Nitin Bansal

Nitin Bansal inquired about any changes in budget allocation or renewal patterns in Q4 2025 and quarter-to-date that could serve as leading indicators for 2026 trends. He also asked about key strategic elements still needed for full execution of the 2026 plan, particularly those within Ibotta's control.

Answer

Bryan Leach, Founder and CEO, confirmed positive leading indicators from increased pilots, expanded campaigns, and quick adoption for sales gap closure. For 2026, he highlighted the need to lead thought leadership to shift CPGs from annual budgeting to outcomes-driven resource allocation, and to standardize and automate systems for scalable Live Lift availability across 2,000+ brands.

Nitin Bansal inquired about any changes in budget allocation or renewal patterns observed in Q4 2025 and quarter-to-date that could serve as leading indicators for trends throughout 2026. He also asked about the key strategic elements Ibotta still needs to implement in 2026 to fully execute its plan, focusing on controllable aspects.

Answer

Bryan Leach, Founder and CEO, confirmed that increased testing and piloting, with most companies expanding or adding campaigns, are positive leading indicators, contributing to raised Q1 guidance. He noted instances of additional budget allocation and rapid campaign setup for sales gap closure. For 2026, Mr. Leach highlighted the need to continue leading thought leadership to shift the CPG industry from century-old annual planning to outcomes-driven, agile resource allocation. He also stressed the importance of standardizing and automating Ibotta's systems to scale LiveLift's availability beyond the current small number of brands.

Nitin Bansal with Bank of America questioned Yelp's confidence in its product innovation pace for AI SaaS offerings, particularly with Hatch, to keep up with leading players and achieve targeted adoption levels. He also asked for Yelp's vision on the evolution of its revenue mix between recurring subscription and variable ad revenue over the next five years, and the anticipated impact on top-line growth and margin profile.

Answer

Jed Nachman, COO of Yelp, expressed confidence by emphasizing Hatch's laser focus on AI lead management for service pros, its understanding of customers and ecosystem, and key partnerships, which he believes is hard for larger, more diversified companies to replicate. He noted Hatch's 70% year-over-year growth and Yelp's intention to accelerate this further with its resources and distribution. David Schwarzbach, CFO of Yelp, stated that Yelp sees an opportunity to diversify its revenue mix by driving "other revenue" (licensing, transaction, subscription), especially through SaaS offerings. He expects SaaS margins to converge with or surpass ad revenue margins over time, noting that "other revenue" already has a better aggregate margin profile.

Nitin Bansal questioned Yelp's confidence in its product innovation keeping pace with leading AI SaaS players and achieving targeted adoption levels for Hatch, and also inquired about the projected revenue mix evolution between recurring subscription and variable ad revenue over the next five years, and its impact on growth and margins.

Answer

COO Jed Nachman emphasized Yelp's focus and experience in competing with larger tech players, highlighting Hatch's laser-focus on AI lead management for service pros as a key differentiator. CFO David Schwarzbach outlined the strategy to diversify revenue by growing 'other revenue' (licensing, transaction, subscription), noting its already superior aggregate margin profile compared to advertising, with an expectation for SaaS margins to converge or exceed ad revenue margins over time.

Nitin Bansal asked for an update on user engagement trends across mobile and web, any notable changes in platform usage during Q1, and details on the monetization trends and performance of the recently acquired RepairPal.

Answer

CEO Jeremy Stoppelman acknowledged macro pressure on engagement in the RR&O categories but highlighted strength in Services, which saw 14% revenue growth and 15% organic growth in Request-A-Quote projects. Regarding RepairPal, he stated the integration is proceeding smoothly and that the company is pleased with the acquisition. He identified 'low-hanging fruit,' such as integrating RepairPal's scheduling functionality directly onto Yelp business pages, which is expected to drive positive results in the coming months.

Nitin Bansal questioned the expected growth trajectory and profitability of the recently acquired RepairPal business and its impact on 2025 results. He also asked if Google's AI-powered search overviews were affecting Yelp's traffic.

Answer

CEO Jeremy Stoppelman explained the immediate focus for RepairPal is on integration and leveraging synergies to accelerate growth, with performance expectations baked into the 2025 guide. CFO David Schwarzbach added that RepairPal was acquired at roughly breakeven, and the priority is top-line growth. Regarding Google, Stoppelman stated the company has not seen any material or unusual shifts in web traffic.

Nitin Bansal asked for clarity on the decline in the existing subscriber base, contrasting with the commentary on weak new customer acquisition, and what provides confidence that these trends can improve in the second half.

Answer

CEO Paul Hennessy explained that customer churn has not seen significant movement, but weaker new customer acquisition results in a net decline in total customers. He also attributed the subscriber decline to a product mix shift, where the elimination of the free trial for subscriptions has pivoted customers toward transactional and pack-based products. He affirmed that this is the correct long-term strategy for the business.

Nitin Bansal questioned the drivers behind the decline in the existing subscriber base, contrasting with the focus on weak new customer acquisition, and asked what provides confidence for a second-half improvement.

Answer

CEO Paul Hennessy clarified that customer churn has not significantly changed. He attributed the subscriber decline to a combination of weaker new customer acquisition and a product mix shift away from subscriptions toward transactional packs, a direct result of eliminating the free trial offer, which management believes is the correct long-term strategy.

Nitin Bansal asked about the sources of demand for Shutterstock's data beyond large language models as GenAI applications accelerate, and how the company's go-to-market strategy has evolved. He also inquired about the challenges in scaling the Giphy business, the timeline for its meaningful revenue impact, and the potential for a third-party partnership to expedite monetization.

Answer

CFO Jarrod Yahes explained that visual media is a critical training input for all multimodal models, not just image generators, driving broad demand from new and existing customers. CEO Paul Hennessy stated that Giphy's main challenge is restarting from a 'cold start' but that they are seeing strong interest and rising average order values. While not giving a specific timeline for revenue impact, he confirmed they are investing in the sales team and are actively exploring strategic partnerships to accelerate Giphy's monetization.

Nitin Bansal asked about the sources of demand for Shutterstock's data beyond large language models as GenAI applications accelerate, and how the go-to-market strategy has evolved. He also inquired about the challenges in scaling the Giphy business and whether a partnership with a larger platform could expedite its monetization.

Answer

CFO Jarrod Yahes explained that demand is increasing from both new and existing customers and that visual media is a critical training input for all multimodal models, not just image generators. CEO Paul Hennessy addressed Giphy, stating the main challenge is restarting the business and reaching advertisers, but interest is high. He confirmed that exploring partnerships with larger platforms to expedite monetization is a key part of their strategy, noting they are in discussions with interested parties.