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CEO Don Patrick explained that the Owned & Operated decline was driven by a narrowed and more volatile media supply on biddable platforms following the FTC settlement, which impacted the company's ability to buy media at acceptable margins. Regarding the Rebuy partnership, he stated that while it's still in its early stages, progress is ahead of schedule on the product and operational fronts, with good momentum in onboarding merchants and significant upside potential for 2025 and 2026.

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Executive Donald Patrick explained that the Rebuy partnership is a major strategic milestone providing access to the Shopify ecosystem, with its financial contribution being upside to current forecasts. He stated that CMS growth acceleration depends on acquiring new commerce partners and leveraging the platform's operating leverage. Regarding the O&O segment, Patrick noted that supply challenges stem from FTC requirements and that the company is exploring new media channels, expecting stabilization later in 2025 while still forecasting a near-term decline.

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Co-Founder & Executive Chairman Chris Hulls explained that the operational playbook will not change, as the succession was planned long-term. He highlighted that CEO Lauren Antonoff has already accelerated the company's execution capabilities and that his focus will remain on the free user experience and long-term vision, with no change in strategy. Lauren Antonoff concurred with his assessment.

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COO Chris Vanderhook identified AI Bidding as a highly attractive feature, noting its ability to deliver up to 46% in media cost savings, which resonates with large brands. CFO Larry Madden clarified that the lost client's impact would be minimal beyond Q3, projecting a headwind of less than 100 basis points in Q1 2026 due to the client's heavy seasonal spending in the summer.

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COO Chris Vanderhook and CFO Larry Madden noted that Viant under-indexes in the Automotive and tariff-affected Retail verticals, limiting risk, while the Public Sector remains a steady growth driver. Regarding Direct Access, Chris Vanderhook explained that Viant does not charge a fee for the service, passing savings to clients to drive adoption and platform spend. Expansion focuses on deepening integrations like Household ID and IRIS_ID with major partners like Disney and Paramount.

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COO Chris Vanderhook clarified that while the acquisition will accelerate the adoption of Household ID and IRIS ID, the broader strategic goal is to establish Lockr as a utility for the entire open internet. He emphasized that helping publishers easily use their first-party data is key to enabling the open internet to successfully compete against walled gardens.

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Co-Founder and CEO Matt Meeker attributed the strong subscriber acquisition to successful ad experimentation and a strategic focus on higher-quality customers, evidenced by a significant mix shift to the premium Super Chewer product. For diversification, Meeker reiterated the goal for the Commerce segment to exceed 30% of total revenue, projected Bark Air to contribute 2-3% of revenue for the year, and highlighted the upcoming 'Bark in the Belly' consumables line as a key driver for both product and channel diversification.

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CFO Zahir Ibrahim explained that BARK has been exploring alternative manufacturing geographies and has the flexibility to move all toy production out of China by the end of the fiscal year. Co-Founder and CEO Matt Meeker added that the Shopify migration is largely complete, enabling more nimble testing and experimentation, and that platform functionality is now at or ahead of its previous state.

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Matt Meeker, Co-Founder and CEO, stated that the DTC segment is expected to stabilize in fiscal year 2026, with overall company growth driven by the Commerce segment and BARK Air. Regarding BARK Air, he noted it is too early to deem it a material driver despite its positive gross margin and $2 million in quarterly revenue. Meeker emphasized the company's commitment to an asset-light model, confirming there are no plans to purchase aircraft.

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Co-Founder and CEO Matt Meeker explained that while BARK is approaching an inflection point for DTC growth, performance is being cautiously managed due to the holiday season and a major platform transition to Shopify. He noted a strategic shift from promotional, 'hollow-calorie' customer acquisition to long-term brand building, which will take time. Regarding tariffs, Meeker stated that mitigation plans are in place, the consumables business is unaffected as it's domestically sourced, and the company's healthy gross margin provides a buffer to absorb potential impacts.

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Co-Founder & CEO Steve Yi explained that the FTC settlement establishes a new baseline for the under-65 business, which they believe has long-term growth potential. He also expressed strong optimism for P&C carrier budgets, stating that the industry's underlying profitability remains robust and that the potential impact of automotive tariffs appears increasingly manageable.

