# QUINSTREET, INC (QNST)

Informational only - not investment advice.

CIK: 0001117297
SIC: 7389 Services-Business Services, NEC
SIC breadcrumb: [Services](/division/I/) > [Business Services](/major-group/73/) > [SIC 7389 Services-Business Services, NEC](/industry/7389/)
Latest 10-K filed: 2025-08-21
SEC page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1117297
Filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000095017025110629/qnst-20250630.htm

## At a glance

FY2024 · period end 2024-06-30 · filed 2024-08-21 · accession 0000950170-24-099495 · source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001117297.json

| Metric | Value | FY | Provenance |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 613,514,000 USD | 2024 | verified |
| Net income | -31,331,000 USD | 2024 | verified |
| Assets | 368,546,000 USD | 2024 | verified |
| Free cash flow | 6,691,000 USD | 2024 | computed |
| Net margin | -5.11% | 2024 | computed |
| Operating margin | -4.57% | 2024 | computed |
| Revenue YoY | +5.66% | 2024 | computed |
| ROE | -14.45% | 2024 | computed |

Computed values are grepcent-computed from the verified facts above and may differ from ratios the company itself reports. Free cash flow = operating cash flow − capital expenditures. Net margin = net income ÷ revenue. Operating margin = operating income ÷ revenue. Revenue YoY = FY2024 revenue ÷ FY2023 revenue − 1 (consecutive fiscal years only). ROE = net income ÷ period-end stockholders' equity.

No market price, no rating, no forecast on this site. Not investment advice.

### Peer percentile fingerprint

| Ratio | QNST | Peer median | Percentile | N |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin | -5.1% | 5.8% | 24 | 59 |
| Operating margin | -4.6% | 9.2% | 13 | 56 |
| Revenue growth | 5.7% | 8.4% | 40 | 58 |
| FCF margin | 1.1% | 14.2% | 11 | 58 |
| ROE | -14.4% | 8.7% | 20 | 52 |
| ROA | -8.5% | 2.9% | 9 | 59 |
| Liabilities / equity | 0.70 | 1.52 | 17 | 54 |
| Current ratio | 1.34 | 1.34 | 50 | 57 |

Percentile = share of the N covered peers reporting that ratio whose value is lower (ties counted half); computed among grepcent-covered companies in SIC industry 7389 Services-Business Services, NEC, not the whole market. A higher percentile means a higher value of the ratio, not a better company. Ratios with fewer than 8 reporting peers are omitted. Latest reported values per company; fiscal periods may differ. Descriptive arithmetic - not a score, rating, or ranking.

## Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
| --- | ---: | --- | ---: | --- |
| Revenue | 613514000 | USD | 2024 | 2024-08-21 |
| Net income | -31331000 | USD | 2024 | 2024-08-21 |
| Assets | 368546000 | USD | 2024 | 2024-08-21 |

## Financials

Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2024-08-21. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001117297.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.

| Metric | 2013 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Revenue |  |  | 297,706,000 | 299,785,000 | 404,358,000 | 455,154,000 | 490,339,000 | 578,487,000 | 582,099,000 | 580,624,000 | 613,514,000 |
| Net income |  | -20,008,000 | -19,420,000 | -12,208,000 | 15,930,000 | 62,480,000 | 18,102,000 | 23,555,000 | -5,248,000 | -68,866,000 | -31,331,000 |
| Operating income |  | -19,177,000 | -18,874,000 | -10,664,000 | 15,636,000 | 10,727,000 | 6,205,000 | 13,926,000 | -4,718,000 | -20,816,000 | -28,065,000 |
| Gross profit |  | 30,138,000 | 26,743,000 | 30,376,000 | 58,411,000 | 61,645,000 | 52,475,000 | 70,531,000 | 53,731,000 | 48,523,000 | 46,246,000 |
| Diluted EPS |  | -0.45 | -0.43 | -0.27 | 0.32 | 1.18 | 0.34 | 0.43 | -0.10 | -1.28 | -0.57 |
| Operating cash flow | 51,916,000 |  | 1,015,000 | 18,536,000 | 26,979,000 | 37,965,000 | 47,608,000 | 50,615,000 | 28,672,000 | 11,838,000 | 12,039,000 |
| Capital expenditures |  | 3,346,000 | 1,859,000 | 1,160,000 | 610,000 | 1,972,000 | 1,962,000 | 1,969,000 | 2,842,000 | 3,062,000 | 5,348,000 |
| Share buybacks | 6,157,000 |  | 0.00 | 2,487,000 | 647,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 15,268,000 | 5,646,000 | 2,288,000 |
| Assets |  | 205,153,000 | 193,102,000 | 174,308,000 | 220,296,000 | 324,611,000 | 358,407,000 | 449,515,000 | 419,909,000 | 337,155,000 | 368,546,000 |
| Liabilities |  | 69,568,000 | 68,350,000 | 56,226,000 | 71,970,000 | 101,782,000 | 102,463,000 | 154,367,000 | 133,909,000 | 107,354,000 | 151,721,000 |
| Stockholders' equity |  | 135,585,000 | 124,752,000 | 118,082,000 | 148,326,000 | 222,829,000 | 255,944,000 | 295,148,000 | 286,000,000 | 229,801,000 | 216,825,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents |  | 60,468,000 | 53,710,000 | 49,571,000 | 64,700,000 | 62,522,000 | 107,509,000 | 110,318,000 | 96,439,000 | 73,677,000 | 50,488,000 |
| Free cash flow |  |  | -844,000 | 17,376,000 | 26,369,000 | 35,993,000 | 45,646,000 | 48,646,000 | 25,830,000 | 8,776,000 | 6,691,000 |

