ARR growth of 33% year-over-year
Third quarter total revenue of $65.3 million, up 33% year-over-year

CHICAGO, Nov. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprout Social, Inc. (“Sprout Social” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: SPT), an industry-leading provider of cloud-based social media management software, today announced financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2022.

“We’re in the fortunate position to again raise our annual growth and margin guidance,” said Justyn Howard, Sprout Social’s CEO and co-founder. “In a challenging business climate, we’re grateful to our customers and team for putting us in the position to expect record net new ARR in Q4 while also projecting a 300bps year-over-year margin improvement in Q4.”

Third Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Revenue

• Revenue was $65.3 million, up 33% compared to the third quarter of 2021.
• ARR was $271.3 million, up 33% compared to the end of the third quarter of 2021.
  

Operating Loss

• GAAP operating loss was ($14.4) million, compared to ($6.8) million in the third quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP operating loss was ($1.4) million, compared to a Non-GAAP operating loss of ($1.6) million in the third quarter of 2021.

Net Loss

• GAAP net loss was ($13.9) million, compared to ($7.0) million in the third quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP net loss was ($1.0) million, compared to a Non-GAAP net loss of ($1.8) million in the third quarter of 2021.
• GAAP net loss per share was ($0.25) based on 54.7 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, compared to ($0.13) based on 53.9 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding in the third quarter of 2021.
• Non-GAAP net loss per share was ($0.02) based on 54.7 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, compared to ($0.03) based on 53.9 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding in the third quarter of 2021.

Cash

• Cash and equivalents and marketable securities totaled $181.9 million as of September 30, 2022, up from $181.7 million as of June 30, 2022.
• Net cash generated by operating activities was $1.0 million, compared to $4.4 million in the third quarter of 2021.
• Free cash flow was $0.5 million, compared to $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2021.

See “Customer Metrics” and “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for how Sprout Social defines ARR, Non-GAAP operating loss, Non-GAAP net loss, Non-GAAP net loss per share and free cash flow and the financial tables that accompany this release for reconciliations of these measures to their closest comparable GAAP measures.

Customer Metrics

• Grew number of customers to 34,258 as of September 30, 2022, up 12% compared to September 30, 2021.
• Grew number of customers contributing over $10,000 in ARR to 6,111 customers as of September 30, 2022, up 40% compared to September 30, 2021.
• Grew number of customers contributing over $50,000 in ARR to 843 customers as of September 30, 2022, up 76% compared to September 30, 2021.

Recent Customer Highlights

• During the third quarter, we had the opportunity to help new customers like Peloton, JCPenney, Bausch & Lomb, SunRun, Clayton Homes, Compass Canada, Shutterstock and The Department of Health and Human Services.
• We executed growth deals with great brands and organizations like Carrier, On AG, Palantir, Duke Health System, Vineyard Vines, Coursera and Monday.com.

Recent Business Highlights

Sprout Social recently:

• Launched Service Cloud integration (here)
• Launched a more integrated advocacy solution, Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social, to accelerate brands’ social strategies and reach (here)
• Enhanced video management functionality with Instagram Reels integration (here)
• Named a 2022 PEOPLE Companies that Care by Great Place to Work and PEOPLE Magazine (here)

Fourth Quarter and 2022 Financial Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company currently expects:

• Total revenue between $69.8 million and $69.9 million, or growth of more than 31% year-over-year.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between ($1.0) million and ($0.9) million, or Non-GAAP operating margin improvement of more than 300bps year-over-year.
• Non-GAAP net loss per share of ($0.02) based on approximately 54.8 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding.

“We are pleased to deliver another efficient quarter and our 7th consecutive quarter of positive free cash flow,” said Joe Del Preto, CFO. “Our execution remains strong and our business model continues to highlight its resiliency. As we begin to appropriately monetize our platform with announced pricing changes throughout Q4, we expect ACV growth to meaningfully accelerate into and through 2023.”

