e10vq
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
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QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2011
or
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 000-1158172
comScore, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
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54-1955550
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number) |
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11950 Democracy Drive, Suite 600
Reston, VA
(Address of principal executive offices)
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20190
(Zip Code) |
(703) 483-2000
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed
by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been
subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its
corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted
pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes
o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large
accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer o
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Accelerated filer þ
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Non-accelerated filer o
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Smaller reporting company o |
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(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuers classes of common stock, as
of the latest practicable date: As of May 4, 2011, there were 31,877,035 shares of the
registrants common stock outstanding.
COMSCORE, INC.
QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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2
CAUTIONARY NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the sections entitled Managements Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Quantitative and Qualitative
Disclosure About Market Risk under Items 2 and 3, respectively, of Part I of this report, and the
sections entitled Legal Proceedings, Risk Factors, and Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
and Use of Proceeds under Items 1, 1A and 2, respectively, of Part II of this report, may contain
forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to, but are not limited to, expectations of
future operating results or financial performance, macroeconomic trends that we expect may
influence our business, plans for capital expenditures, expectations regarding the introduction of
new products, regulatory compliance and expected changes in the regulatory landscape affecting our
business, expected impact of litigation, plans for growth and future operations, effects of
acquisitions, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified.
These risks and other factors include, but are not limited to, those listed under the section
entitled Risk Factors in Item 1A of Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, should,
could, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, intend, potential,
continue, seek or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements
are only predictions. Actual events and/or results may differ materially.
We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors.
However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control
and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our
forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of
the United States and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do
not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any
new information, future events or otherwise, other than through the filing of periodic reports in
accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Investors and potential investors
should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our common
stock, you should be aware that the occurrence of any of the events described in the Risk Factors
section and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q could harm our business, prospects,
operating results and financial condition. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in
the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements.
3
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
COMSCORE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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2011 |
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2010 |
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(Unaudited) |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
41,080 |
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$ |
33,736 |
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Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,181 and $725, respectively |
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47,562 |
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54,269 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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11,072 |
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8,391 |
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Deferred tax assets |
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6,712 |
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6,701 |
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Total current assets |
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106,426 |
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103,097 |
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Long-term investments |
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2,877 |
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2,819 |
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Property and equipment, net |
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27,478 |
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28,637 |
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Other non-current assets |
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1,155 |
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733 |
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Long-term deferred tax assets |
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11,712 |
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11,316 |
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Intangible assets, net |
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49,451 |
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50,260 |
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Goodwill |
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87,742 |
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86,217 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
286,841 |
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$ |
283,079 |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
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$ |
6,408 |
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$ |
5,588 |
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Accrued expenses |
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15,791 |
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15,297 |
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Deferred revenues |
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71,591 |
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70,611 |
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Deferred rent |
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911 |
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941 |
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Deferred tax liability |
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132 |
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Capital lease obligations |
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4,731 |
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4,659 |
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Total current liabilities |
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99,432 |
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97,228 |
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Deferred rent, long-term |
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7,797 |
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8,019 |
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Deferred tax liabilities, long-term |
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744 |
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Capital lease obligations, long-term |
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6,983 |
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7,959 |
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Other long-term liabilities |
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3,437 |
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3,297 |
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Total liabilities |
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117,649 |
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117,247 |
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Commitments and contingencies |
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Stockholders equity: |
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Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share; 5,000,000 shares
authorized at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010; no shares issued
or outstanding at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 |
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Common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 100,000,000 shares
authorized at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010; 31,842,535 and
31,523,559 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2011 and
December 31, 2010, respectively |
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32 |
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32 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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218,162 |
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216,895 |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income |
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4,593 |
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2,166 |
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Accumulated deficit |
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(53,595 |
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(53,261 |
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Total stockholders equity |
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169,192 |
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165,832 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
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$ |
286,841 |
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$ |
283,079 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
4
COMSCORE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
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Three Months Ended |
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March 31, |
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2011 |
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2010 |
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Revenues |
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$ |
52,952 |
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$ |
36,139 |
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Cost of revenues (excludes amortization of intangible assets
resulting from acquisitions shown below)(1) |
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17,139 |
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10,359 |
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Selling and marketing(1) |
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18,169 |
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12,718 |
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Research and development(1) |
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7,899 |
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5,047 |
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General and administrative(1) |
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10,318 |
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6,206 |
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Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions |
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1,994 |
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507 |
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Total expenses from operations |
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55,519 |
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34,837 |
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(Loss) income from operations |
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(2,567 |
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1,302 |
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Interest and other (expense) income, net |
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(89 |
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114 |
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Gain (loss) from foreign currency |
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150 |
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(117 |
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(Loss) income before income taxes |
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(2,506 |
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1,299 |
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Income tax benefit (provision) |
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2,172 |
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(1,070 |
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Net (loss) income |
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$ |
(334 |
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$ |
229 |
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Net (loss) income attributable to common stockholders per common share: |
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Basic |
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$ |
(0.01 |
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$ |
0.01 |
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Diluted |
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$ |
(0.01 |
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$ |
0.01 |
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Weighted-average number of shares used in per share calculation common
stock: |
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Basic |
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31,656,904 |
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30,630,461 |
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Diluted |
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31,656,904 |
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31,475,136 |
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(1) Amortization of stock-based compensation is included in the line items
above as follows: |
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Cost of revenues |
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$ |
462 |
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$ |
230 |
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Selling and marketing |
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1,953 |
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1,219 |
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Research and development |
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431 |
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264 |
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General and administrative |
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2,678 |
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961 |
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Comprehensive income (loss): |
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Net (loss) income |
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$ |
(334 |
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$ |
229 |
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Other comprehensive income (loss): |
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Foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment, respectively |
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2,369 |
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(325 |
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Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities, net of tax effect of $0
and $6,000, respectively |
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58 |
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(3 |
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Total comprehensive income (loss) |
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$ |
2,093 |
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$ |
(99 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
5
COMSCORE, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2011 |
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2010 |
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Operating activities |
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Net (loss) income |
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$ |
(334 |
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$ |
229 |
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Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided
by operating activities: |
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Depreciation |
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3,101 |
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1,619 |
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Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions |
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1,994 |
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507 |
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Provision for bad debts |
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295 |
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17 |
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Stock-based compensation |
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5,524 |
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2,676 |
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Amortization of deferred rent |
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(263 |
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(219 |
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Amortization of bond premium |
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112 |
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Deferred tax (benefit) provision |
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(1,189 |
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811 |
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Loss on asset disposal |
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8 |
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1 |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Accounts receivable |
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6,856 |
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3,802 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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(3,015 |
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189 |
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Accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other liabilities |
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1,787 |
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1,168 |
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Deferred revenues |
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358 |
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3,478 |
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Deferred rent |
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(1 |
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365 |
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Net cash provided by operating activities |
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15,121 |
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14,755 |
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Investing activities |
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Acquisition, net of cash acquired |
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(16,788 |
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Sales and maturities of investments |
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12,754 |
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Purchase of property and equipment |
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(1,578 |
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(1,689 |
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Net cash used in investing activities |
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(1,578 |
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(5,723 |
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Financing activities |
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Proceeds from the exercise of common stock options |
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190 |
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608 |
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Repurchase of common stock |
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(5,372 |
) |
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(2,910 |
) |
Principal payments on capital lease obligations |
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(1,163 |
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(90 |
) |
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Net cash used in financing activities |
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(6,345 |
) |
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(2,392 |
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Effect of exchange rate changes on cash |
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146 |
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(294 |
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Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
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7,344 |
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6,346 |
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Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
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33,736 |
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58,284 |
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
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$ |
41,080 |
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$ |
64,630 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
6
COMSCORE, INC.
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Organization
comScore, Inc. (the Company), a Delaware corporation incorporated in August 1999, provides a
digital marketing intelligence platform that helps customers make better-informed business
decisions and implement more effective digital business strategies. The Companys products and
solutions offer customers insights into consumer behavior, including objective, detailed
information regarding usage of their online properties and those of their competitors, coupled with
information on consumer demographic characteristics, attitudes, lifestyles and offline behavior.
The Companys digital marketing intelligence platform is comprised of proprietary databases
and a computational infrastructure that measures, analyzes and reports on digital activity. The
foundation of the platform is data collected from a panel of more than two million Internet users
worldwide who have granted to the Company explicit permission to confidentially measure their
Internet usage patterns, online and certain offline buying behavior and other activities. For
measuring and reporting online audiences, comScore also supplements panel information with Web site
server metrics. This panel information is complemented by a Unified Digital Measurement solution to
digital audience measurement. Unified Digital Measurement blends panel and server methodologies
into a solution that provides a direct linkage and reconciliation between server and panel
measurement. By applying advanced statistical methodologies to the panel data, the Company
projects consumers online behavior for the total online population and a wide variety of user
categories. Also, with key acquisitions, the Company has expanded its abilities to provide its
customers a more robust solution for the mobile medium as well as expanded its abilities to provide
its customers with actionable information to improve their creative and strategic messaging. Recent
acquisitions have also enabled the Company to expand its geographic sales coverage.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its
wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been
eliminated upon consolidation. The Company consolidates investments where it has a controlling
financial interest. The usual condition for controlling financial interest is ownership of a
majority of the voting interest and, therefore, as a general rule, ownership, directly or
indirectly, of more than 50% of the outstanding voting shares is a condition indicating
consolidation is required. For investments in variable interest entities, the Company would
consolidate when it is determined to be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity. The
Company does not have any variable interest entities.
Unaudited Interim Financial Information
The consolidated financial statements included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q have been
prepared by the Company without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the SEC). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in
consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However,
the Company believes that the disclosures contained in this quarterly report comply with the
requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for a quarterly
report on Form 10-Q and are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The
consolidated financial statements included herein, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal
recurring adjustments) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation
of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented.
These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2010, filed March 15, 2011 with the SEC. The results of operations for
the three months ended March 31, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be
anticipated for the entire year ending December 31, 2011 or thereafter. All references to March 31,
2011 and 2010 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements are unaudited.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts
of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting
periods. Significant estimates and assumptions are inherent in the analysis and the measurement of
deferred tax assets, the identification and quantification of income tax liabilities due to
uncertain tax positions, valuation of marketable securities, recoverability of intangible assets,
other long-lived assets and goodwill, the determination of the allowance for doubtful accounts, and
the determination of estimated selling prices for allocating arrangement consideration to
arrangements with multiple elements. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and
assumptions that it believes are reasonable. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
7
Fair Value Measurements
The Company evaluates the fair value of certain assets and liabilities using the
fair value hierarchy. Fair value is an exit price representing the amount that would be received to
sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market
participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market
participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such
assumptions, the Company applies the three-tier value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used
in measuring fair value as follows:
Level 1 observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;
Level 2 inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or
indirectly;
Level 3 unobservable inputs of which there is little or no market data, which requires the
Company to develop its own assumptions.
This hierarchy requires the Company to use observable market data, when available, and to
minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value. On a recurring basis, the
Company measures its marketable securities at fair value and determines the appropriate
classification level for each reporting period. The Company is required to use significant
judgments to make this determination.
The Companys investment instruments are classified within Level 1 or Level 3 of the fair
value hierarchy. Level 1 investment instruments are valued using quoted market prices. Level 3
instruments are valued using valuation models, primarily discounted cash flow analyses. The types
of instruments valued based on quoted market prices in active markets include all U.S. government
and agency securities. Such instruments are generally classified within Level 1 of the fair value
hierarchy. The types of instruments valued based on significant unobservable inputs include certain
illiquid auction rate securities. Such instruments are classified within Level 3 of the fair value
hierarchy (see Note 4).
Cash equivalents, investments, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets,
accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue, deferred rent and capital lease obligations
reported in the consolidated balance sheets equal or approximate their respective fair values.
Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis include
intangible assets and goodwill. The Company adjusts these items to fair value when they are
considered to be impaired. During the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010, there were no
fair value adjustments for assets and liabilities measured on a non-recurring basis.
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments
Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with an original maturity of
three months or less at the time of purchase. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank
deposit accounts.
Investments, which consist principally of auction
rate securities, are stated at fair value. These securities are accounted for as available-for-sale
securities. Unrealized holding gains and losses for available-for-sale securities are excluded from
earnings and reported as a net amount in a separate component of stockholders equity until
realized. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in interest
income. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in
interest income. The Company uses the specific identification method to compute realized gains and
losses on its investments. Realized gains and losses for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and
2010 were not material.
Interest income on investments was approximately $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31,
2011 and 2010.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and are non-interest bearing. The
Company generally grants uncollateralized credit terms to its customers and maintains an allowance
for doubtful accounts to reserve for potentially uncollectible receivables. Allowances are based on
managements judgment, which considers historical experience and specific knowledge of accounts
where collectability may not be probable. The Company makes provisions based on historical bad debt
experience, a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices and an assessment of general
economic conditions. If the financial condition of a customer deteriorates, resulting in an
impairment of its ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment is stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Property and
equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets,
ranging from three to five years. Assets under capital leases are recorded at their net present
value at the inception of the lease and are included in the appropriate asset category. Assets
under capital leases and leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the related lease
terms or their useful lives. Replacements and major improvements are capitalized; maintenance and
repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Amortization of assets
under capital leases is included within the expense category on the Consolidated Statements of
Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) in which the asset is deployed.
Business Combinations
The Company recognizes all of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, contractual
contingencies, and contingent consideration at their fair value on the acquisition date.
Acquisition-related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and expensed as incurred.
Generally, restructuring costs incurred in periods subsequent to the acquisition date are expensed
when incurred. All subsequent changes to a valuation allowance or uncertain tax position that
relate to the acquired company and existed at the acquisition date that occur both within the
measurement period and as a result of facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date
are recognized as an adjustment to goodwill. All other changes in valuation allowances are
recognized as a reduction or increase to income tax expense or as a direct adjustment to
additional paid-in capital as required. Acquired in-process research and development is capitalized
as an intangible asset and amortized over its estimated useful life.
8
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable
assets acquired and liabilities assumed when a business is acquired. The allocation of the purchase
price to intangible assets and goodwill involves the extensive use of managements
estimates and assumptions, and the result of the allocation process can have a significant
impact on future operating results. The allocation of the purchase price to intangible assets is
done at fair value. The Company estimates the fair value of identifiable intangible assets
acquired using various valuation methods, including the excess earnings and relief from royalty
methods.
Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their useful lives while goodwill is
not amortized but is evaluated for potential impairment at least annually by comparing the fair
value of a reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill recorded by the reporting unit.
If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, impairment is measured by comparing the implied fair
value of the goodwill to its carrying value, and any impairment determined is recorded in the
current period. All of the Companys goodwill is associated with one reporting unit. Accordingly,
on an annual basis the Company performs the impairment assessment for goodwill at the enterprise
level. The Company completed its annual impairment analysis as of October 1st for 2010 and
determined that there was no impairment of goodwill. There have been no indicators of impairment
suggesting that an interim assessment was necessary for goodwill since the October 1, 2010
analysis.
Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over the
following useful lives:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Useful Lives |
|
|
|
(Years) |
|
Acquired methodologies/technology |
|
|
3 to 10 |
|
Customer relationships |
|
|
7 to 12 |
|
Panel |
|
|
7 |
|
Intellectual property |
|
|
10 |
|
Trade names |
|
|
2 to 10 |
|
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Companys long-lived assets primarily consist of property and equipment and intangible
assets. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets for impairment whenever
events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be
recoverable. If an indication of impairment is present, the Company compares the estimated
undiscounted future cash flows to be generated by the asset to its carrying amount. Recoverability
measurement and estimation of undiscounted cash flows are grouped at the lowest level for which
identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities.
If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset, the Company
records an impairment loss equal to the excess of the assets carrying amount over its fair value.
The fair value is determined based on valuation techniques such as a comparison to fair values of
similar assets or using a discounted cash flow analysis. Although the Company believes that the
carrying values of its long-lived assets are appropriately stated, changes in strategy or market
conditions or significant technological developments could significantly impact these judgments and
require adjustments to recorded asset balances. There were no impairment charges recognized during
the three months ended March 31, 2011 or 2010.
Lease Accounting
The Company leases its facilities and accounts for those leases as operating leases. For
facility leases that contain rent escalations or rent concession provisions, the Company records
the total rent payable during the lease term on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.
The Company records the difference between the rent paid and the straight-line rent as a deferred
rent liability in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Leasehold improvements funded by
landlord incentives or allowances are recorded as leasehold improvement assets and a deferred rent
liability, which is amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease.
The Company records capital leases as an asset and an obligation at an amount equal to the
present value of the minimum lease payments as determined at the beginning of the lease term.
Amortization of capitalized leased assets is computed on a straight-line basis over the term of the
lease and is included in depreciation and amortization expense in the Consolidated Statements of
Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).
Foreign Currency Translation
The functional currency of the Companys foreign subsidiaries is the local currency. All
assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate as of the end of the period, and
revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates in effect during the period. The
gain or loss resulting from the process of translating foreign currency financial statements into
U.S. dollars is reflected as foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment and reported as a
component of other comprehensive income.
The Company incurred foreign currency transaction gains of $0.2 million and foreign currency
transaction losses of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010,
respectively. These losses are the result of transactions denominated in currencies other than the
functional currency of the Companys foreign subsidiaries.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenues when the following fundamental criteria are met: (i)
persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or the services have been
rendered, (iii) the fee is fixed or determinable and (iv) collection of the resulting receivable is
reasonably assured.
9
The Company generates revenues by providing access to the Companys online database or
delivering information obtained from the database, usually in the form of periodic reports.
Revenues are typically recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which access to data
or reports is provided, which generally ranges from three to 24 months.
Revenues are also generated through survey services under contracts ranging in term from two
months to one year. Survey services consist of survey and questionnaire design with subsequent data
collection, analysis and reporting. Revenues are recognized on a straight-line basis over the
estimated data collection period once the survey questionnaire has been delivered. Any change in
the estimated data collection period results in an adjustment to revenues recognized in future
periods.
Certain of the Companys arrangements contain multiple elements, consisting of the various services
the Company offers. Multiple element arrangements typically consist of either subscriptions to
multiple online product solutions or a subscription to the Companys online database combined with
customized services. Historically, the Company has determined there was not objective and reliable
evidence of fair value for any of its services and, therefore, accounted for all elements in
multiple element arrangements as a single unit of accounting. Access to data under the subscription
element is generally provided shortly after the execution of the contract. However, the initial
delivery of customized services generally occurs subsequent to the commencement of the subscription
element. For these historical arrangements, the Company recognizes the entire arrangement fee over
the performance period of the last deliverable. As a result, the total arrangement fee is
recognized on a straight-line basis over the period beginning with the commencement of the last
element delivered.
Effective January 1, 2011, the Company adopted the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards
Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2009-13, Multiple Deliverable Revenue
Arrangements, which requires the Company to allocate arrangement consideration at the inception of
an arrangement to all deliverables, if they represent a separate unit of accounting, based on their
relative selling prices. In addition, this guidance eliminated the use of the residual method for
allocating arrangement consideration. This guidance is applicable to the Company for all
arrangements entered into subsequent to December 31, 2010 and for any existing arrangements that
are materially modified after December 31, 2010.
For these types of arrangements, the guidance establishes a hierarchy to determine the selling
price to be used for allocating arrangement consideration to deliverables: (i) vendor-specific
objective evidence of fair value (VSOE), (ii) third-party evidence of selling price (TPE) if
VSOE is not available, or (iii) an estimated selling price (ESP) if neither VSOE nor TPE are
available. VSOE generally exists only when the Company sells the deliverable separately and is the
price actually charged by the Company for that deliverable on a stand-alone basis. ESP reflects the
Companys estimate of what the selling price of a deliverable would be if it was sold regularly on
a stand-alone basis.
The Company has concluded it does not have VSOE and TPE is generally not available because the
Companys service offerings are highly differentiated and the Company is unable to obtain reliable
information on the products and pricing practices of the Companys competitors. As such, ESP is
used to allocate the total arrangement consideration at the arrangement inception based on each
elements relative selling price.