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CEO Steve Yi explained that the settlement establishes a new baseline for the under-65 business, where they still see long-term opportunity. He also expressed strong optimism for the P&C vertical, stating that robust carrier profitability and the view that automotive tariffs are manageable should sustain healthy advertising investments.

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Executive Steven Yi expressed continued optimism for sustained growth in the auto insurance market, citing strong underlying carrier profitability and a broadening recovery. While acknowledging potential headwinds from auto tariffs, he stated the industry is well-positioned to manage the impact. Executive Patrick Thompson added that while the long-term trend is toward the open exchange, the P&C vertical's higher private marketplace mix could cause a near-term shift toward private.

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CFO Erica Gessert attributed the take rate increase to successful pricing experiments, 19% YoY growth in Connects revenue, and 13% growth in Freelancer Plus subscriptions. CEO Hayden Brown highlighted that AI features and strong demand in AI work categories are driving GSV. On capital allocation, Gessert emphasized a balanced approach, noting the ability to expand margins, execute high-ROI M&A, and return capital, citing the $170 million in recent buybacks.

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CFO Erica Gessert attributed the cautious 2025 guidance to cumulative macro headwinds and the 6-to-9-month lag effect on the business, noting top-of-funnel dynamics have not changed. CEO Hayden Brown expressed excitement about AI, stating the platform benefits from these trends as it flexibly adapts to new work demands, evidenced by the 60% YoY growth in AI-related GSV in 2024. Brown highlighted that AI skills are emerging across all categories and Upwork's own AI tool, Uma, is enhancing the platform.

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CFO Erica Gessert confirmed that high-ROI performance marketing investments will continue, with cost savings focused on 'nonworking' marketing spend. She noted that while GSV per client increased across all segments, smaller businesses continued to show more relative strength in volume, a consistent trend that informs the company's cautious outlook.

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CEO Mark Zagorski stated that adding more granular categories on Meta has improved the solution and driven customer engagement. He confirmed Meta has been a collaborative partner. Regarding pricing, Zagorski noted DV is increasingly open to dynamic models like percent-of-media, as it benefits them in both high-CPM environments like CTV and low-CPM emerging markets. He cited the Scibids product as a successful test case for this model.

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CEO Mark Zagorski attributed the Q1 beat to faster-than-expected scaling from new enterprise clients and strong product adoption from existing customers, particularly for ABS and Scibids. He described a convergence of brand and performance advertising, where tools like Scibids for optimization and Rockerbox for attribution are positioning DV to capture budgets from advertisers focused on measurable results.

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CEO Mark Zagorski identified the advertiser as a CPG customer facing specific commodity cost pressures that led to broad marketing cuts, stating it is not a contagion risk as the CPG vertical is otherwise growing. He added that while social activation adoption will be tempered in 2025, it should create a flywheel effect, as measurement is a prerequisite for activation on platforms like Meta.

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CEO Mark Zagorski explained that while the ultimate scale on platforms like Meta is massive, the initial adoption and integration period is longer than in the open web, which is more seamless. He noted the powerful 'virtuous cycle' of measurement feeding activation takes longer to initiate on social. He also announced plans for a similar activation solution on TikTok in early 2025, which would provide pre-bid and post-bid coverage across DV's top three social platforms.

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CFO Lawrence Fey noted that while the company is always looking, alternative channels like paid social are a fraction of the size of paid search, making retention and repeat business a more likely near-term focus. CEO Stan Chia explained that the disproportionate decline in the private label business was due to a change made by one of its largest partners, which resulted in substantially smaller volume from that specific source.

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CFO Larry Fey acknowledged the market share loss in Q1, primarily from performance marketing, and suggested a similar trajectory for Q2, making a return to growth this year unlikely. Regarding margins, Fey described the situation as a fluid exercise of balancing marketing spend, profitability, and volume, stating they are actively managing the trade-offs but did not commit to a specific margin floor.

