# LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (RAMP) FY 2022 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.'s 10-K for fiscal year 2022.

SEC filing source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/733269/000073326922000026/ramp-20220331.htm
Accession: 0000733269-22-000026
Filing date: 2022-05-24
Report date: 2022-03-31
Extracted from a later financial-section MD&A body after the formal Item 7 span was a short reference.
Confidence: high

Company profile: /company/RAMP/
All MD&A years: /company/RAMP/mda/
Next year: /company/RAMP/mda/fy2023/ (FY 2023)

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 together with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included in Item 8 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, beliefs, and expectations, and involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the section titled "Item 1A. Risk Factors".

We begin Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations with an introduction and overview, including our operating segment, sources of revenue, summary results and notable events. This overview is followed by a summary of our critical accounting policies and estimates that we believe are important to understanding the assumptions and judgments incorporated in our reported financial results. We then provide a more detailed analysis of our results of operations and financial condition.

Introduction and Overview

LiveRamp is a global technology company with a vision of making it safe and easy for companies to use data effectively. We provide a best-in-class enterprise data connectivity platform that helps organizations better leverage customer data within and outside their four walls. Powered by core identity capabilities and an extensive network, LiveRamp enables companies and their partners to better connect, control, and activate data to transform customer experiences and generate more valuable business outcomes.

LiveRamp is a Delaware corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RAMP.” We serve a global client base from locations in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region. Our direct client list includes many of the world’s largest and best-known brands across most major industry verticals, including but not limited to financial, insurance and investment services, retail, automotive, telecommunications, high tech, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, travel, entertainment, non-profit, and government. Through our extensive reseller and partnership network, we serve thousands of additional companies, establishing LiveRamp as a foundational and neutral enabler of the customer experience economy.

Operating Segment

The Company operates as one operating segment. An operating segment is defined as a component of an enterprise for which separate financial information is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker. Our chief operating decision maker evaluates our financial information and resources and assesses the performance of these resources on a consolidated basis. Since we operate as one operating segment, all required financial segment information can be found in the consolidated financial statements.

Sources of Revenues

LiveRamp recognizes revenue from the following sources: (i) Subscription revenue, which consists primarily of subscription fees from clients accessing our platform; and (ii) Marketplace and Other revenue, which primarily consists of revenue-sharing fees generated from data transactions through our LiveRamp Data Marketplace, and transactional usage-based revenue from arrangements with certain publishers and addressable TV providers.

The LiveRamp Platform

As depicted in the graphic below, we power the industry’s leading enterprise data connectivity platform. We enable organizations to access and leverage data more effectively across the applications they use to interact with their customers. A core component of our platform is the omnichannel, deterministic identity asset that sits at its center. Leveraging deep expertise in identity and data collaboration, the LiveRamp platform enables an organization to unify customer and prospect data (first-, second-, or third-party) to build a single view of the customer in a way that protects consumer privacy. This single customer view can then be enhanced and activated across any of the 550 partners in our ecosystem in order to support a variety of people-based marketing solutions, including:

F-2

•Activation. We enable organizations to leverage their customer and prospect data in the digital and TV ecosystems and across the customer experience applications they use through a safe and secure data matching process called data onboarding. Our technology ingests a customer’s first-party data, removes all offline data (personally identifiable information or "PII"), and replaces them with anonymized IDs called RampID™, a true people-based identifier. RampID can then be distributed through direct integrations to the top platforms our customers work with, including leading marketing cloud providers, publishers and social networks, personalization tools, and connected TV services.

•Measurement & Analytics. We power accurate and complete measurement with the measurement vendors and partners our customers use. Our platform allows customers to combine disparate data files (typically ad exposure and customer events, like transactions), replacing customer identifiers with RampID. Customers then can use that aggregated view of each customer for measurement of reach and frequency, sales lift, closed loop offline-to-online conversion and cross-channel attribution.