The Companys process for determining ESP involves managements judgments based on multiple factors
that may vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each product suite and
deliverable. The Company determines ESP by considering several external and internal factors
including, but not limited to, current pricing practices, pricing concentrations (such as industry,
channel, customer class or geography), internal costs and market penetration of a product or
service. The total arrangement consideration is allocated to each of the elements based on the relative selling price.
If the ESP is determined as a range of selling prices, the mid-point of the range is used in the
relative-selling-price method. Once the total arrangement consideration has been allocated to each
deliverable based on the relative allocation of the arrangement fee, the Company commences revenue
recognition for each deliverable on a stand-alone basis as the data or service is delivered.
The impact of adopting this new revenue recognition guidance in the first quarter of 2011 is that
the Company recognized approximately $0.7 million in revenue and profit before tax that otherwise
would have been recognized in future periods under the previous revenue recognition guidance.
Based on the amounts involved, the timing of when this revenue would have been recognized under the
previous revenue recognition rules, and the current backlog of arrangements, the Company believes
the adoption of this accounting guidance will not have a material impact on the Companys financial
statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. ESP will be analyzed on an annual basis or more
frequently if management deems it likely that changes in the estimated selling prices have
occurred.
Generally, contracts are non-refundable and non-cancelable. In the event a portion of a
contract is refundable, revenue recognition is delayed until the refund provisions lapse. A limited
number of customers have the right to cancel their contracts by providing a written notice of
cancellation. In the event that a customer cancels its contract, the customer is not entitled to a
refund for prior services, and will be charged for costs incurred plus services performed up to the
cancellation date.
Advance payments are recorded as deferred revenues until services are delivered or obligations
are met and revenue can be recognized. Deferred revenues represent the excess of amounts invoiced
over amounts recognized as revenues.
10
On July 1, 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Nexius, resulting in additional
revenue sources, including software licenses, professional services (including software
customization, implementation, training and consulting services), and maintenance and technical
support contracts. The Companys arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of
the various service offerings. The Company recognizes software license arrangements that include
significant modification and customization of the software in accordance with FASB Accounting
Standards Codification (ASC) 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue
Recognition-Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the
completed-contract method. The Company currently does not have VSOE for the multiple deliverables
and accounts for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the
entire arrangement fee as revenue over the service period of the last delivered element. During the
period of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on
the balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software
license. To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, the Company accrues for
costs immediately.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company estimates the fair value of share-based awards on the date of grant. The fair
value of stock options with only service conditions is determined using the Black-Scholes
option-pricing model. The fair value of market-based stock options and restricted stock units is
determined using a Monte Carlo simulation embedded in a lattice model. The fair value of restricted
stock awards is based on the closing price of the Companys common stock on the date of grant. The
determination of the fair value of the Companys stock option awards and restricted stock awards is
based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the Companys common stock price,
expected stock price volatility over the expected life of awards, and actual and projected exercise
behavior. Additionally, the Company has estimated forfeitures for share-based awards at the dates
of grant based on historical experience, adjusted for future expectations. The forfeiture estimate
is revised, as necessary, if actual forfeitures differ from these estimates.
The Company issues restricted stock awards where restrictions lapse upon the passage of time
(service vesting), achieving performance targets, or some combination of these restrictions. For
those restricted stock awards with only service conditions, the Company recognizes compensation
cost on a straight-line basis over the explicit service period. For awards with both performance
and service conditions, the Company starts recognizing compensation cost over the remaining service
period, when it is probable the performance condition will be met. For stock awards that contain
performance or market vesting conditions, the Company excludes these awards from diluted earnings
per share computations until the contingency is met as of the end of that reporting period.
Income Taxes
Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Deferred income taxes are
provided for temporary differences in recognizing certain income, expense and credit items for
financial reporting purposes and tax reporting purposes. Such deferred income taxes primarily
relate to the difference between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial
reporting amounts. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured by applying enacted statutory
tax rates applicable to the future years in which deferred tax assets or liabilities are expected
to be settled or realized.
The Company records a valuation allowance when it determines based on available positive and
negative evidence, that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of its deferred tax
assets will not be realized. The Company determines the realizability of its deferred tax assets
primarily based on projections of future taxable income (exclusive of reversing temporary
differences and carryforwards). In evaluating such projections, the Company considers its history
of profitability, the competitive environment, the overall outlook for the online marketing
industry and general economic conditions. In addition, the Company considers the timeframe over
which it would take to utilize the deferred tax assets prior to their expiration.
For certain tax positions, the Company uses a more-likely-than not recognition threshold based
on the technical merits of the tax position taken. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not
recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefits determined on a cumulative
probability basis, which are more-likely-than-not to be realized upon ultimate settlement in the
financial statements. The Companys policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income
tax matters in income tax expense.
Earnings Per Share
Diluted earnings per share for common stock reflects the potential dilution that could result
if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common
stock. Diluted earnings per share assumes the exercise of stock options and warrants using the
treasury stock method.
11
The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
(In thousands, except share and per share data) |
|
Net (loss) income |
|
$ |
(334 |
) |
|
$ |
229 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, basic |
|
|
31,656,904 |
|
|
|
30,630,461 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dilutive effect of: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options to purchase common stock |
|
|
|
|
|
|
787,248 |
|
Unvested shares of restricted stock units |
|
|
|
|
|
|
47,057 |
|
Warrants to purchase common stock |
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,370 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, diluted |
|
|
31,656,904 |
|
|
|
31,475,136 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net (loss) income per share- common stock: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic |
|
$ |
(0.01 |
) |
|
$ |
0.01 |
|
Diluted |
|
$ |
(0.01 |
) |
|
$ |
0.01 |
|
The following is a summary of common stock equivalents for the securities outstanding during
the respective periods that have been excluded from the earnings per share calculations as their
impact was anti-dilutive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
Stock options and restricted stock units |
|
|
622,302 |
|
|
|
41,316 |
|
Common stock warrants |
|
|
2,747 |
|
|
|
|
|
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In
October 2009, the FASB issued ASU 2009-13, which amends the revenue guidance under the
ASC Subtopic 605-25, Multiple Element Arrangements. This update addresses how to determine whether
an arrangement involving multiple deliverables contains more than one unit of accounting and how
arrangement consideration shall be measured and allocated to the separate units of accounting in
the arrangement. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2011. The adoption of this new
guidance did not have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU 2009-14 Certain Revenue Arrangements
That Include Software Elements. Under the ASU tangible products that contain both
software and non-software components that work together to deliver a
products essential functionality are excluded from the scope of pre-existing software revenue recognition
standards. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2011. The Company does
not currently sell tangible products, and accordingly, the adoption of this guidance did
not have an impact on the Companys consolidated financial statements.
In December 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-28 which amends Intangibles- Goodwill and Other
(Topic 350). The ASU modifies Step 1 of the goodwill impairment test for reporting units with zero
or negative carrying amounts. For those reporting entities, they are required to perform Step 2 of
the goodwill impairment test if it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists. An
entity should consider whether there are any adverse qualitative factors indicating that impairment
may exist. The qualitative factors are consistent with the existing guidance in Topic 350, which
requires that goodwill of a reporting unit be tested for impairment between annual tests if an
event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a
reporting unit below its carrying amount. This new guidance became effective for comScore on
January 1, 2011. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Companys
consolidated financial statements.
In December 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-29,which addresses diversity in practice about the
interpretation of the pro forma revenue and earnings disclosure requirements for business
combinations (Topic 805). This ASU specifies that if a public entity presents comparative financial
statements, the entity should disclose revenue and earnings of the combined entity as though the
business combination(s) that occurred during the current year had occurred as of the beginning of
the comparable prior annual reporting period only. This ASU also expands the supplemental pro forma
disclosures under Topic 805 to include a description of the nature and amount of material,
nonrecurring pro-forma adjustments directly attributable to the business combination included in
the reported pro forma revenue and earnings. This new guidance became effective for comScore on
January 1, 2011. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Companys
consolidated financial statements.
12
3. Business Combinations
During the first quarter of 2011, the Company finalized its purchase accounting for the acquisition
of ARSgroup, as no additional purchase accounting adjustments were recorded. During the first
quarter of 2011, the Company recorded an additional liability of $0.2 million associated with the
pre-acquisition tax returns of Nexius, Inc. The Company continues to evaluate the opening balance
sheet for certain opening balance sheet liabilities and tax related items and may continue to
adjust the preliminary purchase price allocation after obtaining more information about tax
liabilities assumed for the acquisitions of Nexius, Inc. and Nedstat B.V.
4. Investments and Fair Value Measurements
As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had $2.9 million and $2.8 million,
respectively, in long-term investments consisting of four separate auction rate securities with a
par value of $4.3 million.
Auction rate securities are generally long-term debt instruments that provide liquidity
through a Dutch auction process that resets the applicable interest rate at pre-determined calendar
intervals, generally every 28 days. This mechanism typically allows existing investors to rollover
their holdings and to continue to own their respective securities or liquidate their holdings by
selling their securities at par value. These securities often are insured against loss of principal
and interest by bond insurers and have original maturity dates in excess of fifteen years. In prior years, the Company invested in these securities for short
periods of time as part of its investment policy. However, since 2007, the uncertainties in the
credit markets have limited the ability of the Company to liquidate its holdings of certain auction
rate securities because the amount of securities submitted for sale has exceeded the amount of
purchase orders. Accordingly, the Company continues to hold these long-term securities and is due
interest at a higher rate than similar securities for which auctions have cleared. The four
remaining securities were valued using a discounted cash flow model that takes into consideration
the financial condition of the issuers, the workout period, the discount rate and other factors.
As of March 31, 2011, based on the Companys updated valuation, no further impairments to the
carrying value of these investments was necessary. The Company is unable to determine as to when
the liquidity issues relating to these investments will improve. Accordingly, the Company
classified these securities as non-current as of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010.
Marketable securities, which are classified as available-for-sale, are summarized below (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Aggregate |
|
|
Classification on Balance Sheet |
|
|
|
Amortized |
|
|
Unrealized |
|
|
Fair |
|
|
Short-Term |
|
|
Long-Term |
|
|
|
Cost |
|
|
Gain |
|
|
Value |
|
|
Investments |
|
|
Investments |
|
As of March 31, 2011: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Auction rate securities
(Level 3) |
|
$ |
2,380 |
|
|
$ |
497 |
|
|
$ |
2,877 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
2,877 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
2,380 |
|
|
$ |
497 |
|
|
$ |
2,877 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
2,877 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Aggregate |
|
|
Classification on Balance Sheet |
|
|
|
Amortized |
|
|
Unrealized |
|
|
Fair |
|
|
Short-Term |
|
|
Long-Term |
|
|
|
Cost |
|
|
Gain |
|
|
Value |
|
|
Investments |
|
|
Investments |
|
As of December 31, 2010: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Auction rate securities
(Level 3) |
|
$ |
2,380 |
|
|
$ |
439 |
|
|
$ |
2,819 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
2,819 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
2,380 |
|
|
$ |
439 |
|
|
$ |
2,819 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
2,819 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There were no gross unrealized losses related to available-for-sale securities as of March 31, 2011
and December 31, 2010.
The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for the
major classes of assets measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term |
|
|
|
Investments |
|
Balance on December 31, 2010 |
|
$ |
2,819 |
|
Unrealized gains included in other comprehensive
income |
|
|
58 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance on March 31, 2011 |
|
$ |
2,877 |
|
|
|
|
|
13
5. Goodwill and Intangible Assets
The change in the carrying value of goodwill for the three months ended March 31, 2011 is as
follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as of December 31, 2010 |
|
$ |
86,217 |
|
Nexius, Inc. adjustment related to income taxes payable |
|
|
156 |
|
Translation adjustments |
|
|
1,369 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as of March 31, 2011 |
|
$ |
87,742 |
|
|
|
|
|
The carrying values of the Companys finite-lived acquired intangible assets are as follows (in
thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, 2011 |
|
|
December 31, 2010 |
|
|
|
Gross |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net |
|
|
Gross |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net |
|
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
Accumulated |
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
Accumulated |
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Amortization |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Amortization |
|
|
Amount |
|
Acquired methodologies/technology |
|
$ |
10,300 |
|
|
$ |
(2,038 |
) |
|
$ |
8,262 |
|
|
$ |
10,157 |
|
|
$ |
(1,633 |
) |
|
$ |
8,524 |
|
Customer relationships |
|
|
39,519 |
|
|
|
(4,399 |
) |
|
|
35,120 |
|
|
|
38,471 |
|
|
|
(3,140 |
) |
|
|
35,331 |
|
Panel |
|
|
1,635 |
|
|
|
(662 |
) |
|
|
973 |
|
|
|
1,615 |
|
|
|
(597 |
) |
|
|
1,018 |
|
Intellectual property |
|
|
2,569 |
|
|
|
(728 |
) |
|
|
1,841 |
|
|
|
2,561 |
|
|
|
(662 |
) |
|
|
1,899 |
|
Trade names |
|
|
4,164 |
|
|
|
(909 |
) |
|
|
3,255 |
|
|
|
4,069 |
|
|
|
(581 |
) |
|
|
3,488 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
58,187 |
|
|
$ |
(8,736 |
) |
|
$ |
49,451 |
|
|
$ |
56,873 |
|
|
$ |
(6,613 |
) |
|
$ |
50,260 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Certain of the Companys goodwill and intangible assets are recorded in euros, British Pounds and
the local currencies of its South American subsidiaries, and therefore, the gross carrying amount
and accumulated amortization are subject to foreign currency translation adjustments.
Amortization expense related to intangible assets was approximately $2.0 million and $0.5
million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
The weighted average remaining amortization period by major asset class as of March 31, 2011,
is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In years) |
|
Acquired methodologies/technology |
|
|
6.3 |
|
Customer relationships |
|
|
8.1 |
|
Panel |
|
|
4.2 |
|
Intellectual property |
|
|
7.2 |
|
Trade names |
|
|
4.8 |
|
The estimated future amortization of acquired intangible assets as of March 31, 2011 is as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
2011 |
|
$ |
6,051 |
|
2012 |
|
|
7,716 |
|
2013 |
|
|
7,074 |
|
2014 |
|
|
7,030 |
|
2015 |
|
|
6,081 |
|
Thereafter |
|
|
15,499 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
49,451 |
|
|
|
|
|
6. Commitments and Contingencies
Leases
In November 2010, the Company increased its lease financing arrangement with Banc of America
Leasing & Capital, LLC to $15.0 million. This arrangement was established to allow the Company to
lease new software, hardware and other computer equipment as it expands its technology
infrastructure in support of its business growth.
14
In addition to equipment financed through capital leases, the Company is obligated
under various noncancelable operating leases for office facilities and equipment. These leases
generally provide for renewal options and rent escalation. Future minimum payments under
noncancelable lease agreements with initial terms of one year or more are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, 2011 |
|
|
|
Capital |
|
|
Operating |
|
|
|
Leases |
|
|
Leases |
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
2011 |
|
$ |
3,936 |
|
|
$ |
4,924 |
|
2012 |
|
|
4,897 |
|
|
|
6,044 |
|
2013 |
|
|
3,586 |
|
|
|
5,123 |
|
2014 |
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
5,194 |
|
2015 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5,260 |
|
Thereafter |
|
|
|
|
|
|
13,646 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total minimum lease payments |
|
|
12,435 |
|
|
$ |
40,191 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less amount representing interest |
|
|
(721 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Present value of net minimum lease payments |
|
|
11,714 |
|
|
|
|
|
Less current portion |
|
|
(4,731 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Capital lease obligations, long-term |
|
$ |
6,983 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total rent expense was $1.6 million and $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011
and 2010, respectively.
Contingencies
On February 25, 2011, the Company extended its $5.0 million revolving line of credit with Bank
of America, with an interest rate equal to BBA LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin based upon
certain financial ratios, through May 31, 2011. This line of credit includes no restrictive
financial covenants. The Company maintains letters of credit in lieu of security deposits with
respect to certain office leases. During the three months ended March 31, 2011, one letter of
credit was reduced by approximately $0.2 million. As of March 31, 2011, no amounts were borrowed
against the line of credit and $3.1 million in letters of credit were outstanding, leaving $1.9
million available for additional letters of credit or other borrowings. These letters of credit may
be reduced periodically provided the Company meets the conditional criteria of each related lease
agreement.
On March 16, 2011, the Company received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC (Nielsen)
filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia alleging, among other things, infringement of certain patent rights of Nielsen by the
Company. Nielsens complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on an initial
review of these claims against the Company, the Company believe that they are without merit The
Company continues to investigate the claims against the Company by Nielsen, as well as any defenses
and additional potential counterclaims, and the Company intends to vigorously defend itself. Due
to the fact that the lawsuit has just occurred and the Company is in the early stages of evaluating
the claims against it, coupled with the Companys belief that the claims are without merit, it is
not possible for the Company to estimate a potential range of loss at this time.
On March 22, 2011, the Company filed a lawsuit against Nielsen and Netratings, LLC d/b/a
Nielsen Online (Netratings) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia alleging infringement of certain patent rights of the Company by Nielsen and Netratings.
The Companys complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief.
From time to time, the Company is exposed to unasserted potential claims encountered in the
normal course of business. Although the outcome of any legal proceeding cannot be predicted with
certainty, management believes that the final outcome resolution of these matters will not
materially affect the Companys consolidated financial position or results of operations.
7. Income Taxes
The Companys income tax provision for interim periods is calculated by applying its estimated
annual effective tax rate on ordinary income before taxes to year-to-date ordinary book income
before taxes. The income tax effects of any extraordinary, significant unusual or infrequent items
not included in ordinary book income are determined separately and recognized in the period in
which the items arise.
15
During the three months ended March 31, 2011, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of
$2.2 million resulting in an effective tax rate of 86.7%. During the three months ended March 31, 2010, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $1.1 million resulting in an effective
tax rate of 82.4%. These effective tax rates differ from the Federal statutory rate of 35% primarily
due to the effects of valuation allowances associated with foreign
losses, state income taxes, foreign income taxes, nondeductible expenses such as
certain stock compensation and meals and entertainment, unrecognized tax benefits, and changes in
statutory tax rates which took effect in the current quarter. During the three months ended March
31, 2010, certain shares related to restricted stock awards vested at times when the Companys
stock price was substantially lower than the fair value of those shares at the time of grant. As a
result, the income tax deduction related to such shares is less than the expense previously
recognized for book purposes. Such shortfalls reduce additional paid-in capital to the extent
windfall tax benefits have been previously recognized. However, as described below, the Company has
not yet recognized windfall tax benefits because these tax benefits have not resulted in a
reduction of current taxes payable. Therefore, the impact of these shortfalls totaling $0.2 million
has been included in income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2010. There was no
comparative amount for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
The exercise of certain stock options and the vesting of certain restricted stock awards
during the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010, generated income tax deductions equal to the
excess of the fair market value over the exercise price or grant date fair value, as applicable.
The Company will not recognize a deferred tax asset with respect to the excess of tax over book
stock compensation deductions until the tax deductions actually reduce its current taxes payable.
As such, the Company has not recorded a deferred tax asset in the accompanying financial statements
related to the additional net operating losses generated from the windfall tax deductions
associated with the exercise of these stock options and the vesting of restricted stock awards. If
and when the Company utilizes these net operating losses to reduce income taxes payable, the tax
benefit will be recorded as an increase in additional paid-in capital.
As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had a valuation allowance related to
the deferred tax asset for the value of the auction rate securities and the deferred tax assets of
the foreign subsidiaries (primarily net operating loss carryforwards), that are in their start-up
phases. Management will continue to evaluate the Companys deferred tax position of its U.S. and
foreign companies throughout 2011 to determine the appropriate level of valuation allowance
required against its deferred tax assets.
As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits of
approximately $2.4 million. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to
unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the
amount of accrued interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits was approximately $0.8
million.
The Company or one of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. Federal
jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. For income tax returns filed by the
Company, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. Federal examinations by tax authorities for years
before 2007 or state and local examinations by tax authorities for years before 2006 although tax
attribute carryforwards generated prior to these years may still be adjusted upon examination by
tax authorities.
