UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2022
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 001- 40276
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |||||||
(Address of principal executive offices including zip code)
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ Yes or ☒ No .
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes or ☒ No .
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes or ☐ No.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ☒ Yes or ☐ No.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | ☒ | |||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | |||||||||
| Emerging growth company | |||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ Yes or ☒ No
The aggregate market value of stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $380.9 million based upon $12.93 per share, the closing price on June 30, 2022 on the New York Stock Exchange. Determination of stock ownership by non-affiliates was made solely for the purpose of responding to this requirement and the registrant is not bound by this determination for any other purpose.
As of March 10, 2023, there were 118,056,519 shares of the registrant’s Class A Common Stock and 23,657,057 shares of the registrant’s Class B Common Stock, $0.00001 par value per share, outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations, our market opportunity and the potential growth of that market, our liquidity and capital needs and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events, which are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:
•our future financial performance, including our revenue, annual recurring revenue (“ARR”), costs of revenue, gross profit or gross margin and operating expenses;
•the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity needs;
•anticipated trends and growth rates in our business and in the markets in which we operate;
•our ability to maintain the security and availability of our internal networks and platform;
•our ability to attract new paying customers and convert free customers into paying customers;
•our ability to retain and expand sales to our existing paying customers, including upgrades to premium subscriptions and purchases of add-on offerings;
•our ability to access, collect, and analyze data;
•our ability to successfully expand in our existing markets and into new markets;
•our ability to effectively manage our growth and future expenses;
•our ability to continue to innovate and develop new products and features, improve our data assets, and enhance our technological capabilities;
•our ability to maintain, protect, and enhance our intellectual property;
•our ability to comply with modified or new laws and regulations applying to our business;
•the attraction and retention of qualified employees and key personnel;
•our anticipated investments in sales and marketing, and research and development;
•our ability to successfully defend litigation brought against us;
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•our expectations regarding identifying, evaluating, and executing strategic acquisitions;
•our ability to successfully acquire and integrate companies and assets;
•the increased expenses associated with being a public company;
•the impact of health epidemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and interest rates, market uncertainty and volatility, and other global financial, economic, and political events on our business, industry and supply chain; and
•our ability to successfully relocate employees outside of Russia, including completing our relocation plans, reaching pre-relocation levels of productivity, and retaining relocated employees.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments we may make.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. Unless stated otherwise, these statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. And while we believe such information provides a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statistical data, estimates, and forecasts from various sources, including independent industry publications and other information from our internal sources. This information is based upon a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such information. While we believe the market and industry data included in this prospectus are reliable and are based on reasonable assumptions, we have not independently verified any of the data from third-party sources nor have we ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied on therein. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” that could cause results to differ materially.
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RISK FACTORS SUMMARY
The following is a summary of the principal risks that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Additional discussion of the risks included in this summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in its entirety before making investment decisions regarding our Class A common stock. This summary should not be relied upon as an exhaustive summary of the material risks facing our business.
•Our business and operating results will be harmed if our paying customers do not renew or do not upgrade their premium subscriptions or if they fail to purchase additional products.
•If we fail to attract new potential customers, register them for trials, and convert them into paying customers, our operating results would be harmed.
•The market in which we operate is intensely competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our ability to attract and retain customers could be harmed, which would negatively impact our business and operating results.
•We have incurred losses in the past and may not consistently achieve profitability in the future.
•Our products depend on publicly available and paid third-party data sources, and, if we lose access to data provided by such data sources or the terms and conditions on which we obtain such access becomes less favorable, our business could suffer.
•Instability in geographies where we have significant operations and personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, customers, and financial results.
•If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand, or if events occur that damage our reputation and brand, our ability to maintain and expand our customer base may be impaired, and our business and financial results may be harmed.
•We depend on our executive officers and other key employees, and the loss of one or more of these employees could harm our business.
•If we fail to maintain and improve our methods and technologies, or fail to anticipate new methods or technologies for data collection and analysis, hardware, software, and software related technologies, competing products and services could surpass ours in depth, breadth, or accuracy of our data, the insights that we offer or in other respects, which could result in a loss of customers and harm our business and financial results.
•Failures or loss of, or material changes with respect to, the third-party hardware, software, and infrastructure on which we rely, including third-party data center hosting facilities and third-party distribution channels to support our operations, could adversely affect our business.
•If the security of the confidential information or personal information of our customers on our platform is breached or otherwise subjected to unauthorized access or disclosure, our reputation may be harmed, and we may be exposed to significant liability.
•If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of customer service and customer satisfaction, or attract new employees and customers and our business could suffer.
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•We are exposed to risks associated with payment processing and any disruption to such processing systems could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
•A significant portion of our operations is located outside of the United States, which subjects us to additional risks, including increased complexity, the costs of managing international operations, geopolitical instability, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
•Adverse or weakened general economic and market conditions may reduce spending on sales and marketing technology and information technology which could harm our revenue, results of operations, and cash flows.
•Forecasts of our market and market growth may prove to be inaccurate, and even if the markets in which we compete achieve the forecasted growth, there can be no assurance that our business will grow at similar rates, or at all.
•We may be subject to litigation for any of a variety of claims, which could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
•The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with those stockholders who held our capital stock prior to the completion of our IPO, including our directors, executive officers, and their affiliates, who as of March 3, 2023 held in the aggregate 89% of the voting power of our capital stock, which will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters.
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Part I
Item 1. Business
Overview
We are a leading online visibility management software-as-a-service platform. We enable companies globally to identify and reach the right audience for their content, in the right context, and through the right channels. Online visibility represents how effectively companies connect with consumers across a variety of digital channels, including search, social and digital media, digital public relations, and review websites. The evolving online landscape and information overload from online content have made it increasingly difficult for companies to understand and manage their online visibility. Our proprietary software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) platform enables us to aggregate and enrich trillions of data points collected from over 770 million unique domains. Our platform enables our customers to understand trends and act upon unique insights to improve their online visibility, drive high-quality traffic to their websites and social media pages, as well as online listings, distribute highly targeted content to their customers, and measure the effectiveness of their digital marketing campaigns. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our differentiated platform empowered over 803,000 and 537,000 active free customers, respectively, and over 95,000 and 82,000 paying customers, respectively, in over 157 and 145 countries, respectively.
As interactions between companies and their customers continue to shift online, managing a company’s online visibility has become critical. With over 5.4 billion internet users in the second quarter of 2022, according to Internet World Stats, and consumers worldwide spending an average of over six and a half hours per day online, according to GlobalWebIndex, digital channels are essential for customer engagement. While these digital channels have made it easier for companies to have an online presence, with so many different sources of media competing for customers’ attention, it has become increasingly difficult for companies to be discovered by, and engage with, their customers. Most companies do not have the technology or resources to effectively ingest, aggregate, process, and analyze the vast amount of fragmented data from these diverse sources at scale to derive actionable insights. Companies often attempt to address individual aspects of online visibility, such as search engine optimization (“SEO”), search engine marketing (“SEM”), content marketing, social media management (“SMM”), digital public relations (“PR”), and competitive intelligence, among others. Fully integrated solutions are more likely to drive long-term traffic improvement than siloed approaches, offering more comprehensive functionality and insights, and combining strategies across owned, earned, and paid media.
Our fully integrated SaaS platform leverages our proprietary technology, differentiated data, and actionable insights to improve online visibility. We utilize machine learning capabilities to synthesize broad and deep data sets to derive actionable insights and analytics. Our ability to aggregate, crawl, and process massive data sets, including search engine, website traffic, backlink, online advertising, panel, and social media data, combined with our ability to obtain data from our customers through application programming interfaces (“APIs”), enables our software to generate a comprehensive view of a company’s online visibility profile and identify the specific keywords, advertisements, third-party websites, and content that are driving traffic. Our SaaS platform creates significant network effects as we grow the number of our customers and our customers provide us with more data. By combining our customer data with our own market data, we are able to improve our algorithms and, in turn, increase the accuracy of our metrics and analytics. We also integrate with third-party solutions to create comprehensive end-to-end workflows across the entire marketing funnel. These workflows include analyzing trends, identifying potential opportunities to optimize visibility, creating high-quality content efficiently, helping customers assess different marketing approaches, executing campaigns regularly, and measuring the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. As a result, we empower companies to improve their online visibility across key channels through a holistic strategy.
In a highly fragmented market with a myriad of network- and channel-specific solutions, our differentiated and integrated platform provides comprehensive insights into a company’s online visibility.
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Some large technology platforms including Google and Facebook offer their own solutions but are incentivized to prioritize their own paid channels, lack independence, and do not operate across rival networks. Meanwhile, individual solutions targeted at addressing one or a subset of business problems, or point solutions, rely on limited, channel-specific data, providing only partial, incomplete perspectives. Our technology collects, aggregates, and enriches a broad set of fragmented data across networks and channels, which we leverage to derive valuable and actionable insights that we provide our customers. As our data assets grow, our ability to provide insights improves, attracting more customers to our platform and enabling us to invest in new and existing products, thereby further strengthening our competitive position. According to G2.com, Inc. (“G2”), our platform is listed as a leader in the “all segments” category, comprised of reviewers from each of the small-business, mid-market and enterprise segments (as G2 defines such categories), across 19 product categories, including SEO, competitive intelligence, marketing analytics, content analytics, and social media analytics, which reinforces the strategic advantages of providing a comprehensive solution. G2 ranks different products and vendors based on reviews gathered from its user community (subject to certain minimum requirements concerning sample size and reviewer composition), as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks, to which it applies its proprietary algorithm to calculate satisfaction and market presence scores ranging from 0 to 100 from which the products are ranked.
We offer our solutions on a multi-price point, recurring subscription basis, which provides incremental levels of access to our over 50 products, tools, and add-ons across online visibility management. Some customers start using our products, tools, and add-ons on a free basis before purchasing a subscription to receive premium functionality and additional user licenses. Our compelling value proposition, effective go-to-market strategy, and recurring revenue model drives efficient unit economics. These attributes have enabled us to cost-effectively acquire over 95,000 paying customers as of December 31, 2022 and over 82,000 paying customers as of December 31, 2021, spanning a broad range of industries and geographies.
We utilize a highly efficient, low-touch sales approach focused on driving customers to our platform through a self-service model, allowing our sales team to focus on retention and account expansion. Our multi-price point structure also drives meaningful upsell opportunities through higher usage limits, greater product functionality, additional user licenses, and product add-ons, as reflected by our dollar-based net revenue retention rate of 118% and 126% as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and our compounded average annual revenue growth rate of 46% between the years ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2022. We have introduced several new add-on offerings, which have enabled us to grow our ARR per paying customer from $2,631 as of December 31, 2021 to $2,868 as of December 31, 2022. We define ARR as of a given date as the monthly recurring revenue that we expect to contractually receive from all paid subscription agreements that are actively generating revenue as of that date multiplied by 12. We include both monthly recurring paid subscriptions, which renew automatically unless cancelled, as well as annual recurring paid subscriptions so long as we do not have any indication that a customer has canceled or intends to cancel its subscription and we continue to generate revenue from them.
Our success is driven by our experienced leadership team and culture of continuous innovation. We have been led by our co-founder and CEO, Oleg Shchegolev, since our inception 14 years ago. Our culture is driven by a collaborative and innovative leadership style, which has allowed us to expand from a single product in 2008 to our comprehensive online visibility management SaaS platform comprised of over 50 products, tools, and add-ons today.
Our capital efficient model has enabled us to grow to $275.1 million in ARR as of December 31, 2022 from $215.7 million in ARR as of December 31, 2021. For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, our revenue was $254.3 million, $188.0 million, and $124.9 million, respectively, representing growth of 35% and 51%, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, our net loss was $33.8 million, $3.3 million, and $7.0 million, respectively.
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The Benefits of Our Solution
The key benefits of our solution include:
•Robust, proprietary technology platform. We developed our technology platform over the last 14 years, leveraging machine learning to aggregate, cleanse, and analyze an immense amount of proprietary and third-party unstructured data. Our data assets include over 770 million domains, 23 billion keywords, click stream panel data from billions of events per week, over 43 trillion backlinks, over 25 billion URLs crawled per day on average, and a range of data aggregated from social media networks, all of which scale continuously as customers use our platform.
•All-in-one SaaS solution to provide comprehensive online visibility. Our software products cover key aspects of online visibility, including SEO, SEM, content, advertising, competitive research, SMM, and digital PR. Our comprehensive solution is built with differentiated insights into traffic sources for specific sites, analysis of drivers of traffic to a company’s and its competitors’ websites, the keywords that are driving this traffic, and the effectiveness of a company’s content marketing strategy.
•End-to-end workflows with third-party integrations. Our platform maintains a range of seamless third-party integrations for data, workflow, and reporting capabilities, enabling our customers to manage every critical step in optimizing their online visibility. Notable integrations include Google Analytics, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yext, and Microsoft Outlook.
•Intuitive, easy-to-use platform. Our SaaS platform prioritizes the customer experience and promotes collaboration across functional teams. We have developed easy-to-use dashboards, report builders, project sharing, and task management capabilities that streamline the analytics process for our customers through an intuitive and modern customer experience, while enabling intra-company teams to work together seamlessly to manage a company’s online visibility.
•Strong value proposition. Our comprehensive product suite delivers differentiated insights through a singular platform that enables companies to efficiently manage online visibility, reduce traffic acquisition costs, promote consumer engagement, minimize the cost associated with managing multiple third-party vendors, and acquire new customers.
Our Growth Strategies
The key elements of our growth strategy include:
•Acquire new customers. We expect to continue to target new customers who have not yet adopted online visibility management solutions and those who are currently using our free offering. Our sales model for new customers is highly efficient due to our low-friction, self-service onboarding capabilities that allow us to acquire new customers with relatively low sales investment. Additionally, we monitor the conversion of free customers to paying customers.
•Expand the use of our platform by our existing paying customer base. Our substantial base of over 95,000 paying customers as of December 31, 2022 presents a significant opportunity to increase monetization. We expect to continue to grow our revenue from our existing customers as they seek to add premium features and additional user licenses, as reflected by our dollar-based net revenue retention rate of 118% as of December 31, 2022.
•Continue to innovate and develop new products and features. We continue to invest in research and development to enhance our platform and release new products and features while bolstering one of the largest independent data sets for online visibility. We maintain close relationships with our customer base who provide us with frequent and real-time feedback, which we leverage to rapidly update and optimize our platform. The release of new products, tools, add-ons, and features has enabled
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us to drive higher monetization over time as we have increased our ARR per paying customer to $2,868 as of December 31, 2022 from $2,631 as of December 31, 2021.
•Pursue opportunistic Mergers & Acquisitions. Our management team expects to continue to allocate resources to identify, evaluate, and execute strategic acquisitions. For example, we acquired Prowly.com Sp. z o. o. (“Prowly”) in August 2020, Backlinko LLC (“Backlinko”) in January 2022, and Intellikom Inc dba Kompyte (“Kompyte”) in March 2022, to expand our technological capabilities and solutions offerings. Prowly significantly accelerated our product expansion in the digital PR software space and added four new product categories, as defined by G2, to our product portfolio. See Note 6 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on the Company’s mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) activity during 2022.
Our Platform
Our SaaS platform has been purpose-built to help companies manage their online visibility and ensure they identify and reach the right audience in the right context and through the right channels. We utilize proprietary technology and machine learning capabilities to aggregate, cleanse, and analyze broad and deep datasets to derive differentiated insights and analytics for our customers to manage their online visibility. Our unique set of data assets have been developed over the last 14 years as our network of customers has grown and includes over 770 million domains, 23 billion keywords, click stream panel data from billions of events per week, over 43 trillion backlinks, over 25 billion URLs crawled per day on average, and a range of data aggregated from social media networks.
We obtain data through a mix of proprietary and third-party data sources. Our data sources include:
•Data we collect from websites algorithmically through our proprietary data collection techniques, including web crawling of third-party websites;
•Data purchased from independent third-party data providers, which includes clickstream data, search engine data, online advertising data, and data from social media sources; and
•Reference data that our customers grant us access to, which includes our customers’ website and social media data. We obtain social media data through APIs that connect to social media platform operators, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
We integrate with a wide range of third-party solutions to seamlessly create comprehensive end-to-end workflows across the key components of a company’s online strategy. These workflows include analyzing trends, identifying potential opportunities, creating high-quality content efficiently, helping customers assess different marketing approaches, executing campaigns regularly, and measuring the effectiveness of their digital marketing campaigns. Our intuitive, easy-to-use platform prioritizes customer experience and collaboration to empower companies to develop a holistic strategy for their online visibility across key channels.
We have developed our technology platform over the last 14 years. Since our founding in 2008, our platform has evolved through technology innovation as we have added new products, tools, and features. We currently offer over 50 digital online visibility products, tools, and add-ons across SEO, SEM, content marketing, market research, advertising research, local marketing, reporting, social media management, and digital PR.
Our Business Model
We offer our paid products and tools to customers via monthly or annual subscription plans, as well as one-time and ongoing add-ons. Our subscription-based model enables customers to select a plan based
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on their needs and license our platform on a per month basis. We currently have three paid subscription tiers for our core product, Pro, Guru, and Business, as well as several add-ons for an incremental cost. We offer time-limited free trials, which allow prospective customers to test the functionality of our Pro or Guru plans. At the end of the trial period, prospective customers either become paying customers or are switched to free customers.
Free. Our free offering grants access to our platform and limits the number of results, keywords to track, and projects. Free accounts help generate demand for our paid offerings as active free customers experience the capabilities and functionality of our platform and are prompted to upgrade to a paid membership when they reach free customer usage limits.
Pro. Pro provides access to our platform and ongoing software updates. With Pro, customers have the ability to run their SEO, PPC, and SMM projects with over 50 advanced tools and features.
Guru. Guru provides the same features as Pro, with the addition of Content Marketing Platform, historical data, extended limits, and Google Data Studio Integration.
Business. Business provides all of the same features as Guru, plus API access, extended limits and share of voice metric.
(1) The chart reflects current pricing as of December 31, 2022, for monthly plans. Annual subscriptions may be entitled to discounted rates.
We have a demonstrated track record of upgrading customers to higher price point plans. Customers upgrade to higher price point plans to increase usage limits and add features, including content marketing tools and historical data tracking. Within our subscription tiers, customers have the ability to purchase increased usage limits by adding the ability to create additional projects, keywords to track, and user licenses without moving to a higher price point plan. Our dynamic pricing model enables our customers to tailor a plan that is suitable for their strategic needs and affords us the ability to expand within our customer base as customers seek additional functionality from our platform. Paying customers who discontinue their subscriptions have the option to return as paying customers at a future time, continue to use our products and tools that are available to free customers, or discontinue using our products and tools entirely.
Additionally, we offer add-ons that are not included in our subscription plans and are sold on a one-time or monthly basis depending on the add-on. Our add-ons include: local listing management tools, .Trends, our competitive intelligence tool, and Semrush Marketplace, which can enhance customers’
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existing subscriptions. We also maintain an App Center where third-party developers can create tools for paid Semrush users. Our App Center contained 37 apps as of December 31, 2022.
Sales & Marketing
Our customer acquisition model is focused on promoting our brand, increasing market awareness of our platform and products, and driving customer demand, and a strong sales pipeline. We utilize our products to manage our online visibility and reach our prospective customers. Additionally, we use several other online marketing initiatives, including online advertising, webinars, blogs, podcasts, ebooks, customer success studies, and the Semrush Academy to build our brand and engage with our customer community. The Semrush Academy is a free online learning program that has enrolled over 700,000 students and issued over 260,000 certifications with 52 courses across 5 languages as of December 31, 2022. The Semrush Academy increases our brand awareness within the marketing community and helps us crowdsource best practices and innovations that we use to improve our existing offerings, advance new products, grow our brand, and engage with the marketing community.
