Organization, Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | Organization, Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Organization and Description of Business Outbrain Inc., together with its subsidiaries, (“Outbrain”, the “Company”, “we”, “our” or “us”) was incorporated in August 2006 in Delaware. The Company is headquartered in New York, New York and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Israel, Europe, Asia, Brazil and Australia. Outbrain is a leading recommendation platform powering the open web. The Company’s platform provides personalized recommendations that appear as links to content, advertisements and videos on media owners’ online properties. The Company generates revenue from marketers through user engagements with promoted recommendations that it delivers across a variety of third-party media owners’ properties. The Company pays traffic acquisition costs to its media owner partners on whose digital properties the recommendations are shown. The Company’s advertiser solutions are mainly priced using a performance-based model based on the actual number of engagements generated by users, which is highly dependent on its ability to generate trustworthy and interesting recommendations to individual users based on its proprietary algorithms. A small portion of the Company’s revenue is generated through advertisers participating in programmatic auctions wherein the pricing is determined by the auction results and not dependent on user engagement. Reverse Stock Split In July 2021, the Company’s Board and stockholders approved a 1-for-1.7 reverse stock split of its common and convertible preferred stock. The reverse stock split became effective on July 13, 2021. The par value of the common stock was not adjusted as a result of the reverse stock split. In addition, adjustments corresponding to the reverse stock split were made to the ratio at which the convertible preferred stock converted into common stock immediately prior to the closing of the IPO, in accordance with existing terms of the convertible preferred stock. All share and per-share amounts for all periods presented in these financial statements and notes thereto have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the effect of the reverse stock split. Initial Public Offering On July 22, 2021, the Company’s Form S-1, filed on June 29, 2021, as amended, was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Company’s common stock and its common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) on July 23, 2021. On July 27, 2021, the Company closed its IPO and issued 8,000,000 shares of its common stock at an initial offering price of $20.00 per share, receiving aggregate net proceeds of $145.1 million, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering costs. Deferred offering costs of $3.7 million primarily consisted of accounting, legal and other transaction costs directly related to the IPO. Prior to the IPO, deferred offering costs were recorded within prepaid expenses and other current assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. Upon the Company’s IPO, such costs were reclassified to additional paid-in capital within stockholders’ equity (deficit) and recorded against the proceeds of the offering. In connection with the IPO, all of the shares of the Company’s convertible preferred stock outstanding automatically converted into an aggregate of 28,091,267 shares of the Company’s common stock, with all series converted on a one-to-one basis, with the exception of Series F, which was converted at 1.14-to-1, based on the terms of the Series F agreement and the IPO price. The total carrying value of convertible preferred stock of $162.4 million was reclassified to stockholders’ equity (deficit). Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“US GAAP”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Outbrain Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and related disclosures as of the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates and judgments are based on historical information and on various other assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates and assumptions made in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the allowance for doubtful accounts, sales allowance, software development costs eligible for capitalization, valuation of deferred tax assets, the useful lives of property and equipment, the useful lives and fair value of intangible assets and goodwill, the fair value of stock-based awards, and the recognition and measurement of income tax uncertainties and other contingencies. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Reclassifications Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior periods’ financial information in order to conform to the current period’s presentation. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand and highly liquid investments in money market funds. Restricted Cash Restricted cash represents security deposits for facility leases and is included in other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Accounts receivable are recorded at invoiced amounts, net of allowances for doubtful accounts, if applicable, and are unsecured and do not bear interest. Accounts receivable also include earned and billable amounts not yet invoiced as of the end of the reporting period. The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on the best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in existing accounts receivable. The Company evaluates the collectability of its accounts receivable based on known collection risks and historical experience. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations (e.g., bankruptcy filings or substantial downgrading of credit ratings), it records a specific reserve for bad debts against amounts due to reduce the net recognized receivable to the amount it reasonably believes will be collected. For all other customers, the Company records reserves for bad debts based on the length of time the receivables are past due and its historical experience of collections and write-offs. If circumstances change, such as higher-than-expected defaults or an unexpected material adverse change in a major customer’s ability to meet its financial obligations, the Company’s estimate of amounts collectible could be reduced by a material amount. Certain Risks and Concentrations Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and accounts receivable. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash are generally invested in high-credit quality financial instruments with both banks and financial institutions to reduce the amount of exposure to any single financial institution. The Company generally does not require collateral to secure accounts receivable. No single marketer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s total revenue for the years ended 2021, 2020 and 2019, or 10% or more of its gross accounts receivable balance as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2021, one media owner accounted for 10% of the Company’s total traffic acquisition costs. Fo r the year ended December 31, 2020, two media owners individually accounted for 12% and 11% of the Company’s total traffic acquisition costs. For the year ended December 31, 2019, two media owners individually accounted for 14% and 11% of the Company’s total traffic acquisition costs. Property, equipment and capitalized software, net Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Depreciation on property and equipment, excluding leasehold improvements, is three years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the remaining lease term. Amortization on leasehold improvements ranges from one The Company capitalizes qualifying development costs associated with software that is developed or obtained for internal use, provided that management with the relevant authority authorizes and commits to the funding of the project, it is probable the project will be completed and the software will be used to perform the function intended. Capitalized costs, including costs incurred for enhancements that are expected to result in additional significant functionality are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life, which approximates three years. Costs related to preliminary project activities and post-implementation operation activities, including training and maintenance, are expensed as incurred. Intangible assets, net Intangible assets primarily consist of developed technology and customer and media owner relationships resulting from acquisitions. Intangible assets are carried at cost, less accumulated amortization, unless a determination has been made that their value has been impaired. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Amortization expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations is included as a component of other cost of revenue for developed technology assets and sales and marketing expense for customer and media owner relationships and tradenames. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Long-lived assets consist of the Company’s property, equipment, capitalized software development costs and other assets, including identifiable intangible assets with finite lives. The Company’s long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of these assets may not be recoverable or that the useful life is shorter than originally estimated. Recoverability of these assets is first assessed by comparison of the carrying amount of each asset to the future undiscounted cash flows the asset is expected to generate over their remaining lives. If the asset is considered to be impaired, the amount of any impairment is measured as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value of the impaired asset. If the useful life is shorter than originally estimated, the Company amortizes the remaining carrying value over the new shorter useful life. Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquired entity over the fair value of intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Goodwill is not amortized but instead evaluated for impairment. The Company performs its annual impairment test of goodwill during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or whenever events or circumstances change that would indicate that goodwill may not be recoverable. In conducting the impairment test, the Company can opt to perform a qualitative assessment to test goodwill for impairment or can directly perform the two-step impairment test described below. Based on the Company’s qualitative assessment, if it is determined that the fair value of a reporting unit is more likely than not to be less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test is performed. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that unit, goodwill is not considered impaired. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment charge is recorded for the difference. Based on the Company’s qualitative assessment performed during the fourth quarter of fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, the Company concluded that it was more-likely-than-not that the estimated fair value of the Company’s single reporting unit exceeded its carrying value. Accordingly, no goodwill impairment charges were recognized for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Revenue Recognition The Company recognizes revenues when it transfers control of promised services directly to its customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services. The Company recognizes revenue pursuant to the five-step framework contained in ASC 606: (i) identify the contract with a client; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue as the Company satisfies the performance obligations. The Company generates revenue primarily from advertisers through user engagement with the ads that it places on media partners’ web pages and mobile applications. The Company’s platform delivers ads to end-users that appear as links to articles and videos on media owners’ sites. The Company’s customers include brands, performance marketers and other advertisers, which are collectively referred to as its advertisers, each of which contract for use of its services primarily through insertion orders or through self-service tools, allowing advertisers to establish budgets for their advertising campaigns. Advertising campaigns are primarily billed on a monthly basis. The Company’s payment terms generally range from 30 to 60 days. For advertising campaigns priced on a cost-per-click basis, the Company bills its advertisers and recognizes revenue when a user clicks on an advertisement it delivers. For campaigns priced on a cost-per-impression basis, the Company bills its advertisers and recognizes revenue based on the number of times an advertisement is displayed to a user. Variable consideration, including allowances, discounts, refunds, credits, incentives, or other price concessions, is estimated and recorded at the time that related revenue is recognized. Advance payments from advertisers for future services represent contract liabilities and are recorded as deferred revenue in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or a net basis involves significant judgement. In general, the Company acts as a principal on behalf of its advertisers and revenue is recognized gross of any costs that it remits to the media partners. In these cases, the Company determined that it controls the advertising inventory before it is transferred to its advertisers. The Company’s control is evidenced by its ability to monetize the advertising inventory before it is transferred to its advertisers. For those revenue arrangements where the Company does not control the advertising inventory before it is transferred to its advertisers, the Company is the agent and recognizes revenue on a net basis. The Company recognizes revenue net of applicable sales taxes. Contract Balances There were no contract assets as of December 31, 2021 or December 31, 2020. Contract liabilities primarily relate to advance payments and consideration received from customers. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company’s contract liabilities were recorded as deferred revenue in its consolidated balance sheets. See Note 12 for disaggregation of the Company’s revenue based on geography of where the Company’s marketers are physically located. Cost of Revenue Traffic Acquisition Costs. Traffic acquisition costs consist of amounts the Company owes to media owners when users engage with promoted recommendations on media owners’ properties. The Company incurs costs with media owners in the period in which the click-throughs occur or in some circumstances based on a guaranteed minimum rate of payment from the Company in exchange for guaranteed placement of the Company’s promoted recommendations on specified portions of the media owners online properties. These guaranteed rates are typically provided per thousand qualified page views, whereby the Company’s minimum monthly payment to the media owner may fluctuate based on how many qualified page views the media owner generates, subject to a maximum guarantee. Traffic acquisition costs also include amounts payable to programmatic supply partners. In some instances, the Company may make upfront payments to media owners in connection with long-term contracts. The Company capitalizes these advance payments under these agreements if select capitalization criteria have been met. The capitalization criteria include the existence of future economic benefits to us, the existence of legally enforceable recoverability language (e.g., early termination clauses), management’s ability and intent to enforce the recoverability language and the ability to generate future earnings from the agreement in excess of amounts deferred. Capitalized amounts are amortized as traffic acquisition costs over the shorter of the period of contractual recoverability or the corresponding period of economic benefit. Amounts not yet paid are accrued systematically based on the Company’s estimate of user engagement. Other Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue also includes costs related to the management of the Company’s data centers, hosting fees, data connectivity costs and depreciation and amortization. Cost of revenue also includes the amortization of capitalized software that is developed or obtained for internal use associated with the Company’s revenue-generating technologies. Additionally, other cost of revenue includes amortization of intangible assets related to developed technology acquired by the Company and used in its revenue-generating efforts. Research and Development The Company incurs research and development expenses primarily relating to the development and enhancement of its content discovery platform. These expenses consist primarily of personnel and the related overhead costs and amortization of capitalized software for non-revenue generating infrastructure. Research and development expenses are expensed as incurred, except for internal-use software development costs that qualify for capitalization. Advertising and Promotional Costs Advertising and promotional costs are included in sales and marketing expenses as incurred in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Advertising and promotional co sts were $13.1 million, $9.3 million and $11.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Segment Information The Company has one operating and reporting segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Co-Chief Executive Officer who makes resource allocation decisions and assesses performance based on financial information presented on a consolidated basis. Stock-based Compensation The Company recognizes stock-based compensation for stock-based awards, including stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) based on the estimated fair value of the awards. The Company estimates the fair value of its stock option awards on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of judgments and assumptions, including the option’s expected term and the price volatility of the underlying stock. The fair value of the Company’s RSAs and RSUs is the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Stock option awards, RSAs, RSUs and SARs generally vest subject to the satisfaction of service requirements, or the satisfaction of both service requir ements and achievement of certain performance conditions. Fo r stock awards that vest subject to the satisfaction of service requirements, stock-based compensation is measured based on the fair value of the award on the date of grant and is recognized as stock-based compensation on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. For stock awards that have a performance component, stock-based compensation is measured based on the fair value on the grant date and is recognized over the requisite service period as achievement of the performance objective becomes probable. For common stock options or warrants issued to non-employees, including consultants, the Company records stock-based compensation based on the fair value of the options or warrants calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company calculates the fair value of each stock-based award to non-employees on each measurement date based on the fair value of its common stock. The fair value of each stock-based award granted to non-employees is remeasured as the options or warrants vest, and the resulting change in fair value is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations during the period the related services are rendered. Foreign Currency The Company transacts business in various foreign currencies. In general, the functional currency of its foreign subsidiaries is the currency of the local country. Consequently, revenues and expenses of operations outside the United States (“U.S.”) are generally translated into U.S. dollars using weighted-average exchange rates, while assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date with the resulting translation adjustments recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within the statements of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit). Foreign currency transaction gains and losses resulting from transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. The net foreign exchange transaction gains (losses) included in interest income and other income (expense), net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations were $(3.3) million, $(3.1) million and $0.