8. Stockholders Equity
1999 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Equity Incentive Plan
Prior to the effective date of the registration statement for the Companys initial public
offering (IPO) on June 26, 2007, eligible employees and non-employees were awarded options to
purchase shares of the Companys common stock, restricted stock or restricted stock units pursuant
to the Companys 1999 Stock Plan (the 1999 Plan). Upon the effective date of the registration
statement of the Companys IPO, the Company ceased using the 1999 Plan for the issuance of new
equity awards. Upon the closing of the Companys IPO on July 2, 2007, the Company established its
2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2007 Plan and together with the 1999 Plan, the Plans). The 1999
Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of outstanding awards granted thereunder, but
no further shares are authorized for new awards under the 1999 Plan. As of March 31, 2011 and
December 31, 2010, the Plans provided for the issuance of a maximum of approximately 7.2 million
shares and 5.9 million shares, respectively, of common stock. In addition, the 2007 Plan provides
for annual increases in the number of shares available for issuance thereunder on the first day of
each fiscal year beginning with the 2008 fiscal year, equal to the lesser of: (i) 4% of the
outstanding shares of the Companys common stock on the last day of the immediately preceding
fiscal year; (ii) 1,800,000 shares; or (iii) such other amount as the Companys board of directors
may determine. The vesting period of options granted under the Plans is determined by the Board of
Directors, although the vesting has historically been generally ratably over a four-year period.
Options generally expire 10 years from the date of the grant. Effective January 1, 2011, the shares
available for grant increased 1,260,942 pursuant to the automatic share reserve increase provision
under the Plans. Accordingly, as of March 31, 2011, 2,285,364 shares were available for future
grant under the Plans.
The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards using the Black-Scholes
option-pricing formula and a single option award approach. The Company then amortizes the fair
value of awards expected to vest on a ratable straight-line basis over the requisite service
periods of the awards, which is generally the period from the grant date to the end of the vesting
period. During the three months ended March 31, 2011, no stock options were granted.
16
On March 15, 2011, the Compensation Committee (the Compensation Committee) of the Companys
Board of Directors approved the 2011 Executive Compensation Bonus Policy (the Policy) authorizing
annual performance-based stock bonus target and maximum levels for certain employees of the
Company, including certain members of the Companys senior management, for the 2011 fiscal year.
Awards under the Policy will be settled in shares of the Companys common stock. The amount of the
award for each participant will be determined in the first quarter of 2012 based on a combination
of qualitative and quantitative performance metrics applicable to each participant. Bonus awards
will include two components: short-term and long-term. The award associated with the short-term
performance bonus is expected to vest immediately on the grant date. With respect to the long-term
performance bonus award, 25% of the award is expected to vest immediately on the grant date, with
the remaining 75% vesting ratably over the next 3 years. Also on March 15, 2011, the Committee
approved the payment of stock to certain members of the Companys senior management in lieu of cash salary for the period from March 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. The stock, to the extent
earned, would be issued as soon as practicable following the end of the Companys 2011 fiscal year
and will fully vest at the time issued. The amount of stock to be issued will have a value
at time of issuance equal to the amount of salary foregone by such employees from March 1, 2011
through December 31, 2011, based on the closing price of Companys common stock as reported on the
NASDAQ Global Market at the time of issuance. The amount of salary foregone by such employees for
such period is expected to be approximately $0.8 million. Stock compensation expense for the three
months ended March 31, 2011 included $0.2 million related to these estimated awards.
A summary of the Companys equity Plans is presented below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted- |
|
|
Remaining |
|
|
Aggregate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average |
|
|
Contractual |
|
|
Intrinsic |
|
|
|
Number of |
|
|
Exercise |
|
|
Term |
|
|
Value (in |
|
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Price |
|
|
(in years) |
|
|
thousands) |
|
Options outstanding at December 31, 2010 |
|
|
1,713,165 |
|
|
$ |
11.68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options granted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercised |
|
|
(54,260 |
) |
|
|
3.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
1,291 |
|
Options forfeited |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options expired |
|
|
(400 |
) |
|
|
9.93 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options outstanding at March 31, 2011 |
|
|
1,658,505 |
|
|
$ |
11.95 |
|
|
|
3.77 |
|
|
$ |
29,127 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercisable at March 31, 2011 |
|
|
615,460 |
|
|
$ |
1.35 |
|
|
|
3.22 |
|
|
$ |
17,352 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The intrinsic value of exercised stock options is calculated based on the difference between
the exercise price and the quoted market price of the Companys common stock as of the close of the
exercise date. The aggregate intrinsic value for options outstanding and exercisable is calculated
as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying stock option awards and the quoted
market price of the Companys common stock at March 31, 2011. As of March 31, 2011, total
unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock options granted prior to that date is
estimated at $1.7 million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of
approximately 0.91 years. Total unrecognized compensation expense is estimated and may be increased
or decreased in future periods for subsequent grants or forfeitures.
The Companys nonvested stock awards are comprised of restricted stock and restricted stock
units. The Company has a right of repurchase on such shares that lapse at a rate of twenty-five
percent (25%) of the total shares awarded at each successive anniversary of the initial award date,
provided that the employee continues to provide services to the Company. In the event that an
employee terminates their employment with the Company, any shares that remain unvested and
consequently subject to the right of repurchase shall be automatically reacquired by the Company at
the original purchase price paid by the employee. During the three months ended March 31, 2011,
12,314 forfeited shares of restricted stock have been repurchased by the Company at no cost. A
summary of the status for nonvested stock awards as of March 31, 2011 is presented as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Number |
|
|
Average |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restricted |
|
|
of Shares |
|
|
Grant-Date |
|
|
|
Restricted |
|
|
Stock |
|
|
Underlying |
|
|
Fair |
|
Nonvested Stock Awards |
|
Stock |
|
|
Units |
|
|
Awards |
|
|
Value |
|
Nonvested at December 31, 2010 |
|
|
1,591,522 |
|
|
|
405,071 |
|
|
|
1,996,593 |
|
|
$ |
15.43 |
|
Granted |
|
|
424,212 |
|
|
|
44,470 |
|
|
|
468,682 |
|
|
|
27.82 |
|
Vested |
|
|
(492,926 |
) |
|
|
(44,099 |
) |
|
|
(537,025 |
) |
|
|
14.87 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(12,314 |
) |
|
|
(2,674 |
) |
|
|
(14,988 |
) |
|
|
15.39 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonvested at March 31, 2011 |
|
|
1,510,494 |
|
|
|
402,768 |
|
|
|
1,913,262 |
|
|
$ |
18.62 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The aggregate intrinsic value for all non-vested shares of restricted common stock and restricted
stock units outstanding as of March 31, 2011 was $44.6 million.
The Company granted nonvested stock awards at no cost to recipients during the three months
ended March 31, 2011. As of March 31, 2011, total unrecognized compensation expense related to
non-vested restricted stock and restricted stock units was $30.8 million, which the Company expects
to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.35 years. Total unrecognized
compensation expense may be increased or decreased in future periods for subsequent grants or
forfeitures.
17
Of the 537,025 shares of the Companys restricted stock and restricted stock units vesting
during the three months ended March 31, 2011, the Company repurchased 191,281 shares at an
aggregate purchase price of approximately $5.4 million pursuant to the stockholders right under
the Plans to elect to use common stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations.
Shares Reserved for Issuance
At March 31, 2011, the Company had reserved for future issuance the following shares of common
stock upon the exercise of options and warrants:
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock available for future issuances under the Plans |
|
|
2,285,364 |
|
Common stock reserved for outstanding options and restricted stock units |
|
|
2,061,273 |
|
Common stock reserved for outstanding warrants |
|
|
24,375 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4,371,012 |
|
|
|
|
|
9. Geographic Information
The Company attributes revenues to customers based on the location of the customer. The
composition of the Companys sales to unaffiliated customers between those in the United States and
those in other locations for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010 is set forth below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
United States |
|
$ |
40,507 |
|
|
$ |
29,858 |
|
Canada |
|
|
2,119 |
|
|
|
2,059 |
|
Europe |
|
|
7,239 |
|
|
|
2,778 |
|
Latin America |
|
|
1,723 |
|
|
|
997 |
|
Asia |
|
|
867 |
|
|
|
447 |
|
Middle East & Africa |
|
|
497 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Revenues |
|
$ |
52,952 |
|
|
$ |
36,139 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The composition of the Companys property and equipment between those in the United States and
those in other countries as of the end of each period is set forth below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
United States |
|
$ |
21,593 |
|
|
$ |
22,627 |
|
Europe/United Kingdom |
|
|
5,123 |
|
|
|
5,221 |
|
Canada |
|
|
409 |
|
|
|
411 |
|
Latin America |
|
|
353 |
|
|
|
378 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
$ |
27,478 |
|
|
$ |
28,637 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
18
Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations
should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to
those statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q . In addition to
historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking
statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of
selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under Risk factors and elsewhere in this
document. See also Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements at the beginning of this
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q .
Overview
We provide a leading digital marketing intelligence platform that helps our customers make
better-informed business decisions and implement more effective digital business strategies. Our
products and solutions offer our customers deep insights into consumer behavior, including
objective, detailed information regarding usage of their online properties and those of their
competitors, coupled with information on consumer demographic characteristics, attitudes,
lifestyles and offline behavior.
Our digital marketing intelligence platform is comprised of proprietary databases and a
computational infrastructure that measures, analyzes and reports on digital activity. The
foundation of our platform is data collected from our comScore panel of approximately two million
Internet users worldwide who have granted us explicit permission to confidentially measure their
Internet usage patterns, online and certain offline buying behavior and other activities. By
applying advanced statistical methodologies to our panel data, we project consumers online
behavior for the total online population and a wide variety of user categories. This panel
information is complemented by a Unified Digital Measurement solution to digital audience
measurement. Unified Digital Measurement blends panel and server methodologies into a solution that
provides a direct linkage and reconciliation between server and panel measurement.
We deliver our digital marketing intelligence through our comScore Media Metrix product suite,
our comScore Marketing Solutions products, our comScore mobile solutions and our comScore web
analytics solutions. Media Metrix delivers digital media intelligence by providing an independent,
third-party measurement of the size, behavior and characteristics of Web site and online
advertising network audiences among home, work and university Internet users as well as insight
into the effectiveness of online advertising. We typically deliver our Media Metrix products
electronically in the form of weekly, monthly or quarterly reports. Customers can access current
and historical Media Metrix data and analyze this data anytime online. Our Marketing Solutions
products combine the proprietary information gathered from the comScore panel with the vertical
industry expertise of comScore analysts to deliver digital marketing intelligence, including the
measurement of online advertising effectiveness, customized for specific industries. Our M:Metrics
products suite connects mobile consumer behavior, content merchandising, and device capabilities to
provide comprehensive mobile market intelligence. Customers can access our M:Metrics data sets and
reports anytime online. Our Marketing Solutions products are typically delivered on a monthly,
quarterly or ad hoc basis through electronic reports and analyses. Our web analytics products and
video measurement solutions help organizations optimize customer experience and maximize return on
digital media investments by allowing marketers to collect, view and distribute information
tailored to their specific business requirements. Our web analytics platform is designed to
integrate data from multiple sources including web, mobile and social media interactions, as well
as CRM, call center and back-office systems.
Our company was founded in August 1999. By 2000, we had established a panel of Internet users
and began delivering digital marketing intelligence products that measured online browsing and
buying behavior to our first customers. We also introduced netScore, our initial syndicated
Internet audience measurement product. We accelerated our introduction of new products in 2003 with
the launch of Plan Metrix (formerly AiM 2.0), qSearch, and the Campaign R/F (Reach and Frequency)
analysis system and product offerings that measure online activity at the local market level. By
2004, we had built a global panel of approximately two million Internet users. In that year, in
cooperation with Arbitron, we launched a service that provides ratings of online radio audiences.
In 2005, we expanded our presence in Europe by opening an office in London. In 2006, we continued
to expand our measurement capabilities with the launch of World Metrix, a product that provides
worldwide data on digital media usage, and Video Metrix, our product that measures the audience for
streaming online video. In 2007, we completed our initial public offering and we also launched ten
new products during that year, including Campaign Metrix, qSearch 2.0, Ad Metrix, Brand Metrix,
Segment Metrix and comScore Marketer. During 2008, we launched Ad Metrix-Advertiser View, a tool
for agencies and publishers designed to support their media buying and selling activities and
supply their competitive intelligence needs, Plan Metrix, the second generation of our media
planning product, and Extended Web Measurement, which allows the tracking of distributed web
content across third-party sites, such as video, music, gaming applications, widgets and social
media. Beginning in Summer 2009, the panel information has been complemented by comScore Media
Metrix 360, a Unified Digital Measurement solution to digital audience measurement that blends
panel and server methodologies into an approach that provides a direct linkage and reconciliation
between server and panel measurement.
We have complemented our internal development initiatives with select acquisitions. On June 6,
2002, we acquired certain Media Metrix assets from Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc. Through this
acquisition, we acquired certain Internet audience measurement services that report details of Web
site usage and visitor demographics. On July 28, 2004, we acquired the outstanding stock of Denaro
and Associates, Inc, otherwise known as Q2 Brand Intelligence, Inc., or Q2, to improve our ability
to provide our customers more robust survey research integrated with our underlying digital
marketing intelligence platform. On January 4, 2005, we acquired the assets and assumed certain
liabilities of SurveySite Inc., or SurveySite. Through this acquisition, we acquired proprietary
Internet-based data-collection technologies and increased our customer penetration and revenues in
the survey business. On May 28, 2008, we acquired the outstanding stock of M:Metrics, Inc. to
expand our abilities to provide our customers a more robust solution for the mobile medium. In the
middle of November 2009, we acquired Certifica, Inc., a leader in web measurement in Latin America,
as part of our global expansion. Certifica maintains offices and sales resources in six Latin
American countries, which we hope will provide a platform to enhance our business in that region.
On February 10, 2010, we acquired the outstanding stock of ARSgroup, Inc. to expand our ability to
provide our clients with actionable information to improve their creative and strategic messaging
targeted against specific audiences. On July 1, 2010, we acquired the outstanding stock of Nexius,
Inc., or Nexius. Nexius is a provider of products to the large mobile networks that deliver network
analysis focused on the experience of wireless subscribers, as well as network intelligence with
respect to performance, capacity and configuration analytics. On August 31, 2010, we acquired the
outstanding stock of Nedstat B.V., or Nedstat, a provider of web analytics and innovative video
measurement solutions based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
19
Our total revenues have grown to $175.0 million during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010
and $53.0 million during the first quarter of 2011 from $87.2 million during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2007. By comparison, our total expenses from operations have grown to $176.5 million during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and $55.5 million during the first quarter of 2011
from $76.5 million during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007. We attribute the growth in our
revenues primarily to:
|
|
|
increased sales to existing customers, as a result of our efforts to deepen our relationships
with these clients by increasing their awareness of, and confidence in, the value of our
digital marketing intelligence platform; |
|
|
|
|
growth in our customer base through the addition of new customers and from acquired businesses; |
|
|
|
|
the sales of new products to existing and new customers; and |
|
|
|
|
growth in sales outside of the U.S. as a result of entering into new international markets. |
As of March 31, 2011, we had 1,807 customers, compared to 895 as of December 31, 2007. We sell
most of our products through our direct sales force.
As a result of the economic events over the last several years, such as, the global financial
crisis in the credit markets, softness in the housing markets, difficulties in the financial
services sector and political uncertainty in the Middle East, the direction and relative strength
of the U.S. and global economies have become somewhat uncertain. During 2010, we experienced a
limited number of our current and potential customers ceasing, delaying or reducing renewals of
existing subscriptions and purchases of new or additional services and products presumably due to
the economic downturn. Further, certain of our existing customers exited the market due to industry
consolidation and bankruptcy in connection with these challenging economic conditions. During the
first quarter of 2011, the U.S. and other economies showed signs of recovery and we continued to
add net new customers. In addition, our existing customers renewed their subscriptions at a rate of
over 90% based on dollars renewed during the first quarter of 2011. However, if economic recovery
slows or adverse economic conditions continue or further deteriorate, our operating results could
be adversely affected.
Our Revenues
We derive our revenues primarily from the fees that we charge for subscription-based products
and customized projects. We define subscription-based revenues as revenues that we generate from
products that we deliver to a customer on a recurring basis. We define project revenues as revenues
that we generate from customized projects that are performed for a specific customer on a
non-recurring basis. We market our subscription-based products, customized projects and survey
services within the comScore Media Metrix product suite, comScore Marketing Solutions, comScore
mobile solutions and comScore web analytics solutions.
A significant characteristic of our business model is our large percentage of
subscription-based contracts. Subscription-based revenues accounted for 85% of total revenues in
the three months ended March 31, 2011 and the full year 2010. Many of our customers who
initially purchased a customized project have subsequently purchased one of our subscription-based
products. Similarly, many of our subscription-based customers have subsequently purchased
additional customized projects.
Historically, we have generated most of our revenues from the sale and delivery of our
products to companies and organizations located within the United States. We intend to expand our
international revenues by selling our products and deploying our direct sales force model in
additional international markets in the future. For the year ended December 31, 2010, our
international revenues were $32.7 million, an increase of $13.0 million, or 66%, compared to 2009.
For the three months ended March 31, 2011, our international revenues were $12.5 million, an
increase of $6.2 million, or 98% over international revenues of $6.3 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2010. International revenues comprised approximately 19%, 15% and 24% of our total
revenues for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and the three months ended March 31,
2011.
We anticipate that revenues from our U.S. customers will continue to constitute the
substantial majority of our revenues, but we expect that revenues from customers outside of the
U.S. will increase as a percentage of total revenues as we build greater international recognition
of our brand and expand our sales operations globally.
Subscription Revenues
We generate a significant proportion of our subscription-based revenues from our Media Metrix
product suite. Products within the Media Metrix suite include Media Metrix 360, Media Metrix, Plan
Metrix, World Metrix, Video Metrix and Ad Metrix. These product offerings provide subscribers with
intelligence on digital media usage, audience characteristics, audience demographics and online and
offline purchasing behavior. Customers who subscribe to our Media Metrix products are provided with
login IDs to our web site, have access to our database and can generate reports at anytime.
We also generate subscription-based revenues from certain reports and analyses provided
through comScore Marketing Solutions, if that work is procured by customers for at least a
nine-month period and the customer enters into an agreement to continue or extend the work. Through
our Marketing Solutions products, we deliver digital marketing intelligence relating to specific
industries, such as automotive, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, financial services, media,
pharmaceutical, retail, technology, telecommunications and travel. This marketing intelligence
leverages our global consumer panel and extensive database to deliver information unique to a
particular customers needs on a recurring schedule, as well as on a continual-access basis. Our
Marketing Solutions customer agreements typically include a fixed fee with an initial term of at
least one year. We also provide these products on a non-subscription basis as described under
Project Revenues below.
20
In addition, we generate subscription-based revenues from survey products that we sell to our
customers. In conducting our surveys, we generally use our global Internet user panel. After
questionnaires are distributed to the panel members and completed, we compile their responses and
then deliver our findings to the customer, who also has ongoing access to the survey response data
as they are compiled and updated over time. These data include responses and information collected
from the actual survey questionnaires and can also include behavioral information that we passively
collect from our panelists. If a customer contractually commits to having a survey conducted on a
recurring basis, we classify the revenues generated from such survey products as subscription-based
revenues. Our contracts for survey services typically include a fixed fee with terms that range
from two months to one year.
On July 1, 2010, we completed our acquisition of Nexius, Inc., resulting in additional revenue
sources, including software licenses, professional services (including implementation, training and
customized consulting services), and maintenance and technical support contracts. Our arrangements
generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings. We recognize
software license arrangements that include significant modification and customization of the
software in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification,
or ASC 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue Recognition-Construction-Type and
Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the completed-contract period method. We
currently do not have vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, for the multiple deliverables
and account for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the
entire arrangement fee as revenue over the service period of the last delivered element. During the
period of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on
the balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software
license. To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, we accrue for costs
immediately.
On August 31, 2010, we completed our acquisition of Nedstat, resulting in
additional revenue sources, including software subscriptions, server calls, and professional
services (including training and consulting). Our arrangements generally contain multiple elements,
consisting of the various service offerings, with revenue recognition occurring ratably over the
remaining subscription term after all elements have commenced delivery.
