AEYE AudioEye Inc

Thirty-Third Consecutive Period of Record Revenue

TUCSON, Ariz., April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AudioEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEYE) ("AudioEye" or the "Company"), the industry-leading digital accessibility company, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

"We are seeing strong business momentum and expect ARR and revenue growth to accelerate in the second quarter and the remainder of the year. As a result, we are raising revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EPS guidance for the full year. We are pleased with our operating leverage, and we anticipate high teen adjusted EBITDA margins for the second quarter," said AudioEye CEO David Moradi. "Earlier this month, the Justice Department signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act "ADA", to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile apps. This rule marks a pivotal moment in digital accessibility, and we are well positioned to meet the much higher demand expected from the public sector."

First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

• Total revenue increased 4% to a record $8.1M from $7.8M in the same prior year period.
• Gross profit increased to $6.3M (78% of total revenue) from $6.1M (78% of total revenue) in the same prior year period. The increase was due to revenue growth compared to the same prior year period.
• Total operating expenses decreased 14% to $7.0M from $8.1M in the same prior year period. The decrease in operating expenses was due primarily to increased efficiency in sales and marketing, the completion of significant initiatives in R&D, and lower non-recurring G&A expenses.
• Net loss available to common stockholders improved 59% to $0.8M, or $(0.07) per share, from a net loss of $2.0M, or $(0.17) per share, in the same prior year period. The improvement in net loss was primarily due to revenue increases and efficiencies across all departments.
• Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2024 was $0.9M, or adjusted EPS of $0.08, compared to a negative adjusted EBITDA of $(0.1M), or adjusted EPS of $0.00, in the same prior year period. For Q1 2024, the adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS performance reflect adjustments primarily for stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization, interest expense, and other non-recurring items.
• Annual Recurring Revenue ("ARR") as of March 31, 2024, increased sequentially to $32.0M from $31.2M as of December 31, 2023.
• As of March 31, 2024, the Company had $7.0M in cash, compared to $9.2M as of December 31, 2023. The decrease in cash was primarily driven by a stock buyback of approximately $1.7 million in the first quarter and working capital fluctuations.

Other Updates

• AudioEye announced its support of the Department of Justice's updated regulations under Title II of the ADA outlined in the approved rule announced on April 8, 2024. These regulations mandate that state and local government entities ensure their websites and mobile apps are accessible to people with disabilities, following WCAG 2.1, Level AA technical standards. An estimated $17B in implementation costs are expected over the first three years, with $2B annually expected over the following seven years.
• In the first quarter of 2024, AudioEye received its System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 1 report. This important milestone underscores the Company's commitment to upholding the highest security and data privacy standards. Achieving SOC 2 Type 1 compliance is another feature that will help the Company support current enterprise customers and further penetrate the enterprise market.
• In the fourth quarter of 2023, AudioEye's Board of Directors adopted a share repurchase program authorizing up to $5.0M of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock through December 2025. As of April 23, 2024, the Company had repurchased 548,000 shares at an average price of $5.73 under this program.
• Customer count increased 18% to approximately 112,000 customers as of March 31, 2024, compared to about 95,000 as of March 31, 2023. Additions in Partner and Marketplace customers primarily drove the increase.

Financial Outlook
In the second quarter of 2024, the Company expects to generate revenue between $8.4M and $8.5M. It also expects adjusted EBITDA between $1.4M and $1.5M and adjusted EPS between $0.12 and $0.13 per share.

Based on strong results achieved year-to-date and a revised growth projection for the remainder of 2024, AudioEye management is updating its full-year financial outlook. The Company is increasing its full-year 2024 revenue guidance to between $34.3M and $34.7M and has revised its expected full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA to between $4.5M and $5.5M, with expected adjusted EPS of between $0.38 and $0.46 per share.

Conference Call Information
AudioEye management will hold a conference call today, April 23, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time) to discuss these results, followed by a question-and-answer period.

Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time)
U.S. dial-in number: 888-348-8931
International number: 412-317-0453
Webcast: Q124 Webcast Link

Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Gateway Group at 949-574-3860.

The conference call will also be webcast live and available for replay via the investor relations section of the Company's website. The audio recording will remain available via the investor relations section of the Company's website for 90 days.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day through May 7, 2024 via the following numbers:

Toll-free replay number: 844-512-2921
International replay number: 412-317-6671
Replay passcode: 10187106

About AudioEye
AudioEye exists to ensure the digital future we build is inclusive. By combining the latest AI automation technology with guidance from certified experts and direct input from the disability community, AudioEye helps ensure businesses of all sizes — including over 112,000 customers like Samsung, Calvin Klein, and Samsonite — are accessible and usable. Holding 22 US patents, AudioEye helps companies solve every aspect of digital accessibility with flexible approaches that best meet their needs — from finding and removing barriers to navigating legal compliance, to ongoing training, monitoring and upkeep. Join AudioEye on its mission to eradicate barriers to digital access.

Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press about AudioEye's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, prospects, financial condition, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe", "anticipate", "should", "confident", "intend", "plan", "will", "expects", "estimates", "projects", "positioned", "strategy", "outlook" and similar words. You should read the statements that contain these types of words carefully. Such forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future cash flows of the Company, anticipated contributions from new sales channels,  long-term growth prospects, opportunities in the digital accessibility industry, our revenue and ARR guidance, and our expectation of investments in marketing and sales. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including the variability of AudioEye's revenue and financial performance; risks associated with our new platform, sales channels and offerings; product development and technological changes; the acceptance of AudioEye's products in the marketplace; the effectiveness of our integration efforts; competition; inherent uncertainties and costs associated with litigation; and general economic conditions. These and other risks are described more fully in AudioEye's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be events in the future that AudioEye is not able to predict accurately or over which AudioEye has no control. Forward-looking statements reflect management's view as of the date of this press release, and AudioEye urges you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. AudioEye does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or uncertainties after the date hereof. Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this document may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures.

About Key Operating Metrics
We consider annual recurring revenue ("ARR") as a key operating metric and a key indicator of our overall business. We also use ARR as one of the primary methods for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating, on at least a quarterly and annual basis, actual results against such expectations.

We manage customers through two primary channels, Enterprise and Partner and Marketplace. Enterprise channel consists of our larger customers and organizations, including those with non-platform custom websites, who generally engage directly with AudioEye sales personnel for custom pricing and solutions. This channel also includes federal, state and local government agencies. The Partner and Marketplace channel consists of our CMS partners, platform & agency partners, authorized resellers and our marketplace. This channel serves small and medium sized businesses who are on a partner or reseller's web-hosting platform or who purchase an AudioEye solution from our marketplace.

We define ARR as the sum of (i) for our Enterprise channel, the total of the annualized recurring fee at the date of determination under each active contract, plus (ii) for our Partner and Marketplace channel, the monthly fee for all active customers at the date of determination, in each case, assuming no changes to the subscription, multiplied by 12. This determination includes both annual and monthly contracts for recurring products. Some of our contracts are cancelable, which may impact future ARR. ARR excludes revenue from our PDF remediation services business, one-time Mobile App report services business and other miscellaneous non-recurring services.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
From time to time, we review adjusted financial measures that assist us in comparing our operating performance consistently over time, as such measures remove the impact of certain items, as applicable, such as our capital structure (primarily interest charges), items outside the control of the management team (taxes), and expenses that do not relate to our core operations, including significant transaction and litigation-related expenses and other costs that are expected to be non-recurring. In order to provide investors with greater insight and allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the information used in our financial and operational decision-making, the Company has supplemented the consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis in this press release with the following non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share.

These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of Company results as reported under GAAP. The Company compensates for such limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as supplemental data. We also provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures used. Investors are encouraged to carefully review this reconciliation. In addition, because these non-GAAP measures are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and are susceptible to varying calculations, these measures, as defined by us, may differ from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Diluted Share
We define: (i) Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), plus (less) interest expense (income), plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus stock-based compensation expense, plus non-cash valuation adjustment to contingent consideration, plus certain litigation expense, and plus loss on disposal or impairment of long-lived assets; (ii) Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of GAAP revenue; and (iii) Adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share as net income (loss) per diluted common share, plus (less) interest expense (income), plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus stock-based compensation expense, plus non-cash valuation adjustment to contingent consideration, plus certain litigation expense, and plus loss on disposal or impairment of long-lived assets, each on a per share basis. Adjusted earnings per diluted share would include incremental shares in the share count that are considered anti-dilutive in a GAAP net loss position. However, no incremental shares apply when there is an Adjusted loss per diluted share, as is the case for one of the periods presented in this press release.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share are used to facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period and provide for a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business than GAAP measures alone. All of the items adjusted in the Adjusted EBITDA to net loss and the Adjusted earnings (loss) per share calculations are either recurring non-cash items, or items that management does not consider in assessing our on-going operating performance. In the case of the non-cash items, such as stock-based compensation expense and valuation adjustments to assets and liabilities, management believes that investors may find it useful to assess our comparative operating performance because the measures without such items are expected to be less susceptible to variances in actual performance resulting from expenses that do not relate to our core operations and are more reflective of other factors that affect operating performance. In the case of items that do not relate to our core operations, management believes that investors may find it useful to assess our operating performance if the measures are presented without these items because their financial impact does not reflect ongoing operating performance.

Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of liquidity under GAAP, or otherwise, and is not an alternative to cash flow from continuing operating activities, despite the advantages regarding the use and analysis of these measures as mentioned above. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, and Adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share, as disclosed in this press release, have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP; nor are these measures intended to be measures of liquidity or free cash flow.

To properly and prudently evaluate our business, we encourage readers to review the consolidated GAAP financial statements included in this press release, and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. The following table sets forth reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP-based measure, as well as Adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share to net loss per diluted share, the most directly comparable GAAP-based measure. We strongly urge readers to review these reconciliations, along with the financial statements included in this press release.

Investor Contact:
Tom Colton or Luke Johnson
Gateway Investor Relations
AEYE@gateway-grp.com 
949-574-3860

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SOURCE AudioEye, Inc.