### Ratios

ROE and ROA use period-end equity/assets. Liabilities / equity uses total liabilities divided by stockholders' equity. Current ratio uses current assets divided by current liabilities when both are reported.

| Metric | 2013 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Net margin |  |  | -6.52% | -4.07% | 3.94% | 13.73% | 3.69% | 4.07% | -0.90% | -11.86% | -5.11% |
| Operating margin |  |  | -6.34% | -3.56% | 3.87% | 2.36% | 1.27% | 2.41% | -0.81% | -3.59% | -4.57% |
| Return on equity |  | -14.76% | -15.57% | -10.34% | 10.74% | 28.04% | 7.07% | 7.98% | -1.83% | -29.97% | -14.45% |
| Return on assets |  | -9.75% | -10.06% | -7.00% | 7.23% | 19.25% | 5.05% | 5.24% | -1.25% | -20.43% | -8.50% |
| Liabilities / equity |  | 0.51 | 0.55 | 0.48 | 0.49 | 0.46 | 0.40 | 0.52 | 0.47 | 0.47 | 0.70 |
| Current ratio |  | 2.42 | 1.69 | 1.90 | 2.02 | 1.71 | 2.16 | 1.78 | 1.67 | 1.68 | 1.34 |

## As-reported value updates

No tracked differences above grepcent's stated thresholds and capped precision rule were found between the earliest XBRL-filed value and the value currently on file for the standardized annual metrics grepcent tracks.


## Quarterly

Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-08. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001117297.json.

Flow metrics use discrete quarter-length periods from 10-Q/10-Q/A filings. Q4 revenue and net income are derived only when annual FY and nine-month YTD facts exist for the same fiscal year; derived Q4 values are labeled. EPS Q4 is not derived.

| Quarter | End date | Revenue | Net income | Diluted EPS | Method |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 2023-Q1 | 2022-09-30 |  |  | -0.08 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q2 | 2022-12-31 |  |  | -0.15 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-03-31 | 172,671,000 | -479,000 | -0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-06-30 | 130,312,000 | -55,891,000 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2024-Q1 | 2023-09-30 | 123,923,000 | -10,565,000 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2023-12-31 | 122,683,000 | -11,554,000 | -0.21 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-03-31 | 168,587,000 | -7,048,000 | -0.13 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-06-30 | 198,321,000 | -2,164,000 |  | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD |
| 2025-Q1 | 2024-09-30 | 279,219,000 | -1,366,000 | -0.02 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2024-12-31 | 282,596,000 | -1,549,000 | -0.03 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-03-31 | 269,842,000 | 4,416,000 | 0.08 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q1 | 2025-09-30 | 285,853,000 | 4,535,000 | 0.08 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q2 | 2025-12-31 | 287,845,000 | 50,227,000 | 0.87 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2026-Q3 | 2026-03-31 | 346,137,000 | 7,362,000 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter |

## Filed narrative (10-K & 10-Q)

## Business

Verbatim Item 1 Business section from QNST's latest 10-K: [/company/QNST/business/](/company/QNST/business/).

