Technology
Cars.com Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results
Published
2 years agoon
By
Exceeded Fourth Quarter Guidance, Delivered 7% Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth
Achieved 7% Year-Over-Year ARPD Growth coupled with Strong Fourth Quarter OEM Performance
Generated $137MM of Annual Cash Flows From Operating Activities
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS) (d/b/a “Cars Commerce Inc.” or the “Company”), an audience-driven technology company empowering the automotive industry, today released its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.
Q4 2023 Financial and Key Metric Highlights
Revenue of $179.6 million, up $11.4 million, or 7% year-over-yearNet income of $8.3 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to Net Income of $10.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the prior yearAdjusted EBITDA of $55.4 million, or 31% of revenue, up $5.9 million year-over-yearAverage Monthly Unique Visitors (“UVs”) of 24.3 million, compared to 24.6 million a year agoTraffic (“Visits”) of 142.7 million, up 2% year-over-yearMonthly Average Revenue Per Dealer (“ARPD”) of $2,523, up 7% year-over-yearDealer Customers totaled 19,504[1] as of December 31, 2023, up 789 compared to 18,715 as of September 30, 2023
2023 Full-Year Financial and Key Metric Highlights
Revenue of $689.2 million, up $35.3 million, or 5% year-over-yearNet income of $118.4 million, or $1.74 per diluted share, compared to Net income of $17.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the prior year. Current year Net income was primarily related to the release of a significant portion of the Company’s valuation allowanceAdjusted EBITDA of $194.9 million, or 28.3% of revenue, compared to $186.7 million, or 28.6% of revenue in the prior yearCash flows from operating activities of $136.7 million, compared to $128.5 million in the prior year, with Free cash flow of $115.8 million, compared to $108.8 million in the prior yearUVs of 26.4 million, even compared to the prior yearTraffic of 614.8 million, up 5% year-over-year, setting an all-time Company record for traffic
Operational Highlights
AccuTrade was selected by FordDirect as its preferred Vehicle Acquisition and Trade & Appraisal solution for The Shop, a newly launched preferred vendor selection program for its more than 3,000 U.S. Ford and Lincoln retailersClosed on the acquisition of D2C Media, a leading provider of website and digital advertising solutions; integration of teams and technology underway supporting the Company’s expanding presence in CanadaDebuted VIN Performance Media, a new advertising solution that combines three of the Company’s existing media products into a single solution that saves dealers time and money, while maximizing ad performance and operational efficiency
“2023 marked a year of significant progress. We advanced our platform strategy through the introduction of Cars Commerce, the rollout of our Marketplace Repackaging initiative and our expansion into Canada with the acquisition of D2C Media. Our focus on simplifying everything about buying and selling cars enabled us to continue to deliver value for consumers, dealers, and OEMs, supporting our twelve consecutive quarters of year-over-year profitable revenue growth,” said Alex Vetter, Chief Executive Officer of Cars Commerce. “We begin 2024 well-positioned to continue building on this momentum, unlocking new growth opportunities and driving commerce for the auto industry.”
Q4 2023 Results
Revenue for the fourth quarter, which includes two months of activity related to D2C Media, totaled $179.6 million, an increase of $11.4 million, or up 7%, compared to the prior year period. Excluding D2C Media, the Company’s revenue would have increased 5%, year-over-year.
Dealer revenue grew 8% year-over-year, driven by continued growth in solutions and media products and the 2023 Marketplace Repackaging initiative. OEM and National revenue also grew 8%, year-over-year driven by a 24% increase in OEM customer revenue. Sequentially, OEM and National revenue increased 6%, driven by 11% growth in OEM customer revenue.
Fourth quarter ARPD grew 7%, or $162, year-over-year to $2,523, primarily driven by the 2023 Marketplace Repackaging initiative. As of December 31, 2023, Dealer Customers totaled 19,504, including 950 dealers associated with the Company’s D2C Media acquisition, an increase of 789 compared to 18,715 at the end of the third quarter of 2023.
Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $164.7 million, compared to $148.4 million for the prior year period. Adjusted Operating Expenses for the quarter were $150.8 million, a $10.1 million increase compared to the prior year period. The change in Adjusted operating expenses is primarily due to continued investments in people, an increase in depreciation and amortization, and investments in marketing to support the launch of the Company’s Cars Commerce brand.
Net income for the quarter was $8.3 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to Net income of $10.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2022. The change in Net income is primarily attributable to the changes in the fair value contingent consideration associated with the Company’s prior acquisitions.
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded sequentially throughout the year, reaching 31% of revenue for the quarter, or $55.4 million, compared to 29% of revenue, or $49.5 million, for the prior year period.
