Name: IZEA Worldwide, Inc. Q4 2024 Earnings Call
Start: 2025-03-27T21:01:00.000Z

Executive Summary

Q4 2024 revenue rose 23.7% year over year to $11.0M, beating Wall Street consensus of $10.5M; Managed Services revenue grew 24.0% to $10.9M and bookings surged 52.8% to $11.7M, signaling robust demand . Revenue beat consensus by ~$0.5M, a positive surprise.*
EPS was a loss of $0.27, wider than the consensus loss of $0.10, driven by higher cost of revenue (62.2% vs 53.1% LY) and one-time charges; Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $1.48M (13% of revenue) . EPS missed consensus materially.*
Strategic actions included divesting Hoozu (non-cash $1.9M loss in Q4), targeted workforce reductions (32 FTEs; ~$5.1M annualized savings), and re-focusing on the Americas to reduce geopolitical/tariff/currency risk .
Backlog stood at $14.2M and management expects a significant portion to convert in H1 2025; cash and investments were $51.1M with no debt, providing flexibility to execute growth and repurchases under the $10M buyback plan .
Stock reaction catalysts: revenue beat and strong bookings/backlog vs cost/margin pressure and absence of quantitative guidance; buyback execution and cost actions support improving cash burn trajectory .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

Demand strengthened: Managed Services bookings +52.8% to $11.7M and revenue +24.0% to $10.9M; total revenue +23.7% to $11.0M, indicating momentum into 2025 .
Strategic reset and cost focus: “We took swift action in Q4 to fortify, simplify and focus our operations… accelerating our path to profitability” — CEO Patrick Venetucci .
New business and execution wins: Q4 wins included Nestlé, Academy Sports, NHTSA, Navy Federal; work for Warner Bros.’ Superman, Vital Proteins, and Danone surpassed performance goals .

Profitability pressure: Cost of revenue rose to 62.2% (from 53.1% LY) and Adjusted EBITDA loss widened vs expectations; net loss was $4.6M including $2.7M one-time charges .
One-time charges and divestiture: Non-cash loss on Hoozu ($1.9M) and severance/contract cancellations ($1.3M) weighed on Q4 results .
No quantitative guidance: Management did not provide explicit revenue/EBITDA/EPS guidance ranges; estimate anchoring remains external .

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$9.094	$8.832	$11.003
EPS ($USD)	$(0.13)	$(0.52)	$(0.27)
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$(1.560)	$(2.834)	$(1.480)
Cost of Revenue (% of revenue)	56.9%	59.0%	62.2%
Total Costs & Expenses ($USD Millions)	$11.983	$18.186	$14.181
Net Loss ($USD Millions)	$(2.195)	$(8.768)	$(4.623)
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	(17.2)%	(32)%	(13)%

Segment revenue breakdown:

Segment	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Managed Services Revenue ($USD)	$8,850,463	$8,625,924	$10,885,094
SaaS Services Revenue ($USD)	$243,353	$205,870	$117,423
Total Revenue ($USD)	$9,093,816	$8,831,794	$11,002,517

KPIs:

KPI	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Managed Services Bookings ($USD Millions)	$10.3	$7.9	$11.7
Managed Services Backlog ($USD Millions)	$15.6	$14.6	$14.2
Cash, Cash Equivalents & Investments ($USD Millions)	$56.5	$54.4	$51.1
Shares Repurchased (Quarter)	—	51,503 (as of Nov. 11)	199,011 in Q4

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue	FY/Q1-Q2 2025	None provided	None provided	Maintained: No formal quantitative guidance
Adjusted EBITDA	FY/Q1-Q2 2025	None provided	None provided	Maintained: No formal quantitative guidance
Backlog Conversion	H1 2025	N/A	“Significant portion… in first half of 2025”	Informal outlook improved
Buyback	Through May 15, 2025	$10M authorization; plan adopted Sep 2024	$1.0M purchased through Mar 25, 2025	Executing plan

Topic	Q2 2024 (Previous Mentions)	Q3 2024 (Previous Mentions)	Q4 2024 (Current Period)	Trend
AI/technology initiatives	Unveiled IZZY; tech enablement focus; record SaaS customers	Launched IZZY; awards for Flex and campaigns	SaaS customers actively using AI tools; product simplification and campaign efficiency enhancements	Continued execution
Go-to-market & strategic focus	Emphasis on organic growth and acquisitions; efficiency via tech	New CEO; board changes; buyback increased; strategic workshops	“Fortify, simplify, focus”; America-first, reduce intl risk; workforce reductions	Strategy reset accelerates
Bookings/backlog	Bookings $10.3M; backlog $15.6M	Bookings $7.9M; backlog $14.6M	Bookings $11.7M; backlog $14.2M; significant H1 2025 conversion expected	Demand improving
International exposure	Acquisitions (26 Talent, Reiman; Australia)	Hoozu contribution noted	Divested Hoozu; serve intl from NA; limited disruption expected	De-risking
Capital allocation	Announced $5M buyback program	Buyback increased to $10M; 10b5-1 adopted	199k shares in Q4; $1.0M purchased through Mar 25	Active execution

“We took swift action in Q4 to fortify, simplify and focus our operations. The changes that we made to our cost structure, go-to-market model and technologies are accelerating our path to profitability.” — CEO Patrick Venetucci .
“We eliminated 32 full-time positions… representing $3.9M in annualized fully loaded costs… reduced contract labor… $1.2M in annualized savings.” — CFO Peter Biere .
“Geographically, we are focusing on America first and reducing our international exposure to insulate our business from geopolitical risks, tariff risks and currency risks.” — CEO Patrick Venetucci .
“As of December 31, 2024, we had $51.1M in cash and investments… we do not have any debt… allowing us to execute on organic growth and acquisitions.” — CFO Peter Biere .

The company opened the line for Q&A, but no substantive analyst questions or clarifications were captured in the available transcript .

Metric	Consensus (Q4 2024)	Actual (Q4 2024)	Surprise
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$10.5*	$11.0025	+$0.50M (beat)
Primary EPS ($USD)	$(0.10)*	$(0.27)	$(0.17) (miss)
EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$(1.025)*	$(2.286)*	$(1.26) (miss)

Values retrieved from S&P Global.*

Implications:

Strong top-line beat driven by Managed Services demand and bookings; however, margin compression (higher delivery mix costs) and one-time charges drove a sizable EPS miss vs consensus .

Demand momentum: Bookings +52.8% and revenue +23.7% y/y underpin improving fundamentals; backlog suggests revenue conversion in H1 2025 .
Margin watch: Cost of revenue at 62.2% and Adjusted EBITDA margin at (13)% highlight delivery mix and cost pressures; monitor effects of workforce reductions and product simplification on margins .
Strategic de-risking: Hoozu divestiture and America-first focus should reduce geopolitical/tariff/currency risks and cash burn, with limited expected top-line disruption .
Capital allocation: Ongoing buyback execution ($1.0M purchased through Mar 25, 2025) alongside $51.1M cash and no debt provides downside support and optionality .
Near-term trading: Expect stock to react to revenue beat and bookings strength versus EPS miss; any updates on backlog conversion timing, cost savings realization, and buyback pace are key catalysts .
Medium-term thesis: If cost actions and strategic focus translate into sustained margin improvement while bookings/backlog remain strong, path to improved EBITDA in 2025 is credible; absence of guidance requires continued reliance on bookings/backlog disclosures .
Monitor execution: Track Managed Services mix/margins, SaaS traction with AI tools, and additional portfolio moves or acquisitions funded by cash on hand .