 31, 2017 was due to foreign currency translation gains and losses.

The Company expects amortization expense of intangible assets to be as follows:

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6. Net Loss Per Common Share

A reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used in the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per common share is as follows:

7. Term Loan Agreement

On May 9, 2016, the Company entered into a Senior Secured Credit Facilities Credit Agreement for a term loan (the “Term Loan Agreement”). Under the Term Loan Agreement, the Company borrowed and received $50 million in aggregate principal amount pursuant to a five-year term loan (the “Term Loan”). The borrowings under the Term Loan Agreement are secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company, including a pledge of the stock of certain of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. As of March 31, 2017, the carrying amount of the Term Loan was $37.2 million.

At the Company’s option, the Term Loan Agreement bears interest at either an annual rate of 1.50% plus the higher of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day and (b) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 0.50%, or the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 2.50%.  The applicable interest rate was 3.31% at March 31, 2017, representing LIBOR plus the applicable margin of 2.50%.  Interest expense under the Term Loan Agreement was $0.3 million during the three months ended March 31, 2017, which includes non-cash interest expense of $23 related to the amortization of deferred issuance costs. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company made principal payments totaling $1.3 million. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the Company made principal payments totaling $11.3 million which included a $10.0 million pre-payment in excess of the contractual amounts due.

The Term Loan Agreement requires us to maintain compliance with certain covenants, including leverage and fixed charge coverage ratio covenants. At March 31, 2017, the Company was in compliance with all covenants under the Term Loan Agreement.

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8. Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

The Company conducts its operations in leased office facilities under various noncancelable operating lease agreements that expire through December 2021. The Company leases approximately 110,000 square feet of office space in Newton, Massachusetts under three separate coterminous leases (the “Newton Leases”), which expire in February 2020.    Certain of the Newton Leases contain rent concessions, which the Company is receiving over the life of the Newton Leases. 

Certain of the Company’s operating leases include lease incentives and escalating payment amounts and are renewable for varying periods. The Company is recognizing the related rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease, taking into account the lease incentives and escalating lease payments. Total rent expense under the Company’s leases was approximately $1.1 million for the each of the first quarter of 2017 and 2016.    

Future minimum lease payments under the Company’s noncancelable operating leases at March 31, 2017 are as follows:

Litigation

From time to time and in the ordinary course of business, the Company may be subject to various claims, charges, and litigation. At March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company did not have any pending claims, charges, or litigation that it expects would have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

9. Stock-Based Compensation  

Stock Option Plans

In September 1999, the Company approved a stock option plan (the “1999 Plan”) that provided for the issuance of shares of common stock incentives. The 1999 Plan provided for the granting of incentive stock options (“ISOs”), nonqualified stock options (“NSOs”), and stock grants. These incentives were offered to the Company’s employees, officers, directors, consultants, and advisors. Each option is exercisable at such times and subject to such terms as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”); grants generally vest over a four year period, and expire no later than ten years after the grant date.

In April 2007, the Board approved the 2007 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan”), which was approved by the stockholders of the Company and became effective upon the consummation of the Company’s IPO in May 2007. Effective upon the consummation of the IPO, no further awards were made pursuant to the 1999 Plan, but any outstanding awards under the 1999 Plan remain in effect and continue to be subject to the terms of the 1999 Plan. The 2007 Plan allows the Company to grant ISOs, NSOs, stock appreciation rights, deferred stock awards, restricted stock and other awards. Under the 2007 Plan, stock options may not be granted at less than fair market value on the date of grant, and grants generally vest over a three to four year period. Stock options granted under the 2007 Plan expire no later than ten years after the grant date. Additionally, beginning with awards made in August 2015, the Company has the option to direct a net issuance of shares for satisfaction of tax liability with respect to vesting of awards and delivery of shares.  Prior to August 2015, this choice of settlement method was solely at the discretion of the award recipient.