2023 Full-Year Results
Revenue for the year totaled $689.2 million, an increase of $35.3 million, or up 5%, compared to the prior year period. Dealer revenue grew 7% year-over-year, driven by the continued growth in solutions and media and the 2023 Marketplace Repackaging initiative. OEM and National revenue was down 5%, year-over-year; while OEM revenue increased 8% relative to the prior year, revenue from insurance customers was down compared to a year ago. Other Revenue was $4.5 million lower compared to the prior year primarily due to the planned expiration of a non-cash transition services agreement related to AccuTrade in the first quarter of 2023.
For the year, total operating expenses were $635.1 million, compared to $587.8 million in 2022. Adjusted Operating Expenses for the year were $594.1 million, a $38.2 million increase compared to the prior year that was largely driven by increased compensation and employee related expenses, particularly in Marketing and sales and Product and technology. Additionally, as the Company has accelerated product development and technology investments, Depreciation and amortization expense was also up, year-over-year.
Marketing and sales costs increased primarily due to higher compensation and higher investments in Brand Media to support both the Company’s Possibilities advertising campaign and launch of its enterprise brand, Cars Commerce.
2023 Net income totaled $118.4 million, or $1.74 per diluted share, compared to Net income of $17.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share in the prior year. The increase in Net income is primarily related to the release of a significant portion of the Company’s valuation allowance, given the expectation of projected future income and utilization of the Company’s tax assets.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year totaled $194.9 million, or 28.3% of revenue, compared to $186.7 million, or 28.6% of revenue, in the prior year period.
The Company remained focused on driving high-quality traffic at scale. Organic traffic remained strong at 61% for the year and Average Monthly Unique Visitors for the year were in line with the prior year. In 2023, total Traffic increased 5%, reaching 614.8 million, a new all-time Company record.
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet
Net cash provided by operating activities in 2023 was $136.7 million, compared to $128.5 million in the prior year. Free cash flow in 2023 totaled $115.8 million compared to $108.8 million in 2022. The increase is primarily due to an $8.2 million year-over-year increase in Adjusted EBITDA and favorable working capital, partially offset by a year-over-year increase in cash taxes of $17.1 million.
In 2023, the Company made $36.3 million in debt payments. Total debt outstanding was $490.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and the Company’s net leverage (as defined in the Company’s credit facility) remained within its target net leverage range of 2.0x to 2.5x, improving to 2.3x, compared to 2.4x as of December 31, 2022. Total liquidity as of December 31, 2023 was $234.2 million, which is defined as Cash and cash equivalents of $39.2 million and revolver capacity of $195.0 million.
For the year, the Company repurchased 1.7 million of its common shares, or 2.6% of the 66.3 million shares outstanding at December 31, 2022, for $31.3 million.
“2023 was a year with robust revenue growth and strong Adjusted EBITDA margins, driven by our focus on execution. Our asset light business model consistently generates strong free cash flow conversion that enables us to invest in growth areas that continue to deliver sustained value for consumers, customers, and shareholders,” said Sonia Jain, Chief Financial Officer of Cars Commerce.
2024 Outlook
The Company expects to deliver another year of strong growth. The Company believes market conditions are improving, with increased OEM production, new model launches, and rising dealer inventory, which coupled with a still cautious consumer makes the Company’s in-market solutions more valuable.
First quarter revenue is expected to be between $179 million and $181 million, representing year-over-year growth of 7% to 8%. First quarter revenue outlook reflects continued strong growth in Dealer revenue driven by continued adoption of the Cars Commerce suite of products, the D2C acquisition, and the full period impact of the 2023 Marketplace Repackaging Initiative. OEM and National Advertising spend is also expected to be up year-over-year, but historically has experienced some seasonality from the fourth quarter to the first quarter. For the year, the Company anticipates continued growth across its platform with both dealer and OEM customers which is reflected in its revenue growth guidance of 6% to 8%.
Adjusted EBITDA margin for the first quarter of 2024 is expected to be between 27% and 29%. It’s important to note, the Company has seasonally higher investments in Marketing and sales in the first quarter, due to the timing of in-person industry events. The Company expects margins to improve over the course of the year and deliver a full year Adjusted EBITDA margin between 28% to 30%.
Q4 2023 Earnings Call
As previously announced, management will hold a conference call and webcast today at 8:00 a.m. CT. This webcast may be accessed at the Cars Commerce Investor relations website, investor.cars.com. An archive of the webcast will be available at investor.cars.com following the conclusion of the call.
