Executive Summary

Q3 2023 GAAP EPS was -$0.49 for Class A; net loss attributable to MDB Capital Holdings was -$3.01M, driven by an unrealized loss of -$0.79M on investment securities and higher general and administrative expenses .
Liquidity strengthened post-IPO: cash and cash equivalents rose to $24.45M and total cash plus restricted cash to $26.45M; investment securities at fair value increased to $4.96M .
Public Ventures received FINRA approval to become a self-clearing broker-dealer and planned to commence operations in November, a strategic catalyst for platform growth .
Management emphasized the milestone IPO and progress building the public venture platform: “The third quarter of 2023 was highlighted by an important milestone…we successfully completed our IPO and began trading on the NASDAQ,” said CEO Christopher Marlett .
Wall Street consensus estimates via S&P Global were unavailable; no guidance was issued for Q4, limiting near-term estimate comparison and recalibration .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

IPO completed, materially boosting liquidity: cash and cash equivalents reached $24.45M; paid-in capital rose to $45.27M .
Strategic progress toward self-clearing operations (FINRA approval; commencement planned for November), positioning MDB to better serve the public venture investor community .
Interest income increased on higher cash balances and U.S. Treasury Bills, contributing $176k in Q3 and $548k YTD .
Quote: “We successfully completed our IPO and began trading on the NASDAQ,” — Christopher Marlett, CEO .

What Went Wrong

Q3 operating performance was weak: total operating income was -$0.78M with a -$0.79M unrealized loss on investment securities; net operating loss widened to -$3.30M YoY .
General and administrative expenses increased to $2.50M (+13.5% YoY), with professional fees surging (audit, tax, consulting) amid preparation for self-clearing and the IPO .
No fee income recognized in Q3, reducing revenue-like contributions versus YTD fee income of $4.23M from earlier 2023 activity .

Financial Results

Income Statement Snapshot – Q3 2023 vs Q3 2022

Metric	Q3 2022	Q3 2023
Unrealized gain (loss) on investment securities ($USD)	$16,072	-$786,906
Other operating income ($USD)	$57,903	$11,502
Total operating income (loss), net ($USD)	$73,975	-$775,404
Total G&A costs ($USD)	$2,198,637	$2,495,715
R&D costs, net of grants ($USD)	$103,633	$27,936
Total operating costs ($USD)	$2,302,270	$2,523,651
Net operating loss ($USD)	-$2,228,295	-$3,299,055
Interest income ($USD)	$0	$176,300
Income taxes ($USD)	$0	$63,559
Net loss ($USD)	-$2,228,295	-$3,186,314
Net loss attributable to MDB ($USD)	-$2,083,580	-$3,008,461

EPS – Q3 2023 vs Q3 2022

Metric	Q3 2022	Q3 2023
Net loss per Class A common share (basic & diluted)	-$0.27	-$0.49
Weighted avg Class A shares	2,628,966	2,828,241
Net loss per Class B common share (basic & diluted)	-$0.27	-$0.32
Weighted avg Class B shares	5,000,000	5,000,000

Balance Sheet Highlights

Metric	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2023
Cash & cash equivalents ($USD)	$4,952,624	$24,445,550
Restricted cash ($USD)	$0	$2,000,000
Investment securities at amortized cost (UST Bills) ($USD)	$16,188,920	$7,495,988
Investment securities at fair value ($USD)	$832,577	$4,964,725
Total assets ($USD)	$25,701,071	$43,462,770
Total liabilities ($USD)	$2,592,063	$4,142,206
Total equity ($USD)	$23,109,008	$39,320,564

Segment Breakdown – Q3 2023

Segment	Key Operating Line Items	Amount ($USD)
Broker Dealer & IP Services	Unrealized loss on investment securities	-$786,906
Broker Dealer & IP Services	Other operating income	$11,502
Broker Dealer & IP Services	Total G&A costs	$1,263,844
Technology Development (Invizyne)	Total operating income	$0
Technology Development (Invizyne)	R&D (net of grants)	$27,936
Other	Total G&A costs	$867,964
Consolidated	Net operating loss	-$3,299,055
Consolidated	Interest income	$176,300
Consolidated	Net loss	-$3,186,314

KPIs and Regulatory Capital

KPI	Value
Public Ventures net capital	$6,037,743
Aggregate indebtedness to net capital ratio	0.20 to 1
Minimum net capital requirement (higher of $250k or 6 2/3% AI)	$250,000; 6 2/3% AI = $79,703