After attracting a prospective customer to our site, we utilize a highly efficient, low-touch sales approach focused on driving customers to our platform through a self-service model. Customers often begin using our products either on a free basis or immediately become paying customers. Our sales team is largely focused on driving increased subscriptions of existing paying customers by encouraging our customers to fully recognize the potential benefit from the comprehensive platform we offer. We strive to increase monetization from paying customers as they seek to add additional features within our higher priced subscription plans, purchase additional user licenses, purchase add-ons, and renew existing subscriptions.
Our sales organization is comprised of account managers, sales executives, and our customer success team.
•Account managers focus on engaging new paid customers to help them better understand our software and lead them towards products, tools, and add-ons that align with their unique use cases.
•Sales executives are responsible for managing customer engagement and increasing monetization of existing paying customers.
•Our customer success team is responsible for product training, assisting with usage of our solutions, and ongoing client support.
We maintain partnerships with agencies and affiliates to further increase brand awareness and generate customer demand. Our agency partners have the ability to use tools to onboard clients onto our platform and are paid a commission. Our Semrush Affiliate program further increases our brand awareness and helps generate customer demand by offering a commission on each new registration, trial, and subscription activated through an affiliate’s promotion. The BeRush program, which ran throughout 2022 and was closed January 31, 2023, paid affiliates on new registrations, trials, subscriptions activated, and renewals for subscriptions originally brought to Semrush. These relationships collectively accounted for less than 10% of our total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 467 full-time employees and 67 contractors in our sales and marketing organization.
Product and Development
Our product and development team has delivered high-quality products and new capabilities to increase the functionality of our platform and maximize the value we deliver to our customers. Our product development organization plays a critical role in maintaining the effectiveness and differentiation of our
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technology in an evolving landscape and maximizing retention of our existing customers. Our online visibility management platform depends on innovating new tools and features to continually improve our offerings. We work closely with our customers and partners to understand their needs and incorporate their feedback as we innovate our platform.
We invest substantial resources in research and development to continue to drive our technology innovation. Our research and development efforts are focused on designing, testing, and refining our products, as well as operating and scaling our technology infrastructure. We will continue our investment to improve and increase our data assets, the accuracy of results, and the integration of new data assets. We plan to focus research and development investments to increase the functionality of our online visibility platform in order to adapt to the latest changes in the digital marketing landscape and ensure our platform maintains leading technology innovations. Research and development expenses accounted for $41.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, we had 444 employees and 79 contractors in our product and development organization. We have primary development hubs in Prague, Czech Republic, Limassol, Cyprus, Warsaw, Poland, Barcelona, Spain, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Berlin, Germany. We operate two data centers in Ashburn, Virginia and one in Atlanta, Georgia. We also operate two locations in Google Cloud, one in Virginia and one in South Carolina.
Our Customers
We serve a range of customers from small and midsize businesses (“SMBs”) to enterprises and marketing agencies, across a wide variety of verticals, including consumer internet, digital media, education, financial services, healthcare, retail, software, and telecommunications, among others. As of December 31, 2022, we had over 95,000 paying customers and over 803,000 active free customers on our platform across over 157 countries. No single customer accounted for more than 1% of our revenue in the year ended December 31, 2022.
Intellectual Property
We protect our intellectual property through a combination of trademarks, domain names, copyrights, and trade secrets, as well as contractual provisions and restrictions on access to our proprietary technology.
“SEMRush” is our registered trademark in the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (“EU”), Iceland, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Swaziland, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam. We have eleven additional registered trademarks in the United States, including for the “Prowly” and “Sellzone” marks, Semrush and Prowly logos, and three registrations of other trademarks in the EU and other countries, including for the “Prowly and “Sellzone marks and the Semrush and Prowly logos, with additional trademark registration applications pending in other countries. We hold registered trademarks in the EU and UK for “Kompyte”. Other trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.
We are the registered holder of a variety of domestic and international domain names that include “www.semrush.com”, “www.prowly.com”, “www.backlinko.com”, “www.kompyte.com”, and similar variations of them.
In addition to the protection provided by our intellectual property rights, we enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights or similar agreements with our employees, consultants, and contractors. Our employees, consultants, and contractors are also subject to invention assignment agreements. We further
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control the use of our proprietary technology and intellectual property through provisions in both general and product-specific terms of use.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2022, we had 1,316 full-time employees, consisting of 242 in the United States, 299 in Spain, 151 in Cyprus, 139 in the Czech Republic, 120 in Netherlands, and 365 employees located in other countries and employees working remotely. In addition, as of December 31, 2022, we had a total of 214 contractors located in various countries. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good and we have not experienced any work stoppages.
Channels for Disclosure of Information
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available, free of charge, on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, (the “SEC”). These reports may be accessed through our website's investor relations page at investors.semrush.com. Further, the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, contains reports and other information regarding our filings.
Investors, the media, and others should note that, we announce material information to the public through filings with the SEC, the investor relations page on our website, press releases and public conference calls and webcasts. We also use the following social media channels as a means of disclosing information about the company, our platform, our planned financial and other announcements, and other matters and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD:
–Semrush Twitter Account (https://twitter.com/semrush)
–Semrush Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/Semrush/)
–Semrush LinkedIn Page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/semrush)
The information disclosed by the foregoing channels could be deemed to be material information. As such, we encourage investors, the media, and others to follow the channels listed above and to review the information disclosed through such channels. Any updates to the list of disclosure channels through which we will announce information will be posted on the investor relations page on our website. The information on our website and that we disclose through social media channels is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other filings we make with the SEC.
Corporate Information
From an operational perspective, our subsidiaries perform the following activities:
•Semrush Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated in 2012, is our primary operating entity and serves as our corporate financial and administrative headquarters and also engages in sales and support of our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush Securities Corp., a Massachusetts corporation incorporated in 2022, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Semrush Inc., and is an entity formed for the purpose of buying, selling and dealing in securities;
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•Semrush RU Limited was a Russian limited company formed in 2013. Semrush RU Limited engaged primarily in software development, maintenance, and engineering activities until the sale of this subsidiary was completed on August 3, 2022. As of August 10, 2022, we no longer have any operating subsidiaries in Russia;
•Semrush SM Limited, was a Russian limited company formed in 2017. Semrush SM Limited engaged primarily in sales and marketing related activities within Russia, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region for our products, tools, and add-ons until the sale of this subsidiary was completed on August 3, 2022. As of August 10, 2022, we no longer have any operating subsidiaries in Russia;
•Prowly Sp. z o.o., a Polish limited liability company formed in 2013, which was acquired by us in August 2020, engages in the development of the Prowly.com software product (“Prowly Software”) and in the worldwide sales and marketing of the Prowly Software;
•Semrush CY Ltd., a Cyprus limited company formed in 2013, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush CZ s.r.o., a Czech Republic limited liability company formed in 2015, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush B.V., a Netherlands development company formed in 2022, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush Development S.L., a Spanish development company formed in 2021, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush GmbH, a German development company formed in 2022, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush AM Limited, an Armenian development company formed in 2022, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons;
•Semrush RS d.o.o. Beograd, a Serbian development company formed in 2022, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons; and
•Semrush Canada Inc., a Canadian development company formed in 2022, engages in the development of infrastructure, support and marketing for our products, tools, and add-ons.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
A description of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business is set forth below. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be harmed. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.
Most Material Risks to Us
We derive, and expect to continue to derive, substantially all of our revenue and cash flows from our paying customers with premium subscriptions, and our business and operating results will be harmed if our paying customers do not renew their premium subscriptions.
We derive, and expect to continue to derive, substantially all of our revenue and cash flows from our paying customers with premium subscriptions. Our business and financial results depend on our paying customers renewing their subscriptions for our products when existing contract terms expire. Although our customer agreements generally provide for auto-renewal of subscriptions, our paying customers have no obligation to renew their premium subscriptions if they provide proper notice of their desire not to renew, and we cannot guarantee that they will renew their premium subscriptions for the same or longer terms, the same or a greater number of user licenses or products and add-ons, or at all. We offer premium subscriptions on a monthly or annual basis with our annual subscriptions receiving a discount for the longer-term commitment. Our paying customers predominantly choose monthly subscription terms, which allow them to terminate or adjust their premium subscriptions with us on a monthly basis as external factors change and could cause our results of operations to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. Our renewal rates, including our dollar-based net revenue retention rate, may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including customer satisfaction with our platform and products, reliability of our products, our customer success and support experience, the price and functionality of our platform, products, and add-ons relative to those of our competitors, mergers and acquisitions affecting our customer base, the effects of global economic conditions and other external factors, or reductions in our customers’ spending levels. Our business and operating results will be adversely affected if our paying customers do not renew their premium subscriptions.
Our business and operating results will be harmed if our paying customers do not upgrade their premium subscriptions or if they fail to purchase additional products.
Our future financial performance also depends in part on our ability to continue to upgrade paying customers to higher-price point subscriptions and sell additional user licenses, and products and add-ons such as Prowly, Sellzone, and Market Explorer, our competitive intelligence tool. Conversely, our paying customers may convert to lower-cost or free subscriptions if they do not perceive value in continuing to pay for our higher-price point subscriptions, thereby impacting our ability to increase revenue. For example, a paying customer subscribing to our core product through a “Business” subscription may downgrade to the “Guru” subscription if they do not deem the additional features and functionality worth the incremental costs. To expand our relationships with our customers, we must demonstrate to existing paying and free customers that the additional functionality associated with an upgraded subscription outweighs the incremental costs. Our customers’ decisions as to whether to upgrade their subscriptions or not is driven by a number of factors, including customer satisfaction with the security, performance, and reliability of our platform and products, the perceived quality of our customer service, general economic conditions, the price and functionality of our platform and products relative to those of our competitors, and customer reaction to the price for additional products. If our efforts to expand our relationships with
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our existing paying and free customers are not successful, our revenue growth rate may decline and our business and operating results will be adversely affected.
If we fail to attract new potential customers, register them for trials, and convert them into paying customers, our operating results would be harmed.
The number of new customers we attract, whether as free or paying customers, is a key factor in growing our customer and premium subscription base which drive our revenues and collections. We utilize various unpaid content marketing strategies, including blogs, webinars, thought leadership, and social media engagement, as well as paid advertising, to attract visitors to our websites. We cannot guarantee that these unpaid or paid marketing efforts will continue to attract the same volume and quality of traffic to our websites or will continue to result in the same level of registrations for premium subscriptions as they have in the past. In the future, we may be required to increase our marketing spend to maintain the same volume and quality of traffic. Moreover, we cannot be certain that increased sales and marketing spend will generate more paying customers without increasing our customer acquisition costs on a per paying customer basis. We offer potential customers several tiered subscription options for our online visibility management platform, including free subscriptions of a limited-functionality product and premium subscriptions of our “Pro”, “Guru,” or “Business” offerings for our core product, depending on the level of functionality they seek. We have materially grown our number of paying customers through the provision of free subscriptions and through trials of a premium version of our online visibility and marketing insight products. Trial subscriptions automatically become premium subscriptions if the customer does not opt out of the trial subscription after the trial period is over, and such trial subscriptions can be upgraded to obtain additional features, functionality, and varying levels of access and report generating capabilities. In the future, we may be required to provide additional functionality to our free subscriptions to attract visitors to our websites and incent visitors to sign up for free subscriptions. In addition, we encourage our free customers to upgrade to premium subscriptions through in-product prompts and notifications, by recommending additional features and functionality, and by providing customer support to explain such additional features and functionality. Our failure to attract new free customers and convert them into paying customers could have a material adverse effect on our operating results as our business may be adversely affected by the costs of, and sales lost from, making certain of our products available on a free basis.
Our strategy is to sell premium subscriptions of our platform to paying customers of all sizes, from sole proprietors, to SMBs, to large enterprise customers. Selling monthly premium subscriptions to SMBs generally involves lower or plateauing premium subscription upgrade potential, lower retention rates (especially in times of economic uncertainty where marketing and sales budgets are subject to increased scrutiny and reduction), and more limited interaction with our sales and other personnel than sales to large enterprises. Conversely, sales to large enterprises generally entail longer sales cycles, more significant and costly selling and support efforts, and greater uncertainty of completing the sale than sales to SMBs. If and as our paying customer base expands to include more large enterprise customers, our sales expenses may increase, sales cycles may lengthen and become less predictable and we may see a greater number of paying customers with longer terms and extended payment terms which, in turn, may increase our paying customer acquisition costs, increase our credit risk, and may in other ways adversely affect our financial results.
The market in which we operate is intensely competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our ability to attract and retain free and paying customers could be harmed, which would negatively impact our business and operating results.
The market for our products is fragmented, rapidly evolving, and highly competitive, with relatively low barriers to entry. Our all-in-one SaaS platform competes with software products and solutions that are focused on a particular customer need, or point solutions. For example, we compete with point solutions for search advertising and search engine optimization (“SEO”), marketing analytics and social media management (“SMM”), market intelligence, and digital public relations software. Our ability to attract and retain free and paying customers depends in part on the actual and perceived quality and design of our
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platform, products, and add-ons compared to competitive point solutions and continued market acceptance of our platform, products, and add-ons for existing and new use-cases. To remain competitive and to acquire new customers, we must deliver features and functionality that enhance the utility and perceived value of our platform, products, and add-ons to our prospective and existing customers. Our platform, products, and add-ons must (i) operate without the presence of material software defects, whether actual or perceived, (ii) maintain deep and rich data sources, (iii) adapt to the changing needs of our current and prospective customers including by developing new technology, (iv) adapt to changing functionality and provide interoperability with third-party APIs, (v) maintain and develop integrations with complementary third-party services that provide value to our customers, (vi) be easy to use and visually pleasing, (vii) deliver rapid return on investment to our customers across multiple functions within their organizations, and (viii) be delivered with a superior customer support experience. We may not be successful in delivering on some or all of the foregoing or in doing so while maintaining competitive pricing, which could result in customer dissatisfaction leading to termination or downgrades of premium subscriptions, fewer new free customers, fewer subscription upgrades or lower dollar-based net revenue retention rates, prospective customers’ selection of our competitors’ products over our own, and other adverse effects on our business.
Many of our current and future competitors benefit from competitive advantages over us, such as greater name recognition, longer operating histories, more targeted products for specific use cases, larger sales and more established relationships or integrations with third-party data providers, search engines, online retail platforms, and social media networking sites, and more established relationships with customers in the market. Additionally, many of our competitors may expend a considerably greater amount of funds on their research and development efforts, and those that do not may be acquired by larger companies that would allocate greater resources to our competitors’ research and development programs. Specifically, our competitors focusing on point solutions may have the ability to expend greater funds in a more targeted manner to develop superior solutions that address a specific need, as compared to our research and development expenditures which are allocated across our platform. In addition, some of our competitors may enter into strategic relationships or consummate strategic acquisitions to offer a broader range of functionality than we do, a more competitive multi-point solution, or to address needs that our platform does not. These types of business combinations may make it more difficult for us to acquire new customers or maintain or upgrade our customers, any of which could ultimately impact our ability to compete effectively. We expect these competitive pressures to continue as competitors attempt to strengthen or preserve their market positions and as new competitors enter the market.
Demand for our platform is also price sensitive. Many factors, including our marketing, sales and technology costs, and the pricing and marketing strategies of our competitors, can significantly affect our pricing strategies. Certain competitors offer, or may in the future offer, lower-priced or free products that compete with our platform, products, and/or add-ons, or may bundle their solutions with other companies’ offerings to provide a broader range of functionality at reduced volume pricing. Similarly, certain competitors may use marketing strategies that enable them to acquire customers at a lower cost than we do. Even if such competitive products do not include all the features and functionality that our platform provides, we could face pricing pressure to the extent that customers find such alternative products to be sufficient to meet their needs or do not perceive a material return on investment from the additional features and functionality they would obtain by purchasing our platform relative to the competitive point solutions. Additionally, our competitors may further drive down the price through strategic business combinations. We may be forced to engage in price-cutting initiatives, offer other discounts, or increase our sales and marketing and other expenses to attract and retain free and paying customers in response to competitive pressures, any of which would harm our business and operating results.
We have incurred losses in the past and may not consistently achieve profitability in the future.
We have a history of incurring net losses and, although we have achieved profitability in certain periods, we expect to continue to incur net losses in the future. We incurred net losses of $7.0 million, $3.3 million, and $33.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. We had
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an accumulated deficit of $72.9 million as of December 31, 2022. We do not know if we will be able to achieve or sustain profitability in the future. We plan to continue to invest in our research and development, and sales and marketing efforts, and we anticipate that our operating expenses will continue to increase as we scale our business and expand our operations. We also expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of our growth and operating as a public company. We expect to incur additional costs in connection with the relocation of employees outside of Russia as a result of ongoing military action in Ukraine. For more information on the risks of regional instability to our operations, see the risk factor titled “Instability in geographies where we have significant operations and personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, customers, and financial results” in this Item 1A. Risk Factors. Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability is based on numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Our products depend on publicly available and paid third-party data sources, and, if we lose access to data provided by such data sources or the terms and conditions on which we obtain such access become less favorable, our business could suffer.
We have developed our platform, products, and add-ons to rely in part on access to data from third-party sources. The primary sources of third-party data include data collected from third-party websites algorithmically through our proprietary data collection techniques, including web crawling of third-party websites, data purchased from independent third-party data providers, which includes clickstream data, search engine data, online advertising data, and data from social media sources, and reference data that our customers grant us access to, which includes our customers’ website and social media data. We obtain social media data through APIs that connect to social media platform operators, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. We also collect data from our customers in connection with their use of our platform.
To date, our relationships with most data providers (including social media platforms) are governed by such data providers’ respective standard terms and conditions, which govern the availability and access to, and permitted uses of such data (including via APIs), and which are subject to change by such providers from time to time, with little or no notice and with little or no right of redress. Similarly, our access to publicly available data may depend on restrictions that website owners may impose through technical measures or otherwise, including restrictions on automated data collection. We cannot accurately predict the impact of changes in the terms of data providers that may impede our access to the data. If these data providers or websites choose not to make their data available on the same terms, or at all, we would have to seek alternative sources, which could prove expensive and time-consuming, and may be less efficient or effective. Such changes could impact our ability to provide our services in a timely manner, if at all, and could negatively impact the perceived value of our platform and our business. There can be no assurance that following any such modification of terms or termination we would be able to maintain the current level of functionality of our platform in such circumstances, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
We also rely on negotiated agreements with other data providers from whom we purchase independently sourced data, including clickstream data, search engine data, online advertising data, data from social media, and other sources. These negotiated agreements provide access to additional data that allow us to provide a more comprehensive solution for our customers. These agreements are subject to termination in certain circumstances, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to renew those agreements or that the terms of any such renewal, including pricing and levels of service, will be favorable. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will not be required to enter into new negotiated agreements with data providers in the future to maintain or enhance the level of functionality of our platform, or that the terms and conditions of such agreements, including pricing and levels of service, will not be less favorable, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Further, third-party data providers have previously, and may again, cease operations or a specific business line or cease providing products or data to their customers, including us. If we are not able to obtain third-party data on commercially reasonable terms, if these data providers stop making their data available to us, or if our
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competitors are able to purchase such data on better terms, the functionality of our platform and our ability to compete could be harmed.
To the extent that we license or obtain data from third parties, we may be subject to contractual obligations to satisfy certain requirements under applicable laws including, but not limited to, providing public notice of our data processing activities and obtaining appropriate consents where required. If one or more of those third-party data providers considers that we have failed to satisfy these requirements, such third-party data provider may bring claims against us seeking damages, and/or seeking to prevent access to our additional data or our future use of any data already provided. Such claims could potentially adversely affect our ability to provide our services and the current level of functionality of our platform in such circumstances, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our business may be harmed if any of our data sources:
•changes, limits, or discontinues our access to their data;
•modifies its terms of service or other policies, including imposing prohibitive fees or restrictions on our use of their data or our ability to access it;
•changes or limits how customer information is accessed by us or our customers and their users;
•changes or limits how we can use such data;
•establishes more favorable relationships with one or more of our competitors; or
•experiences disruptions of its technology, services, or business generally.