About Cars Commerce
Cars Commerce is an audience-driven technology company empowering the automotive industry. The Company simplifies everything about car buying and selling with powerful products, solutions and AI-driven technologies that span pretail, retail and post-sale activities – enabling more efficient and profitable retail operations. The Cars Commerce platform is organized around four industry-leading brands: the flagship automotive marketplace and dealer reputation site Cars.com, award-winning technology and digital retail technology and marketing services from Dealer Inspire, essential trade-in and appraisal technology from AccuTrade, and exclusive in-market media solutions from the Cars Commerce Media Network. Learn more at www.carscommerce.inc.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This earnings release discusses Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Operating Expenses. These financial measures are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). These financial measures are presented as supplemental measures of operating performance because the Company believes they provide meaningful information regarding the Company’s performance and provide a basis to compare operating results between periods. In addition, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure for determining incentive compensation targets. Adjusted EBITDA also is used as a performance measure under the Company’s credit agreement and includes adjustments such as the items defined below and other further adjustments, which are defined in the credit agreement. These non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by the Company’s lenders, securities analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in the Company’s industry. For a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures presented in this earnings release to their most directly comparable financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” below.
Other companies may define or calculate these measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. Because of these limitations, non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are presented in the tables below.
The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before (1) interest expense, net, (2) income tax (benefit) expense, (3) depreciation, (4) amortization of intangible assets, (5) stock-based compensation expense, (6) unrealized mark-to-market adjustments and cash transactions related to derivative instruments, and (7) unrealized foreign currency exchange gains and losses, and (8) certain other items, such as transaction-related items, severance, transformation and other exit costs and write-off and impairments of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets.
Transaction-related items result from actual or potential transactions such as business combinations, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, spin-offs, financing transactions, and other strategic transactions, including, without limitation, (1) transaction-related bonuses and (2) expenses for advisors and representatives such as investment bankers, consultants, attorneys and accounting firms. Transaction-related items may also include, without limitation, transition and integration costs such as retention bonuses and acquisition-related milestone payments to acquired employees, consulting, compensation and other incremental costs associated with integration projects, fair value changes to contingent considerations and amortization of deferred revenue related to the Accu-Trade acquisition.
The Company defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, including purchases of property and equipment and capitalization of internally developed technology.
The Company defines Adjusted Operating Expenses as total operating expenses adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation, write-off and impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, long-lived assets, severance, transformation and other exit costs and transaction-related items.
Key Metric Definitions
Average Monthly Unique Visitors (“UVs”) and Traffic (“Visits”). The Company defines UVs in a given month as the number of distinct visitors that engage with its platform during that month. Visitors are identified when a user first visits an individual Cars.com property on an individual device/browser combination or installs one of its mobile apps on an individual device. If a visitor accesses more than one of its web properties or apps or uses more than one device or browser, each of those unique property/browser/app/device combinations counts toward the number of UVs. Traffic is defined as the number of visits to Cars.com desktop and mobile properties (responsive sites and mobile apps). The Company measures UVs and Traffic via Adobe Analytics. These metrics do not include traffic to Dealer Inspire or D2C Media websites.
Monthly Average Revenue Per Dealer (“ARPD”). The Company believes that its ability to grow ARPD is an indicator of the value proposition of its platform. The Company defines ARPD as Dealer revenue, excluding digital advertising services, during the period divided by the monthly average number of Dealer Customers during the same period. Beginning with the three months ended June 30, 2022, AccuTrade is included in our ARPD metric. No prior period has been recast as it would be impracticable to do so and the inclusion of AccuTrade would have had an immaterial impact on ARPD for prior periods. Additionally, beginning December 31, 2023, this key operating metric includes D2C Media.
Dealer Customers. Dealer Customers represent dealerships using our products as of the end of each reporting period. Each physical or virtual dealership location is counted separately, whether it is a single-location proprietorship or part of a large, consolidated dealer group. Multi-franchise dealerships at a single location are counted as one dealer. Beginning June 30, 2022, this key operating metric includes AccuTrade; however, no prior period has been recast as it would be impracticable to do so. Additionally, beginning December 31, 2023, this key operating metric includes D2C Media.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements often use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “project,” “anticipate,” “outlook,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “forecasts,” “mission,” “strive,” “more,” “goal” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs, strategies, estimates, projections and assumptions, experience in the industry as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors we think are appropriate. Such forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Cars Commerce and its management based on their knowledge and understanding of the business and industry, are inherently uncertain. While Cars Commerce and its management make such statements in good faith and believe such judgments are reasonable, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of future strategic action, performance or results. Our actual results, performance, achievements, strategic actions or prospects could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not rely on forward-looking statements in making investment decisions. When we make comparisons of results between current and prior periods, we do not intend to express any future trends, or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and you should view such comparisons as historical data. Whether or not any such forward-looking statement is in fact achieved will depend on future events, some of which are beyond our control.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results and strategic actions to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a detailed discussion of many of these and other risks and uncertainties, see “Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors” and “Part II, Item 7., Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 22, 2024 and our other filings filed with the SEC and available on our website at investor.cars.com or via EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this press release in the context of these risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking or cautionary statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, unanticipated or otherwise, or changes in future operating results over time or otherwise. The forward-looking statements in this report are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protection provided by the federal securities laws.