## Risk Factors

Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from QNST's latest 10-K: [/company/QNST/risk-factors/](/company/QNST/risk-factors/).

## Latest quarter (10-Q)

Latest 10-Q source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000119312526213979/qnst-20260331.htm

Extracted structurally from real Item 2 body heading to real Item 3/4 boundary.
Confidence: high
Filing date: 2026-05-08
Report date: 2026-03-31

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 our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not materialize or if they prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “outlook,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions or variations intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the beliefs and assumptions of our management based on information currently available to management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified in “Part II —Item 1A. Risk Factors” below, and those discussed in the sections titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, and in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Management Overview

We are a leader in performance marketplaces and technologies for the financial services and home services industries. We specialize in customer acquisition for clients in high value, information-intensive markets or “verticals,” including financial services and home services. Our clients include some of the world’s largest companies and brands in those markets. The majority of our operations and revenue are in North America.

We deliver measurable and cost-effective marketing results to our clients, typically in the form of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. Clicks, leads, calls, and applications can then convert into a customer or sale for clients at a rate that results in an acceptable marketing cost to them. We are typically paid by clients when we deliver qualified inquiries in the form of clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers, as defined by our agreements with them. References to the delivery of customers means a sale or completed customer transaction (e.g., funded loans or customer appointments with clients). Because we bear the costs of media, our programs must result in attractive marketing costs to our clients at media costs and margins that provide sound financial outcomes for us. To deliver clicks, leads, calls, applications, and customers to our clients, generally we:

•
own or access targeted media through business arrangements (e.g., revenue sharing arrangements with online publisher partners, large and small) or by purchasing media (e.g., clicks from major search engines, social media platforms and programmatic/display networks);

•
run advertisements or other forms of marketing messages and programs in that media that result in consumer or visitor responses, typically in the form of clicks (by a consumer to further qualification or matching steps, or to online client applications or offerings), leads (e.g., consumer contact information), calls (from a consumer or to a consumer by our owned and operated or contracted call centers or by that of our clients or their agents), applications (e.g., for enrollment or a financial product), or customers (e.g., funded personal loans);

•
continuously seek to display clients and client offerings to visitors or consumers that result in the maximum number of consumers finding solutions that can meet their needs and to which they will take action to respond, resulting in media buying efficiency (e.g., by segmenting media or traffic so that the most appropriate clients or client offerings can be displayed or “matched” to each segment based on fit, response rates or conversion rates); and

•
through technology and analytics, seek to optimize a combination of objectives to satisfy the maximum number of shopping or researching visitors or consumers, deliver on client marketing objectives, effectively compete for online media, and generate a sound financial outcome for us.

23

Our primary financial objective has been and remains creating revenue growth from sustainable sources, at target levels of profitability. Our primary financial objective is not to maximize short-term profits, but rather to achieve target levels of profitability while investing in various growth initiatives, as we continue to believe we are in the early stages of a large, long-term market opportunity.

Our business derives its net revenue primarily from fees earned through the delivery of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. Through a vertical focus, targeted media presence and our technology platform, we are able to deliver targeted, measurable marketing results to our clients.

Our financial services client vertical represented 67% and 71% of net revenue for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2026, and 74% and 76% of net revenue for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025. Our home services client vertical represented 33% and 29% of net revenue for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2026, and 26% and 24% for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2025. We generated the majority of our revenue from sales to clients in the United States.

One client in our financial services client vertical accounted for 24% of net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 22% of net revenue for the nine months ended March 31, 2026. One client in our financial services client vertical accounted for 27% of our net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and two clients accounted for 23% and 13% of our net revenue for the nine months ended March 31, 2025.

Trends Affecting our Business

Client Verticals

Our financial services client vertical has been challenged by a number of factors in the past, including the limited availability of high quality media at acceptable margins caused by the acquisition of media sources by competitors, increased competition for high quality media and changes in search engine algorithms. These factors may impact our business in the future again. To offset this impact, we have enhanced our product set to provide greater segmentation, matching, transparency and right pricing of media that have enabled better monetization to provide greater access to high quality media sources. Moreover, we have entered into strategic partnerships and acquisitions to increase and diversify our access to quality media and client budgets.

