Executive Summary

Q4 2024 delivered record results: Revenue $90.05M, Contribution ex-TAC $54.36M, Adjusted EBITDA $17.09M; all exceeded the high end of prior guidance, with year-over-year growth of 40%, 28%, and 31% respectively .
Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.15; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.10, and net income rose 133% YoY to $7.72M .
Management guided Q1 2025 revenue to $65–$68M, CxT $40.5–$42.5M, non-GAAP OpEx $37.25–$38.25M, and Adjusted EBITDA $3.25–$4.25M, noting Q1 seasonality and incremental OpEx from IRIS.TV and Lockr acquisitions .
Catalysts: accelerating CTV and Direct Access momentum (CTV >40% of FY spend, three consecutive record quarters), ViantAI adoption (AI planning, bidding at ~80% of spend), identity scale (Household ID match rate to 95% via TransUnion) and content-level targeting via IRIS_ID; all supporting share gains into 2025 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

“We delivered phenomenal fourth quarter results…revenue and contribution ex-TAC…accelerating to 40% and 28%,” with Adjusted EBITDA up 31% YoY to $17.1M and all metrics ahead of guidance .
CTV led growth: FY CTV ad spend up >40%, over 40% of total spend; Direct Access CTV ad spend up nearly 70% and >50% of CTV mix, with three consecutive record-high CTV quarters .
Identity and addressability strengthened: Household ID availability across ~80% of biddable inventory; TransUnion partnership lifts Household ID match rates to 95% of U.S. adults; IRIS_ID adds content-level targeting .

What Went Wrong

Non-GAAP OpEx increased 26% YoY and 14% QoQ in Q4, partly from IRIS.TV integration; management flagged Q1 OpEx seasonality (CES, company events) and acquisition-driven OpEx tailwinds into 2025 .
Revenue vs Contribution ex-TAC delta persisted due to temporary gross accounting while onboarding larger percent-of-spend customers; management expects normalization as clients move fully self-serve .
Industry headwinds: broader display advertising weakness tied to last-touch attribution and cookies; Viant avoided impact but acknowledged competitive intensity and potential intra-quarter “unforced errors” across peers .

Financial Results

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$65.87	$79.92	$90.05
GAAP Diluted EPS ($USD)	$0.00	$0.09	$0.10
Non-GAAP Diluted EPS ($USD)	$0.08	$0.15	$0.15
Contribution ex-TAC ($USD Millions)	$41.56	$47.35	$54.36
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$9.60	$14.68	$17.09
Adjusted EBITDA as % of CxT	23%	31%	31%
Net Income as % of Gross Profit	5%	18%	18%

Notes: “CxT” = Contribution ex-TAC.

KPIs and Balance Sheet

KPI	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Gross Profit ($USD Millions)	$30.74	$35.32	$42.49
Cash & Cash Equivalents ($USD Millions)	$209.74	$214.63	$205.05
Shares Outstanding (A+B, Millions)	63.36	63.07	63.12
Cash Flow from Operations (Quarter/FY)	$14.0 (Q2)	$17.1 (Q3)	$51.8 (FY)

Result vs Prior Guidance (Q4 2024)

Metric	Prior Guidance (11/12/2024)	Actual Q4 2024	Outcome
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$82–$85	$90.05	Beat (above high end)
Contribution ex-TAC ($USD Millions)	$51–$53	$54.36	Beat (above high end)
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$16–$17	$17.09	Beat (top end)

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue ($USD Millions)	Q1 2025	N/A	$65–$68	Initiated
Contribution ex-TAC ($USD Millions)	Q1 2025	N/A	$40.5–$42.5	Initiated
Non-GAAP Operating Expenses ($USD Millions)	Q1 2025	N/A	$37.25–$38.25	Initiated
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	Q1 2025	N/A	$3.25–$4.25	Initiated

Management also indicated 2025 modeling points: SBC ≈$28M, D&A ≈$20M; expected adjusted EBITDA margin expansion as CxT outgrows OpEx; IRIS.TV and Lockr to add ~600 bps to OpEx growth in 2025 .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Q-2 (Q2 2024)	Q-1 (Q3 2024)	Current (Q4 2024)	Trend
ViantAI (Planning, Bidding, Measurement, Decisioning)	Launched ViantAI; Bid Optimizer 2.0 covering 65% impressions; Measurement in Q4; Decisioning in 2025	Strong adoption; demos, pipeline; wallet share gains; IRIS_ID synergy	AI bidding powers ~80% of spend; AI Planning demos at CES; Measurement in early Q2; Decisioning in 2H25	Rapid adoption, product roadmap advancing
CTV & Direct Access	Record CTV; >40% YoY growth; DA >50% of CTV spend	CTV nearly +50% YoY; third record quarter; video >60% of spend	FY CTV >40% of spend; three consecutive record-high quarters; DA >50% of CTV	Accelerating growth, mix shift to CTV
Identity (Household ID) & Partnerships	Household ID scaled; clean room integrations (GBQ, Snowflake)	Household ID availability and scale emphasized; IRIS_ID complements	TransUnion lifts match rate to 95% adults; ~80% of biddable inventory coverage	Strengthening identity scale and interoperability
Content-level Targeting (IRIS_ID)	Announced IRIS.TV acquisition	Use cases: content taxonomy, contextual, brand suitability; publisher partnerships (Paramount, TCL)	Operational integration; IRIS revenue ~1% in Q4; content-level bidding impact	Building ecosystem, initial contribution modest
Macro/Industry & Political	Cookie deprecation reversal: little impact; display last-touch issues	Political 2–3% of H2 CxT; strong platform spend	Display weakness industry-wide; December strong; political ~3% of Q4 CxT	Viant resilient vs display weakness
SMB go-to-market	ViantAI aims to democratize programmatic beyond walled gardens	Pipeline building; long-tail attraction; automation needed	Focus on DTC/SMBs moving from search/social to CTV via ViantAI	Strategic expansion downstream