•Identity. We provide enterprise-level identity solutions that enable organizations to: 1) resolve and connect disparate identities, 2) enrich data sets with hygiene capabilities and additional audience data from Data Marketplace providers, and 3) translate data between different systems. Our approach to identity is built from two complementary graphs, combining offline data and online data and providing the highest level of accuracy with a focus on privacy. LiveRamp technology for PII gives brands and platforms the ability to connect and update what they know about consumers, resolving PII across enterprise databases and systems to deliver better customer experiences in a privacy-conscious manner. Our digital identity graph powered by our Authenticated Traffic Solution (or ATS) associates pseudonymous device IDs, TV IDs and other online customer IDs from premium publishers, platforms or data providers, around a RampID. This allows marketers to perform the personalized segmentation, targeting, and measurement use cases that require a consistent view of the user. There are currently more than 125 supply-side platforms live or committed to bid on RampID and ATS. In addition, to date more than 1,500 publishers, representing more than 11,000 publisher domains, have integrated ATS worldwide.

•Data Collaboration with Safe Haven. We enable trusted second-party data collaboration between organizations and their partners in a neutral, permissioned environment. Safe Haven provides customers with collaborative opportunities to safely and securely build a more accurate, dynamic view of their customers leveraging partner data. Advanced measurement and analytics use cases can be performed on this shared data without either party giving up control or compromising privacy.

•Data Marketplace. Our Data Marketplace provides customers with simplified access to trusted, industry-leading third-party data globally. The LiveRamp platform allows for the search, discovery and distribution of data to improve targeting, measurement, and customer intelligence. Data accessed through our Data Marketplace is connected via RampID and is utilized to enrich our customers’ first-party data and can be leveraged across technology and media platforms, agencies, analytics environments, and TV partners. Our platform also provides tools for data providers to manage the organization, distribution, and operation of their data and services across our network of customers and partners. Today we work with more than 200 data providers across all verticals and data types (see below for discussion on Marketplace and Other).

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Consumer privacy and data protection, what we call Data Ethics, are at the center of how we design our products and services. Accordingly, the LiveRamp platform operates with technical, operational, and personnel controls designed to keep our customers’ data private and secure.

Our solutions are sold to enterprise marketers and the companies they partner with to execute their marketing, including agencies, marketing technology providers, publishers and data providers. Today, we work with approximately 910 direct subscription customers world-wide, including approximately 25% of the Fortune 500, and serve thousands of additional customers indirectly through our reseller partnership arrangements.

•Brands and Agencies. We work with over 450 of the largest brands and agencies in the world, helping them execute people-based marketing by creating an omni-channel understanding of the consumer and activating that understanding across their choice of best-of-breed digital marketing platforms.

•Marketing Technology Providers. We provide marketing technology providers with the identity foundation required to offer people-based targeting, measurement and personalization within their platforms. This adds value for brands by increasing reach, as well as the speed at which they can activate their marketing data.

•Publishers. We enable publishers of any size to offer people-based marketing on their properties. This adds value for brands by providing direct access to their customers and prospects in the publisher's premium inventory.

•Data Owners. Leveraging our vast network of integrations, we allow data owners to easily connect to the digital ecosystem and monetize their own data. Data can be distributed to clients or made available through the LiveRamp Data Marketplace feature. This adds value for brands as it allows them to augment their understanding of consumers and increase both their reach against and understanding of customers and prospects.

We primarily charge for our platform on an annual subscription basis. Our subscription pricing is based primarily on data volume, which is a function of data input records and connection points.

F-4

Marketplace and Other

As we have scaled the LiveRamp network and technology, we have found additional ways to leverage our platform, deliver more value to clients and create incremental revenue streams. Leveraging our common identity system and broad integration network, the LiveRamp Data Marketplace is a solution that seamlessly connects data owners’ audience data across the marketing ecosystem. The Data Marketplace allows data owners to easily monetize their data across hundreds of marketing platforms and publishers with a single contract. At the same time, it provides a single gateway where data buyers, including platforms and publishers, in addition to brands and their agencies, can access third-party data from more than 200 data providers, supporting all industries and encompassing all types of data. Data providers include sources and brands exclusive to LiveRamp, emerging platforms with access to previously unavailable deterministic data, and data partnerships enabled by our platform.

We generate revenue from the Data Marketplace primarily through revenue-sharing arrangements with data owners that are monetizing their data assets on our marketplace. We also generate Marketplace and Other revenue through transactional usage-based arrangements with certain publishers and addressable TV providers.

