Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.93) by $0.90, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $32.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.35 million. Cardlytics had a negative net margin of 55.92% and a negative return on equity of 956.56%.

Here are the key takeaways from Cardlytics’ conference call:

• Q3 results fell short of guidance: billings declined 32% year over year to $57.2 million and revenue declined 30% to $32.9 million. Management cited a U.K. bank-partner disruption and tighter advertiser budgets, particularly in grocery, as key headwinds.
• Cardlytics signed several non-bank publisher partners, including Yahoo, VodafoneThree, Rove and, after quarter-end, Coupert, expanding its offers beyond financial institutions. The company said more than half of cards linked through CRP partners are outside its existing bank network, though the impact is expected to build into 2027.
• New-business billings grew 25% sequentially, and advertisers that launched in Q2 increased billing 58% in Q3, with 70% renewing with new budgets. Management expects Q4 billings of $63 million to $69 million, representing 10%–20% sequential growth, and forecasts a return to sequential growth.
• Profitability and liquidity remain watchpoints: adjusted EBITDA was $0.4 million versus $3.3 million a year earlier, free cash flow was negative $1.6 million, and the company ended the quarter with $29.9 million in cash plus about $10.4 million available on its credit facility. Management said it is evaluating options to improve its balance sheet and cash flow.

Cardlytics Trading Down 11.0%

CDLX traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $1.95. The company had a trading volume of 46,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 96,912. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 million, a P/E ratio of -0.30 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.81 and a 200-day moving average of $5.97. Cardlytics has a one year low of $1.57 and a one year high of $15.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Amit Gupta sold 10,351 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.71, for a total transaction of $28,051.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 146,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,440.48. This represents a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 31,194 shares of company stock worth $100,568 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CDLX shares. Wall Street Zen cut Cardlytics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cardlytics in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics, Inc is a financial technology and advertising company that operates a marketing platform through banks and other financial institutions. Its technology connects consumers with targeted merchant offers based on transaction data, while providing advertisers with a way to reach customers through digital banking applications and other financial channels.

The company’s platform supports merchant-funded rewards, cash-back promotions and purchase-based advertising. Participating consumers can receive offers from retailers, restaurants, travel providers and other businesses, while advertisers can use Cardlytics’ data and measurement tools to target audiences and evaluate whether campaigns lead to purchases.

Cardlytics was founded in 2008 by Scott Grimes and Lynne Laube and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.