Cars Commerce Investor Relations Contact:
Robbin Moore-Randolph
rmr@carscommerce.com
312.601.5929
Cars Commerce Media Contact:
Marita Thomas
mthomas@carscommerce.com
312.601.5692
[1]As of December 31, 2023, this key metric includes the addition of 950 D2C Media only customers.
Cars.com Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended December 31,
Year Ended December 31,
2023
2022
2023
2022
Revenue:
Dealer
$ 161,393
$ 149,424
$ 621,661
$ 579,222
OEM and National
15,410
14,330
55,904
58,557
Other
2,803
4,447
11,618
16,097
Total revenue
179,606
168,201
689,183
653,876
Operating expenses:
Cost of revenue and operations
30,918
28,875
122,205
114,959
Product and technology
25,230
23,166
99,584
89,015
Marketing and sales
58,835
56,515
235,471
221,879
General and administrative
23,069
16,128
76,807
67,593
Depreciation and amortization
26,619
23,706
101,000
94,394
Total operating expenses
164,671
148,390
635,067
587,840
Operating income
14,935
19,811
54,116
66,036
Nonoperating expense:
Interest expense, net
(8,254)
(8,442)
(32,425)
(35,320)
Other (expense) income, net
(4,790)
5,093
(3,586)
(8,140)
Total nonoperating expense, net
(13,044)
(3,349)
(36,011)
(43,460)
Income before income taxes
1,891
16,462
18,105
22,576
Income tax (benefit) expense
(6,455)
6,200
(100,337)
5,370
Net income
$ 8,346
$ 10,262
$ 118,442
$ 17,206
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic
66,510
66,546
66,742
68,215
Diluted
68,326
68,513
68,227
69,649
Earnings per share:
Basic
$ 0.13
$ 0.15
$ 1.77
$ 0.25
Diluted
0.12
0.15
1.74
0.25
Cars.com Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except per share data)
December 31, 2023
December 31, 2022
Assets:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 39,198
$ 31,715
Accounts receivable, net
125,373
107,930
Prepaid expenses
12,553
8,377
Other current assets
1,314
605
Total current assets
178,438
148,627
Property and equipment, net
43,853
45,218
Goodwill
147,058
102,856
Intangible assets, net
669,167
707,088
Deferred tax assets, net
112,953
48
Investments and other assets, net
20,980
21,033
Total assets
$ 1,172,449
$ 1,024,870
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity:
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 22,259
$ 18,230
Accrued compensation
31,669
19,316
Current portion of long-term debt, net
23,129
14,134
Other accrued liabilities
68,691
54,332
Total current liabilities
145,748
106,012
Noncurrent liabilities:
Long-term debt, net
460,119
458,249
Deferred tax liabilities, net
8,757
1,401
Other noncurrent liabilities
65,717
74,778
Total noncurrent liabilities
534,593
534,428
Total liabilities
680,341
640,440
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred Stock at par, $0.01 par value; 5,000 shares authorized; no
shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022,
respectively
—
—
Common Stock at par, $0.01 par value; 300,000 shares authorized;
65,929 and 66,287 shares issued and outstanding as of
December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively
659
662
Additional paid-in capital
1,500,232
1,511,944
Accumulated deficit
(1,009,734)
(1,128,176)
Accumulated other comprehensive income
951
—
Total stockholders’ equity
492,108
384,430
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$ 1,172,449
$ 1,024,870
Cars.com Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
Year Ended December 31,
2023
2022
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
$ 118,442
$ 17,206
Adjustments to reconcile Net income to Net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation
22,331
16,380
Amortization of intangible assets
78,669
78,014
Amortization of Accumulated other comprehensive loss on interest rate swap
—
2,362
Changes in fair value of contingent consideration
5,537
8,130
Stock-based compensation
28,491
22,342
Deferred income taxes
(114,498)
1,283
Provision for doubtful accounts
2,986
1,888
Amortization of debt issuance costs
3,042
3,235
Unrealized gain on foreign currency denominated transactions
(2,072)
—
Amortization of deferred revenue related to AccuTrade Acquisition
(883)
(4,417)
Other, net
1,026
1,202
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable
(15,567)
(9,337)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(5,101)
(423)
Accounts payable
3,722
2,611
Accrued compensation
11,638
(4,296)
Other liabilities
(1,043)
(7,669)
Net cash provided by operating activities
136,720
128,511
Cash flows from investing activities:
Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired
(76,168)
(64,663)
Capitalization of internally developed technology
(19,602)
(17,886)
Purchase of property and equipment
(1,280)
(1,828)
Net cash used in investing activities
(97,050)
(84,377)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from Revolving Loan borrowings
45,000
45,000
Payments of Revolving Loan borrowings and long-term debt
(36,250)
(41,250)
Payments for stock-based compensation plans, net
(9,205)
(6,256)
Repurchases of common stock
(31,293)
(48,982)
Payments of debt issuance costs and other fees
—
—
Net cash used in financing activities
(31,748)
(51,488)
Impact of foreign currency on Cash and cash equivalents
(439)
—
Net increase (decrease) in Cash and cash equivalents
7,483
(7,354)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
31,715
39,069
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$ 39,198
$ 31,715
Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash paid for income taxes
$ 17,636
$ 545
Cash paid for interest and swap
30,416
33,370
Cars.com Inc.