COVID-19 Update

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread across the world. The pandemic and the public health measures taken in response to it have adversely affected workforces, organizations, customers, economies, and financial markets globally, leading to an economic downturn and increased market volatility. We are continuing to monitor the actual and potential effects of the pandemic, including the impact of variants of COVID-19, such as the Delta and Omicron variants, across our business. Because these effects are dependent on highly uncertain future developments, including the duration, spread and severity of the outbreak, the actions taken to contain the virus, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume, they are extremely difficult to predict, and it is not possible at this time to estimate the full impact that COVID-19 could have on our business going forward.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 we temporarily closed most of our offices (including our headquarters), encouraged our employees to work remotely, implemented restrictions on all non-essential travel, and shifted certain of our customer, industry, investor, and employee events to virtual-only experiences. With the widespread availability of vaccines and treatment, and the ebb and flow of variants and decreases in hospitalizations we have eased those restrictions substantially, reopening all offices in the U.S. and Europe, and Asia-Pacific where permitted. If the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, especially in regions in which we have material operations or sales, our business activities originating from affected areas, including sales-related activities, could be adversely affected. Disruptive activities could include business closures in impacted areas, further restrictions on our employees’ and other service providers’ ability to travel, impacts to productivity if our employees or their family members experience health issues, and potential delays in hiring and onboarding of new employees. Further, we may experience increased cyberattacks and security challenges as our global employee base works remotely. Our employees' ability to effectively work remotely is also impacted by continued availability of internet connectivity and a general degradation of such would negatively impact their ability to work effectively.

F-5

Summary Results and Notable Events

During fiscal 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of certain technology assets owned by Rakam, Inc. ("Rakam") for approximately $2.2 million in cash. The technology asset is a cloud-agnostic customer data analytics platform that is deployed directly in the client's data warehouse. The purchased technology will be embedded into the Company's platform, enabling us to provide a single, unified segmentation solution and enable our clients to generate real-time insights and create custom audiences wherever their data resides. The Company concluded the acquired assets did not meet the definition of a business under ASU 2017-01, "Clarifying the Definition of a Business", and therefore has accounted for the acquisition as an asset acquisition. The purchased asset was recorded as a $2.2 million developed technology intangible asset and is being amortized over a period of three years based on its estimated useful life.

During fiscal 2022, the Company completed the acquisition of Diablo.ai, Inc. ("Diablo"), a first-party data resolution platform and graph builder, for approximately $9.7 million in cash. Diablo's technology was embedded into our unified platform and plays an integral role in our global identity capability. The Company has included the financial results of Diablo in the consolidated financial statements as of the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

During fiscal 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of DataFleets, Ltd. ("DataFleets"), a cloud data platform that enables data silos to be unified without moving data or compromising privacy. This acquisition expands LiveRamp's data protection capabilities to unlock greater data access and control for its customers. In addition, the deal opens up new use cases as well as new markets for distributed data collaboration through the Safe Haven platform. The Company has included the financial results of DataFleets in the consolidated financial statements as of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. The acquisition consideration for DataFleets was approximately $67.2 million cash.

During fiscal 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of Acuity Data ("Acuity"), a team of global retail and consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) experts, for approximately $2.9 million in cash. The acquisition also included a three-year performance plan having a maximum potential attainment of $5.1 million that would be recorded as non-cash stock compensation if achieved. The acquisition strengthens the retail analytics capabilities of our Safe Haven platform by enabling better reporting, insights, and collaboration for retailers and CPG companies, bridging the gap between trade and media by bringing consumers’ digital signals and retail transaction data together in a privacy-conscious manner. The Company has included the financial results of Acuity in the consolidated financial statements as of the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

During fiscal 2020, the Company closed its acquisition of Data Plus Math Corporation ("DPM"), a media measurement company that works with brands, agencies, cable operators, streaming TV services and networks to tie cross-screen ad exposure with real-world outcomes. The Company has included the financial results of DPM in the consolidated financial statements as of the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The acquisition date fair value of the consideration for DPM was approximately $118.0 million, consisting of $115.7 million cash and $2.3 million in stock awards.

During fiscal 2020, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Faktor B.V. ("Faktor"). Faktor is a global consent management platform that allows consumers to control how their data is collected, used, and transferred for usage to another party. The Company has included the financial results of Faktor in the consolidated financial statements as of the first quarter of fiscal 2020.The Company paid approximately $4.5 million in cash for the acquired shares.