The Company has reserved for issuance an aggregate of 2,911,667 shares of common stock under the 2007 Plan plus an additional annual increase to be added automatically on January 1 of each year, beginning on January 1, 2008, equal to the lesser of (a) 2% of the outstanding number of shares of common stock (on a fully-diluted basis) on the immediately preceding December 31 and (b) such lower number of shares as may be determined by the compensation committee of the Board. The number of shares available for issuance under the 2007 Plan is subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split, stock dividend or other change in capitalization. Generally, shares that are forfeited or canceled from awards under the 2007 Plan also will be available for future awards. To date, 8,224,334 shares have been added to the 2007 Plan in accordance with the automatic annual increase. In addition, shares subject to stock options returned to the 1999 Plan, as a result of their expiration, cancellation or termination, are automatically made available for issuance under the 2007 Plan. As of March 31, 2017, a total of 3,699,551 shares were available for grant under the 2007 Plan. The 2007 Plan will expire in May 2017, and the Company is proposing a new plan in conjunction with its annual meeting of stockholders, which is scheduled to be held on June 16, 2017.

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Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to calculate the grant date fair value of an award.

The expected volatility of options granted has been determined using a weighted average of the historical volatility of the Company’s stock for a period equal to the expected life of the option. The expected life of options has been determined utilizing the “simplified” method. The risk-free interest rate is based on a zero coupon U.S. treasury instrument whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options. The Company has not paid and does not anticipate paying cash dividends on its shares of common stock; therefore, the expected dividend yield is assumed to be zero. The Company applied an estimated annual forfeiture rate in determining the expense recorded in each period.

A summary of the stock option activity under the Company’s stock option plans for the three months ended March 31, 2017 is presented below:

During the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 the total intrinsic value of options exercised (i.e. the difference between the market price at exercise and the price paid by the employee to exercise the options) was not material. The total amount of cash received from exercise of these options was approximately $0.1 million during each of the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016.

Restricted Stock Awards

Restricted stock awards are valued at the market price of a share of the Company’s common stock on the date of the grant. A summary of the restricted stock award activity under the 2007 Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2017 is presented below:

There were no restricted stock awards that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2017.  

As of March 31, 2017, there was $9.9 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options and restricted stock awards which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.7 years.

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10. Stockholders’ Equity

Reserved Common Stock

As of March 31, 2017, the Company has reserved 6,226,345 shares of common stock for use in settling outstanding options and unvested restricted stock awards that have not been issued as well as future awards available for grant under the 2007 Plan.

Tender Offer

On May 10, 2016, the Company commenced a tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) to purchase up to 8.0 million shares of its common stock, representing approximately 24.8% of the shares of TechTarget’s common stock issued and outstanding at that time, at a price of $7.75 per share.

The Tender Offer expired on June 8, 2016. In accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer, the Company accepted for purchase 5,237,843 shares of its common stock for a purchase price of $7.75 per share, or a total of $40.6 million. Repurchased shares were recorded under the cost method and are reflected as treasury stock in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The total cost of the Tender Offer was $40.8 million, which included approximately $0.2 million in costs directly attributable to the purchase of shares pursuant to the Tender Offer. In connection with the Tender Offer, TCV V, L.P., TCV Member Fund, L.P. (along with TCV V, L.P., referred to as the “TCV Funds”) and TCV Management 2004, L.L.C. (“TCM 2004”), each a related party, collectively tendered 3,379,249 shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate. Jay Hoag, a member of the Board at the time of the Tender Offer, was also a member of the general partner of the TCV Funds and a member of TCM 2004, which at the time was estimated to hold more than 5% of the voting securities of the Company. Additionally, Rogram LLC, a related party, tendered 308,713 shares in connection with the Tender Offer. Roger Marino, a member of the Board, indirectly controls shares in Rogram LLC.

Common Stock Repurchase Program

In June 2016, the Company announced that the Board had authorized a $20 million stock repurchase program (the “June 2016 Repurchase Program”), whereby the Company is authorized to repurchase the Company’s common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions at prices and in the manner that may be determined by the Board.  During the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company repurchased 161,147 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $1.4 million pursuant to the June 2016 Repurchase Program.

Repurchased shares are recorded under the cost method and are reflected as treasury stock in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. All share repurchases were funded with cash on hand.

On May 5, 2017, the Company’s Board reauthorized the common stock repurchase program to allow the Company to use the remaining balance of the unused authorization under the 2016 Repurchase Program after its original expiration in June 2017. The reauthorized program will allow the Company to repurchase its common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions at prices and in the manner that may be determined by management. The reauthorized program has no time limit and may be suspended at any time. Additionally, the Company may establish, from time to time, 10b5-1 trading plans that will provide flexibility as it buys back its shares.