Instability in geographies where we have significant operations and personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, customers, and financial results.
Economic, civil, military, and political uncertainty exists and may increase in many of the regions where we operate and derive our revenue. Several countries in which we operate are experiencing and may continue to experience military action and civil and political unrest as a result of such action. We have significant development operations in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe and more than half of our full-time employees were historically located in Russia. As of August 10, 2022, we no longer have operating subsidiaries in Russia.
In late February 2022, Russian military forces launched significant military action against Ukraine, and sustained conflict and disruption in the region has ensued and appears likely to continue. The impact to Ukraine and Russia, as well as actions taken by other countries, including new and stricter sanctions by Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the U.S. and other countries and organizations against officials, individuals, regions, and industries in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and each country’s potential response to such sanctions, tensions, and military actions could have a material adverse effect on our operations. We incurred significant expenses in connection with the relocation of our employees from Russia to other geographies in response to the ongoing conflict. We incurred total costs of $11.3 million during fiscal year 2022 in connection with such relocations. See Note 7 “Exit Costs” to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on such expenses. It is possible that we may need to take additional operational measures in response to the ongoing conflict and that the expenses related to those measures could have a significant effect on our operations and financial condition, as well as our profitability in the foreseeable future.
We are actively monitoring and enhancing the security of our people and the stability of our infrastructure and our equipment. We execute our business continuity plans and adapt to developments as
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they occur to protect the safety of our personnel and address potential impacts to our employees, including potentially relocating employees in response to the ongoing conflict. Our crisis management procedures, business continuity plans, and disaster recovery capabilities may not be effective at preventing or mitigating the effects of prolonged or multiple crises, such as civil unrest, military conflict, and a pandemic in a concentrated geographic area. The current events in the regions where we operate and where we employ a significant portion of our workforce may continue to pose security risks to our people, facilities, data operations, and infrastructure, and the disruption of any or all of them could materially adversely affect our operations, financial results, and cause volatility in the price of our stock. We have no way to predict the future progress or outcome of the sustained military action in Ukraine or the other countries in which we operate or in Russia as the conflict and government reactions are rapidly unfolding in real-time and are beyond our control. Whether in these countries or in others in which we operate, prolonged civil unrest, political instability or uncertainty, military activities, or broad-based sanctions, should they continue for the long term or escalate further, could require us to further rebalance our geographic concentrations, alter our hiring and other business plans, strategy and expenditures, and could have a material adverse effect on our personnel, operations, and business outlook.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our ability to introduce new products, tools, and add-ons is dependent on adequate research and development resources. If we do not adequately fund our research and development efforts or use product and development teams effectively, our business and operating results may be harmed.
To remain competitive, we must continue to develop new product offerings, as well as features and enhancements to our existing platform and products. Maintaining adequate research and development personnel and resources to meet the demands of the market is essential. If we experience high turnover of our product and development personnel, a lack of management ability to guide our research and development, or a lack of other research and development resources, we may miss or fail to execute on new product development and strategic opportunities and consequently lose potential and actual market share. The success of our business is dependent on our product and development teams developing and executing on a product roadmap that allows us to retain and increase the spending of our existing customers, attract new customers and upgrade our free customers to premium subscriptions. Our failure to maintain adequate research and development resources, to use our research and development resources efficiently, or to address the demands of our prospective and actual customers could materially adversely affect our business.
If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand, or if events occur that damage our reputation and brand, our ability to maintain and expand our customer base may be impaired, and our business and financial results may be harmed.
Maintaining, promoting, and enhancing our brand is critical to maintaining and expanding our customer base. We seek to build our brand through a mix of free and paid initiatives. We market our platform and products through free information resources on our website, including our blog and online digital marketing courses (including through our Semrush Academy), pay-per-click advertisements on search engines and social networking sites, participation in social networking sites, and free and paid banner advertisements on other websites. The strength of our brand further drives free traffic sources, including customer referrals, word-of-mouth, and direct searches for our “Semrush” name, or web presence solutions, in search engines. In addition, we maintain relationships with agencies and affiliates to further increase brand awareness and generate customer demand. To the extent that new customers are increasingly derived from paid as opposed to free marketing initiatives, our customer acquisition cost will increase.
Beyond direct sales and marketing efforts, maintaining and enhancing our brand will depend largely on our ability to continue to provide a well-designed, useful, reliable, and innovative platform, efficient sales process, and high-quality customer service, which we may not do successfully.
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We depend on our executive officers and other key employees, and the loss of one or more of these employees could harm our business.
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key employees. We rely on our leadership team in the areas of research and development, operations, security, marketing, sales, customer service, and general and administrative functions, and on individual contributors and team leaders in our research and development and operations. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. The loss of one or more of our executive officers or key employees could harm our business. Changes in our executive management team may also cause disruptions in, and harm to, our business.
Changes by search engines, social networking sites, and other third-party services to their underlying technology configurations or policies regarding the use of their platforms and/or technologies for commercial purposes, including anti-spam policies, may limit the efficacy of certain of our products, tools, and add-ons and as a result, our business may suffer.
Our online visibility platform is designed to help our customers connect with consumers across a variety of digital channels, search engines, social networking sites, and other third-party services. These services may adapt and change their strategies and policies over time. Search engines typically provide two types of search results, organic (i.e., non-paid) and purchased listings. Organic search results are determined and organized solely by automated criteria set by the search engine, and a ranking level cannot be purchased. Search engines revise their algorithms from time to time in an attempt to optimize their search result listings. Changes to search engine algorithms may diminish the efficacy of certain of our products, tools, and add-ons, and potentially render them obsolete. For example, if a given search engine stopped using backlinks in its ranking algorithm, our customers’ perception of our backlink analytics tool, which enables customers to analyze and monitor the backlink profile of their own and other websites, may be adversely impacted. Similarly, if a search engine ceases to manually penalize or take action against web pages for unnatural backlinks, then our customers may determine that auditing their backlinks is unnecessary which could cause them to devalue our backlink audit tool, which enables companies to check whether malicious websites have links to their sites, or cease using it altogether. In response to these types of changes we may be required to recalibrate our product offerings by reducing prices, discontinuing the affected product, or otherwise. These responses may be costly, may not be effective, and our business may suffer.
Additionally, search engines, social networking sites, and other third-party services typically have terms of service, guidelines, and other policies to which its users are contractually obligated to adhere. For example, Google’s Gmail offering has a spam and abuse policy that prohibits sending spam, distributing viruses, or otherwise abusing the service. Prowly and our email distribution tool enable our customers to send emails to their desired recipients, such as journalists and bloggers. Our email distribution tool relies on a DMARC integration which enables our customers to send emails using our platform as if they were sending emails directly from their email provider, and our Prowly product involves emails initiated by customers over Prowly servers. Our customers’ actions using either the link building tool or Prowly could be flagged under Google’s spam and abuse policy or in the future such actions may be prohibited by subsequent changes to Google’s policies. Any change to the policies of the third-party services with which our products, tools, and add-ons integrate or interact, or with which our products are intended to be used, including any anti-spam policies, or any actions taken by these third-party service providers under their policies could adversely impact the efficacy and perceived value of our products, tools, and add-ons, and as a result, our business may be harmed.
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If third-party applications change such that we do not or cannot maintain the compatibility of our platform with these applications or if we fail to integrate with or provide third-party applications that our customers desire to use with our products, demand for our solutions and platform could decline.
The attractiveness of our platform depends, in part, on our ability to integrate via APIs with third-party applications that our customers desire to use with our products, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Majestic, and others. Third-party application providers may change the features of their applications and platforms, including their APIs, or alter the terms governing use of their applications and platforms in an adverse manner. Further, third-party application providers may refuse to partner with us, or limit or restrict our access to their applications and platforms. Such changes could functionally limit or terminate our ability to use these third-party applications with our platform, which could negatively impact our offerings and the customer experience, and ultimately harm our business. If we fail to integrate our platform with new third-party applications that our customers desire, or to adapt to the data transfer requirements of such third-party applications and platforms, we may not be able to offer the functionality that our customers expect, which would negatively impact our offerings and, as a result, harm our business. Additionally, our business could be harmed if our customers have negative experiences in using the third-party integrations that we offer.
If we fail to maintain and improve our methods and technologies, or fail to anticipate new methods or technologies for data collection and analysis, hardware, software, and software related technologies, competing products and services could surpass ours in depth, breadth, or accuracy of our data, the insights that we offer or in other respects, which could result in a loss of customers and harm our business and financial results.
We expect continuous development in the market with respect to data matching, data filtering, data predicting, algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other related technologies and methods for gathering cataloging, updating, processing, analyzing, and communicating data and other information about how consumers find, interact with, and digest digital content. Similarly, we expect continuous changes in computer hardware, network operating systems, programming tools, programming languages, operating systems, the use of the internet, and the variety of network, hardware, browser, mobile, and browser-side platforms, and related technologies with which our platform and products must integrate. Further, changes in customer preferences or regulatory requirements may require changes in the technology used to gather and process the data necessary to deliver our customers the insights that they expect. Any of these developments and changes could create opportunities for a competitor to create products or a platform comparable or superior to ours, or that takes material market share from us in one or more product categories, and create challenges and risks for us if we are unable to successfully modify and enhance our products to adapt accordingly.
If we fail to anticipate and adapt to new and increasingly prevalent social media platforms, other competing products and services that do so more effectively could surpass us and lead to decreased demand for our platform and products.
The use of social media throughout the world is pervasive and growing. The social media industry has experienced, and is likely to continue to experience, rapid change due to the evolving trends, tastes and preferences of users. If consumers widely adopt new social media networks and platforms, we will need to develop integrations and functionality related to these new networks and platforms. This development effort may require significant research and development and sales and marketing resources, as well as licensing fees, all of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, new social media networks and platforms may not provide us with sufficient access to data from their platforms, preventing us from building effective integrations with our platform and products. Changing consumer tastes may also render our current integrations or functionality obsolete and the financial terms, if any, under which we would obtain integrations or functionality, unfavorable. Any failure of our products to operate effectively with the social media networks used most frequently by consumers could reduce the
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demand for our products. If we are unable to respond to these changes in a cost-effective manner, our products and aspects of our platform may become less marketable and less competitive or obsolete, and our operating results may be negatively affected.
Failures or loss of, or material changes with respect to, the third-party hardware, software, and infrastructure on which we rely, including third-party data center hosting facilities and third-party distribution channels to support our operations, could adversely affect our business.
We rely on leased and third-party owned hardware, software and infrastructure, including third-party data center hosting facilities and third-party distribution channels to support our operations. We primarily use three data centers in the United States, two located in Virginia and one in Georgia, as well as two Google Cloud locations in Virginia and South Carolina. We host most of our products and the data processed through such products in a combination of two of the foregoing locations for redundancy. If any of our data center suppliers experience disruptions or failures, it would take time for the applicable backup data center to become fully functioning, and we would likely experience delays in delivering the affected products and segments of our platform, which may involve incurring significant additional expenses.
Furthermore, the owners and operators of our data center facilities do not guarantee that access to our platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. We do not control the operation of these third-party providers’ facilities, which could be subject to break-ins, cybersecurity incidents (including system-encrypting ransomware), sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and other misconduct. Further, our leased servers and data centers are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, power loss, telecommunications failures or similar catastrophic events. Health epidemics, including any further impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic could cause our third-party data center hosting facilities and cloud computing platform providers, which are critical to our infrastructure, to shut down their operations, experience technical or security incidents that delay or disrupt performance or delivery of services to us, or experience interference with the supply chain of hardware required by their systems and services, any of which could materially adversely affect our business. For example, we previously experienced delays in migrating to our data center in Virginia, due to the limited availability of certain required hardware components resulting from supply chain delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. If there were to be a significant outage or disaster that rendered one of our servers or data centers inoperable for any length of time, we would have to undertake recovery operations for the impacted products, which could interrupt the availability of our platform. If we were unable to restore the availability of our platform and products within a reasonable period of time, our customer satisfaction could suffer, damaging our reputation as a result, and we could lose customers to our competition, which would materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In addition, third-party data hosting and transmission services comprise a significant portion of our operating costs. If the costs for such services increase due to vendor consolidation, regulation, contract renegotiation, or otherwise, we may not be able to increase the fees for our platform or products to cover the changes, which would have a negative impact on our results of operations.
If the security of the confidential information or personal information of our customers on our platform is breached or otherwise subjected to unauthorized access or disclosure, our reputation may be harmed, and we may be exposed to significant liability.
With consent from our customers, we obtain personal, confidential, and other customer data from our customers’ websites, social media accounts, and Google Analytics’ accounts to operate certain functionality on our platform. We rely on credit card purchases as the primary means of collecting our premium subscription fees. In addition, with consent from our customers, we collect and store certain personally identifiable information (“personal data”), credit card information, and other data needed to create, support, and administer the customer account, conduct our business, and comply with legal obligations, including rules imposed by the Payment Card Industry networks.
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We believe that we take reasonable steps to protect the security, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information we and our third-party service providers hold, but there is no guarantee that despite our efforts, inadvertent disclosure (such as may arise from software bugs or other technical malfunctions, employee error or malfeasance, or other factors) or unauthorized access, acquisition, disclosure or loss of personal or other confidential information will not occur or that third parties will not gain unauthorized access to this information. Attacks on information technology systems are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and they are being conducted by increasingly sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise. Such attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, system-disrupting ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Further, the prevalence of remote work by our employees and those of our third-party service providers creates increased risk that a cybersecurity incident may occur. We have experienced, and may experience in the future, breaches of our security due to human error, malfeasance, system errors or vulnerabilities, or other irregularities. For example, we have been the target of attempts to identify and exploit system vulnerabilities and/or penetrate or bypass our security measures to gain unauthorized access to our systems, including a brute force attack that resulted in access to our affiliate program partner contact information. Since techniques used to conduct malicious cyber activities change frequently, we and our third-party service providers may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate measures to prevent or detect them. If our security measures or the security measures of our third-party service providers fail, or if vulnerabilities in our software are exposed and exploited, and, as a result, a third party disrupts the operations of our systems or obtains unauthorized access to any customers’ data, our relationships with our customers may be damaged, and we could incur liability. Further, our customers with annual subscription terms may have the right to terminate their subscriptions before the end of the subscription term due to our uncured material breach of agreement, including with respect to our data security obligations. It is also possible that unauthorized access to customer data may be obtained through inadequate use of security controls by customers, suppliers or other vendors. While we are not currently aware of any impact that supply chain attacks, including the SolarWinds attack, may have had on our business, these events are complex, difficult to defend against, and of unknown scope, therefore we could face a level of ongoing residual risk of security breaches resulting from this type of events. We may also be subject to additional liability risks for failing to disclose data breaches or other security incidents under state data breach notification laws or under the private right of action granted to individuals under certain data privacy laws for actions arising from certain data security incidents, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) (which is further discussed below in this “Risk Factors” section). In addition, some regions, such as the EU, the United Kingdom (“UK”), and the United States, have enacted mandatory data breach notification requirements for companies to notify data protection authorities, state and federal agencies, or individuals of data security incidents or personal data breaches. We may also be contractually required to notify certain customers in the event of a security incident pursuant to the applicable customer agreement. These mandatory disclosures regarding a security breach may lead to negative publicity and may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our data security measures. Any security breach, whether actual or perceived, may harm our reputation, and we could lose customers or fail to acquire new customers.
Federal, state, and provincial regulators and industry groups may also consider and implement from time to time new privacy and security requirements that apply to our business, such as the long established Massachusetts data security regulations and the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Act, both of which establish administrative, technical, and physical data security requirements for companies, and permit civil penalties for each violation. Compliance with evolving privacy and security laws, requirements, and regulations may result in cost increases due to necessary systems changes, new limitations or constraints on our business models and the development of new administrative processes. They also may impose further restrictions on our collection, disclosure, and use of personally identifiable information kept in our databases or those of our vendors. If our security measures fail to protect credit card information adequately, we could be liable to both our customers and their users for their losses, as well as the vendors under our agreements with them such that we could be subject to fines and higher transaction fees, we could face regulatory action, and our customers and
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vendors could end their relationships with us, any of which could harm our business, results of operations or financial condition. Any intentional or inadvertent security breaches or other unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal data could expose us to enforcement actions, regulatory or governmental audits, investigations, litigation, fines, penalties, adverse publicity, downtime of our systems, and other possible liabilities. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any such liabilities or damages with respect to any particular claim. In addition, our cybersecurity insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover all costs and expenses associated with a security breach that may occur in the future. We may need to devote significant resources to defend against, respond to and recover from cybersecurity incidents, diverting resources from the growth and expansion of our business.
If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service and customer satisfaction or attract new employees and customers and our business could suffer.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, rapid growth in our number of customers, sales, revenues, locations, and headcount, which has placed, and may continue to place, significant demands on our management, and our operational and financial resources. We have paying customers in over 157 countries, and the number of our paying customers has grown from over 82,000 as of December 31, 2021 to over 95,000 as of December 31, 2022. We have 16 offices across the globe with personnel dispersed in various other locations, and the continued domestic and international growth that we anticipate will require us to continue to expand our global employee headcount. It may be difficult for us to identify, recruit, train, and manage enough personnel to efficiently scale our operations, manage our product development effectively and to match the growth of our customer base. See the risk factor titled “Increases in labor costs, including wages, and an overall tightening of the labor market, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition” in this Item 1A. Risk Factors for more information on the risks posed by a competitive labor market. As we continue to grow, we face challenges of integrating, developing, training, and motivating a rapidly growing and increasingly dispersed employee base. We are facing novel challenges with respect to integrating new employees in a remote setting and managing multi-geographic teams as a result of shifting our workplace operations to a combination of in-office, hybrid or remote working models, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and certain of our onboarding personnel from travelling between our offices to assist with such integration and training. Certain members of our executive management team have not previously worked together for an extended period of time, which may affect how they manage our growth. If we fail to manage our anticipated growth effectively, our brand and reputation could be negatively affected, which could harm our ability to attract employees and customers.
To manage growth in our operations and personnel, we will need to continue to scale and improve our operational, financial, and management controls, and our reporting systems and procedures, which will require significant capital expenditures increasing our cost of operations and the reallocation of valuable management resources. As we scale, it may become more difficult and will require additional capital expenditures to maintain and increase the productivity of our employees, to address the needs of our actual and prospective customers, and provide high-quality customer service, to further develop and enhance our products, and remain competitive against our competitors’ products. Additionally, our global expansion and relocation efforts have placed, and our expected future growth will continue to place, a significant strain on our management, customer service teams, product and development, sales and marketing, administrative, financial, and other resources.
Technical problems or disruptions that affect either our customers’ (and their users’) ability to access our platform and products, or the software, internal applications, database, and network
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systems underlying our platform and products, could damage our reputation and brands, lead to reduced demand for our platform and products, lower revenues, and increased costs.
Our business, brands, reputation, and ability to attract and retain customers depend upon the satisfactory performance, reliability, and availability of our platform, which in turn depend upon the availability of the internet and our third-party service providers. Interruptions in these systems, whether due to system failures, computer viruses, software errors, physical or electronic break-ins, malicious hacks or attacks on our systems (such as denial of service attacks), or force majeure events, could affect the security and availability of our products and prevent or inhibit the ability of customers to access our platform. In addition, the software, internal applications, and systems underlying our products and platform are complex and may not be error-free. We may encounter technical problems when we attempt to perform routine maintenance or enhance our software, internal applications, and systems. In addition, our platform may be negatively impacted by technical issues experienced by our third-party service providers. Any inefficiencies, errors, or technical problems with our software, internal applications, and systems could reduce the quality of our platform and products or interfere with our customers’ (and their users’) use of our platform and products, which could negatively impact our brand, reduce demand, lower our revenues, and increase our costs.
