ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (GTM)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7372 Services-Prepackaged Software
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1794515. Latest filing source: 0001794515-26-000012.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read GTM's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read GTM's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,249,500,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
| Net income | 124,200,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
| Assets | 6,439,500,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-12 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-12. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001794515.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 144,300,000 | 293,300,000 | 476,200,000 | 747,200,000 | 1,098,000,000 | 1,239,500,000 | 1,214,300,000 | 1,249,500,000 |
| Net income | 0.00 | 0.00 | -4,000,000 | 116,800,000 | 63,200,000 | 107,300,000 | 29,100,000 | 124,200,000 |
| Operating income | 26,600,000 | 36,100,000 | 37,100,000 | 113,300,000 | 175,800,000 | 259,500,000 | 97,400,000 | 225,700,000 |
| Gross profit | 106,500,000 | 224,700,000 | 368,700,000 | 610,500,000 | 909,300,000 | 1,061,000,000 | 1,024,500,000 | 1,049,900,000 |
| Diluted EPS | -0.11 | 0.43 | 0.16 | 0.27 | 0.08 | 0.38 | ||
| Operating cash flow | 43,800,000 | 44,400,000 | 169,600,000 | 299,400,000 | 417,000,000 | 434,900,000 | 369,400,000 | 465,400,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 4,600,000 | 13,600,000 | 16,800,000 | 23,600,000 | 28,900,000 | 26,500,000 | 64,900,000 | 76,100,000 |
| Share buybacks | 0.00 | 0.00 | 400,100,000 | 565,600,000 | 411,100,000 | |||
| Assets | 1,561,900,000 | 2,327,400,000 | 6,852,900,000 | 7,136,400,000 | 6,868,300,000 | 6,467,600,000 | 6,439,500,000 | |
| Liabilities | 1,575,500,000 | 1,387,800,000 | 4,855,000,000 | 4,864,600,000 | 4,749,000,000 | 4,774,100,000 | 4,930,800,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | 1,997,900,000 | 2,271,800,000 | 2,119,300,000 | 1,693,500,000 | 1,508,700,000 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 41,400,000 | 269,800,000 | 308,300,000 | 418,000,000 | 447,100,000 | 139,900,000 | 175,900,000 | |
| Free cash flow | 39,200,000 | 30,800,000 | 152,800,000 | 275,800,000 | 388,100,000 | 408,400,000 | 304,500,000 | 389,300,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.84% | 15.63% | 5.76% | 8.66% | 2.40% | 9.94% |
| Operating margin | 18.43% | 12.31% | 7.79% | 15.16% | 16.01% | 20.94% | 8.02% | 18.06% |
| Return on equity | 5.85% | 2.78% | 5.06% | 1.72% | 8.23% | |||
| Return on assets | 0.00% | -0.17% | 1.70% | 0.89% | 1.56% | 0.45% | 1.93% | |
| Liabilities / equity | 2.43 | 2.14 | 2.24 | 2.82 | 3.27 | |||
| Current ratio | 0.61 | 1.37 | 1.08 | 1.45 | 1.35 | 0.69 | 0.72 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax; source concepts us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | Gross profit: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept NetIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets | Free cash flow: accession 0001794515-26-000012; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001794515-26-000012; filed 2026-02-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquireProductiveAssets.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-11. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001794515.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 0.04 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 0.04 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.11 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-03-31 | 44,500,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 308,600,000 | 0.09 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-06-30 | 38,100,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 313,800,000 | 0.08 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 316,400,000 | -5,500,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 310,100,000 | 15,100,000 | 0.04 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | 15,100,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 291,500,000 | -0.07 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | -24,400,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 303,600,000 | 0.07 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 309,100,000 | 14,600,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 305,700,000 | 26,800,000 | 0.08 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | 26,800,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 306,700,000 | 0.07 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-30 | 24,000,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 318,000,000 | 0.12 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 319,100,000 | 34,700,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 310,200,000 | 29,300,000 | 0.10 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001794515-26-000038; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001794515-26-000038; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001794515-26-000038; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001794515-26-000038.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included in our 2025 Form 10-K, the information included under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our 2025 Form 10-K, and the unaudited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q. In addition to historical data, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those discussed under “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this Form 10-Q and under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our 2025 Form 10-K. Numerical figures included in this Form 10-Q have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams. Our go-to-market intelligence platform empowers businesses with AI-ready insights, trusted data, agent-assisted selling and advanced automation providing sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals accurate information and insights on the organizations and professionals they target. This enables our customers to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by empowering sellers, marketers, and recruiters to efficiently deliver the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way.
ZoomInfo is the modern go-to-market intelligence platform, consisting of three distinct layers that build upon each other:
•Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategy. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, and financial information.
•Our Orchestration Layer integrates and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM system providers enabling sales operations professionals to access a suite of products, services, and solutions to ingest, match, enrich, and connect data feeds into multiple systems.
•Our Engagement Layer allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put data-driven insights into action to identify and communicate with prospects and customers. Go-to-market professionals use our engagement layer for multi-touch and multi-channel sales engagement, web meeting recording, transcription, insight generation, and coaching. Marketers drive awareness, lead generation, and deal acceleration campaigns through account-based marketing, advertising, and onsite conversion optimization solutions including chat functionality. Recruiters and talent acquisition professionals can locate and reach more better suited candidates, use pipeline management tools to collaborate and organize the hiring process, and automate aspects of the candidate outreach process by more efficiently finding and engaging candidates.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Subscriptions include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length. About 53% of customer contracts (based on annualized value) are multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
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We sell access to our platform to both new and existing customers. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in each product edition. Our core paid products are ZoomInfo Copilot, ZoomInfo Sales, ZoomInfo Marketing, ZoomInfo Operations, and ZoomInfo Talent (with add-on options for some products), and we have a free community edition, ZoomInfo Lite.
Recent Developments
Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions
Our business and financial condition have and may continue to be impacted by adverse macroeconomic conditions. See “Risks Related to Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our 2025 Form 10-K for further discussion of the possible impact of these issues on our business.
Share Repurchase Program
In February 2026, the Board authorized an additional $1.0 billion bringing the aggregate total authorizations as of March 31, 2026 to $2.6 billion, of which $1,140.1 million remained available and authorized for repurchases. Refer to Note 1 - Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Restructuring Program
On May 5, 2026, the Board approved the 2026 Restructuring Program in order to reduce operating costs and drive stronger operating leverage. Refer to Note 16 - Subsequent Events of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Acquiring New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers using our platform in the United States and around the world, and efficiently transacting with those customers. Acquiring new customers while optimizing the profile of those customers and the go-to-market channels we use to attract these customers will play a part in determining our operating results and growth prospects in the future. Acquiring new customers also strengthens the power of our contributory networks. We plan to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to expand our customer base.
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Increasing Usage of Our Platform
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is a metric that we calculate based on customers of ZoomInfo at the beginning of the twelve-month period, and is calculated as: (a) the total annual contract value ("ACV") for those customers at the end of the twelve-month period, divided by (b) the total ACV for those customers at the beginning of the twelve-month period. Our net revenue retention rate was 90% and 87% as of March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. In the near term, we expect our net retention rate to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions. See the caption above entitled “—Recent Developments — Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions.” Over the long term, we expect our net revenue retention rate to be influenced by our ability to move upmarket, as larger customers have historically exhibited higher net revenue retention. We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for $100,000 or greater in ACV. As of March 31, 2026 and 2025, our number of customers with $100,000 or greater in ACV was 1,900 and 1,868, respectively. Customers with $100,000 or greater in ACV comprised over 50% of total Company ACV as of March 31, 2026.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive primarily all of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services and other revenue. Our subscription services primarily consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, and the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period.
Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. Other revenue, comprised largely of implementation and professional services fees, is recognized as services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and contract timing within the period.
Cost of revenue
Cost of service. Cost of service includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our services and research teams including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, technology, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, amortization of internally developed capitalized software, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses.
We anticipate continued investment in cost of service, with cost of service as a percentage of revenue expected to slightly increase in the near term. This is driven by rising AI consumption costs and customer onboarding expenses for offerings such as ZoomInfo Copilot and ZoomInfo GTM Studio.
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Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Gross profit and Gross margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, and amortization of other acquired intangibles. The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, marketing, litigation settlements, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. We anticipate that restructuring and transaction-related
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the sections titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Numerical figures included in this Form 10-K are subject to immaterial rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams. Our go-to-market intelligence platform empowers businesses with AI-ready insights, trusted data, agent-assisted selling and advanced automation providing sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals accurate information and insights on the organizations and professionals they target. This enables our customers to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by empowering sellers, marketers, and recruiters to efficiently deliver the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way.
ZoomInfo is the modern go-to-market intelligence platform, consisting of three distinct layers that build upon each other:
•Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategy. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, and financial information.
•Our Orchestration Layer integrates and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM system providers enabling sales operations professionals to access a suite of products, services, and solutions to ingest, match, enrich, and connect data feeds into multiple systems.
•Our Engagement Layer allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put data-driven insights into action to identify and communicate with prospects and customers. Go-to-market professionals use our engagement layer for multi-touch and multi-channel sales engagement, web meeting recording, transcription, insight generation, and coaching. Marketers drive awareness, lead generation, and deal acceleration campaigns through account-based marketing, advertising, and onsite conversion optimization solutions including chat functionality. Recruiters and talent acquisition professionals can locate and reach more better suited candidates, use pipeline management tools to collaborate and organize the hiring process, and automate aspects of the candidate outreach process by more efficiently finding and engaging candidates.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Subscriptions include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length. About 53% of customer contracts (based on annualized value) are multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
We sell access to our platform to both new and existing customers. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in each product edition. Our core paid products are ZoomInfo Copilot, ZoomInfo Sales, ZoomInfo Marketing, ZoomInfo Operations, and ZoomInfo Talent (with add-on options for some products), and we have a free community edition, ZoomInfo Lite.
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Our software, insights, and data enable over 35,000 companies to go-to-market more effectively and efficiently. Our customers are primarily businesses that sell to other businesses and operate in almost every industry vertical. They range from the largest global enterprises, to mid-market companies, down to small businesses. The top five industries that we serve, as measured by ACV, as of December 31, 2025 are software, which comprised 32% of ACV (compared to 32% a year prior), non-IT business services, which comprised 18% of ACV (compared to 20% a year prior), IT business services, which comprised 8% of ACV (compared to 8% a year prior), financial, insurance & real estate, which comprised 9% of ACV (compared to 8% a year prior), and manufacturing, which comprised 7% of ACV (compared to 6% a year prior).
For the year ended December 31, 2025, no single customer contributed more than 10% of revenue. Revenues derived from customers and partners located outside the United States, as determined based on the address provided by our customers and partners, accounted for approximately 12%, 12%, and 13% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, our number of customers with over $100,000 in ACV was 1,921 and 1,867, respectively.
We generated revenue of $1,249.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 of $1,214.3 million, and GAAP income from operations of $225.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to GAAP income from operations of $97.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. GAAP operating income margin was 18% for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to 8% for the year ended December 31, 2024. GAAP net income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $124.2 million, as compared to GAAP net income of $29.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. In addition to our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial measures, we review various non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for definitions. Our Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Income was $445.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to $428.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Our Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Income Margin was 36% for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to 35% in 2024. Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income was $369.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to $363.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Recent Developments
Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions
Our business and financial condition have and may continue to be impacted by adverse macroeconomic conditions. See “Risk Related to Geopolitical and Macroeconomic Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for further discussion of the possible impact of these issues on our business.
Restructuring
In June 2025, the Company announced a reduction in force (the “Plan”) to support the Company’s broader efforts to move upmarket and support durable and efficient growth. The Plan included a reduction of employees by approximately 6% in the second quarter of 2025. The Plan was substantially completed as of June 30, 2025.
First Lien Revolving Credit Facility
In May 2025, the Company drew $100.0 million of the $250.0 million available under its First Lien Revolving Credit Facility. The proceeds from this borrowing were used to fund the Share Repurchase Program.
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Share Repurchase Program
In February 2025, our board of directors authorized an additional $500.0 million in repurchases under the Share Repurchase Program. See Note 10 - Stockholders' Equity of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Acquiring New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers using our platform in the United States and around the world, and efficiently transacting with those customers. Acquiring new customers while optimizing the profile of those customers and the go-to-market channels we use to attract these customers will play a part in determining our operating results and growth prospects in the future. Acquiring new customers also strengthens the power of our contributory networks. We plan to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to expand our customer base. As of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, we had over 35,000 customers. We define a customer as a company that maintains one or more active paid subscriptions to our platform.
Increasing Usage of Our Platform
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is a metric that we calculate based on customers of ZoomInfo at the beginning of the twelve-month period, and is calculated as: (a) the total annual contract value ("ACV") for those customers at the end of the twelve-month period, divided by (b) the total ACV for those customers at the beginning of the twelve-month period. Our net revenue retention rate was 90% and 87% as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In the near term, we expect our net retention rate to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions. See the caption above entitled “—Recent Developments — Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions.” Over the long term, we expect our net revenue retention rate to be influenced by our ability to move upmarket, as larger customers have historically exhibited higher net revenue retention. We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for $100,000 or greater in ACV. As of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, our customers with $100,000 or greater in ACV was 1,921, 1,867, and 1,820, respectively. Customers with $100,000 or greater in ACV comprised over 50% of total Company ACV as of December 31, 2025.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
Our historical results of operations are not comparable from period to period and may not be comparable to our financial results of operations in future periods. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting the comparability of our results of operations.
Changing the Mix of Our Customer Base and Reducing Write-offs and Bad Debts
During the second quarter of 2024, we deployed a new business risk model to flag and require upfront prepayment from prospects at the greatest risk of non-payment. This process was implemented to mitigate the risk of future write-offs and to invest in the long-term health of the Company. Concurrently, our efforts have shifted to customers more likely to pay, renew, and grow with us over time.
As a result, we recorded an incremental charge during the second quarter of 2024 impacting our reported Revenue and General and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The charge represents a revision to our reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable, made up primarily of historical transactions with our SMB customers.
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Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive primarily all of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services and other revenue. Our subscription services primarily consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, and the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period.
Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. Other revenue, comprised largely of implementation and professional services fees, is recognized as services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and contract timing within the period. The unearned revenue balance does not represent the total contract value of annual or multi-year, non-cancelable subscription agreements.
Cost of revenue
Cost of service. Cost of service includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our services and research teams including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, technology, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, amortization of internally developed capitalized software, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses.
We anticipate continued investment in cost of service, with cost of service as a percentage of revenue expected to slightly increase in the near term. This is driven by rising AI consumption costs and customer onboarding expenses for offerings such as ZoomInfo Copilot and ZoomInfo GTM Studio.
Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
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Gross profit and Gross margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, and amortization of other acquired intangibles. The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, marketing, litigation settlements, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. We anticipate that restructuring and transaction-related expenses, including potential impairments, will be influenced by activities related to potential future acquisitions, strategic restructuring efforts, and leased spaces that we plan to sublease, which could cause these costs to vary, potentially significantly, from our historic levels.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our sales and marketing teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, marketing programs, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. Sales commissions and related payroll taxes directly related to contract acquisition are capitalized and recognized as expenses over the estimated period of benefit.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in sales and marketing capacity to enable future growth. We anticipate that sales and marketing expense excluding equity-based compensation and restructuring and transaction-related expenses as a percentage of revenue will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of our investments in sales and marketing capacity, the recognition of revenue, and the amortization of deferred commissions costs.
Research and development. Research and development expenses support our efforts to enhance our existing platform and develop new software products. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our engineering and product management teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. Research and development expenses do not reflect amortization of internally developed capitalized software. We believe that our core technologies and ongoing innovation represent a significant competitive advantage for us.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in research and development in order to develop new features and functionality to drive incremental customer value in the future and that research and development expense as a percentage of revenue in the short-term will be flat to a moderate increase, but will modestly decrease in the long-term as we drive efficiencies in that organization.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee related benefits for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, IT, and business operations and administrative teams, as well as overhead costs. Additionally, we incur expenses related to bad debt and collections, as well as for professional fees including legal services, accounting, banking, and other consulting services. General and administrative expenses also include restructuring and transaction-related expenses, such as impairment charges associated with our leasing activity. Refer to Note 12 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information. We also incur charges associated with litigation settlements, such as the settlement of the Class Action settlement previously disclosed, which are presented within General and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate during periods when we incur non-recurring restructuring and transaction-related expenses, such as those associated with acquisitions or impairments. Excluding these non-recurring items, we expect a more stable or declining trend over time.
Amortization of other acquired intangibles. Amortization of acquired intangibles consists of amortization of customer relationships and brand portfolios.
We anticipate that amortization of other acquired intangibles will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net represents the interest payable on our debt obligations and the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs, less interest income.
We anticipate that interest expense could be impacted by changes in variable interest rates, the issuance of additional debt, or changes in our interest rate hedging strategies, such as entering into new hedging arrangements or the expiration of existing interest rate swaps.
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment consists of prepayment penalties and impairment of deferred financing costs associated with the modification or extinguishment of debt, as well as new fees incurred with third parties in connection with debt modifications.
We anticipate that losses related to debt modification and extinguishment will only occur if we extinguish indebtedness before the contractual repayment dates or amend our existing financing arrangements.
Other (income) loss, net
Other (income) loss, net consists primarily of the remeasurement of TRA liabilities, investment income, and realized and unrealized gains and losses related to the impact of transactions denominated in a foreign currency.
Changes to existing tax law, including changes to corporate income tax rates or the Company’s state tax footprint could lead to substantial remeasurement of the TRA liability recorded through Other (income) loss, net. Additionally, the magnitude of Other (income) loss, net may increase as we expand operations internationally and add complexity to our operations. Refer to the Provision for income taxes section below for further information regarding remeasurement of TRA liability and deferred tax assets.
Provision for income taxes
The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as from net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We have significant U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets, including deferred tax assets created by various historical restructuring events. The preponderance of our deferred tax assets have long lives or are otherwise indefinite. We evaluate recoverability of these deferred tax assets by assessing future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversing taxable temporary differences, forecasted and historical earnings, available carryback and carryforward periods, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. A valuation allowance is established only if it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. As of December 31, 2025, a valuation allowance continues to be recorded against certain state-level attributes.
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We regularly remeasure our deferred tax assets for statutory changes and other guidance, such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed on July 4, 2025, as well as changes in our state apportionment factors. Given the magnitude of our deferred tax assets, minor changes can materially affect our Provision for income taxes. Upon a remeasurement of our deferred tax assets, the TRA liability is typically concurrently remeasured with a partially offsetting impact within Other (income) loss, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We have regularly taken tax positions, including with respect to our various corporate events and restructurings, in determining our Provision for income taxes. We recognize the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not the position will be sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority based on technical merits. We regularly review our tax positions with consideration of a number of factors, including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law or guidance, correspondence with tax authorities during the course of audits and effective settlement of audit issues. Changes in the recognition or measurement of uncertain tax positions could result in material increases or decreases in our Provision for income taxes in the period in which we make the change, which could have a material impact on our effective tax rate.
Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 1,249.5 | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.5 | ||||
| Cost of revenue: | ||||||||||
| Cost of service(1) | $ | 162.0 | $ | 151.6 | $ | 139.4 | ||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 37.6 | 38.2 | 39.1 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 1,049.9 | $ | 1,024.5 | $ | 1,061.0 | ||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Sales and marketing(1) | $ | 414.6 | $ | 414.1 | $ | 408.5 | ||||
| Research and development(1) | 182.0 | 196.1 | 191.5 | |||||||
| General and administrative(1) | 206.7 | 295.3 | 179.6 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.9 | 21.6 | 21.9 | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | $ | 824.2 | $ | 927.1 | $ | 801.5 | ||||
| Income from operations | $ | 225.7 | $ | 97.4 | $ | 259.5 | ||||
| Interest expense, net | 42.6 | 39.3 | 45.2 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 0.7 | 4.3 | |||||||
| Other (income) loss, net | (11.2) | 26.1 | (178.8) | |||||||
| Income before income taxes | $ | 194.3 | $ | 31.3 | $ | 388.8 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 70.1 | 2.2 | 281.5 | |||||||
| Net income | $ | 124.2 | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 |
__________________
(1)Amounts include equity-based compensation expense, as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 11.1 | $ | 10.5 | $ | 15.7 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 42.0 | 50.3 | 71.3 | |||||||
| Research and development | 33.2 | 40.5 | 45.1 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 29.9 | 36.7 | 35.5 | |||||||
| Total equity-based compensation expense | $ | 116.2 | $ | 138.0 | $ | 167.6 |
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Year Ended December 31, 2025 versus Year Ended December 31, 2024
Revenue. Revenue was $1,249.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $35.2 million, or 3%, as compared to $1,214.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to the effects of the operational changes implemented during the second quarter of 2024. Refer to the Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations section above.
Cost of revenue. Cost of revenue was $199.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $9.8 million, or 5%, as compared to $189.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Excluding equity-based compensation expense, cost of revenue was $188.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $9.2 million, or 5%, as compared to $179.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to hosting and infrastructure expense and depreciation expense on internally developed capitalized software, partially offset by decreased charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities.
Gross profit. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $1,049.9 million and represented a gross margin of 84%. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,024.5 million and represented a gross margin of 84%. The increase in gross profit in the year ended December 31, 2025 relative to the year ended December 31, 2024 was an increase of $25.4 million, or 2%. The increase in gross profit in the year ended December 31, 2025 was primarily due to increased revenues, as described above, and decreased charges related to lease restructuring activities, partially offset by the increase of hosting and infrastructure expense and depreciation expense on internally developed capitalized software.
Operating expenses. Operating expenses were $824.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, a decrease of $102.9 million, or 11%, as compared to $927.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Excluding equity-based compensation expense, operating expenses were $719.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, a decrease of $80.5 million, or 10%, as compared to $799.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
•Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $414.6 million, relatively flat as compared to $414.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Sales and marketing, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $372.6 million representing an increase of $8.8 million, or 2%, as compared to $363.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to increased employee compensation expenses, technology expense, and payroll tax and benefit expense, partially offset by decreased charges related to lease restructuring activities.
•Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $182.0 million representing a decrease of $14.1 million, or 7%, as compared to $196.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Research and development, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $148.8 million representing a decrease of $6.8 million, or 4%, as compared to $155.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to decreases in both employee compensation expense and charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities.
•General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $206.7 million representing a decrease of $88.6 million, or 30%, as compared to $295.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. General and administrative, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $176.8 million representing a decrease of $81.8 million, or 32%, as compared to $258.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to decreases in charges related to lease restructuring activities and charges incurred related to the Class Actions. Additionally, bad debt expense was lower year over year due to the prior year impact of the revision to reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable.
•Amortization of other acquired intangibles was $20.9 million, representing a decrease of $0.7 million, or 3%, for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to $21.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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Equity-based compensation expense. Equity-based compensation expense was $116.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, a decrease of $21.8 million, or 16%, as compared to $138.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to lower weighted average grant date fair values of grants being amortized in the current period compared to those that were amortized in the prior year and higher capitalization of equity-based compensation.
Income from operations. Income from operations was $225.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $128.3 million, or 132%, as compared to $97.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue and lower operating expenses, primarily driven by decreases in charges related to lease restructuring activities, charges incurred related to the Class Actions, as well as the prior year impact of the revision to reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable. Operating income margin was 18% for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to 8% for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $42.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $3.3 million, or 8%, as compared to $39.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to both lower interest income and increase expense from incremental borrowings, partially offset by lower interest rates.
Other (income) loss, net. Other income, net was $11.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement gain of $6.9 million and investment income of $0.6 million, as compared to other loss, net of $26.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement loss of $38.5 million, partially offset by investment income of $9.5 million.
Provision for income taxes. The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $70.1 million, representing an effective tax rate of 36.1%, as compared to a provision for income taxes of $2.2 million, representing an effective tax rate of 7.2%, for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in income tax expense was primarily due to the remeasurement of the deferred tax assets resulting from state tax law and apportionment changes and an increase in income before income taxes. The effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% primarily due to shortfalls in tax-deductible equity compensation compared to amounts recognized in our financial statements and U.S. state taxes, including the remeasurement of deferred tax assets for the effect of state tax law and apportionment changes, partially offset by research and development tax credits. Refer to Note 16 - Income Taxes of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Net income. Net income was $124.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $95.1 million or 327%, as compared to $29.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to the increase in revenue and lower operating expense, primarily driven by decreases in charges related to lease restructuring activities, charges incurred related to the Class Actions, as well as the prior year impact of the revision to reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. These measures include, but are not limited to, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income and are used by management in making operating decisions, allocating financial resources, internal planning and forecasting, and for business strategy purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial information is useful to investors because it eliminates certain items that affect period-over-period comparability, and it provides consistency with past financial performance and additional information about our underlying results and trends by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook.
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We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income as operating performance measures. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income is U.S. GAAP operating income. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income Margin is U.S. GAAP operating income divided by U.S. GAAP revenue. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income is U.S. GAAP Net Income.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, but rather as supplemental information to our business results. This information should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items or events being adjusted. In addition, other companies may use different measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Income Margin
We define Adjusted Operating Income as income (loss) from operations adjusted for, as applicable, (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iii) equity-based compensation expense, (iv) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, (v) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, and (vi) litigation settlement. We exclude the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, as well as equity-based compensation expense, because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments and we believe that excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding performance and ongoing cash-generation potential. We exclude restructuring and transaction-related expenses, as well as integration costs and acquisition-related compensation, because such expenses are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. We have also excluded charges associated with litigation settlements related to class actions because we believe it represents an extraordinary litigation expense outside of our ordinary course of business and is not indicative of our operative performance. Adjusted Operating Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. We define Adjusted Operating Income Margin as Adjusted Operating Income divided by the sum of revenue and the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Income from operations to Adjusted Operating Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Income from operations (GAAP) | $ | 225.7 | $ | 97.4 | $ | 259.5 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(1) | — | — | 0.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 37.6 | 38.2 | 39.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.9 | 21.6 | 21.9 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 116.2 | 138.0 | 167.6 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses(2) | 40.3 | 101.6 | 10.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement(3) | 5.2 | 31.7 | — | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income (Non-GAAP) | $ | 445.9 | $ | 428.5 | $ | 498.6 | ||||
| Revenue (GAAP) | $ | 1,249.5 | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.5 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue | — | — | 0.2 | |||||||
| Revenue for adjusted operating margin calculation (Non-GAAP) | $ | 1,249.5 | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.7 | ||||
| Operating Income Margin (GAAP) | 18% | 8% | 21% | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin (Non-GAAP) | 36% | 35% | 40% |
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(1)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(2)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2025, this expense is primarily related to impairment charges related to Vancouver and Ra’anana and employee severance and termination benefits. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 1.4 | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 5.2 | 25.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | 5.1 | 8.3 | 1.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 28.6 | 59.9 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 40.3 | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 |
(3)Represents charges associated with legal settlements and legal fees. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions.
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $445.9 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 36%. Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $428.5 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 35%. The change in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2025 relative to the year ended December 31, 2024 was an increase of $17.4 million, or 4%, and primarily due to higher revenue in the current period as well as the prior year impact of the revision to reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable, partially offset by increased technology expense and hosting and infrastructure expense.
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Adjusted Net Income
We define Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) adjusted for, as applicable, (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) loss on debt modification and extinguishment, (iii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iv) equity-based compensation expense, (v) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, (vi) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, (vii) litigation settlement, (viii) TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense, (ix) other (income) loss, net and (x) tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss). Adjusted Net Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted Net Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 124.2 | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(1) | — | — | 0.2 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 0.7 | 4.3 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 37.6 | 38.2 | 39.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.9 | 21.6 | 21.9 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 116.2 | 138.0 | 167.6 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses(2) | 40.3 | 101.6 | 10.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement(3) | 5.2 | 31.7 | — | |||||||
| TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense | (6.9) | 38.5 | (160.7) | |||||||
| Other loss (income), net | 0.1 | (2.4) | — | |||||||
| Tax impacts of adjustments to net income(4) | 31.7 | (33.2) | 223.1 | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income (Non-GAAP) | $ | 369.2 | $ | 363.8 | $ | 413.1 |
__________________
(1)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(2)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2025, this expense is primarily related to impairment charges related to Vancouver and Ra’anana and employee severance and termination benefits. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 1.4 | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 5.2 | 25.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | 5.1 | 8.3 | 1.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 28.6 | 59.9 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 40.3 | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 |
(3)Represents charges associated with legal settlements and associated legal fees. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions.
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(4)Represents tax expense associated with Net income (GAAP) excluded from Adjusted Net Income (Non-GAAP). The Company calculates the tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) by taking the total gross value of the adjustments and multiplying it by the Company’s U.S. federal and state statutory tax rate. We then recalculate the tax impact of book-tax differences related to equity compensation, the tax receivable agreements, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and items that are deemed to be unrelated to current year operating income or are one-time in nature, such as provision to return true-ups. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the tax impacts of adjustments to net income between GAAP and Non-GAAP are presented based on the specific rate reconciliation categories established under ASU 2023-09. For the year ended December 31, 2025, these primarily relate to recognizing $61.1 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of tax goodwill associated with historical corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $10.3 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these primarily relate to adjusting out $30.1 million of tax benefit from the effects of changes in state tax law and apportionment, recognizing $63.6 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of tax goodwill associated with historical corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $17.5 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these primarily relate to adjusting out $138.4 million of tax expense from the effects of changes in state tax law and apportionment, recognizing $60.0 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of tax goodwill associated with historical corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $23.4 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. We believe the exclusion of these adjustments provides investors with useful information about the Company’s underlying results and trends, allowing them to better understand and compare net income (loss) related to ongoing operations and the related current and deferred income tax expense.