Non-GAAP Reconciliations
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended December 31,
Year Ended December 31,
2023
2022
2023
2022
Reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA
Net income
$ 8,346
$ 10,262
$ 118,442
$ 17,206
Interest expense, net
8,254
8,442
32,425
35,320
Income tax (benefit) expense
(6,455)
6,200
(100,337)
5,370
Depreciation and amortization
26,619
23,706
101,000
94,394
Stock-based compensation, including related payroll tax expense
7,844
5,390
30,127
22,966
Non-operating foreign exchange income
(2,072)
—
(2,072)
—
Write-off of long-lived assets and other
389
929
1,027
999
Severance, transformation and other exit costs
1,226
960
3,574
4,329
Transaction-related items
11,253
(6,370)
10,698
6,144
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 55,404
$ 49,519
$ 194,884
$ 186,728
Reconciliation of Net cash provided by operating activities to Free cash flow
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 45,140
$ 37,220
$ 136,720
$ 128,511
Capitalization of internally developed technology
(4,764)
(4,739)
(19,602)
(17,886)
Purchase of property and equipment
(543)
(576)
(1,280)
(1,828)
Free cash flow
$ 39,833
$ 31,905
$ 115,838
$ 108,797
Reconciliation of Operating expenses to Adjusted operating expenses for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2023:
As Reported
Adjustments (1)
Stock-Based Compensation
As Adjusted
Cost of revenue and operations
$ 30,918
$ —
$ (396)
$ 30,522
Product and technology
25,230
—
(2,518)
22,712
Marketing and sales
58,835
(48)
(1,566)
57,221
General and administrative
23,069
(6,003)
(3,364)
13,702
Depreciation and amortization
26,619
—
—
26,619
Total operating expenses
$ 164,671
$ (6,051)
$ (7,844)
$ 150,776
Total nonoperating expense, net
$ (13,044)
$ 4,745
$ —
$ (8,299)
(1) Includes transaction related items, unrealized gain on foreign currency denominated transactions, severance, transformation and other exit costs, and write-off of long-lived assets and other.
Reconciliation of Operating expenses to Adjusted operating expenses for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2022:
As Reported
Adjustments (1)
Stock-Based Compensation
As Adjusted
Cost of revenue and operations
$ 28,875
$ —
$ (224)
$ 28,651
Product and technology
23,166
—
(1,765)
21,401
Marketing and sales
56,515
—
(1,164)
55,351
General and administrative
16,128
(2,373)
(2,237)
11,518
Depreciation and amortization
23,706
—
—
23,706
Total operating expenses
$ 148,390
$ (2,373)
$ (5,390)
$ 140,627
Total nonoperating expense, net
$ (3,349)
$ (5,229)
$ —
$ (8,578)
(1) Includes transaction related items, severance, transformation and other exit costs, and write-off of long-lived assets and other.
Reconciliation of Operating expenses to Adjusted operating expenses for the Year Ended December 31, 2023:
As Reported
Adjustments (1)
Stock-Based Compensation
As Adjusted
Cost of revenue and operations
$ 122,205
$ —
$ (1,571)
$ 120,634
Product and technology
99,584
—
(9,360)
90,224
Marketing and sales
235,471
(48)
(6,078)
229,345
General and administrative
76,807
(10,797)
(13,118)
52,892
Depreciation and amortization
101,000
—
—
101,000
Total operating expenses
$ 635,067
$ (10,845)
$ (30,127)
$ 594,095
Total nonoperating expense, net
$ (36,011)
$ 3,465
$ —
$ (32,546)
(1) Includes transaction related items, severance, transformation and other exit costs, unrealized gain on foreign currency denominated transactions, and write-off of long-lived assets and other.
