Summary
LiveRamp reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 revenue of $175.96 million, up 14.2% from a year earlier. Gross profit was $124.21 million, up 14.5%, and GAAP gross margin was 70.6%, up 0.2 percentage points. Non-GAAP gross profit was $130 million, up 15%, and non-GAAP gross margin was 74%, up 1 percentage point. The company said the quarter marked a second consecutive period of double-digit revenue growth in both revenue and ARR. CEO Scott Howe tied the platform's position to cloud computing, the spread of AI tools in marketing, growth in Commerce Media and CTV platforms, and the shift to authenticated addressability.
Operational metrics carried the growth story. Annual recurring revenue was $478 million, up 12% from the prior-year period. Current remaining performance obligations were $398 million, up 13%. Remaining performance obligations were $535.80 million, up 7.8%. Subscription net retention was 105%, compared with 98% a year earlier, and platform net retention was 108%. The company ended the quarter with 115 customers whose annualized subscription revenue exceeds $1 million, compared with 96 in the prior-year period. Direct subscription customers were 900, down from 915. Management attributed the subscription net retention improvement to lower contraction levels and rising usage revenue. The Habu acquisition contributed roughly three percentage points to that metric and roughly two percentage points to ARR growth.
GAAP profitability moved the other way. Operating loss was $5.25 million, compared with positive operating income a year earlier, and operating margin was negative 3.0%, down 4.5 percentage points. Net loss was $7.49 million, and diluted loss per share was $0.11, both wider than the prior-year quarter. Expense growth outpaced revenue: research and development rose 27.8%, sales and marketing rose 20.7%, and general and administrative rose 16.1%. Non-cash stock compensation climbed to $28.0 million from $13.3 million, and the filing noted that the prior-year quarter was helped by an acceleration of stock-based compensation expense taken in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Non-GAAP results strip those items out. Non-GAAP operating income was $27 million, compared with $21 million, non-GAAP operating margin was 15%, up 2 percentage points, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.35.
Cash flow flipped negative. Operating cash flow was negative $9.33 million, down from positive cash flow a year earlier. Capital expenditures were $0.23 million, up 326.4%. Deferred revenue was $38.43 million, up 41.0%. Management said the operating cash flow decline came mainly from the payment of annual incentive compensation and the timing of payments to suppliers, while the receivables build reflected revenue growth and the timing of customer cash receipts. Days sales outstanding was 107 days at June 30, 2024, compared with 101 days at March 31, 2024. The company repurchased approximately 499,000 shares for $16 million during the quarter.
Guidance leans on non-GAAP profitability. For the second quarter of fiscal 2025, LiveRamp expects non-GAAP operating income of $31 million. For the full fiscal year 2025, the company raised its guidance and expects non-GAAP operating income of between $127 million and $131 million. Those figures exclude non-cash stock compensation, purchased intangible asset amortization, and restructuring and related charges.
The risk list is familiar and broad. LiveRamp depends on customer renewals, new customer additions, and upsell within its subscription base. Competition, rapid technology change, and the integration of Habu all carry execution risk. Regulation and platform changes around privacy, third-party cookies, and tracking technology could restrict how clients use data on the platform. Management also flagged reliance on partners and data suppliers, the possibility of a significant security breach, the need to retain talent, changes in tax laws that could tighten enterprise software budgets, and macro pressure from recession risk, inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical conflict. About $18.3 million of the $310.4 million cash balance sat outside the United States, and the company has no current plans to repatriate it.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2025 | Q4 FY2024 | QoQ | Q1 FY2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $176.0M | $171.9M | +2.4% | $154.1M | +14.2% |
| Gross profit | $124.2M | $124.1M | +0.1% | $108.4M | +14.5% |
| Gross margin | 70.6% | 72.2% | -1.6 pp | 70.4% | +0.2 pp |
| Research & development | $44.1M | $45.2M | -2.3% | $34.5M | +27.8% |
| Sales & marketing | $54.2M | $60.5M | -10.4% | $44.9M | +20.7% |
| General & administrative | $31.0M | $30.3M | +2.3% | $26.7M | +16.1% |
| Total operating expenses | $129.5M | $138.4M | -6.5% | $106.2M | +21.9% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$5.2M | -$14.3M | +63.2% | $2.3M | -331.2% |
| Operating margin | -3.0% | -8.3% | +5.3 pp | 1.5% | -4.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$7.5M | -$5.4M | -39.4% | -$1.6M | -372.2% |
| Net margin | -4.3% | -3.1% | -1.1 pp | -1.0% | -3.2 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.11 | -$0.08 | -$0.03 | -$0.02 | -$0.09 |
| Customers | 115 | 115 | ±0.0% | 96 | +19.8% |
| Net retention rate | 105.0% | — | — | 98.0% | +7.0 pp |
Risks
Google's July 2024 announcement that it will not deprecate third-party cookies but will introduce a new Chrome experience letting users make an informed choice may still substantially impact the ability to collect and use data. The filing updates prior risk factors on third-party cookies and data regulation.
Operating income for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 was down $7.52 million and swung to a $5.25 million loss from $2.27 million income in the prior-year quarter; operating margin fell 4.5 pp to negative 3.0%. Net loss widened to $7.49 million from $1.59 million, and diluted EPS loss widened to $0.11 from $0.02.
Total operating expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 were $129.5 million, up 21.9% from $106.2 million, with R&D up 27.8%, sales and marketing up 20.7%, and G&A up 16.1%. Non-cash stock compensation increased to $28.0 million from $13.3 million, pressuring operating margins.
Net cash used in operating activities was $9.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, down $35.0 million from $25.7 million provided in the prior-year quarter. MD&A notes liquidity may change due to recession, military conflicts, cost increases, high interest rates, capital markets volatility, bank failures, and inflationary pressures.
RPO increased 7.8% to $535.8 million at June 30, 2024 from $497.2 million at June 30, 2023, but MD&A says the relative decline in RPO and CRPO growth is primarily due to revenue run-off from large multi-year arrangements subject to future renewal.
Net accounts receivable were $206.3 million at June 30, 2024, up $16.0 million from $190.3 million at March 31, 2024, and DSO increased to 107 days at June 30, 2024 from 101 days at March 31, 2024. MD&A says DSO was negatively impacted by approximately two days by increased impact of Data Marketplace gross accounts receivable.
Income tax expense was $6.7 million on a pretax loss of $0.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, an 831.5% effective tax rate, due to IRC Section 174 R&D capitalization, a valuation allowance, and nondeductible stock-based compensation.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Platform Net Retention
Subscription Net Retention
Current Remaining Performance Obligations (CRPO)
Direct Subscription Customers
Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2025 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 2, 2026.