Adjusted Net Income for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $369.2 million, an increase of $5.4 million, or 1%, relative to $363.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily due to higher revenue in current period, mostly offset by higher income tax expense and increased interest expense.
Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Management further adjusts EBITDA to exclude certain items of a significant or unusual nature, including other (income) expense, net, loss on debt modification and extinguishment, impact of certain non-cash items, such as fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and equity-based compensation expense, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, and litigation settlement. We exclude these items because these are either non-cash expenses which we do not consider indicative of performance and ongoing cash-generation potential or are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 124.2 | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 70.1 | 2.2 | 281.5 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 42.6 | 39.3 | 45.2 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 0.7 | 4.3 | |||||||
| Depreciation expense(1) | 29.8 | 23.9 | 19.6 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 37.6 | 38.2 | 39.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.9 | 21.6 | 21.9 | |||||||
| Other (income) loss, net(2) | (11.2) | 26.1 | (178.8) | |||||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(3) | — | — | 0.2 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 116.2 | 138.0 | 167.6 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses(4) | 40.3 | 101.6 | 10.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement(5) | 5.2 | 31.7 | — | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 475.7 | $ | 452.4 | $ | 518.2 |
__________________
(1)Amounts for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 exclude the accelerated depreciation associated with the Waltham Lease Restructuring. Refer to Note 4 - Property and Equipment and Note 12 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
(2)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(3)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(4)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2025, this expense is primarily related to impairment charges related to Vancouver and Ra’anana and employee severance and termination benefits. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 1.4 | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 5.2 | 25.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | 5.1 | 8.3 | 1.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 28.6 | 59.9 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 40.3 | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 |
(5)Represents charges associated with legal settlements and legal fees. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $475.7 million, an increase of $23.3 million, or 5%, relative to $452.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily due to increased revenues, partially offset by an increase in technology expense and hosting and infrastructure expense.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2025, we had $175.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, $4.0 million of short-term investments, and $150.0 million available under our first lien revolving credit facility. We have financed our operations primarily through cash generated from operations and financed various acquisitions through cash generated from operations supplemented with debt offerings.
We believe that our cash flows from operations and existing available cash and cash equivalents, together with our other available external financing sources, will be adequate to fund our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future. We are currently in compliance with the covenants under the credit agreements governing our secured credit facilities, and we expect to remain in compliance with our covenants.
We typically invoice our subscription customers for services annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of delivery. Therefore, a substantial source of our cash is from such prepayments, which are included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as unearned revenue. Unearned revenue consists of billed fees for our subscriptions, prior to satisfying the criteria for revenue recognition, which are subsequently recognized as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. As of December 31, 2025, we had unearned revenue of $477.8 million, of which $474.6 million was recorded as a current liability and is expected to be recorded as revenue in the next 12 months, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of common stock of ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and units of ZoomInfo Holdings and has no independent means of generating revenue. Although we have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock, in the event ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. were to declare any cash dividend, ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. may have to cause ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo Holdings and their subsidiaries to make distributions to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. in part through distributions to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo Holdings, in an amount sufficient to cover such cash dividends declared by us. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings, or cash flow of ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain covenants that may restrict ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc., ZoomInfo Holdings and their subsidiaries from paying such distributions, subject to certain exceptions. Further, ZoomInfo Midco LLC is generally prohibited under Delaware law from making a distribution to a member to the extent that, at the time of the distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, liabilities of ZoomInfo Midco LLC (with certain exceptions), as applicable, exceed the fair value of its assets. Subsidiaries of ZoomInfo Midco LLC are generally subject to similar legal limitations on their ability to make distributions to ZoomInfo Midco LLC. See “Risk Factors - Organizational Structure Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Our cash flows from operations, borrowing availability, and overall liquidity are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity and our ability to meet our obligations and to fund our capital requirements are dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available from additional indebtedness or otherwise to meet our liquidity needs. If we decide to pursue one or more significant acquisitions, we may incur additional debt or sell additional equity to finance such acquisitions, which would result in additional expenses or dilution. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
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Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 465.4 | $ | 369.4 | $ | 434.9 | ||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (80.8) | 13.4 | 24.4 | |||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (347.9) | (690.0) | (427.2) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 36.7 | $ | (307.2) | $ | 32.1 |
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $465.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 as a result of net income of $124.2 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $398.9 million, and the net change in our operating assets and liabilities of $57.7 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation expense of $116.2 million, amortization of deferred commission costs of $90.2 million, depreciation and amortization of $88.8 million, deferred taxes net of deferred tax liabilities of $61.4 million, asset impairments and lease abandonment of $23.7 million, provision for bad debt expense of $23.0 million, and tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $6.9 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $86.5 million, as well as an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $21.1 million and an increase in accounts payable of $10.3 million.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $369.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as a result of net income of $29.1 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $425.3 million, and the net change in our operating assets and liabilities of $85.0 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation expense of $138.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $85.7 million, amortization of deferred commission costs of $67.6 million, asset impairments of $57.4 million, provision for bad debt expense of $42.8 million, and tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $38.5 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $43.4 million, an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $35.5 million, a decrease in accounts payable of $17.7 million, and an increase in accounts receivable of $16.9 million, as well as an increase in unearned revenue of $36.1 million.
We may continue to make future acquisitions as part of our business strategy which may require the use of capital resources and drive additional future restructuring and transaction-related cash expenditures as well as integration and acquisition-related cash costs. During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 we incurred the following cash expenditures:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cash interest expense | $ | 45.8 | $ | 44.0 | $ | 48.5 | ||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses paid in cash(1) | 15.5 | 67.0 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses paid in cash(2) | — | 1.3 | 0.5 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement payments(3) | 4.3 | 30.1 | — |
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__________________
(1)Represents cash payments directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2025, these payments related primarily to employee severance and termination benefits payments and Waltham Lease Restructuring charges. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these payments related primarily to the Waltham Lease Restructuring. See Note 12 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these payments related primarily to a June 2023 reduction in force, legal costs paid related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions, and Waltham sublease costs.
(2)Represents cash payments directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, these payments related to deferred compensation from the acquisition of Insent.
(3)Represents cash payments for legal settlements and associated legal fees. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these payments are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions.
Future demands on our capital resources associated with our debt facilities may also be impacted by changes in reference interest rates and the potential that we incur additional debt in order to fund additional acquisitions or for other corporate purposes. Future demands on our capital resources associated with transaction expenses and restructuring activities and integration costs and transaction-related compensation will be dependent on the frequency and magnitude of future acquisitions and restructuring and integration activities that we pursue. As part of our business strategy, we expect to continue to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, complementary businesses from time to time; however, we cannot predict the magnitude or frequency of such acquisitions or investments.
Cash flows from investing activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $80.8 million, primarily consisting of purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $76.1 million, and purchases of investments of $15.2 million, as well as maturities of investments of $11.0 million.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $13.4 million, primarily consisting of maturities of investments of $82.2 million, as well as purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $64.9 million, and payments of initial direct costs of $3.4 million.
As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we expect to continue to invest in property and equipment and opportunistically pursue acquisitions.
Cash flows from financing activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $347.9 million which was primarily comprised of payments relating to the repurchase of common stock of $411.1 million, TRA payments of $23.6 million, payment of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards of $7.2 million, as well as proceeds from revolving credit loans of $100.0 million.
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $690.0 million which was primarily comprised of payments relating to the repurchase of common stock of $565.6 million, TRA payments of $94.0 million, and payment of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards of $22.8 million.
Refer to Note 6 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to each of our borrowings.
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The shares of Common Stock proposed to be acquired in the share repurchase program may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The Company intends to fund repurchases from available working capital, cash provided by operating activities, and, as appropriate, borrowings under its existing credit facilities or other sources of financing. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares of Common Stock repurchased under the program, will be determined by the Company at its discretion and will depend on a variety of factors, including management’s assessment of the intrinsic value of the Company’s shares of Common Stock, the market price of the Company’s Common Stock, general market and economic conditions, available liquidity, alternative investment opportunities, compliance with the Company’s debt and other agreements, and applicable legal requirements. The exact number of shares of Common Stock to be repurchased by the Company is not guaranteed, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice.
Debt Obligations
As of December 31, 2025, the aggregate balance of $100.0 million under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 28, 2028. As of December 31, 2025, the aggregate remaining balance of $650.0 million of 3.875% Senior Notes is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2029. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears beginning on August 1, 2021. As of December 31, 2025, the Company has a remaining balance of $582.2 million with respect to its First Lien Term Loan. The Company is obligated to make principal payments each quarter in the amount of 0.25% of the aggregate initial outstanding amount, with the remaining balance due at the contractual maturity date of February 28, 2030. The foregoing currently represent the only existing required future debt principal repayment obligations that will require future uses of the Company’s cash.
The First Lien Term Loan has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable rate is 0.75% for Base Rate loans or 1.75% for SOFR loans. The effective interest rate on the First Lien Term Loan was 5.71% and 6.56% as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
We have historically used derivative financial instruments, primarily interest rate swap contracts designated as cash flow hedges, to manage a portion of our exposure to changes in interest rates. We do not enter into derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes. As our existing interest rate swaps mature, our exposure to changes in interest rates on our floating rate debt will increase to the extent we do not enter into new interest rate swap contracts.
The First Lien Revolving Credit Facility, which has $100.0 million outstanding as of December 31, 2025, has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable margin is 1.00% to 1.25% for Base Rate loans. The applicable margin for SOFR loans is 2.10% to 2.35%, which includes the credit spread adjustment of 0.1%, depending on the Company’s Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio. The effective interest rate on the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility was 6.12% as of December 31, 2025. There was no outstanding balance under the First Lien Revolving Credit Facility as of December 31, 2024.
Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash, cash equivalents, and investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2025 was $475.7 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2025 was 2.4x.
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| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,332.2 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and investments | 179.9 | |
| Net contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,152.3 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 475.7 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA | 2.4x |
Our Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio is defined in the agreement governing our existing first lien credit facilities (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) as total contractual maturity of outstanding First Lien indebtedness less cash, cash equivalents and investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements). Cash EBITDA differs from Adjusted EBITDA due to certain defined add-backs, including cash generated from changes in unearned revenue; see table below for reconciliation. Cash EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2025 was $484.7 million. Our Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio as of December 31, 2025 was 1.0x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 682.2 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and investments | 179.9 | |
| Net contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 502.3 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 484.7 |
| Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio | 1.0x |
Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements) is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash, cash equivalents, and investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA. Cash EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2025 was $484.7 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA as of December 31, 2025 was 2.4x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,332.2 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and investments | 179.9 | |
| Net contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,152.3 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 484.7 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA | 2.4x |
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| Trailing Twelve Months as of | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | December 31, 2025 | |
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 124.2 |
| Provision for income taxes | 70.1 | |
| Interest expense, net | 42.6 | |
| Depreciation expense(1) | 29.8 | |
| Amortization of acquired technology | 37.6 | |
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.9 | |
| Other income, net(2) | (11.2) | |
| Equity-based compensation expense | 116.2 | |
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses(3) | 40.3 | |
| Litigation settlement(4) | 5.2 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 475.7 |
| Unearned revenue adjustment | (0.2) | |
| Cash rent adjustment | 8.7 | |
| Other lender adjustments | 0.5 | |
| Cash EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 484.7 |
__________________
(1)Amounts for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2025 exclude the accelerated depreciation associated with the Waltham Lease Restructuring. Refer to Note 4 - Property and Equipment and Note 12 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
(2)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(3)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2025, this expense is primarily related to impairment charges related to Vancouver and Ra’anana and employee severance and termination benefits.
(4)Represents charges associated with legal settlements and associated legal fees.
In addition, the credit agreement governing our First Lien Term Loan contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. These restrictive covenants include, among others, limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, capital stock, prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt, make acquisitions, investments, loans, and advances, or sell or otherwise dispose of assets. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. The Company may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the credit agreements governing our first lien term loan limit, but do not prohibit, the Company from incurring additional indebtedness, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions will also not prevent the Company from incurring obligations that do not constitute “Indebtedness” as defined in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures increased by $11.2 million, or 17%, to $76.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024, as a result of increased capitalization of development expenses and increased expenditures related to new facilities.
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Tax Receivable Agreements
We have entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements. We entered into (i) the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement with certain Pre-IPO Owners of equity units of ZoomInfo Holdings and (ii) the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement with the Pre-IPO Blocker Holders. These Tax Receivable Agreements provide for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to such Pre-IPO Owners and certain Pre-IPO Owners that held HoldCo Units immediately prior to the IPO of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group actually realizes, or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances, as a result of utilization or deemed utilization of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreements.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement include (i) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and (ii) increases in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments that increased the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of sales or exchanges of units of ZoomInfo Holdings for shares of common stock after the IPO, as well as certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement include certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the Reorganization Transactions), and certain other tax benefits.
In each case, these increases in existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s depreciation and amortization deductions for tax purposes and, therefore, may reduce the amount of tax that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
The ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustments upon exchanges of units of ZoomInfo Holdings LLC for shares of common stock may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. The ZoomInfo Tax Group expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of realized cash tax benefits.
For purposes of the tax receivable agreements, the realized cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of the ZoomInfo Tax Group (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would have been required to pay had the tax receivable agreements not been entered into and had there been no existing tax basis, no anticipated tax basis adjustments of the assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of exchanges, and no utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the Blocker Companies’ allocable share of existing tax basis). The term of each tax receivable agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless (i) ZoomInfo Tax Group exercises its right to terminate one or both tax receivable agreements for an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement, (ii) ZoomInfo Tax Group breaches any of its material obligations under one or both tax receivable agreements in which case all obligations (including any additional interest due relating to any deferred payments) generally will be accelerated and due as if ZoomInfo Tax Group had exercised its right to terminate the tax receivable agreements, or (iii) there is a change of control of ZoomInfo Tax Group, in which case the Pre-IPO Owners may elect to receive an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement determined as described above in clause (i). Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreements is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The amount of existing tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including our blended federal and state tax rate, the amount and timing of our income and deductions, and situations where no net benefit is received from the tax attributes.
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We expect that as a result of the size of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO, the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustment of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group upon the exchange of units of ZoomInfo Holdings LLC for shares of common stock and our expected utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that ZoomInfo Tax Group may make under the tax receivable agreements will be substantial. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a liability of $2,731.9 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and units of ZoomInfo Holdings LLC. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, $23.6 million and $94.0 million, was paid to TRA holders pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements, respectively. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging holders of units of ZoomInfo Holdings LLC. Refer to Note 15 - Tax Receivable Agreements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2025 and the years in which these obligations are due:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | Total | Less than one year | One to three years | Three to five years | Greater than five years | |||||||||||||
| Long-term indebtedness(1) | $ | 1,332.2 | $ | 5.9 | $ | 111.8 | $ | 1,214.5 | $ | — | ||||||||
| Operating leases(2) | 405.5 | 8.2 | 64.8 | 64.7 | 267.8 | |||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations(3) | 77.3 | 40.4 | 36.9 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 1,815.0 | $ | 54.5 | $ | 213.5 | $ | 1,279.2 | $ | 267.8 |
__________________
(1)Includes future principal payments on long-term indebtedness through the scheduled maturity dates thereof. Indebtedness is discussed in Note 6 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Interest incurred on amounts we borrow is based on relative borrowing levels, fluctuations in the variable interest rates, and the spread we pay over those interest rates. As such, we are unable to quantify our future obligations relating to interest and therefore no amounts have been included in the above table.
(2)Represents future payments on existing operating leases, including future tenant improvement allowance reimbursements through the scheduled expiration dates thereof.
(3)Primarily relates to third-party cloud hosting and software as a service arrangements.
The amounts included in the table above represent agreements that are enforceable and legally binding. Any obligations under contracts that we can cancel without significant penalty are not included here, because the ultimate timing of these liabilities cannot be determined; therefore, we have excluded these amounts from the contractual obligations table above. Purchase orders issued in the ordinary course of business are not included in the table above as they represent authorizations to purchase the items rather than binding agreements. However, if such claims arise in the future, they could have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The payments that we may be required to make under the tax receivable agreements that we entered into may be significant and are not reflected in the contractual obligations tables set forth above, as we are currently unable to estimate the amounts and timing of the payments that may be due thereunder.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Our critical accounting policies are those that we believe have the most significant impact to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP with no need for the application of judgment.
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In certain circumstances, however, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 - Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, we believe the following topics reflect our critical accounting policies and our more significant judgment and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Tax Receivable Agreements
In connection with our IPO, we entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements with certain non-controlling interest holders (the “TRA Holders”). The TRAs generally provide for payment by the Company to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax based on income that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings.
We account for amounts payable under the TRA in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450, Contingencies. Amounts payable under the TRA are accrued by a charge to income when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount is estimable. As such, subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as a component of Other (income) loss, net. Refer to Note 15 - Tax Receivable Agreements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Income Taxes
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation, and it and its U.S. affiliates are subject to U.S. federal and state income tax. Additionally, our operations in Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, and the U.K. are subject to local country income taxes.
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax law is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period that includes the enactment date.
The Company reviews all available evidence to evaluate the realizability of its deferred tax assets, including consideration of both positive and negative evidence, scheduled reversals of deferred tax assets and liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and results of recent operations. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded. Our judgment regarding future profitability may change due to many factors, including future market conditions and the ability to successfully execute our business plans and tax planning strategies. If there is a change in our ability to recover certain deferred tax assets, our income tax provision would increase or decrease in the period in which the assessment is changed.
The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, based solely on its technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest and penalties within Provision for income taxes on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Refer to Note 16 - Income Taxes of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
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Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 1 - Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K regarding recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements.
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MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001794515-25-000045.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the sections titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Numerical figures included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are subject to immaterial rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams. Our go-to-market intelligence platform empowers businesses with AI-ready insights, trusted data, and advanced automation providing sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals accurate information and insights on the organizations and professionals they target. This enables our customers to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by empowering sellers, marketers, and recruiters to efficiently deliver the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way.
ZoomInfo is the modern go-to-market intelligence platform, consisting of three distinct layers that build upon each other:
•Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategy. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, and financial information.
•Our Orchestration Layer integrates and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM system providers enabling sales operations professionals to access a suite of products, services, and solutions to ingest, match, enrich, and connect data feeds into multiple systems.
•Our Engagement Layer allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put data-driven insights into action to identify and communicate with prospects and customers. Go-to-market professionals use our engagement layer for multi-touch and multi-channel sales engagement, web meeting recording, transcription, insight generation, and coaching. Marketers drive awareness, lead generation, and deal acceleration campaigns through account-based marketing, advertising, and onsite conversion optimization solutions including chat functionality. Recruiters and talent acquisition professionals can locate and reach more better suited candidates, use pipeline management tools to collaborate and organize the hiring process, and automate aspects of the candidate outreach process by more efficiently finding and engaging candidates.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Subscriptions include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length. Over 49% of customer contracts (based on annualized value) are multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
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We sell access to our platform to both new and existing customers. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in our contracts. Our core paid products are ZoomInfo Copilot, ZoomInfo Sales, ZoomInfo Marketing, ZoomInfo Operations, and ZoomInfo Talent (with add-on options for some products), and we have a free community edition, ZoomInfo Lite.
Our software, insights, and data enable over 35,000 companies to go-to-market more effectively and efficiently. Our customers are primarily businesses that sell to other businesses and operate in almost every industry vertical. They range from the largest global enterprises, to mid-market companies, down to small businesses. The top five industries that we serve, as measured by ACV, on December 31, 2024 are software, which comprised 32% of ACV (compared to 33% a year prior), non-IT business services, which comprised 20% of ACV (compared to 18% a year prior), IT business services, which comprised 8% of ACV (compared to 10% a year prior), financial, insurance & real estate, which comprised 8% of ACV (compared to 8% a year prior), and manufacturing, which comprised 6% of ACV (compared to 5% a year prior).
For the year ended December 31, 2024, no single customer contributed more than 10% of revenue. Revenues derived from customers and partners located outside the United States, as determined based on the address provided by our customers and partners, accounted for approximately 12%, 13%, and 12% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, 1,867 customers contracted for more than $100,000 in ACV for ZoomInfo services.
We generated revenue of $1,214.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $1,239.5 million, and GAAP income from operations of $97.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to GAAP income from operations of $259.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. GAAP operating income margin was 8% for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to 21% in 2023. GAAP net income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $29.1 million, as compared to GAAP net income of $107.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. In addition to our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial measures, we review various non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. Our Adjusted Operating Income was $428.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $498.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our Adjusted Operating Income Margin was 35% for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to 40% in 2023. Adjusted net income was $363.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $413.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for definitions.
The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Recent Developments
Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions
Our business and financial condition have and may continue to be impacted by adverse macroeconomic conditions. See “Risk Factors - Geopolitical Risks and Macroeconomic Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the possible impact of these issues on our business.
First Lien Term Loan
In June 2024, we entered into an amendment to our existing First Lien Credit Agreement (the "Seventh Amendment"), pursuant to which the Company completed a repricing of its First Lien Term Loan Facility, which decreased the applicable rate for both Base Rate loans and SOFR based loans by 50 basis points.
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Waltham Lease Restructurings
In July 2024, the Company executed an agreement to restructure its existing lease commitments in Waltham, Massachusetts (“Waltham Lease Restructuring”). Pursuant to the agreement, the Company made a payment of $59.1 million. The Company also executed a new lease agreement for separate office space in Waltham, Massachusetts with the same landlord, with rent payments expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2025. The lease will terminate on December 31, 2038.
In November 2024, the Company executed two amendments to the Waltham Lease Restructuring agreement. Pursuant to the first amendment, the Company agreed to lease separate office space in Waltham, Massachusetts with the same landlord in place of certain remaining lease components, whereby the existing space terminated immediately upon execution. The associated derecognition of the right-of-use assets and liabilities resulted in a loss of $28.3 million which was allocated among the appropriate financial statement line items on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company expects rent payments to commence in the first quarter of 2025. The lease ends on December 31, 2025, and undiscounted lease payments are $1.5 million. Additionally, in November 2024, the Company executed a second amendment to the Waltham Lease Restructuring agreement to extend the term for a portion of the remaining components, which were set to terminate on December 31, 2024, by three months and is set to terminate on March 31, 2025. The Company is not obligated to make any additional lease payments as a result of the extension. See Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statement included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information regarding the Waltham Lease Restructuring and amended agreements.
Share Repurchase Program
In August 2024, the Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (the “ASR Transaction”) with a financial institution to repurchase an aggregate $125.0 million of the Company’s common stock. The Company repurchased and retired in total 12,431,216 shares for $125.0 million at an average price of $10.06 per share as part of the ASR Transaction. See the section entitled “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities—Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” for additional information.
Separately, in February 2025, our board of directors authorized an additional $500.0 million in repurchases under the Share Repurchase Program.
See Note 11 - Stockholders' Equity of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Acquiring New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers using our platform in the United States and around the world, and efficiently transacting with those customers. Acquiring new customers while optimizing the profile of those customers and the go-to-market channels we use to attract these customers will play a part in determining our operating results and growth prospects in the future. Acquiring new customers also strengthens the power of our contributory networks. We plan to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to expand our customer base. As of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, we had over 35,000, 35,000, and 30,000 customers, respectively. We define a customer as a company that maintains one or more active paid subscriptions to our platform.
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Increasing Usage of Our Platform
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is a metric that we calculate based on customers of ZoomInfo at the beginning of the twelve-month period, and is calculated as: (a) the total ACV for those customers at the end of the twelve-month period, divided by (b) the total ACV for those customers at the beginning of the twelve-month period. Our net annual retention rate was 87% and 87% as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. In the near term, we expect our net retention rate to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions. See the caption above entitled “—Recent Developments — Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions.” Over the long term, we expect our net revenue retention rate to be influenced by our ability to move upmarket, as larger customers have historically exhibited higher net revenue retention. We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for more than $100,000 in ACV. As of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, our customers with over $100,000 in ACV was 1,867, 1,820, and 1,926, respectively.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
Our historical results of operations are not comparable from period to period and may not be comparable to our financial results of operations in future periods. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting the comparability of our results of operations.
Changing the Mix of Our Customer Base and Reducing Write-offs and Bad Debts
During the second quarter of 2024, we deployed a new business risk model to flag and require upfront pre-payment from prospects at the greatest risk of non-payment. This process was incorporated to mitigate the risk of future write-offs and invest in the long-term health of the Company. Concurrently, our efforts have shifted to customers more likely to pay, renew, and grow with us over time.
As a result, we recorded an incremental charge during the second quarter of 2024 impacting our reported Revenue and General and administrative expenses. The charge represents a revision to our reserves for uncollectible accounts receivable, made up primarily of historical transactions with our SMB customers.
Impact of Acquisitions
We seek to grow through both internal development and the acquisition of businesses that broaden and strengthen our platform. Our recent acquisitions include Comparably, Inc. and Dogpatch Advisors, LLC in April 2022. These acquisitions have been a driver of our revenue, cost of service, operating expense, and interest expense growth when comparing the results for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive primarily all of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services and other revenue. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, and the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period.
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Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. Other revenue, comprised largely of implementation and professional services fees, is recognized as services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and contract timing within the period. The unearned revenue balance does not represent the total contract value of annual or multi-year, non-cancelable subscription agreements.
Cost of revenue
Cost of service. Cost of service includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our services and research teams including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, technology, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, and amortization of internally developed capitalized software.
We anticipate continued investment in cost of service, with cost of service as a percentage of revenue expected to remain consistent or modestly increase. This is driven by rising AI consumption costs and customer onboarding expenses as we migrate existing customers to Copilot and acquire and onboard new Copilot customers.
Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Gross profit and Gross margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of revenue, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, and amortization of other acquired intangibles. The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, marketing, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. We anticipate that restructuring and transaction-related expenses, including potential impairments, will be influenced by future acquisition activity, strategic restructuring activities, and the commencement of new leases. Specifically, as new leases commence, we may face increased impairment expenses for spaces that we do not intend to occupy and/or that we plan to sublease, which could cause these costs to vary, potentially significantly, from our historic levels. Refer to Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
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Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our sales and marketing teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, and marketing programs. Sales commissions and related payroll taxes directly related to contract acquisition are capitalized and recognized as expenses over the estimated period of benefit.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in sales and marketing capacity to enable future growth. We anticipate that sales and marketing expense excluding equity-based compensation as a percentage of revenue will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of our growing investments in sales and marketing capacity excluding equity-based compensation, the recognition of revenue, and the amortization of deferred commissions costs.
Research and development. Research and development expenses support our efforts to enhance our existing platform and develop new software products. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our engineering and product management teams, as well as overhead costs, and technology. Research and development expenses do not reflect amortization of internally developed capitalized software. We believe that our core technologies and ongoing innovation represent a significant competitive advantage for us.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in research and development in order to develop new features and functionality to drive incremental customer value in the future and that research and development expense as a percentage of revenue will modestly increase in the short-term, but will modestly decrease in the long-term as we drive efficiencies in that organization.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee related benefits for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, IT, and business operations and administrative teams, as well as overhead costs. Additionally, we incur expenses related to bad debt and collections, as well as for professional fees including legal services, accounting, banking, and other consulting services. General and administrative expenses also include restructuring and transaction-related expenses, such as impairment charges associated with our leasing activity. Refer to Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information. We also incur charges associated with litigation settlements, such as the Class Action settlement previously disclosed, which are presented within General and administrative on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate during periods when we incur non-recurring restructuring and transaction-related expenses, such as those associated with acquisitions or impairments. Excluding these non-recurring items, we expect a more stable or declining trend over time.
Amortization of other acquired intangibles. Amortization of acquired intangibles consists of amortization of customer relationships and brand portfolios.
We anticipate that amortization of other acquired intangibles will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Interest expense, net
Interest expense, net represents the interest payable on our debt obligations and the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs, less interest income.
We anticipate that interest expense could be impacted by changes in variable interest rates, the issuance of additional debt, or changes in our interest rate hedging strategies, such as entering into new hedging arrangements or the expiration of existing interest rate swaps.
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Loss on debt modification and extinguishment
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment consists of prepayment penalties and impairment of deferred financing costs associated with the modification or extinguishment of debt, as well as new fees incurred with third parties in connection with debt modifications.
We anticipate that losses related to debt modification and extinguishment will only occur if we extinguish indebtedness before the contractual repayment dates or amend our existing financing arrangements.
Other loss (income), net
Other loss (income), net consists primarily of the remeasurement of TRA liabilities, investment income, and realized and unrealized gains and losses related to the impact of transactions denominated in a foreign currency.