A financial summary of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 compared to the same period in fiscal 2021 is presented below:

•Revenues were $528.7 million, a 19.3% increase from $443.0 million in fiscal 2021.

•Cost of revenue was $147.4 million, a 2.4% increase from $144.0 million in fiscal 2021.

•Gross margin increased to 72.1% from 67.5% in fiscal 2021.

•Total operating expenses were $446.8 million, a 6.5% increase from $419.6 million in fiscal 2021.

•Cost of revenue and operating expenses for fiscal 2022 and 2021 included the following items:

F-6

◦Non-cash stock compensation of $87.3 million and $111.7 million, respectively (cost of revenue of $4.1 million and $5.3 million, respectively, and operating expenses of $83.1 million and $106.4 million, respectively)

◦Purchased intangible asset amortization of $18.7 million and $18.0 million, respectively (cost of revenue)

◦Restructuring and merger charges of $1.5 million and $2.7 million, respectively (gains, losses, and other)

◦Transformation costs of $3.9 million in fiscal 2021 (general and administrative)

•Total other income of $30.5 million in fiscal 2022 primarily related to a $30.2 million gain associated with a cash distribution received from a retained profits interest in a previous disposition.

•Net loss was $33.8 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in fiscal 2022 compared to $90.3 million, or $1.36 per diluted share, in fiscal 2021.

•Net cash provided by operating activities was $78.1 million in fiscal 2022 compared to net cash used by operating activities of $20.6 million in fiscal 2021.

•The Company repurchased 1.3 million shares of its common stock in fiscal 2022 for $58.6 million under the Company's common stock repurchase program.

This summary and the following discussion and analysis highlight financial results as well as other significant events and transactions of the Company during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 compared to the same period in fiscal 2021, unless otherwise stated. Discussion and analysis for the year ended March 31, 2021 compared to the same period ended March 31, 2020 may be found in the section titled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 27, 2021.

F-7

Critical Accounting Policies

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) as set forth in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), and we consider the various staff accounting bulletins and other applicable guidance issued by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). GAAP, as set forth within the ASC, requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments and assumptions are made. These estimates, judgments and assumptions can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Note 1 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements includes a summary of significant accounting policies used in the preparation of LiveRamp’s consolidated financial statements. Of those policies, we have identified the following as the most critical because they are both important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and operating results, and they may require management to make judgments and estimates about inherently uncertain matters:

•Revenue Recognition

•Accounting for Income Taxes

•Business Combinations

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s policy follows the guidance from ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.

LiveRamp recognizes revenue from the following sources: (i) subscription revenue, which consists primarily of subscription fees from clients accessing our LiveRamp platform; and (ii) marketplace and other revenue, which primarily consists of revenue-sharing fees generated from access to data through our LiveRamp Data Marketplace, and transactional usage-based revenue from arrangements with certain publishers and addressable TV providers.

We determine revenue recognition through the following steps:

•Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer;

•Identification of the performance obligations in the contract;

•Determination of the transaction price;

•Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and

•Recognition of revenue when, or as, the performance obligations are satisfied.

Identification of the contract

We consider the terms and conditions of the contract and our customary business practices when identifying our contracts under ASC 606. We determine we have a contract with a customer or contract modification when the contract is approved and the parties are committed to performing their respective obligations, we can identify each party's rights regarding the services to be transferred, we can identify the payment terms for the services, we have determined the contract has commercial substance, and we have determined that collection of at least some of the contract consideration is probable. At contract inception we evaluate whether two or more contracts should be combined and accounted for as a single contract and whether the single or combined contract includes one or multiple performance obligations. We apply judgment in determining the customer's ability to pay, which is based on a variety of factors, including the customer's historical payment experience or, in the case of a new customer, credit and financial information pertaining to the customer.

F-8

Identification of the performance obligations

As part of accounting for arrangements with multiple performance obligations, we must assess whether each performance obligation is distinct. A good or service that is promised to a customer is distinct if the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer, and a company's promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. We have determined that our subscriptions to the platform are a distinct performance obligation and access to data for revenue-sharing and usage-based arrangements is a distinct performance obligation because, once a customer has access to the platform, the service is fully functional and does not require any additional development, modification, or customization.