11. Income Taxes

The Company’s effective income tax rate before discrete items was 45.6% and 40.2% for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The higher rate in 2017, as compared to 2016 was primarily due to an increase in non-deductible expenses in the U.S. for 2017, largely related to stock-based compensation and officers’ compensation.   The Company measures its interim period tax expense using an estimated annual effective tax rate and adjustments for discrete taxable events that occur during the interim period. The estimated annual effective income tax rate is based upon the Company’s estimations of annual pretax-income, the geographic mix or pre-tax income, and its interpretations of tax laws.  The Company updates the estimate of its annual effective tax rate at the end of each quarterly period. The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. 

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In the first quarter of 2017, the Company adopted ASU 2016-09, which requires that all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to stock compensation be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement in the period incurred. The Company recognized income tax benefits for discrete items, including excess deductions, of $0.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2017 and of an immaterial amount during the three months ended March 31, 2016. As part of adopting ASU 2016-09, the Company recorded deferred tax assets for the federal and state excess tax benefit net operating losses in the amount of $0.2 million, with an offsetting entry to retained earnings.

12. Segment Information

The Company views its operations and manages its business as one operating segment based on factors such as how the Company manages its operations and how its executive management team reviews results and makes decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance.

Geographic Data

Net sales to unaffiliated customers by geographic area were as follows:

Long-lived assets by geographic area were as follows:

Net sales to unaffiliated customers by geographic area is based on the customers’ current billing addresses, and does not consider the geo-targeted (target audience) location of the campaign.  Long-lived assets are comprised of property and equipment, net; goodwill; and intangible assets, net. No single country outside of the U.S. accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s long-lived assets during either of these periods.

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including those discussed below in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 under Part I, Item 1A,“Risk Factors”, and in the other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please refer to our “Forward-Looking Statements” section on page 34.

Overview

Background

We are a Delaware corporation incorporated on September 14, 1999.  Through continued innovation around our specialized online content for buyers of enterprise information technology (“IT”), we have become a global leader in purchase intent-driven marketing and sales services that deliver business impact for enterprise technology vendors.  Our offerings enable technology vendors to better identify, reach and influence corporate IT decision makers actively researching specific IT purchases. We improve vendors’ ability to impact these audiences for business growth using advanced targeting, analytics, and data services complemented with customized marketing programs that integrate demand generation and brand marketing and advertising techniques.

IT professionals have become increasingly specialized, and because each of the websites within our network of over 140 websites focuses on a specific IT sector such as storage, security or networking, IT professionals rely on us for key decision support information tailored to their specific areas of responsibility.

We enable IT professionals to navigate the complex and rapidly-changing IT landscape where purchasing decisions can have significant financial and operational consequences. Our content strategy includes three primary sources which IT professionals use to assist them in their pre-purchase research: independent content provided by our professionals, vendor-generated content provided by our customers and user-generated, or peer-to-peer, content. In addition to utilizing our independent editorial content, registered members appreciate the ability to deepen their pre-purchase research by accessing the extensive vendor supplied content available across our website network. Likewise, these members derive significant additional value from the ability our network provides to seamlessly interact with and contribute to information exchanges in a given field.

We had approximately 18.3 million and 17.2 million registered members – our “audiences” – as of March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. While the size of our registered user base does not provide direct insight into our customer numbers or our revenues, the value of our services sold to our customers is a direct result of the breadth and reach of this content footprint. This footprint creates the opportunity for our clients to gain business leverage by targeting our audiences through customized marketing programs. Likewise, the behavior exhibited by these audiences enables us to provide our customers with data products to improve their marketing and sales efforts. The targeted nature of our user base enables IT vendors to reach a specialized audience efficiently because our content is highly segmented and aligned with the IT vendors’ specific products. With it, we have developed a broad customer base, and now deliver marketing and sales services programs to approximately 1,300 customers annually.

Executive Summary

Our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2017 declined approximately 6%, to $23.6 million, compared with the same period in 2016. IT Deal Alert^TM revenues were up 52% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the first quarter of 2016, and quarterly IT Deal Alert revenues topped $10 million for the first time. Revenue from our Priority Engine^TM and Deal Data^TM products were up 162% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the first quarter of 2016, and the number of IT Deal Alert customers in the first quarter of 2017 was up 62% from the first quarter of 2016, to approximately 450 customers.  We had 61 new Priority Engine customers in the first quarter of 2017 and we had a successful launch of Priority Engine outside North America, with 55 international customers utilizing the service in the first quarter of 2017.  