Changes to existing tax law, including changes to the corporate income tax rates or the Company’s state tax footprint could lead to substantial remeasurement of the TRA liability recorded through Other loss (income), net. Additionally, the magnitude of Other loss (income), net may increase as we expand operations internationally and add complexity to our operations. Refer to the Provision for income taxes section below for further information.
Provision (Benefit) for income taxes
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as from net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We evaluate the recoverability of these future deductible temporary differences, net operating losses and credits by assessing the carryforward period and adequacy of future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversing taxable temporary differences, future growth, and forecasted earnings, as well as historical earnings, taxable income in prior years, whether carryback is permitted under the law, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. A valuation allowance is established only if it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.
The Company has significant U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets, including deferred tax assets created by various historical restructuring events. The preponderance of our deferred tax assets have long lives or are otherwise indefinite. We regularly review whether it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets will be realizable. As of December 31, 2024, a valuation allowance continues to be recorded against certain state-level attributes.
The value of our deferred tax assets are regularly remeasured to consider the impact of statutory changes and other guidance, as well as changes in our state income apportionment factors. Given the amount of our deferred tax assets, minor changes can materially affect our Provision for income taxes. A significant portion of our deferred tax assets are associated with our TRA, and upon a remeasurement of our deferred tax assets, the TRA liability is typically concurrently remeasured with a partially offsetting impact within Other loss (income), net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We have regularly taken tax positions, including with respect to our various corporate events and restructurings, in the ordinary course of determining our Provision for income taxes. We recognize the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not the position will be sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority based on the technical merits. We regularly review our tax positions with consideration of a number of factors, including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law or guidance, correspondence with tax authorities during the course of audits and effective settlement of audit issues. Changes in the recognition or measurement of uncertain tax positions could result in material increases or decreases in our Provision for income taxes in the period in which we make the change, which could have a material impact on our effective tax rate and operating results.
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Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.5 | $ | 1,098.0 | ||||
| Cost of revenue: | ||||||||||
| Cost of service(1) | $ | 151.6 | $ | 139.4 | $ | 140.5 | ||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 38.2 | 39.1 | 48.2 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 1,024.5 | $ | 1,061.0 | $ | 909.3 | ||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Sales and marketing(1) | $ | 414.1 | $ | 408.5 | $ | 379.3 | ||||
| Research and development(1) | 196.1 | 191.5 | 207.1 | |||||||
| General and administrative(1) | 295.3 | 179.6 | 125.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.0 | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | $ | 927.1 | $ | 801.5 | $ | 733.5 | ||||
| Income from operations | $ | 97.4 | $ | 259.5 | $ | 175.8 | ||||
| Interest expense, net | 39.3 | 45.2 | 47.6 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 0.7 | 4.3 | — | |||||||
| Other loss (income), net | 26.1 | (178.8) | (66.4) | |||||||
| Income before income taxes | $ | 31.3 | $ | 388.8 | $ | 194.6 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2.2 | 281.5 | 131.4 | |||||||
| Net income | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 |
__________________
(1)Includes equity-based compensation expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 10.5 | $ | 15.7 | $ | 20.2 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 50.3 | 71.3 | 80.4 | |||||||
| Research and development | 40.5 | 45.1 | 65.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 36.7 | 35.5 | 26.0 | |||||||
| Total equity-based compensation expense | $ | 138.0 | $ | 167.6 | $ | 192.3 |
Year Ended December 31, 2024 versus Year Ended December 31, 2023
Revenue. Revenue was $1,214.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $25.2 million, or 2%, as compared to $1,239.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to elevated write-off levels resulting from the operational changes implemented during the second quarter of 2024. Refer to the Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations section above.
Cost of revenue. Cost of revenue was $189.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $11.3 million, or 6%, as compared to $178.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Excluding equity-based compensation expense, cost of revenue was $179.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $16.5 million, or 10%, as compared to $162.8 million for the year end December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities, depreciation expense on internally developed capitalized software, and hosting fees.
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Gross profit. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1,024.5 million and represented a gross margin of 84%. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $1,061.0 million and represented a gross margin of 86%. The decrease in gross profit in the year ended December 31, 2024 relative to the year ended December 31, 2023 was a decrease of $36.5 million, or 3%. The gross profit and gross margin decline in the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to lower revenues, as described above, and charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities, increased amortization expense on internally developed capitalized software, and hosting fees.
Operating expenses. Operating expenses were $927.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $125.6 million, or 16%, as compared to $801.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Excluding equity-based compensation expense, operating expenses were $799.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $150.0 million, or 23%, as compared to $649.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
•Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $414.1 million representing an increase of $5.6 million, or 1%, as compared to $408.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Sales and marketing, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $363.8 million representing an increase of $26.6 million, or 8%, as compared to $337.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities, and increased expenses relating to marketing, facilities, and employee-related benefits, offset by decreased compensation costs.
•Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $196.1 million representing an increase of $4.6 million, or 2%, as compared to $191.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Research and development, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $155.6 million representing an increase of $9.2 million, or 6%, as compared to $146.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to charges incurred related to lease restructuring activities, and increased employee-related benefits, offset by decreased compensation costs.
•General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $295.3 million representing an increase of $115.7 million, or 64%, as compared to $179.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. General and administrative, excluding equity-based compensation expense, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $258.6 million representing an increase of $114.5 million, or 79%, as compared to $144.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to lease impairment and abandonment charges, lease restructuring activities, charges incurred related to the Class Actions (See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information), incremental bad debt expense resulting from the change in accounting estimate, and increased compensation costs.
•Amortization of other acquired intangibles was $21.6 million, representing a decrease of $0.3 million, or 1%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to $21.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Equity-based compensation expense. Equity-based compensation expense was $138.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $29.6 million, or 18%, as compared to $167.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, due to lower weighted average grant date fair values of grants being amortized in the current period compared to those that were amortized in the prior year and higher capitalization of equity-based compensation, partially offset by decreased termination expense reversals.
Income from operations. Income from operations was $97.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $162.1 million, or 62%, as compared to $259.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lease impairment and abandonment charges, lease restructuring activities, and costs incurred related to the Class Actions, as well as the change in accounting estimate of collectability of accounts receivable. Operating income margin was 8% for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 21% for the year ended December 31, 2023.
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Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $39.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $5.9 million, or 13%, as compared to $45.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the completion of a debt repricing, which resulted in a lower margin on our variable rate debt, as well as reduced principal debt outstanding from repayments during the year and higher interest income.
Other loss (income), net. Other loss, net was $26.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement loss of $38.5 million, partially offset by investment income of $9.5 million, as compared to other income, net of $178.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement gain of $160.7 million and investment income of $22.0 million, partially offset by a loss on foreign currency transactions of $3.9 million.
Provision for income taxes. The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $2.2 million, representing an effective tax rate of 7.2%, as compared to provision for income taxes of $281.5 million, representing an effective tax rate of 72.4%, for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in income tax expense was primarily due to remeasurement of the deferred tax assets resulting from state tax law and apportionment changes and reduction in income before income taxes. The effective tax rate differed from the U.S. statutory rate of 21% due to the remeasurement of deferred tax assets for the effect of state tax law and apportionment changes and research and development tax credits, partially offset by non-deductible equity-based compensation expense, shortfalls in tax-deductible equity compensation compared to amounts recognized in our financial accounts, U.S. state taxes and valuation allowance established over certain state tax attributes. Refer to Note 17 - Income Taxes of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Net income. Net income was $29.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, a decrease of $78.2 million or 73%, as compared to $107.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lease impairment and abandonment charges, lease restructuring activities, charges incurred related to the Class Actions, and impacts resulting from revising our estimates of collectability of accounts receivable.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. These measures include, but are not limited to, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income and are used by management in making operating decisions, allocating financial resources, internal planning and forecasting, and for business strategy purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial information is useful to investors because it eliminates certain items that affect period-over-period comparability, and it provides consistency with past financial performance and additional information about our underlying results and trends by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook.
We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income as operating performance measures. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income is U.S. GAAP operating income. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income Margin is U.S. GAAP operating income divided by U.S. GAAP revenue. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income is U.S. GAAP Net Income.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, but rather as supplemental information to our business results. This information should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items or events being adjusted. In addition, other companies may use different measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
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Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income
We define Adjusted Operating Income as income (loss) from operations adjusted for, as applicable, (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iii) equity-based compensation expense, (iv) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, (v) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, and (vi) legal settlement. We exclude the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, as well as equity-based compensation expense, because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments and we believe that excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding performance and ongoing cash-generation potential. We exclude restructuring and transaction-related expenses, as well as integration costs and acquisition-related compensation, because such expenses are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. We have also excluded charges associated with litigation settlements related to class actions because we believe it represents an extraordinary litigation expense outside of our ordinary course of business and is not indicative of our operative performance. Adjusted Operating Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. We define Adjusted Operating Income Margin as Adjusted Operating Income divided by the sum of revenue and the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue.
We define Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) adjusted for, as applicable, (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) loss on debt modification and extinguishment, (iii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iv) equity-based compensation expense, (v) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, (vi) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, (vii) legal settlement, (viii) TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense, (ix) other (income) loss, net and (x) tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss). Adjusted Net Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Income from operations to Adjusted Operating Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Income from operations (GAAP) | $ | 97.4 | $ | 259.5 | $ | 175.8 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (1) | — | 0.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 38.2 | 39.1 | 48.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.0 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 138.0 | 167.6 | 192.3 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (2) | 101.6 | 10.3 | 4.1 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (3) | — | — | 3.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement (4) | 31.7 | — | — | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income (Non-GAAP) | $ | 428.5 | $ | 498.6 | $ | 447.8 | ||||
| Revenue (GAAP) | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.5 | $ | 1,098.0 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue | — | 0.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Revenue for adjusted operating margin calculation (Non-GAAP) | $ | 1,214.3 | $ | 1,239.7 | $ | 1,100.1 | ||||
| Operating Income Margin (GAAP) | 8% | 21% | 16% | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin (Non-GAAP) | 35% | 40% | 41% |
__________________
(1)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(2)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.3 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 25.2 | 2.1 | — | |||||||
| Research and development | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 59.9 | 6.1 | 2.0 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 4.1 |
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(3)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | — | 0.5 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | — | 2.3 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | — | 0.3 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3.3 |
(4)Represents charges associated with certain legal settlements. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions. See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $428.5 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 35%. Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $498.6 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 40%. The change in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2024 relative to the year ended December 31, 2023 was a decrease of $70.1 million, or 14%, and primarily due to the change in accounting estimate of collectability of accounts receivable resulting in both reduced revenues as well as incremental bad debt expense combined with increased employee benefit and facility expenses.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted Net Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (1) | — | 0.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 0.7 | 4.3 | — | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 38.2 | 39.1 | 48.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.0 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 138.0 | 167.6 | 192.3 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (2) | 101.6 | 10.3 | 4.1 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (3) | — | — | 3.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement (4) | 31.7 | — | — | |||||||
| TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense | 38.5 | (160.7) | (65.6) | |||||||
| Other income | (2.4) | — | — | |||||||
| Tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) (5) | (33.2) | 223.1 | 93.8 | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income (Non-GAAP) | $ | 363.8 | $ | 413.1 | $ | 363.5 |
__________________
(1)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
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(2)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.3 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 25.2 | 2.1 | — | |||||||
| Research and development | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 59.9 | 6.1 | 2.0 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 4.1 |
(3)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | — | 0.5 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | — | 2.3 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | — | 0.3 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3.3 |
(4)Represents charges associated with certain legal settlements. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions. See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
(5)Represents tax expense associated with Net income (GAAP) excluded from Adjusted Net Income (Non-GAAP). The Company calculates the tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) by taking the total gross value of the adjustments and multiplying it by the Company’s U.S. federal and state statutory tax rate. We then recalculate the tax impact of book-tax differences related to equity compensation, the tax receivable agreements, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and items that are deemed to be unrelated to current year operating income or are one-time in nature, such as provision to return true-ups. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these primarily relate to adjusting out $30.1 million of tax benefit from the effects of changes in state tax law and apportionment, recognizing $63.6 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of costs associated with corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $17.5 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these primarily relate to adjusting out $138.4 million of tax expense from the effects of changes in state tax law and apportionment, recognizing $60.0 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of costs associated with corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $23.4 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these primarily relate to adjusting out $71.1 million of tax expense from the effects of changes in state tax law and apportionment, recognizing $59.1 million of tax benefit related to the amortization of costs associated with corporate structure simplification, and adjusting out $12.4 million of tax expense from non-deductible stock-based compensation. We believe the exclusion of these adjustments provides investors with useful information about the Company’s underlying results and trends, allowing them to better understand and compare net income (loss) related to ongoing operations and the related current and deferred income tax expense.
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Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Management further adjusts EBITDA to exclude certain items of a significant or unusual nature, including other (income) expense, net, loss on debt modification and extinguishment, impact of certain non-cash items, such as fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and equity-based compensation expense, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, and litigation settlement. We exclude these items because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments, which we do not consider indicative of performance and ongoing cash-generation potential or are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 29.1 | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2.2 | 281.5 | 131.4 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 39.3 | 45.2 | 47.6 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 0.7 | 4.3 | — | |||||||
| Depreciation expense (1) | 23.9 | 19.6 | 17.6 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 38.2 | 39.1 | 48.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.0 | |||||||
| Other loss (income), net (2) | 26.1 | (178.8) | (66.4) | |||||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (3) | — | 0.2 | 2.1 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 138.0 | 167.6 | 192.3 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (4) | 101.6 | 10.3 | 4.1 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (5) | — | — | 3.3 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement (6) | 31.7 | — | — | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 452.4 | $ | 518.2 | $ | 465.4 |
__________________
(1)Amounts for the year ended December 31, 2024 exclude the accelerated depreciation associated with the Waltham Lease Restructuring. Refer to Note 5 - Property and Equipment and Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
(2)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(3)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
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(4)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 8.2 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.3 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 25.2 | 2.1 | — | |||||||
| Research and development | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 59.9 | 6.1 | 2.0 | |||||||
| Total restructuring and transaction-related expenses | $ | 101.6 | $ | 10.3 | $ | 4.1 |
(5)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | — | 0.5 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | — | 2.3 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | — | 0.3 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3.3 |
(6)Represents charges associated with certain legal settlements. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions. See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $452.4 million, a decrease of $65.8 million, or 13%, relative to $518.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This decrease was primarily due to the change in accounting estimate of collectability of accounts receivable resulting in both reduced revenues as well as increased bad debt expense.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2024, we had $139.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, and $250.0 million available under our first lien revolving credit facility. We have financed our operations primarily through cash generated from operations and financed various acquisitions through cash generated from operations supplemented with debt offerings.
We believe that our cash flows from operations and existing available cash and cash equivalents, together with our other available external financing sources, will be adequate to fund our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future. We are currently in compliance with the covenants under the credit agreements governing our secured credit facilities, and we expect to remain in compliance with our covenants.
We generally invoice our subscription customers for services annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of delivery. Therefore, a substantial source of our cash is from such prepayments, which are included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as unearned revenue. Unearned revenue consists of billed fees for our subscriptions, prior to satisfying the criteria for revenue recognition, which are subsequently recognized as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. As of December 31, 2024, we had unearned revenue of $477.9 million, of which $473.8 million was recorded as a current liability and is expected to be recorded as revenue in the next 12 months, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.
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ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of common stock of ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and Holdings LLC Units and has no independent means of generating revenue. Although we have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock, in the event ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. were to declare any cash dividend, ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. may have to cause ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo Holdings and their subsidiaries to make distributions to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. in part through distributions to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo Holdings, in an amount sufficient to cover such cash dividends declared by us. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings, or cash flow of ZoomInfo Intermediate and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain covenants that may restrict ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc., ZoomInfo Holdings and their subsidiaries from paying such distributions, subject to certain exceptions. Further, ZoomInfo Midco LLC is generally prohibited under Delaware law from making a distribution to a member to the extent that, at the time of the distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, liabilities of ZoomInfo Midco LLC (with certain exceptions), as applicable, exceed the fair value of its assets. Subsidiaries of ZoomInfo Midco LLC are generally subject to similar legal limitations on their ability to make distributions to ZoomInfo Midco LLC. See “Risk Factors - Organizational Structure Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our cash flows from operations, borrowing availability, and overall liquidity are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity and our ability to meet our obligations and to fund our capital requirements are dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available from additional indebtedness or otherwise to meet our liquidity needs. If we decide to pursue one or more significant acquisitions, we may incur additional debt or sell additional equity to finance such acquisitions, which would result in additional expenses or dilution. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 369.4 | $ | 434.9 | $ | 417.0 | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 13.4 | 24.4 | (281.1) | |||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (690.0) | (427.2) | (25.9) | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | (307.2) | $ | 32.1 | $ | 110.0 |
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $369.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 as a result of net income of $29.1 million and non-cash adjustments of $425.3 million, partially offset by the net change in our operating assets and liabilities of $85.0 million. The non-cash adjustments are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation expense of $138.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $85.7 million, amortization of deferred commission costs of $67.6 million, asset impairments of $57.4 million, provision for bad debt expense of $42.8 million, and tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $38.5 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $43.4 million, an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $35.5 million, a decrease in accounts payable of $17.7 million, and an increase in accounts receivable of $16.9 million, offset by an increase in unearned revenue of $36.1 million.
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Net cash provided by operating activities was $434.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of net income of $107.3 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $485.2 million and the change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $157.6 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of deferred tax assets net of deferred tax liabilities of $276.7 million, equity-based compensation expense of $167.6 million, depreciation and amortization of $80.6 million, and amortization of deferred commission costs of $75.3 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $160.7 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in accounts receivable of $82.8 million, an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $78.2 million, and a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $11.2 million, partially offset by an increase in unearned revenue of $22.0 million.
We may continue to make future acquisitions as part of our business strategy which may require the use of capital resources and drive additional future restructuring and transaction-related cash expenditures as well as integration and acquisition-related cash costs. During the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 we incurred the following cash expenditures:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Cash interest expense | $ | 44.0 | $ | 48.5 | $ | 50.0 | ||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses paid in cash (1) | 67.0 | 6.1 | 14.6 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses paid in cash (2) | 1.3 | 0.5 | 3.7 | |||||||
| Litigation settlement payments (3) | 30.1 | — | — |
__________________
(1)Represents cash payments directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these payments related primarily to the Waltham Lease Restructuring. See Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these payments related primarily to a June 2023 reduction in force, legal costs paid related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions, and Waltham sublease costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related primarily to transition bonuses paid related to 2022 acquisitions offset by payment received for the Waltham sublease termination.
(2)Represents cash payments directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, these payments related to deferred compensation from the acquisition of Insent. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects.
(3)Represents charges associated with certain legal settlements. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions. See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
Future demands on our capital resources associated with our debt facilities may also be impacted by changes in reference interest rates and the potential that we incur additional debt in order to fund additional acquisitions or for other corporate purposes. Future demands on our capital resources associated with transaction expenses and restructuring activities and integration costs and transaction-related compensation will be dependent on the frequency and magnitude of future acquisitions and restructuring and integration activities that we pursue. As part of our business strategy, we expect to continue to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, complementary businesses from time to time; however, we cannot predict the magnitude or frequency of such acquisitions or investments.
Cash flows from investing activities
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $13.4 million, primarily consisting of maturities of short-term investments of $82.2 million, partially offset by purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $64.9 million, and payments of initial direct costs of $3.4 million.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $24.4 million, consisting of maturities of short-term investments of $194.5 million, partially offset by purchases of short-term investments of $145.0 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $26.5 million.
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As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we expect to continue to invest in property and equipment and opportunistically pursue acquisitions.
Cash flows from financing activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $690.0 million which was primarily comprised of payments relating to the repurchase of common stock of $565.6 million, TRA payments of $94.0 million, and payment of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards of $22.8 million.
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $427.2 million which was primarily comprised of payments relating to the repurchase of common stock of $400.1 million and payment of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards of $24.5 million, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $7.2 million.
Refer to Note 7 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to each of our borrowings.
Debt Obligations
As of December 31, 2024, the aggregate remaining balance of $650.0 million of 3.875% Senior Notes is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2029. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears beginning on August 1, 2021. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has a remaining balance of $588.1 million with respect to its first lien term loans. The Company is obligated to make principal payments each quarter in the amount of 0.25% of the aggregate initial outstanding amount, with the remaining balance due at the contractual maturity date of February 28, 2030. The foregoing currently represent the only existing required future debt principal repayment obligations that will require future uses of the Company’s cash.
The first lien term debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable rate is 0.75% for Base Rate loans or 1.75% for SOFR loans. The effective interest rate on the first lien debt was 6.56% and 7.83% as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
The first lien revolving credit facility, which had no amount outstanding as of December 31, 2024, has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable margin is 1.00% to 1.25% for Base Rate loans. The applicable margin for SOFR loans is 2.10% to 2.35%, which includes the credit spread adjustment of 0.1%, depending on the Company’s Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio.
Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 was $452.4 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2024 was 2.4x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,238.1 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 149.0 | |
| Net contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,089.1 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 452.4 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA | 2.4x |
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Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio is defined in the agreement governing our existing first lien credit facilities (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) as total contractual maturity of outstanding First Lien indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements). Cash EBITDA differs from Adjusted EBITDA due to certain defined add-backs, including cash generated from changes in unearned revenue; see table below for reconciliation. Cash EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 was $495.2 million. Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio as of December 31, 2024 was 0.9x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 588.1 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents | 139.9 | |
| Net contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 448.2 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 495.2 |
| Consolidated first lien net leverage ratio | 0.9x |
Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements) is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments (as applicable), divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA. Cash EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 was $495.2 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA as of December 31, 2024 was 2.2x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,238.1 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 149.0 | |
| Net contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,089.1 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 495.2 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA | 2.2x |
| Trailing Twelve Months as of | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | December 31, 2024 | |
| Net income (GAAP) | $ | 29.1 |
| Provision for income taxes | 2.2 | |
| Interest expense, net | 39.3 | |
| Depreciation expense (1) | 23.9 | |
| Amortization of acquired technology | 38.2 | |
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.6 | |
| Other loss (income), net (2) | 26.1 | |
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 0.7 | |
| Equity-based compensation expense | 138.0 | |
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (3) | 101.6 | |
| Litigation settlement (4) | 31.7 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 452.4 |
| Unearned revenue adjustment | 36.1 | |
| Cash rent adjustment | 6.2 | |
| Other lender adjustments | 0.6 | |
| Cash EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 495.2 |
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__________________
(1)Amounts for the year ended December 31, 2024 exclude the accelerated depreciation associated with the Waltham Lease Restructuring. Refer to Note 5 - Property and Equipment and Note 13 - Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
(2)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(3)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2024, this expense is primarily related to lease impairment and abandonment charges as well as lease restructuring activities.
(4)Represents charges associated with certain legal settlements. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these charges are primarily related to costs incurred due to the Class Actions. See Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.
In addition, the credit agreement governing our first lien term loan contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. These restrictive covenants include, among others, limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, capital stock, prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt, make acquisitions, investments, loans, and advances, or sell or otherwise dispose of assets. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. The Company may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the credit agreements governing our first lien term loan limit, but do not prohibit, the Company from incurring additional indebtedness, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions will also not prevent the Company from incurring obligations that do not constitute “Indebtedness” as defined in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures increased by $38.4 million, or 145%, to $64.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, as a result of increased expenditures related to new facilities and increased capitalization of development expenses.
Tax Receivable Agreements
We have entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements. We entered into (i) the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement with certain Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and (ii) the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement with the Pre-IPO Blocker Holders. These Tax Receivable Agreements provide for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to such Pre-IPO Owners and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group actually realizes, or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances, as a result of utilization or deemed utilization of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the Tax Receivable Agreements.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement include (i) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and (ii) increases in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments that increased the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of sales or exchanges of Holdings LLC Units for shares of common stock after the IPO, as well as certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement include certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the Reorganization Transactions), and certain other tax benefits.
In each case, these increases in existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s depreciation and amortization deductions for tax purposes and, therefore, may reduce the amount of tax that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
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The ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustments upon exchanges of Holdings LLC Units for shares of common stock may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. The ZoomInfo Tax Group expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of realized cash tax benefits.
For purposes of the tax receivable agreements, the realized cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of the ZoomInfo Tax Group (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would have been required to pay had the tax receivable agreements not been entered into and had there been no existing tax basis, no anticipated tax basis adjustments of the assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of exchanges, and no utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the Blocker Companies’ allocable share of existing tax basis). The term of each tax receivable agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless (i) ZoomInfo Tax Group exercises its right to terminate one or both tax receivable agreements for an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement, (ii) ZoomInfo Tax Group breaches any of its material obligations under one or both tax receivable agreements in which case all obligations (including any additional interest due relating to any deferred payments) generally will be accelerated and due as if ZoomInfo Tax Group had exercised its right to terminate the tax receivable agreements, or (iii) there is a change of control of ZoomInfo Tax Group, in which case the Pre-IPO Owners may elect to receive an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement determined as described above in clause (i). Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreements is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The amount of existing tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including our blended federal and state tax rate, the amount and timing of our income and deductions, and situations where no net benefit is received from the tax attributes.
We expect that as a result of the size of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO, the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustment of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group upon the exchange of Holdings LLC Units for shares of common stock and our expected utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that ZoomInfo Tax Group may make under the tax receivable agreements will be substantial. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had a liability of $2,762.5 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and Holdings LLC Units. During the year ended December 31, 2024, $94.0 million was paid to TRA holders pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements. There were no payments made pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements during the years ended December 31, 2023. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging holders of Holdings LLC Units. Refer to Note 16 - Tax Receivable Agreements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
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Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2024 and the years in which these obligations are due:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | Total | Less than one year | One to three years | Three to five years | Greater than five years | |||||||||||||
| Long-term indebtedness (1) | $ | 1,238.1 | $ | 5.9 | $ | 11.8 | $ | 661.8 | $ | 558.6 | ||||||||
| Operating leases (2) | 303.1 | (16.6) | 40.6 | 52.2 | 226.9 | |||||||||||||
| Deferred consideration and employee compensation (3) | 0.1 | 0.1 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations (4) | 104.9 | 45.5 | 59.4 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 1,646.2 | $ | 34.9 | $ | 111.8 | $ | 714.0 | $ | 785.5 |
__________________
(1)Includes future principal payments on long-term indebtedness through the scheduled maturity dates thereof. Indebtedness is discussed in Note 7 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Interest incurred on amounts we borrow is based on relative borrowing levels, fluctuations in the variable interest rates, and the spread we pay over those interest rates. As such, we are unable to quantify our future obligations relating to interest and therefore no amounts have been included in the above table.
(2)Represents future payments on existing operating leases, including future tenant improvement allowance reimbursements through the scheduled expiration dates thereof. This amount excludes executed lease agreements that commence after December 31, 2024.
(3)Includes deferred consideration and employee compensation related to the Dogpatch acquisitions at the currently estimated payout amounts, undiscounted. Acquisitions and related deferred consideration are discussed in Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Estimated contingent consideration is subject to change depending on results of factors each arrangement is based on.
(4)Primarily relates to third-party cloud hosting and software as a service arrangements.
The amounts included in the table above represent agreements that are enforceable and legally binding. Any obligations under contracts that we can cancel without significant penalty are not included here, because the ultimate timing of these liabilities cannot be determined; therefore, we have excluded these amounts from the contractual obligations table above. Purchase orders issued in the ordinary course of business are not included in the table above as they represent authorizations to purchase the items rather than binding agreements. However, if such claims arise in the future, they could have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
The payments that we may be required to make under the tax receivable agreements that we entered into may be significant and are not reflected in the contractual obligations tables set forth above, as we are currently unable to estimate the amounts and timing of the payments that may be due thereunder.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Our critical accounting policies are those that we believe have the most significant impact to the presentation of our financial position and results of operations and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP with no need for the application of judgment.
In certain circumstances, however, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
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While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 - Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, we believe the following topics reflect our critical accounting policies and our more significant judgment and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Business Combinations
We allocate the purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The purchase price is determined based on the fair value of the assets transferred, liabilities assumed, and equity interests issued, after considering any transactions that are separate from the business combination. The fair value of equity issued as part of a business combination is determined based on grant date stock price of the Company. The excess of fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Such valuations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets and contingent liabilities. Significant estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include, but are not limited to, future expected cash flows from acquired customer bases, acquired technology and acquired trade names, useful lives, royalty rates, and discount rates.
The estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to revision as additional information is obtained during the measurement period for an acquisition, which may last up to one year from the acquisition date. During the measurement period, we may record adjustments to the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with a corresponding offset to goodwill. After the conclusion of the measurement period or the final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings.
In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances assumed in connection with a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We re-evaluate these items based upon the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date, with any revisions to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill, provided that the timing is within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period, changes to uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances will be recorded to earnings.
Tax Receivable Agreements
In connection with our IPO, we entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements with certain non-controlling interest holders (the “TRA Holders”). The TRAs generally provide for payment by the Company to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax based on income that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings.
We account for amounts payable under the TRA in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450, Contingencies. Amounts payable under the TRA are accrued by a charge to income when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount is estimable. As such, subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the statements of income as a component of Other loss (income), net. Refer to Note 16 - Tax Receivable Agreements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Income Taxes
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation, and it and its U.S. affiliates are subject to U.S. federal and state income tax. Additionally, our operations in Canada, India, Israel, and the U.K. are subject to local country income taxes.
