EX-99.1 2 exhibit991-q22024earningsr.htm EX-99.1 Document

Exhibit 99.1
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MeridianLink Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results
Second quarter revenue of $78.7 million grows 4% year-over-year driven by lending software solutions revenue of $61.6 million, reflecting growth of 11% year-over-year

COSTA MESA, Calif., August 8, 2024 — MeridianLink, Inc. (NYSE: MLNK), a leading provider of modern software platforms for financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

“Our second quarter performance highlights the resilience of our business model, continued demand for MeridianLink® One, and our disciplined execution as a leading vertical SaaS company,” said Nicolaas Vlok, chief executive officer of MeridianLink®. “Our lending software solutions continue to perform well in the face of macroeconomic headwinds due to the power of our platform. New and existing customers continue to partner with MeridianLink to execute a digital lending strategy that wins in the market.”

Quarterly Financial Highlights:
•Revenue of $78.7 million, an increase of 4% year-over-year
•Lending software solutions revenue of $61.6 million, an increase of 11% year-over-year
•Operating loss of $(1.1) million, or (1)% of revenue, and non-GAAP operating income of $15.5 million, or 20% of revenue    
•Net loss of $(9.7) million, or (12)% of revenue, and adjusted EBITDA of $31.8 million, or 40% of revenue
•Cash flows from operations of $14.4 million, or 18% of revenue, and free cash flow of $12.4 million, or 16% of revenue
•MeridianLink returned $29.9 million to stockholders via 1.6 million of stock repurchases

Business and Operating Highlights:
•MeridianLink named Larry Katz President of the Company and will welcome Elias Olmeta as our new Chief Financial Officer on August 26, 2024. Mr. Katz will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer until Mr. Olmeta starts. With these leadership changes, we are enhancing our industry expertise and aligning our customer-facing organization to further scale the business.
•New and existing customers chose MeridianLink One to enhance their lending solutions, including a MeridianLink® Consumer customer who adopted MeridianLink® Mortgage, Mortgage Access, and our Debt Optimization solution.
•MeridianLink announced 3Rivers Federal Credit Union’s successful go-live on MeridianLink® Access and Opening, resulting in a significant decrease in loan application times.
•We enhanced our product capabilities through a new integration between MeridianLink® Insight and Collect that provides customers with advanced analytics to run their businesses, including a new payment propensity index.
•To offer our customers innovative AI capabilities, we partnered with Conductiv, a leader in providing missing, permissioned data to meet underwriting guidelines, helping customers achieve up to a 47% increase in approval rates without increasing losses.

Business Outlook
Based on information as of today, August 8, 2024, the Company issues third quarter financial guidance and updates full year 2024 financial guidance as follows:

Third Quarter Fiscal 2024:
•Revenue is expected to be in the range of $78.0 to $81.0
•Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $30.0 to $33.0

Full Year 2024:
•Revenue is expected to be in the range of $312.0 to $318.0
•Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $123.0 to $128.0



Conference Call Information
MeridianLink will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter results today, August 8, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). The conference call can be accessed by dialing (800) 549-8228 from North America toll-free or the International number of (289) 819-1520 with Conference ID 49245. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from the investor relations page of MeridianLink’s website at ir.meridianlink.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available at the same website following the conclusion of the call. A telephonic replay will be available until 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time) on Thursday, August 15, 2024, by dialing (888) 660-6264 from North America or the International number of (289) 819-1325 with Playback Passcode 49245.

MeridianLink uses its investor relations website (https://ir.meridianlink.com), press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts, blog posts on its website, as well as its social media channels, such as its LinkedIn page (www.linkedin.com/company/meridianlink), X (formerly Twitter) feed (@meridianlink), and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MeridianLink/), as a means of disclosing material information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Information contained on or accessible through the websites is not incorporated by reference into this release, and links for these websites are inactive textual references only.

For More Information:

Press Contact
Sydney Wishnow
(508) 808-9060
meridianlinkPR@clyde.us

Investor Relations Contact
Gianna Rotellini
(714) 332-6357
InvestorRelations@meridianlink.com

About MeridianLink
MeridianLink® (NYSE: MLNK) empowers financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies to drive efficient growth. MeridianLink’s cloud-based digital lending, account opening, background screening, and data verification software solutions leverage shared intelligence from a unified data platform, MeridianLink® One, to enable customers of all sizes to identify growth opportunities, effectively scale up, and support compliance efforts, all while powering an enhanced experience for staff and consumers alike.