Project Revenues
We generate project revenues by providing customized information reports to our customers on a
nonrecurring basis through comScore Marketing Solutions. For example, a customer in the media
industry might request a custom report that profiles the behavior of the customers active online
users and contrasts their market share and loyalty with similar metrics for a competitors online
user base. If this customer continues to request the report beyond an initial project term of at
least nine months and enters into an agreement to purchase the report on a recurring basis, we
begin to classify these future revenues as subscription-based.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on
our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the U.S. The preparation of these financial statements requires us
to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in our financial
statements and the accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on
various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results
may differ from these estimates. While our significant accounting policies are described in more
detail in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q and in Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, we
believe the following accounting policies to be the most critical to the judgments and estimates
used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenues when the following fundamental criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence
of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or the services have been rendered, (iii) the
fee is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collection of the resulting receivable is reasonably
assured.
We generate revenues by providing access to our online database or delivering information
obtained from our database, usually in the form of periodic reports. Revenues are typically
recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which access to data or reports is provided,
which generally ranges from three to 24 months.
We also generate revenues through survey services under contracts ranging in term from two
months to one year. Our survey services consist of survey and questionnaire design with subsequent
data collection, analysis and reporting. We recognize revenues on a straight-line basis over the
estimated data collection period once the survey questionnaire design has been delivered. Any
change in the estimated data collection period results in an adjustment to revenues recognized in
future periods.
Certain of the our arrangements contain multiple elements, consisting of the various services we offer. Multiple element arrangements typically consist of either subscriptions to multiple
online product solutions or a subscription to our online database combined with
customized services. Historically, we have determined there was not objective and reliable evidence
of fair value for any of our services and, therefore, accounted for all elements in multiple
element arrangements as a single unit of accounting. Access to data under the subscription element
is generally provided shortly after the execution of the contract. However, the initial delivery of
customized services generally occurs subsequent to the commencement of the subscription element.
For these historical arrangements, we recognize the entire arrangement fee over the performance
period of the last deliverable. As a result, the total arrangement fee is recognized on a
straight-line basis over the period beginning with the commencement of the last element delivered.
21
Effective January 1, 2011, the Company adopted the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards
Board Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2009-13, Multiple Deliverable Revenue Arrangements, which
requires us to allocate arrangement consideration at the inception of an arrangement to all
deliverables, if they represent a separate unit of accounting, based on their relative selling
prices. In addition, this guidance eliminated the use of the residual method for allocating
arrangement consideration. This guidance is applicable to us for all arrangements entered into
subsequent to December 31, 2010 and for any existing arrangements that are materially modified
after December 31, 2010.
For these types of arrangements, the guidance establishes a hierarchy to determine the selling
price to be used for allocating arrangement consideration to deliverables: (i) vendor-specific
objective evidence of fair value (VSOE), (ii) third-party evidence of selling price (TPE) if
VSOE is not available, or (iii) an estimated selling price (ESP) if neither VSOE nor TPE are
available. VSOE generally exists only when we sell the deliverables separately and is the price
actually charged by us for that deliverable on a stand-alone basis. ESP reflects our estimate of
what the selling price of a deliverable would be if it was sold regularly on a stand-alone basis.
We have concluded we do not have VSOE and TPE is generally not available because our service
offerings are highly differentiated and we are unable to obtain reliable information on the
products and pricing practices of our competitors. As such, ESP is used to allocate the total
arrangement consideration at the arrangement inception based on each elements relative selling
price.
Our process for determining ESP involves managements judgments based on multiple factors that may
vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each product suite and
deliverable. We determine ESP by considering several external and internal factors including, but
not limited to, current pricing practices, pricing concentrations (such as industry, channel,
customer class or geography), internal costs and market penetration of a product or service. The total arrangement consideration is
allocated to each of the elements based on the relative selling price. If the ESP is determined as
a range of selling prices, the mid-point of the range is used in the relative-selling-price method.
Once the total arrangement consideration has been allocated to each deliverable based on the
relative allocation of the arrangement fee, we commence revenue recognition for each deliverable on
a stand-alone basis as the data or service is delivered.
The impact of adopting this new revenue recognition guidance in the first quarter of 2011 is that we
recognized approximately $0.7 million in revenue and profit before tax that otherwise would have
been recognized in future periods under the previous revenue recognition guidance. Based on the
amounts involved, the timing of when this revenue would have been recognized under the previous
revenue recognition rules, and the current backlog of arrangements, we believe the adoption of this
accounting guidance will not have a material impact on our financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2011. ESP will be analyzed on an annual basis or more frequently if management deems
it likely that changes in the estimated selling prices have occurred.
In the future, as our pricing strategies and market conditions change, modifications may occur to
the determination of ESP to reflect these changes. As a result, the future revenue recognized for
these arrangements could differ from the results in the current period.
Generally, our contracts are non-refundable and non-cancelable. In the event a portion of a
contract is refundable, revenue recognition is delayed until the refund provisions lapse. A limited
number of customers have the right to cancel their contracts by providing us with written
notice of cancellation. In the event that a customer cancels its contract, it is not entitled to a
refund for prior services, and it will be charged for costs incurred plus services performed up to
the cancellation date.
In connection with our acquisition of Nexius, Inc., we acquired additional revenue sources,
including software licenses, professional services (including software customization,
implementation, training and consulting services), and maintenance and technical support contracts.
Our arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings.
We recognize software license arrangements that include significant modification and customization
of the software in accordance with ASC 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue
Recognition-Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the
completed-contract method. We currently do not have VSOE for the multiple deliverables and account
for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the entire
arrangement fee as revenue over the service period of the last delivered element. During the period
of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on the
balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software license.
To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, we accrue for costs immediately.
Business Combinations
We recognize all of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, contractual contingencies, and
contingent consideration at their fair value on the acquisition date. Acquisition-related costs are
recognized separately from the acquisition and expensed as incurred. Restructuring costs incurred
in periods subsequent to the acquisition date are expensed when incurred. All subsequent changes to
a valuation allowance or uncertain tax position that relate to the acquired company and existed at
the acquisition date that occur both within the measurement period and as a result of facts and
circumstances that existed at the acquisition date are recognized as an adjustment to goodwill. All
other changes in valuation allowances are recognized as a reduction or increase to income tax
expense or as a direct adjustment to additional paid-in capital as required. Acquired in-process
research and development is capitalized as an intangible asset and amortized over its estimated
useful life.
22
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
We record goodwill and intangible assets when we acquire other businesses. The allocation of
the purchase price to intangible assets and goodwill involves the extensive use of
managements estimates and assumptions, and the result of the allocation process can have
a significant impact on future operating results. The allocation of the purchase price to
intangible assets is done at fair value. The Company estimates the fair value of identifiable
intangible assets acquired using various valuation methods, including the excess earnings and
relief from royalty methods.
Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their useful lives while goodwill and
indefinite lived assets are not amortized, but rather are periodically tested for impairment. An
impairment review generally requires developing assumptions and projections regarding our operating
performance. We have determined that all of our goodwill is associated with one reporting unit as
we do not operate separate lines of business with respect to our services. Accordingly, on an
annual basis we perform the impairment assessment for goodwill at the enterprise level by comparing
the fair value of our reporting unit to its carrying value including goodwill recorded by the
reporting unit. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, impairment is measured by comparing
the implied fair value of the goodwill to its carrying value and any impairment determined is
recorded in the current period. If our estimates or the related assumptions change in the future,
we may be required to record impairment charges to reduce the carrying value of these assets, which
could be material. There were no impairment charges recognized during the three months ended March
31, 2011 and 2010.
Long-lived assets
Our long-lived assets primarily consist of property and equipment and intangible assets. We
evaluate the recoverability of our long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. If an indication
of impairment is present, we compare the estimated undiscounted future cash flows to be generated
by the asset to its carrying amount.
Recoverability measurement and estimation of undiscounted cash flows are grouped at the lowest
level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets
and liabilities. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the
asset, we record an impairment loss equal to the excess of the assets carrying amount over its
fair value. The fair value is determined based on valuation techniques such as a comparison to fair
values of similar assets or using a discounted cash flow analysis. Although we believe that the
carrying values of our long-lived assets are appropriately stated, changes in strategy or market
conditions or significant technological developments could significantly impact these judgments and
require adjustments to recorded asset balances. There were no impairment charges recognized during
the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010.
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
We manage credit risk on accounts receivable by performing credit evaluations for existing
customers coming up for renewal as well as for all prospective new customers, by reviewing our
accounts and contracts and by providing appropriate allowances for uncollectible amounts.
Allowances are based on managements judgment, which considers historical experience and specific
knowledge of accounts that may not be collectible. We make provisions based on our historical bad
debt experience, a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices and an assessment of
general economic conditions. If the financial condition of a customer deteriorates, resulting in an
impairment of its ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method. We estimate our tax
liability through calculations we perform for the determination of our current tax liability,
together with assessing temporary differences resulting from the different treatment of items for
income tax and financial reporting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and
liabilities, which are recorded on our balance sheet. We then assess the likelihood that deferred
tax assets will be recovered in future periods. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance
against the deferred tax assets, we consider factors such as future reversals of existing taxable
temporary differences, taxable income in prior carryback years, if carryback is permitted under the
tax law, tax planning strategies and future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary
differences and carryforwards. In evaluating projections of future taxable income, we consider our
history of profitability, the competitive environment, the overall outlook for the online marketing
industry and general economic conditions. In addition, we consider the timeframe over which it
would take to utilize the deferred tax assets prior to their expiration. To the extent we cannot
conclude that it is more likely than not that the benefit of such assets will be realized, we
establish a valuation allowance to adjust the carrying value of such assets.
As of March 31, 2011, we estimate our federal and state net operating loss carryforwards for
tax purposes are approximately $51.0 million and $35.2 million, respectively. These net operating
loss carryforwards will begin to expire in 2022 for federal and in 2016 for state income tax
reporting purposes. As of March 31, 2011, we estimate our aggregate net operating loss carryforward
for tax purposes related to our foreign subsidiaries is $30.6 million, which begins to expire in
2011. In addition, as of March 31, 2011, we had alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards of
$1.2 million, which can be carried forward indefinitely and research and development credit
carryforwards of approximately $0.7 million, which begin to expire in 2025.
As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, we had a valuation allowance related to the
deferred tax asset for the value of the auction rate securities and the deferred tax assets of the
foreign subsidiaries (primarily net operating loss carryforwards), that are in their start-up
phases. Management will continue to evaluate the deferred tax position of our U.S. and foreign
companies throughout 2011 to determine the appropriate level of valuation allowance required
against our deferred tax assets.
23
The exercise of certain stock options and the vesting of certain restricted stock awards
during the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010 generated income tax deductions equal to the
excess of the fair market value over the exercise price or grant date fair value, as applicable. We
will not recognize a deferred tax asset with respect to the excess of tax over book stock
compensation deductions until the tax deductions actually reduce our current taxes payable. As
such, we have not recorded a deferred tax asset in the accompanying financial statements related to
the additional net operating losses generated from the windfall tax deductions associated with the
exercise of these stock options and the vesting of the restricted stock awards. If and when we utilize these net operating losses to reduce income taxes payable, the tax benefit will be recorded
as an increase in additional paid-in capital.
During the three months ended March 31, 2010, certain shares related to restricted stock
awards vested at times when our stock price was substantially lower than the fair value of those
shares at the time of grant. As a result, the income tax deduction related to such shares is less
than the expense previously recognized for book purposes. Such shortfalls reduce additional paid-in
capital to the extent windfall tax benefits have been previously recognized. However, as described
above, we have not yet recognized windfall tax benefits because these tax benefits have not
resulted in a reduction of current taxes payable. Therefore, the impact of these shortfalls
totaling $0.2 million has been included in income tax expense for the three months ended March 31,
2010. There is no comparative amount for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Looking forward,
we expect our income tax provisions for future reporting periods will be impacted by this stock
compensation tax deduction shortfall. We cannot predict the stock compensation shortfall impact
because of dependency upon future market price performance of our stock.
For uncertain tax positions, we use a more-likely-than not recognition threshold based on the
technical merits of the tax position taken. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not
recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefits determined on a cumulative
probability basis, which are more likely than not to be realized upon ultimate settlement in the
financial statements. As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, we had unrecognized tax benefits
of $2.4 million, on a tax-effected basis. It is our policy to recognize interest and penalties
related to income tax matters in income tax expense. As of March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010,
the amount of accrued interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits was $0.8 million. We or
one of our subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. Federal jurisdiction and various
states and foreign jurisdictions. For income tax returns filed by us, we are no longer subject to
U.S. Federal examinations by tax authorities for years before 2007 or state and local tax
examinations by tax authorities for years before 2006, although tax attribute carryforwards
generated prior to these years may still be adjusted upon examination by tax authorities.
Stock-Based Compensation
We estimate the fair value of share-based awards on the date of grant. The fair
value of service-based stock options is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.
The fair value of market-based stock options and restricted stock units is determined using a Monte
Carlo simulation embedded in a lattice model. The fair value of restricted stock awards is based on
the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. The determination of the fair value of
stock option awards and restricted stock awards is based on a variety of factors including, but not
limited to, our common stock price, expected stock price volatility over the expected life of
awards, and actual and projected exercise behavior. Additionally we estimate forfeitures for
share-based awards at the dates of grant based on historical experience, adjusted for future
expectations. The forfeiture estimate is revised as necessary if actual forfeitures differ from
these estimates.
We issue restricted stock awards whose restrictions lapse upon either the passage
of time (service vesting), achieving performance targets, or some combination of these
restrictions. For those restricted stock awards with only service conditions, we recognize
compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the explicit service period. For awards with both
performance and service conditions, we start recognizing compensation cost over the remaining
service period when it is probable the performance condition will be met. Stock awards that contain
performance or market vesting conditions, are excluded from diluted earnings per share computations
until the contingency is met as of the end of that reporting period.
At March 31, 2011, total estimated unrecognized compensation expense
related to unvested stock-based awards granted prior to that date was $32.5 million, which is
expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.33 years.
The actual amount of stock-based compensation expense we record in any fiscal
period will depend on a number of factors, including the number of shares subject to restricted
stock and/or stock options issued, the fair value of our common stock at the time of issuance and
the expected volatility of our stock price over time. In addition, changes to our incentive
compensation plan that heavily favor stock-based compensation are expected to cause stock-based
compensation expense to increase in absolute dollars. If factors change and we employ different
assumptions in future periods, the compensation expense we record may differ significantly from
what we have previously recorded.
Seasonality
Historically, a slightly higher percentage of our customers have renewed their subscription
products with us during the fourth quarter.
24
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth selected consolidated statements of operations data as a
percentage of total revenues for each of the periods indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
Revenues |
|
|
100 |
% |
|
|
100 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of revenues |
|
|
32.4 |
|
|
|
28.6 |
|
Selling and marketing |
|
|
34.3 |
|
|
|
35.2 |
|
Research and development |
|
|
14.9 |
|
|
|
14.0 |
|
General and administrative |
|
|
19.5 |
|
|
|
17.2 |
|
Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions |
|
|
3.8 |
|
|
|
1.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total expenses from operations |
|
|
104.9 |
|
|
|
96.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Loss) income from operations |
|
|
(4.9 |
) |
|
|
3.6 |
|
Interest and other (expense) income, net |
|
|
(0.2 |
) |
|
|
0.3 |
|
Gain (loss) from foreign currency |
|
|
0.3 |
|
|
|
(0.3 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Loss) income before income taxes |
|
|
(4.8 |
) |
|
|
3.6 |
|
Income tax benefit (provision) |
|
|
4.1 |
|
|
|
(3.0 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net (loss) income |
|
|
(0.7) |
% |
|
|
0.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months ended March 31, 2011 compared to the Three Months ended March 31, 2010
Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
|
|
|
|
Total revenues |
|
$ |
52,952 |
|
|
$ |
36,139 |
|
|
$ |
16,813 |
|
|
|
46.5 |
% |
Total revenues increased by approximately $16.8 million, or approximately 47%, during the
three months ended March 31, 2011 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010. The revenue
growth was due to a combination of increased sales to our existing customer base and continued
growth of our customer base. Revenue from existing customers increased $12.7 million from $32.3
million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 to $45.0 million for the three months ended March
31, 2011, while revenues from new customers increased $4.2 million from $3.8 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2010 to $8.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
We experienced continued revenue growth in subscription revenues, which increased by
approximately $13.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011, from $30.9 million in the
prior year period. In addition, our project-based revenues increased by approximately $3.0 million
during the three months ended March 31, 2011, from $5.2 million in the prior year period.
On the international front, revenues from U.S customers increased to $40.5 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2011, or approximately 76% of total revenues, while revenues from
customers outside of the U.S. increased to $12.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011,
or approximately 24% of total revenues. A substantial portion of this increase is attributable to
our international acquisitions in 2010. However, this growth was further supplemented by organic
growth efforts in international markets. These combined activities resulted in increased
international revenues of $6.2 million, comprised of increases of $4.5 million in Europe, $0.7
million in Latin America, $0.5 million in the Middle East & Africa, $0.4 million in Asia, and $0.1
million in Canada during the three months ended March 31, 2011 as compared to the prior year
period.
Included in total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was approximately $6.0 million
related to our acquired businesses that were acquired subsequent to March 31, 2010. Our total
customer base grew by a net increase of 458 customers to 1,807 customers as of March 31, 2011 from
1,349 as of March 31, 2010.
25
Operating Expenses
The majority of our operating expenses consist of employee salaries and related benefits,
stock compensation expense, rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense, and
amortization of acquired intangible assets.
Our total operating expenses increased by approximately $20.7 million, or approximately
60%, during the three months ended March 31, 2011 as compared to the three months ended March 31,
2010. This increase is primarily attributable to increased expenditures for employee salaries,
benefits and related costs of $8.8 million and increased stock-based compensation of $2.8 million
associated with our increased headcount, increased rent and other facility related costs and
depreciation expense allocations of $1.9 million, increased use of 3rd party providers for customer
service and support related to our data collection efforts of $1.5 million due to increased revenue
and expansion, increases in amortization expense of $1.5 million related to the acquired intangible
assets as part of the Nexius and Nedstat acquisitions and increased professional fees of $1.1
million. All of the above costs have been allocated to the various components of our operating
expenses, as further described in the following sections. Also included in our operating
expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was approximately $5.0 million related to the
acquired businesses that were acquired subsequent to March 31, 2010, which accounts for
approximately 24% of the overall increase in operating expenses (excluding amortization of
intangible assets).
Cost of Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
|
|
|
|
Total cost of revenues |
|
$ |
17,139 |
|
|
$ |
10,359 |
|
|
$ |
6,780 |
|
|
|
65.5 |
% |
As a percentage of revenues |
|
|
32.4 |
% |
|
|
28.6 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of revenues consists primarily of expenses related to operating our network
infrastructure, producing our products, and the recruitment, maintenance and support of our
consumer panels. Expenses associated with these areas include the salaries, stock-based
compensation, and related personnel expenses of network operations, survey operations, custom
analytics and technical support, all of which are expensed as they are incurred. Cost of revenues
also includes data collection costs for our products, operational costs associated with our data
centers, including depreciation expense associated with computer equipment that supports our panel
and systems, and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs,
and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software.
Cost of revenues increased by approximately $6.8 million during the three months ended
March 31, 2011 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010. This increase was attributable to
increased expenditures for employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $2.8 million associated
with our increased headcount, increased use of 3rd party providers for customer service and support
related to our data collection efforts of $1.5 million due to increased revenue and expansion,
increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $1.3
million, and increased data center and bandwidth costs of $0.4 million related to the increased
number of Web sites using our Unified Digital Measurement solution, and increased stock-based
compensation of $0.2 million. These costs were partially offset by reductions in panel recruitment
and incentives of $0.4 million. Included within total cost of revenues for the three months ended
March 31, 2011 was approximately $1.3 million related to the acquired businesses that were acquired
subsequent to March 31, 2010. Cost of revenues increased as a percentage of revenues during the
three months ended March 31, 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010 reflecting our increased
expenses for additional employees and infrastructure in anticipation of increased growth.