In addition, within our financial services client vertical, we derive a significant amount of revenue from auto insurance carriers and our financial results depend on the performance of the auto insurance industry, which may be affected by macroeconomic conditions, extreme-weather related events and supply chain events existing or occurring from time to time. For example, starting in the first half of fiscal 2022, inflation, weather-related and supply chain events led to increases in insurance industry loss ratios, which resulted in our auto insurance industry clients decreasing their advertising spending, which had an adverse effect on our business.

All of our businesses benefit from more spending by clients in digital media and performance marketing as digital marketing continues to evolve.

Acquisitions

Acquisitions have historically been, and continue to be, an important element of our overall corporate strategy and use of capital. We have completed several strategic acquisitions, including the acquisition of Homebuddy completed in January 2026, the acquisitions of BestCompany and AquaVida completed in fiscal year 2024, the acquisitions of Modernize, Mayo Labs, LLC ("Mayo Labs") and FC Ecosystem ("FCE") completed in fiscal year 2021, and the acquisitions of AmOne Corp. ("AmOne"), CloudControlMedia, LLC ("CCM"), and MyBankTracker.com, LLC ("MBT") completed in fiscal year 2019.

Development, Acquisition and Retention of High Quality Targeted Media

One of the primary challenges of our business is finding or creating media that is high quality and targeted enough to attract prospects for our clients at costs that provide a sound financial outcome for us. In order to grow our business, we must be able to find, develop, or acquire and retain quality targeted media on a cost-effective basis. Consolidation of media sources, changes in search engine algorithms and increased competition for available media has, during some periods, limited and may continue to limit our ability to generate revenue at acceptable margins. To offset this impact, we have developed new sources of media, including entering into strategic partnerships with other marketing and media companies and acquisitions. Such partnerships include takeovers of performance marketing functions for large web media properties; backend monetization of unmatched traffic for clients with large media buys; and white label products for other performance marketing companies. We have also focused on growing our revenue from call center, native, email, mobile and social media traffic sources.

24

Seasonality

Our results are subject to significant fluctuation as a result of seasonality. In particular, our quarters ending December 31 (our second fiscal quarter) are typically characterized by seasonal weakness. In our second fiscal quarters, there is generally lower availability of media during the holiday period on a cost-effective basis and some of our clients have lower budgets. In our quarters ending March 31 (our third fiscal quarter), this trend generally reverses with better media availability and often new budgets at the beginning of the year for our clients with fiscal years ending December 31.

Our results are also subject to fluctuation as a result of seasonality in our clients’ business. For example, revenue in our home services client vertical is subject to cyclical and seasonal trends, as the consumer demand for home services typically rises during the spring and summer seasons and declines during the fall and winter seasons. Other factors affecting our clients’ businesses include macro factors such as credit availability in the market, interest rates, the strength of the economy and employment.

Regulations

Our revenue has fluctuated in part as a result of federal, state and industry-based regulations and developing standards with respect to the enforcement of those regulations. Our business is affected directly because we operate websites and conduct telemarketing and email marketing, and indirectly affected as our clients adjust their operations as a result of regulator

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

## Latest 10-K MD&A (excerpt)

Latest 10-K Item 7 source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000095017025110629/qnst-20250630.htm
Complete FY 2025 MD&A: /company/QNST/mda/fy2025/

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Published MD&A gate trimmed front/tail over-capture.
Confidence: high
Filing date: 2025-08-21
Report date: 2025-06-30

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this report. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in the sections titled “Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”

Management Overview

We are a leader in performance marketplaces and technologies for the financial services and home services industries. We specialize in customer acquisition for clients in high value, information-intensive markets or “verticals,” including financial services and home services. Our clients include some of the world’s largest companies and brands in those markets. The majority of our operations and revenue are in North America.

We deliver measurable and cost-effective marketing results to our clients, typically in the form of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. Clicks, leads, calls, and applications can then convert into a customer or sale for clients at a rate that results in an acceptable marketing cost to them. We are typically paid by clients when we deliver qualified inquiries in the form of clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers, as defined by our agreements with them. References to the delivery of customers means a sale or completed customer transaction (e.g., funded loans or customer appointments with clients). Because we bear the costs of media, our programs must result in attractive marketing costs to our clients at media costs and margins that provide sound financial outcomes for us. To deliver clicks, leads, calls, applications, and customers to our clients, generally we:

•
own or access targeted media through business arrangements (e.g., revenue sharing arrangements with online publisher partners, large and small) or by purchasing media (e.g., clicks from major search engines);