Management Commentary

CEO: “Q4 set a new record for spend…revenue and contribution ex-TAC…accelerating to 40% and 28%…Q4 adjusted EBITDA increased 31% YoY to $17.1 million, exceeding the high end of our guidance range” .
COO: “For the full year 2024, direct access CTV ad spend increased nearly 70% and accounted for over 50% of total CTV ad spend on the platform” .
CFO: “Revenue…$90.1 million…40% increase…Sequentially, revenue increased 13%…Contribution ex-TAC…$54.4 million…up 28% YoY…Adjusted EBITDA reached $17.1 million” .
CEO on ViantAI: “AI bidding is utilized to power 80% of ad spend…AI measurement and analysis is expected to launch in early Q2…AI decisioning in the second half of 2025” .
On TransUnion: Household ID match rates to 95% of U.S. adults via TruAudience identity data .

Q&A Highlights

Lockr acquisition rationale: reduces publisher integration friction, accelerates adoption of Household ID and IRIS_ID; positioned as an “industry utility” to help the open internet compete with walled gardens .
IRIS.TV contribution: ~1% of Q4 revenue; integration drove some OpEx increase .
Industry backdrop: Display advertising weakness due to last-touch attribution and cookies; Viant saw strength through December .
Seasonality: Q1 has heavier sales/marketing spend (CES, company conference), impacting EBITDA; revenue outlook remains strong .
Revenue vs CxT delta: temporary gross accounting while onboarding larger percent-of-spend customers; expected to normalize as self-serve ramps .

Estimates Context

S&P Global Wall Street consensus for Q4 2024, Q3 2024, and Q2 2024 was unavailable at the time of query due to data access limits; therefore, comparisons focus on company guidance vs actuals and sequential/YoY performance [GetEstimates error: Daily Request Limit Exceeded].
Implication: Sell-side models likely need to reflect (1) stronger-than-guided Q4 revenue/CxT/EBITDA, (2) Q1 seasonality and acquisition-driven OpEx, and (3) FY 2025 margin expansion as CxT outpaces OpEx per CFO commentary .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Q4 beat on all major metrics vs guidance, driven by CTV and ViantAI adoption; momentum and pipeline suggest continued share gains into 2025 .
CTV is the principal growth engine: FY CTV >40% of spend with three consecutive record-high quarters; Direct Access eliminates middlemen and enhances ROAS, creating a durable competitive moat .
Identity/targeting advantage is widening: Household ID now reaches 95% of U.S. adults via TransUnion; IRIS_ID enables content-level targeting and higher-value bidding, supporting pricing power and performance .
Near-term caution: Q1 OpEx seasonality and acquisition OpEx lift will compress quarterly EBITDA; watch execution on AI Measurement (early Q2) and AI Decisioning (2H25) milestones .
Structural tailwinds: Live sports programmatic monetization and broader migration from search/social budgets to CTV present multi-year TAM expansion for Viant’s DSP .
Model considerations: Temporary gross accounting inflates revenue vs CxT during onboarding; normalize to CxT for core profitability tracking; expect margin expansion as CxT outgrows OpEx in 2025 .
Capital allocation: Strong liquidity ($205M cash, no debt), growing FCF ($34M FY), and ongoing buybacks ($24.3M remaining), providing flexibility to fund AI and identity-driven growth while returning capital .

Appendix: Additional Contextual Disclosures

Q4 2024 full financials and reconciliations (Condensed Statements, Non-GAAP reconciliations) are furnished in the 8‑K and press release .
Recent press releases supporting addressability strategy: IRIS.TV acquisition (Nov 12, 2024) and Lockr acquisition (Mar 3, 2025) .
Disney Advertising collaboration enhances clean room-driven addressability and scale for independent agencies .
Non-GAAP measures definitions and reconciliation methodology described in company releases .

Viant Technology Inc. (DSP)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary