- Third quarter revenue of $97.4 million, up 24%
year-over-year
- ARR of $401 million, up 24% year-over-year
- Third quarter net cash provided by operating activities of $8.1
million
- Company raises full year 2024 revenue and non-GAAP operating
margin guidance
Semrush Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SEMR), a leading online visibility
management SaaS platform, today reported financial results for the
third quarter ended September 30, 2024.
“We reported a strong quarter, exceeding our guidance and
positioning us to raise our full year 2024 guidance. Revenue growth
accelerated, rising 24% year-over-year to $97.4 million, and ARR
also grew 24% year-over-year, as we focused on growing our core
business, while upselling and cross selling our additional
offerings. Our portfolio of products is expanding, and we are
seeing continued strong initial uptake in the market for our
Enterprise SEO solution. We are expanding our leadership position
in online visibility and we are succeeding in combining strong
durable growth with profitability and free cash flow generation,”
said Oleg Shchegolev, CEO and Co-Founder of Semrush.
Third Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights
- Third quarter revenue of $97.4 million, up 24%
year-over-year.
- Income from operations of $1.7 million for the third quarter,
compared to income from operations of $2.7 million in the prior
year period.
- Operating margin of 1.8% for the third quarter, compared to
operating margin of 3.5% in the prior year period.
- Non-GAAP income from operations of $12.1 million for the third
quarter, compared to a non-GAAP income from operations of $7.5
million in the prior year period.
- Non-GAAP operating margin of 12.4% for the third quarter,
compared to non-GAAP operating margin of 9.5% in the prior year
period.
- Q3 free cash flow of $6.2 million and free cash flow margin of
6.3%.
- ARR of $401 million as of September 30, 2024, up 24%
year-over-year.
- Over 117,000 paying customers as of September 30, 2024, up 10%
from a year ago.
- Dollar-based net revenue retention of 107% as of September 30,
2024, consistent with the previous quarter.
See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions of Key
Metrics” below for how Semrush defines ARR, dollar-based net
revenue retention, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, non-GAAP
operating margin, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin, and
the financial tables that accompany this release for
reconciliations of each non-GAAP financial measure to its closest
comparable GAAP financial measure.
Third Quarter 2024 Business Highlights
We are committed to empowering our customers with the
best-in-class platform needed to boost their online presence and
gain an edge in the market. In the third quarter, we advanced and
expanded many of our offerings:
- Semrush Enterprise SEO Platform is receiving strong demand; new
deals were signed with large multinational corporations including
Salesforce, HSBC, LG, Samsung, Alibaba, Sony, DoorDash, TikTok, and
Square.
- Expanded AI Overview tracking to Semrush's Organic Research,
Domain Overview, Keyword Overview, and Keyword Magic Tool, helping
customers better understand AI Overviews as a key SERP feature and
enhancing their chances of being featured.
- Improved Semrush Social, including Content AI, and added TikTok
integration, allowing users to schedule and post videos, track
engagement metrics, and analyze content performance.
- Continued investments in Generative AI to provide enhanced,
more efficient content creation and marketing capabilities through
Semrush's platform and App Center:
- Introduced AdCreative.ai's AdLLM Spark, a smart AI tool that
empowers businesses to create optimized ad texts to improve
engagement and enhance conversion rates.
- Daily insights allow for faster reactions and more precise
decision-making. Now, .Trends users can spot trends early,
understand ongoing market dynamics fast, strategize immediately,
and execute with lower risk.
- Integrated Klaviyo with My Reports, enabling marketers to pull
email performance data and create dashboards alongside Semrush and
other external marketing tools to easily showcase campaign
performance.
- Released AlgoPix's Product Research Pulse in the App Center,
providing e-commerce sellers with insightful product research data
from various marketplaces to inform product development and enhance
marketing strategies.
- Strengthened customer focus with appointment of Veronique
Montreuil as Chief Customer and Data Officer.
- Semrush customers who pay more than $10,000 annually grew by
44% year-over-year.
- Ended the quarter with approximately 1.0 million registered
free active customers.