•
run advertisements or other forms of marketing messages and programs in that media that result in consumer or visitor responses, typically in the form of clicks (by a consumer to further qualification or matching steps, or to online client applications or offerings), leads (e.g., consumer contact information), calls (from a consumer or to a consumer by our owned and operated or contracted call centers or by that of our clients or their agents), applications (e.g., for enrollment or a financial product), or customers (e.g., funded personal loans);

•
continuously seek to display clients and client offerings to visitors or consumers that result in the maximum number of consumers finding solutions that can meet their needs and to which they will take action to respond, resulting in media buying efficiency (e.g., by segmenting media or traffic so that the most appropriate clients or client offerings can be displayed or “matched” to each segment based on fit, response rates or conversion rates); and

•
through technology and analytics, seek to optimize combination of objectives to satisfy the maximum number of shopping or researching visitors or consumers, deliver on client marketing objectives, effectively compete for online media, and generate a sound financial outcome for us.

Our primary financial objective has been and remains creating revenue growth from sustainable sources, at target levels of profitability. Our primary financial objective is not to maximize short-term profits, but rather to achieve target levels of profitability while investing in various growth initiatives, as we continue to believe we are in the early stages of a large, long-term market opportunity.

Our business derives its net revenue primarily from fees earned through the delivery of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. Through a vertical focus, targeted media presence and our technology platform, we are able to deliver targeted, measurable marketing results to our clients.

Our financial services client vertical represented 75% and 64% of net revenue in fiscal years 2025 and 2024. Our home services client vertical represented 24% and 35% of net revenue in fiscal years 2025 and 2024. Other revenue, which primarily includes our performance marketing agency and technology services, represented 1% of net revenue in fiscal years 2025 and 2024. We generated the majority of our revenue from sales to clients in the United States.

38

Trends Affecting our Business

Client Verticals

Our financial services client vertical has been challenged by a number of factors in the past, including the limited availability of high quality media at acceptable margins caused by the acquisition of media sources by competitors, increased competition for high quality media and changes in search engine algorithms. These factors may impact our business in the future again. To offset this impact, we have enhanced our product set to provide greater segmentation, matching, transparency and right pricing of media that have enabled better monetization to provide greater access to high quality media sources. Moreover, we have entered into strategic partnerships and acquisitions to increase and diversify our access to quality media and client budgets.

In addition, within our financial services client vertical, we derive a significant amount of revenue from auto insurance carriers and our financial results depend on the performance of the auto insurance industry, which may be affected by macroeconomic conditions, extreme-weather related events and supply chain events existing or occurring from time to time. For example, starting in the first half of fiscal 2022, inflation, weather-related and supply chain events led to increases in insurance industry loss ratios, which resulted in our auto insurance industry clients decreasing their advertising spending, which had an adverse effect on our business.

Beginning in calendar 2024, the auto insurance industry began to benefit from rate increases and product optimizations which allowed increased advertising spending which in turn resulted in increases in our revenues and reductions to quarterly net losses. In our third and fourth fiscal quarters of 2025, the Company reported a return to net income.

All of our businesses benefit from more spending by clients in digital media and performance marketing as digital marketing continues to evolve.

Acquisitions

Acquisitions have historically been, and continue to be, an important element of our overall corporate strategy and use of capital. We have completed several strategic acquisitions in the past, including the acquisitions of BestCompany and AquaVida completed in fiscal year 2024, the acquisitions of Modernize, Mayo Labs and FCE completed in fiscal year 2021, and the acquisitions of AmOne, CCM, and MBT completed in fiscal year 2019. For detailed information regarding our acquisitions, refer to Note 6, Acquisitions to our consolidated financial statements.

Development, Acquisition and Retention of High Quality Targeted Media

One of the primary challenges of our business is finding or creating media that is high quality and targeted enough to attract prospects for our clients at costs that provide a sound financial outcome for us. In order to grow our business, we must be able to find, develop, or acquire and retain quality targeted media on a cost-effective basis. Consolidation of media sources, changes in search engine algorithms and increased competition for available media has, during some periods, limited and may continue to limit our ability to generate revenue at acceptable margins. To offset this impact, we have developed new sources of media, including entering into strategic partnerships with other marketing and media companies and acquisitions. Such partnerships include takeovers of performance marketing functions for large web media properties; backend monetization of unmatched traffic for clients with large media buys; and white label products for other performance marketing companies. We have also focused on growing our revenue from call center, native, email, mobile and social media traffic sources.