Selling and Marketing Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
|
|
|
|
Total selling and marketing expense |
|
$ |
18,169 |
|
|
$ |
12,718 |
|
|
$ |
5,451 |
|
|
|
42.9 |
% |
As a percentage of revenues |
|
|
34.3 |
% |
|
|
35.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, commissions,
bonuses, and stock-based compensation paid to our direct sales force and industry analysts, as well
as costs related to online and offline advertising, industry conferences, promotional materials,
public relations, other sales and marketing programs, and allocated overhead, which is comprised of
rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation expense generated by general purpose
equipment and software. All selling and marketing costs are expensed as they are incurred.
Commission plans are developed for our account managers with criteria and size of sales quotas that
vary depending upon the individuals role. Commissions are paid to a salesperson and are expensed
as selling and marketing costs when a sales contract is executed by both the customer and
us. In the case of multi-year agreements, one year of commissions is paid initially, with the remaining
amounts paid at the beginning of the succeeding years.
26
Selling and marketing expenses increased by $5.5 million during the three months ended
March 31, 2011 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010. This increase was attributable
to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $3.6 million and increased
stock-compensation of $0.7 million associated with our increased headcount, additional sales
commissions of $0.5 million in connection with our sales growth, and increased rent and other
facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.3 million. These costs were
partially offset by the absence of severance expense of $0.3 million that was incurred in the first
quarter of 2010 but not in the first quarter of 2011. Included within total selling and marketing
expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was approximately $2.7 million related to the
acquired businesses that were acquired subsequent to March 31, 2010. Selling and marketing expenses
increased slightly as a percentage of revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2011 as
compared to the same period in 2010 as our overall headcount in this area increased.
Research and Development Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
Total research and development expense |
|
$ |
7,899 |
|
|
$ |
5,047 |
|
|
$ |
2,852 |
|
|
|
56.5 |
% |
As a percentage of revenues |
|
|
14.9 |
% |
|
|
14.0 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development expenses include new product development costs, consisting
primarily of salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and related costs for personnel
associated with research and development activities, fees paid to third parties to develop new
products and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and
depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software.
Research and development expenses increased by $2.9 million during the three months ended
March 31, 2011 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010. This increase was
attributable to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $1.8 million associated
with our increased headcount for research and development activities, higher costs of $0.3 million
related to certain data licensing contracts that began in Q1 2011, increased stock-based
compensation of $0.2 million, and increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation
expense allocations of $0.2 million. Research and development expenses were generally unchanged
as a percentage of revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011 compared to the same period
in 2010.
General and Administrative Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
Total general and administrative expense |
|
$ |
10,318 |
|
|
$ |
6,206 |
|
|
$ |
4,112 |
|
|
|
66.3 |
% |
As a percentage of revenues |
|
|
19.5 |
% |
|
|
17.2 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, stock-based
compensation, and related expenses for executive management, finance, accounting, human capital,
legal and other administrative functions, as well as professional fees, overhead, including
allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation
expense generated by general purpose equipment and software, and expenses incurred for other
general corporate purposes.
General and administrative expenses increased by $4.1 million during the three months
ended March 31, 2011 as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010. This increase is
primarily attributable to additional stock-based compensation expense of $1.7 million, and
increased professional fees of $1.1 million, which includes costs related to the integration of
recently acquired businesses, and for other accounting, legal and general consulting services due
to our expanding business. In addition, additional headcount resulted in increased employee
salaries, benefits and related costs of $0.6 million and we also incurred increased bad debt
expense of approximately $0.3 million as a result of higher revenues and expansion into new
countries where collection has generally been more difficult, and increased rent and other facility
related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.1 million. Included within general and
administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was approximately $0.9 million
related to the acquired businesses that were acquired subsequent to March 31, 2010. General and
administrative expenses increased as a percentage of revenues during the three months ended March
31, 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010 primarily due to the increased costs related to
acquisitions and initiatives taken by the Company to help better position our business for
long-term growth that are not immediately reflected in our current revenue.
27
Amortization Expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
Total amortization expense |
|
$ |
1,994 |
|
|
$ |
507 |
|
|
$ |
1,487 |
|
|
|
293.3 |
% |
As a percentage of revenues |
|
|
3.8 |
% |
|
|
1.4 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization expense consists of charges related to the amortization of intangible assets
associated with acquisitions.
Amortization expense increased $1.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011
as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010 due to amortization of intangible assets that
were acquired after the first quarter of 2010 in connection with our acquisitions of Nexius and
Nedstat.
Interest and Other Income (expense), Net
Interest income consists of interest earned from investments, such as short and long-term
fixed income securities and auction rate securities, and our cash and cash equivalent balances.
Interest expense is incurred due to capital leases pursuant to several equipment loan and security
agreements and a line of credit that we have entered into in order to finance the lease of various
hardware and other equipment purchases. Our minumum lease payment obligations are secured by a senior
security interest in eligible equipment.
Interest expense, net for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $0.1 million as
compared to interest income, net of $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010. The
increase in interest expense is due to the increased borrowing under capital leases that were made
during 2010. As of March 31, 2011, we had total minimum lease
payment obligations of $12.4 million
compared to $5.0 million as of March 31, 2010.
Gain
(Loss) from Foreign Currency
The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is the local currency. All assets and
liabilities are translated at the current exchange rates as of the end of the period, and revenues
and expenses are translated at average rates in effect during the period. The gain or loss
resulting from the process of translating the foreign currency financial statements into U.S.
dollars is included as a component of other comprehensive (loss) income.
We recorded a gain of $0.2 million as compared to a loss of $0.1 million during the three
months ended March 31, 2010. Our foreign currency transactions are recorded as a result of
fluctuations in the exchange rate primarily between the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar, euro
and British Pound.
Provision
for Income Taxes
During the three months ended March 31, 2011, we recorded an income tax benefit of
$2.2 million compared to an income tax provision of $1.1 million during the three months ended
March 31, 2010. The tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was attributable to a
current tax benefit of $1.0 million and a deferred tax benefit of $1.2 million. The tax provision
for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was attributable to current tax expense of $0.3 million
and deferred tax expense of $0.8 million. These amounts also include $0.1 million and $0.4 million
of current and deferred tax expense for discrete items such as stock compensation, statutory rate
changes and changes in uncertain tax positions recorded during the three months ended March 31,
2011 and 2010, respectively.
During the three months ended March 31, 2010, certain restricted stock awards vested
which generated a tax deduction at a market price that was less than the price of the restricted
stock on the dates the shares were granted. This shortfall of tax deductions would reduce
additional paid-in capital to the extent windfall tax benefits had been realized in prior years.
However, as we have not yet realized our windfall tax benefits because the tax benefits have not
resulted in a reduction to current taxes payable, the three months ended March 31, 2010 were
impacted. The tax provision impact of the shortfall totaling $0.2 million has been included in
income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2010. There was no comparative amount for
the three months ended March 31, 2011.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Recent accounting pronouncements are detailed in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
28
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following table summarizes our cash flows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended |
|
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
|
2011 |
|
|
2010 |
|
|
|
(In thousands) |
|
Net cash provided by operating activities |
|
$ |
15,121 |
|
|
$ |
14,755 |
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
|
(1,578 |
) |
|
|
(5,723 |
) |
Net cash used in financing activities |
|
|
(6,345 |
) |
|
|
(2,392 |
) |
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash |
|
|
146 |
|
|
|
(294 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
7,344 |
|
|
$ |
6,346 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our principal uses of cash historically have consisted of payroll and other
operating expenses and payments related to the investment in equipment primarily to support our
consumer panel and technical infrastructure required to support our customer base, and cash paid
for acquisitions. As of March 31, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash,
cash equivalents and short-term investments of $41.1 million, which represent cash generated from
operating activities. As of March 31, 2011, we held $2.9 million in long-term investments
consisting of four separate auction rate securities. In prior years, we invested in these auction
rate securities for short periods of time as part of our investment policy. However, uncertainties
in the credit markets have limited our ability to liquidate our holdings of auction rate
securities, as there have been no auctions for these securities in 2011 or 2010.
Operating Activities
Our cash flows from operating activities are significantly influenced by our investments
in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth in our business, increases in the
number of customers using our products and the amount and timing of payments made by these
customers.
We generated approximately $15.1 million of net cash from operating activities during the
three months ended March 31, 2011. Our cash flows from operations were driven by our net loss of
$0.3 million, offset by $9.5 million in non-cash charges such as depreciation, amortization,
provision for bad debts, stock-based compensation, and a non-cash deferred tax benefit. In
addition, we experienced a $6.9 million decrease in accounts receivable due to strong collections
activities during the first quarter of 2011. In addition, our operating cash flows were positively
impacted by a $1.8 million net increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses due to the timing
of payments issued to our vendors. Cash flows from operations were negatively impacted by a $3.0
million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets related to additional capitalized
costs from certain long-term contracts.
We generated approximately $14.8 million of net cash from operating activities during the
three months ended March 31, 2010. Our cash flows from operations were driven by our positive net
income of $0.2 million, as adjusted for $5.5 million in non-cash charges such as depreciation,
amortization, provision for bad debts, stock-based compensation and bond premium amortization, and
a non-cash deferred tax expense. In addition, we experienced a $3.8 million decrease in accounts
receivable due to strong collection activities during the first quarter of 2010. We also
experienced a $3.5 million increase in amounts collected from customers in advance of when we
recognize revenues as a result of our growing customer base. In addition, our operating cash flows
were positively impacted due to a $1.2 million increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses
due to the timing of payments issued to our vendors. Cash flows from operations were also
positively impacted by a $0.4 million increase in deferred rent due to tenant allowances related to
our leases.
Investing Activities
Our primary recurring investing activities have consisted of purchases of computer
network equipment to support our Internet user panel and maintenance of our database, furniture and
equipment to support our operations, purchases and sales of marketable securities, and payments
related to the acquisition of several companies. As our customer base expands, we expect purchases
of technical infrastructure equipment to grow in absolute dollars. The extent of these investments
will be affected by our ability to expand relationships with existing customers, grow our customer
base, introduce new digital formats and increase our international presence.
We used $1.6 million of net cash in investing activities during the three months ended
March 31, 2011, associated with the purchase of property and equipment to maintain and expand our
technology infrastructure.
We used $5.7 million of net cash in investing activities during the three months ended
March 31, 2010. $16.8 million, net of cash acquired, was used for the acquisition of ARS. In
addition, $1.7 million was used to purchase property and equipment to maintain and expand our
technology and infrastructure. Of this amount, approximately $0.4 million was funded through
landlord allowances received in connection with our Canadian office lease. These amounts were
offset by $12.8 million generated from maturities of our investments.
We expect to achieve greater economies of scale and operating leverage as we expand our
customer base and utilize our Internet user panel and technical infrastructure more efficiently.
While we anticipate that it will be necessary for us to continue to invest in our Internet user
panel, technical infrastructure and technical personnel to support the combination of an increased
customer base, new products, international expansion and new digital market intelligence formats,
we believe that these investment requirements will be less than the revenue growth generated by
these actions. This should result in a lower rate of growth in our capital expenditures to support
our technical infrastructure. In any given period, the timing of our incremental capital
expenditure requirements could impact our cost of revenues, both in absolute dollars and as a
percentage of revenues.
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Financing Activities
We used $6.3 million of cash during the three months ended March 31, 2011 for financing
activities. This included $5.4 million for shares repurchased by us pursuant to the exercise by
stock incentive plan participants of their right to elect to use common stock to satisfy their tax
withholding obligations. In addition we used $1.1 million to make payments on our capital lease
obligations offset by $0.2 million in proceeds from the exercise of our common stock options.
We used $2.4 million of cash during the three months ended March 31, 2010 for financing
activities. This included $2.9 million for shares repurchased by us pursuant to the exercise by
stock incentive plan participants of their right to elect to use common stock to satisfy their tax
withholding obligations. In addition we used $0.1 million to make payments on our capital lease
obligations offset by $0.6 million in proceeds from the exercise of our common stock options.
We do not have any special purpose entities.
Contractual Obligations and Known Future Cash Requirements
Our principal lease commitments consist of obligations under leases for office space and
computer and telecommunications equipment. In prior and current years, we financed the purchase of
some of our computer equipment under a capital lease arrangement over a period of either 36 or 42
months. Our purchase obligations relate to outstanding orders to purchase computer equipment and
are typically small; they do not materially impact our overall liquidity.
In November 2010, we increased our lease financing arrangement with Banc of
America Leasing & Capital, LLC to $15.0 million. This arrangement has been established to allow us
to finance the purchase of new software, hardware and other computer equipment as we expand our
technology infrastructure in support of our business growth. During the three months ended March
31, 2011 we did not incur any additional borrowings under this financing arrangement. As of March
31, 2011, we have total borrowings under this arrangement of approximately $8.4 million. These
leases bear an interest rate of approximately 5% per annum. The base terms for these leases range
from three years to three and a half years and include a nominal charge in the event of prepayment.
Lease payments are approximately $3.7 million per year. Assets acquired under the equipment lease
secure the obligations.
In February 2011, we extended our $5.0 million revolving line of credit with Bank
of America, with an interest rate equal to BBA LIBOR rate plus an applicable margin based upon
certain financial ratios, through May 31, 2011. This line of credit includes no restrictive
financial covenants. We maintain letters of credit in lieu of security deposits with respect to
certain office leases. During the three months ended March 31, 2011, one letter of credit was
reduced by approximately $0.2 million. As of March 31, 2011, no amounts were borrowed against the
line of credit and $3.1 million of letters of credit were outstanding, leaving $1.9 million
available for additional letters of credit or other borrowings. These letters of credit may be
reduced periodically provided we meet the conditional criteria of each related lease agreement.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K).
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to
adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. We do not hold or issue financial instruments
for trading purposes or have any derivative financial instruments. To date, most payments made
under our contracts are denominated in U.S. dollars, and we have not experienced material gains or
losses as a result of transactions denominated in foreign currencies. As of March 31, 2011, our
cash reserves were maintained in bank deposit accounts and auction rate securities
totaling $44.0 million. These securities, like all fixed income instruments, are subject to
interest rate risk and will decline in value if market interest rates increase. We have the ability
to hold our fixed income investments until maturity and, therefore, we would not expect to
experience any material adverse impact in income or cash flow.
Foreign Currency Risk
A portion of our revenues and expenses from business operations in foreign countries are
derived from transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of our
operations in those countries. As such, we have exposure to adverse changes in exchange rates
associated with revenues and operating expenses of our foreign operations, but we believe this
exposure to not be significant at this time. As such, we do not currently engage in any
transactions that hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk. In addition, because we have operations
outside of the U.S., the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities may fluctuate
due to movements in foreign currency exchange rates and the resulting foreign currency translation adjustments. As we grow our international
operations, our exposure to foreign currency risk could become more significant.
Interest Rate Sensitivity
As of March 31, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash, cash
equivalents and short-term investments of $41.1 million. These amounts were invested primarily in
bank deposit account and U.S. treasury notes. The cash and cash equivalents are held for working
capital purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. We believe
that we do not have any material exposure to changes in the fair value as a result of changes in
interest rates. Declines in interest rates, however, will reduce future investment income. If
overall interest rates changed by 1% during the three months ended March 31, 2011, our interest
exposure would have been approximately $32,000, assuming consistent investment levels.
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Auction Rate Securities
As of March 31, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash, cash
equivalents and short-term investments of $41.1 million which represent cash generated from
operating activities and the remaining proceeds from our initial public offering in July 2007. As
of March 31, 2011, we held $2.9 million in long-term investments consisting of four separate
auction rate securities. In prior years, we invested in these auction rate securities for short
periods of time as part of our investment policy. However, uncertainties in the credit markets have
limited our ability to liquidate our holdings of auction rate securities, as there have been no
auctions for these securities in 2010 or during the three months ended March 31, 2011.
The four remaining securities were valued using a discounted cash flow model that takes
into consideration the financial condition of the issuers, the workout period, the discount rate
and other factors. We are uncertain as to when the liquidity issues relating to these investments
will improve. Accordingly, we classified these securities as long-term on our consolidated balance
sheets. If the credit ratings of the issuer, the bond insurers or the collateral deteriorate
further, we may further adjust the carrying value of these investments.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, after evaluating the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the Exchange Act) Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by
this report (the Evaluation Date), have concluded that as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure
controls and procedures are effective, in all material respects, to ensure that information
required to be disclosed in the reports that we file and submit under the Exchange Act (i) is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities
and Exchange Commissions rule and forms and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to our
management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to
allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that have materially affected, or
are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we are involved in various legal proceedings arising from the normal
course of business activities. We are not presently a party to any pending legal proceedings the
outcome of which we believe, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate
have a material adverse impact on our consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial
position.
Litigation with The Nielsen Company (US) LLC and Netratings, LLC d/b/a Nielsen Online
On March 16, 2011, we received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC (Nielsen) filed a lawsuit
against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging, among
other things, infringement of certain patent rights of Nielsen by us. Nielsens complaint seeks
unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on an initial review of these claims against us,
we believe that they are without merit We continue to investigate the claims against us by
Nielsen, as well as any defenses and additional potential counterclaims, and we intend to
vigorously defend ourselves.
On March 22, 2011, we filed a lawsuit against Nielsen and Netratings, LLC d/b/a Nielsen Online
(Netratings) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging
infringement of certain patent rights of ours by Nielsen and Netratings. Our complaint seeks
unspecified damages and injunctive relief.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common stock involves a substantial risk of loss. You should
carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included
herewith, before you decide to purchase shares of our common stock. The occurrence of any of the
following risks could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating
results. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose part
or all of your investment.
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Risks Related to Our Business and Our Technologies
We derive a significant portion of our revenues from sales of our subscription-based digital
marketing intelligence products. If our customers terminate or fail to renew their subscriptions,
our business could suffer.
We currently derive a significant portion of our revenues from our subscription-based
digital marketing intelligence products. Subscription-based products accounted for 85% of our
revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2011 and the full year 2010, respectively.
Uncertain economic conditions or other factors, such as the failure or consolidation of large
financial institutions, may cause certain customers to terminate or reduce their subscriptions. If
our customers terminate their subscriptions for our products, do not renew their subscriptions,
delay renewals of their subscriptions or renew on terms less favorable to us, our revenues could
decline and our business could suffer.
Our customers have no obligation to renew after the expiration of their initial
subscription period, which is typically one year, and we cannot be assured that current
subscriptions will be renewed at the same or higher dollar amounts, if at all. Some of our
customers have elected not to renew their subscription agreements with us in the past. If we
experience a change of control, as defined in such agreements, some of our customers also have the
right to terminate their subscriptions. Moreover, some of our major customers have the right to
cancel their subscription agreements without cause at any time. Given the current unpredictable
economic conditions as well as our limited historical data with respect to rates of customer
subscription renewals, we may have difficulty accurately predicting future customer renewal rates.
Our customer renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including
customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products, the costs or functionality of our
products, the prices or functionality of products offered by our competitors, mergers and
acquisitions affecting our customer base, general economic conditions or reductions in our
customers spending levels. In this regard, we have seen a number of customers with weaker balance
sheets choosing not to renew subscriptions with us during economic downturns.
The success of our business depends in large part on our ability to protect and enforce our
intellectual property rights.
We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, service mark, trademark and trade secret laws,
as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our
proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited protection. While we have filed a number of
patent applications and own three issued patents, we cannot assure you that any additional patents
will be issued with respect to any of our pending or future patent applications, nor can we assure
you that any patent issued to us will provide adequate protection, or that any patents issued to us
will not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, or held to be unenforceable in actions against
alleged infringers. Also, we cannot assure you that any future trademark or service mark
registrations will be issued with respect to pending or future applications or that any of our
registered trademarks and service marks will be enforceable or provide adequate protection of our
proprietary rights. Furthermore, adequate (or any) patent, trademark, service mark, copyright and
trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services are available.
We endeavor to enter into agreements with our employees and contractors and with parties
with whom we do business in order to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information.