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The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax law is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period that includes the enactment date.
The Company reviews all available evidence to evaluate the realizability of its deferred tax assets, including consideration of both positive and negative evidence, scheduled reversals of deferred tax assets and liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and results of recent operations. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded. Our judgment regarding future profitability may change due to many factors, including future market conditions and the ability to successfully execute our business plans and tax planning strategies. If there is a change in our ability to recover certain deferred tax assets, our income tax provision would increase or decrease in the period in which the assessment is changed.
The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, based solely on its technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest and penalties within Provision for income taxes on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Refer to Note 17 - Income Taxes of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 1 - Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001794515-24-000016.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the sections titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” refer to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. References in this Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, and “our” refer (1) prior to the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, to ZoomInfo OpCo and its consolidated subsidiaries, (2) after the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions and prior to the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries, and (3) after the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo NewCo Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. Numerical figures included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are subject to immaterial rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams. RevOS – our modern, cloud-based operating system for revenue professionals – delivers comprehensive and high-quality intelligence and analytics to provide sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals accurate information and insights on the organizations and professionals they target. This enables our customers to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by empowering sellers, marketers, and recruiters to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way.
ZoomInfo defines the modern go-to-market technology stack across three distinct layers that build upon each other:
•Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategy. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, technographic, and financial information.
•Our Orchestration Layer integrates and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM providers.
•Our Engagement Layer allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put data-driven insights into action to identify and communicate with prospects and customers. In SalesOS, frontline teams, managers, and leaders use Engage for multi-touch and multi-channel sales engagement, as well as Chorus for call and web meeting recording, transcription, insight generation, and coaching. In MarketingOS, marketers drive awareness, lead generation, and deal acceleration campaigns through account-based marketing, advertising, and website conversion optimization solutions, along with ZoomInfo Chat for intelligent website experiences through live conversation and chatbots. In TalentOS, recruiters and talent acquisition professionals access a database that helps them efficiently find candidates. Recruiters can filter and reach more good-fit candidates, use pipeline management tools to collaborate and organize the hiring process, and automate the candidate outreach process. In OperationsOS, our sales operations customers use a suite of products, services, and solutions to ingest, match, enrich, and connect data feeds into multiple systems.
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We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Subscriptions include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length. Over 45% of customer contracts (based on annualized value) are multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
We sell access to our platform to both new and existing customers. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in our contracts. Our paid products are SalesOS, MarketingOS, OperationsOS, and TalentOS (with add-on options for some products). Additionally, customers can gain free access to ZoomInfo through ZoomInfo Lite (formerly Community Edition).
Our software, insights, and data enable over 35,000 companies to go-to-market more effectively and efficiently. Our customers are primarily businesses that sell to other businesses and operate in almost every industry vertical. They range from the largest global enterprises, to mid-market companies, down to small businesses. The top 5 industries that we serve, as measured by ACV, on December 31, 2023 are software, which comprised 33% of ACV (compared to 39% a year prior), non-IT business services, which comprised 18% of ACV (compared to 16% a year prior), IT services, which comprised 10% of ACV (compared to 10% a year prior), financial, insurance & real estate, which comprised 8% of ACV (compared to 7% a year prior), and manufacturing, which comprised 5% of ACV (compared to 5% a year prior). Our Net Revenue Retention rate as of December 31, 2023 was 87%.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, no single customer contributed more than 1% of revenue. Revenues derived from customers and partners located outside the United States, as determined based on the address provided by our customers and partners, accounted for approximately 13%, 12%, and 11% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, 1,820 customers contracted for more than $100,000 in ACV for ZoomInfo services.
We have experienced rapid organic growth, supplemented by additional growth from acquisitions. We generated revenue of $1,239.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $1,098.0 million, and GAAP income from operations of $259.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to GAAP income from operations of $175.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. GAAP operating income margin was 21% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 16% in 2022. GAAP net income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $107.3 million, as compared to GAAP net income of $63.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. In addition to our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial measures, we review various non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. Our Adjusted Operating Income was $498.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $447.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Our Adjusted Operating Income Margin was 40% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 41% in 2022. Adjusted net income was $413.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $363.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for definitions.
The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Recent Developments
Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions
Our business and financial condition have and may continue to be impacted by adverse macroeconomic conditions. See “Risk Factors - Geopolitical Risks” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the possible impact of these issues on our business.
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First Lien Term Loan
In December 2023, we entered into an amendment to our existing First Lien Credit Agreement (the "Sixth Amendment"), pursuant to which the Company completed a repricing of its First Lien Term Loan Facility, which decreased the applicable rate for Base Rate loans by 50 basis points and SOFR based loans by 60 basis points.
In February 2023, we entered into an amendment to our existing First Lien Credit Agreement (the “Fifth Amendment”), pursuant to which the Company completed a repricing of its First Lien Term Loan Facility, which provided for an extension of the maturity date to February 28, 2030 and a decrease in the applicable margin rate by 0.25%. Under the terms of the Fifth Amendment, the Company is obligated to make principal payments each quarter in the amount of 0.25% of the aggregate initial outstanding amount.
First Lien Revolving Credit Facility
Pursuant to the Fifth Amendment, the Company also extended the maturity date of $213.0 million of our $250.0 million existing commitments of the first lien revolving credit facility to February 28, 2028. Pursuant to the Sixth Amendment, $26.0 million of the non-extended commitments were extended to February 28, 2028. With respect to the $11.0 million commitments which were not extended as of December 31, 2023, the maturity date is November 2, 2025.
Share Repurchase Program
In March 2023, the Board authorized a program to repurchase up to $100.0 million of the Company’s Common Stock, and in July 2023, the Board approved an additional $500.0 million of share repurchase authorization (collectively, the “Share Repurchase Program”). Under the Share Repurchase Program, shares of Common Stock may be repurchased from time to time through open market transactions in compliance with applicable securities laws. The timing, manner, price and amount of any repurchases, as well as the capital resources to fund the repurchases, are determined by the Company, in its discretion, and depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased and subsequently retired 22,627,664 shares of Common Stock at an average price of $17.68 for an aggregate $400.1 million. As of December 31, 2023, $199.9 million remained available and authorized for repurchases under the Share Repurchase Program.
Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Continuing to Acquire New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers that use our platform in the United States and around the world. The majority of revenue growth when comparing the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2022 was the result of new customers added over the last 24 months. Our operating results and growth prospects will depend, in part, on our ability to continue to attract new customers. Additionally, acquiring new customers strengthens the power of our contributory networks. We plan to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to acquire new customers. As of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we had over 35,000, 30,000, and 25,000 customers, respectively. We define a customer as a company that maintains one or more active paid subscriptions to our platform.
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Increasing Usage of Our Platform
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is a metric that we calculate based on customers of ZoomInfo at the beginning of the twelve-month period, and is calculated as: (a) the total annual contract value ("ACV") for those customers at the end of the end of the twelve-month period, divided by (b) the total ACV for those customers at the beginning of the twelve-month period. Our net annual retention rate was 87% as of December 31, 2023. In the near term, we expect our net retention rate to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions. See section "Recent Developments - Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions." We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for more than $100,000 in ACV. As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,820 customers with over $100,000 in ACV.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
As a result of a number of factors, our historical results of operations are not comparable from period to period and may not be comparable to our financial results of operations in future periods. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting the comparability of our results of operations.
Impact of the Reorganization Transactions
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. Our accounting predecessor, ZoomInfo OpCo, was and is treated as a flow-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as such, only certain subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes have been subject to U.S. federal income tax at the entity level historically. Accordingly, unless otherwise specified, the historical results of operations and other financial information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K only include a provision for U.S. federal income tax for income allocated to those subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Following the completion of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. pays U.S. federal and state income taxes as a corporation on its share of our taxable income.
ZoomInfo OpCo is the predecessor of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo OpCo, the accounting predecessor.
In addition, in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO, we entered into the tax receivable agreements described in Note 17 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
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Impact of Acquisitions
We seek to grow through both internal development and the acquisition of businesses that broaden and strengthen our platform. Our recent acquisitions include Insent in June 2021, Chorus.ai in July 2021, RingLead in September 2021, and Comparably, Inc. and Dogpatch Advisors, LLC in April 2022. As discussed below under “—Results of Operations,” these acquisitions have been a driver of our revenue, cost of service, operating expense, and interest expense growth. Purchase accounting requires that certain assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at fair value on the acquisition date. Prior to January 2022, revenue from contracts that were impacted by the estimate of fair value of the unearned revenue upon acquisition were recorded based on the fair value until such contract is terminated or renewed, which differed from the receipts received by the acquired company allocated over the service period for the same reporting periods. Effective January 1, 2022, the Company early adopted new accounting guidance which requires contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination to be recognized and measured in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as if the acquirer had originated the contract. Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further discussion.
Impact of the Holding Company Reorganization
In September 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously approved streamlining the Company’s corporate structure and governance by eliminating the Company’s UP-C and multi-class voting structure. In October 2021, the Company implemented the Holding Company Reorganization. As a result of the Holding Company Reorganization, New ZoomInfo became the successor issuer and reporting company to Old ZoomInfo pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Exchange Act, and replaced Old ZoomInfo as the public company trading on the Nasdaq under Old ZoomInfo’s ticker symbol “ZI.” In addition, New ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” and Old ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc.”
Accordingly, upon consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, Old ZoomInfo stockholders automatically became stockholders of New ZoomInfo, on a one-for-one basis, with the same number and ownership percentage of shares they held in Old ZoomInfo immediately prior to the effective time of the Holding Company Reorganization.
Old ZoomInfo is the predecessor of New ZoomInfo for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of New ZoomInfo recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of Old ZoomInfo, the accounting predecessor.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive primarily all of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services and other revenue. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, and the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually, or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period.
Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. Other revenue, comprised largely of implementation and professional services fees, is recognized as services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
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Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and contract timing within the period. The unearned revenue balance does not represent the total contract value of annual or multi-year, non-cancelable subscription agreements.
Cost of Service
Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology. Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology, includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our SaaS services and research teams including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, IT, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, and amortization of internally developed capitalized software.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in costs of service and that costs of service as a percentage of revenue will remain consistent or modestly decrease as we realize operating leverage in the business.
Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of service, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, amortization of other acquired intangibles, and restructuring and transaction-related expenses. The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, and marketing.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our sales and marketing teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, and marketing programs. Sales commissions and related payroll taxes directly related to contract acquisition are capitalized and recognized as expenses over the estimated period of benefit.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in sales and marketing capacity to enable future growth. We anticipate that sales and marketing expense excluding equity-based compensation as a percentage of revenue will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of our growing investments in sales and marketing capacity excluding equity-based compensation, the recognition of revenue, and the amortization of contract acquisition costs.
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Research and development. Research and development expenses support our efforts to enhance our existing platform and develop new software products. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our engineering and product management teams, as well as overhead costs. Research and development expenses do not reflect amortization of internally developed capitalized software. We believe that our core technologies and ongoing innovation represent a significant competitive advantage for us.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in research and development in order to develop new features and functionality to drive incremental customer value in the future and that research and development expense as a percentage of revenue will modestly increase in the short term, but will modestly decrease in the long term as we drive efficiencies in that organization.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee related benefits for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, IT, and business operations and administrative teams, as well as overhead costs. Additionally, we incur expenses related to bad debt and collections, as well as for professional fees including legal services, accounting, banking, and other consulting services, including those associated with operating as a public company.
We expect general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue to remain consistent or modestly decrease as we realize operating leverage in the business.
Amortization of other acquired intangibles. Amortization of acquired intangibles consists of amortization of customer relationships and brand portfolios.
We anticipate that amortization of other acquired intangibles will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Restructuring and transaction-related expenses. Restructuring and transaction-related expenses primarily consist of various restructuring and acquisition activities we have undertaken to achieve strategic or financial objectives. Restructuring and acquisition activities include, but are not limited to, consolidation of offices and responsibilities, office relocation, administrative cost structure realignment, and acquisition-related professional services fees.
We anticipate that restructuring and transaction expenses, including potential impairments, will be influenced by future acquisition activity, strategic restructuring activities, and the commencement of new leases. Specifically, as new leases commence, we may face increased impairment expenses for spaces that we do not intend to occupy and/or that we plan to sublease, which could cause these costs to vary, potentially significantly, from our historic levels.
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense, net represents the interest payable on our debt obligations and the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs, less interest income.
We anticipate that interest expense could be impacted by changes in variable interest rates or the issuance of additional debt.
Loss on Debt Modification and Extinguishment
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment consists of prepayment penalties and impairment of deferred financing costs associated with the modification or extinguishment of debt, as well as new fees incurred with third parties in connection with debt modifications.
We anticipate that losses related to debt modification and extinguishment will only occur if we extinguish indebtedness before the contractual repayment dates or amend our existing financing arrangements.
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Other (Income) Loss, Net
Other (income) loss, net consists primarily of the revaluation of tax receivable agreement liabilities, investment income, and foreign currency realized and unrealized gains and losses related to the impact of transactions denominated in a foreign currency.
Changes to existing tax law including changes to the corporate income tax rates and the Company’s state tax footprint could lead to substantial revaluations of the tax receivable agreement liability recorded through Other (income) loss, net. Additionally, the magnitude of Other (income) loss, net may increase as we expand operations internationally and add complexity to our operations. Refer to the Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes section below for further information.
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as from net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. We evaluate the recoverability of these future deductible temporary differences, net operating losses and credits by assessing the carryforward period and adequacy of future expected taxable income from all sources, including reversing taxable temporary differences, future growth, and forecasted earnings, as well as, historical earnings, taxable income in prior years, if carryback is permitted under the law, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. A valuation allowance is established if it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.
The Company has significant U.S. deferred tax assets, including deferred tax assets created by various historical restructuring events. The preponderance of our deferred tax assets have long lives or are otherwise indefinite. We regularly review whether it is more likely than not that our U.S. deferred tax assets will be realizable, and as of December 31, 2023 determined it was appropriate to create a valuation allowance for certain state-level attributes.
The value of our deferred tax assets are regularly remeasured to consider the impact of statutory changes and other guidance, as well as changes in our state income apportionment factors. Given the amount of our deferred tax assets, minor changes can materially affect our Provision (Benefit) for income taxes. A significant portion of our deferred tax assets are associated with our Tax Receivable Agreements, and upon a remeasurement of our deferred tax assets, the Tax Receivable Agreements liability is typically concurrently remeasured with an partially offsetting impact within Other (income) loss, net on the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Refer to Note 17 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
We have regularly taken tax positions, including with respect to our various corporate events and restructurings in the ordinary course of determining our Provision (Benefit) for income taxes. We recognize the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority based on the technical merits. We regularly review our tax positions with consideration of a number of factors, including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law or guidance, correspondence with tax authorities during the course of audits and effective settlement of audit issues. Changes in the recognition or measurement of uncertain tax positions could result in material increases or decreases in our Provision (Benefit) for income taxes in the period in which we make the change, which could have a material impact on our effective tax rate and operating results.
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Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 1,239.5 | $ | 1,098.0 | $ | 747.2 | ||||
| Cost of service: | ||||||||||
| Cost of service(1) | 139.0 | 140.2 | 101.4 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 39.1 | 48.2 | 35.3 | |||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 1,061.4 | $ | 909.6 | $ | 610.5 | ||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Sales and marketing(1) | 406.4 | 379.3 | 241.1 | |||||||
| Research and development(1) | 189.8 | 205.2 | 119.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative(1) | 173.5 | 123.2 | 92.4 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.9 | 22.0 | 20.3 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses | 10.3 | 4.1 | 23.7 | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | 801.9 | 733.8 | 497.2 | |||||||
| Income (Loss) from operations | $ | 259.5 | $ | 175.8 | $ | 113.3 | ||||
| Interest expense, net | 45.2 | 47.6 | 43.9 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 4.3 | — | 7.7 | |||||||
| Other (income) loss, net | (178.8) | (66.4) | (39.3) | |||||||
| Income (Loss) before income taxes | $ | 388.8 | $ | 194.6 | $ | 101.0 | ||||
| Provision (Benefit) for income taxes | 281.5 | 131.4 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | $ | 94.9 | ||||
| Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | — | — | (21.9) | |||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | $ | 116.8 |
__________________
(1)Includes equity-based compensation expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 15.7 | $ | 20.2 | $ | 13.2 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 71.3 | 80.4 | 38.2 | |||||||
| Research and development | 45.1 | 65.7 | 24.3 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 35.5 | 26.0 | 17.3 | |||||||
| Total equity-based compensation expense | $ | 167.6 | $ | 192.3 | $ | 93.0 |
Year Ended December 31, 2023 versus Year Ended December 31, 2022
Revenue. Revenue was $1,239.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $141.4 million, or 13%, as compared to $1,098.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to the addition of new customers over the past 12 months offset by fewer upsells, reduction in spend, and cancellations among existing customers.
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Cost of service. Cost of service was $178.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $10.3 million, or 5%, as compared to $188.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, cost of service was $162.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $5.8 million, or 3%, as compared to $168.2 million for the year end December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the completion of amortization expense related to intangible assets from 2019 acquisitions, offset by increased hosting expenses to support new and growing customers and increased depreciation expense.
Gross profit. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $1,061.4 million and represented a gross margin of 86%. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $909.6 million and represented a gross margin of 83%. The increase in gross profit in the year ended December 31, 2023 relative to the year ended December 31, 2022 was an increase of $151.8 million, or 17%, driven primarily due to higher revenues. The gross margin improvement in the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily due to a lower headcount within cost of service.
Operating expenses. Operating expenses were $801.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $68.1 million, or 9%, as compared to $733.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, operating expenses were $650.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $88.3 million, or 16%, as compared to $561.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
•Sales and marketing for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $406.4 million representing an increase of $27.1 million, or 7%, as compared to $379.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Sales and marketing, excluding equity-based compensation, for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $335.1 million representing an increase of $36.2 million, or 12%, as compared to $298.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to additional salary, benefit, facilities, and technology expenses related to headcount added to drive continued incremental sales, as well as additional commission expense and amortization of deferred commissions related to obtaining contracts with customers.
•Research and development for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $189.8 million representing a decrease of $15.4 million, or 8%, as compared to $205.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Research and development, excluding equity-based compensation, for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $144.7 million representing an increase of $5.2 million, or 4%, as compared to $139.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to salary, benefit, facilities, and technology expenses related to headcount that supports continued innovation of our services.
•General and administrative for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $173.5 million representing an increase of $50.3 million, or 41%, as compared to $123.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. General and administrative, excluding equity-based compensation, for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $138.0 million representing an increase of $40.8 million, or 42%, as compared to $97.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to additional bad debt accruals, as well as salary, benefit, facilities, and technology expenses.
•Amortization of other acquired intangibles was $21.9 million, representing a decrease of $0.1 million, or less than 1%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to December 31, 2022.
•Restructuring and transaction-related expenses were $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, representing an increase of $6.2 million, or 151%, as compared to $4.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 were primarily comprised of costs incurred related to the June 2023 reduction in force and lease impairments.
Equity-based compensation expense. Equity-based compensation expense was $167.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $24.7 million, or 13%, as compared to $192.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to lower grant date fair values of grants in the current year compared to 2022, capitalization of equity-based compensation, and terminations.
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Income (Loss) from operations. Income from operations was $259.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $83.7 million, or 48%, as compared to $175.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to the increase in revenues, partially offset by higher operating expenses. Operating income margin was 21% for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to 16% for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to improved profit margins.
Other (income) loss, net. Other income, net was $178.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement gain of $160.7 million and investment income of $22.0 million, partially offset by losses on foreign currency transactions of $3.9 million, as compared to other income, net of $66.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 which primarily consists of the TRA remeasurement gain of $65.6 million and investment income of $4.2 million, partially offset by losses on foreign currency transactions of $3.4 million.
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $45.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $2.4 million, or 5%, as compared to $47.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the completion of two debt repricings which resulted in lowering the margin on our variable rate debt as well as lower principal debt outstanding as a result of repayments during the year.
Provision (Benefit) for income taxes. The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $281.5 million, representing an effective tax rate of 72.4%, as compared to provision for income taxes of $131.4 million, representing an effective tax rate of 67.5%, for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in income tax expense was primarily due to remeasurement of the deferred tax assets resulting from state law changes, higher non-deductible equity compensation, and the application of valuation allowances. The annual effective tax rate differed from the U.S. federal statutory rate due to non-deductible equity compensations costs, U.S. state taxes including the remeasurement of deferred tax assets for the effect of state law changes, foreign taxes, the net U.S. and Israel tax effects resulting from a tax ruling relating to research and developments activities conducted in Israel, tax costs accrued for future repatriations of foreign earnings; offset by research and development credits. Refer to Note 18 - Income Taxes of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to the components of our income tax provision.
Net income (loss). Net income was $107.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of $44.1 million or 70%, as compared to $63.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to higher operating income and the TRA remeasurement gain, partially offset by an increase in income tax expense.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. These measures include, but are not limited to, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income and are used by management in making operating decisions, allocating financial resources, internal planning and forecasting, and for business strategy purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial information is useful to investors because it eliminates certain items that affect period-over-period comparability, and it provides consistency with past financial performance and additional information about our underlying results and trends by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook.
We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Net Income as operating performance measures. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income is U.S. GAAP operating income. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income Margin is U.S. GAAP operating income divided by U.S. GAAP revenue. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income is U.S. GAAP Net Income.
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Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, but rather as supplemental information to our business results. This information should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items or events being adjusted. In addition, other companies may use different measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income
We define Adjusted Operating Income as income (loss) from operations adjusted for (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iii) equity-based compensation expense, (iv) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and (v) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses. We exclude the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, as well as equity-based compensation expense, because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments and we believe that excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding performance and ongoing cash-generation potential. We exclude restructuring and transaction-related expenses, as well as integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, because such expenses are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted Operating Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Operating Income should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of operating performance. We define Adjusted Operating Income Margin as Adjusted Operating Income divided by the sum of revenue and the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue.
We define Adjusted Net Income as net income (loss) adjusted for (i) the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) loss on debt modification and extinguishment, (iii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iv) equity-based compensation expense, (v) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, (vi) integration costs and acquisition-related expenses, (vii) TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense and (viii) tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss). Adjusted Net Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Income (Loss) from operations to Adjusted Operating Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Income (Loss) from operations (GAAP) | $ | 259.5 | $ | 175.8 | $ | 113.3 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (a) | 0.2 | 2.1 | 4.6 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 39.1 | 48.2 | 35.3 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.9 | 22.0 | 20.3 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 167.6 | 192.3 | 93.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (b) | 10.3 | 4.1 | 23.7 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (c) | — | 3.3 | 16.4 | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income (Non-GAAP) | $ | 498.6 | $ | 447.8 | $ | 306.6 | ||||
| Revenue (GAAP) | $ | 1,239.5 | $ | 1,098.0 | $ | 747.2 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue | 0.2 | 2.1 | 4.6 | |||||||
| Revenue for adjusted operating margin calculation (Non-GAAP) | $ | 1,239.7 | $ | 1,100.1 | $ | 751.8 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin (Non-GAAP) | 40% | 41% | 41% |
__________________
(a)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(b)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | $ | 2.1 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | 0.5 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | 2.3 | 5.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | 0.3 | 2.4 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | 3.3 | $ | 16.4 |
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $498.6 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 40%. Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $447.8 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 41%. The change in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2023 relative to the year ended December 31, 2022 was an increase of $50.8 million, or 11%, and was driven primarily from the growth of revenue related to new customers, partially offset by increased operating expenses related to selling and supporting those customers, as well as increases in research and development investments, and accruals for bad debt. Adjusted Operating Income Margin decreased to 40% in the year ended December 31, 2023 relative to the year ended December 31, 2022 due to increased general and administrative expenses from higher bad debt accruals, partially offset by efficiencies within cost of service and research and development.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted Net Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) (GAAP) | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | $ | 94.9 | ||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (a) | 0.2 | 2.1 | 4.6 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 4.3 | — | 7.7 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 39.1 | 48.2 | 35.3 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.9 | 22.0 | 20.3 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 167.6 | 192.3 | 93.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (b) | 10.3 | 4.1 | 23.7 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (c) | — | 3.3 | 16.4 | |||||||
| TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense | (160.7) | (65.6) | (39.5) | |||||||
| Tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) (d) | 223.1 | 93.8 | (25.3) | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (Non-GAAP) | $ | 413.1 | $ | 363.5 | $ | 231.1 |
__________________
(a)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(b)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | $ | 2.1 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | 0.5 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | 2.3 | 5.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | 0.3 | 2.4 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | 3.3 | $ | 16.4 |
(d)Represents tax expense associated with GAAP Net income (loss) excluded from Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (Non-GAAP). This includes the tax effects associated with equity compensation, remeasurement of deferred tax assets for the effect of state law changes, and TRA liability remeasurement.
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Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Management further adjusts EBITDA to exclude certain items of a significant or unusual nature, including other (income) expense, net, loss on debt modification and extinguishment, impact of certain non-cash items, such as fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and equity-based compensation, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and integration costs and acquisition-related compensation. We exclude these items because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments, which we do not consider indicative of performance and ongoing cash-generation potential or are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions; unaudited) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) (GAAP) | $ | 107.3 | $ | 63.2 | $ | 94.9 | ||||
| Provision (Benefit) for income taxes | 281.5 | 131.4 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 45.2 | 47.6 | 43.9 | |||||||
| Depreciation expense | 19.6 | 17.6 | 13.7 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 39.1 | 48.2 | 35.3 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.9 | 22.0 | 20.3 | |||||||
| Other (income) loss, net (a) | (178.8) | (66.4) | (39.3) | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 4.3 | — | 7.7 | |||||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (b) | 0.2 | 2.1 | 4.6 | |||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | 167.6 | 192.3 | 93.0 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction related expenses (c) | 10.3 | 4.1 | 21.6 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (d) | — | 3.3 | 16.4 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 518.2 | $ | 465.4 | $ | 318.2 |
__________________
(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
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(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related expenses, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects.For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | — | $ | 0.2 | $ | 2.1 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | — | 0.5 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Research and development | — | 2.3 | 5.8 | |||||||
| General and administrative | — | 0.3 | 2.4 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | — | $ | 3.3 | $ | 16.4 |
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $518.2 million, an increase of $52.8 million, or 11%, relative to the year ended December 31, 2022. This growth was driven primarily from the growth in revenue that resulted from additional customers in 2023 and 2022, partially offset by increased operating expenses related to selling and supporting those customers, as well as increases in research and development investments, and accruals for bad debt.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2023, we had $447.1 million of cash and cash equivalents, $82.2 million of short-term investments, and $250.0 million available under our first lien revolving credit facility. We have financed our operations primarily through cash generated from operations and financed various acquisitions through cash generated from operations supplemented with debt offerings.
We believe that our cash flows from operations and existing available cash and cash equivalents, together with our other available external financing sources, will be adequate to fund our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future. We are currently in compliance with the covenants under the credit agreements governing our secured credit facilities, and we expect to remain in compliance with our covenants.
We generally invoice our subscription customers annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of our subscription services. Therefore, a substantial source of our cash is from such prepayments, which are included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as unearned revenue. Unearned revenue consists of billed fees for our subscriptions, prior to satisfying the criteria for revenue recognition, which are subsequently recognized as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. As of December 31, 2023, we had unearned revenue of $441.9 million, of which $439.6 million was recorded as a current liability and is expected to be recorded as revenue in the next 12 months, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.
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After the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of HoldCo Units, and ZoomInfo HoldCo became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of ZoomInfo OpCo Units. During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, ZoomInfo HoldCo was merged with and into ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. have no independent means of generating revenue. In the event ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. declares any cash dividend, we expect that ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. to cause ZoomInfo MidCo LLC to make distributions to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. in part through distributions to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo OpCo, in an amount sufficient to cover such cash dividends declared by us. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings, or cash flow of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain covenants that may restrict ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries from paying such distributions, subject to certain exceptions. Further, ZoomInfo MidCo LLC is generally prohibited under Delaware law from making a distribution to a member to the extent that, at the time of the distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, liabilities of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC (with certain exceptions), as applicable, exceed the fair value of its assets. Subsidiaries of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC are generally subject to similar legal limitations on their ability to make distributions to ZoomInfo MidCo LLC. See “Risk Factors - Organizational Structure Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our cash flows from operations, borrowing availability, and overall liquidity are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity and our ability to meet our obligations and to fund our capital requirements are dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available from additional indebtedness or otherwise to meet our liquidity needs. If we decide to pursue one or more significant acquisitions, we may incur additional debt or sell additional equity to finance such acquisitions, which would result in additional expenses or dilution. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 434.9 | $ | 417.0 | $ | 299.4 | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 24.4 | (281.1) | (695.8) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | (427.2) | (25.9) | 439.5 | |||||||
| Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | 32.1 | $ | 110.0 | $ | 43.1 |
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $434.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of net income of $107.3 million and non-cash adjustments of $485.2 million, partially offset by the net change in our operating assets and liabilities of $157.6 million. The non-cash adjustments are primarily comprised of deferred tax assets net of deferred tax liabilities of $276.7 million, equity-based compensation of $167.6 million, depreciation and amortization of $80.6 million, and amortization of deferred commission costs of $75.3 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $160.7 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in accounts receivable of $82.8 million, an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $78.2 million, and a decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $11.2 million. partially offset by an increase in unearned revenue of $22.0 million.
