Summary
Zeta Global posted record revenue of $188.98 million for FY2023 Q3, up 24.1% from $152.25 million in FY2022 Q3. The top line also grew year to date, with revenue of $518.40 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, up 24.7% from $415.82 million in the prior-year period. Management credited new customer additions and platform expansion. Scaled Customer count reached 440, up from 425 in Q2 2023 and 389 in Q3 2022. Super-Scaled Customer count reached 124, up from 118 in Q2 2023 and 106 in Q3 2022. Scaled Customer ARPU was $418,000, up 10% year over year. Direct platform revenue mix was 70% of total revenue, compared to 75% in Q2 2023 and 74% in Q3 2022.
GAAP profitability remains negative, though the losses narrowed. Operating loss narrowed to $37.17 million in FY2023 Q3 from $66.17 million in FY2022 Q3. Net loss narrowed to $43.09 million from $69.44 million. Diluted loss per share narrowed to $0.27 from $0.49 a year earlier. Operating margin was negative 19.7%, up from negative 43.5%. For the first nine months, net loss narrowed to $152.20 million from $227.49 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $33.7 million, up 51% from $22 million in FY2022 Q3 and up 26% from $27 million in Q2 2023. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.9%, up from 14.7%.
Cash generation improved. Operating cash flow was $22.83 million in FY2023 Q3, up 16.8% from $19.54 million in FY2022 Q3. Year-to-date operating cash flow was $63.56 million, up 14.8% from $55.39 million. Free Cash Flow was $13 million, up 43% from $9 million a year earlier. Capital expenditures were $5.94 million, up 5.0% from $5.65 million. For the first nine months, capital expenditures were $14.89 million, down 13.3% from $17.16 million. Deferred revenue was $2.33 million, down 61.8% from $6.10 million.
Guidance points to continued growth. For Q4 2023, Zeta guided revenue to $205 million to $209 million, including $1.3 million of M&A contribution. That range is an increase of $0.5 million at the midpoint from prior guidance of $206.5 million and represents year-over-year growth of 17% to 19%. Q4 Adjusted EBITDA guidance is $41.7 million to $42.2 million, up $0.3 million at the midpoint from prior guidance of $41.7 million, with a 20.0% to 20.6% margin. For full year 2023, revenue guidance is $723 million to $727 million, including $5.2 million of M&A contribution. The full-year range is $10 million above the midpoint of prior guidance of $712 million to $718 million and implies 22% to 23% year-over-year growth. Full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance is $126.3 million to $126.8 million, up $2.1 million from the midpoint of prior guidance of $124.2 million to $124.8 million, with a 17.4% to 17.5% margin.
Risks remain visible. The company operates with a GAAP net loss and a full valuation allowance against U.S. deferred tax assets. Management cited macroeconomic and industry trends, higher borrowing costs, inflation, and geopolitical tensions as factors that could affect results. The 10-Q also flags risks tied to customer retention, data use and security, email delivery standards, and reliance on third-party data centers. Zeta repurchased $3.5 million worth of shares in the quarter. For the first nine months, cash used for share repurchases and RSA withholdings was $11.5 million. Zeta Live drew more than 12,000 viewers, up 50% year over year.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q3 FY2023 | Q2 FY2023 | QoQ | Q3 FY2022 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $189.0M | $171.8M | +10.0% | $152.3M | +24.1% |
| Gross profit | $115.5M | $109.8M | +5.2% | $94.7M | +21.9% |
| Gross margin | 61.1% | 63.9% | -2.8 pp | 62.2% | -1.1 pp |
| Research & development | $18.1M | $17.3M | +4.1% | $17.0M | +6.5% |
| Sales & marketing | $70.7M | $72.5M | -2.5% | $77.0M | -8.2% |
| General & administrative | $50.7M | $50.7M | -0.0% | $53.6M | -5.4% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$37.2M | -$46.2M | +19.6% | -$66.2M | +43.8% |
| Operating margin | -19.7% | -26.9% | +7.2 pp | -43.5% | +23.8 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$43.1M | -$52.2M | +17.4% | -$69.4M | +38.0% |
| Net margin | -22.8% | -30.4% | +7.6 pp | -45.6% | +22.8 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.27 | -$0.34 | +$0.07 | -$0.49 | +$0.22 |
| Customers | 124 | 118 | +5.1% | — | — |
Risks
Interest expense increased for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 compared to the prior-year periods, primarily as a result of increases in interest rates, and the Company has variable-rate long-term borrowings under a Senior Secured Credit Facility.
MD&A states that if operating performance during the next 12 months is below expectations, liquidity and ability to operate the business could be adversely affected, even though net loss narrowed to $43.1 million in the quarter and $152.2 million year to date and operating cash flow was positive at $22.8 million and $63.6 million for the same periods.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company derived 72% and 78% of revenues from direct platforms and 28% and 22% from integrated platforms, respectively. MD&A notes cost of revenues is dependent on revenue mix, so a continued shift toward integrated platform revenue could pressure margins if it carries higher media costs.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA margin
Free Cash Flow
Scaled Customer ARPU
Scaled Customers
Super-Scaled Customers
Super-Scaled Customer ARPU
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Zeta Global Holdings Corp.'s SEC filings for Q3 FY2023 (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 6, 2026.