We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology
or the reverse engineering of our technology. Moreover, third parties might independently develop
technologies that are competitive to ours or that infringe upon our intellectual property. In
addition, the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of
intellectual property rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving, both
in the United States and in other countries. The protection of our intellectual property rights may
depend on our legal actions against any infringers being successful. We cannot be sure any such
actions will be successful.
An assertion from a third party that we are infringing its intellectual property, whether such
assertions are valid or not, could subject us to costly and time-consuming litigation or expensive
licenses.
The Internet, mobile media, software and technology industries are characterized by the
existence of a large number of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and by frequent
litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property
rights, domestically or internationally. As we grow and face increasing competition, the
probability that one or more third parties will make intellectual property rights claims against us
increases. In such cases, our technologies may be found to infringe on the intellectual property
rights of others. Additionally, many of our subscription agreements may require us to indemnify our
customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs
if we have to defend such claims and may require that we pay damages and provide alternative
services if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims. Intellectual property claims could
harm our relationships with our customers, deter future customers from subscribing to our products
or expose us to litigation. Even if we are not a party to any litigation between a customer and a
third party, an adverse outcome in any such litigation could make it more difficult for us to
defend against intellectual property claims by the third party in any subsequent litigation in
which we are a named party. Any of these results could adversely affect our brand, business and
results of operations.
For example, on March 16, 2011, we received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC, or
Nielsen, filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia alleging, among other things, infringement of certain patent rights of Nielsen by us.
Nielsens complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on an initial review of
these claims against us, we believe that they are without merit. We continue investigate the
claims against us by Nielsen, as well as any defenses and additional potential counterclaims, and
we intend to vigorously defend ourselves. Any intellectual property rights claim such as this,
against us or our customers, with or without merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to
litigate or settle and could divert management resources and attention. An adverse determination
also could prevent us from offering our products to our customers and may require that we procure
or develop substitute products that do not infringe on other parties rights.
With respect to any intellectual property rights claim against us or our customers, we may have to
pay damages or stop using technology found to be in violation of a third partys rights. We may
have to seek a license for the technology, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at
all, may significantly increase our operating expenses or may significantly restrict our business
activities in one or more respects. We may also be required to develop alternative non-infringing
technology, which could require significant effort and expense. Any of these outcomes could
adversely affect our business and results of operations.
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Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate in the future. As a result, we may fail to meet
or exceed the expectations of securities analysts or investors, which could cause our stock price
to decline.
Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors,
many of which are outside of our control. If our quarterly revenues or results of operations do not
meet or exceed the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the price of our common stock
could decline substantially. In addition to the other risk factors set forth in this Risk Factors
section, factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly revenues or results of operations
include:
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our ability to increase sales to existing customers and attract new customers; |
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our failure to accurately estimate or control costs including those incurred as a result of
acquisitions, investments and other business development initiatives; |
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the timing of contract renewals, delivery of products and duration of contracts and the corresponding
timing of revenue recognition as well as the effects of revenue derived from recently-acquired
companies; |
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the uncertainties associated with the integration of acquired new lines of business, and operations in
countries in which we may have little or no previous experience; |
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the mix of subscription-based versus project-based revenues; |
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changes in our customers subscription renewal behaviors and spending on projects; |
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our ability to estimate revenues and cash flows associated with business operations acquired by us; |
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the impact on our contract renewal rates, for both our subscription and project-based products, caused
by our customers budgetary constraints, competition, customer dissatisfaction, customer corporate
restructuring or change in control, or our customers actual or perceived lack of need for our products; |
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the potential loss of significant customers; |
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the effect of revenues generated from significant one-time projects or the loss of such projects; |
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the impact of our decision to discontinue certain products; |
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the amount and timing of capital expenditures and operating costs related to the maintenance and
expansion of our operations and infrastructure; |
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the timing and success of new product introductions by us or our competitors; |
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variations in the demand for our products and the implementation cycles of our products by our customers; |
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changes in our pricing and discounting policies or those of our competitors; |
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service outages, other technical difficulties or security breaches; |
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limitations relating to the capacity of our networks, systems and processes; |
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maintaining appropriate staffing levels and capabilities relative to projected growth, or retaining key
personnel as a result of the integration of recent acquisitions; |
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adverse judgments or settlements in legal disputes; |
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the cost and timing of organizational restructuring, in particular in international jurisdictions; |
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the extent to which certain expenses are more or less deductible for tax purposes, such as share-based
compensation that fluctuates based on the timing of vesting and our stock price; |
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the timing of any additional reversal of our deferred tax valuation allowance; |
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adoption of new accounting pronouncements; and |
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general economic, political, industry and market conditions and those conditions specific to Internet
usage and online businesses. |
We believe that our quarterly revenues and results of operations on a year-over-year and
sequential quarter-over-quarter basis may vary significantly in the future and that
period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. Investors are
cautioned not to rely on the results of prior quarters as an indication of future performance.
Our business may be harmed if we deliver, or are perceived to deliver, inaccurate information
to our customers, to the media or to the public generally.
If the information that we provide to our customers, to the media, or to the public is
inaccurate, or perceived to be inaccurate, our brand may be harmed. The information that we collect
or that is included in our databases and the statistical projections that we provide to our
customers, to the media or to the public may contain or be perceived to contain inaccuracies. These
projections may be viewed as an important measure for the success of certain businesses, especially
those businesses with a large online presence. Any inaccuracy or perceived inaccuracy in the data
reported by us about such businesses may potentially affect the market perception of such
businesses and result in claims or litigation around the accuracy of our data, or the
appropriateness of our methodology, may encourage aggressive action on the part of our competitors,
and could harm our brand. Any dissatisfaction by our customers or the media with our digital
marketing intelligence, measurement or data collection and statistical projection methodologies,
whether as a result of inaccuracies, perceived inaccuracies, or otherwise, could have an adverse
effect on our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers and could harm our
brand. Additionally, we could be contractually required to pay damages, which could be substantial,
to certain of our customers if the information we provide to them is found to be inaccurate. Any
liability that we incur or any harm to our brand that we suffer because of actual or perceived
irregularities or inaccuracies in the data we deliver to our customers could harm our business.
Material defects or errors in our data collection and analysis systems could damage our
reputation, result in significant costs to us and impair our ability to sell our products.
Our data collection and analysis systems are complex and may contain material defects or
errors. In addition, the large amount of data that we collect may make our data collection and
analysis systems more susceptible to defects or errors. The companies that we recently acquired
also rely on data collection and analysis software and systems to service enterprise clients. Any
defect in our panelist data collection software, our census collection systems, our enterprise
focused software and systems, network systems, statistical projections or other methodologies could
lead to consequences that impact operating results, including:
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loss of customers; |
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damage to our brand; |
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lost or delayed market acceptance and sales of our products; |
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interruptions in the availability of our products; |
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the incurrence of substantial costs to correct any material defect or error; |
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sales credits, refunds or liability to our customers; |
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diversion of development resources; and |
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increased warranty and insurance costs. |
We may lose customers or be liable to certain customers if we provide poor service or if our
products do not comply with our customer agreements.
Errors in our systems resulting from the large amount of data that we collect, store and
manage could cause the information that we collect to be incomplete or to contain inaccuracies that
our customers regard as significant. The failure or inability of our systems, networks and
processes to adequately handle the data in a high quality and consistent manner could result in the
loss of customers. In addition, we may be liable to certain of our customers for damages they may
incur resulting from these events, such as loss of business, loss of future revenues, breach of
contract or loss of goodwill to their business.
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Our insurance policies may not cover any claim against us for loss of data, inaccuracies
in data or other indirect or consequential damages and defending a lawsuit, regardless of its
merit, could be costly and divert managements attention. Adequate insurance coverage may not be
available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all. Any such developments could adversely
affect our business and results of operations.
Our business may be harmed if we change our methodologies or the scope of information we
collect.
We have in the past and may in the future change our methodologies, the methodologies of
acquired companies, or the scope of information we collect. Such changes may result from identified
deficiencies in current methodologies, development of more advanced methodologies, changes in our
business plans or expressed or perceived needs of our customers or potential customers. Any such
changes or perceived changes, or our inability to accurately or adequately communicate to our
customers and the media such changes and the potential implications of such changes on the data we
have published or will publish in the future, may result in customer dissatisfaction, particularly
if certain information is no longer collected or information collected in future periods is not
comparable with information collected in prior periods. For example, in 2009, we adopted new
methodology that would integrate server-based web beacon information with our existing panel-based
data. In 2009, we also acquired and entered into a strategic alliance with web analytics companies
in order to enhance the scope of our server-based web beacon information. As a result, some of our
existing customers or customers of acquired entities may refuse to participate, or participate only
in a limited fashion, and other may become dissatisfied as a result of changes in our methodology
and decide not to continue purchasing their subscriptions or may decide to discontinue providing us
with their web beacon or other server-side information. Such customers may elect to publicly air
their dissatisfaction with the methodological changes made by us, thereby damaging our brand and
harming our reputation. Additionally, we expect that we will need to further integrate new
capabilities with our existing methodologies if we develop or acquire additional products or lines
of business in the future. The resulting future changes to our methodologies, the information we
collect, or the strategy we implement to collect and analyze information, such as the movement away
from pure panel-centric measurement to a hybrid of panel- and site-centric measurement, may cause
additional customer dissatisfaction and result in loss of customers.
If we are not able to maintain panels of sufficient size and scope, or if the costs of
maintaining our panels materially increase, our business would be harmed.
We believe that the quality, size and scope of our Internet, mobile and cross-media user
panels are critical to our business. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to
maintain panels of sufficient size and scope to provide the quality of marketing intelligence that
our customers demand from our products. If we fail to maintain a panel of sufficient size and
scope including coverage of international markets, customers might decline to purchase our
products or renew their subscriptions, our reputation could be damaged and our business could be
materially and adversely affected. We expect that our panel costs may increase and may comprise a
greater portion of our cost of revenues in the future. The costs associated with maintaining and
improving the quality, size and scope of our panel are dependent on many factors, many of which are
beyond our control, including the participation rate of potential panel members, the turnover among
existing panel members and requirements for active participation of panel members, such as
completing survey questionnaires. Concerns over the potential unauthorized disclosure of personal
information or the classification of our software as spyware or adware may cause existing panel
members to uninstall our software or may discourage potential panel members from installing our
software. To the extent we experience greater turnover, or churn, in our panel than we have
historically experienced, these costs would increase more rapidly. We also have terminated and may
in the future terminate relationships with service providers whose practices we believe may not
comply with our privacy policies, and have removed and may in the future remove panel members
obtained through such service providers. Such actions may result in increased costs for recruiting
additional panel members. In addition, publishing content on the Internet and purchasing
advertising space on Web sites may become more expensive or restrictive in the future, which could
decrease the availability and increase the cost of advertising the incentives we offer to panel
members. To the extent that such additional expenses are not accompanied by increased revenues, our
operating margins would be reduced and our financial results would be adversely affected.
Difficulties entering into arrangements with website owners, wireless communications operators
and other entities supporting server- and census-based methodologies may negatively affect our
methodologies and harm our business.
We believe that our methodologies are enhanced by the ability to collect information
using server-based web beacon information and other census-level approaches. There can be no
assurance, however, that we will be able to maintain relationships with a sufficient number and
scope of websites in order to provide the quality of marketing intelligence that our customers
demand from our products. If we fail to continue to expand the scope of our server-based data
collection approaches, customers might decline to purchase our products or renew their
subscriptions, our reputation could be damaged and our business could be adversely affected.
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We may expand through investments in, acquisitions of, or the development of new products with
assistance from other companies, any of which may not be successful and may divert our managements
attention.
In 2008, we closed our acquisition of M:Metrics and have integrated this business into
our own. In 2009, we acquired the Certifica group of companies located in Latin America.
Additionally, in 2010, we acquired the ARSgroup, Nexius, Inc. and Nedstat B.V. We also expect to
continue to evaluate and enter into discussions regarding a wide array of potential strategic
transactions, including acquiring complementary products, technologies or businesses. We also may
enter into relationships with other businesses in order to expand our product offerings, which
could involve preferred or exclusive licenses, discount pricing or investments in other company, or
to expand our sales capabilities. These transactions could be material to our financial condition
and results of operations. Although these transactions may provide additional benefits, they may
not be profitable immediately or in the long term. Negotiating any such transactions could be
time-consuming, difficult and expensive, and our ability to close these transactions may be subject
to regulatory or other approvals and other conditions which are beyond our control. Consequently,
we can make no assurances that any such transactions, if undertaken and announced, would be
completed.
An acquisition, investment or business relationship may result in unforeseen operating
difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or
integrating the businesses, technologies, products, personnel or operations of the acquired
companies, particularly if the key personnel of the acquired company choose not to be employed by
us, and we may have difficulty retaining the customers of any acquired business due to changes in
management and ownership. Acquisitions may also disrupt our ongoing business, divert our resources
and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing
development of our business. Moreover, we cannot assure you that the anticipated benefits of any
acquisition, investment or business relationship would be realized or that we would not be exposed
to unknown liabilities. In connection with any such transaction, we may:
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encounter difficulties retaining key employees of the acquired company or integrating diverse business cultures; |
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issue additional equity securities that would dilute the common stock held by existing stockholders; |
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incur large charges or substantial liabilities; |
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become subject to adverse tax consequences, substantial depreciation or deferred compensation charges; |
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use cash that we may need in the future to operate our business; |
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enter new geographic markets that subject us to different laws and regulations that may have an adverse impact
on our business; |
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experience difficulties effectively utilizing acquired assets; |
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encounter difficulties integrating the information and financial reporting systems of acquired foreign
businesses, particularly those that operated under accounting principles other than those generally accepted in
the United States prior to the acquisition by us; and |
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incur debt on terms unfavorable to us or that we are unable to repay. |
The impact of any one or more of these factors could adversely affect our business or
results of operations or cause the price of our common stock to decline substantially.
Following an acquisition of another business, we may also be required to defer the
recognition of revenue that we receive from the sale of products that we acquired, or from the sale
of bundles products that include products that we acquired, if we have not established vendor
specific objective evidence, or VSOE, for the undelivered elements in the arrangement. For example,
we currently have not established VSOE, for the multiple-element arrangement deliverables involving
products and services related to our acquisition of Nexius and account for all elements in these
arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the entire arrangement fee as revenue over
the service period of the last delivered element. If we are unable to establish VSOE for these
transactions or for transactions related to other products and services in future periods, we may
be required to otherwise delay the recognition of current and future revenue sources. This may
result in fluctuations in our operating results and may adversely affect both revenues and
operating margins in a given period or periods.
Future acquisitions or dispositions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity
securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, or write-offs of
goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. Also, the anticipated benefit of many of
our acquisitions may not materialize.
36
Concern over spyware and privacy, including any violations of privacy laws, perceived misuse
of personal information, or failure to adhere to the privacy commitments that we make, could cause
public relations problems, regulatory scrutiny, and potential class action lawsuits and could
impair our ability to recruit panelists or maintain panels of sufficient size and scope, which in
turn could adversely affect our ability to provide our products.
Any perception of our practices as an invasion of privacy, whether legal or illegal, may
subject us to public criticism, and in turn, regulatory scrutiny, and potential class action
lawsuits. Existing and future privacy laws and increasing sensitivity of consumers to the
collection or use of personal information and online usage information and the possibility of an
unauthorized disclosure of this information may create negative public reaction related to our
business practices. U.S. and European lawmakers and regulators recently have expressed concern
over the use of third party cookies or web beacons for the purpose of online behavioral advertising
and efforts to address these uses may result in broader requirements that would apply to research
activities, including understanding Internet usage. Likewise, the European Commission has issued a
new directive requiring the regulation of cookies throughout the European Union; the individual
country laws that are passed as a result of this directive will likely introduce requirements that
differ from country to country. Such actions may have a chilling effect on businesses that collect
or use online usage information generally or substantially increase the cost of maintaining a
business that collects or uses online usage information, increase regulatory scrutiny and increase
the potential of class action lawsuits. In response to marketplace concerns about the usage of
third party cookies and web beacons to track user behaviors, the major browsers have enabled
features that allow the user to limit the collection of certain data. We actively seek to prevent
the inclusion of our cookies and beacons on the lists of companies whose activities are
automatically blocked without prior individual review of those cookies and beacons by the end user.
Additionally, public concern has grown regarding certain kinds of downloadable software known as
spyware and adware. These concerns might cause users to refrain from downloading software from
the Internet, including our proprietary technology, if they inaccurately believe our software is
spyware or adware. This could make it difficult to recruit additional panelists or maintain a
panel of sufficient size and scope to provide meaningful marketing intelligence. In response to
general spyware and adware concerns in the marketplace, numerous programs are available, many of
which are available for free, and that claim to identify, remove or block such software or
activity. Some anti-spyware programs have in the past identified, and may in the future identify,
our software as spyware or potential spyware applications. We actively seek to prevent the
inclusion of our software on lists of spyware applications or potential spyware applications and apply best industry practices for obtaining appropriate consent from panelists, protect the privacy
and confidentiality of our panelist data, and comply with existing privacy laws. However, to the
extent that we are not successful, and anti-spyware programs classify our software as spyware, a
potential spyware application, or third party service providers fail to comply with our privacy
or data security requirements, our brand may be harmed and users may refrain from downloading these
programs or may uninstall our software. Any resulting reputational harm, potential claims asserted
against us or decrease in the size or scope of our panel could reduce the demand for our products,
increase the cost of recruiting panelists and adversely affect our ability to provide our products
to our customers. Any of these effects could harm our business.
Any unauthorized disclosure or theft of private information we gather could harm our business.
Unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information regarding Web site
visitors, whether through breach of our secure network by an unauthorized party, employee theft or
misuse, or otherwise, could harm our business. If there were an inadvertent disclosure of
personally identifiable information, or client confidential information, or if a third party were
to gain unauthorized access to the personally identifiable or client confidential information we
possess, our operations could be seriously disrupted and we could be subject to claims or
litigation arising from damages suffered by panel members or pursuant to the agreements with our
customers. In addition, we could incur significant costs in complying with the multitude of state,
federal and foreign laws regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information. Finally,
any perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of the information we collect could harm our
reputation, substantially impair our ability to attract and retain panelists and have an adverse
impact on our business.
The market for digital marketing intelligence is at an early stage of development, and if it
does not develop, or develops more slowly than expected, our business will be harmed.
The market for digital marketing intelligence products is at a relatively early stage of
development, and it is uncertain whether these products will achieve high levels of demand and
increased market acceptance. Our success will depend to a substantial extent on the willingness of
companies to increase their use of such products and to continue use of such products on a
long-term basis. Factors that may affect market acceptance include:
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the reliability of digital marketing intelligence products; |
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public concern regarding privacy and data security; |
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decisions of our customers and potential customers to develop digital
marketing intelligence capabilities internally rather than purchasing
such products from third-party suppliers like us; |
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decisions by industry associations in the United States or in other
countries that result in association-directed awards, on behalf of
their members, of digital measurement contracts to one or a limited
number of competitive vendors; |
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the ability to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction; and |
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the rate of growth in eCommerce, online advertising and digital media. |
The market for our products may not develop further, or may develop more slowly than we
expect or may even contract, all of which could adversely affect our business and operating
results.
37
Because our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the sales of our
products to customers located outside of the United States, our business will become increasingly
susceptible to risks associated with international operations.