Determination of the transaction price

The transaction price is the amount of consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for transferring services to a customer, excluding sales taxes that are collected on behalf of government agencies. Variable consideration is assessed and included in the transaction price if, in our judgment, it is probable that a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. None of our contracts contain a significant financing component.

Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract

If the contract contains a single performance obligation, the entire transaction price is allocated to the single performance obligation. Contracts that contain multiple performance obligations require an allocation of the transaction price to each distinct performance obligation based on the standalone selling price ("SSP") of each service. We generally determine the SSP based on contractual selling prices when the obligation is sold on a standalone basis, as well as market conditions, competition, and pricing practices. As pricing and marketing strategies evolve, we may modify our pricing practices in the future, which could result in changes to SSP.

Recognition of revenue when, or as, the performance obligations are satisfied

Revenues are recognized when or as control of the promised services is transferred to customers. Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the subscription period beginning on the date the services are made available to customers. Marketplace and other revenue is typically transactional in nature, tied to a revenue share or volumes purchased. We report revenue from Data Marketplace and other similar transactions on a net basis because our performance obligation is to facilitate a transaction between data providers and data buyers, for which we earn a portion of the gross fee. Consequently, the portion of the gross amount billed to data buyers that is remitted to data providers is not reflected as revenues.

Accounting for Income Taxes

The Company makes estimates and judgments in determining the provision for income taxes for financial statement purposes. These estimates and judgments occur in the calculation of tax credits, benefits, and deductions, and in the calculation of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities that arise from differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax and financial statement purposes, as well as the interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions. Significant changes in these estimates may result in an increase or decrease to the tax provision in a subsequent period. The Company assesses the likelihood that it will be able to recover its deferred tax assets. If recovery is not likely, the Company increases the provision for taxes by recording a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets that it estimates will not ultimately be recoverable.

F-9

The calculation of tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax laws and regulations. The Company recognizes liabilities for uncertain tax positions based on a two-step process pursuant to ASC 740, Income Taxes. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining whether the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. If the Company determines that a tax position will more likely than not be sustained on audit, the second step requires the Company to estimate and measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. It is inherently difficult and subjective to estimate such amounts, as the Company must determine the probability of various possible outcomes.

The Company re-evaluates these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on factors such as changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law, new audit activity, and effectively settled issues. Determining whether an uncertain tax position is effectively settled requires judgment. Such a change in recognition or measurement would result in the recognition of a tax benefit or an additional charge to the tax provision.

Business Combinations

We apply the provisions of ASC 805, Business Combinations, in accounting for acquisitions. ASC 805 requires us to determine if assets or a business was acquired. If a business was acquired, it requires us to recognize separately from goodwill the fair value of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of the fair value of consideration transferred over the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While we use our best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date as well as any contingent consideration, where applicable, our estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, we record adjustments resulting from new information about facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date and falls within the measurement period to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations.

F-10

Results of Operations

A summary of selected financial information for each of the periods reported is presented below (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts):

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Revenues

The Company's revenues for each of the periods reported is presented below (dollars in thousands):

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Total revenues for fiscal 2022 were $528.7 million, an $85.6 million or 19.3% increase compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was due to Subscription revenue growth of $72.0 million, or 20.2%, primarily due to new logo deals, upsell to existing customers and higher variable revenue. Marketplace and Other revenue growth was $13.6 million, or 15.7%, primarily due to Data Marketplace volume growth. On a geographic basis, U.S. revenue increased $79.8 million, or 19.2%. International revenue increased $5.9 million, or 21.6%.

Cost of Revenue and Gross Profit

The Company’s cost of revenue and gross profit for each of the periods reported is presented below (dollars in thousands):

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Cost of revenue includes third-party direct costs including identity graph data, other data and cloud-based hosting costs, as well as costs of IT, security and product operations functions. Cost of revenue also includes amortization of acquisition-related intangibles.

F-11

Cost of revenue was $147.4 million for fiscal 2022, a $3.4 million, or 2.4%, increase compared to fiscal 2021. Gross margins increased to 72.1% compared to 67.5% in the prior year. The gross margin increase was due to revenue growth and Identity Graph optimizations. U.S. gross margins increased to 73.4% in the current year from 68.5% in the prior year. International gross margins increased to 52.2% from 51.6%.