We are exposed to risks associated with payment processing and any disruption to such processing systems could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We primarily rely on our own billing systems to manage our subscriptions and billing frequencies, and we use third-party subscription management and payment processing platforms for some of our products. If we or any of our third-party vendors were to experience an interruption, delay, or outage in service and availability, we may be unable to process new and renewals of subscriptions and our ability to process such subscription and credit card payments would be delayed while we activate an alternative billing platform. Although alternative third-party providers may be available to us, we may incur significant expenses and research and development efforts to deploy any alternative providers. To the extent there are disruptions in our billing systems or third-party subscription and payment processing systems, we could experience revenue loss, accounting issues, and harm to our reputation and customer relationships, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We are subject to a number of risks related to credit and debit card payments, including:
• we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and could require us to either increase the prices we charge for our products or experience an increase in our operating expenses;
• if our billing systems fail to work properly and the failure has an adverse effect on our customer satisfaction, causes credit and debit card issuers to disallow our continued use of their payment products, or, does not permit us to automatically charge our paying customers’ credit and debit cards on a timely basis or at all, we could lose or experience a delay in collection of customer payments;
• if we are unable to maintain our chargeback rate at acceptable levels, we may face civil liability, diminished public perception of our security measures and our credit card fees for chargeback transactions or our fees for other credit and debit card transactions or issuers may increase, or issuers may terminate their relationship with us; and
• we could be significantly impaired in our ability to operate our business if we lose our ability to process payments on any major credit or debit card.
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A significant portion of our operations is located outside of the United States, which subjects us to additional risks, including increased complexity, the costs of managing international operations, geopolitical instability, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
The design and development of our products is primarily conducted by our subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Spain, Serbia, Armenia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. We also have marketing and administrative operations in the same jurisdictions. In addition, members of our sales force are located in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Asia. Approximately 53% and 54% of our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, was generated from sales to paying customers located outside the United States including indirect sales through our resellers outside of the United States. As a result of our international operations and sales efforts, we face numerous challenges and risks that could harm our international operations, delay new product releases, increase our operating costs, and hinder our ability to grow and detect underlying trends in our operations and business, and consequently adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Such risks include but are not limited to the following:
•geopolitical and economic instability in and impacting the localities where we have foreign operations;
•rising inflation impacting the stability of our workforce and foreign operations;
•military conflicts impacting the localities where we have foreign operations;
•limited protection for, and vulnerability to theft of, our intellectual property rights, including our trade secrets;
•compliance with local laws and regulations, and unanticipated changes in local laws and regulations, including tax laws and regulations;
•trade and foreign exchange restrictions and higher tariffs;
•the complexity of managing international trade sanctions and export restrictions from the jurisdictions in which we have foreign operations;
•fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates which may make our premium subscriptions more expensive for international paying customers and which may increase our expenses for employee compensation and other operating expenses that are paid in currencies other than U.S. dollars;
•restrictions imposed by the United States government against other countries, or foreign governments’ restrictions imposed on the United States, impacting our ability to do business with certain companies or in certain countries and the complexity of complying with those restrictions;
•power outages, natural disasters, and other local events that could affect the availability of the internet and the consequences of disruptions, such as large-scale outages or interruptions of service from utilities or telecommunications providers;
•difficulties in staffing international operations;
•changes in immigration policies which may impact our ability to hire personnel;
•differing employment practices, laws, and labor relations;
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•regional health issues and the impact of public health epidemics and pandemics on employees and the global economy, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and
•travel, work-from-home, or other restrictions or work stoppages, like those imposed by governments around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further, it is possible that governments of one or more foreign countries may seek to limit access to the internet or our platform, products or certain features in their countries, or impose other restrictions that may affect the availability of our platform, products, or certain features in their countries for an extended period of time or indefinitely. For example, Russia and China are among a number of countries that have recently blocked certain online services, including Amazon Web Services, making it difficult for such services to access those markets. In addition, governments in certain countries may seek to restrict or prohibit access to our platform if they consider us to be in violation of their laws (including privacy laws) and may require us to disclose or provide access to information in our possession. If we fail to anticipate developments in the law or fail for any reason to comply with relevant laws, our platforms could be further blocked or restricted and we could be exposed to significant liability that could harm our business. In the event that access to our platform is restricted, in whole or in part, in one or more countries or our competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access, our ability to acquire new customers or renew or grow the premium subscriptions of existing paying customers may be adversely affected, we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue as anticipated and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The effects of health epidemics may materially affect our customers or potential customers and how we operate our business.
Local, regional, and global health epidemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have and have the future potential to significantly disrupt the economy. The impact and duration of epidemics are difficult to assess or predict and will depend in part upon the actions taken by governments, companies, and other enterprises in response thereto. Adverse conditions resulting from epidemics have and could again materially adversely affect our revenues, business and the value of our Class A common stock.
For example, our customers, particularly SMBs and marketing agencies focused on SMBs, were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many reduced their technology spending, sales and marketing spending, and delayed purchasing decisions, impacting our business through slowed growth, reduced demand from new and existing SMB customers, and lower dollar-based net revenue retention rates. In April 2020, our paying customer growth rate declined, which we believe was primarily a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related socioeconomic impacts. In response, we offered free or discounted pricing to certain paying customers contemplating canceling their premium subscriptions as a remedial measure to retain them. We may in the future be required again to take remedial measures in response to health epidemics, including changing our terms or offering further discounts, which may materially adversely impact our revenues and business in future periods.
Health epidemics have and may again require us to alter our operations in ways that we cannot predict, including closing offices, increasing remote work, implementing temporary travel restrictions and shifting to virtual-only company events. Such measures could negatively affect our sales and marketing efforts, sales cycles, employee productivity, cyber-security and/or customer retention, any of which could harm our financial condition and business operations.
To the extent health epidemics adversely affect our business and financial results, they may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Adverse or weakened general economic and market conditions may reduce spending on sales and marketing technology and information technology, which could harm our revenue, results of operations, and cash flows.
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Our revenue, results of operations, and cash flows depend on the overall demand for and use of technology and information for sales and marketing, which depends in part on the amount of spending allocated by our paying customers or potential paying customers on sales and marketing technology and information. In addition to the internal strategy of our paying customers, which is not predictable and is subject to change, this spending depends on worldwide economic and geopolitical conditions. The United States, EU, and other key international economies have experienced cyclical downturns from time to time in which economic activity was impacted by falling demand for a variety of goods and services, high inflation, restricted credit, poor liquidity, reduced corporate profitability, volatility in credit, equity, and foreign exchange markets, bankruptcies, public health crises and epidemics, civil unrest, hostilities or wars (such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine) and overall economic uncertainty. In recent months, we have observed increased economic uncertainty in the United States and abroad. These developments may lead to growing concerns about the systemic impact of a potential global economic recession, energy costs geopolitical issues, or the availability and cost of credit and higher interest rates, which could further lead to increased market volatility, decreased consumer confidence, and diminished growth expectations in the U.S. economy and abroad. As our customers react to recent global economic conditions, especially if conditions disproportionately impact SMBs that make up an important segment of our paying customer base, we may see customers reduce spending on our products and take additional precautionary measures to limit or delay expenditures and preserve capital and liquidity, thereby affecting the rate of information technology spending and adversely affect our paying customers’ ability or willingness to purchase our products, delay prospective paying customers’ purchasing decisions, reduce the value or duration of their premium subscription contracts, or affect retention rates. Specifically, most of our paying customers are on month-to-month premium subscriptions that can be cancelled at any time. The current economic downturn may cause some of our paying customers to view a premium subscription to our platform as a discretionary purchase and reduce their discretionary spending on our platform, either reducing or terminating their premium subscription or deciding not to upgrade to another premium subscription. Such customers may seek to utilize free or lower-cost solutions from alternative sources or request to renegotiate existing contracts on less advantageous terms to us than those currently in place, default on payments on existing contracts, or not renew a contract at the end of its term. Such reductions or delays in spending on our solutions, lack of renewals, inability to attract new customers, as well as potential pressure for extended billing terms or pricing discounts, would limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our operating results and financial condition.
Furthermore, the spending patterns of the SMBs that make up a large portion of our paying customer base are difficult to predict and are typically more susceptible to the adverse effects of economic fluctuations, including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, and overall consumer confidence. Adverse changes in the economic environment or business failures of our SMB customers may have a greater impact on us than our competitors who do not focus on SMBs to the extent that we do.
As we acquire and invest in companies or technologies, we may not realize expected business or financial benefits and the acquisitions or investments could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
As part of our business strategy, we evaluate and may make investments in, or acquisitions of, complementary companies, services, databases, and technologies, and we expect that we will continue to evaluate and pursue such investments and acquisitions in the future to further grow and augment our business, our platform, and product offerings. For example, in August 2020, we acquired Prowly, an advertising and public relations technology company based in Poland. We have incurred and will continue to incur costs to integrate Prowly’s business and selling process into our business and to integrate Prowly’s products into our platform, such as software integration expenses and costs related to the renegotiation of redundant vendor agreements, and we expect to incur similar costs to integrate future acquisitions. We may have difficulty effectively integrating the personnel, businesses, and technologies of these acquisitions into our company and platform, and achieving the strategic goals of those acquisitions.
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We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. Acquired assets, data, or companies may not be successfully integrated into our operations, costs in connection with acquisitions and integrations may be higher than expected, and we may also incur unanticipated acquisition-related costs or liabilities. These costs or liabilities could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, or prospects. Any acquisition we complete could be viewed negatively by customers, users, developers, and other employees, partners, or investors, and could have adverse effects on our existing business relationships and company culture.
In addition, to facilitate these acquisitions or investments, we may seek additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on terms favorable to us or at all, may affect our ability to complete subsequent acquisitions or investments and may affect the risks of owning our Class A common stock. For example, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities or loans, our existing stockholders may be diluted, or we could face constraints related to the terms of, and repayment obligations related to, the incurrence of indebtedness that could affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Our debt obligations contain restrictions that impact our business and expose us to risks that could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.
On January 12, 2021, we executed a credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in the form of a revolving credit facility that consists of a $45.0 million revolving credit facility and a letter of credit sub-facility with an aggregate limit equal to the lesser of $5.0 million and the aggregate unused amount of the revolving commitments then in effect. The amount of borrowings permitted at any one time under the revolving credit facility is subject to a borrowing base based on an advance rate of 400% multiplied by annualized retention applied to monthly recurring revenue. As a result, our access to the revolving credit facility is potentially subject to significant fluctuations depending on the value of the borrowing base as of any measurement date.
The credit agreement (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”) governing our revolving credit facility (collectively, our “credit facility”) contains various covenants that are operative so long as our credit facility remains outstanding. The covenants, among other things, limit our and certain of our subsidiaries’ abilities to:
•incur additional indebtedness or guarantee indebtedness of others;
•create additional liens on our assets;
•pay dividends and make other distributions on our capital stock, and redeem and repurchase our capital stock;
•make investments, including acquisitions;
•make capital expenditures;
•enter into mergers or consolidations or sell assets;
•sell our subsidiaries; or
•enter into transactions with affiliates.
Our credit facility also contains numerous affirmative covenants and a financial covenant of either minimum liquidity or a maximum leverage ratio.
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If we experience a decline in cash flow due to any of the factors described in this Item 1A. Risk Factors or otherwise, we could have difficulty paying interest due on our indebtedness and meeting the financial covenants set forth in our credit facility. If we fail to comply with the various requirements of our indebtedness, we could default under our credit facility. Any such default that is not cured or waived could result in an acceleration of indebtedness then outstanding under our credit facility, an increase in the applicable interest rates under our credit facility, and a requirement that Semrush Inc., which is a co-borrower under the facility, pay the obligations in full, and would permit the lenders to exercise remedies with respect to all of the collateral that is securing our credit facility, including substantially all of our and Semrush Inc.’s assets. Thus, any such default could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.
Forecasts of our market and market growth may prove to be inaccurate, and even if the markets in which we compete achieve the forecasted growth, there can be no assurance that our business will grow at similar rates, or at all.
Growth forecasts that we have provided and may in the future provide relating to our market opportunities and the expected growth thereof are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates which may prove to be inaccurate. Even if these markets grow at the forecasted rates, we may not grow our business at a similar rate, or at all. Our growth is subject to many factors, including our success in implementing our business strategy, which is subject to many risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, the forecasts of market growth that we have provided and may in the future provide should not be taken as indicative of our future growth.
We may be subject to litigation for any of a variety of claims, which could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
In the ordinary course of business, we may be involved in and subject to litigation for a variety of claims or disputes and receive regulatory inquiries. These claims, lawsuits, and proceedings could include labor and employment, wage and hour, income tax, commercial, data privacy, antitrust, alleged securities law violations or other investor claims, and other matters. The number and significance of these potential claims and disputes may increase as our business expands. Any claim against us, regardless of its merit, could be costly, divert management’s attention and operational resources, and harm our reputation. As litigation is inherently unpredictable, we cannot assure you that any potential claims or disputes will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.
In addition, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our contractual, intellectual property, and other rights, including collection of payments and fees. Litigation has been and may be necessary in the future to enforce such rights. Such litigation could be costly, time consuming, and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of our rights. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of such rights. Our inability to protect our rights, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition or harm our reputation.
Our failure to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations and invest in new technologies in the future could reduce our ability to compete successfully and harm our results of operations.
We may require additional financing, and we may not be able to obtain debt or equity financing on favorable terms, if at all. Any debt financing obtained by us could involve restrictive covenants relating to financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If we raise additional funds through further
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issuances of equity, convertible debt securities or other securities convertible into equity, our existing stockholders could experience significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of holders of our Class A common stock. The terms of any debt financing may include liquidity requirements, restrict our ability to pay dividends, and require us to comply with other covenants restrictions. If we need additional capital and cannot raise it on acceptable terms, or at all, we may not be able to, among other things:
•develop new features, integrations, capabilities, and enhancements;
•continue to expand our product and development, and sales and marketing teams;
•hire, train, and retain employees;
•respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements; or
•pursue acquisition opportunities.
Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards may be limited.
As of December 31, 2022, we had U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $28.6 million and $15.7 million, respectively. Our ability to utilize our federal net operating loss carryforwards may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The limitations apply if we experience an “ownership change,” which is generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in the ownership of our equity by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply to limit the use of our state net operating loss carryforwards. Future changes in our stock ownership, which may be outside of our control, may trigger an ownership change and, consequently, the limitations under Section 382 of the Code. As a result, if or when we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset such taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could adversely affect our future cash flows.
Increases in labor costs, including wages, and an overall tightening of the labor market, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The labor costs associated with our business are subject to several external factors, including unemployment levels and the quality and the size of the labor market, prevailing wage rates, minimum wage laws, wages and other forms of remuneration and benefits offered to prospective employees by competitor employers, potential collective bargaining arrangements, health insurance costs and other insurance costs and changes in employment and labor legislation or other workplace regulation. Although we are not currently exposed to minimum wage work, we are exposed to related requirements as per the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding exempt versus non-exempt employment. From time to time, the labor market becomes increasingly competitive. If we are unable to mitigate wage rate increases driven by increases to the increasingly competitive labor market through automation and other labor savings initiatives, our labor costs may increase, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
In the event we must offer increased wages or other competitive benefits and incentives to attract and retain qualified personnel and fail to do so, the quality of our workforce could decline, causing certain aspects of our business to suffer. Increases in labor costs could force us to increase our prices, which could adversely impact sales. Although we have not experienced any material labor shortage to date, we have observed an overall tightening and increasingly competitive labor market and have recently experienced and expect to continue to experience some labor cost pressures. Furthermore, as a response to the Russian military action in Ukraine and subsequent U.S., E.U., and other sanctions against Russia, we continue to relocate employees outside the country, although, as of August 10, 2022, we no longer
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have any operating subsidiaries in Russia. We expect to incur additional costs in connection with these relocations due to competitive labor markets and higher costs of talent and labor in the geographies to which we are relocating these employees. If we are unable to hire and retain capable employees, manage labor cost pressures, or if mitigating measures we take in response to increased labor costs, have unintended negative effects, including on client service or retention, our business would be adversely affected. If competitive pressures or other factors prevent us from offsetting increased labor costs, our profitability may decline and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Our business would be adversely affected if our contract workers were classified as employees.
A significant portion of our workforce consist of contractors. The classification of contractors is being challenged across many industries by courts, by legislatures, by government agencies in the United States and abroad, as well as by the contractors themselves. Though we are not currently involved in any material legal disputes regarding contractor work, a determination in, or settlement of, any legal proceeding that results in the reclassification of contractors as employees could cause harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations, including as a result of, monetary exposure arising from or relating to failure to withhold and remit taxes, unpaid wages and wage and hour laws and requirements (such as those pertaining to failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, or to provide required breaks and wage statements), expense reimbursement, litigation costs, statutory and punitive damages, penalties, or other regulatory restrictions on our business.
We could be required to collect additional sales and other similar taxes or be subject to other tax liabilities that may increase the costs our customers would have to pay for our subscriptions and adversely affect our operating results.
Sales and use, value-added, goods and services, and similar tax laws and rates are complicated and vary greatly by jurisdiction. There is significant uncertainty as to what constitutes sufficient nexus for a national, state or local jurisdiction to levy taxes, fees, and surcharges for sales made over the internet, as well as whether our subscriptions are subject to tax in various jurisdictions. Certain countries and the vast majority of states have considered or adopted laws that impose tax collection obligations on out-of-state companies. Additionally, in the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. et. al. (“Wayfair”) that online sellers can be required to collect sales and use tax despite not having a physical presence in the buyer’s state. In response to the Wayfair case, or otherwise, national, states or local governments may enforce laws requiring us to calculate, collect, and remit taxes on sales in their jurisdictions. We have not always collected sales and other similar taxes in all jurisdictions in which we are required to. We may be obligated to collect and remit sales tax in jurisdictions in which we have not previously collected and remitted sales tax. We could also be subject to audits in states and non-U.S. jurisdictions for which we have not accrued tax liabilities. A successful assertion by one or more countries or states requiring us to collect taxes where we historically have not or presently do not do so could result in substantial tax liabilities, including taxes on past sales, as well as penalties and interest. The imposition by national, state or local governments of sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state sellers could also create additional administrative burdens for us and decrease our future sales, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework that Governs Us
If the use of cookies or other tracking technologies becomes subject to unfavorable legislation or regulation, is restricted by internet users or other third parties or is blocked or limited by users or by technical changes on end users’ devices, our ability to attract new customers, convert traffic to paying customers and to develop and provide certain products could be diminished or eliminated.
We rely on cookies and other technologies, such as web beacons (collectively, “cookies”) which are placed on internet browsers to gather data regarding the content of a user’s web browsing activity. We use
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cookies to store users’ settings between sessions and to enable visitors to our website to use certain features, such as gaining access to secure areas of the website. We also use cookies, including cookies placed by third-party services with which we integrate, to enable us to gather statistics about our visitors’ use of our website and to allow our website visitors to connect our platform to their social networking sites, which enables us to advertise our products to them using retargeting methods. The availability of this data may be limited by numerous potential factors, including government legislation or regulation restricting the use of cookies for certain purposes, such as retargeting, browser limitations on the collection or use of cookies, or internet users deleting or blocking cookies on their web browsers or on our website.
Our ability, like those of other technology companies, to collect, augment, analyze, use, and share information collected through the use of third-party cookies for online behavioral advertising is governed by U.S. and foreign laws and regulations which change from time to time, such as those regulating the level of consumer notice and consent required before a company can employ cookies to collect data about interactions with users online. In the United States, both state and federal legislation govern activities such as the collection and use of data, and privacy in the advertising technology industry has frequently been subject to review, and occasional enforcement, by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), U.S. Congress, and individual states. Our use of online tracking technologies are regulated by the CCPA and other state privacy laws that require companies to offer consumers the right to opt out of certain tracking activities.