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CEO Stan Chia explained that after building the international platform, the focus is on ramping up supply from both existing and new local sellers to fuel consumer growth. Regarding the FTC rule, Chia stated that Vivid Seats is supportive of the pro-consumer, transparency-oriented measure and is fully prepared for its implementation, believing a level playing field is beneficial.

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CEO Stanley Chia stated the company remains bullish on 2025 due to secular trends and an expected return of stadium tours. CFO Lawrence Fey added that the guidance reflects the continuation of Q3's concert softness into Q4 and acknowledges that while there are positive signs for the 2025 calendar, not enough major tours have been tangibly announced to fully factor in a robust recovery yet.

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CFO Yemi Okupe detailed that Q2 faced headwinds from off-boarding commercially available GLP-1 subscribers, while the core business saw a drag from a strategic shift away from on-demand sexual health. He highlighted that dermatology, oral weight loss, and daily sexual health offerings are growing over 55% YoY. CEO Andrew Dudum stated the Canadian launch will be strictly regulated, with no cross-border shipments between the U.S. and Canada.

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CEO Andrew Dudum explained the long-term strategy involves transitioning the sexual health business from a low-retention, on-demand model to a higher-retention daily treatment model offering multi-action benefits. CFO Yemi Okupe added that daily solution users have grown from under 10% to nearly 40% of the sexual health base, demonstrating significantly stronger retention, a trend the company will continue to foster.

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CEO Andrew Dudum explained that the platform assesses a patient's prior GLP-1 experiences, side effect sensitivities, and health goals to determine clinical necessity for personalization, aided by the company's MedMatch technology. He anticipates that once the shortage officially ends, the market for compounded semaglutide will shrink, with Hims & Hers focusing on providing personalized dosages where there is a documented clinical need, as per regulations.

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CEO Andrew Dudum addressed the question, highlighting that Hims & Hers sees 70% adherence at 12 weeks versus 40% in traditional settings. He attributed this to the platform's ability to manage common side effects like nausea and muscle loss through frequent provider communication, AI-powered tools like MedMatch, and personalized dosing. CFO Yemi Okupe added that the average duration for these consumers is currently around five months, driven by the platform's transparency and supportive care model.

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CEO Jayme Mendal responded that the carrier landscape is very healthy, with dialogue centered on growth, and he does not anticipate budget constraints due to tariffs. Regarding AI search, Mendal explained that while the insurance industry may adapt more slowly, EverQuote is well-positioned to engage with LLM-based traffic through its own developing AI conversational workflows.

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Executive Jayme Mendal stated that the outlook for carrier profitability is favorable, with many carriers overshooting targets, which provides a cushion against potential tariff impacts. Executive Joseph Sanborn added that while growth is expected to moderate in the second half due to tougher comps, carriers remain focused on growth and are in a much healthier position to absorb cost inflation than in 2022. Regarding the FCC rule, Sanborn confirmed the industry largely reverted to its prior state after the rule was vacated, though EverQuote retained some beneficial quality-control mechanisms it had developed.

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Founder & CEO Shawn Nelson and President & COO Mary Fox explained that the Best Buy partnership was valuable for early growth but is no longer necessary given Lovesac's expanded showroom footprint, with 80% of Best Buy locations now near a Lovesac store. They affirmed a commitment to the Costco partnership, planning a 15% increase in roadshows. On China, Shawn Nelson stated the tariff situation makes manufacturing there 'not viable' and confirmed they have a clear path to move production to other geographies, aligning with a long-term strategy to manufacture closer to the consumer.

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CFO Keith Siegner explained the primary driver for the revised Q4 guidance is the challenging macro category, which has impacted quote conversion, rather than internal factors. CEO Shawn Nelson added that while quote volume is strong, consumer caution persists. Regarding marketing, President & COO Mary Fox stated the company is hiring its first Chief Marketing Officer and plans a major campaign for the new recliner next year, noting its successful soft launch occurred without significant media support.

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CFO Keith Siegner stated that the guidance was tightened due to pragmatic caution regarding macro uncertainty, the upcoming election, and intensified competitor promotions. President and COO Mary Fox reaffirmed the long-term target of over 400 showrooms, highlighting their continued 'halo effect' on digital sales and their role in driving brand awareness and traffic for new product launches.

