Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.49 EPS

Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.30) by $1.49, FiscalAI reports. Cardlytics had a negative net margin of 46.03% and a negative return on equity of 956.56%. The firm had revenue of $36.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.00 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Cardlytics’ conference call:

• Advertiser momentum improved: active advertisers rose 18% sequentially, new-logo volume increased 59%, and advertiser churn declined 50% by count and 88% by dollar impact.
• Cardlytics reported Q2 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 million, above the high end of its guidance, while adjusted operating expenses fell 31% year over year and contribution margin improved to 57.7%.
• The company cited progress in bank partnerships, local offers, AI-powered campaign tools and purchase intelligence, including expanded card-linked offers for Monzo in the U.K. and early partners responding positively to its Cardlytics Rewards Platform.
• Q2 billings fell 34% year over year to $65.5 million, revenue declined 36% to $36.9 million, and monthly qualified users dropped to 185 million from 224 million due to changes in bank-partner relationships.
• Free cash flow was negative $10.7 million and operating cash flow was negative $8.6 million; the company ended the quarter with $28 million in cash and approximately $20 million available under its credit facility.
• Q3 guidance calls for billings of $61 million-$67 million, revenue of $34 million-$39 million and Adjusted EBITDA between breakeven and $3 million, implying a broadly comparable quarter as management focuses on stabilizing the business before renewed growth.

Cardlytics Stock Performance

Shares of CDLX traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.09. 77,231 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 95,906. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.82 and its 200-day moving average is $7.53. Cardlytics has a fifty-two week low of $3.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.80. The company has a market cap of $23.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.23 and a beta of 0.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cardlytics news, CFO David Thomas Evans purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.50 per share, with a total value of $97,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $174,154.50. This represents a 127.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Amit Gupta sold 9,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.39, for a total transaction of $42,319.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 113,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,801.50. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 18,289 shares of company stock valued at $80,289 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Cardlytics during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardlytics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardlytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Cardlytics during the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardlytics during the third quarter worth about $89,000. 68.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CDLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Lake Street Capital set a $10.00 target price on shares of Cardlytics in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cardlytics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cardlytics in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cardlytics in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.00.

Cardlytics Company Profile

Cardlytics, Inc operates a purchase intelligence and marketing platform that connects advertisers with consumers through bank and credit card transaction data. The company partners with financial institutions to analyze anonymized purchase information, enabling brands to deliver highly targeted offers and rewards directly to customers’ online and mobile banking channels. By leveraging real-time insights into consumer spending habits, Cardlytics helps marketers optimize campaign performance and measure return on ad spend more accurately than traditional digital advertising methods.

At the core of Cardlytics’ offering is its proprietary purchase intelligence engine, which aggregates and anonymizes transaction data from partner banks and credit unions.