As our business is global, our activities are also subject to foreign legislation and regulation. In the EU, the EU Directive 2002/58/EC (as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC), commonly referred to as the e-Privacy Directive, and related implementing legislation in the EU member states, and in the UK, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, require that accessing or storing information on an internet user’s device, such as through a cookie, is allowed only if the internet user has been informed thereof, and provided prior unambiguous, specific, and informed consent for the placement of a cookie on a user’s device. A new e-Privacy Regulation is currently under discussion by EU member states to replace the e-Privacy Directive. Although it remains under debate, the proposed e-Privacy Regulation would amend rules on third-party cookies and significantly increase penalties for non-compliance. We cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations, and standards may have on our use of third-party cookies. Additionally, the use of third-party cookies in the digital advertising ecosystem, particularly in the context of real-time bidding advertising auctions, is subject to increased regulatory scrutiny in the EU and the UK. Several European data protection authorities (including in Belgium, Ireland, UK, Poland, Spain, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) have launched investigations or inquiries over Google’s and other AdTech companies’ practices concerning the collection and sharing of consumer data through cookies, the outcome of which is still uncertain. These investigations or inquiries could result in the imposition of more stringent standards around consent to place cookies or otherwise restrict the use of third-party cookies for online behavioral advertising. We have also received inquiries from, and engaged in correspondence with, European data protection authorities regarding our practices regarding cookies used on our websites, and the outcome of these inquiries is still uncertain.
Additionally, new and expanding “Do Not Track” regulations have recently been enacted or proposed that protect users’ right to choose whether or not to be tracked online. These regulations seek, among other things, to allow end users to have greater control over the use of private information collected online, to forbid the collection or use of online information, to demand a business to comply with their choice to opt out of such collection or use, and to place limits upon the disclosure of information to third-party websites.
Continued regulation of cookies, and changes in the interpretation and enforcement of existing laws, regulations, standards, and other obligations, as well as increased enforcement by industry groups or data protection authorities, could restrict our activities, such as efforts to understand users’ internet usage and engage in marketing activities, or require changes to our practices. Any inability to obtain information through cookies or to obtain it on the terms we anticipate, could negatively impact the operation of our platform, impair our ability to target and attract new customers, and reduce our ability to predict our
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customers’ interests in or need for one or more of our products, any of which may cause a reduction in revenue, or a reduction in revenue growth or negatively impact our ability to obtain new subscriptions and retain or grow the subscriptions of existing customers.
Additionally, cookies may easily be deleted or blocked by internet users. All of the most commonly used internet browsers (including Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari) allow internet users to prevent cookies from being accepted by their browsers. Internet users can also delete cookies from their computers at any time. Some internet users also download “ad blocking” software that prevents cookies from being stored on a user’s device. If more internet users adopt these settings or delete their cookies more frequently than they currently do, our business could be harmed. In addition, the Safari and Firefox browsers block third-party cookies by default, and other browsers may do so in the future. Unless such default settings in browsers were altered by internet users to permit the placement of third-party cookies, fewer cookies would be available, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, companies such as Google LLC have publicly disclosed their intention to move away from cookies to another form of persistent unique identifier (“ID”) to identify individual internet users or internet-connected devices in the bidding process on advertising exchanges. If companies do not use shared IDs across the entire ecosystem, this could have a negative impact on our ability to obtain content consumption data.
Changes in laws, regulations, and public perception concerning data protection and privacy, or changes in the interpretation or patterns of enforcement of existing laws and regulations, could impair our efforts to maintain and expand our customer base or the ability of our customers and users to use our platform and some or all of our products. Breaches of laws and regulations concerning data protection and privacy could expose us to significant fines and other penalties.
We hold personal data about a variety of individuals, such as our customers, users, employees, contractors, and business partners, and we use such personal data as needed to collect payment from our customers, communicate with and recommend products to our customers and prospective customers through our marketing and advertising efforts, and comply with legal obligations. Processing of personal data is increasingly subject to legislation and regulation in numerous jurisdictions around the world.
For example, relevant applicable laws and regulations governing the collection, use, disclosure, security or other processing of personal information include, in the United States, rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the CCPA and similar state privacy laws, and state breach notification laws. The CCPA, for example, broadly defines personal information and provides an expansive meaning to activity considered to be a sale of personal information, and gives California residents expanded privacy rights and protections, including the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. The CCPA also provides for civil penalties for violations and a private right of action for certain data breaches involving personal information, which is expected to increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. The California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which became effective on January 1, 2023, imposes additional obligations on companies covered by the legislation and significantly modifies the CCPA, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain sensitive personal information and establishes a state agency vested with the authority to enforce the CCPA. It is not yet fully clear how the CCPA (as amended by the CPRA) will be enforced and how it will be interpreted. Additionally, comprehensive data protection privacy laws akin to the CCPA have recently been passed in other states. For example, in March 2021, Virginia enacted the Consumer Data Protection Act (or CDPA), which became effective on January 1, 2023. In July 2021, Colorado passed the Colorado Privacy Act (or CPA), which will become effective on July 1, 2023. Additionally, in March 2022, Utah enacted the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (or UCPA), which will become effective on December 31, 2023. Also, in May 2022, Connecticut signed the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (or CTDPA) into law, which will become effective on July 1, 2023. Furthermore, a number of other U.S. states have proposed similar privacy and data protection legislation, and it is quite possible that certain of these proposals will pass. The effects of the CCPA and other similar state or federal laws are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data collection or data processing practices and policies, and to incur substantial costs and potential liability in an effort to comply with such legislation.
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We maintain offices in the EU (including Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain), and we have customers in the EU and the UK. Accordingly, we are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the “EU GDPR”), and related member state implementing legislation. As of January 1, 2021, the UK’s European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 incorporated the EU GDPR (as it existed on December 31, 2020 but subject to certain UK-specific amendments) into UK law (the “UK GDPR”). The EU GDPR and UK GDPR are collectively defined herein as “European Data Protection Law”. European Data Protection Law places obligations on controllers and processors of personal data, while establishing rights for individuals with respect to their personal data, including rights of access and deletion in certain circumstances. European Data Protection Law is also explicitly extraterritorial in its application, and could affect our business activities in jurisdictions outside the EU and the UK.
We have implemented measures designed to comply with the requirements of European Data Protection Law. In respect of these measures, we rely on positions and interpretations of the law (including European Data Protection Law) that have yet to be fully tested before the relevant courts and regulators. If a regulator or court of competent jurisdiction determined that one or more of our compliance efforts does not satisfy the applicable requirements of the law (including European Data Protection Law), or if any party brought a claim in this regard, we could be subject to governmental or regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, compliance orders, litigation or public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, any of which could cause customers to lose trust in us or otherwise damage our reputation. Likewise, a change in guidance could be costly and have an adverse effect on our business.
European Data Protection Law also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the EU/UK to third countries deemed to lack adequate privacy protections (including the United States), unless an appropriate safeguard specified by the European Data Protection Law is implemented, such as the Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) approved by the European Commission, or a derogation applies. We rely on SCCs and certain derogations to transfer personal data from the EU and the UK to the United States. On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (the “CJEU”) in its Schrems II decision ruled that transfers made pursuant to the SCCs and other alternative transfer mechanisms need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis to ensure EU standards of data protection are met in the jurisdiction where the data importer is based. If the standard is not met, businesses will be required to adopt supplementary measures. On June 4, 2021, the European Commission published new versions of the SCCs (“New SCCs”), to align with the EU GDPR and to address the issues identified by the CJEU’s Schrems II decision. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has published its own form of standard contractual clauses, referred to as the “International Data Transfer Agreement” for the purposes of data transfers out of the UK. We and many other companies may need to implement different or additional measures to establish or maintain legitimate means for the transfer of personal data from Europe and the UK to the United States and other third countries, and we may, in addition to other impacts, experience additional costs associated with increased compliance burdens. European or multi-national customers may refuse or be reluctant to use or continue to use our platform or products as a result of such developments until law makers and regulators in the EU and the United States have resolved the issues that instigated the decision of the CJEU noted above. This and other future developments regarding the flow of data across borders could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our platform and products in some markets and may lead to governmental enforcement actions, litigation, fines, and penalties or adverse publicity, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business. In addition, the UK has announced plans to reform the country’s data protection legal framework in its Data Reform Bill, which will introduce significant changes from the EU GDPR. This may lead to additional compliance costs and could increase our overall risk exposure as we may no longer be able to take a unified approach across the EU and the UK, and will need to amend our processes and procedures to align with the new framework.
We may find it necessary or advantageous to join industry bodies, or self-regulatory organizations, that impose stricter compliance requirements than those set out in applicable laws, including European Data Protection Law. We may also be bound by contractual restrictions that prevent us from participating
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in data processing activities that would otherwise be permissible under applicable laws, including European Data Protection Law. Such strategic choices may impact our ability to exploit data and may have an adverse impact on our business.
As we previously maintained offices in Russia, we face particular privacy, data security, and data protection risks in connection with requirements of Russia’s data protection and security laws, including Federal Law of 21 July 2014 No. 242-FZ, which entered into effect September 1, 2015, Federal Law of 27 July 2006 No. 152-FZ (as amended) and Federal Law of 27 July 2006 No. 149-FZ (as amended). Among other stringent requirements, these laws require ensuring that certain operations on personal data of Russian citizens are conducted in database(s) located in Russia.
We expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws, regulations, and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection, and information security in the United States, the EU, the UK, and other jurisdictions, and we cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations, and standards may have on our business.
These and other legal requirements could require us to make additional changes to our platform or products in order for us or our customers to comply with such legal requirements or reduce our ability to lawfully collect personal data used in our platform and products. These changes could reduce demand for our platform or products, require us to take on more onerous obligations in our contracts, restrict our ability to store, transfer, and process personal data or, in some cases, impact our ability or our customers’ ability to offer our products in certain locations, to deploy our solutions, to reach current and prospective customers, or to derive insights from data globally.
The costs of complying with existing or new data privacy or data protection laws and regulations, regulatory guidance, our privacy policies and contractual obligations to customers, users, or other third parties, may limit the use and adoption of our platform and products, reduce overall demand for our products, make it more difficult for us to meet expectations from or commitments to customers and users, lead to significant fines, penalties, or liabilities for noncompliance, impact our reputation, or slow the pace at which we close sales transactions, any of which could harm our business.
Furthermore, the uncertain and shifting regulatory environment and trust climate may cause concerns regarding data privacy and may cause our vendors, customers and users to resist providing the data necessary to allow us to offer our platform and products to our customers and users effectively, or could prompt individuals to opt out of our collection of their personal data. Even the perception that the privacy of personal data is not satisfactorily protected or does not meet regulatory requirements could discourage prospective customers from subscribing to our products or discourage current customers from renewing their subscriptions.
Compliance with any of the foregoing laws and regulations can be costly and can delay or impede the development of new products. We may incur substantial fines if we violate any laws or regulations relating to the collection or use of personal data. For example, the European Data Protection Law imposes sanctions for violations up to the greater of €20 million (£17.5 million) and 4% of worldwide gross annual revenue, enables individuals to claim damages resulting from infringement of the European Data Protection Law and introduces the right for non-profit organizations to bring claims on behalf of data subjects. The CCPA allows for fines of up to $7,500 for each violation. Non-compliance with Russian data localization rules may result in imposition of an administrative fine of up to RUB 18 million, or approximately $240,000, for each violation. Our actual or alleged failure to comply with applicable privacy or data security laws, regulations, and policies, or to protect personal data, could result in enforcement actions and significant penalties against us, which could result in negative publicity or costs, subject us to claims or other remedies, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Many aspects of data protection and privacy laws are relatively new and their scope has not been tested in the courts. As a result, these laws and regulations are subject to differing interpretations and may be inconsistent among jurisdictions. It is possible that these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our interpretations and existing data management practices or the features of our products. Certain of our activities could be found by a court, government or regulatory authority to be noncompliant or become noncompliant in the future with one or more data protection or data privacy laws, even if we have implemented and maintained a strategy that we believe to be compliant. Further, we may be subject to additional risks associated with data security breaches or other incidents, in particular because certain data privacy laws, including European Data Protection Law and the CCPA, grant individuals a private right of action arising from certain data security incidents. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits, and other claims and penalties, we could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our products, which could harm our business.
We also receive personal data from third-party vendors (e.g., data brokers). We may not be able to verify with complete certainty the source of such data, how it was collected, and that such data was collected and is being shared with us in compliance with all applicable data protection and privacy laws. Our use of personal data obtained from third-party vendors could result in potential regulatory investigations, fines, penalties, compliance orders, liability, litigation, and remediation costs, as well as reputational harm, any of which could materially adversely affect our business and financial results. The requirements of European Data Protection Law pertaining to the licensing of data or obtaining such data from third parties are not entirely clear in all cases. It is possible that third parties may bring claims against us, alleging non-compliance with such requirements, and seeking damages, seeking to prevent us from using certain data, or seeking to prevent us from using data in particular ways. Such claims could potentially adversely affect our ability to provide our services and the current level of functionality of our platform in such circumstances, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
Changes in legislation or requirements related to automatically renewing subscription plans, or our failure to comply with existing or future regulations, may adversely impact our business.
Our business relies heavily on the fact that customers enter subscription contracts where they agree that the subscription will automatically renew for a new term, and their credit or debit cards will automatically be charged on an ongoing basis, unless the subscription is canceled by the customer. Some states have passed or considered legislation limiting the duration for which subscriptions can automatically renew, if at all.
Although this enacted and proposed legislation generally would not affect companies that sell subscriptions to other companies, like ours does, there could be variances and inconsistencies in these rules or requirements among jurisdictions that expose us to compliance risks that would have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial condition, and could result in fines, penalties, damages, civil liability, and higher transaction fees. In addition, any costs that result from future legislation and regulations, or from changes in the interpretation of existing legislation and regulations, could individually or in the aggregate cause us to change or limit our business practices, which may make our subscription business model less attractive.
Changes in laws and regulations related to the internet or changes in the internet infrastructure itself may diminish the demand for our platform and could harm our business.
The future success of our business depends upon the continued use of the internet as a primary medium for commerce, communication, and business applications. Federal, state, or foreign governmental bodies or agencies have in the past adopted, and may in the future adopt, laws or regulations affecting the use of the internet as a commercial medium. The adoption of any laws or regulations that could reduce the growth or use of the internet, including laws or practices limiting internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for, or the usage of, our platform and products, increase our cost of doing business, require us to
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modify our platform or financial systems, and may harm our results of operations. In addition, government agencies or private organizations have imposed and may impose additional taxes, fees, or other charges for accessing the internet or commerce conducted via the internet, which could limit the growth of internet-related commerce or communications generally, result in higher prices for our products and platform, or result in reduced demand for internet-based products such as ours.
As the internet continues to experience growth in the number of users, frequency of use, and amount of data transmitted, the internet infrastructure that we and our customers rely on may be unable to support the demands placed upon it. In addition, there could be adverse effects from delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased demands of internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease-of-use, accessibility, and quality of service. Further, our platform depends on the quality of our customers’ access to the internet. The failure of the internet infrastructure that we or our customers rely on, even for a short period of time, could undermine our operations and harm our results of operations.
Internet access is frequently provided by companies that have significant market power that could take actions that degrade, disrupt, or increase the cost of customer access to our platform, any of which would negatively impact our business. On June 11, 2018, the repeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s (the “FCC”), “net neutrality” rules took effect and returned to a “light-touch” regulatory framework. The prior rules were designed to ensure that all online content is treated the same by internet service providers and other companies that provide broadband services. Additionally, on September 30, 2018, California enacted the California Internet Consumer Protection and Net Neutrality Act of 2018, making California the fourth state to enact a state-level net neutrality law since the FCC repealed its nationwide regulations, mandating that all broadband services in California must be provided in accordance with state net neutrality requirements. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued to block the law going into effect, and California has agreed to delay enforcement until the resolution of the FCC’s repeal of the federal rules. A number of other states are considering legislation or executive actions that would regulate the conduct of broadband providers. We cannot predict whether the FCC order or state initiatives will be modified, overturned, or vacated by legal action of the court, federal legislation or the FCC. With the repeal of net neutrality rules, network operators may choose to implement usage-based pricing, discount pricing charged to providers of competitive products, otherwise materially change their pricing rates or schemes, charge us to deliver our traffic or throttle its delivery, implement bandwidth caps or other usage restrictions or otherwise try to monetize or control access to their networks, any of which could increase our costs, or those of our customers in accessing our platform, and negatively impact our business and results of operations.
Federal, state, and foreign laws regulate internet tracking software, the sending of commercial emails and text messages, and other activities, which could impact the use of our platform and products, and potentially subject us to regulatory enforcement or private litigation.
We are subject to laws and regulations that govern sending marketing and advertising by electronic means, such as email and telephone. For example, in the United States, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (the “CAN-SPAM Act”), among other things, obligates the sender of commercial emails to provide recipients with the ability to opt out of receiving future commercial emails from the sender. In addition, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”) imposes certain notice, consent, and opt-out obligations on companies that send telephone or text communications using automatic telephone dialing systems, or artificial or prerecorded voice to consumers, and provides consumers with private rights of action for violations. The FCC and the FTC have responsibility for regulating various aspects of these laws. Among other requirements, the TCPA requires us to obtain prior express written consent for certain telemarketing calls. Many states have similar consumer protection laws regulating telemarketing. These laws limit our ability to communicate with consumers and reduce the effectiveness of our marketing programs. The TCPA does not currently distinguish between voice and data, and, as such, SMS/MMS messages are also “calls” for the purpose of TCPA obligations and restrictions. For violations of the TCPA, the law provides for a private right of action
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under which a plaintiff may recover monetary damages of $500 for each call or text made in violation of the prohibitions on calls made using an “artificial or pre-recorded voice” or an automatic telephone dialing system. Various state law equivalents of the TCPA may also provide for monetary damages in amounts greater than those provided for under the TCPA. A court may also treble the amount of damages upon a finding of a “willful or knowing” violation. There is no statutory cap on maximum aggregate exposure. An action may be brought by the FCC, a state attorney general, an individual, or a class of individuals. If in the future we are found to have violated the TCPA, or a state law equivalent, the amount of damages and potential liability could be extensive and adversely impact our business. Accordingly, were such a class certified or if we are unable to successfully defend such a suit, then TCPA or other state law damages could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Further, certain states and foreign jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada, and the EU, have enacted laws that prohibit sending unsolicited marketing emails unless the recipient has provided its prior consent to receipt of such email, or in other words has “opted-in” to receiving it. A requirement that recipients opt into, or the ability of recipients to opt out of, receiving commercial emails may minimize the effectiveness of our marketing, which could adversely affect our ability to attract new customers or entice existing customers to upgrade their subscriptions.
We are required to comply with U.S. economic sanctions, export control and anti-corruption laws, and regulations that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or expose us to liability if we were to violate such laws and regulations.
We are required to comply with U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws and regulations that prohibit the provision of certain products and services to certain targeted countries, governments, and persons. We have adopted a company-wide Trade Compliance Policy and implemented certain precautions to prevent our platform and products from being exported or accessed in violation of U.S. export controls or U.S. sanctions laws and regulations. However, we cannot be certain that each of our employees will fully comply with the Trade Compliance Policy, nor can we be certain that the precautions we take will prevent all violations of these laws.
We have previously identified, and may continue to identify, customer accounts for our platform and products that may originate from, or are intended to benefit, persons in countries that are subject to U.S. embargoes, including transactions or events in or relating to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea region of Ukraine and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic regions of Ukraine. In the second quarter of 2021, we submitted a voluntary self-disclosure and a final report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) regarding potential violations of OFAC regulations that may have involved the provision of services to customers in sanctioned countries. OFAC has decided not to pursue any enforcement action against us and the matter has been closed.