We continue to have success selling annual deals and in the first quarter of 2017, 18% of our revenue was derived from annual contracts. The amount of revenue that we derived from long term contracts in the first quarter of 2017 was more than the double the amount that we recognized in the first quarter of 2016.  

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While the news on IT Deal Alert has been consistently positive, the macro headwinds that we are facing continue to stubbornly persist. These include a weak IT spending environment, a strong U.S. dollar dampening markets outside of North America and some of our largest customers in the middle of merger integrations. Those factors continue to show up in our core numbers. Core revenue was down 25% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the first quarter of 2016.  Our core revenues declined $2.4 million in the quarter from ten of our largest customers, as they are the ones most affected by the conditions mentioned above. Core revenues from the four accounts that are transitioning through complex post-merger consolidation and integration transactions were down approximately 50% in the quarter. While this situation is beyond our control and the visibility is limited, our experience has shown that after the corporate consolidation and integration process completed, marketing budgets recover. If history holds to form, those four accounts will do better in the second half of this year. These declines in revenues from these large customers also contributed to declines in our online international geo-targeted revenues, where our target audience is outside North America (“International”), which declined 2% compared to the prior year.

As indicated, online international geo-targeted revenues, where our target audience is outside North America (“International”), declined 2% compared with the prior year period, driven by a decrease in core online sales, primarily from our largest customers, which was offset in part by International IT Deal Alert growth. The weakness in core online was distributed across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”), Asia Pacific (“APAC”) and Latin America.

Gross margin was 71% for each of the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016. Online gross profit decreased by $1.1 million, primarily attributable to the decline in online revenues as compared to the same period a year ago. Events gross profit decreased by $0.1 million, primarily as a result of the decreased events revenues as compared to the same period in the prior year. We announced on February 14, 2017 that we will be phasing out our events products.

Business Trends

The following discussion highlights key trends affecting our business.

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Our key strategic initiatives include:

Our core online revenues were down 25% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the first quarter of 2016, which was disproportionately driven by our largest spenders.  

Sources of Revenues

Revenue changes for the three month period ended March 31, 2017, as compared to the same period in 2016, were as follows:

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We sell customized marketing programs to IT vendors targeting a specific audience within a particular IT sector or sub-sector. We maintain multiple points of contact with our customers to provide support throughout their organizations and their customers’ IT sales cycles. As a result, our customers often run multiple advertising programs with us in order to target their desired audience of IT professionals more effectively. There are multiple factors that can impact our customers’ marketing and advertising objectives and spending with us, including but not limited to, IT product launches, increases or decreases to their advertising budgets, the timing of key industry marketing events, responses to competitor activities and efforts to address specific marketing objectives such as creating brand awareness or generating sales leads. Our products and services are generally delivered under short-term contracts that run for the length of a given program, typically less than six months. In 2016, we began to enter into annual contracts with certain customers, and in the quarter ended March 31, 2017, approximately 18% of our online revenues were from long-term contracts of approximately 12 months. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, demand generation and brand advertising remained our primary sources of revenues, while data analytics-driven intelligence solutions, driven by growth in our IT Deal Alert products and services, contributed approximately 44% of online revenues as compared with approximately 28% for the same period in 2016.

The majority of our revenues are derived from the delivery of our online offerings. Online revenues represented 99% of total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2017, as compared with 97% of total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2016. As previously disclosed, we have phased out our events product line.

Product and Service Offerings

We use our online offerings to provide IT vendors with numerous touch points to identify, reach and influence key IT decision makers. The following is a description of the products and services we offer:

Online

IT Deal Alert. IT Deal Alert is a suite of products and services for IT vendors that leverages the detailed purchase intent data that we collect about end-user IT organizations. Through proprietary scoring methodologies, we use this insight to help our customers identify and prioritize accounts whose content consumption around specific IT topics indicates that they are “in-market” for a particular product or service. We also use the data directly to identify and further profile accounts’ upcoming purchase plans.

Core Online. Our core online offerings enable our customers to reach and influence prospective buyers through content marketing programs designed to generate demand for their solutions, and through display advertising and other brand programs that influence consideration by prospective buyers.

Demand Solutions. Our suite of demand solutions offerings allows IT vendors to maximize return on investment by capturing sales leads from the distribution and promotion of content to our audience of IT professionals. All of our demand solutions campaigns offer the Activity Intelligence Dashboard, a tool that gives our customers’ marketers and sales representatives a near real-time view of their prospects including insights on the research activities of technology buying teams at the individual, team and account levels. Demand solutions offerings may also include an additional service, TechTarget Re-Engage™, which helps both technology marketers and their sales teams to identify highly active prospects, detect emerging projects, retarget interested buying teams, and accelerate engagement with specific accounts.