Operating Expenses

The Company’s operating expenses for each of the periods reported is presented below (dollars in thousands):

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Research and development (“R&D”) expense includes operating expenses for the Company’s engineering and product/project management functions supporting research, new development, and related product enhancement.

R&D expenses were $157.9 million for fiscal 2022, an increase of $22.8 million, or 16.9%, compared to fiscal 2021, and are 29.9% of total revenues compared to 30.5% in the prior year. Current year expenses included $32.1 million of stock-based compensation expense compared to $39.0 million in the prior year. The decrease in stock-based compensation expense is due to the accelerated vesting of certain awards in the prior year fourth quarter that would have otherwise vested over the subsequent six months to take advantage of significant cash tax savings opportunities. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, R&D expenses increased $29.7 million, or 30.9%, and are 23.8% of revenues compared to 21.7% in the prior year. The increase is due primarily to headcount investments (employee related expenses increased $18.1 million), increased professional services ($5.9 million) and higher travel expenses ($1.6 million).

Sales and marketing (“S&M”) expense includes operating expenses for the Company’s sales, marketing, and product marketing functions.

S&M expenses were $182.8 million for fiscal 2022, an increase of $5.2 million, or 2.9%, compared to fiscal 2021, and are 34.6% of total revenues compared to 40.1% in the prior year. Current year expenses included $28.6 million of stock-based compensation expense compared to $40.4 million in the prior year. The decrease in stock-based compensation expense is primarily due to the prior year vesting acceleration previously described. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, S&M expenses increased $17.0 million, or 12.4%, and are 29.2% of revenues compared to 31.0% in the prior year. The increase is primarily due to headcount investments (employee related expenses increased $5.1 million) and increased professional services ($8.6 million).

F-12

General and administrative ("G&A") expense represents operating expenses for the Company's finance, human resources, legal, corporate IT, and other corporate administrative functions.

G&A expenses were $104.6 million for fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.4 million, or 0.4%, compared to fiscal 2021, and are 19.8% of total revenues compared to 23.5% in the prior year. Current year expenses included $22.4 million of stock-based compensation expense compared to $27.0 million in the prior year. The decrease in stock-based compensation expense is primarily due to the prior year vesting acceleration previously described. Additionally, the prior year included $3.9 million of third-party transformation costs incurred in response to the potential COVID-19 pandemic impact on our business. Excluding stock-based compensation expense and third-party transformation costs, G&A expenses increased $8.9 million, or 12.1%, and are 15.6% of revenues compared to 16.5% in the prior year. The increase is due to headcount investments (employee related expenses increased $10.3 million) and higher facilities and related costs ($1.9 million), offset partially by lower professional services ($4.0 million).

Gains, losses, and other items, net represents restructuring costs and other adjustments.

Gains, losses and other items, net was $1.5 million for fiscal 2022, a decrease of $1.2 million, or 45.5%, compared to fiscal 2021. The current year amount includes $1.0 million related to the early termination of a data provider arrangement. The prior year amount includes $1.7 million in severance, a lease settlement of $1.0 million, and acquisition related costs of $0.9 million offset partially by the Redwood City location reserve adjustment of $0.9 million.

Loss from Operations and Operating Margin

Loss from operations was $65.5 million for fiscal 2022 compared to $120.5 million for fiscal 2021. Operating margin was a negative 12.4% for fiscal 2022 compared to a negative 27.2% for fiscal 2021. The improvement was primarily due to increased gross profit of $82.2 million from an increase in revenues and relatively flat cost of revenue, offset partially by increased operating expenses as previously described.

Other Income (Expense) and Income Taxes

Total other income was $30.5 million for fiscal 2022 compared to other expense of $0.3 million for fiscal 2021. The current year amount includes a $30.2 million gain related to a $31.2 million cash distribution received from a retained profits interest associated with the July 2015 disposition of our former IT outsourcing business. Excluding this gain, other income for both periods primarily consists of interest income from invested cash balances and net foreign exchange transaction gains and losses.

Income tax benefit was $1.2 million on a pretax loss of $35.1 million for fiscal 2022, resulting in a 4% effective tax rate. This compares to a prior year income tax benefit of $30.5 million on a pretax loss of $120.8 million, or a 25% effective tax rate. During the twelve months ended March 31, 2022, the Company released $2.6 million in tax contingency reserves as a result of the expiration of statutes of limitation. Due to the enactment of the CARES Act on March 27, 2020 and its loss carryback provisions, in fiscal 2021 the Company was able to benefit from its losses.