During the second quarter of 2022, we began a large-scale relocation effort of our Russia-based workforce to other jurisdictions. On August 3, 2022, we completed the sale of our two Russian subsidiaries, Semrush RU Ltd. and Semrush SM Ltd., in connection with the winding down of our operations in Russia. Our exit from Russia was substantially completed by December 31, 2022. See Note 7 “Exit Costs” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further detail on our wind down of our Russian operations. We believe the wind down of our operations in Russia has been and continues to be in compliance with new and evolving sanctions and export control laws, including Executive Order 14071, prohibiting, in part, new investment in Russia.
It is possible that, as part of our compliance efforts, it may be difficult for us to maintain or access software used in our operations as we continue to wind down our operations in Russia. Furthermore, our efforts to comply with U.S. sanctions requirements may cause us to be in conflict with or violate new sanctions imposed by the Russian government in response to sanctions activities by other countries. Any such violations may adversely affect our operations or financial condition.
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If we are found to be in violation of U.S. sanctions or export control laws, we may be fined or other penalties could be imposed. Furthermore, the laws and regulations concerning export control and economic sanctions are complex and constantly changing. Changes in export control or economic sanctions laws and enforcement could also result in increased compliance requirements and related costs, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and/or cash flows.
We are also subject to various U.S. and international anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, as well as other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations. These laws and regulations generally prohibit companies and their employees and intermediaries from authorizing, offering, or providing improper payments or benefits to government officials and other recipients for improper purposes. Our exposure for violating these laws may increase as we continue to expand our international presence, and any failure to comply with such laws could harm our business.
Our internal controls over financial reporting currently do not meet all of the standards contemplated by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“SOX”), and failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of SOX could impair our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations and have a material adverse effect on our business. In the future, our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.
As a public company, we are subject to certain reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and have significant requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments, and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations as a public company. If we are unable to maintain appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements, and harm our operating results. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
In addition, we are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“SOX”), to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing, and possible remediation. Testing and maintaining internal controls may divert management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business. As an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until our annual report for any fiscal year following such date that we are no longer an emerging growth company. If we are not able to complete our initial assessment of our internal controls and otherwise implement the requirements of Section 404 of SOX in a timely
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manner or with adequate compliance, our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to the adequacy of our internal controls over financial reporting. Additionally, when required, an independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules, which may result in a breach of the covenants under existing or future financing arrangements. There also could be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our consolidated financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our consolidated financial statements also could suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm report a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us and lead to a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock.
In connection with the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, we identified further material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to deficiencies in our controls over the financial statement close process and the cash disbursement process. Specifically, we identified deficiencies in the design and operation of internal controls over the period-end recognition and cutoff for certain expenses.
We have implemented, and are continuing to implement, measures designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate these material weaknesses. These measures include formalizing our processes and internal control documentation, strengthening supervisory reviews by our financial management, hiring additional qualified accounting and finance personnel, and engaging financial consultants to enable the implementation of internal control over financial reporting. Additionally, we are implementing certain accounting systems to upgrade our existing systems and to automate certain manual processes.
We expect to incur additional costs to remediate the control deficiencies identified, though there can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful or avoid potential future material weaknesses. If we are unable to successfully remediate our existing or any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we identify any additional material weaknesses, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting, and our stock price may decline as a result. We also could become subject to investigations by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Our internal resources and personnel may in the future be insufficient to avoid accounting errors and there can be no assurance that we will not have additional material weaknesses in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered implementing required new or improved controls could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our consolidated financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls, procedures, and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the NYSE.
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Unanticipated changes in our effective tax rate and additional tax liabilities may impact our financial results.
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various jurisdictions outside of the United States. Our income tax obligations are generally determined based on our business operations in these jurisdictions. Significant judgment is often required in the determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes. Our effective tax rate could be impacted by changes in the earnings and losses in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in non-deductible expenses, changes in excess tax benefits of stock-based compensation, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and our ability to utilize them, the applicability of withholding taxes, effects from acquisitions, changes in accounting principles and tax laws in jurisdictions where we operate. Any changes, ambiguity, or uncertainty in taxing jurisdictions’ administrative interpretations, decisions, policies, and positions could also materially impact our income tax liabilities.
As our business continues to grow and if we become more profitable, we anticipate that our income tax obligations could significantly increase. If our existing tax credits and net operating loss carry-forwards become fully utilized, we may be unable to offset or otherwise mitigate our tax obligations to the same extent as in prior years. This could have a material impact to our future cash flows or operating results.
In addition, recent global tax developments applicable to multinational companies, including certain approaches of addressing taxation of digital economy recently proposed or enacted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Commission or certain major jurisdictions where we operate or might in the future operate, might have a material impact to our business and future cash flow from operating activities, or future financial results. We are also subject to tax examinations in multiple jurisdictions. While we regularly evaluate new information that may change our judgment resulting in recognition, derecognition, or changes in measurement of a tax position taken, there can be no assurance that the final determination of any examinations will not have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial position. In addition, our operations may change, which may impact our tax liabilities. As our brand becomes increasingly recognizable both domestically and internationally, our tax planning structure and corresponding profile may be subject to increased scrutiny, and if we are perceived negatively, we may experience brand or reputational harm.
We may also be subject to additional tax liabilities and penalties due to changes in non-income based taxes resulting from changes in federal, state, or international tax laws, changes in taxing jurisdictions’ administrative interpretations, decisions, policies and positions, results of tax examinations, settlements or judicial decisions, changes in accounting principles, and changes to the business operations, including acquisitions, as well as the evaluation of new information that results in a change to a tax position taken in a prior period. Any resulting increase in our tax obligation or cash taxes paid could adversely affect our cash flows and financial results.
Our international operations may subject us to greater than anticipated tax liabilities.
We are expanding our international operations to better support our growth into international markets. We are also hiring workers in several jurisdictions outside our local offices. Our corporate structure and associated transfer pricing policies contemplate future growth in international markets, and consider the functions, risks, and assets of the various entities involved in intercompany transactions. The amount of taxes we pay in different jurisdictions may depend on the application of the tax laws of various jurisdictions, including the United States, to our international business activities, changes in tax rates, new or revised tax laws or interpretations of existing tax laws and policies, and our ability to operate our business in a manner consistent with our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements. The taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for pricing intercompany transactions pursuant to our intercompany arrangements or disagree with our determinations as to the income and expenses attributable to specific jurisdictions. If such a challenge or disagreement were to occur, and our position was not sustained, we could be required to pay additional
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taxes, interest, and penalties, which could result in one-time tax charges, higher effective tax rates, reduced cash flows, and lower overall profitability of our operations and we may be required to revise our intercompany agreements. Our consolidated financial statements could fail to reflect adequate reserves to cover such a contingency.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
We may not be able to adequately protect our proprietary and intellectual property rights in our data or technology.
Our success is dependent, in part, upon protecting our proprietary information and technology. Our intellectual property portfolio primarily consists of registered and unregistered trademarks, unregistered copyrights, domain names, know-how, and trade secrets. We may be unsuccessful in adequately protecting our intellectual property. No assurance can be given that confidentiality, non-disclosure, or invention or copyright assignment agreements with employees, consultants, partners or other parties have been entered into, will not be breached, or will otherwise be effective in establishing our rights in intellectual property and in controlling access to and distribution of our platform, or certain aspects of our platform, and proprietary information. Further, these agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our platform. Additionally, certain unauthorized use of our intellectual property may go undetected, or we may face legal or practical barriers to enforcing our legal rights even where unauthorized use is detected.
Current laws may not provide for adequate protection of our platform or data, especially in foreign jurisdictions which may have laws that provide insufficient protections to companies. In addition, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of proprietary rights in internet-related businesses are uncertain and evolving, and changes in these standards may adversely impact the viability or value of our proprietary rights. Some license provisions protecting against unauthorized use, copying, transfer, and disclosure of our products, or certain aspects of our platform, or our data may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions. Further, the laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and the laws and mechanisms for protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries may be inadequate. As we continue to operate in foreign countries and expand our international activities, we have encountered and may in the future encounter challenges in navigating the laws of foreign countries, which may adversely affect our ability to protect our proprietary rights and subject us to claims from current or former personnel and other third parties. Moreover, our exposure to unauthorized copying of certain aspects of our platform, or our data may increase. Further, competitors, foreign governments, foreign government-backed actors, criminals, or other third parties may gain unauthorized access to our proprietary information and technology. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our technology and intellectual property or claiming that we infringe upon or misappropriate their technology and intellectual property.
To protect our intellectual property rights, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor, protect, and defend these rights, and we may or may not be able to detect infringement by our customers or third parties. Litigation has been and may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Such litigation could be costly, time consuming, and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could delay further sales or the implementation of our platform, impair the functionality of our platform, delay introductions of new features, integrations, and capabilities, result in our substituting inferior or more costly technologies into our platform, or injure our reputation. In addition, we may be required to license additional technology from third parties to develop and market new features, integrations, and capabilities, and we cannot be certain
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that we could license that technology on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and our inability to license this technology could harm our ability to compete.
If third parties claim that we infringe upon or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights, our business could be adversely affected.
We have in the past and may in the future be subject to claims that we have infringed or otherwise violated third parties’ intellectual property rights. There is patent, copyright, and other intellectual property development and enforcement activity in our industry and relating to the technology we use in our business. Our future success depends in part on not infringing upon or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others. From time to time, our competitors or other third parties (including non-practicing entities and patent holding companies) may claim that we are infringing upon or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to be infringing upon or otherwise violating such rights. In addition, we do not own any issued, nor do we have any pending patents, which limits our ability to deter patent infringement claims by competitors and other third parties who hold patents. We may be unaware of the intellectual property rights of others that may cover some or all of our current or future technology or conflict with our rights, and the patent, copyright, and other intellectual property rights of others may limit our ability to improve our technology and compete effectively. Any claims of intellectual property infringement or other intellectual property violations, even those without merit, could:
•be expensive and time consuming to defend;
•cause us to cease making, licensing or using our platform or products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property;
•require us to modify, redesign, reengineer or rebrand our platform or products, if feasible;
•divert management’s attention and resources; or
•require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements to obtain the right to use a third-party’s intellectual property.
Any royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. A successful claim of infringement against us could result in our being required to pay significant damages, enter into costly settlement agreements, or prevent us from offering our platform or products, any of which could have a negative impact on our operating profits and harm our future prospects. We may also be obligated to indemnify our customers or business partners in connection with any such litigation and to obtain licenses, modify our platform or products, or refund premium subscription fees, which could further exhaust our resources. Such disputes could also disrupt our platform or products, adversely affecting our customer satisfaction and ability to attract customers.
Our use of “open source” software could negatively affect our ability to offer and sell access to our platform and products, and subject us to possible litigation.
We use open source software in our platform and products, and expect to continue to use open source software in the future. There are uncertainties regarding the proper interpretation of and compliance with open source licenses, and there is a risk that such licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to use such open source software, and consequently to provide or distribute our platform and products. Although use of open source software has historically been free, recently several open source providers have begun to charge license fees for use of their software. If our current open source providers were to begin to charge for these licenses or increase their license fees significantly, we would have to choose between paying such license fees or incurring the expense to replace the open source software with other software or with our
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own software, which would increase our research and development costs, and have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally, we may from time to time face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or seeking to enforce the terms of, an open source license, including by demanding release of source code for the open source software, derivative works or our proprietary source code that was developed using or that is distributed with such open source software. These claims could also result in litigation and could require us to make our proprietary software source code freely available, require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our platform or incur additional costs and expenses, any of which could result in reputational harm and would have a negative effect on our business and operating results. In addition, if the license terms for the open source software we utilize change, we may be forced to reengineer our platform or incur additional costs to comply with the changed license terms or to replace the affected open source software. Further, use of certain open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of software or indemnification for third-party infringement claims. Although we have implemented policies to regulate the use and incorporation of open source software into our platform and products, we cannot be certain that we have not incorporated open source software in our platform and products in a manner that is inconsistent with such policies.
Indemnity provisions in various agreements potentially expose us to substantial liability for intellectual property infringement and other losses.
Our agreements with resellers and other third parties may include indemnification or other provisions under which we agree to indemnify or otherwise be liable to them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of intellectual property infringement, damages caused by us to property or persons, or other liabilities relating to or arising from our platform, products or other acts or omissions. For some of our larger customers, we sometimes negotiate similar indemnification provisions or indemnification for breaches of our obligations, representations or warranties in the subscription agreement, gross negligence or willful misconduct, breaches of confidentiality, losses related to security incidents, breach of the data processing addendum or violations of applicable law. In some instances, the term of these contractual provisions survives the termination or expiration of the applicable agreement. Large indemnity payments or damage claims from contractual breach could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.
From time to time, third parties may assert infringement claims against our customers or resellers. These claims may require us to initiate or defend protracted and costly litigation on behalf of customers and resellers, regardless of the merits of these claims. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay damages on behalf of our customers and resellers or may be required to obtain licenses for the platform or products they use or resell or modify our platform or products. We may not be able to obtain all necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, or to make such modifications to avoid a claim, in which case our customers and resellers may be required to stop using or reselling our platform or products. Further, customers may require us to indemnify or otherwise be liable to them for breach of confidentiality or failure to implement adequate security measures with respect to their data stored, transmitted, or processed by our employees or platform. Although we normally contractually limit our liability with respect to such obligations, we may still incur substantial liability related to them. Any dispute with a customer with respect to such obligations could have adverse effects on our relationship with that customer and other current and prospective customers, reduce demand for our platform or products, and harm our revenue, business, and operating results.
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Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock
We are subject to costs, regulations and requirements as a result of being a public company, which could impair our profitability, make it more difficult to run our business, or divert management’s attention from our business.
As a public company, and particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company, we are required to commit significant resources, management time, and attention to the requirements of being a public company, which causes us to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements, and recruiting and retaining independent directors. We also have incurred and will continue to incur costs associated with SOX and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related rules implemented by the SEC and the NYSE, and compliance with these requirements will place significant demands on our legal, accounting, and finance staff and on our accounting, financial, and information systems. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. These rules and regulations may increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, and we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. In addition, we might not be successful in implementing these requirements. These laws and regulations also could make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors (the “Board”) or Board committees or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to continue to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Class A common stock, fines, sanctions, and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.
An active public market for our Class A common stock may not be sustained and could be highly volatile, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above your original purchase price, if at all. You may lose all or part of your investment.
We have a limited trading history. Since shares of our Class A common stock were sold in our initial public offering on March 24, 2021 at a price of $14.00 per share, our stock price has ranged from $7.16 to $32.48 through December 31, 2022. If you purchase shares of our Class A common stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the price you paid. The market prices of the securities of other newly public companies have historically been highly volatile. The market price of our Class A common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations;
•variance in our results of operations from the expectations of market analysts;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant business developments, changes in service provider relationships, acquisitions or expansion plans;
•changes in the prices of our products;
•our involvement in litigation;
•our sale of Class A common stock or other securities in the future;
•market conditions in our industry;
•changes in key personnel;
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•the trading volume of our Class A common stock;
•changes in the estimation of the future size and growth rate of our markets; and
•general economic and market conditions.
In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our Class A common stock, regardless of our results of operation. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against that company. If we were involved in any similar litigation we could incur substantial costs, and our management’s attention and resources could be diverted.
If you purchase shares of our Class A common stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the price you originally paid. An active or liquid market in our Class A common stock may not be sustainable, which could adversely affect your ability to sell your shares and could depress the market price of our Class A common stock.
The issuance of additional stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our stock incentive plans or otherwise will dilute all other stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 1,000,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such rights and preferences as may be determined by our Board. Subject to compliance with applicable rules and regulations, we may issue our shares of Class A common stock or securities convertible into our Class A common stock from time to time in connection with a financing, acquisition, investment, our stock incentive plans or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and cause the trading price of our Class A common stock to decline.
If we do not meet the expectations of equity research analysts, if they do not publish research or reports about our business or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our Class A common stock, the price of our Class A common stock could decline.
The trading market for our Class A common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. The analysts’ estimates are based upon their own opinions and are often different from our estimates or expectations. If our results of operations are below the estimates or expectations of public market analysts and investors, our stock price could decline. Moreover, the price of our Class A common stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our Class A common stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business.
We cannot predict the impact our dual structure may have on the market price of our Class A common stock.
We cannot determine whether our dual class structure, combined with the concentrated control of our stockholders who held our capital stock prior to the completion of our IPO, including our executive officers, employees, and directors and their affiliates, has resulted in or will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple class share structures in certain of their indices. In July 2017, FTSE Russell and Standard & Poor’s announced that they would cease to allow most newly public companies utilizing dual or multi-class capital structures to be included in their indices. Under the announced policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in any of these indices. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indexes, exclusion from stock indexes would likely preclude investment
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by many of these funds and could make our Class A common stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with those stockholders who held our capital stock prior to the completion of our IPO, including our directors, executive officers, and their affiliates, who as of March 3, 2023 held in the aggregate 89% of the voting power of our capital stock, which will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters.
Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share, and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. As of March 3, 2023, our directors, executive officers, and their affiliates, held in the aggregate 89% of the voting power of our capital stock. Because of the ten-to-one voting ratio between our Class B common stock and Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock collectively will continue to control a majority of the combined voting power of our common stock and therefore will be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval until the earlier of (a) March 24, 2028 (b) such time as the outstanding shares of Class B common stock represent less than ten percent of the aggregate number of shares of our outstanding common stock and (c) the date the holders of two-thirds of our Class B common stock elect to convert the Class B common stock to Class A common stock. This concentrated control may limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval. In addition, this may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our capital stock that you may feel are in your best interest as one of our stockholders.
Future transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning purposes. The conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term.
We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, our credit facility places restrictions on our ability to pay cash dividends. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their Class A common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our Class A common stock.
General Risk Factors
We are an emerging growth company and we cannot be certain that the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will not make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date we (i) are no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
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For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we also intend to take advantage of certain other exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies including, but not limited to, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements, and registration statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the year in which we have total annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion or more, (ii) December 31, 2026, (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years, or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC.
Provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current Board, and limit the market price of our Class A common stock.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated bylaws, include provisions that:
•provide that the authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and our preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval;
•provide that our Board is classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms;
•permit the Board to establish the number of directors and fill any vacancies and newly created directorships;
•require super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated bylaws;
•authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our Board could use to implement a stockholder rights plan;
•provide that only the Chairperson of our Board, our Chief Executive Officer, or a majority of our Board will be authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders;
•provide for a dual class common stock structure in which holders of our Class B common stock have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if they own significantly less than a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B common stock, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets;
•prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
•provide that the Board is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and
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•advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at annual stockholder meetings.
Moreover, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our company. Section 203 imposes certain restrictions on mergers, business combinations, and other transactions between us and holders of 15% or more of our common stock.
Our second amended and restated bylaws designate certain courts as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our second amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any state law claim for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of or based on a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, or employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our second amended and restated bylaws (including the interpretation, validity or enforceability thereof) or (iv) any action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each case subject to the Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein, (the “Delaware Forum Provision”). The Delaware Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Our second amended and restated bylaws further provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (the “Federal Forum Provision”). In addition, our second amended and restated bylaws provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our common stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions; provided, however, that stockholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
The Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision in our second amended and restated bylaws may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the forum selection clauses in our second amended and restated bylaws may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. In addition, while the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in March 2020 that federal forum selection provisions purporting to require claims under the Securities Act be brought in federal court were “facially valid” under Delaware law, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts will enforce our Federal Forum Provision. If the Federal Forum Provision is found to be unenforceable, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters. The Federal Forum Provision may also impose additional litigation costs on stockholders who assert that the provision is not enforceable or invalid. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
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Our headquarters are located at 800 Boylston Street, Suite 2475, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 02199, where we lease 16,467 square feet of office space. The lease expires in 2027. We use this facility for administration, sales and marketing, technology and development and professional services. We had previously leased a facility containing 122,031 square feet of office space in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was terminated as of August 2022. Additionally, we lease 39,877 square feet of office space in Prague, Czech Republic, 19,763 square feet of office space in Barcelona, Spain, 13,605 square feet of office space in Limassol, Cyprus, 10,450 square feet of office space in Trevose, Pennsylvania, 4,097 square feet of office space in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 4,365 square feet of office space in Dallas, Texas. The leases expire at various dates between 2023 and 2027, respectively. We rent serviced office spaces with 25 or more desks in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Belgrade, Serbia; Berlin, Germany; and Yerevan, Armenia. The service office contracts have expirations during 2023, with the exception of Yerevan, which expires in 2024. We believe that these facilities are generally suitable to meet our current needs.