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Derivative Financial Instruments The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations, including but not limited to, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company enters into foreign currency forward exchange contracts to manage its foreign currency exchange risk by reducing the effects of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates on its net cash flows. These derivative contracts are not designated as accounting hedges. Accordingly, the Company recognizes gains and losses resulting from a change in fair value for these derivatives in the period in which the change occurs. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized unrealized net gains of $0.2 million, $0.4 million and $0.5 million within interest income and other income (expense), net in its consolidated statements of operations. The Company classifies cash flows from these contracts as operating activities in its consolidated statements of cash flows. The notional amount of the Company’s outstanding derivative instruments was $33.5 million and $8.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Severance Pay Asset and Liability The Company records a severance pay asset and liability on its consolidated balance sheets related to its employees located in Israel. The liability for severance pay is calculated pursuant to Israeli severance pay law based on the most recent salary for the employees multiplied by the number of years of employment, as of the respective balance sheet date. Employees are entitled to one-month salary for each year of employment or a portion thereof. The Company’s liability at each respective balance sheet date for all of its Israeli employees is fully accrued in other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company funds this obligation through monthly deposits to the employee’s pension and management insurance policies. The carrying value of these policies is recorded as a severance fund asset in other assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The deposited funds may be withdrawn only upon the fulfillment of its obligation pursuant to Israeli severance pay law. The carrying value of its deposited funds is based on the cash surrender value of these policies and includes profits accumulated through the respective balance sheet date. Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates that apply to taxable income in effect for the years in which those tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood that its deferred income tax assets will be realized. To the extent that the Company believes any amounts are not more likely than not to be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the deferred income tax assets. The Company’s deferred tax assets were $32.9 million and $2.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company’s deferred tax liabilities were $1.7 million and $3.4 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and are included within other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company regularly assesses the need for the valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets, and to the extent that it determines that an adjustment is needed, such adjustment will be recorded in the period that the determination is made. The Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to income tax matters as income tax expense. COVID-19 Impacts In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the COVID-19 disease as a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a global slowdown of economic activity causing a decrease in demand for a broad variety of goods and services, including those provided by certain advertisers using the Company’s platform. Many of the Company’s advertisers reduced their advertising spending, which had a negative impact on its revenue during the first half of 2020. As the world quickly shifted to online activities and advertisers gradually shifted their spending toward digital advertising, the Company’s revenue trends improved meaningfully and returned to growth beginning in the second half of 202 0. Although the advertising market and the Company’s business have generally recovered from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, variables such as global supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and stoppages, and cost inflation impacted certain categories of advertisers, such as the automotive advertisers, and could adversely impact the Company in the future, including if its advertisers were to reduce or cut their advertising spending as a result of any of these factors. The Company continues to monitor its operations, and the operations of those in its ecosystem (including media partners, advertisers and agencies), as well as government recommendations. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Recently adopted accounting pronouncements On January 1, 2021, the Company early adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, “Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity,” which simplified the accounting for convertible debt instruments by reducing the number of accounting models used to allocate proceeds from five to three, removing certain conditions for equity classification and amending earnings per share calculations to assume share settlement and to require the if-converted method to be applied to all convertible debt instruments. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of the date of adoption. The Company applied this guidance to its Convertible Notes issued in July 2021 and utilized the if-converted method to calculate the dilutive impact of Convertible Notes and its previously outstanding convertible preferred stock on its earnings per share. Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”, which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both parties to a contract (i.e., lessees and lessors). The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than twelve months, regardless of their classification. Leases with a term of twelve months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases today. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases and operating leases. ASU 2016-02 supersedes the previous leases standard, Leases (Topic 840). In June 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-05 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) and Leases (Topic 842): Effective Dates for Certain Entities. The amendments in this update defer the effective date of ASU 2016-02 for private companies to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. Early application is permitted. The Company will adopt this standard on January 1, 2022, as requir ed. The Company expects its assets and liabilities t o increase by $14 million to $16 million in connection with the recording of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities upon adoption of this standard. This standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations. |