For more than 25 years, MeridianLink has prioritized the democratization of lending for consumers, businesses, and communities. Learn more at www.meridianlink.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement the financial measures presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, we provide certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin; non-GAAP operating income (loss); non-GAAP net income (loss); non-GAAP cost of revenue; non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses; non-GAAP research and development expenses; non-GAAP general and administrative expenses; and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Rather, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed in addition to and not in lieu of our reported GAAP financial results, provide investors with additional meaningful information to assess our financial performance and trends, enable comparison of financial results between periods, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics utilized internally in analyzing and operating our business. The following definitions are provided:
•Non-GAAP operating income (loss): GAAP operating income (loss), excluding the impact of share-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, expenses associated with our secondary offering, restructuring related costs, expenses related to debt modification, charges in connection with litigation unrelated to our core business, and sponsor and third-party acquisition-related costs.



•Non-GAAP net income (loss): GAAP net income (loss), excluding the impact of share-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, expenses associated with our secondary offering, restructuring related costs, expenses related to debt modification, charges in connection with litigation unrelated to our core business, and the effect of income taxes, including the partial valuation allowance, on non-GAAP items. The effects of income taxes on non-GAAP items reflect a fixed long-term projected tax rate of 24%.

The Company employs a structural long-term projected non-GAAP income tax rate of 24% for greater consistency across reporting periods, eliminating effects of items not directly related to the Company's operating structure that may vary in size and frequency. This long-term projected non-GAAP income tax rate is determined by analyzing a mix of historical and projected tax filing positions, assumes no additional acquisitions during the projection period or include the impact from the partial deferred tax asset valuation allowance, and takes into account various factors, including the Company’s anticipated tax structure, its tax positions in different jurisdictions, and current impacts from key U.S. legislation where the Company operates. We will reevaluate this tax rate, as necessary, for significant events such as significant alterations in the U.S. tax environment, substantial changes in the Company’s geographic earnings mix due to acquisition activity, or other shifts in the Company’s strategy or business operations.

•Adjusted EBITDA: net income (loss) before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expense, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, expenses associated with our secondary offering, restructuring related costs, expenses related to debt modification, charges in connection with litigation unrelated to our core business, and deferred revenue reductions from purchase accounting for acquisitions prior to the adoption of ASU 2021-08, “Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers,” which we early adopted on January 1, 2022 on a prospective basis. Deferred revenue from acquisitions prior to the adoption of ASU 2021-08 was recognized on a straight line basis through December 31, 2023.

•Non-GAAP cost of revenue: GAAP cost of revenue, excluding the impact of share-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, and amortization of developed technology.

•Non-GAAP operating expenses: GAAP operating expenses, excluding the impact of share-based compensation, employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions, expenses associated with our secondary offering, expenses related to debt modification, expenses related to debt modification, charges in connection with litigation unrelated to our core business, and depreciation and amortization, as applicable.

•Free cash flow: GAAP cash flow from operating activities less GAAP purchases of property and equipment (Capital Expenditures) and capitalized costs related to developed technology (Capitalized Software).
Reconciliations to comparable GAAP financial measures are available in the accompanying schedules, which are posted as part of this earnings release on our website. No reconciliation is provided with respect to certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures as the GAAP measures are not accessible on a forward-looking basis. We cannot reliably predict all necessary components or their impact to reconcile such financial measures without unreasonable effort. The events necessitating a non-GAAP adjustment are inherently unpredictable and may have a significant impact on our future GAAP financial results.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains, and our above-referenced conference call and webcast will contain, statements which are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Further, statements describing our strategy, outlook, guidance, plans, intentions, or goals are also forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our predictions, expectations, or forecasts, including, but not limited to, statements regarding, and guidance with respect to, our strategy, our future financial and operational performance, future economic and market conditions, our strategic initiatives, our leadership transition and plans, our stock repurchase programs, including the execution and amount of repurchases, the status of litigation matters, including expected or contemplated settlements, associated timing, and estimated fees and expenses, our ability to retain and attract customers and product partners, the benefit to us and our customers of integrations with our product partners, our development or delivery of new or enhanced solutions and anticipated results of those solutions for our customers, our ability to effectively implement, integrate, and service our


customers, our market size and growth opportunities, our competitive positioning, projected costs, technological capabilities and plans, and objectives of management. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a variety of risks and factors that are beyond our control including, without limitation, risks related to our business and industry, as well as those set forth in Item 1A. Risk Factors, or elsewhere, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, any updates in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K, and our other SEC filings. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as of the date hereof. The plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved, and you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.


Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share data)

As of
June 30, 2024December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$93,009$80,441
Accounts receivable, net35,92432,412
Prepaid expenses and other current assets11,32311,574
Total current assets140,256124,427
Property and equipment, net2,6643,337
Right of use assets, net8061,140
Intangible assets, net226,525251,060
Goodwill610,063610,063
Other assets6,6226,224
Total assets$986,936 $996,251
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $6,035$4,405
Accrued liabilities30,60830,673
Deferred revenue28,33717,224
Current portion of debt, net of debt issuance costs3,7683,542
Total current liabilities68,74855,844
Debt, net of debt issuance costs467,073420,004
Deferred tax liabilities, net10,92810,823
Long-term deferred revenue261792
Other long-term liabilities390541
Total liabilities$547,400$488,004
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; zero shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023
——
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 600,000,000 shares authorized, 75,773,928 and 78,447,701 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
126129
Additional paid-in capital675,191654,634
Accumulated deficit(235,781)(146,516)
Total stockholders’ equity439,536508,247
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity$986,936$996,251



Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share data)

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Revenues, net$78,676 $75,415 $156,492 $152,550 
Cost of revenues:
Subscription and services23,373 23,984 44,717 47,485 
Amortization of developed technology4,803 4,510 9,532 8,964 
Total cost of revenues28,176 28,494 54,249 56,449 
Gross profit50,500 46,921 102,243 96,101 
Operating expenses:
General and administrative29,237 24,409 54,416 46,964 
Research and development9,905 11,754 19,390 25,566 
Sales and marketing11,467 8,558 22,003 16,771 
Restructuring related costs988 717 4,179 3,621 
Total operating expenses51,597 45,438 99,988 92,922 
Operating (loss) income(1,097)1,483 2,255 3,179 
Other (income) expense, net:
Interest and other income(1,636)(784)(2,592)(1,254)
Interest expense9,797 9,316 19,379 18,347 
Total other expense, net8,161 8,532 16,787 17,093 
Loss before income taxes(9,258)(7,049)(14,532)(13,914)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes412 (1,819)444 (3,018)
Net loss$(9,670)$(5,230)$(14,976)$(10,896)
Net loss per share:
Basic$(0.13)$(0.06)$(0.19)$(0.13)
Diluted$(0.13)$(0.06)$(0.19)$(0.13)
Weighted average common stock outstanding:
Basic76,527,803 80,911,113 76,923,824 80,786,427 
Diluted76,527,803 80,911,113 76,923,824 80,786,427 



Net Revenues by Major Source
(unaudited)
(in thousands)

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Subscription fees$65,946$63,770$131,858$130,175
Professional services9,5599,00218,56917,437
Other3,1712,6436,0654,938
Total$78,676$75,415$156,492$152,550

Net Revenues by Solution Type
(unaudited)
(in thousands)

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Lending software solutions$61,644$55,778$122,547$113,779
Data verification software solutions17,03219,63733,94538,771
Total
$78,676$75,415$156,492$152,550
% Growth attributable to:

Lending software solutions
8%6%
Data verification software
(4)%(3)%
Total % growth
4%3%
___________

Percent Revenue Related to the Mortgage Loan Market
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Lending software solutions10%13%11%12%
Data verification software55%61%56%61%
Total % revenue related to mortgage loan market20%26%20%25%


Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(unaudited)
(in thousands)

Six Months Ended June 30,
20242023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss$(14,976)$(10,896)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization29,09628,955
Provision for expected credit losses561441
Amortization of debt issuance costs464669
Share-based compensation expense20,42913,893
Deferred income taxes105(4,192)
Loss on disposal of property and equipment6—
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable(4,073)(2,640)
Prepaid expenses and other assets(197)(2,395)
Accounts payable1,6752,955
Accrued liabilities(277)(1,663)
Deferred revenue10,5819,058
Net cash provided by operating activities43,39434,185
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capitalized software additions(3,684)(4,562)
Purchases of property and equipment(152)(305)
Return of escrow deposit—30,000
Acquisition, net of cash acquired – Beanstalk Networks LLC—326
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities(3,836)25,459
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repurchases of common stock(73,788)(5,145)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options7221,025
Proceeds from employee stock purchase plan944793
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of restricted stock units(1,676)(1,050)
Principal payments of debt(2,278)(2,175)
Payments of deferred offering costs(74)—
Proceeds from debt50,000—
Payments of debt issuance costs(840)—
Net cash used in financing activities(26,990)(6,552)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents12,56853,092
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period80,44155,780
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period$93,009$108,872
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest$18,893$17,955
Cash paid for income taxes4332,577
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Shares withheld with respect to net settlement of restricted stock units1,676—
Excise taxes payable included in repurchases of common stock505—
Share-based compensation expense included in capitalized software additions138136
Purchase price allocation adjustment related to income tax effects for StreetShares acquisition—245
Purchases of property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities—3
Vesting of restricted stock awards and restricted stock units15


Reconciliation from GAAP to Non-GAAP Results
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share data)