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Net cash provided by operating activities was $417.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of net income of $63.2 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $412.6 million and the change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $58.8 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation of $192.3 million, a decrease in deferred tax assets net of deferred tax liabilities of $123.3 million, depreciation and amortization of $87.8 million, and amortization of deferred commission costs of $65.9 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $65.6 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $81.9 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $39.3 million, and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $8.0 million, partially offset by an increase in unearned revenue of $48.8 million, an increase in accounts payable of $19.5 million, and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $2.8 million.
We may continue to make future acquisitions as part of our business strategy which may require the use of capital resources and drive additional future restructuring and transaction-related cash expenditures as well as integration and acquisition-related compensation cash costs. During the years ended December 31, 2023 2022, and 2021 we incurred the following cash expenditures:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Cash interest expense | $ | 48.5 | $ | 50.0 | $ | 33.3 | ||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses paid in cash(a) | 6.1 | 14.6 | 24.2 | |||||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses paid in cash(b) | 0.5 | 3.7 | 13.7 |
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(a)Represents cash payments directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these payments related primarily to a June 2023 reduction in force, legal costs paid related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions, and Waltham sublease costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related primarily to transition bonuses paid related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions offset by payment received for the Waltham sublease termination. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to transaction costs related to 2021 acquisitions and tax payments related to entity conversions.
(b)Represents cash payments directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2023, these payments related to deferred compensation from the acquisition of Insent. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, as well as professional fees related to 2021 acquisitions. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations – Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K).
Future demands on our capital resources associated with our debt facilities may also be impacted by changes in reference interest rates and the potential that we incur additional debt in order to fund additional acquisitions or for other corporate purposes. Future demands on our capital resources associated with transaction expenses and restructuring activities and integration costs and transaction-related compensation will be dependent on the frequency and magnitude of future acquisitions and restructuring and integration activities that we pursue. As part of our business strategy, we expect to continue to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, complementary businesses from time to time; however, we cannot predict the magnitude or frequency of such acquisitions or investments.
Cash flows from investing activities
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $24.4 million, consisting of maturities of short-term investments of $194.5 million, partially offset by purchases of short-term investments of $145.0 million and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $26.5 million.
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $281.1 million, consisting of cash paid for acquisitions of $143.7 million, purchases of short-term investments of $139.3 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $28.9 million, partially offset by maturities of short-term investments of $30.8 million.
As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we expect to continue to invest in property and equipment and opportunistically pursue acquisitions.
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Cash flows from financing activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $427.2 million which was primarily comprised of payments relating to the repurchase of common stock of $400.1 million and payment of taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards of $24.5 million, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan of $7.2 million.
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $25.9 million primarily comprised of taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards of $17.4 million, payments related to our tax receivable agreements of $12.2 million, payments of deferred consideration of $1.1 million, and payments of issuance fees from prior transactions of $0.7 million, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of common stock under the employee purchase plan of $4.2 million, and proceeds from exercise of stock options of $1.3 million.
Refer to Note 8 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to each of our borrowings.
Debt Obligations
As of December 31, 2023, the aggregate remaining balance of $650.0 million of 3.875% Senior Notes is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2029. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears beginning on August 1, 2021. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has a remaining balance of $594.0 million with respect to its first lien term loans. The Company is obligated to make principal payments each quarter in the amount of 0.25% of the aggregate initial outstanding amount, with the remaining balance due at the contractual maturity date of February 28, 2030. The foregoing currently represent the only existing required future debt principal repayment obligations that will require future uses of the Company’s cash.
The first lien term debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable rate is 1.25% for Base Rate loans or 2.25% for SOFR loans. The effective interest rate on the first lien debt was 7.83% and 7.38% as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.
The first lien revolving credit facility, which had no amount outstanding as of December 31, 2023, has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable margin is 1.00% to 1.25% for Base Rate loans. The applicable margin for SOFR loans is 2.10% to 2.35%, which includes the credit spread adjustment of 0.1%, depending on the Company’s Consolidated First Lien Net Leverage Ratio.
Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 was $518.2 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2023 was 1.4x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,244.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments | 538.4 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 705.6 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 518.2 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA | 1.4x |
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Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio is defined in the agreement governing our existing first lien credit facilities (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) as total contractual maturity of outstanding First Lien indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements). Cash EBITDA differs from Adjusted EBITDA due to certain defined add-backs, including cash generated from changes in unearned revenue; see table below for reconciliation. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 was $542.3 million. Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio as of December 31, 2023 was 0.1x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 594.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 529.3 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 64.7 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 542.3 |
| Consolidated first lien net leverage ratio | 0.1x |
Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements) is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023 was $542.3 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA as of December 31, 2023 was 1.3x.
| (in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,244.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments | 538.4 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 705.6 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 542.3 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA | 1.3x |
| Trailing Twelve Months as of | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | December 31, 2023 | |
| Net income (loss) (GAAP) | $ | 107.3 |
| Provision (Benefit) for income taxes | 281.5 | |
| Interest expense, net | 45.2 | |
| Depreciation expense | 19.6 | |
| Amortization of acquired technology | 39.1 | |
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 21.9 | |
| Other (income) loss, net (a) | (178.8) | |
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 4.3 | |
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(b) | 0.2 | |
| Equity-based compensation expense | 167.6 | |
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses(c) | 10.3 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 518.2 |
| Unearned revenue adjustment | 21.8 | |
| Cash rent adjustment | 1.8 | |
| Other lender adjustments | 0.5 | |
| Cash EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 542.3 |
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(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2023, this expense is primarily related to costs associated with a June 2023 reduction in force, and impairment charges related to the Ra’anana office and other offices.
In addition, the credit agreement governing our first lien term loan contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. These restrictive covenants include, among others, limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, capital stock, prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt, make acquisitions, investments, loans, and advances, or sell or otherwise dispose of assets. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. The Company may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the credit agreements governing our first lien term loan limit, but do not prohibit, the Company from incurring additional indebtedness, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions will also not prevent the Company from incurring obligations that do not constitute “Indebtedness” as defined in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures decreased by $2.4 million, or 8%, to $26.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, as a result of reduced capitalization of development expenses and variability of timing with respect to facilities projects.
Tax Receivable Agreements
We have entered into two tax receivable agreements. We entered into (i) the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement with certain Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and (ii) the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement with the Pre-IPO Blocker Holders. These tax receivable agreements provide for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to such Pre-IPO Owners and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the tax receivable agreements.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreements include (i) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and (ii) increases in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments that will increase the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of sales or exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock after the IPO, and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement.
The tax attributes and benefits covered by the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement include certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the Reorganization Transactions), and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement.
In each case, these increases in existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s depreciation and amortization deductions for tax purposes and, therefore, may reduce the amount of tax that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
The ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustments upon exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. The ZoomInfo Tax Group expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of realized cash tax benefits.
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For purposes of the tax receivable agreements, the realized cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of the ZoomInfo Tax Group (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would have been required to pay had the tax receivable agreements not been entered into and had there been no existing tax basis, no anticipated tax basis adjustments of the assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of exchanges, and no utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the Blocker Companies’ allocable share of existing tax basis). The term of each tax receivable agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless (i) ZoomInfo Tax Group exercises its right to terminate one or both tax receivable agreements for an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement, (ii) ZoomInfo Tax Group breaches any of its material obligations under one or both tax receivable agreements in which case all obligations (including any additional interest due relating to any deferred payments) generally will be accelerated and due as if ZoomInfo Tax Group had exercised its right to terminate the tax receivable agreements, or (iii) there is a change of control of ZoomInfo Tax Group, in which case the Pre-IPO Owners may elect to receive an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement determined as described above in clause (i). Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreements is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The amount of existing tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including our blended federal and state tax rate, the amount and timing of our income, and situations where no net benefit is received from the tax attributes.
We expect that as a result of the size of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO, the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustment of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group upon the exchange of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock and our expected utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that ZoomInfo Tax Group may make under the tax receivable agreements will be substantial. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had a liability of $2,818.0 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and OpCo Units. During the year ended December 31, 2023, no payment was made pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements. During the year ended December 31, 2022 we paid a total of $12.2 million, pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging holders of OpCo Units. Refer to Note 17 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2023 and the years in which these obligations are due:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | Total | Less than one year | One to three years | Three to five years | Greater than five years | |||||||||||||
| Long-term indebtedness(1) | $ | 1,244.0 | $ | 6.0 | $ | 12.0 | $ | 12.0 | $ | 1,214.0 | ||||||||
| Operating leases(2) | 138.7 | 3.2 | 38.3 | 30.2 | 67.0 | |||||||||||||
| Deferred consideration and employee compensation(3) | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.1 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations(4) | 58.2 | 47.3 | 10.9 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 1,443.3 | $ | 58.8 | $ | 61.3 | $ | 42.2 | $ | 1,281.0 |
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(1)Includes future principal payments on long-term indebtedness through the scheduled maturity dates thereof. Indebtedness is discussed in Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Interest incurred on amounts we borrow is based on relative borrowing levels, fluctuations in the variable interest rates, and the spread we pay over those interest rates. As such, we are unable to quantify our future obligations relating to interest and therefore no amounts have been included in the above table.
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(2)Represents future payments on existing operating leases through the scheduled expiration dates thereof. This amount excludes executed lease agreements that commence after December 31, 2023.
(3)Includes deferred consideration and employee compensation related to the Insent and Dogpatch acquisitions at the currently estimated payout amounts, undiscounted. Acquisitions and related deferred consideration are discussed in Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Estimated contingent consideration is subject to change depending on results of factors each arrangement is based on.
(4)Primarily relates to third-party cloud hosting and software as a service arrangements.
The amounts included in the table above represent agreements that are enforceable and legally binding. Any obligations under contracts that we can cancel without significant penalty are not included here, because the ultimate timing of these liabilities cannot be determined; therefore, we have excluded these amounts from the contractual obligations table above. Purchase orders issued in the ordinary course of business are not included in the table above as they represent authorizations to purchase the items rather than binding agreements. However, if such claims arise in the future, they could have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
The payments that we may be required to make under the tax receivable agreements that we entered into may be significant and are not reflected in the contractual obligations tables set forth above, as we are currently unable to estimate the amounts and timing of the payments that may be due thereunder.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Our critical accounting policies are those that we believe have the most significant impact to the presentation of our financial position and results of operations and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP with no need for the application of judgment.
In certain circumstances, however, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, we believe the following topics reflect our critical accounting policies and our more significant judgment and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Business Combinations
We allocate the purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The purchase price is determined based on the fair value of the assets transferred, liabilities assumed, and equity interests issued, after considering any transactions that are separate from the business combination. The fair value of equity issued as part of a business combination is determined based on grant date stock price of the Company. The excess of fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Such valuations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets and contingent liabilities. Significant estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include, but are not limited to, future expected cash flows from acquired customer bases, acquired technology and acquired trade names, useful lives, royalty rates, and discount rates.
The estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to revision as additional information is obtained during the measurement period for an acquisition, which may last up to one year from the acquisition date. During the measurement period, we may record adjustments to the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with a corresponding offset to goodwill. After the conclusion of the measurement period or the final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings.
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In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances assumed in connection with a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We re-evaluate these items based upon the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date, with any revisions to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill, provided that the timing is within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period, changes to uncertain tax positions and tax-related valuation allowances will be recorded to earnings.
Tax Receivable Agreements
In connection with our IPO, we entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements with certain non-controlling interest owners (the “TRA Holders”). The TRAs generally provide for payment by the Company to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings. We account for amounts payable under the TRA in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450, Contingencies. Amounts payable under the TRA are accrued by a charge to income when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount is estimable. As such, subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the statements of income as a component of Other (income) loss, net. Refer to Note 17 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further details on the TRA liability.
Income Taxes
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation, and it and its U.S. affiliates are subject to U.S. federal as well as state income tax. Additionally, our operations in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, and the U.K. are subject to local country income taxes.
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax law is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period that includes the enactment date.
The need for valuation allowances is regularly evaluated for deferred tax assets for which future realization is uncertain. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider both positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax assets and liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and results of recent operations. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded.
The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, solely based on its technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within Provision (Benefit) for income taxes on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Refer to Note 18 - Income Taxes to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding income taxes.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001794515-23-000034.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” refer to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. References in this Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer (1) prior to the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, to ZoomInfo OpCo and its consolidated subsidiaries, (2) after the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions and prior to the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries and (3) after the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo NewCo Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. Numerical figures included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals.
RevOS – our modern, cloud-based operating system for revenue professionals – allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by delivering the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way. We do this by delivering timely insights and offering services that make reaching prospects fast and easy.
ZoomInfo, formerly known as DiscoverOrg, was co-founded in 2007 by Founder and CEO Henry Schuck. He has led the company’s growth and profitability by efficiently developing innovative ways of gathering and improving our data and insights, and using intelligent automation to put those insights into action.
Today, our company defines the modern go-to-market technology stack across three distinct layers that build upon each other:
•Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategy. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, technographic, and financial information.
•Our Orchestration Layer integrates and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM providers.
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•Our Engagement Layer allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put data-driven insights into action to identify and communicate with prospects and customers. In SalesOS, frontline teams, managers, and leaders use Engage for multi-touch and multi-channel sales engagement, as well as Chorus for call and web meeting recording, transcription, insight generation, and coaching. In MarketingOS, marketers drive awareness, lead generation, and deal acceleration campaigns through account-based marketing, advertising, and onsite conversion optimization solutions, along with ZoomInfo Chat for intelligent onsite experiences through live conversation and chatbots. In TalentOS, recruiters and talent acquisition professionals access a database that helps them efficiently find candidates. Recruiters can filter and reach more good-fit candidates, use pipeline management tools to collaborate and organize the hiring process, and automate the candidate outreach process. In OperationsOS, our sales operations customers use a suite of products, services, and solutions to ingest, match, enrich, and connect data feeds into multiple systems.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Subscriptions include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length. Over 40% of customer contracts (based on annualized value) are multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
We sell our software to both new and existing customers. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in each product edition. Our paid products are SalesOS, MarketingOS, OperationsOS, and TalentOS (with add-on options for some products), and we have a free Community Edition.
Our software, insights, and data enable over 30,000 companies to sell and market more effectively and efficiently. Our customers operate in almost every industry vertical, including software, business services, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, retail, media and internet, transportation, education, hospitality, and real estate. They range from the largest global enterprises, to mid-market companies, down to small businesses. Many of our customers are software and business services companies. In 2022, approximately 39% and 27% of our customers, as measured by ACV, operated in the software and business services industries, respectively. Our net annual retention rate was 104% in 2022.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, no single customer contributed more than 1% of revenue. Revenues derived from customers and partners located outside the United States, as determined based on the address provided by our customers and partners, accounted for approximately 12%, 11%, and 9% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, 1,926 customers contracted for more than $100,000 in ACV for ZoomInfo services.
To address our market opportunity, we have built and continue to tune our efficient and comprehensive go-to-market engine. We have integrated our insights and data into an automated engine with defined processes and specialized roles in order to market and sell our services. We are constantly improving the effectiveness of our engine in order to identify and close more business.
We have experienced rapid organic growth, supplemented by additional growth from acquisitions. We generated revenue of $1,098.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $747.2 million, and income from operations of $175.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to income from operations of $113.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Operating income margin was 16% for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to 15% in 2021. In addition to our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial measures, we review various non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. Our Adjusted Operating Income was $447.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $306.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our Adjusted Operating Income Margin was 41% for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to 41% in 2021. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for definitions.
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The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, included in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations can be found in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Recent Developments
Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions and COVID-19
Our business and financial condition may be impacted by adverse macroeconomic conditions. In addition, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to have unpredictable and rapidly shifting impacts on global financial markets, economies, and business practices. See “Risk Factors - Geopolitical Risks” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the possible impact of these issues on our business.
Corporate Structure Simplification Transactions
In August 2021, the Company completed a series of reorganization transactions to simplify its corporate structure, including the distribution of shares of common stock of RKSI Acquisition Corp (“RKSI”) from ZoomInfo Holdings LLC to ZoomInfo HoldCo, the merger of RKSI with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo with ZoomInfo HoldCo surviving, and the merger of ZoomInfo HoldCo with and into the Company with the Company surviving. Prior to the consummation of the HoldCo Merger, all holders of HoldCo Units (other than the Company) exchanged their HoldCo Units and paired shares of Class B common stock of the Company for shares of Class A common stock of the Company pursuant to the terms of the limited liability company agreement of HoldCo.
Holding Company Reorganization
In September 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously approved streamlining the Company’s corporate structure and governance by eliminating the Company’s umbrella partnership-C-corporation (“UP-C”) and multi-class voting structure. In October 2021, the Company implemented this reorganization, pursuant to which (i) a subsidiary of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo NewCo Inc.) (“New ZoomInfo”) merged with and into ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (“Old ZoomInfo”), formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., which resulted in New ZoomInfo becoming the direct parent company of Old ZoomInfo, and (ii) immediately thereafter, another subsidiary of New ZoomInfo merged with and into ZoomInfo Holdings LLC (“ZoomInfo OpCo”), which resulted in ZoomInfo OpCo becoming a subsidiary of New ZoomInfo (the combined transaction described in (i) and (ii), the “Holding Company Reorganization”). As a result of the Holding Company Reorganization, New ZoomInfo became the successor issuer and reporting company to Old ZoomInfo pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and replaced the Predecessor Registrant as the public company trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbol “ZI”.
After the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, the only class of common stock of the New ZoomInfo remaining issued and outstanding was the Class A common stock and all shares of Class B common stock were cancelled and all shares of Class C common stock were converted to Class A common stock. In May 2022, following approval by the Company’s stockholders, the Company further amended and restated its Amended and Restated Certification of Incorporation to eliminate the multiple classes of common stock and to rename the Company’s Class A common stock as “Common Stock”.
Acquisitions
On April 1, 2022, the Company acquired all of the outstanding equity interests of Comparably and acquired substantially all the assets and certain specified liabilities of Dogpatch for a total purchase consideration of $150.6 million in cash and $10.0 million in a convertible note receivable. The Company has included the financial results of these businesses in the consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition. The purchase accounting for both transactions is not finalized. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations for additional information.
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Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Continuing to Acquire New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers that use our platform in the United States and around the world. The majority of revenue growth when comparing the year ended December 31, 2022 to the year ended December 31, 2021 was the result of new customers added over the last 24 months. Our operating results and growth prospects will depend, in part, on our ability to continue to attract new customers. Additionally, acquiring new customers strengthens the power of our contributory networks. We plan to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to acquire new customers. As of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, we had over 30,000, 25,000, and 20,000 customers, respectively. We define a customer as a company that maintains one or more active paid subscriptions to our platform.
Increasing Usage of Our Platform
Many of our customers increase spending with us by adding users, integrating incremental data, and/or adding additional functionality as they increase their use of our platform. Several of our largest customers have expanded the deployment of our platform across their organizations following their initial deployment. We believe there is a significant opportunity to add additional users, data integration, and additional functionality within our existing customers.
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is an annual metric that we calculate based on customers of ZoomInfo at the beginning of the year, and is calculated as: (a) the total ACV for those customers at the end of the year, divided by (b) the total ACV for those customers at the beginning of the year. Our net annual retention rate was 104% in 2022. In the near term, we expect our net retention rate to be impacted by macroeconomic conditions. See section "Recent Developments - Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions and COVID-19."We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for more than $100,000 in ACV. As of December 31, 2022, we had 1,926 customers with over $100,000 in ACV.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
As a result of a number of factors, our historical results of operations are not comparable from period to period and may not be comparable to our financial results of operations in future periods. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting the comparability of our results of operations.
Impact of the Reorganization Transactions
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. Our accounting predecessor, ZoomInfo OpCo, was and is treated as a flow-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as such, only certain subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes have been subject to U.S. federal income tax at the entity level historically. Accordingly, unless otherwise specified, the historical results of operations and other financial information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K only include a provision for U.S. federal income tax for income allocated to those subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Following the completion of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. pays U.S. federal and state income taxes as a corporation on its share of our taxable income.
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ZoomInfo OpCo is the predecessor of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo OpCo, the accounting predecessor.
In addition, in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO, we entered into the tax receivable agreements described in Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
Initial Public Offering
In June 2020, the Company completed its IPO which significantly impacted our cash, first and second lien indebtedness, and temporary and permanent equity balances. The IPO, which enabled the associated first and second lien term loan repayments, significantly reduced our interest expense relative to historical results.
Impact of Acquisitions
We seek to grow through both internal development and the acquisition of businesses that broaden and strengthen our platform. Our recent acquisitions include Clickagy in October 2020, EverString in November 2020, Insent in June 2021, Chorus.ai in July 2021, RingLead in September 2021, and Comparably, Inc. and Dogpatch Advisors, LLC in April 2022. As discussed below under “—Results of Operations,” these acquisitions have been a driver of our revenue, cost of service, operating expense, and interest expense growth. Purchase accounting requires that certain assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at fair value on the acquisition date. Prior to January 2022, revenue from contracts that were impacted by the estimate of fair value of the unearned revenue upon acquisition were recorded based on the fair value until such contract is terminated or renewed, which differed from the receipts received by the acquired company allocated over the service period for the same reporting periods. Effective January 1, 2022, the Company early adopted new accounting guidance which requires contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination to be recognized and measured in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as if the acquirer had originated the contract. Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further discussion.
Impact of the Holding Company Reorganization
In September 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously approved streamlining the Company’s corporate structure and governance by eliminating the Company’s UP-C and multi-class voting structure. In October 2021, the Company implemented the Holding Company Reorganization. As a result of the Holding Company Reorganization, New ZoomInfo became the successor issuer and reporting company to Old ZoomInfo pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Exchange Act, and replaced Old ZoomInfo as the public company trading on the Nasdaq under Old ZoomInfo’s ticker symbol “ZI.” In addition, New ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” and Old ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc.”
Accordingly, upon consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, Old ZoomInfo stockholders automatically became stockholders of New ZoomInfo, on a one-for-one basis, with the same number and ownership percentage of shares they held in Old ZoomInfo immediately prior to the effective time of the Holding Company Reorganization.
Old ZoomInfo is the predecessor of New ZoomInfo for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of New ZoomInfo recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of Old ZoomInfo, the accounting predecessor.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. These measures include, but are not limited to, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share and are used by management in making operating decisions, allocating financial resources, internal planning and forecasting, and for business strategy purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial information is useful to investors because it eliminates certain items that affect period-over-period comparability, and it provides consistency with past financial performance and additional information about our underlying results and trends by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook.
We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share as operating performance measures. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income is U.S. GAAP operating income. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income Margin is U.S. GAAP operating income divided by U.S. GAAP revenue. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income is U.S. GAAP Net Income, and the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Net Income per diluted share is U.S. GAAP net earnings per diluted share.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, but rather as supplemental information to our business results. This information should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items or events being adjusted. In addition, other companies may use different measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income
We define Adjusted Operating Income as income from operations plus (i) impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iii) equity-based compensation expense, (iv) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and (v) integration costs and acquisition-related compensation. We exclude the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, as well as equity-based compensation, because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments and we believe that excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding performance and ongoing cash-generation potential. We exclude restructuring and transaction-related expenses, as well as integration costs and acquisition-related compensation, because such expenses are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted Operating Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Operating Income should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of operating performance.
We define Adjusted Net Income as Adjusted Operating Income less (i) interest expense, net (ii) other (income) expense, net, excluding TRA liability remeasurement expense (benefit) and (iii) income tax expense (benefit) including incremental tax effects of adjustments to arrive at Adjusted Operating Income and current tax benefits related to the TRA. Adjusted Net Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted Net Income and Income (loss) from operations to Adjusted Operating Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 63.2 | $ | 94.9 | $ | (36.4) | ||||
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 131.4 | 6.1 | 4.7 | |||||||
| Add: Interest expense, net | 47.6 | 43.9 | 69.3 | |||||||
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 7.7 | 14.9 | |||||||
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (66.4) | (39.3) | (15.4) | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | $ | 175.8 | $ | 113.3 | $ | 37.1 | ||||
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (b) | 2.1 | 4.6 | 2.6 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 48.2 | 35.3 | 23.3 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 22.0 | 20.3 | 18.7 | |||||||
| Add: Equity-based compensation | 192.3 | 93.0 | 121.6 | |||||||
| Add: Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (c) | 4.1 | 23.7 | 13.8 | |||||||
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (d) | 3.3 | 16.4 | 9.0 | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 447.8 | $ | 306.6 | $ | 226.0 | ||||
| Less: Interest expense, net | (47.6) | (43.9) | (69.3) | |||||||
| Less (add): Other expense (income), net, excluding TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense | 0.8 | (0.3) | (0.3) | |||||||
| Add (less): Benefit (expense) from income taxes | (131.4) | (6.1) | (4.7) | |||||||
| Add (less): Tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) | 93.8 | (25.3) | (13.5) | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income | $ | 363.5 | $ | 231.1 | $ | 138.2 | ||||
| Shares for Adjusted Net Income Per Share(e) | 411 | 405 | 403 | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Per Share | $ | 0.88 | $ | 0.57 | $ | 0.34 |
__________________
(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
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(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 0.2 | $ | 2.1 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 0.5 | 6.1 | 3.5 | |||||||
| Research and development | 2.3 | 5.8 | 4.1 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 0.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related compensation | $ | 3.3 | $ | 16.4 | $ | 9.0 |
(e)Diluted earnings per share is computed by giving effect to all potential weighted average Common Stock, and any securities that are convertible into Common Stock, including options and restricted stock units. The dilutive effect of outstanding awards and convertible securities is reflected in diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method, excluding deemed repurchases assuming proceeds from unrecognized compensation as required by GAAP. Shares and grants issued in conjunction with the IPO were assumed to be issued at the beginning of the period.
We define Adjusted Operating Income Margin as Adjusted Operating Income divided by the sum of revenue and the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | $ | 175.8 | $ | 113.3 | $ | 37.1 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 447.8 | $ | 306.6 | $ | 226.0 | ||||
| Revenue | 1,098.0 | 747.2 | 476.2 | |||||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue | 2.1 | 4.6 | 2.6 | |||||||
| Revenue for adjusted operating margin calculation | $ | 1,100.1 | $ | 751.8 | $ | 478.8 | ||||
| Operating Income Margin | 16 | % | 15 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin | 41 | % | 41 | % | 47 | % |
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $447.8 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 41%. Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $306.6 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 41%. Growth in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2022 relative to the year ended December 31, 2021 was an increase of $141.2 million, or 46%, and was driven primarily from the growth in customers and increasing revenue from existing customers. Adjusted Operating Income Margin stayed consistent at 41% in the year ended December 31, 2022 relative to the year ended December 31, 2021 as increased investment in sales and marketing capacity, as well as increased research and development as a percentage of revenue, were offset by operating leverage in cost of service and general and administrative.
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Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before debt-related costs, including interest and loss on debt modification and extinguishment, provision for taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Management further adjusts EBITDA to exclude certain items of a significant or unusual nature, including other (income) expense, net, impact of certain non-cash items, such as fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and equity-based compensation, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and integration costs and acquisition-related compensation. We exclude these items because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments, which we do not consider indicative of performance and ongoing cash-generation potential or are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 63.2 | $ | 94.9 | $ | (36.4) | ||||
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 131.4 | 6.1 | 4.7 | |||||||
| Add: Interest expense, net | 47.6 | 43.9 | 69.3 | |||||||
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 7.7 | 14.9 | |||||||
| Add: Depreciation | 17.6 | 13.7 | 8.9 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 48.2 | 35.3 | 23.3 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 22.0 | 20.3 | 18.7 | |||||||
| EBITDA | $ | 330.0 | $ | 222.0 | $ | 103.4 | ||||
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (66.4) | (39.3) | (15.4) | |||||||
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (b) | 2.1 | 4.6 | 2.6 | |||||||
| Add: Equity-based compensation expense | 192.3 | 93.0 | 121.6 | |||||||
| Add: Restructuring and transaction related expenses (excluding depreciation) (c) | 4.1 | 21.6 | 13.8 | |||||||
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (d) | 3.3 | 16.4 | 9.0 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 465.4 | $ | 318.2 | $ | 234.8 |
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(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
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(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 0.2 | $ | 2.1 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 0.5 | 6.1 | 3.5 | |||||||
| Research and development | 2.3 | 5.8 | 4.1 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 0.3 | 2.4 | 1.1 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related compensation | $ | 3.3 | $ | 16.4 | $ | 9.0 |
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $465.4 million, an increase of $147.2 million, or 46%, relative to the year ended December 31, 2021. This growth was driven primarily from the growth in revenue that resulted from additional customers in 2022 and 2021.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive 99% of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services and other revenue. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, and the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual or quarterly period.
Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. Other revenue, comprised largely of implementation and professional services fees, is recognized as services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including purchase accounting adjustments, seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and new business timing within the period. The unearned revenue balance does not represent the total contract value of annual or multi-year, non-cancelable subscription agreements.
Cost of Service
Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology. Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our SaaS services and related to our research teams, including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, IT, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, and amortization of internally developed capitalized software.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in costs of service and that costs of service as a percentage of revenue will modestly decrease as we realize operating leverage in the business.
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Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of service, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, restructuring and transaction expenses, and amortization of acquired intangibles (other than acquired technology). The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, and marketing.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our sales and marketing teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, and marketing programs. Sales commissions and related payroll taxes directly related to contract acquisition are capitalized and recognized as expenses over the estimated period of benefit.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in sales and marketing capacity to enable future growth. We anticipate that sales and marketing expense excluding equity-based compensation as a percentage of revenue will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of our growing investments in sales and marketing capacity excluding equity-based compensation, the recognition of revenue, and the amortization of contract acquisition costs.
Research and development. Research and development expenses support our efforts to enhance our existing platform and develop new software products. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our engineering and product management teams, as well as overhead costs. Research and development expenses do not reflect amortization of internally developed capitalized software. We believe that our core technologies and ongoing innovation represent a significant competitive advantage for us.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in research and development in order to develop new features and functionality to drive incremental customer value in the future and that research and development expense as a percentage of revenue will modestly increase in the short term, but will modestly decrease in the long term as we drive efficiencies in that organization.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee related benefits for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, IT, and business operations and administrative teams, as well as overhead costs. Additionally, we incur expenses for professional fees including legal services, accounting, and other consulting services, including those associated with operating as a public company.
We expect general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue to modestly decrease as we realize operating leverage in the business.
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Amortization of other acquired intangibles. Amortization of acquired intangibles primarily consists of amortization of customer relationships, trade names, and brand portfolios.
We anticipate that amortization of other acquired intangibles will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Restructuring and transaction-related expenses. Restructuring and transaction expenses primarily consist of various restructuring and acquisition activities we have undertaken to achieve strategic or financial objectives. Restructuring and acquisition activities include, but are not limited to, consolidation of offices and responsibilities, office relocation, administrative cost structure realignment, and acquisition-related professional services fees.
We anticipate that restructuring and transaction expenses will be correlated with future acquisition activity or strategic restructuring activities, which could be greater than or less than our historic levels.
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense represents the interest payable on our debt obligations and the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs, less interest income.
We anticipate that interest expense could be impacted by changes in variable interest rates or the issuance of additional debt.
Loss on Debt Modification and Extinguishment
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment consists of prepayment penalties and impairment of deferred financing costs associated with the modification or extinguishment of debt, as well as new fees incurred with third parties in connection with debt modifications.
We anticipate that losses related to debt extinguishment will only occur if we extinguish indebtedness before the contractual repayment dates.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net consists primarily of the revaluation of tax receivable agreement liabilities and foreign currency realized and unrealized gains and losses related to the impact of transactions denominated in a foreign currency.
Changes to existing tax law including changes to the corporate income tax rates and the Company’s state tax footprint could lead to substantial revaluations of the tax receivable agreement liability recorded through other income and expense, net.
The magnitude of other income and expenses, net may increase as we expand operations internationally and add complexity to our operations.
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Income Tax Expense (Benefit)
ZoomInfo OpCo is currently treated as a pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Income tax expense (benefit), Deferred tax assets, Deferred tax liabilities, and liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid by our corporate subsidiaries and, to the extent paid directly by our limited liability companies and partnerships that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes, our partnerships. Our corporate subsidiary, RKSI Acquisition Corporation was subject to income taxes in the United States and held a noncontrolling interests in our subsidiary, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC. ZoomInfo Technologies LLC was treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by ZoomInfo Technologies LLC is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its partners, including ZoomInfo LLC, and previously RKSI Acquisition Corporation. However, because RKSI Acquisition Corporation was subject to income taxes in the United States, income allocated to such corporate subsidiary for tax purposes reduced the taxable income allocated to and distributions made to ZoomInfo OpCo. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, RKSI Acquisition Corporation was distributed up to ZoomInfo HoldCo followed by the merger of RKSI Acquisition Corporation with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo and the merger of ZoomInfo HoldCo with and into ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining our consolidated income tax expense. Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. During 2021 ZoomInfo Technologies LLC made an election to be taxed as a corporation. Therefore, taxable income from the operations will no longer flow up to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc.
After consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. became subject to U.S. federal income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any U.S. taxable income of ZoomInfo OpCo, and is taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal, state, and local income tax purposes. Accordingly, a provision for income taxes will be recorded for the anticipated tax consequences of our reported results of operations for federal income taxes. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the tax receivable agreements, which we expect to be significant. In addition, because RKSI Acquisition Corporation (prior to its merger with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo) and Zebra Acquisition Corporation (prior to its merger with RKSI Acquisition Corporation) was subject to income taxes in the United States, income allocated to such corporate subsidiaries for tax purposes reduced the distributions made to ZoomInfo OpCo, thereby partially reducing our share of U.S. taxable income of ZoomInfo OpCo in 2021. See “Risk Factors - Organizational Structure Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
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Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 1,098.0 | $ | 747.2 | $ | 476.2 | ||||
| Cost of service: | ||||||||||
| Cost of service(1) | 140.2 | 101.4 | 84.2 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 48.2 | 35.3 | 23.3 | |||||||
| Gross profit | 909.6 | 610.5 | 368.7 | |||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Sales and marketing(1) | 379.3 | 241.1 | 184.9 | |||||||
| Research and development(1) | 205.2 | 119.7 | 51.4 | |||||||
| General and administrative(1) | 123.2 | 92.4 | 62.8 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 22.0 | 20.3 | 18.7 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses | 4.1 | 23.7 | 13.8 | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | 733.8 | 497.2 | 331.6 | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 175.8 | 113.3 | 37.1 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 47.6 | 43.9 | 69.3 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | 7.7 | 14.9 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (66.4) | (39.3) | (15.4) | |||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 194.6 | 101.0 | (31.7) | |||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 131.4 | 6.1 | 4.7 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | 63.2 | 94.9 | (36.4) | |||||||
| Less: Net income (loss) attributable to ZoomInfo OpCo prior to the Reorganization Transactions | — | — | (5.1) | |||||||
| Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | — | (21.9) | (27.3) | |||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. | $ | 63.2 | $ | 116.8 | $ | (4.0) |
__________________
(1)Includes equity-based compensation expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 20.2 | $ | 13.2 | $ | 27.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 80.4 | 38.2 | 62.6 | |||||||
| Research and development | 65.7 | 24.3 | 13.6 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 26.0 | 17.3 | 18.0 | |||||||
| Total equity-based compensation expense | $ | 192.3 | $ | 93.0 | $ | 121.6 |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 and Year Ended December 31, 2021
Revenue. Revenue was $1,098.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $350.8 million, or 47%, as compared to $747.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily due to the addition of new customers over the past 12 months and net expansion with existing customers. Revenue from acquired products in the first 12 months post-acquisition contributed $44.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.
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Cost of service. Cost of service was $188.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $51.7 million, or 38%, as compared to $136.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses, increased hosting expense to support new and growing customers, increased amortization of acquired technology related to recent acquisitions, and increased equity-based compensation expense.
Operating Expenses. Operating expenses were $733.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $236.6 million, or 48%, as compared to $497.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, operating expenses were $561.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $144.3 million, or 35%, as compared to $417.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase excluding equity-based compensation was primarily due to:
•an increase in sales and marketing expense (excluding equity-based compensation) of $96.0 million, or 47%, to $298.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses added to drive continued incremental sales and support acquired products, additional commission expense and amortization of deferred commissions related to obtaining contracts with customers, and advertising expense;
•an increase in research and development expense (excluding equity-based compensation) of $44.1 million, or 46%, to $139.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses to support continued innovation of our services and acquired products;
•an increase in general and administrative expense (excluding equity-based compensation) of $22.0 million, or 29%, to $97.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses to support the larger organization;
•an increase in amortization of acquired intangibles expense of $1.7 million, or 9%, to $22.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to amortization expense related to intangible assets from 2021 and 2022 acquisitions; and
•restructuring and transaction-related expense of $4.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primary due to transition and retention payments and other costs incurred related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. This represented a decrease of $19.6 million, or 83%, as compared to expense of $23.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which largely represented costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment and accelerated depreciation related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
Equity-based Compensation Expense. Equity-based compensation expense was $192.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $99.3 million, or 107%, as compared to $93.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to increased headcount.
Other (income) expense, net. Other income was $66.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $27.2 million, as compared to Other income of $39.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to a TRA remeasurement gain recognized in 2022.
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $47.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, an increase of $3.7 million, or 8%, as compared to $43.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to increases in the amount of total debt, attributable to the July 2021 issuances of Senior Notes and additional first lien principal.
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Income tax expense (benefit). The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Expense from income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $131.4 million, representing an effective tax rate of 67.5%, as compared to expense from income taxes of $6.1 million, representing an effective tax rate of 6.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our effective tax rate for year ended December 31, 2022 exceeded the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to the remeasurement of state deferred tax assets based on various state tax laws passed in 2022 and changes in our expectations for future apportionment of income between states, as well the impact of certain stock-based compensation being non-deductible for tax purposes.The effective tax rate for year ended December 31, 2021 was lower than the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to a benefit from the election to tax ZoomInfo Technologies LLC as a corporation partially offset by non-cash tax expense due to shifts in GAAP basis.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2022, we had $418.0 million of cash and cash equivalents, $127.7 million of short-term investments, and $250.0 million available under our first lien revolving credit facility. We have financed our operations primarily through cash generated from operations and financed various acquisitions through cash generated from operations supplemented with debt offerings.
We believe that our cash flows from operations and existing available cash and cash equivalents, together with our other available external financing sources, will be adequate to fund our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future. We are currently in compliance with the covenants under the credit agreements governing our secured credit facilities, and we expect to remain in compliance with our covenants.
We generally invoice our subscription customers annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of our subscription services. Therefore, a substantial source of our cash is from such prepayments, which are included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as unearned revenue. Unearned revenue consists of billed fees for our subscriptions, prior to satisfying the criteria for revenue recognition, which are subsequently recognized as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. As of December 31, 2022, we had unearned revenue of $419.9 million, of which $416.8 million was recorded as a current liability and is expected to be recorded as revenue in the next 12 months, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.
After the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of HoldCo Units, and ZoomInfo HoldCo became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of ZoomInfo OpCo Units. During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, ZoomInfo HoldCo was merged with and into ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. have no independent means of generating revenue. In the event ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. declares any cash dividend, we expect that ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. to cause ZoomInfo MidCo LLC to make distributions to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. in part through distributions to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo OpCo, in an amount sufficient to cover such cash dividends declared by us. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings, or cash flow of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain covenants that may restrict ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries from paying such distributions, subject to certain exceptions. Further, ZoomInfo MidCo LLC is generally prohibited under Delaware law from making a distribution to a member to the extent that, at the time of the distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, liabilities of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC (with certain exceptions), as applicable, exceed the fair value of its assets. Subsidiaries of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC are generally subject to similar legal limitations on their ability to make distributions to ZoomInfo MidCo LLC. See “Risk Factors - Organizational Structure Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Our cash flows from operations, borrowing availability, and overall liquidity are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity and our ability to meet our obligations and to fund our capital requirements are dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available from additional indebtedness or otherwise to meet our liquidity needs. If we decide to pursue one or more significant acquisitions, we may incur additional debt or sell additional equity to finance such acquisitions, which would result in additional expenses or dilution. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 417.0 | $ | 299.4 | $ | 169.6 | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | (281.1) | (695.8) | (113.3) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | (25.9) | 439.5 | 172.2 | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 110.0 | $ | 43.1 | $ | 228.5 |
Cash Flows from (used in) Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operations was $417.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of net income of $63.2 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $412.6 million and the change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $58.8 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation of $192.3 million, a decrease in deferred tax assets net of deferred tax liabilities of $123.3 million, depreciation and amortization of $87.8 million, and amortization of deferred commission costs of $65.9 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $65.6 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $81.9 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $39.3 million, and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $8.0 million, partially offset by an increase in unearned revenue of $48.8 million, an increase in accounts payable of $19.5 million, and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $2.8 million.
Net cash provided by operations was $299.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as a result of a net income of $94.9 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $167.6 million and a change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $36.9 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation of $93.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $69.3 million, amortization of deferred commissions cost of $41.7 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement measurement of $39.5 million and deferred income taxes of $14.5 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in unearned revenue of $131.4 million, and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $32.5 million, largely offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $66.1 million, and an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $53.4 million.
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Restructuring and transaction-related cash costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily related to transaction costs related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions transaction costs and tax payments related to entity conversions, which are not expected to recur. However, we may continue to make future acquisitions as part of our business strategy which may require the use of capital resources and drive additional future restructuring and transaction-related cash expenditures as well as integration and acquisition-related compensation cash costs. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, we incurred the following cash expenditures:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cash interest expense | $ | 50.0 | $ | 33.3 | $ | 66.5 | ||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses paid in cash(a) | $ | 14.6 | $ | 24.2 | $ | 13.1 | ||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related compensation paid in cash(b) | $ | 3.7 | $ | 13.7 | $ | 11.3 |
__________________
(a)Represents cash payments directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related primarily to transition bonuses paid related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions offset by payment received for the Waltham sublease termination. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to transaction costs related to 2021 acquisitions and tax payments related to entity conversions.
(b)Represents cash payments directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, these payments related to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy, Everstring, and Insent, and professional fees relating to integration projects. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, as well as professional fees related to 2021 acquisitions. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations – Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K), and transaction bonuses and other compensation, as well as payments of retention awards granted upon the Company’s acquisitions.
Future demands on our capital resources associated with our debt facilities may also be impacted by changes in reference interest rates and the potential that we incur additional debt in order to fund additional acquisitions or for other corporate purposes. Future demands on our capital resources associated with transaction expenses and restructuring activities and integration costs and transaction-related compensation will be dependent on the frequency and magnitude of future acquisitions and restructuring and integration activities that we pursue. As part of our business strategy, we expect to continue to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, complementary businesses from time to time; however, we cannot predict the magnitude or frequency of such acquisitions or investments.
Cash Flows from (used in) Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $281.1 million, consisting of cash paid for acquisitions of $143.7 million, purchases of short-term investments of $139.3 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $28.9 million, partially offset by maturities of short-term investments of $30.8 million.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $695.8 million, consisting of cash paid for acquisitions of $684.2 million, purchases of short-term investments of $119.8 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $23.6 million partially offset by proceeds from sales of short-term investments of $70.5 million, and maturities of short-term investments of $61.3 million.
As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we expect to continue to invest in property and equipment and opportunistically pursue acquisitions.
Cash Flows from (used in) Financing Activities
Cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $25.9 million, primarily comprised of taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards of $17.4 million, payments related to our tax receivable agreements of $12.2 million, payments of deferred consideration of $1.1 million, payments of issuance fees from prior transactions of $0.7 million, partially offset by proceeds from issuance of common stock under the employee purchase plan of $4.2 million, and proceeds from exercise of stock options of $1.3 million.
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Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $439.5 million, primarily comprised of proceeds from debt of $1,071.8 million, partially offset by payments on long-term debt of $581.4 million, tax distributions to equity partners of $19.9 million, payments of debt issuance and modification costs of $11.6 million, and taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards of $10.4 million.
Refer to Note 8 - Financing Arrangements of our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to each of our borrowings.
Debt Obligations
As of December 31, 2022, the aggregate remaining balance of $600.0 million of first lien term loans is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2026. As of December 31, 2022, the aggregate remaining balance of $650.0 million of 3.875% Senior Notes is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2029. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears beginning on August 1, 2021. The foregoing currently represent the only existing required future debt principal repayment obligations that will require future uses of the Company’s cash.
The first lien term debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable rate is 2.00% for Base Rate loans or 3.00% for SOFR loans, plus a credit spread adjustment of 0.1%, depending on the Company’s leverage. The first lien revolving debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or SOFR plus an applicable rate. The applicable margin is 1.00% to 1.25% for Base Rate loans or 2.00% to 2.25% for SOFR Based Loans, depending on the Company’s leverage. The effective interest rate on the first lien debt was 7.38% and 3.41% as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.
Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2022 was $465.4 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2022 was 1.5x.
| ($ in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,250.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments | 551.8 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 698.2 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 465.4 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA | 1.5x |
Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio is defined in the agreement governing our existing first lien credit facilities (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) as total contractual maturity of outstanding First Lien indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements). Cash EBITDA differs from Adjusted EBITDA due to certain defined add-backs, including cash generated from changes in unearned revenue; see table below for reconciliation. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2022 was $519.1 million. Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio as of December 31, 2022 was 0.1x.
| ($ in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of First Lien indebtedness | $ | 600.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments | 545.7 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 54.3 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 519.1 |
| Consolidated first lien net leverage ratio | 0.1x |
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Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements) is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2022 was $519.1 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA as of December 31, 2022 was 1.3x.
| ($ in millions, except leverage ratios) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness | $ | 1,250.0 |
| Less: Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments | 551.8 | |
| Net Debt | $ | 698.2 |
| Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) Cash EBITDA | $ | 519.1 |
| Total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA | 1.3x |
| Trailing Twelve Months as of | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | December 31, 2022 | |
| Net income (loss) | $ | 63.2 |
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 131.4 | |
| Add: Interest expense, net | 47.6 | |
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | — | |
| Add: Depreciation | 17.6 | |
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 48.2 | |
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 22.0 | |
| EBITDA | 330.0 | |
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (66.4) | |
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(b) | 2.1 | |
| Add: Equity-based compensation expense | 192.3 | |
| Add: Restructuring and transaction related expenses (excluding depreciation)(c) | 4.1 | |
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses(d) | 3.3 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 465.4 | |
| Add: Unearned revenue adjustment | 46.7 | |
| Add: Pro forma cost savings | — | |
| Add (less): Cash rent adjustment | 1.5 | |
| Add (less): Pre-Acquisition EBITDA | 1.4 | |
| Add (less): Other lender adjustments | 4.0 | |
| Cash EBITDA | $ | 519.1 |
__________________
(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions.
(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2022, this expense is primarily related to transition and
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retention payments related to 2021 and 2022 acquisitions. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2022 | |
| Cost of service | $ | 0.2 |
| Sales and marketing | 0.5 | |
| Research and development | 2.3 | |
| General and administrative | 0.3 | |
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related compensation | $ | 3.3 |
In addition, the credit agreement governing our first lien term loan contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. These restrictive covenants include, among others, limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, capital stock, prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt, make acquisitions, investments, loans, and advances, or sell or otherwise dispose of assets. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. The Company may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the credit agreements governing our first lien term loan limit, but do not prohibit, the Company from incurring additional indebtedness, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions will also not prevent the Company from incurring obligations that do not constitute “Indebtedness” as defined in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures increased by $5.3 million, or 22%, to $28.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase reflects increased capital expenditures to support the larger company and greater capitalization of internal development costs.
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Tax Receivable Agreements
We have entered into two tax receivable agreements. We entered into (i) the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement with certain of our Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and (ii) the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement with the Pre-IPO Blocker Holders. These tax receivable agreements provide for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to such Pre-IPO Owners and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the tax receivable agreements. The Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement provides for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to certain Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of (i) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and (ii) increases in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments that will increase the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of sales or exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock after the IPO, and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement. The Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement provides for the payment by ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. to Pre-IPO Blocker Holders and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the Reorganization Transactions), and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement. In each case, these increases in existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s depreciation and amortization deductions and, therefore, may reduce the amount of tax that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge.
The ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustments upon exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. The payment obligations under the tax receivable agreements are an obligation of members of the ZoomInfo Tax group, but not of ZoomInfo OpCo. The ZoomInfo Tax Group expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of realized cash tax benefits.
For purposes of the tax receivable agreements, the realized cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of the ZoomInfo Tax Group (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would have been required to pay had there been no existing tax basis, no anticipated tax basis adjustments of the assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of exchanges and no utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the Blocker Companies’ allocable share of existing tax basis), and had ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreements. The term of each tax receivable agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless (i) ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. exercises its right to terminate one or both tax receivable agreements for an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement, (ii) ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under one or both tax receivable agreements in which case all obligations (including any additional interest due relating to any deferred payments) generally will be accelerated and due as if ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the tax receivable agreements, or (iii) there is a change of control of ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc., in which case the Pre-IPO Owners may elect to receive an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement determined as described above in clause (i). Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreements is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The amount of existing tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including our blended federal and state tax rate and the amount and timing of our income.
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We expect that as a result of the size of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO, the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustment of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group upon the exchange of OpCo Units for shares of Common Stock and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. may make under the tax receivable agreements will be substantial. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had a liability of $2,978.7 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and OpCo Units. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we paid a total of $12.2 million pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreements. There were no payments in the year ended December 31, 2021. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging holders of OpCo Units. Refer to Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2022 and the years in which these obligations are due:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | Total | Less than one year | One to three years | Three to five years | Greater than five years | |||||||||||||
| Long-term indebtedness(1) | $ | 1,250.0 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 600.0 | $ | 650.0 | ||||||||
| Operating leases(2) | 104.4 | 14.2 | 22.3 | 15.2 | 52.7 | |||||||||||||
| Deferred consideration and employee compensation(3) | 6.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations(4) | 112.0 | 43.6 | 67.7 | 0.7 | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 1,473.1 | $ | 61.1 | $ | 93.4 | $ | 615.9 | $ | 702.7 |
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(1)Includes future principal payments on long-term indebtedness through the scheduled maturity dates thereof. Indebtedness is discussed in Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Interest incurred on amounts we borrow is based on relative borrowing levels, fluctuations in the variable interest rates, and the spread we pay over those interest rates. As such, we are unable to quantify our future obligations relating to interest and therefore no amounts have been included in the above table.
(2)Represents future payments on existing operating leases through the scheduled expiration dates thereof. This amount excludes executed lease agreements that commence after December 31, 2022.
(3)Includes deferred consideration and employee compensation related to the Insent and Dogpatch acquisitions at the currently estimated payout amounts, undiscounted. Acquisitions and related deferred consideration are discussed in Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Estimated contingent consideration is subject to change depending on results of factors each arrangement is based on.
(4)Primarily relates to third-party cloud hosting and software as a service arrangements.
The amounts included in the table above represent agreements that are enforceable and legally binding; any obligations under contracts that we can cancel without significant penalty are not included here. The ultimate timing of these liabilities cannot be determined; therefore, we have excluded these amounts from the contractual obligations table above. Purchase orders issued in the ordinary course of business are not included in the table above as they represent authorizations to purchase the items rather than binding agreements. However, if such claims arise in the future, they could have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
The payments that we may be required to make under the tax receivable agreements that we entered into may be significant and are not reflected in the contractual obligations tables set forth above, as we are currently unable to estimate the amounts and timing of the payments that may be due thereunder.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Our critical accounting policies are those that we believe have the most significant impact to the presentation of our financial position and results of operations and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP with no need for the application of judgment.
In certain circumstances, however, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that effect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, we believe the following topics reflect our critical accounting policies and our more significant judgment and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
We derive revenue primarily from subscription services. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications and related access to our databases. Subscription contracts are generally based on the number of users that access our applications, the level of functionality that they can access, and the amount of data that a customer integrates with their systems. Our subscriptions contracts typically have a term of one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of delivery.
We account for revenue contracts with customers using the following steps: (i) identification of contracts with customers, (ii) identification of distinct performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determination of contract transaction price, (iv) allocation of contract transaction price to the performance obligations, and (v) determination of revenue recognition based on the timing of satisfaction of the performance obligation(s).
We recognize revenue for subscription contracts on a ratable basis over the contract term based on the number of calendar days in each period, beginning on the date that our service is made available to the customer. Unearned revenue results from revenue amounts billed to customers in advance or cash received from customers in advance of the satisfaction of performance obligations.
Business Combinations
We allocate the purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The purchase price is determined based on the fair value of the assets transferred, liabilities assumed, and equity interests issued, after considering any transactions that are separate for the business combination. The excess of fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Such valuations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets and contingent liabilities. Significant estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include, but are not limited to, future expected cash flows from acquired customer bases, acquired technology and acquired trade names, useful lives, royalty rates, and discount rates.
The estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement during the measurement period for an acquisition, which may last up to one year from the acquisition date. During the measurement period, we may record adjustments to the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with a corresponding offset to goodwill. After the conclusion of the measurement period or the final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings.
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In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances assumed in connection with a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We re-evaluate these items based upon the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date, with any adjustments to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill, provided that the timing is within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period, changes to uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances will be recorded to earnings.
Tax Receivable Agreements
In connection with our IPO, we entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements with certain non-controlling interest owners (the “TRA Holders”). The TRAs generally provide for payment by the Company to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings.
We account for amounts payable under the TRA in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450, Contingencies. As such, subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the statements of income as a component of other income (expense), net. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had a liability of $2,978.7 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and OpCo units exchanged. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we recognized a TRA remeasurement gain of $65.6 million. Refer to Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further details on the TRA liability.
Income Taxes
Deferred taxes are recorded using the asset and liability method, whereby tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. We regularly evaluate the valuation allowances established for deferred tax assets for which future realization is uncertain. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider both positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax assets and liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and results of recent operations. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded.
ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. is a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal as well as state income tax related to its ownership percentage in ZoomInfo Holdings LLC. ZoomInfo Holdings LLC is a limited liability company treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and files a U.S. Return of Partnership Income. Consequently, the members of ZoomInfo Holdings are taxed individually on their share of earnings for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, our operating entity, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC, made an election to be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. As a result, taxable income from our operations is no longer expected to flow up to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZoomInfo Technologies LLC is subject to the Texas Margins Tax. Additionally, our operations in Canada, India, Israel, and the U.K. are subject to local country income taxes. Refer to Note 19 - Income Taxes to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding income taxes.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001794515-22-000015.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such difference include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” refer to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. References in this Form 10-K to “ZoomInfo,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer (1) prior to the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, to ZoomInfo OpCo and its consolidated subsidiaries, (2) after the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions and prior to the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization,, to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries and (3) after the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo NewCo Inc.) and its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. Numerical figures included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in various tables may not be arithmetic aggregations of the figures that precede them.
Overview
ZoomInfo is a global leader in modern go-to-market software, data, and intelligence for sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams.
RevOS – our modern, cloud-based operating system for revenue professionals allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams to shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by delivering the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way. We do this by delivering timely competitive intelligence and offering services that make reaching prospects fast and easy.
ZoomInfo, formerly known as DiscoverOrg, was co-founded in 2007 by our CEO, Henry Schuck. We have grown our company by developing innovative ways of gathering and improving our data and insights, and using intelligent automation to put those insights into action.
Today, our company defines the modern go-to-market technology stack across three distinct layers that build upon each other:
Our Intelligence Layer is the foundation of our data-driven strategies. Our best-in-class data, curated through first- and third-party sources, includes billions of data points about companies and contacts, such as intent, hierarchy, location, and financial information.
Our Orchestration Layer stitches together and enriches our data sources. At this stage, our products assign and route data, leads, and insights to the appropriate people. This creates a “living” dataset that is continuously updated and can be used to power automated business workflows. Our services connect with major CRM providers.
Our Engagement Layer, which includes category-competing solutions such as Engage, Chat, and Chorus, allows sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting professionals to put our data-driven insights into action by using multiple channels to reach and communicate with prospects and customers.
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We generate substantially all of our revenue from sales of subscriptions to our platform. Our subscription fees include the use of our platform and access to customer support. Subscriptions generally range from one to three years in length with over 35% of our contracts (based on annualized value) under multi-year agreements. We typically bill our customers at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual, or quarterly period and recognize revenue ratably over the term of the subscription period.
We sell our software to both new and existing customers. Some existing customers continue to renew their subscriptions to pre-acquisition versions of the Pre-Acquisition ZI and DiscoverOrg solutions. We price our subscriptions based on the functionality, users, and records under management that are included in each product edition. Our paid product platforms are SalesOS, MarketingOS, OperationsOS, and RecruitingOS (with add-on options for some platforms), and we have a free Community Edition.
Our software, insights, and data enable over 25,000 companies to sell and market more effectively and efficiently. Our customers operate in almost every industry vertical, including software, business services, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, retail, media and internet, transportation, education, hospitality, and real estate. They range from the largest global enterprises, to mid-market companies, down to small businesses. Many of our customers are software and business services companies. In 2021, approximately 44% and 22% of our customers, as measured by ACV, operated in the software and business services industries, respectively. In 2021, less than 4% of our customers, as measured by ACV, operated in the retail, travel, hospitality, consumer goods and services, or oil and gas industries. Our net annual retention rate was 116%, 108%, and 109% in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, no single customer contributed more than 1% of revenue. Revenues derived from customers and partners located outside the United States, as determined based on the address provided by our customers and partners, accounted for approximately 11%, 9%, and 9% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, 1,452 customers contracted for more than $100,000 in ACV for ZoomInfo services.
To address our market opportunity, we have built and continue to tune our efficient and comprehensive go-to-market engine. We have integrated our insights and data into an automated engine with defined processes and specialized roles in order to market and sell our services. We are constantly improving the effectiveness of our engine in order to identify and close more business.
