Summary
LiveRamp reported fiscal 2021 third quarter revenue of $119.75 million, up 17.2% from $102.22 million in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit rose 28.7% to $82.67 million. Gross margin expanded to 69.0% from 62.9%, a 6.2 percentage point increase. The operating loss narrowed to $15.78 million from $41.48 million. Operating margin improved to -13.2% from -40.6%, up 27.4 percentage points. The net loss narrowed to $11.72 million from $38.04 million. Diluted loss per share was $0.18, compared with a loss of $0.56 a year earlier.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, revenue was $323.85 million, up 17.8% from $274.87 million. Gross profit was $217.40 million, up 36.7% from $159.02 million. The operating loss narrowed to $68.64 million from $140.13 million. The net loss narrowed to $57.42 million from $120.38 million. Diluted loss per share was $0.87, compared with $1.77 in the prior-year period.
Operational momentum centered on the Authenticated Traffic Solution. More than 325 publishers globally have adopted ATS, including 65% of the U.S. Comscore Top 50. More than 25 supply-side platforms are live or committed, and over 45 demand-side platforms are live or committed to bid on the LiveRamp identifier. Subscription net retention was 105% and platform net retention was 110%. The company had 65 clients with subscription contracts exceeding $1 million in annual revenue, up 30% from the prior-year period. Direct subscription customer count was 810, up from 770 a year ago. LiveRamp also announced a definitive agreement to acquire DataFleets, a cloud data platform that unifies data silos without moving data or compromising privacy.
Non-GAAP results showed a similar improvement. Non-GAAP gross profit was $88 million, up 24% from the prior-year period, and non-GAAP gross margin was 73%, up 4 percentage points. Non-GAAP operating income was $12 million, compared with a non-GAAP operating loss of $6 million in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.14. Management said the quarter delivered the first double-digit non-GAAP operating margin in the company's history.
Cash generation was mixed. Operating cash flow for the quarter was $14.69 million, down 7.0% from $15.80 million a year earlier. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, operating cash flow was -$2.67 million, up 90.6% from -$28.36 million in the prior-year period. Capital expenditures were $0.68 million for the quarter, down 75.5% from $2.77 million. Year-to-date capital expenditures were $1.81 million, down 82.5% from $10.30 million. Free cash flow to equity was $14 million for the quarter, up 8% from $13 million. Deferred revenue was $11.79 million, up 158.9% from $4.55 million. Total remaining performance obligations were $333.10 million, down 3.3% from $344.40 million a year earlier.
Guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 calls for revenue growth of approximately 10% year-over-year and non-GAAP operating income of up to $1 million. The company expects a GAAP operating loss for the quarter. For the full fiscal year 2021, LiveRamp expects revenue growth of approximately 16% year-over-year and non-GAAP operating income of up to $16 million. The company expects a GAAP operating loss for the full year as well.
The outlook carries execution risks. COVID-19 continues to affect workforces, customers, and markets, and some short-term service concessions are expected to extend into subsequent periods. Management also warned that subscription revenue could be negatively impacted by approximately $30 million in fiscal year 2022 as the company transitions a few platform customer relationships that license cookie-based components of its digital identity graph. Other risks include the decline of third-party cookies and tracking technology, regulation and user controls that limit data use, competition for customers and talent, potential data breaches, reliance on partners and data suppliers, and disruptions from acquisitions. LiveRamp ended the quarter with no debt, according to the press release.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q3 FY2021 | Q2 FY2021 | QoQ | Q3 FY2020 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $119.8M | $104.7M | +14.4% | $102.2M | +17.2% |
| Gross profit | $82.7M | $69.8M | +18.5% | $64.3M | +28.7% |
| Gross margin | 69.0% | 66.7% | +2.4 pp | 62.9% | +6.2 pp |
| Research & development | $30.6M | $31.0M | -1.4% | $27.4M | +11.7% |
| Sales & marketing | $43.9M | $41.7M | +5.3% | $52.0M | -15.6% |
| General & administrative | $23.9M | $24.5M | -2.3% | $26.1M | -8.3% |
| Total operating expenses | $98.4M | $96.6M | +1.9% | $105.7M | -6.9% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$15.8M | -$26.9M | +41.2% | -$41.5M | +62.0% |
| Operating margin | -13.2% | -25.7% | +12.5 pp | -40.6% | +27.4 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$11.7M | -$24.0M | +51.1% | — | — |
| Net margin | -9.8% | -22.9% | +13.1 pp | — | — |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.18 | -$0.36 | +$0.18 | -$0.56 | +$0.38 |
| Net retention rate | 105.0% | 111.0% | -6.0 pp | 112.0% | -7.0 pp |
Risks
Subscription revenue could be negatively impacted by approximately $30 million in fiscal 2022 as LiveRamp transitions a few platform customer relationships that license cookie-based components of its digital identity graph. This small customer set licenses the digital graph to support their own identity solutions, so overall subscription growth could be affected by these contract changes.
The pandemic's effects remain highly uncertain; revenues in the nine months ended December 31, 2020 were negatively impacted by $2.1 million from short-term service concessions, and certain concessions are expected to extend into subsequent periods.
Net accounts receivable rose $23.1 million to $115.9 million at December 31, 2020 from $92.8 million at March 31, 2020, and days sales outstanding increased to 89 days from 80 days. LiveRamp is actively evaluating potential COVID-19 impacts on customers' ability to pay.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Platform Net Retention
Subscription Net Retention
Current Remaining Performance Obligations (CRPO)
Customers > $1M ARR
Free Cash Flow to Equity
Non-GAAP Gross Margin
Adjusted EBITDA
Direct Subscription Customer Count
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q3 FY2021 (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.