Business Outlook
“We are pleased with our performance this quarter and have
executed well to overachieve on our top line growth and
profitability guidance,” said Brian Mulroy, CFO of Semrush. “We
posted another quarter of strong growth and profitability, with
positive non-GAAP operating income of $12.1 million, non-GAAP
operating margin of 12.4%, which was up nearly 300 basis points
year-over-year, and cash flow from operations of $8.1 million.
Looking ahead, we have a disciplined capital allocation strategy
and expect to continue gaining efficiencies across the organization
while also investing in our future growth.”
Based on information as of today, November 7, 2024, we are
issuing the following financial guidance:
Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Outlook
- For the fourth quarter, we expect revenue in a range of $100.8
to $101.8 million, which at the mid-point would represent growth of
approximately 21% year-over-year.
- We expect fourth quarter non-GAAP operating margin to be
approximately 11%.
Raised Full-Year 2024 Financial Outlook
- For the full year, we expect revenue in a range of $375 to $376
million, which represents growth of 22% year-over-year.
- We expect a full year non-GAAP operating margin of
approximately 12%.
- We expect the full year free cash flow margin to be
approximately 8%.
As previously disclosed, we are no longer providing guidance for
non-GAAP net income, and instead are guiding both non-GAAP
operating margin and free cash flow margin. Also as previously
disclosed, we have also updated our definitions of non-GAAP income
(loss) from operations to exclude Amortization of Acquired
Intangible Assets, Acquisition Related Costs, Restructuring Costs
and other one-time expenses outside the ordinary course of business
in addition to the prior exclusion of Stock Based Compensation. Our
guidance for the fourth quarter 2024 and full year 2024, as well as
actual results presented herein, reflect this change.
Reconciliations of non-GAAP operating margin and free cash flow
margin guidance to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are
not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking
basis due to the high variability, complexity and low visibility
with respect to the charges excluded from these non-GAAP measures,
in particular the measures and effects of share-based compensation
expense, employer taxes and tax deductions specific to equity
compensation awards that are directly impacted by future hiring,
turnover and retention needs. We expect the variability of the
above charges to have a significant, and potentially unpredictable,
impact on our future GAAP financial results.
Conference Call Details
Semrush will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its
financial results, business highlights, outlook and other matters,
the details for which are provided below.
Date: Friday, November 8th, 2024 Time: 8:30 a.m. ET Hosts: Oleg
Shchegolev, CEO, Eugene Levin, President, and Brian Mulroy, CFO
Conference ID: 866040 Participant Toll Free Dial-In Number: +1
833 470 1428 Participant International Dial-In Number: +1 929 526
1599
Registration:
The live webcast of the conference call as well as the replay
can be accessed for a limited time from the Semrush investor
relations website at http://investors.semrush.com/.
About Semrush
Semrush is a leading online visibility management SaaS platform
that enables businesses globally to run search engine optimization,
advertising, content, social media and competitive research
campaigns and get measurable results from online marketing. Semrush
offers insights and solutions for companies to build, manage, and
measure campaigns across various marketing channels. Semrush is
headquartered in Boston and has offices in Trevose, Austin, Dallas,
Miami, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Limassol, Prague,
Warsaw, and Yerevan.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are statements
that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking
statements generally relate to future events or our future
financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements because they contain words such as
“may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,”
“anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,”
“contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or
“continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or
expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or
intentions. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, guidance on financial results for the fourth quarter and full
year of 2024 (including revenue, non-GAAP operating margin, and
free cash flow margin); statements regarding the expectations of
demand for our products and cash flow generation; acquisition
activity, integration and results of recent acquisitions;
statements about improvements to and expansion of our products and
platform, and launching new products; the contributions of our
officers; statements about future operating results, including
revenue, growth opportunities, variability of expenses, ability to
realize efficiencies, future spending and incremental investments,
business trends, our ability to deliver profits, and growth and
value for shareholders.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release are
also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more
fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”), including in the sections entitled “Risk
Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” in our filings with the SEC,
including our most recent annual report on form 10-K, and our
subsequently filed quarterly reports and other SEC filings.
Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations,
strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance
that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be
attained or achieved. The forward-looking statements in this
release are based on information available to us as of the date
hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of
this press release.