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Mary Fox, President and COO, explained that the company had proactively built up inventory across all product lines and feels well-positioned. She noted that teams are actively working to leverage their redundant supply chain, focusing on dominant sourcing countries like Malaysia and Vietnam. Fox also stated that consumer performance has been stable quarter-to-date, with a strong February, and no significant changes in behavior to report.

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The full-year guidance is based on caution and assumes CTV will reach ~40% of programmatic revenue, without factoring in potential gains from the Google case. The live sports strategy focuses on leveraging partnerships to meet strong advertiser demand, with plans for international expansion via the VIDAA relationship.

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CFO Sagi Niri clarified the guidance assumes CTV will constitute about 40% of programmatic revenue for the year, while noting the company remains cautious due to market uncertainty. CEO Ofer Druker added that live sports is a growing area of demand, and Nexxen is well-positioned to serve it through existing partnerships, with plans to expand internationally via its VIDAA/Hisense relationship.

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CFO Sagi Niri clarified that the guidance assumes CTV will constitute about 40% of programmatic revenue but does not factor in any potential upside from the Google antitrust verdict. CEO Ofer Druker addressed the live sports question, highlighting its growing importance and Nexxen's ability to meet advertiser demand through extensive partnerships, with plans to expand internationally via its relationship with VIDAA and Hisense.

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Co-President and CBO Alex Norström explained that while the company analyzes such models, the dynamics in music are different from video streaming. He stated that internal analysis using a 'value map' suggests that a lesser-featured, lower-priced SKU would not currently drive significant incremental growth to the overall model, as users expect the core premium functionality. However, he did not rule it out for the future, noting geographical considerations could play a role.

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Co-President & CPTO Gustav Söderström clarified that the current offering of an experience without dynamic ad interruptions is specifically for video podcasts, where a new monetization payout was created for creators. He stated that due to different technical ad stacks, there are 'no plans for audio at the moment.'

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CEO Josh Silverman stated that the impact depends on the specifics of any new regulations. He noted that Etsy has vastly less dependence on products from China than competitors, suggesting Etsy could be a net beneficiary of China-focused tariffs. He explained that about 25% of U.S. purchase activity involves imports, primarily from Europe, so broad European tariffs could create friction. However, he emphasized the platform's overall resilience due to its distributed, cottage-industry seller base.

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CEO Josh Silverman explained that success is measured by absolute GMS from gifting, which grew faster than the overall marketplace in Q3. He highlighted product features like the gift finder and gift teaser. Debra Wasser and Rachel Glaser clarified that they track gifting GMS site-wide, not just within the Gift Mode funnel.

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CFO Fawwad Qureshi stated that while formal 2025 guidance is pending, key factors include pricing, retention stability, and expense management. CEO Margi Tooth added that increased acquisition spending will focus on digital channels to drive education and will build incrementally across existing lead generation and conversion funnels rather than targeting new, specific channels.

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CEO Matt Baer clarified that the 8-item Fix option has demonstrated higher keep rates and better order economics, making it a profitable feature. CFO David Aufderhaar noted that FY25 will benefit from the full-year impact of FY24 cost savings. For FY26, he stated the approach will remain methodical, balancing targeted investments with the natural operating leverage that will occur upon returning to growth.

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CEO Matt Baer attributed the higher client spend to improved inventory newness, the new 'flex Fix' option allowing up to 8 items, and an optimized pricing architecture. He also highlighted increased client engagement via the Freestyle channel. CFO David Aufderhaar added that Q1 Fix AOV rose 6% year-over-year, driven by an early shift to fall/winter products and a faster-than-expected ramp of the flex Fix feature, which supports the raised full-year guidance.

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CEO Niraj Shah explained that a higher promotional cadence is part of the playbook for recessionary environments and that the July event was successful. CFO Kate Gulliver highlighted eight consecutive quarters of SOTG&A reduction, stating this cost discipline provides the flexibility to make strategic investments in areas like price while hitting profitability targets.

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