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Our demand solutions offerings may also include the following program components:

Brand Solutions. Our suite of brand solutions offerings provides IT vendors exposure to targeted audiences of IT professionals actively researching information related to their products and services. We leverage our Activity Intelligence product framework to enable significant segmentation and targeting of specific audiences that can be accessed through these programs. Components of brand programs may include:

Custom Content Creation. We will at times create white papers, case studies, webcasts, or videos to our customers’ specifications through our Custom Content team. These customized content assets are then promoted to our audience within both demand solutions and brand solutions programs.

Events

Events revenues represented 1% of total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2017, as compared with 3% of total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Historically, we have operated a select number of face-to-face events, the majority of which are free to IT professionals and are sponsored by IT vendors. In 2017, we will cease to offer these services to our customers and focus our efforts on enhancing our data driven product offerings and working with our customers to gain the fullest advantage that our data-driven products can offer.

Cost of Revenues, Operating Expenses and Other

Expenses consist of cost of online and event revenues, selling and marketing, product development, general and administrative, depreciation, amortizationof intangible assets, and interest and other income (expense), net. Personnel-related costs are a significant component of each of these expense categories except for depreciation, amortization, and interest and other income (expense), net.

Cost of Online Revenues. Cost of online revenues consist primarily of: salaries and related personnel costs; member acquisition expenses (primarily keyword purchases from leading Internet search sites); freelance writer expenses; website hosting costs; vendor expenses associated with the delivery of webcast, podcast, videocast and similar content, and other offerings; stock-based compensation expenses; facility expenses, and other related overhead.

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Cost of Events Revenues. Cost of events revenues consist primarily of: direct expenses, including site, food and beverages for the event attendees and event speaker expenses; salaries and related personnel costs; travel-related expenses; facility expenses, and other related overhead.

Selling and Marketing. Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of: salaries and related personnel costs; sales commissions; travel-related expenses; stock-based compensation expenses; facility expenses and other related overhead. Sales commissions are recorded as expense when earned by the employee, based on recorded revenues.

Product Development. Product development includes the creation and maintenance of our network of websites, advertiser offerings and technical infrastructure. Product development expense consists primarily of salaries and related personnel costs; stock-based compensation expenses; facility expenses, and other related overhead.

General and Administrative. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of: salaries and related personnel costs; facility expenses and related overhead; accounting, legal and other professional fees; and stock-based compensation expenses.

Depreciation. Depreciation expense consists of the depreciation of our property and equipment and other capitalized assets. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, ranging from two to ten years.

Amortization of Intangible Assets. Amortization of intangible assets expense consists of the amortization of intangible assets recorded in connection with our acquisitions. Separable intangible assets that are not deemed to have an indefinite life are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which range from five to ten years, using methods that are expected to reflect the estimated pattern of economic use.

Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net. Interest expense, net consists primarily of interest costs and the related amortization of deferred issuance costs on amounts borrowed under our Senior Secured Credit Facilities Credit Agreement for a term loan (“Term Loan Agreement”) and amortization of premiums on our investments, less any interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents, and short-term and long-term investments. We historically have invested our cash in money market accounts, municipal bonds, government agency bonds, U.S Treasury securities and corporate bonds. Other expense, net consists of non-operating gains or losses, primarily related to realized and unrealized foreign currency gains and losses on trade assets and liabilities.

Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenues, long-lived assets, goodwill, allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation, contingent liabilities, self-insurance accruals and income taxes. We based our estimates of the carrying value of certain assets and liabilities on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. In some cases, changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period to period. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. See the notes to our consolidated financial statements for information about these critical accounting policies as well as a description of our other accounting policies.

Revenue Recognition   

We generate substantially all of our revenues from the sale of targeted marketing and advertising campaigns, which we deliver via our network of websites, data analytics solutions, and, historically, events. In all cases, we recognize revenues only when the price is fixed or determinable, persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the service is performed, and collectability of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

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Although each of our online media offerings can be sold separately, most of our online media sales involve multiple online offerings. Because objective evidence of fair value does not exist for all elements in our bundled product offerings, we use a best estimate of selling price of individual deliverables in the arrangement in the absence of vendor-specific objective evidence or other third-party evidence of fair value. We establish best estimates considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, class of client, size of transaction, available media inventory, pricing strategies and market conditions. We believe the use of the best estimate of selling price allows revenue recognition in a manner consistent with the underlying economics of the transaction. We apply a relative selling price method to allocate arrangement consideration at the inception of the arrangement to each deliverable in a multiple element arrangement. Revenues are then recognized as delivery occurs.