F-13

Capital Resources and Liquidity

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are primarily located in the United States.  At March 31, 2022, approximately $10.3 million of the total cash balance of $600.2 million, or approximately 1.7%, was located outside of the United States. The Company has no current plans to repatriate this cash to the United States.

Net accounts receivable balances were $148.3 million at March 31, 2022, an increase of $34.1 million, compared to $114.3 million at March 31, 2021. Days sales outstanding ("DSO"), a measurement of the time it takes to collect receivables, were 94 days at March 31, 2022, compared to 86 days at March 31, 2021. DSO can fluctuate due to the timing and nature of contracts that lead to up-front billings related to deferred revenue on services not yet performed, and Marketplace and other contracts, which are billed on a gross basis, recognized on a net basis, but for which the amount that is due to data providers is not reflected as an offset to accounts receivable. Compared to March 31, 2021, DSO at March 31, 2022 was negatively impacted by approximately 4 days by the increased impact of Data Marketplace gross accounts receivable. All customer accounts are actively managed, and no losses in excess of amounts reserved are currently expected.

Working capital at March 31, 2022 totaled $631.3 million, a $29.2 million decrease when compared to $660.5 million at March 31, 2021.

For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 modifies IRC Section 174 by eliminating the option to deduct research and development expenditures currently and requires taxpayers to capitalize and amortize them over five years for research performed in the U.S. and 15 years for research performed outside the U.S. Although Congress is considering legislation that would repeal or defer the capitalization and amortization requirement, it is not certain that this provision will be repealed or otherwise modified. If the requirement is not modified, it will increase our cash taxes and reduce cash flows in fiscal 2023.

Management believes that the Company's existing available cash will be sufficient to meet the Company's working capital and capital expenditure requirements for the foreseeable future. However, in light of the current global COVID-19 pandemic, our liquidity position may change due to the inability to collect from our customers, inability to raise new capital via issuance of equity or debt, and disruption in completing repayments or disbursements to our creditors. We have historically taken and may continue to take advantage of opportunities to generate additional liquidity through capital market transactions. The continued impact of COVID-19 has caused significant disruptions to the global financial markets, which could increase the cost of capital and adversely impact our ability to raise additional capital, which could negatively affect our liquidity in the future. The amount, nature, and timing of any capital market transactions will depend on our operating performance and other circumstances; our then-current commitments and obligations; the amount, nature, and timing of our capital requirements; and overall market conditions. If we are unable to raise funds as and when we need them, we may be forced to curtail our operations.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods reported (dollars in thousands):

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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

Operating Activities

Our cash flows from operating activities are primarily influenced by growth in our operations, increases or decreases in collections from our clients and related payments to our suppliers. The timing of cash receipts from clients and payments to suppliers can significantly impact our cash flows from operating activities. Our collection and payment cycles can vary from period to period.

F-14

In fiscal 2022, net cash provided by operating activities of $78.1 million resulted primarily from net loss adjusted for non-cash items of $50.3 million and net cash provided by operating assets and liabilities of $27.8 million. The net favorable change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily related to favorable changes in income taxes of $34.0 million primarily related to a $32.0 million IRS refund related to fiscal 2020, other assets of $26.9 million, and accounts payable and other liabilities of $8.9 million, offset partially by unfavorable changes in accounts receivable of $38.6 million and deferred commissions of $8.0 million. The change in other assets was impacted by fiscal 2021 year-end prepayments of expenses to take advantage of cash tax savings opportunities. The change in accounts payable and other liabilities is primarily due to the payment of annual incentive compensation, and the timing of payments to suppliers. The change in accounts receivable is primarily due to revenue growth and the timing of cash receipts from clients.