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Operating (loss) income$(1,097)$1,483$2,255$3,179
Add: Share-based compensation expense12,5009,36720,43614,556
Add: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions508322930448
Add: Expenses associated with public offering
308—1,698—
Add: Litigation-related charges1,864—1,864—
Add: Expenses related to debt modification473—473—
Add: Restructuring related costs(2)
9887174,1793,621
Non-GAAP operating income$15,544$11,889$31,835$21,804
Operating margin(1)%2%1%2%
Non-GAAP operating margin
20%16%20%14%
Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Net loss$(9,670)$(5,230)$(14,976)$(10,896)
Add: Share-based compensation expense12,5009,36720,43614,556
Add: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions508322930448
Add: Expenses associated with public offering
308—1,698—
Add: Litigation-related charges1,864—1,864—
Add: Expenses related to debt modification473—473—
Add: Restructuring related costs(2)
9887174,1793,621
Subtract: Income tax effect on non-GAAP items
(3,994)(2,497)(7,099)(4,470)
Non-GAAP net income $2,977$2,679$7,505$3,259
Non-GAAP basic net income per share$0.04$0.03$0.10$0.04
Non-GAAP diluted net income per share$0.04$0.03$0.09$0.04
Weighted average shares used to compute Non-GAAP basic net income per share
76,527,80380,911,11376,923,82480,786,427
Weighted average shares used to compute Non-GAAP diluted net income per share79,291,17383,487,13280,020,336 82,994,599
Net loss margin(12)%(7)%(10)%(7)%
Non-GAAP net income margin4%4%5%2%
Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Net loss$(9,670)$(5,230)$(14,976)$(10,896)
Interest expense
9,7979,31619,37918,347
Taxes412(1,819)444(3,018)
Depreciation and amortization
14,57314,42429,09628,955
Share-based compensation expense12,5009,36720,43614,556
Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions508322930448
Expenses associated with public offering308—1,698—
Litigation-related charges(1)
1,864—1,864—
Expenses related to debt modification473—473—
Restructuring related costs(2)
9887174,1793,621
Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting for acquisitions prior to 2022—19—39
Adjusted EBITDA$31,753$27,116$63,523$52,052
Net loss margin(12)%(7)%(10)%(7)%
Adjusted EBITDA margin40%36%41%34%
(1) Litigation-related charges pertains to litigation settlements and related legal fees. During the three months ended June 30, 2024, $1.5 million relates to estimated settlements of class action lawsuits and $0.4 million relates to third-party legal fees directly related to the settlements.
(2) Restructuring related costs for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 are inclusive of net acceleration (forfeitures) of share-based compensation associated with restructuring in the amount of $0.1 million and ($0.4 million), respectively, and for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 $0.0 million and ($0.7 million), respectively.


Reconciliation from GAAP to Non-GAAP Results
(unaudited)
(in thousands)

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Cost of revenue$28,176$28,494$54,249$56,449
Less: Share-based compensation expense1,3631,1572,1452,009
Less: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions9788144109
Less: Amortization of developed technology4,8034,5109,5328,964
Non-GAAP cost of revenue$21,913$22,739$42,428$45,367
Cost of revenue as a % of revenue36%38%35%37%
Non-GAAP cost of revenue as a % of revenue28%30%27%30%
Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
General and administrative$29,237$24,409$54,416$46,964
Less: Share-based compensation expense6,7925,23111,1857,494
Less: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions206107343158
Less: Expenses associated with public offering
308—1,698—
Less: Litigation-related charges1,864—1,864—
Less: Expenses related to debt modification473—473—
Less: Depreciation expense363495739990
Less: Amortization of intangibles9,4079,41918,82519,001
Non-GAAP general & administrative$9,824$9,157$19,289$19,321
General and administrative as a % of revenue37%32%35%31%
Non-GAAP general and administrative as a % of revenue12%12%12%13%
Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Research and development$9,905$11,754$19,390$25,566
Less: Share-based compensation expense2,5311,8754,0333,658
Less: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions12597246125
Non-GAAP research and development$7,249$9,782$15,111$21,783
Research and development as a % of revenue13%16%12%17%
Non-GAAP research and development as a % of revenue9%13%10%14%

Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Sales and marketing$11,467$8,558$22,003$16,771
Less: Share-based compensation expense1,8141,1043,0731,395
Less: Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions803019756
Non-GAAP sales and marketing$9,573$7,424$18,733$15,320
Sales and marketing as a % of revenue15%11%14%11%
Non-GAAP sales and marketing as a % of revenue12%10%12%10%


Three Months Ended June 30,Six Months Ended June 30,
2024202320242023
Net cash provided by operating activities$14,356$6,104$43,394$34,185
Less: Capitalized software1,8472,6383,6844,562
Less: Capital expenditures 60171152305
Free cash flow$12,449$3,295$39,558$29,318
Net cash provided by operating actives as a % of revenue18%8%28%22%
Free cash flow as a % of revenue16%4%25%19%