We operate two data centers in Ashburn, Virginia and one in Atlanta, Georgia. We also operate two locations in Google Cloud, one in Virginia and one in South Carolina. Our data center leases expire between fiscal years 2024 and 2025. We have excess capacity built into our primary data center leases to accommodate infrastructure growth within the lease periods should we need to add more space or power to our existing footprint. See Note 3 “Leases” to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on our data centers.
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Item 3. Legal Proceedings
From time to time we may become in involved in legal proceedings or be subject to claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. Although the results of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we currently believe that the ultimate costs to resolve any pending matter will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, or cash flows. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
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Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our Class A common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SEMR” since March 2021. Prior to that date, there was no public market for our Class A common stock.
Our Class B common stock is neither listed nor traded.
Stockholders
As of March 10, 2023, we had 15 holders of record of our Class A common stock and 5 holders of record of our Class B common stock. The actual number of Class A beneficial stockholders is greater than the number of holders of record because a large portion of our Class A common stock is held in street name by brokers and other nominees.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do not expect to pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our credit facility places restrictions on our ability to pay cash dividends.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
On March 29, 2021, we closed the IPO, in which we issued 10,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, and on April 23, 2021 we closed the partial exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock, in which we issued an additional 719,266 shares of Class A common stock, at a price to the public of $14.00 for aggregate net proceeds of $135.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and expenses payable by us.
The offer and sale of all of the shares in the IPO were registered under the Securities Act pursuant to the prospectus filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021 in connection with the IPO (the “Prospectus”). No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our common stock or to their associates, or to our affiliates, other than payments in the ordinary course of business to officers for salaries and to non-employee directors pursuant to our director compensation policy.
There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the IPO as described in the Prospectus. We invested the funds received in accordance with our Board approved investment policy, which provides for investments in obligations of the U.S. and foreign governments, money market instruments, registered money market funds, corporate and municipal bonds.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
None.
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Item 6. [Reserved]
Not applicable.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information with respect to our planned investments in our research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative functions, contains forward-looking statements based upon current plans, beliefs, and expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and Item 1A. Risk Factors included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K discusses 2022 and 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021. Discussions of 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020 can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 18, 2022. The period-to-period comparison of financial results is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Company Overview
We are a leading online visibility management SaaS platform, enabling companies globally to identify and reach the right audience in the right context and through the right channels. Online visibility represents how effectively companies connect with consumers across a variety of digital channels, including search, social and digital media, digital public relations, and review websites. Our proprietary SaaS platform enables us to aggregate and enrich trillions of data points collected from hundreds of millions of unique domains, social media platforms, online ads, and web traffic. This allows our customers to understand trends, derive unique and actionable insights to improve their websites and social media pages, and distribute highly relevant content to their targeted customers across channels to drive high quality traffic.
On March 29, 2021, we completed our IPO in which we issued and sold 10,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock at a public offering price of $14.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $140.0 million. We received approximately $126.6 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses. On April 20, 2021, the underwriters of our IPO partially exercised their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock. In connection with the closing of the partial exercise on April 23, 2021, the underwriters purchased 719,266 shares of our Class A common stock for net proceeds to us of $9.2 million. In connection with the closing of the IPO, all of the outstanding shares of our preferred stock and common stock automatically converted into 124,902,093 shares of Class B common stock.
On November 23, 2021, we closed our follow-on offering (the “Follow-On Offering”) in which we sold 4,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock at a price to the public of $20.50 per share. We received $77.9 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses. Selling stockholders sold an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of Class A common stock in the Follow-On Offering.
Since our founding in 2008, we have achieved a number of significant milestones, including:
•2010: Surpassed 1,000 customers;
•2012: Started expansion into SEO software, launched Position Tracking, and opened our first U.S. office near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
•2014: Continued expansion of SEO capabilities with Site Audit tool;
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•2015: Surpassed 10,000 customers and launched Social Media tools;
•2016: Launched Content Marketing and Digital PR tools;
•2017: Completed our first round of financing led by entities affiliated with Siguler Guff & Company and introduced collaboration features, including the ability to add users and share projects and received U.S. and UK search awards for the “Best SEO Software Suite”;
•2018: Completed another round of financing led by Greycroft and e.ventures, relocated headquarters to Boston, Massachusetts, and opened an office in Dallas, Texas, surpassed $70 million in ARR, and launched our first add-on offering, Local Listings;
•2019: Surpassed 50,000 customers and $100 million in ARR, and launched our second add-on offering, our competitive intelligence tool;
•2020: Acquired Prowly, received multiple awards, including “Best SEO Software Suite” and “Best Search Software Tool” according to the European Search Awards, and our headcount grew to more than 900 employees globally;
•2021: Completed our IPO and the Follow-On Offering and surpassed $200 million in ARR; and
•2022: Acquired Backlinko and Kompyte, continued expansion of our App Center to 37 apps including 17 third-party apps, increased the number of customers that pay more than $10,000 annually by more than 50% year over year.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from monthly and annual subscriptions to our online visibility management platform under a SaaS model. Subscription revenue is recognized ratably over the contract term beginning on the date the product is made available to customers.
We have one reportable segment. See Note 16 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Our subscription model enables our paying customers to choose among tiered plans for a majority of our products to meet their specific needs. Our multi-price point pricing for our core product ranges between $100 and $400 per month or $1,000 to $4,000 per year for customers who purchased our core product prior to January 4, 2021 and do not let their subscriptions lapse, and between $119.95 and $449.95 per month or $1,199 to $4,499 per year for new customers since January 4, 2021, with each price point providing an incremental level of access to our products and usage limits. Within our subscription tiers, customers have the ability to purchase increased usage limits by adding the ability to create additional projects, keywords to track, and seat licenses without moving to a higher price point plan. We have a demonstrated track record of customers consistently upgrading to higher price point plans to get access to incremental functionality and usage limits. Additionally, we offer add-ons that are not included in our subscription plans and are sold on a one-time or monthly basis depending on the add-on.
Since inception, we have managed our rapid growth with discipline and efficiency. We generated revenue of $254.3 million and $188.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, representing growth of 35% year over year. Our revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 46% between the years ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2022. Our net loss for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $33.8 million and $3.3 million, respectively.
We believe that the growth of our business and our operating results will be dependent upon many factors, including our ability to acquire new and retain existing paying customers, increase revenue from existing paying customers, and sustain and adapt to product and technology innovation. While these areas
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present significant opportunities for us, they also pose challenges and risks that we must successfully address in order to sustain the growth of our business and improve our operating results.
While we have experienced rapid growth and increased demand for our products over the last few years, we expect to continue to incur losses in the short term and may not be able to achieve profitability. Our marketing is focused on building our brand reputation, increasing market awareness of our platform and products, and driving customer demand and a strong sales pipeline. We believe that these efforts will result in an increase in our paying customer base, revenues, and improved operating margins in the long term. To manage any future growth effectively, we must continue to improve and expand our information technology and financial infrastructure, our operating and administrative systems and controls, and our ability to manage headcount, capital, and processes in an efficient manner. Additionally, we face intense competition in our market, and to succeed, we need to innovate and offer products that are differentiated from point solutions that address aspects of online visibility management. We must also effectively hire, retain, train, and motivate qualified personnel and senior management. If we are unable to successfully address these challenges, our business, operating results, and prospects could be adversely affected.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
There are a number of factors that have impacted, and we believe will continue to impact, our results of operations and growth. These factors include:
Acquiring New Paying Customers
We expect increasing demand for third-party online visibility software to accelerate adoption of our platform. Our recurring subscription model provides significant visibility into our future results and we believe ARR is the best indicator of the scale of our platform, while mitigating fluctuations due to seasonality and contract term. We define ARR as of a given date as the monthly recurring revenue that we expect to contractually receive from all paid subscription agreements that are actively generating revenue as of that date multiplied by 12. We include both monthly recurring paid subscriptions, which renew automatically unless cancelled, as well as annual recurring paid subscriptions so long as we do not have any indication that a customer has cancelled or intends to cancel its subscription and we continue to generate revenue from them. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had more than 95,000 paying customers and 82,000 paying customers, respectively, accounting for $275.1 million and $215.7 million in ARR, respectively.
Retaining and Expanding Sales to Our Existing Customers
We serve a diverse customer base across a variety of sizes and industries that is focused on maximizing their online visibility. We believe there is a significant opportunity to expand within our existing customer base as customers often initially purchase our entry-level subscription, which offers lower usage limits and limited user licenses, as well as fewer features. We have demonstrated the ability to expand contract values with our existing customers as they use our products and recognize the critical nature of our platform and often seek premium offerings through incremental usage, features, add-ons, and additional user licenses.
Our sales team is largely focused on driving account expansion by encouraging our customers to fully recognize the potential benefit from our comprehensive platform. As a result, we have become increasingly efficient at acquiring customers who increase their spend with us over time. The chart below illustrates the subscription revenue from each customer cohort based on the year in which they became customers during the year presented. As indicated in the chart, our customer cohorts typically experience their lowest dollar-based net revenue retention rate during their second full year after becoming a customer, after which the dollar-based net revenue retention rate typically improves and we are able to drive increased spending across the remaining customers within the cohort.
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Our dollar-based net revenue retention rate enables us to evaluate our ability to retain and expand subscription revenue generated from our existing customers. Our dollar-based net revenue retention rate as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 was approximately 118% and 126%, respectively.
We calculate our dollar-based net revenue retention rate as of the end of a period by using (a) the revenue from our customers during the twelve month period ending one year prior to such period as the denominator and (b) the revenue from those same customers during the twelve months ending as of the end of such period as the numerator. This calculation excludes revenue from new customers and any non-recurring revenue.
We have successfully increased ARR per paying customer over time and believe this metric is an indicator of our ability to grow the long-term value of our platform. We expect ARR per paying customer to continue to increase as customers adopt our premium offerings, and we continue to introduce new products and functionality. Our ARR per paying customer as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $2,868 and $2,631, respectively. We define ARR per paying customer as of a given date as ARR from our paying customers as of that date divided by the number of paying customers as of that date. We define the number of paying customers as the number of unique business and individual customers as of a given date. We define a business customer as all accounts that contain a common non-individual business email domain (e.g., all subscriptions with an email domain of @XYZ.com will be considered to be one customer), and an individual customer as an account that uses an individual non-business email domain.
Sustaining Product and Technology Innovation
We have a strong track record of developing new products that have high adoption rates among our paying customers. Our product development organization plays a critical role in continuing to enhance the effectiveness and differentiation of our technology in an evolving landscape and maximizing retention of our existing customers. We intend to continue investing in product development to improve our data assets, expand our products, and enhance our technological capabilities.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our financial results determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we believe that free cash flow and free cash flow margin, each a non-GAAP financial measure, are useful in evaluating the performance of our business.
Free cash flow and free cash flow margin
We define free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment and capitalized software development costs. We define free cash flow margin as free cash flow divided by total revenue. We monitor free cash flow and free cash flow margin as two measures of our overall business performance, which enables us to analyze our future performance without the effects of non-cash items and allows us to better understand the cash needs of our business. While we believe that free cash flow and free cash flow margin are useful in evaluating our business, free cash flow and free cash flow margin are each a non-GAAP financial measure that have limitations as an analytical tool, and free cash flow and free cash flow margin should not be considered as an alternative to, or substitute for, net cash used in operating activities in accordance with GAAP. The utility of each of free cash flow and free cash flow margin as a measure of our liquidity is further limited as each measure does not represent the total increase or decrease in our cash balance for any given period. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate free cash flow and free cash flow margin differently or not at all, which reduces the usefulness of free cash flow and free cash flow margin as tool for comparison. A summary of our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities is provided below. We recommend that you review the reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash used in operating activities, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, and the reconciliation of free cash flow margin to net cash used in operating activities (as a percentage of revenue), the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, provided below, and that you not rely on free cash flow, free cash flow margin or any single financial measure to evaluate our business.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (9,624) | $ | 23,761 | |||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (179,832) | (4,633) | |||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (345) | 215,324 | |||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (275) | (230) | |||||||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | (190,076) | $ | 234,222 | |||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | $ | (9,624) | $ | 23,761 | |||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | (4,234) | (2,380) | |||||||||
| Capitalization of internal-use software costs | (1,706) | (1,403) | |||||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | (15,564) | $ | 19,978 | |||||||
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| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities (as a percentage of revenue) | (3.8) | % | 12.6 | % | |||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment (as a percentage of revenue) | (1.7) | % | (1.3) | % | |||||||
| Capitalization of internal-use software costs (as a percentage of revenue) | (0.7) | % | (0.7) | % | |||||||
| Free cash flow margin | (6.1) | % | 10.6 | % | |||||||
Components of our Results of Operations
Revenue
We generate nearly all of our revenue from subscriptions to our online visibility management platform under a SaaS model. Subscription revenue is recognized ratably over the contract term beginning on the date on which we provide the customer access to our platform. Our customers do not have the right to take possession of our software. Our subscriptions are generally non-cancellable during the contractual subscription term, however our subscription contracts contain a right to a refund if requested within seven days of purchase.
We offer our paid products to customers via monthly or annual subscription plans, as well as one-time and ongoing add-ons. Our subscription-based model enables customers to select a plan based on their needs and license our platform on a per user per month basis.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we served over 95,000 and 82,000 paying customers, respectively, in various industries. Our revenue is not concentrated with any single customer or industry. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 no single customer accounted for more than 1% of our revenue.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue primarily consists of expenses related to hosting our platform, acquiring data, and providing support to our customers. These expenses are comprised of personnel and related costs, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation expense related to the management of our data centers, our customer support team, and data acquisition costs. In addition to these expenses, we incur third-party service provider costs, such as data center and networking expenses, allocated overhead costs, depreciation and amortization expense associated with our property and equipment, and amortization of capitalized software development costs and intangible assets acquired through business combinations and asset acquisitions. We allocate overhead costs, such as rent and facility costs, certain information technology costs, and employee benefit costs to all departments based on headcount. As such, general overhead expenses are reflected in cost of revenue and each operating expense category.
We expect our cost of revenue to increase in absolute dollars due to expenditures related to the purchase of hardware, data, expansion, and support of our data center operations and customer support teams. We also expect that cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue will decrease over time as we are able to achieve economies of scale in our business, although it may fluctuate from period to period depending on the timing of significant expenditures. To the extent that our customer base grows, we intend to continue to invest additional resources in expanding the delivery capability of our products and other services. The timing of these additional expenses could affect our cost of revenue, both in terms of absolute dollars and as a percentage of revenue in any particular quarterly or annual period.
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Operating Expenses
Research and Development
Research and development expenses primarily consist of personnel and related costs, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, stock-based compensation, and allocated overhead costs. Research and development expenses also include depreciation expense and other expenses associated with product development. Other than internal-use software costs that qualify for capitalization, research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We plan to increase the dollar amount of our investment in research and development for the foreseeable future as we focus on developing new products, features, and enhancements to our platform. We believe that investing in the development of new products, features, and enhancements improves customer experience, makes our platform more attractive to new paying customers and provides us with opportunities to expand sales to existing paying customers and convert free customers to paying customers.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of personnel and related costs directly associated with our sales and marketing department, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation, online advertising expenses, and marketing and promotional expenses, as well as allocated overhead costs. We expense all costs as they are incurred, excluding sales commissions identified as incremental costs to obtain a contract, which are capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over the average period of benefit, which we estimate to be two years. We expect that our sales and marketing expenses will continue to increase in both absolute dollars and as a percentage of revenue in the year ending December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. New sales personnel require training and may take several months or more to achieve productivity; as such, the costs we incur in connection with the hiring of new sales personnel in a given period are not typically offset by increased revenue in that period and may not result in new revenue if these sales personnel fail to become productive. We expect to increase our investment in sales and marketing as we add new services, which will increase these expenses in absolute dollars. Over the long term, we believe that sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue will vary depending upon the mix of revenue from new and existing customers, as well as changes in the productivity of our sales and marketing programs.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel and related expenses, including salaries, benefits, incentive compensation, and stock-based compensation, associated with our finance, legal, human resources, and other administrative employees. Our general and administrative expenses also include professional fees for external legal, accounting, and other consulting services, insurance, depreciation and amortization expense, as well as allocated overhead. We expect to increase the size of our general and administrative functions to support the growth of our business. We expect to continue to incur expenses as a result of operating as a public company, including costs to comply with rules and regulations applicable to companies listed on a U.S. securities exchange, costs related to compliance and reporting obligations pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, increases in insurance premiums, investor relations, and professional services. We expect the dollar amount of our general and administrative expenses to increase for the foreseeable future. However, we expect our general and administrative expenses to decrease as a percentage of revenue over time.
Exit Costs
The costs associated with the winding down of our operations in Russia are included in the consolidated statements of operations in our (loss) income from continuing operations under the line item, Exit Costs. Exit costs in connection with the winding down of our operations in Russia include employee severance and fringe benefit costs, the loss on the sales of our Russian subsidiaries, and other
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associated relocation costs. We do not expect the remaining exit costs associated with the winding down of our operations in Russia to be material in future periods.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Included in other income (expense), net are foreign currency transaction gains and losses. In accordance with ASC 830, Foreign Currency Matters, we redetermined our functional currencies of our international locations as of January 1, 2022, when it was determined the local currencies for these regions were most appropriate, with the exception of Russia where the U.S. dollar was the functional currency. Accordingly, for the year ended December 31, 2022, the functional currencies of our international locations were the local currencies for these regions, except for Russia. As of August 10, 2022, we no longer have operating subsidiaries in Russia. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the functional currency of our international operations was the U.S. dollar except for Prowly, which is the Polish Zloty. Any differences resulting from the re-measurement of assets and liabilities denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are recorded within other income (expense), net. We expect our foreign currency exchange gains and losses to continue to fluctuate in the future as foreign currency exchange rates change. Interest expense is related to our outstanding revolving credit facility, as well as interest associated with outstanding finance leases.
Other income (expense), net also includes amounts for interest income and expense, other miscellaneous income and expense, and gains and losses unrelated to our core operations. We have elected the fair value option in respect to the accounting for our convertible note investments, allowing for increases and decreases in the fair value of such investments to be recorded to other income (expense), net for each reporting period.