Seasonality

Our results are subject to significant fluctuation as a result of seasonality. In particular, our quarters ending December 31 (our second fiscal quarter) are typically characterized by seasonal weakness. In our second fiscal quarters, there is generally lower availability of media during the holiday period on a cost-effective basis and some of our clients have lower budgets. In our quarters ending March 31 (our third fiscal quarter), this trend generally reverses with better media availability and often new budgets at the beginning of the year for our clients with fiscal years ending December 31.

Our results are also subject to fluctuation as a result of seasonality in our clients’ business. For example, revenue in our home services client vertical is subject to cyclical and seasonal trends, as the consumer demand for home services typically rises during the spring and summer seasons and declines during the fall and winter seasons. Other factors affecting our clients’ businesses include macro factors such as credit availability in the market, interest rates, the strength of the economy and employment.

39

Regulations

Our revenue has fluctuated in part as a result of federal, state and industry-based regulations and developing standards with respect to the enforcement of those regulations. Our business is affected directly because we operate websites and conduct telemarketing and email marketing, and indirectly affected as our clients adjust their operations as a result of regulatory changes and enforcement activity that affect their industries.

Some of our clients have been affected by laws and regulations and the increased enforcement of new and pre-existing laws and regulations. The effect of these regulations, or any future regulations, may continue to result in fluctuations in the volume and mix of our business with these clients.

An example of a regulatory change that may affect our business is the amendment of the TCPA that affects telemarketing and the consent requirements for certain types of telemarketing calls and automated messaging. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to the automated delivery of voice and text messages are continuously evolving and developing. Our clients may make business decisions based on their own experiences with the TCPA regardless of our products and compliance practices. Those decisions may negatively affect our revenue and profitability.

Basis of Presentation

Net Revenue

Our business generates revenue primarily from fees earned through the delivery of qualified inquiries such as clicks, leads, calls, applications, or customers. We deliver targeted and measurable results through a vertical focus, which includes our financial services client vertical and our home services client vertical. All remaining businesses that are not significant enough for separate reporting are included in other revenue.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue consists primarily of media and marketing costs, personnel costs, amortization of intangible assets, depreciation expense and facilities expense. Media and marketing costs consist primarily of fees paid to third-party publishers, media owners or managers, or to strategic partners that are directly related to a revenue-generating event and of pay-per-click, or PPC, ad purchases from Internet search companies. We pay these third-party publishers, media owners or managers, s

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]

Read the full FY 2025 MD&A: /company/QNST/mda/fy2025/
All MD&A years: /company/QNST/mda/


## MD&A history

Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. Each year's full verbatim text is on its own sub-page.

- [FY 2024 MD&A](/company/QNST/mda/fy2024/): filed 2024-08-21; accession 0000950170-24-099495 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000095017024099495/qnst-20240630.htm)
- [FY 2023 MD&A](/company/QNST/mda/fy2023/): filed 2023-08-21; accession 0000950170-23-043659 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000095017023043659/qnst-20230630.htm)
- [FY 2022 MD&A](/company/QNST/mda/fy2022/): filed 2022-08-22; accession 0001564590-22-029880 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000156459022029880/qnst-10k_20220630.htm)
- [FY 2021 MD&A](/company/QNST/mda/fy2021/): filed 2021-08-26; accession 0001564590-21-045870 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1117297/000156459021045870/qnst-10k_20210630.htm)




## Macro cross-references

Indicators mapped to this company's SIC classification (industry 7389 Services-Business Services, NEC) by grepcent's deterministic macro-sector crosswalk. A navigational mapping, not a statistical or causal claim.

- [PAYEMS](/indicator/PAYEMS/): All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- [CES0500000003](/indicator/CES0500000003/): Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- [DGS10](/indicator/DGS10/): Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity

Macro-to-micro threads including this sector: [US labor market](/thread/us-labor-market/), [Growth & output](/thread/growth-output/), [Government finances](/thread/government-finances/), [Sector employment](/thread/sector-employment/).

All macro indicators: /indicators/


## For LLMs & downloads

Markdown twin: /company/QNST.md · JSON record: /company/QNST.json · verified financials: /company/QNST/financials.json / /company/QNST/financials.csv · machine TOC for the whole site: /llms.txt