During 2009, we acquired a company with a substantial presence in multiple Latin American
countries, and in 2010, we acquired a company with a substantial presence in multiple European
countries, and a company with a growing clientele within the Middle East. Despite this acquisition,
we otherwise have had limited experience operating in markets outside of the United States. Our
inexperience in operating our business outside of the United States may increase the risk that the
international expansion efforts we have begun to undertake will not be successful. In addition,
conducting international operations subjects us to new risks that we have not generally faced in
the United States. These risks include:
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recruitment and maintenance of a sufficiently large and representative panel both globally and in certain
countries; |
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expanding the adoption of our server- or census-based web beacon data collection in international countries; |
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different customer needs and buying behavior than we are accustomed to in the United States; |
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difficulties and expenses associated with tailoring our products to local markets, including
their translation into foreign languages; |
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difficulties in staffing and managing international operations including complex and
costly hiring, disciplinary, and termination requirements; |
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longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable; |
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potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value-added
taxes and restrictions on the repatriation of earnings; |
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reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; |
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the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations; |
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fluctuations in currency exchange rates; |
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increased accounting and reporting burdens and complexities; and |
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political, social and economic instability abroad, terrorist attacks and security concerns. |
Additionally, operating in international markets requires significant management
attention and financial resources. We cannot be certain that the investments and additional
resources required to establish and maintain operations in other countries will hold their value or
produce desired levels of revenues or profitability. We cannot be certain that we will be able to
maintain and increase the size of the Internet user panel that we currently have in various
countries, that we will be able to recruit a representative sample for our audience measurement
products, or that we will be able to enter into arrangements with a sufficient number of website
owners to allow us to collect server-based information for inclusion in our digital marketing
intelligence products. In addition, there can be no assurance that Internet usage and eCommerce
will continue to grow in international markets. In addition, governmental authorities in various
countries have different views regarding regulatory oversight of the Internet. For example, the
Chinese government has taken steps in the past to restrict the content available to Internet users
in China.
The impact of any one or more of these risks could negatively affect or delay our plans
to expand our international business and, consequently, our future operating results.
If the Internet advertising and eCommerce markets develop more slowly than we expect, our
business will suffer.
Our future success will depend on continued growth in the use of the Internet as an
advertising medium, a continued increase in eCommerce spending and the proliferation of the
Internet as a platform for a wide variety of consumer activities. These markets are evolving
rapidly, and it is not certain that their current growth trends will continue.
The adoption of Internet advertising, particularly by advertisers that have historically
relied on traditional offline media, requires the acceptance of new approaches to conducting
business and a willingness to invest in such new approaches in light of a difficult economic
environment. Advertisers may perceive Internet advertising to be less effective than traditional
advertising for marketing their products. They may also be unwilling to pay premium rates for
online advertising that is targeted at specific segments of users based on their demographic
profile or Internet behavior. The online advertising and eCommerce markets may also be adversely
affected by privacy issues relating to such targeted advertising, including that which makes use of
personalized information, or online behavioral information. Furthermore, online merchants may not
be able to establish online commerce models that are cost effective and may not learn how to
effectively compete with other Web sites or offline merchants. In addition, consumers may not
continue to shift their spending on goods and services from offline outlets to the Internet. As a
result, growth in the use of the Internet for eCommerce may not continue at a rapid rate, or the
Internet may not be adopted as a medium of commerce by a broad base of customers or companies
worldwide. Moreover, the adoption of advertising through mobile media may slow as a result of
uncertain economic conditions or other factors. Because of the foregoing factors, among others, the
market for Internet advertising and eCommerce, including commerce through mobile media, may not
continue to grow at significant rates. If these markets do not continue to develop, or if they
develop more slowly than expected, our business will suffer.
38
Our growth depends upon our ability to retain existing large customers and add new large
customers; however, to the extent we are not successful in doing so, our ability to maintain
profitability and positive cash flow may be impaired.
Our success depends in part on our ability to sell our products to large customers and on
the renewal of the subscriptions of those customers in subsequent years. For the three months ended
March 31, 2011 and the years ended December 31, 2010, and 2009, we derived approximately 27%, 29%,
and 29% of our total revenues from our top 10 customers. Uncertain economic conditions or other
factors, such as the failure or consolidation of large client companies, or internal reorganization
or changes in focus, may cause certain large customers to terminate or reduce their subscriptions.
Moreover, ARS and Nexius, both recently acquired companies, have revenues highly concentrated in a
few large customers. The loss of any one or more of those customers could decrease our revenues and
harm our current and future operating results. The addition of new large customers or increases in
sales to existing large customers may require particularly long implementation periods and other
costs, which may adversely affect our profitability. To compete effectively, we have in the past
been, and may in the future be, forced to offer significant discounts to maintain existing
customers or acquire other large customers. In addition, we may be forced to reduce or withdraw
from our relationships with certain existing customers or refrain from acquiring certain new
customers in order to acquire or maintain relationships with important large customers. As a
result, new large customers or increased usage of our products by large customers may cause our
profits to decline and our ability to sell our products to other customers could be adversely
affected.
We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a single customer, Microsoft
Corporation. For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and the years ended December 31, 2010, and
2009, we derived approximately 12%, 11% and 12%, respectively, of our total revenues from
Microsoft. If Microsoft were to cease or substantially reduce its use of our products, our revenues
and earnings might decline.
As our international operations grow, changes in foreign currencies could have an increased
effect on our operating results.
A portion of our revenues and expenses from business operations in foreign countries are
derived from transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of our
operations in those countries. As such, we have exposure to adverse changes in exchange rates
associated with revenues and operating expenses of our foreign operations, but we believe this
exposure to be immaterial at this time and do not currently engage in any transactions that hedge
foreign currency exchange rate risk. As we grow our international operations, and acquire companies
with established business in international regions, our exposure to foreign currency risk could
become more significant.
Conditions and changes in the national and global economic environment may adversely affect
our business and financial results.
Adverse economic conditions in markets in which we operate can harm our business. If the
economies of the United States and other countries continue to experience prolonged uncertainty,
customers may delay or reduce their purchases of digital marketing intelligence products and
services. In recent years, economic conditions in the countries in which we operate and sell
products have been negative, and global financial markets have experienced significant volatility
stemming from a multitude of factors, including adverse credit conditions impacted by the
subprime-mortgage crisis, slower economic activity, concerns about inflation and deflation,
decreased consumer confidence, increased unemployment, reduced corporate profits and capital
spending, adverse business conditions, liquidity concerns and other factors. Economic growth in the
U.S. and in many other countries slowed in the fourth quarter of 2007 and remained slow throughout
2008 and 2009. Notwithstanding certain signs of recovery during 2010, economic growth may continue
to stagnate during 2011 in the U.S. and internationally, particularly in view of recent economic
turmoil in Europe as well as political unrest in the Middle East. During challenging economic
times, and in tight credit markets, many customers have and may continue to delay or reduce
spending. Additionally, some of our customers may be unable to fully pay for purchases or
may discontinue their businesses, resulting in the incurrence of uncollectible receivables for us.
This could result in reductions in our sales, longer sales cycles, difficulties in collection of
accounts receivable, slower adoption of new technologies and increased price competition. This
downturn may also impact our available resources for financing new and existing operations. If
global economic and market conditions, or economic conditions in the United States or other key
markets deteriorate, we may experience a material and adverse impact on our business, results of
operations and financial condition.
Changes and instability in the national and global political environments may adversely affect
our business and financial results.
Recent turmoil in the political environment in many parts of the world, including
terrorist activities, military actions, political unrest and increases in energy costs due to
instability in oil-producing regions may continue to put pressure on global economic conditions. If
global economic and market conditions, or economic conditions in the United States or other key
markets deteriorate, we may experience material impacts on our business, operating results, and
financial condition.
39
If we fail to respond to technological developments, our products may become obsolete or less
competitive.
Our future success will depend in part on our ability to modify or enhance our products
to meet customer needs, to add functionality and to address technological advancements. For
example, if certain handheld devices become the primary mode of receiving content and conducting
transactions on the Internet, and we are unable to adapt to collect information from such devices,
then we would not be able to report on online activity. To remain competitive, we will need to
develop new products that address these evolving technologies and standards across the universe of
digital media including television, Internet and mobile usage. However, we may be unsuccessful in
identifying new product opportunities or in developing or marketing new products in a timely or
cost-effective manner. In addition, our product innovations may not achieve the market penetration
or price levels necessary for profitability. If we are unable to develop enhancements to, and new
features for, our existing methodologies or products or if we are unable to develop new products
that keep pace with rapid technological developments or changing industry standards, our products
may become obsolete, less marketable and less competitive, and our business will be harmed.
The market for digital marketing intelligence is highly competitive, and if we cannot compete
effectively, our revenues will decline and our business will be harmed.
The market for digital marketing intelligence is highly competitive and is evolving
rapidly. We compete primarily with providers of digital media intelligence and related analytical
products and services. We also compete with providers of marketing services and solutions, with
full-service survey providers and with internal solutions developed by customers and potential
customers. Our principal competitors include:
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large and small companies that provide data and analysis
of consumers online behavior, including Effective
Measures, Gemius, Compete Inc. (owned by WPP), Google,
Inc., Hitwise (owned by Experian), Quantcast, Visible
Measures and Nielsen; |
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online advertising companies that provide measurement of
online ad effectiveness, including DoubleClick (owned by
Google), Kantar (owned by WPP), ValueClick and WPP; |
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companies that provide audience ratings for TV, radio and
other media that have extended or may extend their current
services, particularly in certain international markets,
to the measurement of digital media, including Arbitron,
Nielsen and Taylor Nelson Sofres (owned by WPP); |
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analytical services companies that provide customers with
detailed information of behavior on their own Web sites,
including Omniture (owned by Adobe), Coremetrics (owned by
IBM), and WebTrends; |
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full-service market research firms and survey providers
that may measure online behavior and attitudes, including
Harris Interactive, Ipsos, Synnovate, GFK, Kantar (owned
by WPP) and Nielsen; |
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companies that provide behavioral, attitudinal and
qualitative advertising effectiveness, including
Toluna/Nurago, Click Forensics, Datrans Aperture, Ipsos
OTX, Dynamic Logic, Insight Express and Marketing
Evolution; and |
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specialty information providers for certain industries
that we serve, including IMS Health (healthcare) and
Techtronix (telecommunications). |
Some of our current competitors have longer operating histories, access to larger
customer bases and substantially greater resources than we do. As a result, these competitors may
be able to devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns, panel retention, panel
development or development of systems and technologies than we can. In addition, some of our
competitors may adopt more aggressive pricing policies or have started to provide some services at
no cost. Furthermore, large software companies, Internet portals and database management companies
may enter our market or enhance their current offerings, either by developing competing services or
by acquiring our competitors, and could leverage their significant resources and pre-existing
relationships with our current and potential customers.
If we are unable to compete successfully against our current and future competitors, we
may not be able to retain and acquire customers, and we may consequently experience a decline in
revenues, reduced operating margins, loss of market share and diminished value from our products.
We may encounter difficulties managing our growth and costs, which could adversely affect our
results of operations.
We have experienced significant growth over the past several years in the U.S. and
internationally. We have substantially expanded our overall business, customer base, headcount,
data collection and processing infrastructure and operating procedures as our business has grown
through both organic growth and acquisitions. We increased our total number of full time employees
to approximately 954 employees as of March 31, 2011 from 176 employees as of December 31, 2003. As
a result of downward adjustments to compensation and reductions in our workforce made during 2009,
however, we may encounter decreased employee morale and increased employee turnover. Moreover, as a
result of acquisition integration initiatives, we may reduce the workforce of an acquired company
or reassign personnel. Such actions may expose us to disruption by dissatisfied employees or
employee-related claims, including without limitation, claims by terminated employees that believe
they are owed more compensation than we believe these employees are due under our compensation and
benefit plans, or claims maintained internationally in jurisdictions whose laws and procedures
differ from those in the United States. In addition, during this same period, we made substantial
investments in our network infrastructure operations as a result of our growth and the growth of
our panel, and we have also undertaken certain strategic acquisitions. We believe that we will need
to continue to effectively manage and expand our organization, operations and facilities in order
to accommodate potential future growth or acquisitions and to successfully integrate acquired
businesses. If we continue to grow, either organically or through acquired businesses, our current
systems and facilities may not be adequate. Our need to effectively manage our operations and cost
structure requires that we continue to assess and improve our operational, financial and management
controls, reporting systems and procedures. If we are not able to efficiently and effectively
manage our cost structure, our business may be impaired.
40
Failure to effectively expand our sales and marketing capabilities could harm our ability to
increase our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our products.
Increasing our customer base and achieving broader market acceptance of our products will
depend to a significant extent on our ability to expand our sales and marketing operations. We
expect to continue to rely on our direct sales force to obtain new customers. We may expand or
enhance our direct sales force both domestically and internationally. We believe that there is
significant competition for direct sales personnel with the sales skills and technical knowledge
that we require. Our ability to achieve significant growth in revenues in the future will depend,
in large part, on our success in recruiting, training and retaining sufficient numbers of direct
sales personnel, and our ability to cross train our existing sales force with the sales forces of
acquired businesses so that the sales personnel have the necessary information and ability to sell
or develop sales prospects for both our products and the products of recently-acquired companies.
In general, new hires require significant training and substantial experience before becoming
productive. Our recent hires and planned hires may not become as productive as we require, and we
may be unable to hire or retain sufficient numbers of qualified individuals in the future in the
markets where we currently operate or where we seek to conduct business. Our business will be
seriously harmed if the efforts to expand our sales and marketing capabilities are not successful
or if they do not generate a sufficient increase in revenues.
If we fail to develop our brand, our business may suffer.
We believe that building and maintaining awareness of comScore and our portfolio of
products in a cost-effective manner is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our current
and future products and is an important element in attracting new customers. We will also need to
carefully manage the brands used by recently-acquired businesses as we integrate such businesses
into our own. We rely on our relationships with the media and the exposure we receive from numerous
citations of our data by media outlets to build brand awareness and credibility among our customers
and the marketplace. Furthermore, we believe that brand recognition will become more important for
us as competition in our market increases. Our brands success will depend on the effectiveness of
our marketing efforts and on our ability to provide reliable and valuable products to our customers
at competitive prices. Our brand marketing activities may not yield increased revenues, and even if
they do, any increased revenues may not offset the expenses we incur in attempting to build our
brand. If we fail to successfully market our brand, we may fail to attract new customers, retain
existing customers or attract media coverage to the extent necessary to realize a sufficient return
on our brand-building efforts, and our business and results of operations could suffer.
We have a limited operating history and may not be able to achieve financial or
operational success.
We were incorporated in 1999 and introduced our first syndicated Internet audience
measurement product in 2000. Many of our other products were first introduced during the past few
years. Accordingly, we are still in the early stages of development and have only a limited
operating history upon which our business can be evaluated. You should evaluate our likelihood of
financial and operational success in light of the risks, uncertainties, expenses, delays and
difficulties associated with an early-stage business in an evolving market, some of which may be
beyond our control, including:
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our ability to successfully manage any growth we may achieve in the future; |
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the risks associated with operating a business in international markets, including
Asia, Europe and Latin America; and |
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our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, technologies or services. |
We have a history of significant net losses, may incur significant net losses in the future
and may not maintain profitability.
Although we have generated profits in prior periods, we incurred a net loss of
$1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. As such we cannot assure you that we will be
able to achieve, sustain or increase profitability in the future, particularly if we engage in
additional acquisition activity as we did in 2010. For the quarter ended March 31, 2011, we
incurred a net loss of $0.3 million. As of March 31, 2011, we had an accumulated deficit of
$53.6 million. Because a large portion of our costs are fixed, we may not be able to reduce or
maintain our expenses in response to any decrease in our revenues, which would adversely affect our
operating results. In addition, we expect operating expenses to increase as we implement certain
growth initiatives, which include, among other things, the development of new products, expansion
of our infrastructure, plans for international expansion and general and administrative expenses
associated with being a public company. If our revenues do not increase to offset these expected
increases in costs and operating expenses, our operating results would be materially and adversely
affected. You should not consider our revenue growth in recent periods as indicative of our future
performance, as our operating results for future periods are subject to numerous uncertainties.
41
We have limited experience with respect to our pricing model, and if the fees we
charge for our products are unacceptable to our customers, our revenues and operating results will
be harmed.
We have limited experience in determining the fees that our existing and potential
customers will find acceptable for our products, the products of companies that we recently
acquired, and any potential products that are developed as a result of the integration of our
company with acquired companies. The majority of our customers purchase specifically-tailored
subscription packages that are priced in the aggregate. Due to the level of customization of such
subscription packages, the pricing of contracts or individual product components of such packages
may not be readily comparable across customers or periods. Existing and potential customers may
have difficulty assessing the value of our products and services when comparing it to competing
products and services. As the market for our products matures, or as new competitors introduce new
products or services that compete with ours, we may be unable to renew our agreements with existing
customers or attract new customers with the fees we have historically charged. As a result, it is
possible that future competitive dynamics in our market as well as global economic pressures may
require us to reduce our fees, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues, profitability
and operating results.
If we are unable to sell additional products to our existing customers or attract new
customers, our revenue growth will be adversely affected.
To increase our revenues, we believe we must sell additional products to existing
customers, including existing customers of acquired businesses, and regularly add new customers. If
our existing and prospective customers do not perceive our products to be of sufficient value and
quality, we may not be able to increase sales to existing customers and attract new customers, or
we may have difficulty retaining existing customers, and our operating results will be adversely
affected.
We depend on third parties for data that is critical to our business, and our business could
suffer if we cannot continue to obtain data from these suppliers.
We rely on third-party data sources for information regarding certain digital activities
such as television viewing and mobile usage, as well as for information about offline activities of
and demographic information regarding our panelists. The availability and accuracy of these data is
important to the continuation and development of our cross-media products, products that use
server- or census-based information as part of the research methodology, and products that link
online and offline activity. If this information is not available to us at commercially reasonable
terms, or is found to be inaccurate, it could harm our reputation, business and financial
performance.
System failures or delays in the operation of our computer and communications systems may harm
our business.
Our success depends on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and
communications systems and the third-party data centers we use. Our ability to collect and report
accurate data may be interrupted by a number of factors, including our inability to access the
Internet, the failure of our network or software systems, computer viruses, security breaches or
variability in user traffic on customer Web sites. A failure of our network or data gathering
procedures could impede the processing of data, cause the corruption or loss of data or prevent the
timely delivery of our products.
In the future, we may need to expand our network and systems at a more rapid pace than we
have in the past. Our network or systems may not be capable of meeting the demand for increased
capacity, or we may incur additional unanticipated expenses to accommodate these capacity demands.
In addition, we may lose valuable data, be unable to obtain or provide data on a timely basis or
our network may temporarily shut down if we fail to adequately expand or maintain our network
capabilities to meet future requirements. Any lapse in our ability to collect or transmit data may
decrease the value of our products and prevent us from providing the data requested by our
customers. Any disruption in our network processing or loss of Internet user data may damage our
reputation and result in the loss of customers, and our business and results of operations could be
adversely affected.
We rely on a small number of third-party service providers to host and deliver our products, and
any interruptions or delays in services from these third parties could impair the delivery of our
products and harm our business.
We host our products and serve all of our customers from two third-party data center
facilities located in Virginia and Illinois. While we operate our equipment inside these
facilities, we do not control the operation of either of these facilities, and, depending on
service level requirements, we may not continue to operate or maintain redundant data center
facilities for all of our products or for all of our data, which could increase our vulnerability.
These facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods,
fires, power loss, telecommunications failures and similar events. They are also subject to
break-ins, computer viruses, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and other misconduct. A
natural disaster or an act of terrorism, a decision to close the facilities without adequate notice
or other unanticipated problems could result in lengthy interruptions in availability of our
products. We may also encounter capacity limitations at our
third-party data centers. Additionally, our data center facility agreements are of limited
durations, and our data center facilities have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on
commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Our agreement for our data center facility located in
Virginia expires in April 2013, if not renewed, and our agreement for our data center facility
located in Illinois expires in July 2011, if not renewed. Although we are not substantially
dependent on either data center facility because of planned redundancies, and although we currently
are able to migrate to alternative data centers, such a migration may result in an interruption or
delay in service. If we are unable to renew our agreements with the owners of the facilities on
commercially reasonable terms, or if we migrate to a new data center, we may experience delays in
delivering our products until an agreement with another data center facility can be arranged or the
migration to a new facility is completed.
42
We currently leverage a large content delivery network, or CDN, to provide services that
allow us to offer a more efficient tagging solution for our Media Metrix 360 product offerings. If
that service faced unplanned outage or the service became immediately unavailable, an alternate CDN
provider or additional capacity in our data centers would need to be established to support the
large volume of tag requests that we currently manage which would either require additional
investments in equipment and facilities or a transition plan. This could unexpectedly raise the
costs and could contribute to delays or losses in tag data that could affect the quality and
reputation of our Media Metrix 360 data products.