Reconciliation of Operating expenses to Adjusted operating expenses for the Year Ended December 31, 2022:
As Reported
Adjustments (1)
Stock-Based Compensation
As Adjusted
Cost of revenue and operations
$ 114,959
$ —
$ (983)
$ 113,976
Product and technology
89,015
—
(6,851)
82,164
Marketing and sales
221,879
—
(5,068)
216,811
General and administrative
67,593
(8,943)
(10,064)
48,586
Depreciation and amortization
94,394
—
—
94,394
Total operating expenses
$ 587,840
$ (8,943)
$ (22,966)
$ 555,931
Total nonoperating expense, net
$ (43,460)
$ 7,946
$ —
$ (35,514)
(1) Includes transaction related items, severance, transformation and other exit costs, and write-off of long-lived assets and other.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carscom-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2023-results-302068476.html
SOURCE Cars Commerce
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Technology
U.S. Quartz Workers: Strong Safeguard Remedies Needed to Save 100,000 American Manufacturing Jobs
Published
49 minutes agoon
July 23, 2026By
WASHINGTON, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Quartz Manufacturers Alliance for America (QMAA) released a powerful video featuring quartz manufacturing workers from across the country calling for free and fair trade policies to save 100,000 American jobs. QMAA, a coalition of leading U.S.-based quartz slab manufacturers, are calling for strong safeguard remedies after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found a huge flood of foreign imports had caused tremendous injury to the domestic quartz industry.
QMAA members are urging the Trump Administration to build on the ITC’s strong recommendation and address this major flood of quartz imports with a Tariff of 50% and a Reshoring Import Cap of 141 million square feet on imported quartz surface products. This will ensure a reshoring of the good-paying U.S. quartz manufacturing jobs stolen by companies who cheat U.S. trade law, distort competition and are decimating U.S. quartz manufacturing. Together, these trade remedies will provide the relief necessary to save the 100,000 jobs supported by the U.S. quartz industry.
The video features workers from LX Hausys, Guidoni USA and Cambria Company and is available here:
Save 100,000 American Quartz Jobs
Quotes from QMAA Quartz Manufacturing Workers
“This facility used to be a Husqvarna plant. Husqvarna closed down due to cheap foreign imports. There were over 1,000 people working here and all of a sudden…I’m worried I may see the same thing take place again.”
-Raymond Mack, Production Operator, Guidoni USA, Helena-McRae, GA
“Foreign countries, mainly China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, have been circumventing and cheating the American market. We believe in the industry. We believe in the American working power. We just want to level the playing field, make it fair for everyone and everyone will benefit.”
– Daniel Vas de Melo SA, Business Development Manager, Guidoni USA, McRae-Helena, GA
“In order for us to continue to compete, we need a strong Tariff and Import Cap on imported quartz surfaces. That will ensure we can play on an even playing field. That’s all we’re asking for. I would hate to see cheap, imported quartz have a negative impact on families such as mine and the other families that we employ here.”
– Mike Morici, Vice President – LX Hausys, Adairsville, GA
“The surge of foreign imports has shocked the U.S. economy, and the market for surfaces. It’s taken prices down to unsustainably low levels for any domestic supplier. The result of that is we’re not producing as much as we should, we can’t hire as many people as we would like to, and we can’t grow our business in the way that we and our peers in the U.S. want to grow.”
– Andrew Eich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cambria
“As these foreign imports flood the market, we lose the ability to create and sustain jobs that ensure good paying conditions for manufacturing workers. There will be over 100,000 jobs that have the strong potential to go away.”
– Jack Sundry, SVP Core and Lexus – Cambria, Southern Minnesota
Background
In September 2025, QMAA filed a Global Safeguard petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974. The ITC’s thorough investigation found serious injury to the domestic industry caused by a massive import surge designed to undercut American businesses. Quartz imports have surged by 78.3% within the past five years, leading to a nearly 20% decline in domestic production, factory closures and major job reductions.
A final safeguard decision from the United States Trade Representative is expected by Aug. 1, 2026.