For the full year 2022, the Company now expects:

• Total revenue between $254.0 to $254.1 million, or growth of more than 35% year-over-year.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between ($5.5) million and ($5.4) million.
• This implies 130bps of year-over-year operating margin improvement.
• Non-GAAP net loss per share of ($0.10) based on approximately 54.6 million weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding.

The Company does not provide guidance for operating loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure to non-GAAP operating loss, or net loss per share, the most directly comparable GAAP measure to non-GAAP net loss per share, and similarly cannot provide a reconciliation between its forecasted non-GAAP operating loss and non-GAAP net loss per share and these comparable GAAP measures without unreasonable effort due to the unavailability of reliable estimates for certain items. These items are not within the Company’s control and may vary greatly between periods and could significantly impact future financial results.

Conference Call Information

The financial results and business highlights will be discussed on a conference call and webcast scheduled at 4:00 p.m. Central Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) today, November 3, 2022. Online registration for this event conference call can be found at https://conferencingportals.com/event/WCLZyewU. The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed from Sprout Social’s investor relations website at http://investors.sproutsocial.com.

Following completion of the events, a webcast replay will also be available at http://investors.sproutsocial.com for 12 months.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social offers deep social media listening and analytics, social management, customer care, commerce and advocacy solutions to more than 34,000 brands and agencies worldwide. Sprout’s unified platform integrates the power of social throughout every aspect of a business and enables social leaders at every level to extract valuable data and insights that drive their business forward. Headquartered in Chicago, Sprout operates across major social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn. Learn more at sproutsocial.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” 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. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “explore,” “intend,” “long-term model,” “may,” “might” “outlook,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements may relate to our market size and growth strategy, our estimated and projected costs, margins, revenue, expenditures and customer and financial growth rates, our Q4 and 2022 financial outlook, our plans and objectives for future operations, growth, initiatives or strategies. By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These assumptions, uncertainties and risks include that, among others: our rapid growth and limited history with key features of our platform makes it difficult to evaluate our prospects and future operating results; we may not be able to sustain our revenue and customer growth rate in the future; price increases may negatively impact demand for our products, customer acquisition and retention and reduce the total number of customers or customer additions; our business would be harmed by any significant interruptions, delays or outages in services from our platform, our API providers, or certain social media platforms; if we are unable to attract potential customers through unpaid channels, convert this traffic to free trials or convert free trials to paid subscriptions, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected; the effects and duration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are unpredictable and may materially affect our customers and how we operate our business, and the duration and extent to which the pandemic continues to threaten our future results of operations; unstable market and economic conditions, such as recession risks, effects of inflation, labor shortages, supply chain issues, higher interest rates and geopolitical impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could adversely impact our business and that of our existing and prospective customers, which may result in reduced demand for our products; any cybersecurity-related attack, significant data breach or disruption of the information technology systems or networks on which we rely could negatively affect our business; and changing regulations relating to privacy, information security and data protection could increase our costs, affect or limit how we collect and use personal information and harm our brand. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 23, 2022, as well as any other future quarterly and current reports that we file with the SEC. Moreover, you should interpret many of the risks identified in those reports as being heightened as a result of the ongoing and numerous adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and current instability in market and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to Sprout Social at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. Sprout Social assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, except as required by law.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We have provided in this press release certain financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing our financial results and believes that use of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial results with other companies in our industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of our historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release, and investors are encouraged to review these reconciliations.

Non-GAAP gross profit. We define non-GAAP gross profit as GAAP gross profit, excluding stock-based compensation expense. We believe non-GAAP gross profit provides our management and investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, as it eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, which is often unrelated to overall operating performance.

Non-GAAP operating loss. We define non-GAAP operating loss as GAAP loss from operations, excluding stock-based compensation expense. We believe non-GAAP operating loss provides our management and investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, as it eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, which is often unrelated to overall operating performance.

Non-GAAP net loss. We define non-GAAP loss as GAAP net loss, excluding stock-based compensation expense. We believe non-GAAP net loss provides our management and investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, as this non-GAAP financial measure eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, which is often unrelated to overall operating performance.