In fiscal 2021, net cash used in operating activities of $20.6 million resulted primarily from net earnings adjusted for non-cash items of $51.1 million offset by cash used by operating assets and liabilities of $71.6 million. The net unfavorable change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily related to unfavorable changes in income taxes of $26.2 million, accounts receivable of $24.8 million, and other assets of $18.8 million, partially offset by favorable changes in deferred revenue of $4.9 million. The change in income taxes is primarily due to an increase in the income taxes receivable account for expected refunds related to our fiscal 2021 federal income tax return. The change in accounts receivable is primarily due to revenue growth and the timing of cash receipts from clients. The change in other assets was impacted by fiscal 2021 year-end prepayments of expenses to take advantage of cash tax savings opportunities.

Investing Activities

Our primary investing activities have consisted of capital expenditures in support of our expanding headcount as a result of our growth and acquisitions. Capital expenditures may vary from period to period due to the timing of the expansion of our operations, the addition of new headcount, new facilities and acquisitions.

In fiscal 2022, net cash provided by investing activities of $7.6 million consisted of a $31.2 million distribution received from a retained profits interest in a previous disposition, offset partially by net cash paid for the final release of the DataFleets escrow of $8.7 million, the Diablo acquisition of $8.4 million, the acquisition of technology assets from Rakam of $2.0 million, and capital expenditures of $4.5 million.

In fiscal 2021, net cash used in investing activities of $87.9 million consisted of net cash paid in acquisitions of $76.0 million (DataFleets $58.3 million, DPM escrow $14.8 million, Acuity $2.9 million), investments in certificates of deposit of $7.5 million, other strategic investments of $2.2 million, and capital expenditures of $2.2 million.

Financing Activities

Our financing activities have consisted of acquisition of treasury stock, proceeds from our equity compensation plans, and shares repurchased for tax withholdings upon vesting of stock-based awards.

In fiscal 2022, net cash used in financing activities was $67.0 million, consisting of the acquisition of treasury shares pursuant to the board of directors' approved stock repurchase plan of $58.6 million (1.3 million shares), and $14.6 million for shares repurchased for tax withholdings upon vesting of stock-based awards. These uses of cash were partially offset by proceeds of $6.3 million from the sale of common stock from our equity compensation plans.

In fiscal 2021, net cash used in financing activities was $43.5 million, consisting of the acquisition of treasury shares pursuant to the board of directors' approved stock repurchase plan of $42.3 million (1.3 million shares), and $9.9 million for shares repurchased for tax withholdings upon vesting of stock-based awards. These uses of cash were partially offset by proceeds of $8.7 million from the sale of common stock from our equity compensation plans.

F-15

Common Stock Repurchase Program

Under the modified common stock repurchase program, the Company may purchase up to $1.0 billion of its common stock through the period ending December 31, 2022. During fiscal 2022, the Company repurchased 1.3 million shares of its common stock for $58.6 million under the stock repurchase program. Through March 31, 2022, the Company had repurchased a total of 29.6 million shares of its stock for $732.2 million under the stock repurchase program, leaving remaining capacity of $267.8 million.

Contractual Commitments

The following tables present the Company’s contractual cash obligations and purchase commitments at March 31, 2022.  Operating leases primarily consist of our various office facilities. Purchase commitments primarily include contractual commitments for the purchase of data, hosting services, software-as-a-service arrangements and leasehold improvements. The tables do not include the future payment of liabilities related to uncertain tax positions of $24.4 million as the Company is not able to predict the periods in which the payments will be made.

[[GREPCENT_TABLE]]
[["","","For the years ending March 31,"],["","","2023","","2024","","2025","","2026","","2027","","","","Total"],["Operating leases","","$","9,308","","","$","11,079","","","$","9,700","","","$","10,260","","","$","9,231","","","","","$","69,188"]]
[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

Future minimum payments as of March 31, 2022 related to restructuring plans as a result of the Company's exit from certain leased office facilities are (dollars in thousands): Fiscal 2023: $2,663; Fiscal 2024: $2,698; Fiscal 2025: $2,698; and Fiscal 2026: $1,799.

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[[/GREPCENT_TABLE]]

While the Company does not have any other material contractual commitments for capital expenditures, certain levels of investments in facilities and computer equipment continue to be necessary to support the growth of the business. 

For a description of certain risks that could have an impact on results of operations or financial condition, including liquidity and capital resources, see “Risk Factors” contained in Part I, Item 1A, of this Annual Report.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For information on recent accounting pronouncements, see “Accounting Pronouncements Adopted During the Current Year" and “Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted” under Note 1, “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements accompanying this report.

F-16