We evaluate all deliverables of an arrangement at inception and each time an item is delivered, to determine whether they represent separate units of accounting. Based on this evaluation, the arrangement consideration is measured and allocated to each of these elements.  Additionally, we offer sales incentives to certain customers, primarily in the form of volume rebates, which are classified as a reduction of revenues and are calculated based on the terms of the specific customer’s contract.  We accrue for these sales incentives based on contractual terms and historical experience.

Online Offerings

IT Deal Alert. IT Deal Alert is a suite of products and services for IT vendors which includes Qualified Sales Opportunities, Priority Engine, Deal Data and TechTarget Research. Qualified Sales Opportunities revenues are recognized when the Qualified Sales Opportunity is delivered to the customer, Priority Engine revenues are recognized ratably over the duration of the service, Deal Data revenues are recognized upon delivery of the data to the customer, and TechTarget Research revenues are recognized when the product is delivered.

Core Online. Our core online offerings enable our customers to reach and influence prospective buyers through content marketing programs designed to generate demand for their solutions, and through display advertising and other brand programs that influence consideration by prospective buyers.

Demand Solutions. As part of our demand solutions campaign offerings, we may guarantee a minimum number of qualified leads to be delivered over the course of the campaign. We determine the content necessary to achieve performance guarantees. Scheduled end dates of campaigns sometimes need to be extended, pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, to satisfy lead guarantee obligations. We estimate a revenue reserve necessary to adjust revenue recognition for extended campaigns. These estimates are based on our experience in managing and fulfilling these offerings. The customer has cancellation privileges which generally require advance notice by the customer and require proportional payment by the customer for the portion of the campaign period that has been provided. We recognize revenues from duration-based campaigns over the duration of the campaign, which is typically less than six months, and recognize revenues from cost per lead marketing services during the period in which leads are delivered to our customers.

Brand Solutions. Brand solutions consist mostly of banner revenues, which are recognized in the period in which the banner impressions, engagements or clicks occur and microsite revenues, which are recognized over the period during which the microsites are live.

Custom Content. Custom content revenues are recognized when the creation is completed and delivered to the customer.

Amounts collected or billed prior to satisfying the above revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.

Events

We recognize revenues from events in the period in which the event occurs. The majority of our events are free to qualified attendees; however, certain events are based on a paid attendee model. We recognize revenues for paid attendee events upon completion of the event.

Amounts collected or billed prior to satisfying the above revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue.

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Long-Lived Assets

Our long-lived assets consist primarily of property and equipment, capitalized software, goodwill and other intangible assets. Goodwill and other intangible assets have arisen principally from our acquisitions. The amount assigned to intangible assets is subjective and based on our estimates of the future benefit of the intangible assets using accepted valuation techniques, such as discounted cash flow and replacement cost models. Our long-lived assets, other than goodwill, are amortized or depreciated over their estimated useful lives, which we determine based on the consideration of several factors including the period of time the asset is expected to remain in service. Intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives, which range from five to ten years, using methods of amortization that are expected to reflect the estimated pattern of economic use. Consistent with our determination that we have only one reporting segment, we have determined that there is a single reporting unit and therefore test goodwill for impairment at the entity level. We evaluate the carrying value and remaining useful lives of long-lived assets, other than goodwill, whenever indicators of impairment are present. We evaluate the carrying value of goodwill annually using the two step process required by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”). The first step of the impairment test is to identify potential impairment by comparing the reporting unit’s fair value with its net book value (or carrying amount), including goodwill. The fair value is estimated based on a market value approach. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, the reporting unit’s goodwill is not considered to be impaired and the second step of the impairment test is not performed. Whenever indicators of impairment are present, we would perform the second step and compare the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill, as defined by ASC 350, to its carrying value to determine the amount of the impairment loss, if any. As of December 31, 2016, the date of our last goodwill impairment review, there were no indications of impairment based on our step one analysis, and our estimated fair value exceeded our carrying value by a significant margin. There was no indication of impairment in our goodwill or intangible assets at March 31, 2017.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and long-term debt. With the exception of long-term debt, the carrying value of these instruments approximates their estimated fair values due to their short-term nature and liquidity. Amounts outstanding under our long-term debt are subject to variable rates of interest based on current market rates and, as such, we believe the carrying amount of these obligations approximates fair value.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We offset gross trade accounts receivable with an allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is our best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in our existing accounts receivable. We review our allowance for doubtful accounts on a regular basis, and all past due balances are reviewed individually for collectability. Account balances are charged against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. Provisions for doubtful accounts are recorded in general and administrative expense. If our historical collection experience does not reflect our future ability to collect outstanding accounts receivable, our future provision for doubtful accounts could be materially affected. To date, we have not incurred any write-offs of accounts receivable significantly different than the amounts reserved.