Non-GAAP net loss per share. We define non-GAAP net loss per share as GAAP net loss per share attributable to common shareholders, basic and diluted, excluding stock-based compensation expense. We believe non-GAAP net loss per share provides our management and investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations, as this non-GAAP financial measure eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, which is often unrelated to overall operating performance.

Free cash flow. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. Free cash flow does not reflect our future contractual obligations or represent the total increase or decrease in our cash balance for a given period. We believe free cash flow is a useful indicator of liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash provided by our core operations that, after purchases of property and equipment, is available for strategic initiatives.

Free cash flow margin. We define free cash flow margin as free cash flow as a percentage of revenue.

Customer Metrics

Annual recurring revenue (“ARR”). We define ARR as the annualized revenue run-rate of subscription agreements from all customers as of the last date of the specified period. We believe ARR is an indicator of the scale of our entire platform while mitigating fluctuations due to seasonality and contract term.

Dollar-based net retention rate (“NDR”). We calculate dollar-based net retention rate by dividing the organic ARR from our customers as of December 31st in the reported year by the organic ARR from those same customers as of December 31st in the previous year. This calculation is net of upsells, contraction, cancellation or expansion during the period but excludes organic ARR from new customers. We use dollar-based net retention to evaluate the long-term value of our customer relationships, because we believe this metric reflects our ability to retain and expand subscription revenue generated from our existing customers.

Number of customers. We define a customer as a unique account, multiple accounts containing a common non-personal email domain or multiple accounts governed by a single agreement. We believe that the number of customers using our platform is an indicator not only of our market penetration, but also of our potential for future growth as our customers often expand their adoption of our platform over time based on an increased awareness of the value of our platform and products.

Number of customers contributing more than $10,000 in ARR. We define number of customers contributing more than $10,000 in ARR as those on a paid subscription plan that had more than $10,000 in ARR as of a period end. We view the number of customers that contribute more than $10,000 in ARR as a measure of our ability to scale with our customers and attract larger organizations. We believe this represents potential for future growth, including expanding within our current customer base.

Number of customers contributing more than $50,000 in ARR. We define number of customers contributing more than $50,000 in ARR as those on a paid subscription plan that had more than $50,000 in ARR as of a period end. We view the number of customers that contribute more than $50,000 in ARR as a measure of our ability to scale with our largest customers and attract more sophisticated organizations. We believe this represents potential for future growth, including expanding within our current customer base. Over time, our largest customers have constituted a greater share of our revenue.

Availability of Information on Sprout Social’s Website and Social Media Profiles

Investors and others should note that Sprout Social routinely announces material information to investors and the marketplace using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and the Sprout Social Investors website. We also intend to use the social media profiles listed below as a means of disclosing information about us to our customers, investors and the public. While not all of the information that the Company posts to the Sprout Social Investors website or to social media profiles is of a material nature, some information could be deemed to be material. Accordingly, the Company encourages investors, the media, and others interested in Sprout Social to review the information that it shares at the Investors link located at the bottom of the page on www.sproutsocial.com and to regularly follow our social media profiles. Users may automatically receive email alerts and other information about Sprout Social when enrolling an email address by visiting "Email Alerts" in the "Shareholder Services" section of Sprout Social's Investor website at https://investors.sproutsocial.com/.

Social Media Profiles:
www.twitter.com/SproutSocial
www.twitter.com/SproutSocialIR
www.facebook.com/SproutSocialInc
www.linkedin.com/company/sprout-social-inc-/
www.instagram.com/sproutsocial

The following schedule reflects our non-GAAP financial measures and reconciles our non-GAAP financial measures to the related GAAP financial measures (in thousands, except per share data):

Contact

Media:
Kaitlyn Gronek
Email: pr@sproutsocial.com
Phone: (773) 904-9674

Investors:
Jason Rechel
Twitter: @SproutSocialIR
Email: jason.rechel@sproutsocial.com
Phone: (312) 528-9166