Further, we depend on access to the Internet through third-party bandwidth providers to
operate our business. If we lose the services of one or more of our bandwidth providers for any
reason, we could experience disruption in the delivery of our products or be required to retain the
services of a replacement bandwidth provider. It may be difficult for us to replace any lost
bandwidth on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, due to the large amount of bandwidth our
operations require.
Our operations also rely heavily on the availability of electrical power and cooling
capacity, which are also supplied by third-party providers. If we or the third-party data center
operators that we use to deliver our products were to experience a major power outage or if the
cost of electrical power increases significantly, our operations and profitability would be harmed.
If we or the third-party data centers that we use were to experience a major power outage, we would
have to rely on back-up generators, which may not function properly, and their supply may be
inadequate. Such a power outage could result in the disruption of our business. Additionally, if
our current facilities fail to have sufficient cooling capacity or availability of electrical
power, we would need to find alternative facilities.
Any errors, defects, disruptions or other performance problems with our products caused
by third parties could harm our reputation and may damage our business. Interruptions in the
availability of our products may reduce our revenues due to increased turnaround time to complete
projects, cause us to issue credits to customers, cause customers to terminate their subscription
and project agreements or adversely affect our renewal rates. Our business would be harmed if our
customers or potential customers believe our products are unreliable.
Domestic or foreign laws, regulations or enforcement actions may limit our ability to collect
and use information about Internet users or restrict or prohibit our product offerings, causing a
decrease in the value of our products and an adverse impact on the sales of our products.
Our business could be adversely impacted by existing or future laws or regulations of, or
actions by, domestic or foreign regulatory agencies. For example, privacy concerns could lead to
legislative, judicial and regulatory limitations on our ability to collect maintain and use
information about Internet users in the United States and abroad. Various state legislatures have
enacted legislation designed to protect Internet users privacy, for example by prohibiting
spyware. In recent years, similar legislation has been proposed in other states and at the federal
level and has been enacted in foreign countries, most notably by the European Union, which adopted
a privacy directive regulating the collection of personally identifiable information online and
more recently, restricting the use of cookies without opt-in consent by the user. Recently, the
U.S. Congress and regulators have expressed concern over the collection of Internet usage
information as part of a larger initiative to regulate online behavioral advertising. A similar
concern has been raised by regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom. In addition, U.S. and
European lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern over the use of third party cookies or web
beacons to understand Internet usage. These laws and regulations, if drafted or interpreted
broadly, could be deemed to apply to the technology we use, and could restrict our information
collection methods, and the collection methods of third parties from whom we may obtain data, or
decrease the amount and utility of the information that we would be permitted to collect. Even if
such laws and regulations are not enacted, lawmakers and regulators may publicly call into question
the collection and use of Internet or mobile usage data and may affect vendors and customers
willingness to do business with us. In addition, our ability to conduct business in certain foreign
jurisdictions, including China, is restricted by the laws, regulations and agency actions of those
jurisdictions. The costs of compliance with, and the other burdens imposed by, these and other laws
or regulatory actions may prevent us from selling our products or increase the costs associated
with selling our products, and may affect our ability to invest in or jointly develop products in
the United States and in foreign jurisdictions.
In addition, failure to comply with these and other laws and regulations may result in,
among other things, administrative enforcement actions and fines, class action lawsuits and civil
and criminal liability. State attorneys general, governmental and non-governmental entities and
private persons may bring legal actions asserting that our methods of collecting, using and
distributing Web site visitor information are illegal or improper, which could require us to spend
significant time and resources defending these claims. For example, some companies that collect,
use and distribute Web site visitor information have been the subject of governmental
investigations and class-action lawsuits. Any such regulatory or civil action that is brought
against us, even if unsuccessful, may distract our managements attention, divert our resources,
negatively affect our public image or reputation among our panelists and customers and harm our
business.
The impact of any of these current or future laws or regulations could make it more
difficult or expensive to attract or maintain panelists, particularly in affected jurisdictions,
and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Laws related to the regulation of the Internet could adversely affect our business.
Laws and regulations that apply to communications and commerce over the Internet are
becoming more prevalent. In particular, the growth and development of the market for eCommerce has
prompted calls for more stringent tax, consumer protection and privacy laws in the United States
and abroad that may impose additional burdens on companies conducting business online. The
adoption, modification or interpretation of laws or regulations relating to the Internet or our
customers digital operations could negatively affect the businesses of our customers and reduce
their demand for our products. Even if such laws and regulations are not enacted, lawmakers and
regulators may publicly call into question the collection and use of Internet or mobile usage data
and may affect vendors and customers willingness to do business with us.
43
If we fail to respond to evolving industry standards, our products may become obsolete or less
competitive.
The market for our products is characterized by rapid technological advances, changes in
customer requirements, changes in protocols and evolving industry standards. For example, industry
associations such as the Advertising Research Foundation, the Council of American Survey Research
Organizations, the Internet Advertising Bureau, or IAB, and the Media Rating Council have
independently initiated efforts to either review online market research methodologies or to develop
minimum standards for online market research. In September 2007, we began a full audit to obtain
accreditation by the Media Rating Council. Any standards adopted by U.S or internationally based
industry associations may lead to costly changes to our procedures and methodologies. As a result,
the cost of developing our digital marketing intelligence products could increase. If we do not
adhere to standards prescribed by the IAB or other industry associations, our customers could
choose to purchase products from competing companies that meet such standards. Furthermore,
industry associations based in countries outside of the United States often endorse certain vendors
or methodologies. If our methodologies fail to receive an endorsement from an important industry
association located in a foreign country, advertising agencies, media companies and advertisers in
that country may not purchase our products. As a result, our efforts to further expand
internationally could be adversely affected.
The success of our business depends on the continued growth of the Internet as a medium for
commerce, content, advertising and communications.
Expansion in the sales of our products depends on the continued acceptance of the
Internet as a platform for commerce, content, advertising and communications. The use of the
Internet as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications could be adversely
impacted by delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle
increased demands of Internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease-of-use, accessibility and
quality-of-service. The performance of the Internet and its acceptance as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications has been harmed by viruses, worms, and
similar malicious programs, and the Internet has experienced a variety of outages and other delays
as a result of damage to portions of its infrastructure. If for any reason the Internet does not
remain a medium for widespread commerce, content, advertising and communications, the demand for
our products would be significantly reduced, which would harm our business.
We rely on our management team and may need additional personnel to grow our business; the
loss of one or more key employees or the inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could
harm our business.
Our success and future growth depends to a significant degree on the skills and continued
services of our management team, including our founders, Magid M. Abraham, Ph.D. and Gian M.
Fulgoni. Our future success also depends on our ability to retain, attract and motivate highly
skilled technical, managerial, marketing and customer service personnel, including members of our
management team. All of our employees work for us on an at-will basis. We plan to hire additional
personnel in all areas of our business, particularly for our sales, marketing and technology
development areas, both domestically and internationally, which will likely increase our recruiting
and hiring costs. Competition for
these types of personnel is intense, particularly in the Internet and software industries. As
a result, we may be unable to successfully attract or retain qualified personnel. Our inability to
retain and attract the necessary personnel could adversely affect our business.
Changes in, or interpretations of, accounting rules and regulations, could result in
unfavorable accounting charges or cause us to change our compensation policies.
Accounting methods and policies, including policies governing revenue recognition,
expenses and accounting for stock options are continually subject to review, interpretation, and
guidance from relevant accounting authorities, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board,
or FASB, and the SEC. Changes to, or interpretations of, accounting methods or policies in the
future may require us to reclassify, restate or otherwise change or revise our financial
statements.
Investors could lose confidence in our financial reports, and our business and stock price may
be adversely affected, if our internal control over financial reporting is found by management or
by our independent registered public accounting firm to not be adequate or if we disclose
significant existing or potential deficiencies or material weaknesses in those controls.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to include a report on our
internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. That report includes
managements assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of
the end the fiscal year. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is
required to issue a report on their evaluation of the operating effectiveness of our internal
control over financial reporting.
44
We continue to evaluate our existing internal controls against the standards adopted by
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB. During the course of our ongoing
evaluation of our internal controls, we have in the past identified, and may in the future
identify, areas requiring improvement, and may have to design enhanced processes and controls to
address issues identified through this review. Remedying any significant deficiencies or material
weaknesses that we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify could require
us to incur significant costs and expend significant time and management resources. We cannot
assure you that any of the measures we may implement to remedy any such deficiencies will
effectively mitigate or remedy such deficiencies. Further, if we are not able to complete the
assessment under Section 404 in a timely manner or to remedy any identified material weaknesses, we
and our independent registered public accounting firm would be unable to conclude that our internal
control over financial reporting is effective at the required reporting deadlines. If our internal
control over financial reporting is found by management or by our independent registered public
accountant to not be adequate or if we disclose significant existing or potential deficiencies or
material weaknesses in those controls, investors could lose confidence in our financial reports, we
could be subject to sanctions or investigations by The NASDAQ Global Market, the Securities and
Exchange Commission or other regulatory authorities and our stock price could be adversely
affected.
In future periods, we may upgrade our financial reporting systems and to implement new
information technology systems to better manage our business, streamline our financial reporting
and enhance our existing internal controls. We may experience difficulties if we transition to new
or upgraded systems, including loss of data and decreases in productivity as our personnel become
familiar with new systems. In addition, we expect that our existing management information systems
may require modification and refinement as we grow and our business needs change. Any modifications
could prolong difficulties we experience with systems transitions, and we may not always employ the
most efficient or effective systems for our purposes. If upgrades cost more or take longer than we
anticipate, our operating results could be adversely affected. Moreover, if we experience
difficulties in implementing new or upgraded information systems or experience system failures, or
if we are unable to successfully modify our management information systems to respond to changes in
our business needs, our ability to timely and effectively process analyze and prepare financial
statements could be adversely affected.
A determination that there is a significant deficiency or material weakness in the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could also reduce our ability to
obtain financing or could increase the cost of any financing we obtain and require additional
expenditures to comply with applicable requirements.
Our net operating loss carryforwards may expire unutilized or underutilized, which could
prevent us from offsetting future taxable income.
We have previously experienced changes in control that have triggered the limitations
of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code on a portion of our net operating loss carryforwards.
As a result, we may be limited in the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that we can use in
the future to offset taxable income for U.S. Federal income tax purposes.
As of March 31, 2011, we estimate our federal and state net operating loss carryforwards
for tax purposes are approximately $51.0 million and $35.2 million, respectively. These net
operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire in 2022 for federal income tax reporting purposes
and in 2016 for state income tax reporting purposes.
In addition, at March 31, 2011 we estimate our aggregate net operating loss carryforwards for
tax purposes related to our foreign subsidiaries are $30.6 million, which will begin to expire in
2011.
We apply a valuation allowance to certain deferred tax assets when management does not
believe that it is more likely than not that they will be realized. In assessing the need for any
valuation allowances, we consider the reversal of existing temporary differences associated with
deferred tax assets and liabilities, future taxable income, tax planning strategies and historical
and future pre-tax book income (as adjusted for permanent differences between financial and tax
accounting items) in order to determine if it is more likely than not that the deferred tax asset
will be realized.
As of March 31, 2011, we had a valuation allowance related to the deferred tax asset for the
value of the auction rate securities and the deferred tax assets of the foreign subsidiaries
(primarily net operating loss carryforwards) that are in their start-up phases, including China,
Chile, Spain, Australia and the Netherlands. Management will continue to evaluate the deferred tax
position of our U.S. and foreign companies throughout 2011 to determine the appropriate level of
valuation allowance required against our deferred tax assets.
We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital may not be
available on acceptable terms or at all.
We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require
additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new products or
enhance our existing products, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary
businesses and technologies.
Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional
funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt
securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity
securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of
our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could include restrictive
covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters,
which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business
opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain
additional financing on terms favorable to us or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate
financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to
support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.
In addition, the terms of any additional equity or debt issuances may adversely affect the value
and price of our common stock.
45
We have invested some of our assets in auction rate securities, which are subject to risks
that may cause losses and affect the liquidity of those investments.
As of March 31, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of $41.1 million in
cash and cash equivalents. As of March 31, 2011, we held $2.9 million in long-term investments consisting of four
separate auction rate securities with a par value of $4.3 million. In prior years, we invested in
these auction rate securities for short periods of time as part of our investment policy. However,
uncertainties in the credit markets have prevented us and other investors in recent periods from
liquidating some holdings of auction rate securities. As there were no auctions for these
securities during the three months ended March 31, 2011, we may incur additional losses.
Risks Related to the Securities Market and Ownership of our Common Stock
The trading price of our common stock may be subject to significant fluctuations and
volatility, and our new stockholders may be unable to resell their shares at a profit.
The stock markets, in general, and the markets for technology stocks in particular, have
experienced high levels of volatility. The market for technology stocks has been extremely volatile
and frequently reaches levels that bear no relationship to the past or present operating
performance of those companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading
price of our common stock. In addition, the trading price of our common stock has been subject to
significant fluctuations and may continue to fluctuate or decline.
The price of our common stock in the market may be higher or lower than the price you
pay, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our
operating performance. It is possible that, in future quarters, our operating results may be below
the expectations of analysts or investors. As a result of these and other factors, the price of our
common stock may decline, possibly materially. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or
part of your investment in our common stock. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading
price of our common stock include the following:
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price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; |
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volatility in the market price and trading volume of technology companies and of companies in our industry; |
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actual or anticipated changes or fluctuations in our operating results; |
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actual or anticipated changes in expectations regarding our performance by investors or securities analysts; |
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the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock or changes in financial
estimates by analysts; |
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actual or anticipated developments in our competitors businesses or the competitive landscape; |
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actual or perceived inaccuracies in, or dissatisfaction with, information we provide to our customers or
the media; |
46
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litigation involving us, our industry or both; |
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regulatory developments; |
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privacy and security concerns, including public perception of our practices as an invasion of privacy; |
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general economic conditions and trends; |
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major catastrophic events; |
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sales of large blocks of our stock; |
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the timing and success of new product introductions or upgrades by us or our competitors; |
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changes in our pricing policies or payment terms or those of our competitors; |
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concerns relating to the security of our network and systems; |
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our ability to expand our operations, domestically and internationally, and the amount
and timing of expenditures related to this expansion; or |
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departures of key personnel. |
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a companys
securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If our
stock price is volatile, we may become the target of securities litigation, which could result in
substantial costs and divert our managements attention and resources from our business. In
addition, volatility, lack of positive performance in our stock price or changes to our overall
compensation program, including our equity incentive program, may adversely affect our ability to
retain key employees.
We cannot assure you that a market will continue to develop or exist for our common stock or
what the market price of our common stock will be.
Prior to our initial public offering in 2007, there was no public trading market for our
common stock, and we cannot assure you that one will continue to develop or be sustained. If a
market does not continue to develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your
shares of common stock at an attractive price or at all. We cannot predict the prices at which our
common stock will trade.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if
they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume
could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports
that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who
cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price would likely
decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports
on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our
stock price or trading volume to decline.
Future sales of shares by existing stockholders or new issuances of securities by us could
cause our stock price to decline.
If we or our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial
amounts of our common stock or other securities in the public market, the trading price of our
common stock could decline. Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock or other
securities by us or our existing stockholders could lower the market price of our common stock and
impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of new securities in the future at a time and
price that we deem appropriate.
47
We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs and demands upon management as a
result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting a public company, which could adversely
affect our operating results.
As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal,
accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as
well as rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission and The NASDAQ Stock Market,
requires certain corporate governance practices for public companies. Our management and other
personnel devote a substantial amount of time to public reporting requirements and
corporate governance. These rules and regulations have significantly increased our legal and
financial compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. We also have
incurred additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. If these
costs do not continue to be offset by increased revenues and improved financial performance, our
operating results would be adversely affected. These rules and regulations also make it more
difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may
be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to
obtain the same or similar coverage if these costs continue to rise. As a result, it may be more
difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors or as
executive officers.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law might
discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and,
therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could depress the
trading price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of
our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem
advantageous. These provisions:
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provide for a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board of directors are
elected at one time; |
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authorize blank check preferred stock that our board of directors could issue to increase the
number of outstanding shares to discourage a takeover attempt; |
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prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which means that all stockholder actions must be
taken at a meeting of our stockholders; |
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prohibit stockholders from calling a special meeting of our stockholders; |
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provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and |
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provide for advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our board of directors or
for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings. |
Additionally, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law,
which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business
combinations with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date on
which the stockholder became an interested stockholder and which may discourage, delay or prevent
a change of control of our company.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
(a) Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities during the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011
None.
(b) Use of Proceeds from Sale of Registered Equity Securities
None.
48
(c) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
During the three months ended March 31, 2011, we repurchased the following shares of common
stock in connection with certain restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards issued under our
Equity Incentive Plans:
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Maximum |
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Number (or |
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Approximate |
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Total |
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Dollar |
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Number of |
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Value) of |
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Shares (or |
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Shares |
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Units) |
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(or Units) that |
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Purchased as |
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May |
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Part |
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Yet Be |
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of Publicly |
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Purchased |
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Total Number of |
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Average Price |
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Announced |
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Under the |
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Shares (or Units) |
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Per |
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Plans of |
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Plans or |
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Purchased(1) |
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Share (or Unit) |
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Programs |
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Programs |
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January 1 January 31, 2011 |
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2,149 |
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$ |
22.48 |
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February 1 February 28, 2011 |
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139,038 |
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$ |
27.51 |
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March 1 March 31, 2011 |
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62,408 |
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$ |
24.02 |
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Total |
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203,595 |
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(1) |
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The shares included in the table above were repurchased either in
connection with (i) our exercise of the repurchase right afforded to us in connection with
certain employee restricted stock awards or (ii) the forfeiture of shares by an employee as
payment of the minimum statutory withholding taxes due upon the vesting of certain employee
restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards. A detailed breakout of each category follows
below. |
For the three months ended March 31, 2011, the shares repurchased in connection with our
exercise of the repurchase right afforded to us upon the cessation of employment consisted of the
following:
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Total Number of |
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Average Price |
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Shares Purchased |
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Per Share |
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January 1 January 31, 2011 |
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|
100 |
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|
$ |
0.00 |
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February 1 February 28, 2011 |
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2,424 |
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|
$ |
0.00 |
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March 1 March 31, 2011 |
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9,790 |
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$ |
0.00 |
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Total |
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|
12,314 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
49
The shares we repurchased in connection with the payment of minimum statutory withholding taxes due
upon the vesting of certain restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards were repurchased at
the then current fair market value of the shares. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, these
shares consisted of the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Number of |
|
|
Average Price |
|
|
|
Shares Purchased |
|
|
Per Share |
|
January 1 January 31, 2011 |
|
|
2,049 |
|
|
$ |
23.57 |
|
February 1 February 28, 2011 |
|
|
136,614 |
|
|
$ |
28.00 |
|
March 1 March 31, 2011 |
|
|
52,618 |
|
|
$ |
28.49 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
191,281 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Removed and Reserved
Not Applicable.
Item 5. Other Information
None.
Item 6. Exhibits
The exhibits listed on the Exhibit Index attached hereto are filed or incorporated by
reference (as stated therein) as part of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
50
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
comScore, Inc.
|
|
|
/s/ Kenneth J. Tarpey
|
|
|
Kenneth J. Tarpey |
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer and Duly Authorized Officer) |
|
|
Date: May 5, 2011
51
EXHIBIT INDEX
|
|
|
Exhibit |
|
|
Number |
|
Description |
3.1(1)
|
|
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (Exhibit 3.3) |
|
|
|
3.2(1)
|
|
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (Exhibit 3.4) |
|
|
|
10.2(2)
|
|
Summary of Amended and Restated 2011 Executive Compensation Bonus Policy (Exhibit 10.1) |
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a 14(a) and Rule 15d
14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a 14(a) and Rule 15d
14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as
adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
|
|
32.2
|
|
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as
adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
|
|
(1) |
|
Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, dated June 26,
2007 (No. 333-141740). The number given in parentheses indicates
the corresponding exhibit number in such Form S-1. |
|
(2) |
|
Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrants
Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 2, 2011 (File No.
000-1158172). The number given in parentheses indicates the
corresponding exhibit number in such Form 10-K. |
52