Additional information regarding these and other factors that
could affect our results is included in our SEC filings, which may
be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations page on its website
at investors.semrush.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions of Key
Metrics
We believe that providing non-GAAP information to investors, in
addition to the GAAP presentation, allows investors to view the
financial results in the way management views the operating
results. We further believe that providing this information allows
investors to not only better understand our financial performance,
but also to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and
information used by management to evaluate and measure such
performance. We also believe that the use of non-GAAP financial
measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in
evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing
our financial results with other companies in our industry, many of
which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. We
also believe free cash flow margin is useful to investors as we
monitor it as a measure of our overall business performance, which
enables us to analyze our future performance without the effects of
non-cash items and allows us to better understand the cash needs of
our business. The non-GAAP information included in this press
release should not be considered superior to, or a substitute for,
financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be
different from non-GAAP financial measures presented by other
companies. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of
non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial
measures provided in the financial statement tables included below
in this press release.
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is defined as of a given
date as the monthly recurring revenue that we expect to
contractually receive from all paid subscription agreements that
are actively generating revenue as of that date multiplied by 12.
We include both monthly recurring paid subscriptions, which renew
automatically unless canceled, as well as the annual recurring paid
subscriptions so long as we do not have any indication that a
customer has canceled or intends to cancel its subscription and we
continue to generate revenue from them.
Dollar-based net revenue retention is defined as (a) the
revenue from our customers during the twelve-month period ending
one year prior to such period as the denominator and (b) the
revenue from those same customers during the twelve months ending
as of the end of such period as the numerator. This calculation
excludes revenue from new customers and any non-recurring
revenue.
Free cash flow and free cash flow margin. We define free
cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, as net cash provided by
(used in) operating activities less purchases of property and
equipment and capitalized software development costs. We define
free cash flow margin as free cash flow divided by GAAP
revenue.
Non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, and non-GAAP
operating margin. As described above, we have updated our
definitions for non-GAAP income (loss) from operations and have
introduced non-GAAP operating margin; the updated definitions,
which apply to our guidance for the fourth quarter and full year
2024, are as follows. We define non-GAAP income (loss) from
operations as GAAP income (loss) from operations, excluding
Stock Based Compensation, Amortization of Acquired Intangible
Assets, Acquisition Related Costs, Restructuring Costs and other
one-time expenses outside the ordinary course of business (for
example, our Exit Costs incurred primarily in 2022). We define
non-GAAP operating margin as non-GAAP income (loss) from
operations divided by GAAP revenue. We believe investors may want
to consider our results with and without the effects of these items
in order to compare our financial performance with that of other
companies that exclude such items and to compare our results to
prior periods.
Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation is a
non-cash expense accounted for in accordance with FASB ASC Topic
718. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation
expense allows for financial results that are more indicative of
our operational performance and provide for a useful comparison of
our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies
because stock-based compensation expense varies from period to
period and company to company due to such things as differing
valuation methodologies, timing of awards and changes in stock
price.
Amortization of acquired intangible assets. Excluding
amortization of acquired intangible assets from non-GAAP expense
and income measures allows management and investors to evaluate
results “as-if” the acquired intangible assets had been developed
internally rather than acquired and, therefore, provides a
supplemental measure of performance in which our acquired
intellectual property is treated in a comparable manner to our
internally developed intellectual property. These amounts are
inconsistent in amount and frequency and are significantly impacted
by the timing and size of acquisitions. Although we exclude
amortization of acquired intangible assets from our non-GAAP
expenses, we believe that it is important for investors to
understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue
generation.
Restructuring and other costs. Restructuring and other
costs include restructuring expenses as well as other charges that
are unusual in nature, are the result of unplanned events, and
arise outside the ordinary course of our business. Restructuring
expenses consist of employee severance costs, charges for the
closure of excess facilities and other contract termination costs.
Other costs include litigation contingency reserves, asset
impairment charges, relocation expenses associated with the
migration of employees in 2022 that occurred throughout 2022 and
early 2023, and gains or losses on the sale or disposition of
certain non-strategic assets or product lines.