We have experienced rapid organic growth, supplemented by additional growth from acquisitions. We generated revenue of $747.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 of $476.2 million, and income from operations of $113.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to income from operations of $37.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Operating income margin was 15% for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to 8% in 2020. In addition to our consolidated U.S GAAP financial measures, we review various non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. Our Adjusted Operating Income was $306.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $226.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our Adjusted Operating Income Margin was 41% for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to 47% in 2020. Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Margin do not include results of operations from acquired entities before their acquisitions.
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Recent Developments
COVID-19
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to have unpredictable and rapidly shifting impacts on global financial markets, economies, and business practices. The extent and continued impact of the pandemic on our operational and financial condition will depend on certain developments, including: the duration and spread of the outbreak, including the impact of new variants of the COVID-19 virus; global government responses to the pandemic, including continued vaccine availability, deployment, and efficacy; the impact on the health and welfare of our employees and their families; the impact on our customers and our sales cycles; the impact on customer, industry, or employee events; delays in hiring and onboarding new employees; and the effects on our partners, vendors, and supply chains, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. Furthermore, because of our largely subscription-based business model, the effect of the pandemic may not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial condition until future periods, if at all.
To address the safety and health of our employees during the pandemic, in the first quarter of 2020 we temporarily closed all of our offices and enabled our entire workforce to work remotely. Throughout 2021, most of our workforce continued to work remotely. The impact, if any, of these and any additional operational changes we may implement is uncertain, but changes we have implemented to date have not affected, and are not expected to materially affect, our ability to maintain operations, including financial reporting systems, internal control over financial reporting, and disclosure controls and procedures. See “Human Capital” in Part I, Item 1 and “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Acquisitions
In June 2021, the Company acquired all the outstanding equity interests of Insent, a conversational marketing platform, for a total purchase consideration of $34.0 million, consisting of $32.9 million in cash consideration and $1.1 million in estimated deferred consideration. The purchase price was primarily comprised of acquired technology and goodwill. In July 2021, the Company acquired substantially all of the net assets of AffectLayer, Inc. (d/b/a Chorus.ai), a leader in conversation intelligence, for a total purchase consideration of $547.4 million (the “Chorus.ai Acquisition”). The purchase price was primarily comprised of acquired technology and goodwill. The Company funded cash payments made at closing with $225.0 million of revolving credit borrowings under the agreement (the “First Lien Credit Agreement”) governing our existing First Lien Credit Facilities, and the remainder with cash on hand.
In September 2021, the Company acquired substantially all of the net assets of RingLead, an leader in data orchestration and revenue operations automation, for a total purchase consideration of $118.0 million, consisting of $116.9 million in cash consideration and $1.1 million in estimated deferred consideration. The purchase price was primarily comprised of acquired technology and goodwill. The Company has included the financial results of each of these businesses in the consolidated financial statements from their respective dates of acquisition. The purchase accounting for the Insent and Chorus transactions is finalized, but is not yet finalized for the RingLead transaction. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Senior Unsecured Notes Offering
In February 2021, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC and ZoomInfo Finance Corp. (collectively, the “Issuers”), indirect subsidiaries of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., completed an offering of $350.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior notes due 2029 (the “Existing Notes”). We used all the net proceeds, along with cash on hand, to prepay $356.4 million aggregate principal amount of our first lien term loans outstanding under the first lien credit agreement (the “Debt Prepayment”). Following the Debt Prepayment, as of February 2, 2021, $400.0 million aggregate principal amount of first lien term loans were outstanding under our first lien credit agreement.
In July 2021, the Issuers issued and sold $300.0 million in aggregate principal amount of additional 3.875% senior notes due 2029 (the “Additional Notes”). The notes were issued under the same indenture as the Existing Notes, which were issued in February 2021, and constitute part of the same series as the Existing Notes.
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First Lien Credit Agreement Amendment
In February 2021, ZoomInfo LLC entered into an amendment to our First Lien Credit Agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, the agreement was amended to (i) increase the aggregate commitments to $250.0 million under our first lien revolving credit facility, (ii) add ZoomInfo Technologies LLC as a co-borrower, (iii) reprice of our first lien term loan facility maturing in February 2026 and first lien revolving credit facility and (iv) extend the maturity date of our first lien revolving credit facility to November 2025.
In July 2021, the Company entered into an amendment (the “Credit Agreement Amendment”) to the First Lien Credit Agreement that provided for, among other things, the incurrence of an additional $200.0 million aggregate principal amount of additional term loans under the First Lien Credit Agreement.
The net proceeds from the Credit Agreement Amendment were used, together with the net proceeds from the offering (the “Offering”) by the Issuers the Additional Notes, to (i) repay $225.0 million of outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility which were used to pay a portion of the consideration for the Chorus.ai Acquisition, and (ii) pay fees and expenses related to the Credit Agreement Amendment, the Offering and the Chorus.ai Acquisition, and the remainder for general corporate purposes. Refer to Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Corporate Structure Simplification Transactions
In August 2021, the Company completed a series of reorganization transactions to simplify its corporate structure, including the distribution of shares of common stock of RKSI Acquisition Corp (“RKSI”) from ZoomInfo Holdings LLC to ZoomInfo HoldCo, the merger of RKSI with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo with ZoomInfo HoldCo surviving, and the merger of ZoomInfo HoldCo with and into the Company with the Company surviving. Prior to the consummation of the HoldCo Merger, all holders of HoldCo Units (other than the Company) exchanged their HoldCo Units and paired shares of Class B common stock of the Company for shares of Class A common stock of the Company pursuant to the terms of the limited liability company agreement of ZoomInfo HoldCo.
UP-C Corporate Structure and Multi-Class Voting Structure Elimination
In September 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously approved streamlining the Company’s corporate structure and governance by eliminating the Company’s umbrella partnership-C-corporation (“UP-C”) and multi-class voting structure. In October 2021, the Company implemented this reorganization, pursuant to which (i) a subsidiary of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo NewCo Inc.) (“New ZoomInfo”) merged (the “PubCo Merger”) with and into ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) (“Old ZoomInfo”), which resulted in New ZoomInfo becoming the direct parent company of Old ZoomInfo, and (ii) immediately thereafter, another subsidiary of New ZoomInfo merged (the “OpCo Merger”) with and into ZoomInfo Holdings LLC (“ZoomInfo OpCo”), which resulted in ZoomInfo OpCo becoming a subsidiary of New ZoomInfo (the “Holding Company Reorganization”). As a result of the Holding Company Reorganization, New ZoomInfo became the successor issuer and reporting company to Old ZoomInfo pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and replaced the Predecessor Registrant as the public company trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Nasdaq”) under the ticker symbol “ZI.”
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In connection with the PubCo Merger, (i) each outstanding share of Old ZoomInfo’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Old Class A Common Stock”), was automatically converted into one share of New ZoomInfo’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“New Class A Common Stock”), having the same designation, rights, powers, and preferences, and qualifications, limitations, and restrictions as a share of Old Class A Common Stock immediately prior to the PubCo Merger, and (ii) each outstanding share of Old ZoomInfo’s Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Old Class B Common Stock”), was automatically converted into one share of New ZoomInfo’s Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“New Class B Common Stock”), having the same designation, rights, powers, and preferences, and qualifications, limitations, and restrictions as a share of Old Class B Common Stock immediately prior to the PubCo Merger. Accordingly, upon consummation of the PubCo Merger, stockholders of Old ZoomInfo automatically became stockholders of New ZoomInfo, on a one-for-one basis, with the same number and ownership percentage of shares of the same class as they held in Old ZoomInfo immediately prior to the effective time of the PubCo Merger.
In connection with the OpCo Merger, (i) each outstanding Class A Common Unit, Class P Unit and LTIP Unit was automatically converted into the number of shares of New Class A Common Stock equal to the number of shares of Old Class A Common Stock such unit was exchangeable for under the limited liability company agreement of ZoomInfo OpCo and (ii) all outstanding shares of New Class B Common Stock were surrendered to New ZoomInfo and cancelled.
After the consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, the only class of common stock of the New ZoomInfo remaining issued and outstanding is the New Class A Common Stock. We do not intend to issue any shares of Class B common stock or Class C common stock of New ZoomInfo.
Factors Affecting the Comparability of Our Results of Operations
As a result of a number of factors, our historical results of operations are not comparable from period to period and may not be comparable to our financial results of operations in future periods. Set forth below is a brief discussion of the key factors impacting the comparability of our results of operations.
Impact of the Reorganization Transactions
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. Our accounting predecessor, ZoomInfo OpCo, was and is treated as a flow-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as such, only certain subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes have been subject to U.S. federal income tax at the entity level historically. Accordingly, unless otherwise specified, the historical results of operations and other financial information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K only include a provision for U.S. federal income tax for income allocated to those subsidiaries that were organized as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Following the completion of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. pays U.S. federal and state income taxes as a corporation on its share of our taxable income.
ZoomInfo OpCo is the predecessor of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo OpCo, the accounting predecessor.
In addition, in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO, we entered into the tax receivable agreements described in Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
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Initial Public Offering
In June 2020, the company completed its IPO which significantly impacted our cash, first and second lien indebtedness, and temporary and permanent equity balances. See “—Recent Developments.” The IPO, driven by the associated first and second lien term loan repayments, significantly reduced our interest expense relative to historical results.
Impact of Acquisitions
We seek to grow through both internal development and the acquisition of businesses that broaden and strengthen our platform. Our recent acquisitions include Pre-Acquisition ZI in February 2019, Komiko in October 2019, Clickagy in October 2020, EverString in November 2020, Insent in June 2021, Chorus.ai in July 2021, and RingLead in September 2021. As discussed below under “—Results of Operations,” these acquisitions have been a significant driver of our revenue, cost of service, operating expense, and interest expense growth. Purchase accounting requires that all assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at fair value on the acquisition date, including unearned revenue. Revenue from contracts that are impacted by the estimate of fair value of the unearned revenue upon acquisition will be recorded based on the fair value until such contract is terminated or renewed, which will differ from the receipts received by the acquired company allocated over the service period for the same reporting periods.
Impact of the Zoom Information Acquisition
On February 1, 2019, we acquired, through a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary, Zebra Acquisition Corporation, 100% of the stock of Pre-Acquisition ZI for $748.0 million, net of cash acquired (the “Zoom Information Acquisition”). Pre-Acquisition ZI was a provider of company and contact information to sales and marketing professionals.
The Zoom Information Acquisition qualifies as a business combination and was accounted for as such. We included the financial results of Pre-Acquisition ZI in the consolidated financial statements of ZoomInfo OpCo from the date of the Zoom Information Acquisition. Accordingly, the financial statements for the period prior to the Zoom Information Acquisition may not be comparable to those from the periods after the Zoom Information Acquisition.
In connection with the Zoom Information Acquisition, ZoomInfo OpCo entered into an $865.0 million first lien term loan facility, a $100.0 million first lien revolving credit facility, which was undrawn at the time of the acquisition, and a $370.0 million second lien term loan facility, and issued $207.0 million of Series A Preferred Units. In addition to funding the Zoom Information Acquisition, the additional proceeds from such facilities and Series A Preferred Units were used to repay existing debt. These debt facilities drove a significant impact to our interest expense from the date of the acquisition. We would have expected interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 to be greater than that of the year ended December 31, 2019 due to the debt being outstanding for the entire period in 2020. However, this increase was mitigated and offset by (a) a reduction in interest rates period over period, and (b) the debt repayments and prepayments referenced above and in Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
We recognized approximately $85.3 million of revenue from legacy Pre-Acquisition ZI platform contracts with acquired customers, including the renewals and upsells thereof, during the year ended December 31, 2019, of which $32.3 million was included in the unearned revenue balance recorded at the acquisition date. The fair value of acquired unearned revenue was $34.5 million, which differs from the unearned revenue recorded by Pre-Acquisition ZI immediately prior to the acquisition of $68.3 million. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the amounts received or billed by Pre-Acquisition ZI in advance of revenue recognition as of the acquisition date allocated over the service period post-acquisition was $63.9 million, which was $31.6 million greater than the amount recognized into revenue for those receipts and billings based on their fair value.
We incurred approximately $2.7 million of transaction costs related to the Zoom Information Acquisition. We paid $29.7 million related to the secured credit facilities, which was accounted for as a debt discount. We also incurred $0.6 million in transaction costs associated with issuing the new Series A Preferred Units, which were issued at a 3% discount, which transaction costs were deducted from the proceeds received from the units.
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During 2019, we completed the integration of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including aligning reporting structures for all employees along functional lines, migrating all front-office sales and marketing activities onto a single technology stack with a single instance for key technology components, migrating back-office activities onto a single technology stack, integrating accounting, legal, and human resources activities, including financial reporting processes and benefits for employees, and developing a single platform that is being used for all sales to new customers.
Additionally, as part of the integration of Pre-Acquisition ZI, we identified that certain roles and responsibilities were redundant between the two companies and terminated the employment of certain executives immediately upon the closing of the transaction. We subsequently eliminated additional positions that were no longer needed as a result of the functionally aligned reporting structure, including the Russia operations of Pre-Acquisition ZI, certain development positions in Vancouver, Washington, and certain executives from DiscoverOrg and Pre-Acquisition ZI. Expenses relating to severance paid were recorded as Restructuring and transaction related expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Operations with the majority of those expenses being recognized in the three months ended March, 31, 2019, and not recurring in 2020. Expenses relating to any accelerated payments under the Cash Vesting Payment Program (refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K) were recorded as operating expense according to the functional area aligning to the employee’s salary and is included in integration and transaction-related compensation expenses when calculating non-GAAP metrics.
All new customers are sold the ZoomInfo platform that we released in September 2019. We continue to support pre-existing customers on the legacy DiscoverOrg and Pre-Acquisition ZI platforms, although many pre-existing customers have agreed to upgrade to the ZoomInfo platform. The pricing constructs for subscriptions on the platforms are similar among the platforms and based on a combination of the number of seats to which the customer commits and the level of functionality and data access that the customer requires. Based on the increased level of functionality and data access, upgrading to the ZoomInfo platform will often require an increase in subscription pricing for an equivalent number of users.
We incurred expenses related to the integration of Pre-Acquisition ZI during 2019. Additionally, as part of the purchase of Pre-Acquisition ZI, we agreed with the former owners of Pre-Acquisition ZI to implement a Cash Vesting Payment Program to make payments to employees with respect to unvested options that were canceled at the time of the Zoom Information Acquisition. We agreed to make the payments to employees according to the remaining vesting schedule as of the acquisition date in amounts that would have been paid had the options been vested at the time of the acquisition. We reduced the originally agreed purchase price to the former owners of Pre-Acquisition ZI as a result of agreeing to make such payments. These payments are recorded as expense over the period of service on our Consolidated Statements of Operations in the same expense line item as the salary of recipients, and we will continue to record expense for the majority of employees until 2021, and for some employees into 2022. Additionally, we engaged consulting firms and other professional services firms to help integrate our companies, including developing branding and pricing strategies for the combined platform. These expenses were recorded as Sales and marketing and General and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. For analyses and non-GAAP metrics that include adjustments to operating expenses, the expenses are deemed to be integration expenses and acquisition-related compensation.
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Equity-Based Compensation
In December 2019, HSKB modified all outstanding awards to add an alternative performance and time vesting condition and to also permit settlement through exchange into the Company’s public shares in addition to the existing cash-settlement option. This modification resulted in the revaluation of the awards in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Through the date of modification, no equity-based compensation had been recognized for these awards as the qualifying event (i.e., the IPO) was not probable. Upon completion of the IPO, the Company recognized $57.6 million of additional compensation expense attributable to service periods already elapsed on HSKB awards and the acceleration of vesting select Class P Units. The remaining unamortized fair value as of the modification date will be recognized as equity-based compensation over the remaining service period of the awards. In addition to the impact of the modified HSKB awards, new awards and modifications that took place as part of the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO has contributed to higher equity-based compensation expense in 2020 and 2021. Refer to Note 16 - Equity-based Compensation to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for unamortized equity-based compensation costs related to each type of equity-based incentive award.
Impact of the Holding Company Reorganization
In September 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously approved streamlining the Company’s corporate structure and governance by eliminating the Company’s UP-C and multi-class voting structure. In October 2021, the Company implemented the Holding Company Reorganization. As a result of the Holding Company Reorganization, New ZoomInfo became the successor issuer and reporting company to Old ZoomInfo pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Exchange Act, and replaced Old ZoomInfo as the public company trading on the Nasdaq under Old ZoomInfo’s ticker symbol “ZI.” In addition, New ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.” and Old ZoomInfo changed its name to “ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc.”
Accordingly, upon consummation of the Holding Company Reorganization, Old ZoomInfo stockholders automatically became stockholders of New ZoomInfo, on a one-for-one basis, with the same number and ownership percentage of shares they held in Old ZoomInfo immediately prior to the effective time of the Holding Company Reorganization.
Old ZoomInfo is the predecessor of New ZoomInfo for financial reporting purposes. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of New ZoomInfo recognize the assets and liabilities received in the reorganization at their historical carrying amounts, as reflected in the historical consolidated financial statements of Old ZoomInfo, the accounting predecessor.
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Key Factors Affecting Our Performance
We believe that the growth and future success of our business depends on many factors, including the following:
Continuing to Acquire New Customers
We are focused on continuing to grow the number of customers that use our platform. The majority of revenue growth when comparing the year ended December 31, 2021 to the year ended December 31, 2020 was the result of new customers added over the last 24 months. Our operating results and growth prospects will depend, in part, on our ability to continue to attract new customers. Additionally, acquiring new customers strengthens the power of our contributory network. We will need to continue to invest in our efficient go-to-market effort to acquire new customers. As of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we had over 25,000, 20,000, and 14,000 customers, respectively. We define a customer as a company that maintains one or more active paid subscriptions to our platform.
Delivering Additional High-Value Solutions to Our Existing Customers
Many of our customers purchase additional high-value solutions as they expand their use of our platform. Customers add additional services and/or upgrade their platform. We believe there is a significant opportunity for expansion with our existing customers through additional solutions.
Expanding Relationships with Existing Customers
Many of our customers increase spending with us by adding users or integrating incremental data as they increase their use of our platform. Several of our largest customers have expanded the deployment of our platform across their organizations following their initial deployment. We believe there is a significant opportunity to add additional users and data integration within our existing customers.
We believe that expanding the value that we provide to our customers and the corresponding revenue generated as a result is an important measure of the health of our business. We monitor net revenue retention to measure that growth. Net revenue retention is an annual metric that we calculate based on customers that were contracted for services at the beginning of the year, or, for those that became customers through an acquisition, at the time of the acquisition. Net revenue retention is calculated as: (a) the ACV for those customers at the end of the year divided by (b) ZoomInfo ACV at the beginning of the year plus the ACV of acquired companies at the time of acquisition. Our net annual retention rate was 116%, 108%, and 109% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We also measure our success in expanding relationships with existing customers by the number of customers that contract for more than $100,000 in ACV. As of December 31, 2021, we had 1,452 customers with over $100,000 in ACV.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we believe certain non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. These measures include, but are not limited to, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share which are used by management in making operating decisions, allocating financial resources, internal planning and forecasting, and for business strategy purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial information is useful to investors because it eliminates certain items that affect period-over-period comparability, and it provides consistency with past financial performance and additional information about our underlying results and trends by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our business, results of operations, or outlook.
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We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share as operating performance measures. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income is U.S. GAAP operating income. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Operating Income Margin is U.S. GAAP operating income divided by U.S. GAAP revenue. We believe that the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income is U.S. GAAP Net Income, and the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure to Adjusted Net Income per diluted share is U.S. GAAP net earnings per diluted share.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, but rather as supplemental information to our business results. This information should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are limitations to these non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in methods of calculation and items or events being adjusted. In addition, other companies may use different measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income Margin, and Adjusted Net Income
We define Adjusted Operating Income as income from operations plus (i) impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue, (ii) amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, (iii) equity-based compensation expense, (iv) restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and (v) integration costs and acquisition-related compensation. We exclude the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and amortization of acquired technology and other acquired intangibles, as well as equity-based compensation, because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments and we believe that excluding these items provides meaningful supplemental information regarding performance and ongoing cash-generation potential. We exclude restructuring and transaction-related expenses, as well as integration costs and acquisition-related compensation, because such expenses are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted Operating Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Operating Income should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of operating performance.
We define Adjusted Net Income as Adjusted Operating Income less (i) interest expense, net (ii) other (income) expense, net, excluding TRA liability remeasurement expense (benefit) and (iii) income tax expense (benefit) including incremental tax effects of adjustments to arrive at Adjusted Operating Income and current tax benefits related to the TRA. Adjusted Net Income is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted Net Income and Income (loss) from operations to Adjusted Operating Income for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 94.9 | $ | (36.4) | $ | (78.0) | ||||
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 6.1 | 4.7 | (6.5) | |||||||
| Add: Interest expense, net | 43.9 | 69.3 | 102.4 | |||||||
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 7.7 | 14.9 | 18.2 | |||||||
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (39.3) | (15.4) | — | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | $ | 113.3 | $ | 37.1 | $ | 36.1 | ||||
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (b) | 4.6 | 2.6 | 32.2 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 35.3 | 23.3 | 25.0 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.3 | 18.7 | 17.6 | |||||||
| Add: Equity-based compensation | 93.0 | 121.6 | 25.1 | |||||||
| Add: Restructuring and transaction-related expenses (c) | 23.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | |||||||
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (d) | 16.4 | 9.0 | 15.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 306.6 | $ | 226.0 | $ | 167.1 | ||||
| Less: Interest expense, net | (43.9) | (69.3) | (102.4) | |||||||
| Less (add): Other expense (income), net, excluding TRA liability remeasurement (benefit) expense | (0.3) | (0.3) | — | |||||||
| Add (less): Benefit (expense) from income taxes | (6.1) | (4.7) | 6.5 | |||||||
| Less: Tax impacts of adjustments to net income (loss) | (25.3) | (13.5) | (9.3) | |||||||
| Adjusted Net Income | $ | 231.1 | $ | 138.2 | $ | 62.0 |
__________________
(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation. For the year ended December 31, 2020, this expense related primarily to professional fees for the preparation for an initial public offering and deferred acquisition cost revaluations. For the year ended December 31, 2019, this expense related primarily to the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including professional fees, severance, and acceleration of payments for terminated employees.
(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. For the year ended December 31, 2020, this expense related primarily to cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI. For the year ended December 31, 2019, this expense related primarily to activities resulting from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including cash vesting payments and transaction bonuses, as well as expense incurred for retention awards granted upon the Company’s acquisitions of RainKing, NeverBounce, and Komiko. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 2.1 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 6.1 | 3.5 | 5.8 | |||||||
| Research and development | 5.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 2.4 | 1.1 | 5.4 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related compensation | $ | 16.4 | $ | 9.0 | $ | 15.5 |
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We define Adjusted Operating Income Margin as Adjusted Operating Income divided by the sum of revenue and the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue.
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 306.6 | $ | 226.0 | $ | 167.1 | ||||
| Revenue | 747.2 | 476.2 | 293.3 | |||||||
| Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue | 4.6 | 2.6 | 32.2 | |||||||
| Revenue for adjusted operating margin calculation | $ | 751.8 | $ | 478.8 | $ | 325.6 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin | 41 | % | 47 | % | 51 | % |
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $306.6 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 41%. Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $226.0 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 47%. Growth in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2021 relative to the year ended December 31, 2020 was an increase of $80.6 million, or 36%, and was driven primarily from the growth in customers and increasing revenue from existing customers. Adjusted Operating Income Margin decreased to 41% in the year ended December 31, 2021 from 47% in the year ended December 31, 2020 due to increased investment in research and development and sales and marketing capacity that has helped accelerate revenue growth, as well as general and administrative costs to support incremental public company related requirements.
Adjusted Operating Income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $167.1 million and represented an Adjusted Operating Income Margin of 51%. Growth in Adjusted Operating Income in the year ended December 31, 2020 relative to the year ended December 31, 2019 was an increase of $58.8 million, or 35%, and was driven primarily from the growth in customers and increasing revenue from existing customers. Adjusted Operating Income Margin decreased to 47% in the year ended December 31, 2020 from 51% in the year ended December 31, 2019 due to incremental sales and marketing expenses related to signing new customers and retaining and upselling existing customers, and general and administrative costs to support incremental public company related requirements.
Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA is defined as earnings before debt-related costs, including interest and loss on debt modification and extinguishment, provision for taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Management further adjusts EBITDA to exclude certain items of a significant or unusual nature, including other (income) expense, net, impact of certain non-cash items, such as fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue and equity-based compensation, restructuring and transaction-related expenses, and integration costs and acquisition-related compensation. We exclude these items because these are non-cash expenses or non-cash fair value adjustments, which we do not consider indicative of performance and ongoing cash-generation potential or are episodic in nature and have no direct correlation to the cost of operating our business on an ongoing basis. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is used by management to evaluate our financial performance and for planning and forecasting purposes. Additionally, we believe that it and similar measures are widely used by securities analysts and investors as a means of evaluating a company’s operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity or as an alternative to operating income or net income as indicators of operating performance.
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The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 94.9 | $ | (36.4) | $ | (78.0) | ||||
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 6.1 | 4.7 | (6.5) | |||||||
| Add: Interest expense, net | 43.9 | 69.3 | 102.4 | |||||||
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 7.7 | 14.9 | 18.2 | |||||||
| Add: Depreciation | 13.7 | 8.9 | 6.1 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 35.3 | 23.3 | 25.0 | |||||||
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.3 | 18.7 | 17.6 | |||||||
| EBITDA | $ | 222.0 | $ | 103.4 | $ | 84.8 | ||||
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (39.3) | (15.4) | — | |||||||
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue (b) | 4.6 | 2.6 | 32.2 | |||||||
| Add: Equity-based compensation expense | 93.0 | 121.6 | 25.1 | |||||||
| Add: Restructuring and transaction related expenses (excluding depreciation) (c) | 21.6 | 13.8 | 15.6 | |||||||
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses (d) | 16.4 | 9.0 | 15.5 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 318.2 | $ | 234.8 | $ | 173.2 |
__________________
(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation. For the year ended December 31, 2020, this expense related primarily to professional fees for the preparation for an initial public offering and deferred acquisition cost revaluations. For the year ended December 31, 2019, this expense related primarily to the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including professional fees, severance and acceleration of payments for terminated employees.
(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. For the year ended December 31, 2020, this expense related primarily to cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI. For the year ended December 31, 2019, this expense related primarily to activities resulting from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including cash vesting payments and transaction bonuses, as well as expense incurred for retention awards granted upon the Company’s acquisitions of RainKing, NeverBounce, and Komiko. Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 2.1 | $ | 0.4 | $ | 0.4 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 6.1 | 3.5 | 5.8 | |||||||
| Research and development | 5.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 2.4 | 1.1 | 5.4 | |||||||
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related expenses | $ | 16.4 | $ | 9.0 | $ | 15.5 |
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $318.2 million, an increase of $83.4 million, or 36%, relative to the year ended December 31, 2020. This growth was driven primarily from the growth in revenue that resulted from additional customers in 2021 and 2020.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $234.8 million, an increase of $61.6 million, or 36%, relative to the year ended December 31, 2019. This growth was driven primarily from the growth in revenue that resulted from additional customers in 2020 and 2019.
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Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
We derive 99% of our revenue from subscription services and the remainder from recurring usage-based services. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications. Pricing of our subscription contracts are generally based on the functionality provided, the number of users that access our applications, the amount of data that the customer integrates into their systems. Our subscription contracts typically have a term ranging from one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services in advance either annually, semi-annually or quarterly, and we typically require payment at the beginning of each annual, semi-annual or quarterly period.
Subscription revenue is generally recognized ratably over the contract term starting with when our service is made available to the customer. Recurring usage-based revenue is recognized in the period services are utilized by our customers. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these services. We record a contract asset when revenue recognized on a contract exceeds the billings to date for that contract.
Unearned revenue results from cash received or amounts billed to customers in advance of revenue recognized upon the satisfaction of performance obligations. The unearned revenue balance is influenced by several factors, including purchase accounting adjustments, seasonality, the compounding effects of renewals, invoice duration, invoice timing, dollar size, and new business timing within the period. The unearned revenue balance does not represent the total contract value of annual or multi-year, non-cancelable subscription agreements.
Cost of Service
Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology. Cost of service, excluding amortization of acquired technology includes direct expenses related to the support and operations of our SaaS services and related to our research teams, including salaries, benefits, equity-based compensation, and related expenses, such as employer taxes, allocated overhead for facilities, IT, third-party hosting fees, third-party data costs, and amortization of internally developed capitalized software.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in costs of service and that costs of service as a percentage of revenue will stay consistent or modestly decrease as we realize operating leverage in the business.
Amortization of acquired technology. Amortization of acquired technology includes amortization expense for technology acquired in business combinations.