Notes:

Q3 did not include fee income at the consolidated level; nine months YTD fee income totaled $4,233,120 primarily from broker-dealer activities earlier in 2023 .
Unrealized losses in Q3 were predominantly related to stock and warrants received in an investment banking transaction in Q2 2023; nine-month figures include unrealized gains from these warrants .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue	FY/Q4 outlook	Not provided	Not provided	Maintained: no formal guidance
Margins/OpEx/Tax	FY/Q4 outlook	Not provided	Not provided	Maintained: no formal guidance
Dividends	Ongoing	None	None	Maintained

Management did not issue quantitative guidance ranges in the Q3 press release or 8-K; the company scheduled a call and referenced an investor presentation instead .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)	Current Period (Q3 2023)	Trend
Public Ventures’ self-clearing	Preparations and approvals underway; minimal revenue activity in early 2023	FINRA approval achieved; commencement in November planned	Positive execution progress
Technology grants (Invizyne)	Grant funding offsetting R&D; fluctuates intra-year	R&D net costs down on higher grant offsets; Q3 net R&D $27,936	Supportive funding environment
Warrants/IB compensation	Warrants received in Q2 IB deal; valuation via Black-Scholes	Q3 unrealized loss -$786,906; nine-month unrealized gain $696,965	Volatile mark-to-market
OpEx discipline	Elevated professional fees and IT spend tied to self-clearing and IPO	G&A +13.5% YoY; professional fees up sharply	Cost investment continuing
Macro & supply chain	No material supply chain impact; monitoring recession risk	No expected supply chain impact; recession risk noted	Stable; macro watch

Management Commentary

Strategic message: “The third quarter of 2023 was highlighted by an important milestone in our company’s journey, as we successfully completed our IPO and began trading on the NASDAQ,” underscoring platform scaling and investor community development .
Operating drivers: Higher professional fees and IT investments related to self-clearing preparation and public offering; clearing and other charges linked to the Q2 investment banking transaction .
Self-clearing progression: FINRA approval with operations expected to commence in November positions MDB to control the investor experience and liquidity for early-stage public ventures .

Q&A Highlights

The company announced the Q3 results call for November 15, 2023 at 4:30 PM ET, with an accompanying investor presentation; a full transcript was not available in our document corpus at this time .
Guidance clarifications: No formal quantitative guidance ranges were provided during Q3 communications; management emphasized platform milestones and operational readiness .

Estimates Context

Consensus (S&P Global): Unavailable for Q3 2023 (MarketBeat shows “N/A” for revenue and EPS consensus; Seeking Alpha references GAAP EPS -$0.49 but no consensus mean) .
Implication: With no published consensus, sell-side estimate recalibration is limited; investors should anchor on reported GAAP results and qualitative execution milestones .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Liquidity reset post-IPO provides runway: $24.45M cash; $7.50M U.S. Treasuries at amortized cost; strong broker-dealer net capital (0.20:1 indebtedness ratio) .
Near-term earnings sensitive to mark-to-market of warrants/equities from IB transactions; expect quarter-to-quarter volatility in unrealized gains/losses .
Strategic catalyst: commencement of self-clearing operations should improve control over trading, client service and potentially economics in the public venture niche .
Cost discipline will be critical: elevated professional and IT spend tied to platform build-out weighed on Q3; monitoring normalization after launch phases .
Technology segment supported by grants, lowering net R&D expense; continued grant variability likely across quarters .
With no guidance and limited consensus coverage, focus on operational milestones (self-clearing ramp, investor platform growth, deal flow) rather than near-term EPS targets .
Potential trading implications: micro-cap profile and noncash mark-to-market swings can drive outsized stock moves around updates; IPO milestone and self-clearing commencement are likely narrative drivers for sentiment .

Additional notes on prior quarters and sources:

We searched for Q1 and Q2 2023 earnings releases and transcripts but did not locate distinct filings beyond Q3’s 10-Q and related 8-K; equity roll-forward indicates positive Q2 impacts (e.g., IB fees/warrants), but detailed quarterly P&L for Q1/Q2 was not available in our document set .
Press releases and the 8-K referenced an investor presentation and scheduled call rather than numerical guidance; exhibits to the 8-K did not load in full from our source repository .

MDB Capital Holdings, LLC (MDBH)·Q3 2023 Earnings Summary