Income Tax Provision
We operate in several tax jurisdictions and are subject to taxes in each country or jurisdiction in which we conduct business. We account for income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates. In addition, this method requires a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. To date, we have incurred cumulative net losses and maintain a full valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets. We expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. Our tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 primarily relates to income earned in certain foreign jurisdictions.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
The following tables set forth information comparing our results of operations in dollars and as a percentage of total revenue for the periods presented. The period-to-period comparison of results is not necessarily indicative of results for future periods.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 254,316 | $ | 188,001 | |||||||
| Cost of revenue (1) | 48,553 | 41,934 | |||||||||
| Gross profit | 205,763 | 146,067 | |||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing (1) | 126,889 | 81,122 | |||||||||
| Research and development (1) | 41,204 | 24,322 | |||||||||
| General and administrative (1) | 62,779 | 43,116 | |||||||||
| Exit costs | 11,264 | — | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 242,136 | 148,560 | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (36,373) | (2,493) | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 3,456 | (522) | |||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (32,917) | (3,015) | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 931 | 270 | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (33,848) | $ | (3,285) | |||||||
(1)Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 74 | $ | 37 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | 2,235 | 405 | |||||||||
| Research and development | 1,123 | 348 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 3,961 | 1,952 | |||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | $ | 7,393 | $ | 2,742 | |||||||
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The following table sets forth our consolidated statements of operations data expressed as a percentage of revenue for the periods indicated (amounts may not sum due to rounding):
| For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | |||||||
| Cost of revenue | 19 | % | 22 | % | |||||||
| Gross profit | 81 | % | 78 | % | |||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 50 | % | 43 | % | |||||||
| Research and development | 16 | % | 13 | % | |||||||
| General and administrative | 25 | % | 23 | % | |||||||
| Exit costs | 4 | % | — | % | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | 95 | % | 79 | % | |||||||
| Loss from operations | (14) | % | (1) | % | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 1 | % | — | % | |||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (13) | % | (2) | % | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | — | % | — | % | |||||||
| Net loss | (13) | % | (2) | % | |||||||
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Revenue
Our revenue during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 254,316 | 188,001 | $ | 66,315 | 35 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
Revenue increased by $66.3 million year over year. The majority of this increase was driven by an increase in the number of paying customers to more than 95,000 as of December 31, 2022 from more than 82,000 as of December 31, 2021. The increase in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was also driven by growth in user licenses per customer, add-ons, and attach rates. We define attach rates as the ratio of the number of paying customers who purchase specific add-ons to the number of total paying customers.
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Revenue based upon the locations of our paying customers during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| United States | $ | 119,775 | $ | 85,642 | |||||||
| United Kingdom | 25,669 | 19,625 | |||||||||
| Other | 108,872 | 82,734 | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 254,316 | $ | 188,001 | |||||||
Cost of Revenue, Gross Profit and Gross Margin
| For the Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 48,553 | $ | 41,934 | $ | 6,619 | 16 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 205,763 | $ | 146,067 | $ | 59,696 | 41 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 81 | % | 78 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The increase in cost of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the following changes:
| Change | |||||
| 2022-2021 | |||||
| (in thousands) | |||||
| Personnel costs | $ | 2,327 | |||
| Hosting fees | (933) | ||||
| Integration and data costs | 2,384 | ||||
| Merchant fees | 2,033 | ||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 530 | ||||
| Other | 278 | ||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 6,619 | |||
For the year ended December 31, 2022, cost of revenue increased by $6.6 million. Integration and data costs increased primarily as a result of increasing costs incurred related to new products and customer growth. Merchant fees increased commensurate with revenue growth. Personnel costs increased primarily as a result of a 32% increase in headcount as we continue to grow our customer support team to support our customer growth. Additionally, depreciation and amortization expense increased as a result of an increase in amortization of purchased intangibles associated with the Kompyte acquisition during 2022. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in hosting fees as a result of the relocation of data centers during the year ended December 31, 2022.
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Operating Expenses
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 126,889 | $ | 81,122 | $ | 45,767 | 56 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total revenue | 50 | % | 43 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The increase in sales and marketing expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the following:
| Change | |||||
| (in thousands) | |||||
| Marketing and advertising expense | $ | 23,642 | |||
| Personnel costs | 20,064 | ||||
| Other | 2,061 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 45,767 | |||
For the year ended December 31, 2022, sales and marketing expense increased by $45.8 million. Marketing and advertising expense increased by $23.6 million as we continue to focus on acquiring new paying customers. Personnel costs increased by $20.1 million, primarily as a result of a 38% increase in headcount as we continue to expand our sales teams to grow our customer base as well as the costs associated with operating in higher cost locations. Personnel costs include the amortization of capitalized commission costs, which increased year over year, partially due to the amortization of commissions paid in prior periods, as well as expense associated with the amortization of commissions paid and capitalized during 2022, which increased due to the overall growth in sales. It was also driven by a $1.8 million increase in stock-based compensation compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 applicable to these teams.
Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 41,204 | $ | 24,322 | $ | 16,882 | 69 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total revenue | 16 | % | 13 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2022, research and development costs increased by $16.9 million, primarily as a result of a 40% increase in headcount and higher personnel costs due to the competitive labor market, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, as we continued to expand our product development teams as well as the costs associated with operating in higher costs locations. It was also driven by a $0.8 million increase in stock-based compensation compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 applicable to these teams.
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General and administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 62,779 | $ | 43,116 | $ | 19,663 | 46 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total revenue | 25 | % | 23 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The increase in general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the following:
| Change | |||||
| (in thousands) | |||||
| Personnel costs | $ | 6,236 | |||
| Dues and subscriptions | 1,480 | ||||
| Professional services | 7,395 | ||||
| Business Insurance | 590 | ||||
| Rent and office expenses | 2,134 | ||||
| Other | 1,828 | ||||
| General and administrative | $ | 19,663 | |||
For the year ended December 31, 2022, general and administrative expense increased by $19.7 million. Professional services increased by $7.4 million, which was primarily driven by a $6.0 million increase in consulting fees and, to a lesser degree, increases in accounting, audit and legal fees. Personnel costs increased by $6.2 million, which was primarily driven by a 41% increase in headcount as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 as we continued to expand our accounting and reporting, legal and compliance, and internal support teams. It was also driven by a $2.0 million increase in stock-based compensation compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 applicable to these teams. Rent and office expenses increased by $2.1 million, which was primarily driven by increases in office rent of $1.0 million, other office expenses of $0.4 million and office equipment expenses of $0.4 million.
Other Income (Expense), Net
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 3,456 | $ | (522) | $ | 3,978 | (762) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total revenue | 1 | % | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The change in other income (expense), net for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to an increase in interest income of $3.2 million, as well as an increase in other income of $2.1 million, partially offset by an increase in foreign exchange losses of $1.3 million.
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Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | Amount | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 931 | $ | 270 | $ | 661 | 245 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total revenue | 0.4 | % | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||||
The provision for income taxes is primarily attributable to earnings in our foreign jurisdictions.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our principal sources of liquidity have been the net proceeds of our IPO and the Follow-On Offering, which totaled $213.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses paid or payable by us, and the net proceeds we received through private sales of equity securities, as well as sales of premium subscriptions to our platform.
As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $79.8 million, short-term investments of $157.8 million and accounts receivable of $3.6 million.
Our principal uses of cash in recent periods have been to fund operations, invest in capital expenditures and short-term investments, and strategically acquire new businesses. This cash is held in cash deposits and money market funds.
We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, along with our available financial resources from our credit facility, will be sufficient to meet our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including those set forth under Item 1A. Risk Factors.
In the event that additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital or generate cash flows necessary to expand our operations, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Our Credit Facility
Pursuant to the Credit Agreement among us and Semrush, Inc., each as a borrower, the lenders party thereto from time to time and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the administrative agent, as amended from time to time, we have a senior secured credit facility that consists of a $45.0 million revolving credit facility and a letter of credit sub-facility with an aggregate limit equal to the lesser of $5.0 million and the aggregate unused amount of the revolving commitments then in effect. The availability of the credit facility is subject to the borrowing base based on an advance rate of 400% multiplied by annualized retention applied to monthly recurring revenue. The credit facility has a maturity of three years and will mature on January 12, 2024.
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As of December 31, 2022, we had $45.0 million available under the revolving credit facility, with $5.0 million of such revolving commitments available under the letter of credit sub-facility.
All of our obligations under our credit facility will be guaranteed by our future domestic subsidiaries and, subject to certain exceptions, secured by a security interest in substantially all of our tangible and intangible assets.
Borrowings under our credit facility bear interest at our option at (i) LIBOR, subject to a 0.50% floor, plus a margin, or (ii) the alternate base rate, subject to a 3.25% floor (or 1.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“adjusted EBITDA”) for the twelve months most recently ended), plus a margin. For LIBOR borrowings, the applicable rate margin is 2.75% (or 3.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted EBITDA as of the twelve months most recently ended). For base rate borrowings, the applicable margin is 0.00% (or 2.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted EBITDA as of the twelve months most recently ended). We are also required to pay a 0.25% per annum fee on undrawn amounts under our revolving credit facility, payable quarterly in arrears.
Operating Activities
Our largest source of operating cash is cash collections from our customers for subscription services. Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are for online advertising, personnel costs across the sales and marketing and product and development departments, and hosting costs.
Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2022 was $9.6 million, which resulted from a net loss of $33.8 million adjusted for non-cash charges of $28.8 million and a net cash outflow of $4.5 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash charges primarily consisted of $9.0 million for amortization of deferred contract acquisition costs related to capitalized commissions, $7.4 million of stock-based compensation expense, $6.7 million of depreciation and amortization expense, and $4.5 million of non-cash lease expense. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of a $9.5 million increase in deferred contract costs, a $3.3 million increase in accounts receivable, a $4.1 million decrease in operating lease liabilities, and a $2.4 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets. These outflows were partially offset by a $9.1 million increase in deferred revenue due to the addition of new customers and expansion of the business and a $6.8 million increase in accounts payable.
Net cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 was $23.8 million, which resulted from a net loss of $3.3 million adjusted for non-cash charges of $13.0 million and a net cash inflow of $14.0 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash charges primarily consisted of $6.5 million for amortization of deferred contract acquisition costs related to capitalized commissions, $3.5 million of depreciation and amortization expense and $2.7 million of stock-based compensation expense. The changes in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of a $13.8 million increase in deferred revenue due to the addition of new customers and expansion of the business, an $11.6 million increase in accrued expenses, and a $1.5 million increase in accounts payable. These inflows were partially offset by a $9.4 million increase in deferred contract costs, a $2.8 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets, and a $0.8 million increase in accounts receivable.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 was $179.8 million, and $4.6 million, respectively. The increase of $175.2 million between the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was primarily due to $157.9 million used to purchase short-term
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investments, a $13.6 million increase in cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and a $1.5 million increase in the purchase of convertible debt securities.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $0.3 million and consisted of cash inflows related to the exercises of stock options of approximately $1.0 million as well as shares issued in connection with the Employee Stock Purchase Plan of $0.8 million and cash outflows relating to payments on capital leases of $2.1 million. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $215.3 million, which was primarily driven by $215.4 million in net proceeds from our public offerings and, to a lesser extent, $1.3 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options, partially offset by cash outflows relating to payments on capital leases of $1.4 million.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Our principal commitments consist of obligations under leases for office space and leases for data center facilities. For more information regarding our lease obligations, see Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to our leases, we also have multi-year commitments with certain data providers expiring at various dates through 2026. For more information regarding our commitments with data providers, see Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We expect to fund these obligations with cash flows from operations and cash on our balance sheet.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to sections titled “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these audited consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions. Our actual results may differ from these estimates.
We believe that of our significant accounting policies, which are described in Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following accounting policies involve a greater degree of judgment and complexity. Accordingly, these are the policies we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our audited consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition Policy
We generate revenue primarily from subscriptions to our online visibility management platform, which is comprised of subscription fees from customers accessing our SaaS services and related customer support. We offer subscriptions to our platform primarily on a monthly or annual basis, and we sell our
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products and services primarily through a self-service model and also directly through our sales force. Our subscription arrangements provide customers the right to access our hosted software applications and customers do not have the right to take possession of our software during the hosting arrangement.
We recognize revenue in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Revenue is recognized upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services.
We recognize subscription and support revenue ratably over the term of the contract, beginning on the date the customer is provided access to our service. These subscriptions are generally stand-ready obligations as the customer has access to the service throughout the term of the subscription, and our performance obligations are satisfied with the customer over time. We consider the SaaS subscription and related support services to have the same pattern of transfer to the customer. As such, they are accounted for as a single performance obligation.
Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and in deferred revenue or revenue, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. We primarily invoice and collect payments from our customers for in advance on a monthly or annual basis.
Deferred revenue represents amounts billed for which revenue has not yet been recognized. Deferred revenue that is expected to be recognized during the succeeding twelve-month period is recorded as current deferred revenue and the remaining portion is recorded as non-current in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Revenue is presented net of any taxes collected from customers.
Costs to Obtain a Contract
We capitalize incremental direct costs of obtaining revenue contracts, which primarily consist of sales commissions paid for new subscription contracts. We amortize these commissions over a period of approximately 24 months on a systematic basis, consistent with the pattern of transfer of the goods or services to which the asset relates. The 24-month period represents the estimated benefit period of the customer relationship and has been determined by taking into consideration the type of product sold, the commitment term of the customer contract, the nature of our technology development life-cycle, and an estimated customer relationship period based on historical experience and future expectations. Sales commissions for renewals and upgrade contracts are deferred and amortized on a straight-line basis over the remaining estimated customer relationship period of the related customer. Deferred contract costs that will be recorded as expense during the succeeding 12-month period are recorded as current deferred contract costs, and the remaining portion is recorded as deferred contract costs, net of current portion. Amortization of deferred contract costs is included in sales and marketing expense in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees and members of our board of directors for their services as directors based on the fair value on the date of the grant and recognize the corresponding compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award. We have only issued stock options with service-based vesting conditions and record the expense for these awards using the straight-line method.
We estimate the fair value of each stock option grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which uses as inputs the estimated fair value of our common stock and assumptions we make for the volatility of our common stock, the expected term of our stock options, the risk-free interest rate for a period that approximates the expected term of our stock options and our expected dividend yield.
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We determined the assumptions for the Black-Scholes option-pricing model as discussed below. Each of these inputs is subjective and generally requires significant judgment to determine. If factors change and different assumptions are used, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future. These assumptions and estimates are as follows:
Fair value—Prior to the IPO, we estimated the fair value of our common stock. Our board of directors considered numerous objective and subjective factors to determine the fair value of our common stock as awards were approved, including utilizing third‐party valuations to assist with the determination of the estimated fair‐market value and common stock price. Following the closing of the IPO, our Class A common stock is publicly traded, and therefore we currently base the value of our Class A common stock on its market price.
Expected dividend yield—The annual rate of dividends is expressed as a dividend yield which is a constant percentage of the stock price. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not paid dividends and do not anticipate paying a cash dividend on common stock in the foreseeable future and, accordingly, use an expected dividend yield of zero.
Expected term—The expected life of an option represents the period of time that an option is expected to be outstanding. The expected term of an award is determined using the simplified method for plain vanilla options, consistent with applicable accounting guidance.
Risk-free rate—The risk‐free interest rate is based on the rate of U.S. treasury securities with maturities consistent with the estimated expected term of the awards.
Expected volatility—As we do not have a trading history of our common stock, there is no historical basis of the stock volatility. Accordingly, the expected volatility is based primarily on the historical volatilities of similar entities’ common stock over the most recent period commensurate with the estimated expected term of the awards.
The weighted-average fair values of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 were $6.36 and $8.45 per share, respectively. The weighted-average assumptions utilized to determine the fair value of options granted are presented in the following table:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||
| Expected volatility | 53.3 | % | 52.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Weighted-average risk-free interest rate | 2.72 | % | 1.07 | % | ||||||||||
| Expected dividend yield | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Expected life – in years | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||
JOBS Act Accounting Election
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to use this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that have not made this election.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures of Market Risk
We are exposed to market risk in the ordinary course of our business. Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.
Interest Rate Risk
We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. Our investments primarily consist of short-term investments and money market funds. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $237.5 million and $269.7 million, respectively. The carrying amount of our cash and cash equivalents reasonably approximates fair value, due to the short maturities of these investments. The primary objectives of our investment activities are the preservation of capital, the fulfillment of liquidity needs and the fiduciary control of cash and investments. We are obligated by our investment policy to invest the majority of our portfolio into U.S. government securities. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. Our investments are exposed to market risk due to a fluctuation in interest rates, which may affect our interest income and the fair market value of our investments. Due to the short-term nature of our investment portfolio, we believe only dramatic fluctuations in interest rates would have a material effect on our investments. We do not believe that an immediate 10% increase in interest rates would have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio. As such we do not expect our operating results or cash flows to be materially affected by a sudden change in market interest rates.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $45.0 million available under the revolving credit facility, with $5.0 million of such revolving commitments available under the letter of credit sub-facility. Borrowings under our credit facility bear interest at our option at (i) LIBOR, subject to a 0.50% floor, plus a margin, or (ii) the base rate, subject to a 3.25% floor (or 1.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted EBITDA as of the twelve months most recently ended), plus a margin. For LIBOR borrowings, the applicable rate margin is 2.75% (or 3.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted EBITDA as of the twelve months most recently ended). For base rate borrowings, the applicable margin is 0.00% (or 2.50% prior to positive consolidated adjusted EBITDA as of the twelve months most recently ended). We are also required to pay a 0.25% per annum fee on undrawn amounts under our revolving credit facility, payable quarterly in arrears.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
We are not currently subject to significant foreign currency exchange risk with respect to revenue as our U.S. and international sales are predominantly denominated in U.S. dollars. However, we have some foreign currency risk related to a small amount of sales denominated in euros, and expenses denominated in euros, rubles, korunas, and zloty. Sales denominated in euros reflect the prevailing U.S. dollar exchange rate on the date of invoice for such sales. Increases in the relative value of the U.S. dollar to the euro may negatively affect revenue and other operating results as expressed in U.S. dollars. We incur significant expenses outside the United States denominated in these foreign currencies, primarily the euro. In connection with the relocation of employees out of Russia into other locations in Europe, we are exposed to some increased foreign currency exchange risk related to additional expenses denominated in euros. If the average exchange rates of any of these foreign currencies strengthen against the dollar, the dollar value of our expenses outside the United States will increase. For example, an immediate 10% decrease or increase in the relative value of the U.S. dollar to the euro would result in a $3.5 million gain or loss on our consolidated statements of operations and cash flows.
We have not engaged in the hedging of foreign currency transactions to date. However, as our international operations expand, our foreign currency exchange risk may increase. If our foreign currency
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exchange risk increases in the future, we may evaluate the costs and benefits of initiating a foreign currency hedge program in connection with non-U.S. dollar denominated transactions.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
SEMRUSH HOLDINGS, INC.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Page | |||||
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements | |||||
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: | |||||
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Semrush Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Semrush Holdings, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
March 15, 2023
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SEMRUSH HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except per share data)
| As of December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||
| Current assets | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Short-term investments | |||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | |||||||||||
| Deferred contract costs, current portion | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | |||||||||||
| Total current assets | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | |||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | |||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | |||||||||||
| Goodwill | |||||||||||
| Deferred contract costs, net of current portion | |||||||||||
| Other long-term assets | |||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
| Current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses | |||||||||||
| Deferred revenue | |||||||||||
| Current portion of operating lease liabilities | |||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | |||||||||||
| Deferred tax liability | |||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | |||||||||||
| Other long-term liabilities | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities | |||||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies (Note 13) | |||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
Undesignated preferred stock, $ | |||||||||||
Class A common stock, $ | |||||||||||
Class B common stock, $ | |||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | |||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive deficit | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
79
SEMRUSH HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(in thousands, except per share data)
| For the Year Ended | |||||||||||||||||
| December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | |||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | |||||||||||||||||
| Exit costs | |||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||||||
| Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted: | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||||||
| Weighted-average number of shares of common stock used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | |||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Unrealized loss on investments | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
80
SEMRUSH HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
(in thousands, except share data)
| Series A | Series A-1 | Series B | Common Stock | Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss | Accumulated Deficit | Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balances at December 31, 2019 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balances at December 31, 2020 | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of preferred stock | ( | ( | ( | ( | ( | ( | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock in connection with the initial public offering, net of issuance costs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification of Common Stock to Class B Common Stock in connection with the initial public offering | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | — | — | — | ( | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock in connection with the partial exercise of the overallotment option in connection with the initial public offering, net of issuance costs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock in connection with follow-on public offering, net of issuance costs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of Class B Common Stock to Class A Common Stock | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ( | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vesting of Class B Common Stock in connection with Restricted Stock Awards | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cumulative translation adjustment | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||