About the Quartz Manufacturing Alliance for America:
QMAA is a coalition of U.S.-based, American quartz slab manufacturing factories, united with other industry leaders to support and strengthen the American quartz industry. QMAA is committed to ensuring a free and fair, competitive marketplace born of free enterprise that provides the opportunity to compete on a level playing field for American quartz slab manufacturing factories and their valued workers. We also believe this effort will have a positive impact throughout the entire quartz surfacing industry, including to the strong benefit of American stone fabrication shops and upstream suppliers of quartz minerals and resin. Learn more at: https://www.qmaa.org/
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-quartz-workers-strong-safeguard-remedies-needed-to-save-100-000-american-manufacturing-jobs-302833444.html
SOURCE Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America
Technology
Databricks and Microsoft expand partnership to help enterprises bring business context to enterprise AI
Published
49 minutes agoon
July 23, 2026By
Databricks and Microsoft extend strategic partnership through the 2030s to scale enterprise AIDatabricks deepens its bet on Azure, growing its use of Azure Databricks to run its own core business operations and analytics, while both companies advance native integration across the Microsoft stack, including Databricks Genie and Microsoft 365Databricks increases its use of Microsoft Azure Cobalt to improve performance and efficiency
REDMOND, Wash. and SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Microsoft Corp. and Databricks on Wednesday announced an expansion of their decade-long strategic partnership, extending into the 2030s. Databricks will deepen its use of Azure Databricks to run core business operations and build its unified lakehouse, while leveraging Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency. Microsoft will also continue integrating Databricks Data and AI platform across its products, bringing capabilities like Genie, Databricks’ AI co-worker, directly into customer workflows. Together, the companies are helping enterprises build AI grounded in their own business context with the cost efficiency, control and choice needed to scale successfully.
Enterprises want AI that understands their customers, products, operations, metrics and business processes, all while running securely where work happens. Yet, most still struggle to connect AI to trusted business knowledge, govern models and agents consistently, and control costs. Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers close that gap:
“For nearly a decade, Databricks and Microsoft have helped enterprises innovate with data and AI,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co‑Founder and CEO of Databricks. “Today, our partnership is stronger than ever. With Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway deeply integrated across Microsoft’s products, we’re helping enterprises unify their data and ground AI in business knowledge. This lets customers get the full benefits of agents and models while controlling costs and ensuring governance.”
“The next generation of AI will be defined by how effectively organizations turn their unique knowledge into intelligence,” said Judson Althoff, CEO, Microsoft Commercial Business. “Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers connect data, AI and business context to accelerate decision-making and drive measurable impact. With Databricks deepening its investment in Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt-powered infrastructure, customers will benefit from greater performance, efficiency and scale for their most demanding workloads. Databricks’ decision to run its own core business operations on Azure Databricks also gives customers confidence in a platform proven at enterprise scale.”
Databricks runs core business operations on Azure Databricks
As part of this latest deal, Databricks deepens its commitment to Azure, running its own core business operations and analytics on Azure Databricks, using the very platform it delivers to customers at scale.
Advancing performance with Azure Cobalt
Databricks will also expand its use of Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency for agentic and data-intensive workloads. Databricks currently uses Cobalt 100 and plans to adopt Cobalt 200, which delivers up to 50% better performance and includes memory encryption enabled by default.
Deep integrations for Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway with Microsoft product stack
By combining the Databricks Data + AI Platform with Azure’s global scale, customers can accelerate AI transformation while maintaining control and reliability. As a native Azure service, Azure Databricks makes its AI capabilities available directly within customers’ existing Microsoft environment, grounding and operating agents on enterprise data with Genie and Genie Ontology, and governing models, agents and cost through Unity AI Gateway. Deeply integrated across the Microsoft ecosystem spanning Microsoft Entra, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure security, Microsoft OneLake, Power BI, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Foundry, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot, these capabilities bring governed, real-time data and AI into business workflows, giving organizations the context, control, choice and cost efficiency needed to drive impact.
Continued investment is evident from our recent announcements with Databricks at Data + AI Summit in June.
Customer impact with Azure Databricks
The deepened collaboration strengthens support for joint customers running data, analytics and AI workloads on Azure Databricks, delivering improved performance, security, AI governance and enterprise readiness. Thousands of customers, including Banco Bradesco, the Cincinnati Reds, Electrolux, SMBC and Unilever, already use Azure Databricks to run critical workloads and scale AI with confidence.
Read more on the proven business value of the Databricks and Microsoft partnership on the Microsoft Azure blog.
About Databricks
Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including AT&T, Bayer, BMW Group, HSBC, T-Mobile, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/databricks-and-microsoft-expand-partnership-to-help-enterprises-bring-business-context-to-enterprise-ai-302832954.html
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
Technology
Harness and Kong Expand Strategic Partnership to Deliver Comprehensive API and AI Security
Published
49 minutes agoon
July 23, 2026By
Joint solution extends proven API gateway security to the AI era — with automated AI discovery and runtime AI protection
SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, and Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to address the growing security challenges posed by AI-driven architectures, autonomous agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) deployments.
