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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Unaudited Interim Results
Unaudited Interim Results
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and information have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP") and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, these financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments considered necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. The results for interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year due to the seasonality of our business, which has been historically impacted by higher consumer spending during the fourth quarter. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included on our Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Annual Report") for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the
consolidated financial statements. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include revenue recognition, internal-use software development costs, stock-based compensation, allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of acquired intangible assets of Bridg, valuation of contingent consideration for Bridg, valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill valuation, income tax including valuation allowance and contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe are reasonable. Changes in facts or circumstances may cause us to change our assumptions and estimates in future periods and it is possible that actual results could differ from our current or revised future estimates.
Macroeconomic Considerations
Unfavorable conditions in the economy both in the United States and abroad may negatively affect the growth of our business and our results of operations. For example, macroeconomic events, including the changes in inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates, disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict have led to economic uncertainty globally. Historically, during periods of economic uncertainty and downturns, businesses may slow spending on advertising, which may impact our business and our customers’ businesses.
The effect of macroeconomic conditions may not be fully reflected in our results of operations until future periods. If, however, economic uncertainty increases or the global economy worsens, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed. For further discussion of the potential impacts of macroeconomic events on our business, financial condition and operating results, see the section titled "Risk Factors.
Recently Adopted And Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280). The new standard requires enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses and other segment items and requires companies to disclose all annual disclosures about segments in interim periods. The new standard also permits companies to disclose more than one measure of segment profit or loss, requires disclosure of the title and position of the Chief Operating Decision Maker, and requires companies with a single reportable segment to provide all disclosures required by Topic 280. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and companies are required to apply the ASU retrospectively to all periods presented. We are currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this standard will have on our financial statements and related disclosures.
Fair Value Measurements
We record the fair value of assets and liabilities in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement ("ASC 820"). ASC 820 defines fair value as the price received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date and in the principal or most advantageous market for that asset or liability. The fair value should be calculated based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, not on assumptions specific to the entity.
In addition to defining fair value, ASC 820 expands the disclosure requirements around fair value and establishes a fair value hierarchy for valuation inputs. The hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three levels based on the extent to which inputs used in measuring fair value are observable in the market. Each fair value measurement is reported in one of the three levels, which is determined by the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.
The fair value of our reporting units was classified in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy due to the significance of unobservable inputs developed using company-specific information. Refer to Note 4 - Goodwill and Acquired Intangibles for further details.
These levels are:
Level 1 - quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 - quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly through market corroboration, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.
Level 3 - unobservable inputs reflecting management’s own assumptions about the inputs used in pricing the asset or liability at fair value.
Revenue
The Cardlytics platform
The Cardlytics platform is our proprietary native bank advertising channel that enables marketers to reach consumers through the FI partners' trusted and frequently visited digital banking channels. Working with the marketer, we design a campaign that targets customers based on their purchase history. The consumer is offered an incentive to make a purchase from the marketer within a specified period. We use a portion of the fees that we collect from marketers to provide these Consumer Incentives to our FI partners' customers after they make qualifying purchases ("Consumer Incentives"). Leveraging our powerful purchase intelligence platform, we are able to create compelling Consumer Incentives that have the potential to increase return on advertising spend for marketers and measure the effectiveness of the advertising. Consumer Incentives totaled $44.9 million and $37.6 million during the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Consumer Incentives totaled $123.3 million and $101.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We pay certain partners a negotiated and fixed percentage of our Billings to marketers less any Consumer Incentives that we pay to partners’ customers and certain third-party data costs ("Partner Share"). Revenue on our consolidated statements of operation is presented net of Consumer Incentives and gross of Partner Share.
The Cardlytics platform is priced predominantly in two ways: (1) Cost per Served Sale ("CPS"), and (2) Cost per Redemption ("CPR").
CPS. As of September 30, 2024, our primary pricing model is CPS. We generate Revenue by charging a percentage, which we refer to as the CPS Rate, of all purchases from the marketer by consumers who (1) are served marketing and (2) subsequently make a purchase from the marketer during the campaign period, regardless of whether consumers select the marketing and thereby becomes eligible to earn the applicable Consumer Incentive. We set CPS Rates for marketers based on our expectation of the marketer’s return on spend for the relevant campaign. Additionally, we set the amount of the Consumer Incentives payable for each campaign based on our estimation of our ability to drive incremental sales for the marketer. We seek to optimize the level of Consumer Incentives to retain a greater portion of Billings. However, if the amount of Consumer Incentives exceeds the amount of Billings that we are paid by the applicable marketer we are still responsible for paying the total Consumer Incentive. In some instances, we may also charge the marketer the Consumer Incentive, in which case the marketer determines the level of Consumer Incentive for the campaign.
CPR. Under our CPR pricing model, marketers generally specify and fund the Consumer Incentive and pay us a separate negotiated, fixed marketing fee for each purchase that we generate. We also refer to this pricing model as Cost-per-Transaction ("CPT"). We generally generate Revenue if the consumer (1) is served marketing, (2) selects the marketing and thereby becomes eligible to earn the applicable Consumer Incentive, and (3) makes a qualifying purchase from the marketer during the campaign period. We set the CPR fee for marketers based on our estimation of the marketers’ return on spend for the relevant campaign. CPR and CPT are both part of our strategy to move to Engagement-based pricing.