Acquisition-related costs, net. In recent years, we have
completed a number of acquisitions, which result in transition,
integration and other acquisition-related expense which would not
otherwise have been incurred, are unpredictable and dependent on a
significant number of factors that are deal-specific or outside of
our control, are not indicative of our operational performance (or
that of the acquired businesses or assets) and are likely to
fluctuate as our acquisition activity increases or decreases in
future periods. By excluding acquisition-related costs and
adjustments from our non-GAAP measures, management is better able
to evaluate our ability to utilize our existing assets and estimate
the long-term value that acquired assets will generate for us.
Semrush Holdings, Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in
thousands, except per share data)
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue
$
97,410
$
78,718
$
274,173
$
224,281
Cost of revenue (1)
17,063
13,032
46,665
38,643
Gross profit
80,347
65,686
227,508
185,638
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing (1)
35,689
30,094
104,610
95,827
Research and development (1)
22,183
14,075
58,775
42,071
General and administrative (1)
20,770
18,769
57,556
56,797
Exit costs
—
—
—
1,292
Total operating expenses
78,642
62,938
220,941
195,987
Income (loss) from operations
1,705
2,748
6,567
(10,349
)
Other income, net
2,912
2,104
9,167
6,728
Income (loss) before income taxes
4,617
4,852
15,734
(3,621
)
Provision for income taxes
3,899
637
11,652
2,303
Net income (loss)
718
4,215
4,082
(5,924
)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling
interest in consolidated subsidiaries
(376
)
—
(809
)
—
Net income (loss) attributable to Semrush
Holdings, Inc.
$
1,094
$
4,215
$
4,891
$
(5,924
)
.
Net income (loss) attributable to Semrush
Holdings, Inc. per share attributable to common
stockholders—basic:
$
0.01
$
0.03
$
0.03
$
(0.04
)
Net income (loss) attributable to Semrush
Holdings, Inc. per share attributable to common
stockholders—diluted:
$
0.01
$
0.03
$
0.03
$
(0.04
)
Weighted-average number of shares of
common stock used in computing net income (loss) per share
attributable to common stockholders—basic:
146,436
142,837
145,563
142,247
Weighted-average number of shares of
common stock used in computing net income (loss) per share
attributable to common stockholders—diluted:
149,427
146,271
148,653
142,247
1 includes stock-based compensation
expense as follows:
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Cost of revenue
$
71
$
33
$
169
$
82
Sales and marketing
1,228
822
3,207
2,190
Research and development
1,707
579
3,714
1,464
General and administrative
4,569
2,769
12,766
7,028
Total stock-based compensation
$
7,575
$
4,203
$
19,856
$
10,764
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP income
(loss) from operations
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
Income (loss) from operations
$
1,705
1.8
%
$
2,748
3.5
%
$
6,567
2.4
%
$
(10,349
)
(4.6
)%
Stock-based compensation expense
7,575
7.8
%
4,203
5.3
%
19,856
7.2
%
10,764
4.8
%
Non-GAAP income (loss) from operations
(prior definition)
$
9,280
9.6
%
$
6,951
8.8
%
$
26,423
9.6
%
$
415
0.2
%
Amortization of acquired intangibles
1,380
1.4
%
557
0.7
%
2,962
1.1
%
1,631
0.7
%
Restructuring and other costs
207
0.2
%
—
—
%
2,331
0.9
%
1,292
0.6
%
Acquisition-related costs, net
1,190
1.2
%
—
—
%
2,265
0.8
%
—
—
%
Non-GAAP income (loss) from operations
(new definition)
$
12,057
12.4
%
$
7,508
9.5
%
$
33,981
12.4
%
$
3,338
1.5
%
Three months ended September
30,
Nine months ended September
30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Reconciliation of Free cash
flow
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
($)
(%)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities
$
8,141
8.4
%
$
6,356
8.1
%
$
35,063
12.8
%
$
(3,567
)
(1.6
)%
Purchases of property and equipment
(505
)
(0.5
)%
(108
)
(0.1
)%
(3,411
)
(1.2
)%
(1,065
)
(0.5
)%
Capitalization of internal-use software
costs
(1,473
)
(1.5
)%
(1,283
)
(1.6
)%
(5,842
)
(2.1
)%
(3,913
)
(1.7
)%
Free cash flow
$
6,163
6.4
%
$
4,965
6.4
%
$
25,810
9.5
%
$
(8,545
)
(3.8
)%
Semrush Holdings, Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in
thousands)
As of
September 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
45,083
$
58,848
Short-term investments
187,796
179,721
Accounts receivable
9,344
7,897
Deferred contract costs, current
portion
9,755