According to The State of AI-Native Application Security 2025 report, as enterprises race to deploy AI at scale, 62% have no visibility into where LLMs are in use across their environment, and 74% say AI sprawl will outpace API sprawl when it comes to risk — making embedded, infrastructure-level security more critical than ever. And companies are now deploying agents into their operations at an exponentially increasing rate, making it a necessity to protect the agents themselves and the systems interacting with those agents.
The two companies are extending their joint solution from Kong API Gateway to also include Kong AI Gateway, bringing Harness’s AI security intelligence directly into the AI infrastructure layer and enabling enterprises to discover, monitor, and protect every agent, AI asset, LLM-powered service, and MCP-connected workflow that traverses it.
A Proven Foundation: Harness and Kong API Gateway
Harness and Kong have been jointly trusted by enterprises to deliver best-in-class API security for years. The existing Harness and Kong API Gateway integration provides:
Comprehensive API traffic visibility and behavioral analysis across all Kong-managed servicesReal-time detection and blocking of API threats, including OWASP API Security Top 10 risks, credential stuffing attacks, and business logic abuseContinuous sensitive data tracking to identify PII exposure and regulatory riskZero-friction deployment alongside existing Kong configurations
This new offering of the AI Gateway solution applies the same level of security depth to AI infrastructure, ensuring that security teams are not left behind as their organizations adopt AI and agentic operations.
“Our partnership with Harness has given joint customers production-grade API security that works with the way they build, not against it,” said Ken Kim, Senior Vice President, Business Development at Kong Inc. “Extending to include Kong AI Gateway is a natural next step. The same enterprises are now moving AI into production through our gateway and need the same depth of visibility and control they’ve come to rely on for their APIs for all AI traffic types including LLM, MCP, and A2A. That’s exactly what this delivers and is crucial for organizations scaling in the agentic era.”
The New Frontier: Kong AI Gateway and Harness AI Security
As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, the attack surface has fundamentally shifted. AI agents, LLM-powered microservices, and MCP-enabled integrations introduce new vectors that traditional security tools were not designed to address. Unlike traditional software, AI agents are non-deterministic — the same agent can behave differently on consecutive runs, making it impossible to secure them the way you’d secure a static API. The new Harness and Kong AI Gateway integration directly tackles these challenges across two critical domains: AI discovery and AI protection.
AI Discovery
Harness automatically inventories every AI asset, API, MCP server, tool, prompt, and resource routed through Kong AI Gateway — providing security teams with a continuously updated catalog of their AI attack surface. No manual documentation. No blind spots.
AI Protection
Harness applies behavioral analysis and anomaly detection to AI traffic in real time, identifying prompt injection attacks, data exfiltration through AI responses, jailbreaking, malicious code in prompts, and other AI-specific threats. Enterprises gain the same depth of observability and protection for their agents and AI workloads that they already rely on for traditional APIs, with full prompt and response details available for incident investigation and inline policy enforcement through Kong AI Gateway.
“Shadow AI has become the defining security blind spot for enterprises today. Traditional tools were built for static code and predictable systems, not for adaptive AI models, agent-to-agent communication, and MCP-connected workflows that evolve continuously,” said Rahul Sood, GM of Application Security at Harness. “This integration of Harness AI Security with Kong puts security intelligence directly into the connectivity layer where AI traffic flows. Joint customers now have the visibility and control they need to move fast without losing sight of what’s happening across their AI infrastructure.”
Availability
The Harness and Kong API Gateway integration is generally available today for all joint customers. The Kong AI Gateway integration, including AI Discovery and AI Protection, is also generally available now. Joint customers can contact their account team or request a demo.
About Harness
Harness is the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, enabling engineering teams to build, test, and deliver software faster and more securely. Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the platform brings intelligent automation to every stage of the software delivery lifecycle after code — removing toil and freeing developers from manual, repetitive work. Companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels use Harness to accelerate releases by up to 75%, cut cloud costs by 60%, and achieve 10x efficiency across DevOps. Based in San Francisco, Harness is backed by Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, and Citi Ventures.
About Kong
Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harness-and-kong-expand-strategic-partnership-to-deliver-comprehensive-api-and-ai-security-302833414.html
SOURCE Harness
U.S. Quartz Workers: Strong Safeguard Remedies Needed to Save 100,000 American Manufacturing Jobs
Databricks and Microsoft expand partnership to help enterprises bring business context to enterprise AI
Harness and Kong Expand Strategic Partnership to Deliver Comprehensive API and AI Security
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