The allowance for doubtful accounts was $2.0 million at each of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

Stock-Based Compensation

We measure stock-based compensation at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and recognize stock-based compensation in our results of operations using the straight-line method over the vesting period of the award. We use the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of stock option awards.

The expected volatility of options granted was determined using a weighted average of the historical volatility of our stock for a period equal to the expected life of the option. The risk-free interest rate is based on a zero coupon U.S. treasury instrument whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options. We have not paid and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our shares of common stock; therefore, the expected dividend yield is assumed to be zero. We applied an estimated annual forfeiture rate in determining the expense recorded in each period.

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Internal-Use Software and Website Development Costs

We capitalize costs of materials, consultants and compensation and related expenses of employees who devote time to the development of internal-use software and website applications and infrastructure involving developing software to operate our websites.  We begin to capitalize our costs to develop software and website applications when planning stage efforts are successfully completed, management has authorized and committed project funding, and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used as intended.  Our judgment is required in determining the point at which various projects enter the state at which costs may be capitalized, in assessing the ongoing value of the capitalized costs and in determining the estimated useful lives over which the costs are amortized, which is generally four years. To the extent that we change the manner in which we develop and test new features and functionalities related to our websites, assess the ongoing value of capitalized assets or determine the estimated useful lives over which the costs are amortized, the amount of website development costs we capitalize and amortize in future periods would be impacted. We review capitalized internal-use software and website development costs for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. We would recognize an impairment loss only if the carrying amount of the asset is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value. We capitalized internal-use software and website development costs of $0.8 million and $0.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Income Taxes

We are subject to income taxes in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions, and we use estimates in determining our provision for income taxes. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates.

Our deferred tax assets are comprised primarily of book to tax differences on stock-based compensation and timing of deductions for deferred rent, accrued expenses, depreciation and amortization. As of March 31, 2017, we had state net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of approximately $1.3 million which expire at various dates through 2033. We also had foreign NOL carryforwards of $1.0 million, which may be used to offset future taxable income in foreign jurisdictions until they expire at various dates through 2021. The deferred tax assets related to the foreign NOL carryforwards have been fully offset by a valuation allowance. 

Net Loss Per Share

We calculate basic earnings per share (“EPS”) by dividing earnings available to common shareholders for the period by the weighted average number of common shares and vested, undelivered restricted stock awards outstanding during the period. Because the holders of unvested restricted stock awards do not have nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents, we do not consider these awards to be participating securities that should be included in our computation of EPS under the two-class method. Diluted EPS is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares and vested, undelivered restricted stock awards outstanding during the period, plus the dilutive effect of potential future issuances of common stock relating to stock option and restricted stock award programs using the treasury stock method. In calculating diluted EPS, the dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock awards is computed using the average market price for the respective period. In addition, the assumed proceeds under the treasury stock method include the average unrecognized compensation expense of stock options and restricted stock awards that are in-the-money. This results in the “assumed” buyback of additional shares, thereby reducing the dilutive impact of stock options and restricted stock awards.

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Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the periods indicated:

Comparison of Three Months Ended March 31, 2017 and 2016

Revenues

Online. The decrease in online revenues is primarily attributable to the aforementioned contraction in spending from our top ten customers, including the four large customers who are involved in corporate post-merger consolidation and integration efforts. Partially offsetting these declines was an increase of $3.6 million in revenues from our IT Deal Alert product offerings.

Events. The decrease in events revenues is due to our decision to cease offering these services to our customers during 2017. The events revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2017 was from residual events which could not be canceled.

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Cost of Revenues and Gross Profit