9,074
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets
20,429
10,014
Total current assets
272,407
265,554
Property and equipment, net
7,220
6,686
Operating lease right-of-use assets
11,048
14,069
Intangible assets, net
30,746
16,083
Goodwill
54,299
24,879
Deferred contract costs, net of current
portion
2,722
3,586
Other long-term assets
5,355
633
Total assets
$
383,797
$
331,490
Liabilities, noncontrolling interest,
and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
$
11,541
$
9,187
Accrued expenses
20,284
19,891
Deferred revenue
68,996
58,310
Current portion of operating lease
liabilities
4,768
4,274
Other current liabilities
7,462
2,817
Total current liabilities
113,051
94,479
Deferred revenue, net of current
portion
210
331
Deferred tax liability
1,965
839
Operating lease liabilities, net of
current portion
7,315
10,331
Other long-term liabilities
2,261
1,195
Total liabilities
124,802
107,175
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' equity
Class A common stock
1
1
Class B common stock
—
—
Additional paid-in capital
313,924
291,898
Accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss)
1,700
(752
)
Accumulated deficit
(67,107
)
(71,998
)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to
Semrush Holdings, Inc.
248,518
219,149
Noncontrolling interest in consolidated
subsidiaries
10,477
5,166
Total stockholders’ equity
258,995
224,315
Total liabilities, noncontrolling interest
and stockholders' equity
$
383,797
$
331,490
Semrush Holdings, Inc.
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in
thousands)
Nine Months Ended September
30,
2024
2023
Operating Activities
Net income (loss)
$
4,082
$
(5,924
)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss)
to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Depreciation and amortization expense
7,094
4,807
Amortization of deferred contract
costs
9,163
7,510
Amortization (accretion) of premiums and
discounts on investments
(2,551
)
(4,667
)
Non-cash lease expense
3,431
2,828
Stock-based compensation expense
19,856
10,764
Non-cash interest expense
—
158
Change in fair value included in other
income, net
(633
)
(335
)
Deferred taxes
(286
)
12
Other non-cash items
1,457
771
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities
Accounts receivable
(301
)
(2,261
)
Deferred contract costs
(8,980
)
(9,835
)
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets
(3,495
)
(5,411
)
Accounts payable
1,939
(5,570
)
Accrued expenses
1,296
174
Other current liabilities
(527
)
—
Deferred revenue
6,852
6,198
Other long-term liabilities
84
—
Change in operating lease liability
(3,418
)
(2,786
)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities
35,063
(3,567
)
Investing Activities
Purchases of property and equipment
(3,411
)
(1,065
)
Capitalization of internal-use software
costs
(5,842
)
(3,913
)
Purchases of short-term investments
(136,768
)
(182,381
)
Proceeds from sales and maturities of
short-term investments
132,500
154,741
Purchases of convertible debt
securities
(3,650
)
(319
)
Funding of investment loan receivable
(7,757
)
—
Cash paid for acquisition of businesses,
net of cash acquired
(21,082
)
(1,232
)
Purchase of noncontrolling interest
(4,870
)
—
Purchases of other investments
(196
)
(150
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(51,076
)
(34,319
)
Financing Activities
Proceeds from exercise of stock
options
3,700
746
Proceeds from issuance of shares in
connection with employee stock purchase plan
—
264
Payment of acquired debt
(1,114
)
—
Payment of finance leases
(577
)
(1,938
)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing
activities
2,009
(928
)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
and cash equivalents
424
238
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash
equivalents and restricted cash
(13,580
)
(38,576
)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted
cash, beginning of period
58,848
79,765
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted
cash, end of period
$
45,268
$
41,189
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241107174340/en/
Investor Brinlea C. Johnson The Blueshirt Group Semrush
Holdings, Inc. ir@semrush.com
Media Jena Sullivan Senior Public Relations Manager
Semrush Holdings, Inc. jena.sullivan@semrush.com
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SEMrush (NYSE:SEMR)
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From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024