We anticipate that amortization of acquired technology will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
Gross profit is revenue less cost of service, and gross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit has been and will continue to be affected by various factors, including leveraging economies of scale, the costs associated with third-party hosting services and third-party data, the level of amortization of acquired technology, and the extent to which we expand our customer support and research organizations. We expect that our gross margin will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of these various factors.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, restructuring and transaction expenses, and amortization of acquired intangibles (other than acquired technology). The most significant component of our operating expenses is personnel costs, which consists of salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, stock-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits. Operating expenses also include overhead costs for facilities, technology, professional fees, depreciation and amortization expense, and marketing.
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Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, sales commissions, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our sales and marketing teams, as well as overhead costs, technology, and marketing programs. Sales commissions and related payroll taxes directly related to contract acquisition are capitalized and recognized as expenses over the estimated period of benefit.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in sales and marketing capacity to enable future growth, but that sales and marketing expense as a percentage of revenue will decrease as equity-based compensation expense related to the modification of HSKB awards and triggered by the IPO become a less significant component of overall sales and marketing expense. We anticipate that sales and marketing expense excluding equity-based compensation will fluctuate from period to period depending on the interplay of our growing investments in sales and marketing capacity excluding equity-based compensation, the recognition of revenue, and the amortization of contract acquisition costs.
Research and development. Research and development expenses support our efforts to enhance our existing platform and develop new software products. Research and development expenses primarily consist of employee compensation such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee-related benefits for our engineering and product management teams, as well as overhead costs. Research and development expenses do not reflect amortization of internally developed capitalized software. We believe that our core technologies and ongoing innovation represent a significant competitive advantage for us, and we expect our research and development expenses to continue to increase as we invest in research and development resources to further strengthen and enhance our solutions.
We anticipate that we will continue to invest in research and development in order to develop new features and functionality to drive incremental customer value in the future and that research and development expense as a percentage of revenue will modestly increase in the long term.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of employee-related costs such as salaries, bonuses, equity-based compensation, and other employee related benefits for our executive, finance, legal, human resources, IT, and business operations and administrative teams, as well as overhead costs. Additionally, we incur expenses for professional fees including legal services, accounting, and other consulting services, including those associated with operating as a public company.
We expect general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue to stay consistent or modestly decrease from 2021 as we realize operating leverage in the business.
Amortization of other acquired intangibles. Amortization of acquired intangibles primarily consists of amortization of customer relationships, trade names, and brand portfolios.
We anticipate that amortization of other acquired intangibles will increase if we make additional acquisitions in the future.
Restructuring and transaction related expenses. Restructuring and transaction expenses primarily consist of various restructuring and acquisition activities we have undertaken to achieve strategic or financial objectives. Restructuring and acquisition activities include, but are not limited to, consolidation of offices and responsibilities, office relocation, administrative cost structure realignment, and acquisition-related professional services fees.
We anticipate that restructuring and transaction expenses will be correlated with future acquisition activity or strategic restructuring activities, which could be greater than or less than our historic levels.
Interest Expense, Net
Interest expense represents the interest payable on our debt obligations and the amortization of debt discounts and debt issuance costs, less interest income.
We anticipate that interest expense could be impacted by changes in variable interest rates or the issuance of additional debt.
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Loss on Debt Modification and Extinguishment
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment consists of prepayment penalties and impairment of deferred financing costs associated with the modification or extinguishment of debt, as well as new fees incurred with third parties in connection with debt modifications.
We anticipate that losses related to debt extinguishment will only occur if we extinguish indebtedness before the contractual repayment dates.
Other (Income) Expense, Net
Other (income) expense, net consists primarily of the revaluation of tax receivable agreement liabilities and foreign currency realized and unrealized gains and losses related to the impact of transactions denominated in a foreign currency.
Changes to existing tax law including changes to the corporate income tax rates and the Company’s state tax footprint could lead to substantial revaluations of the tax receivable agreement liability recorded through other income and expense, net.
The magnitude of other income and expenses, net may increase as we expand operations internationally and add complexity to our operations.
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)
ZoomInfo OpCo is currently treated as a pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Income tax expense (benefit), Deferred tax assets, Deferred tax liabilities, and liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid by our corporate subsidiaries and, to the extent paid directly by our limited liability companies and partnerships that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes, our partnerships. Our corporate subsidiary, RKSI Acquisition Corporation was subject to income taxes in the United States and held noncontrolling interests in our subsidiary, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC. ZoomInfo Technologies LLC was treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. Any taxable income or loss generated by ZoomInfo Technologies LLC during the period it was treated as a partnership for income tax purposes was passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its partners, including ZoomInfo LLC, and RKSI Acquisition Corporation. However, because RKSI Acquisition Corporation is subject to income taxes in the United States, income allocated to such corporate subsidiary for tax purposes reduced the taxable income allocated to and distributions made to ZoomInfo OpCo. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, RKSI Acquisition Corporation was distributed up to ZoomInfo HoldCo followed by the merger of RKSI Acquisition Corporation with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo and the merger of ZoomInfo HoldCo with and into ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. Significant judgments and estimates are required in determining our consolidated income tax expense. Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information. During the three months ended December 31, 2021, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC made an election to be taxed as a corporation. Therefore, taxable income from the operations will no longer flow up to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc.
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After consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. became subject to U.S. federal income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any U.S. taxable income of ZoomInfo OpCo, and is taxed at the prevailing corporate tax rates. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. is treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal, state, and local income tax purposes. Accordingly, a provision for income taxes will be recorded for the anticipated tax consequences of our reported results of operations for federal income taxes. In addition to tax expenses, we also will incur expenses related to our operations, as well as payments under the tax receivable agreements, which we expect to be significant. In addition, because RKSI Acquisition Corporation (prior to its merger with and into ZoomInfo HoldCo) and Zebra Acquisition Corporation (prior to its merger with RKSI Acquisition Corporation) will continue to be subject to income taxes in the United States, income allocated to such corporate subsidiaries for tax purposes will reduce the distributions made to ZoomInfo OpCo, thereby reducing our allocable share of U.S. taxable income of ZoomInfo OpCo. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Results of Operations
The following table presents our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 747.2 | $ | 476.2 | $ | 293.3 | ||||
| Cost of service: | ||||||||||
| Cost of service(1) | 101.4 | 84.2 | 43.6 | |||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 35.3 | 23.3 | 25.0 | |||||||
| Gross profit | 610.5 | 368.7 | 224.7 | |||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Sales and marketing(1) | 241.1 | 184.9 | 90.2 | |||||||
| Research and development(1) | 119.7 | 51.4 | 30.1 | |||||||
| General and administrative(1) | 92.4 | 62.8 | 35.1 | |||||||
| Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.3 | 18.7 | 17.6 | |||||||
| Restructuring and transaction related expenses | 23.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | |||||||
| Total operating expenses | 497.2 | 331.6 | 188.6 | |||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 113.3 | 37.1 | 36.1 | |||||||
| Interest expense, net | 43.9 | 69.3 | 102.4 | |||||||
| Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 7.7 | 14.9 | 18.20 | |||||||
| Other (income) expense, net | (39.3) | (15.4) | — | |||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 101.0 | (31.7) | (84.5) | |||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 6.1 | 4.7 | (6.5) | |||||||
| Net income (loss) | 94.9 | (36.4) | (78.0) | |||||||
| Less: Net income (loss) attributable to ZoomInfo OpCo prior to the Reorganization Transactions | — | (5.1) | (78.0) | |||||||
| Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | (21.9) | (27.3) | — | |||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. | $ | 116.8 | $ | (4.0) | $ | — |
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(1)Includes equity-based compensation expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Cost of service | $ | 13.2 | $ | 27.4 | $ | 4.0 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 38.2 | 62.6 | 11.2 | |||||||
| Research and development | 24.3 | 13.6 | 4.7 | |||||||
| General and administrative | 17.3 | 18.0 | 5.2 | |||||||
| Total equity-based compensation expense | $ | 93.0 | $ | 121.6 | $ | 25.1 |
Year Ended December 31, 2021 and Year Ended December 31, 2020
Revenue. Revenue was $747.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $271.0 million, or 57%, as compared to $476.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to the addition of new customers over the past 12 months and net expansion with existing customers. Products acquired within the last 12 months contributed $13.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Cost of service. Cost of service was $136.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $29.2 million, or 27%, as compared to $107.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits, hosting expense to support new and growing customers, and increased amortization of acquired technology related to acquisitions, partially offset by reduced equity-based compensation expense.
Operating Expenses. Operating expenses were $497.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $165.6 million, or 50%, as compared to $331.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, operating expenses were $417.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $180.0 million, or 76%, as compared to $237.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase excluding equity-based compensation was primarily due to:
•an increase in sales and marketing expense (excluding a decrease in equity-based compensation of $24.4 million) of $80.5 million, or 66%, to $202.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses added to drive continued incremental sales, additional commission expense and amortization of deferred commissions related to obtaining contracts with customers and additional marketing expense;
•an increase in research and development expense (excluding an increase in equity-based compensation of $10.7 million) of $57.6 million, or 152%, to $95.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses to support continued innovation of our services;
•an increase in general and administrative expense (excluding a decrease in equity-based compensation of $0.7 million) of $30.4 million, or 68%, to $75.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses, and corporate expenses to support the larger organization;
•an increase in amortization of acquired intangibles expense of $1.6 million, or 9%, to $20.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due to amortization expense related to intangible assets acquired from 2021 acquisitions during the full period for the current year; and
•an increase in restructuring and transaction-related expense of $9.9 million, or 72%, to $23.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, due to costs incurred in completing 2021 acquisitions and Reorganization Transactions, and impairment and accelerated depreciation related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation offset by a decrease in IPO costs incurred in the year ended December 31, 2020 that did not reoccur.
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Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $43.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $25.4 million, or 37%, as compared to $69.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to lower average cost of debt due to the net impact of the repayment of the second lien debt and $100.0 million first lien debt principal repayment in June 2020, the first lien debt repricing and debt prepayment in February 2021, and increases in the amount of debt resulting from the February and July 2021 issuances of Senior Notes.
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment. Loss on debt modification and extinguishment was $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily related to the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs resulting from the February 2021 Debt Prepayment. This represented a decrease of $7.2 million, or 48%, as compared to expense of $14.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, related to penalties and derecognition of deferred and unamortized debt issuance costs resulting from the repayment of the second lien term loans and $100.0 million first lien term loan principal repayment after the IPO that did not reoccur.
Other (income) expense, net. Other income was $39.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $23.8 million, as compared to Other income of $15.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, primarily due to the recognition of a TRA remeasurement gain of $39.5 million.
Income tax expense (benefit). Expense from income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $6.1 million, representing an effective tax rate of 6.1%, as compared to expense from income taxes of $4.7 million, representing an effective tax rate of (14.8)% for the year ended December 31, 2020. The 2021 effective tax rate is lower than the statutory rate primarily due to a benefit from the election to tax ZoomInfo Technologies LLC as a corporation partially offset by non-cash tax expense due to shifts in GAAP basis. The 2020 effective tax rate was lower than the statutory rate primarily due to the impact of nondeductible stock compensation applied to a net loss.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 and Year Ended December 31, 2019
Revenue. Revenue was $476.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $182.9 million, or 62%, as compared to $293.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was primarily due to the addition of new customers over the 18 months ended December 31, 2020 and net expansion with existing customers, and, to a lesser extent, due to the recognition of revenue for renewed contracted value, as opposed to the fair value ascribed to acquired contracts under purchase accounting during the prior year period or recognized by Pre-Acquisition ZI before the acquisition on February 1, 2019. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020 include $2.0 million from products acquired during the period.
Cost of service. Cost of service was $107.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $38.8 million, or 57%, as compared to $68.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to additional equity-based compensation expense related to grants previously made by HSKB, modified in December 2019, and triggered by the IPO. Additional expenses related to additional headcount and hosting expense to support new and growing customers also contributed to the increase.
Operating Expenses. Operating expenses were $331.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $143.0 million, or 76%, as compared to $188.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to additional equity-based compensation expense related to grants previously made by HSKB, modified in December 2019, and triggered by the IPO. Excluding equity-based compensation expenses, operating expenses were $237.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $70.0 million, or 42%, as compared to $167.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to:
•an increase in sales and marketing expense (excluding an increase in equity-based compensation of $51.3 million) of $43.4 million, or 55%, to $122.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses added to drive continued incremental sales, as well as additional commission expense and amortization of deferred commissions related to obtaining contracts with customers;
•an increase in research and development expense (excluding an increase in equity-based compensation of $8.9 million) of $12.5 million, or 49%, to $37.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due
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primarily to additional engineering and product management resources added to support continued innovation of our services;
•an increase in general and administrative expense (excluding an increase in equity-based compensation of $12.8 million) of $14.8 million, or 49%, to $44.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due primarily to additional headcount and related salaries and benefits expenses to support the larger organization and additional corporate expenses related to operating as a public company, which were partially offset by a decrease in integration-related expenses in the year ended December 31, 2019, which did not recur in the year ended December 31, 2020;
•an increase in amortization of acquired intangibles expense of $1.1 million, or 6%, to $18.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due to amortization expense related to intangible assets acquired in the Zoom Information Acquisition during the full period for the current year; and
•a decrease in restructuring and transaction-related expense of $1.8 million, or 12%, to $13.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, due to expenses incurred in completing the Zoom Information Acquisition.
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was $69.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of $33.2 million, or 32%, as compared to $102.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to interest savings resulting from the repayment of our second lien term loans in full and $100.0 million of first lien term loans, offset by nonrecurring interest expense recognized upon partial dedesignation of cash flow hedges resulting from reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
Loss on debt modification and extinguishment. Loss on debt modification and extinguishment was $14.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, related to penalties and derecognition of deferred and unamortized debt issuance costs resulting from the repayment of the second lien term loans and $100.0 million first lien term loan principal repayment after the IPO. This represented a decrease of $3.2 million, or 18%, as compared to expense of $18.2 million the year ended December 31, 2019, related to cost incurred with respect to prior debt instruments that were repaid in conjunction with the Zoom Information Acquisition in February 2019.
Other (income) expense, net. Other (income) expense, net was $(15.4) million for the year ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of $15.4 million, as compared to $0.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily due to the recognition of a TRA remeasurement gain of $15.7 million.
Income tax expense (benefit). Expense from income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $4.7 million, representing an effective tax rate of (14.8)%, as compared to benefit from income taxes of $(6.5) million, representing an effective tax rate of 7.7% for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to a GAAP loss driven by non-deductible stock-based compensation expense resulting in positive tax expense despite the GAAP loss. Furthermore, the Reorganization Transactions resulted in a higher proportion of GAAP earnings being allocated to tax paying entities.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had $308.3 million of cash and cash equivalents, $18.4 million of short-term investments, and $250.0 million available under our first lien revolving credit facility. We have financed our operations primarily through cash generated from operations and financed various acquisitions through cash generated from operations supplemented with debt offerings.
We believe that our cash flows from operations and existing available cash and cash equivalents, together with our other available external financing sources, will be adequate to fund our operating and capital needs for at least the next 12 months. We are currently in compliance with the covenants under the credit agreements governing our secured credit facilities, and we expect to remain in compliance with our covenants.
We generally invoice our subscription customers annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of our subscription services. Therefore, a substantial source of our cash is from such prepayments, which are included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as unearned revenue. Unearned revenue consists of billed fees for our subscriptions, prior to satisfying the criteria for revenue recognition, which are subsequently recognized as revenue in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. As of December 31, 2021, we had unearned revenue of $364.2 million, of which $361.5 million was recorded as a current liability and is expected to be recorded as revenue in the next 12 months, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.
After the consummation of the Reorganization Transactions, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. (formerly known as ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.) became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of HoldCo Units, and ZoomInfo HoldCo became a holding company with no material assets other than its ownership of ZoomInfo OpCo Units. During the quarter ended September 30, 2021, ZoomInfo HoldCo was merged with and into ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. and ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. have no independent means of generating revenue. In the event ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. declares any cash dividend, we expect that ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. to cause ZoomInfo MidCo LLC to make distributions to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. in part through distributions to ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. and ZoomInfo OpCo, in an amount sufficient to cover such cash dividends declared by us. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings, or cash flow of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. In addition, the terms of our financing arrangements contain covenants that may restrict ZoomInfo MidCo LLC and its subsidiaries from paying such distributions, subject to certain exceptions. Further, ZoomInfo MidCo LLC is generally prohibited under Delaware law from making a distribution to a member to the extent that, at the time of the distribution, after giving effect to the distribution, liabilities of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC (with certain exceptions), as applicable, exceed the fair value of its assets. Subsidiaries of ZoomInfo MidCo LLC are generally subject to similar legal limitations on their ability to make distributions to ZoomInfo MidCo LLC. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our cash flows from operations, borrowing availability, and overall liquidity are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, our liquidity and our ability to meet our obligations and to fund our capital requirements are dependent on our future financial performance, which is subject to general economic, financial, and other factors that are beyond our control. Accordingly, our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and future borrowings may not be available from additional indebtedness or otherwise to meet our liquidity needs. If we decide to pursue one or more significant acquisitions, we may incur additional debt or sell additional equity to finance such acquisitions, which would result in additional expenses or dilution. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Historical Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($ in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 299.4 | $ | 169.6 | $ | 44.4 | ||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | (695.8) | (113.3) | (736.7) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 439.5 | 172.2 | 725.8 | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 43.1 | $ | 228.5 | $ | 33.5 |
Cash Flows from (used in) Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operations was $299.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as a result of net income of $94.9 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $167.6 million and the change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $36.9 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of equity-based compensation of $93.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $69.3 million, amortization of deferred commission costs of $41.7 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement remeasurement of $39.5 million and deferred income taxes of $14.5 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in unearned revenue of $131.4 million and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $32.5 million, largely offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $66.1 million, and an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $53.4 million.
Net cash provided by operations was $169.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as a result of a net loss of $36.4 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $201.5 million and a change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $4.5 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of depreciation and amortization of $50.8 million, equity-based compensation of $121.6 million, loss on early extinguishment of debt of $14.9 million, and amortization of deferred commissions cost of $25.1 million, partially offset by tax receivable agreement measurement of $15.7 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in unearned revenue of $60.1 million, and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $21.9 million, largely offset by an increase in deferred costs and other assets of $40.0 million and an increase in accounts receivable of $32.9 million.
Net cash provided by operations was $44.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 as a result of a net loss of $78.0 million, adjusted by non-cash charges of $93.8 million and a change in our operating assets net of operating liabilities of $28.6 million. The non-cash charges are primarily comprised of depreciation and amortization of $48.7 million, equity-based compensation of $25.1 million, and loss of early extinguishment of $9.4 million. The change in operating assets net of operating liabilities was primarily the result of an increase in unearned revenue of $71.9 million and an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $18.2 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $34.5 million and in deferred costs and other assets of $27.8 million.
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Restructuring and transaction-related cash costs for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily related to 2021 acquisitions transaction costs and entity conversions tax payments, which are not expected to reoccur. However, we may continue to make future acquisitions as part of our business strategy which may require the use of capital resources and drive additional future restructuring and transaction-related cash expenditures as well as integration and acquisition-related compensation cash costs. During the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, we incurred the following cash expenditures:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Cash interest expense | $ | 33.3 | $ | 66.5 | $ | 95.0 | ||||
| Restructuring and transaction-related expenses paid in cash(a) | $ | 24.2 | $ | 13.1 | $ | 12.8 | ||||
| Integration costs and acquisition-related compensation paid in cash(b) | $ | 13.7 | $ | 11.3 | $ | 15.0 |
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(a)Represents cash payments directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to transaction costs related to 2021 acquisitions and tax payments related to entity conversions. For the year ended December 31, 2020, these payments related primarily to the IPO, including professional fees, severance and acceleration of payments for terminated employees, and deferred consideration. For the year ended December 31, 2019, these payments related primarily to the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including professional fees, severance and acceleration of payments for terminated employees, and deferred consideration.
(b)Represents cash payments directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2021, these payments related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, as well as professional fees related to 2021 acquisitions. For the year ended December 31, 2020, these payments related primarily to cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI. For the year ended December 31, 2019, these payments related primarily to activities resulting from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, including consulting and professional services costs, cash vesting payments (Refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations – Business Combinations to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K), and transaction bonuses and other compensation, as well as payments of retention awards granted upon the Company’s acquisitions of RainKing and NeverBounce.
Future demands on our capital resources associated with our debt facilities may also be impacted by changes in reference interest rates and the potential that we incur additional debt in order to fund additional acquisitions or for other corporate purposes. Future demands on our capital resources associated with transaction expenses and restructuring activities and integration costs and transaction-related compensation will be dependent on the frequency and magnitude of future acquisitions and restructuring and integration activities that we pursue. As part of our business strategy, we expect to continue to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, complementary businesses from time to time; however, we cannot predict the magnitude or frequency of such acquisitions or investments.
Cash Flows from (used in) Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $695.8 million, consisting of cash paid for acquisitions of $684.2 million, purchases of short-term investments of $119.8 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $23.6 million, partially offset by proceeds from sales of short-term investments of $70.5 million, and maturities of short-term investments of $61.3 million.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $113.3 million, consisting of cash paid for acquisitions of $65.9 million, purchases of short-term investments of $30.6 million, and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $16.8 million.
Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $736.7 million, primarily as a result of cash payments for the acquisition of $723.1 million and purchases of property and equipment and other assets of $13.6 million.
As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we expect to continue to invest in property and equipment and opportunistically pursue acquisitions.
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Cash Flows from (used in) Financing Activities
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $439.5 million, primarily comprised of proceeds from debt of $1,071.8 million, partially offset by payments on long-term debt of $581.4 million, tax distributions to equity partners of $19.9 million, payments of debt issuance and modification costs of $11.6 million, and taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards of $10.4 million.
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $172.2 million, primarily consisting of the IPO proceeds, net of the underwriters discount, of $1,023.7 million, proceeds from debt of $35.0 million, partially offset by the redemption of Series A Preferred Units of $274.2 million, repayment of debt of $510.9 million, purchase of OpCo Units from Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders for $47.2 million, payments of deferred consideration of $24.7 million, payment of IPO issuance costs of $7.2 million, and tax distributions to equity partners of $9.9 million.
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $725.8 million, primarily as a result of issuance of new debt of $1,220.8 million and the Series A Preferred Unit issuance of $200.2 million, partially offset by payments on long-term debt of $649.8 million, payment of debt issuance costs of $16.7 million, and tax distributions to equity partners of $16.5 million.
Refer to Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information related to each of our borrowings.
Debt Obligations
As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate remaining balance of $600.0 million of first lien term loans is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2026. As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate remaining balance of $650.0 million of 3.875% Senior Notes is due, in its entirety, at the contractual maturity date of February 1, 2029. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears beginning on August 1, 2021. The foregoing represent the only existing required future debt principal repayment obligations that will require future uses of the Company’s cash.
The first lien term debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or the London Interbank Offer Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable rate. The applicable rate is 2.00% for Base Rate loans or 3.00% for LIBOR Based Loans, depending on the Company’s leverage. The first lien revolving debt has a variable interest rate whereby the Company can elect to use a Base Rate or the London Interbank Offer Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable rate. The applicable margin is 1.00% to 1.25% for Base Rate loans or 2.00% to 2.25% for LIBOR Based Loans, depending on the Company’s leverage. The effective interest rate on the first lien debt was 3.41% and 4.30% as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.
Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 was $318.2 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2021 was 2.9x.
Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio is defined in our First Lien Credit Agreement as total contractual maturity of outstanding First Lien indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements). Cash EBITDA differs from Adjusted EBITDA due to certain defined add-backs, including cash generated from changes in unearned revenue; see table below for reconciliation. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 was $444.6 million. Our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio as of December 31, 2021 was 0.6x.
Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA (defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our Credit Agreements) is defined as total contractual maturity of outstanding indebtedness less cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, divided by trailing twelve months Cash EBITDA. Cash EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 31, 2021 was $444.6 million. Our total net leverage ratio to Cash EBITDA as of December 31, 2021 was 2.1x.
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| Trailing Twelve Months as of | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | December 31, 2021 | |
| Net income (loss) | $ | 94.9 |
| Add (less): Expense (benefit) from income taxes | 6.1 | |
| Add: Interest expense, net | 43.9 | |
| Add: Loss on debt modification and extinguishment | 7.7 | |
| Add: Depreciation | 13.7 | |
| Add: Amortization of acquired technology | 35.3 | |
| Add: Amortization of other acquired intangibles | 20.3 | |
| EBITDA | 222.0 | |
| Add (less): Other expense (income), net (a) | (39.3) | |
| Add: Impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue(b) | 4.6 | |
| Add: Equity-based compensation expense | 93.0 | |
| Add: Restructuring and transaction related expenses (excluding depreciation)(c) | 21.6 | |
| Add: Integration costs and acquisition-related expenses(d) | 16.4 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 318.2 | |
| Add: Unearned revenue adjustment | 126.7 | |
| Add: Pro forma cost savings | 3.4 | |
| Add (less): Cash rent adjustment | 1.5 | |
| Add (less): Pre-Acquisition EBITDA | (6.1) | |
| Add (less): Other lender adjustments | 0.8 | |
| Cash EBITDA | $ | 444.6 |
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(a)Primarily represents revaluations on tax receivable agreement liability and foreign exchange remeasurement gains and losses.
(b)Represents the impact of fair value adjustments to acquired unearned revenue relating to services billed by an acquired company prior to our acquisition of that company. These adjustments represent the difference between the revenue recognized based on management’s estimate of fair value of acquired unearned revenue and the receipts billed prior to the acquisition less revenue recognized prior to the acquisition.
(c)Represents costs directly associated with acquisition or disposal activities, including employee severance and termination benefits, contract termination fees and penalties, and other exit or disposal costs. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to costs incurred related to 2021 acquisitions and impairment charges related to the Company’s Waltham office relocation.
(d)Represents costs directly associated with integration activities for acquisitions and acquisition-related compensation, which includes transaction bonuses and retention awards. For the year ended December 31, 2021, this expense related primarily to retention awards from the acquisitions of Clickagy and Everstring, cash vesting payments from the acquisition of Pre-Acquisition ZI, and professional fees incurred to integrate acquired businesses. This expense is included in cost of service, sales and marketing expense, research and development expense, and general and administrative expense as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||
|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | 2021 | |
| Cost of service | $ | 2.1 |
| Sales and marketing | 6.1 | |
| Research and development | 5.8 | |
| General and administrative | 2.4 | |
| Total integration costs and acquisition-related compensation | $ | 16.4 |
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In addition, our credit agreement governing our first lien term loan contains restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. These restrictive covenants include, among others, limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, capital stock, prepay, redeem, or repurchase certain debt, make acquisitions, investments, loans, and advances, or sell or otherwise dispose of assets. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of substantially all of our debt. The Company may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the credit agreements governing our first lien term loan limit, but do not prohibit, the Company from incurring additional indebtedness, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions will also not prevent the Company from incurring obligations that do not constitute “Indebtedness” as defined in the agreements governing our indebtedness.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures increased by $6.8 million, or 40%, to $23.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase reflects increased capital expenditures to support the larger company and greater capitalization of internal development costs.
Capital expenditures increased by $3.2 million, or 24%, to $16.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase reflects increased capital expenditures to support the larger company and greater capitalization of internal development costs.
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Tax Receivable Agreements
We have entered into two tax receivable agreements. We entered into (i) the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement with certain of our Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and (ii) the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement with the Pre-IPO Blocker Holders. These tax receivable agreements provide for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to such Pre-IPO Owners and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of certain tax attributes and benefits covered by the tax receivable agreements. The Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement provides for the payment by members of the ZoomInfo Tax Group to certain Pre-IPO OpCo Unitholders and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of (i) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and (ii) increases in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments that will increase the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of sales or exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Class A common stock after the IPO, and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Exchange Tax Receivable Agreement. The Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement provides for the payment by ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. to Pre-IPO Blocker Holders and certain Pre-IPO HoldCo Unitholders of 85% of the benefits, if any, that the ZoomInfo Tax Group is deemed to realize (calculated using certain assumptions) as a result of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the Reorganization Transactions), and certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Reorganization Tax Receivable Agreement. In each case, these increases in existing tax basis and tax basis adjustments generated over time may increase (for tax purposes) the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s depreciation and amortization deductions and, therefore, may reduce the amount of tax that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the IRS may challenge all or part of the validity of that tax basis, and a court could sustain such a challenge. The ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO and the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustments upon exchanges of OpCo Units for shares of Class A common stock may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. The payment obligations under the tax receivable agreements are an obligation of members of the ZoomInfo Tax group, but not of ZoomInfo OpCo. The ZoomInfo Tax Group expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of realized cash tax benefits. For purposes of the tax receivable agreements, the realized cash tax benefits will be computed by comparing the actual income tax liability of the ZoomInfo Tax Group (calculated with certain assumptions) to the amount of such taxes that the ZoomInfo Tax Group would have been required to pay had there been no existing tax basis, no anticipated tax basis adjustments of the assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group as a result of exchanges and no utilization of certain tax attributes of the Blocker Companies (including the Blocker Companies’ allocable share of existing tax basis), and had ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. not entered into the tax receivable agreements. The term of each tax receivable agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired, unless (i) ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. exercises its right to terminate one or both tax receivable agreements for an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement, (ii) ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. breaches any of its material obligations under one or both tax receivable agreements in which case all obligations (including any additional interest due relating to any deferred payments) generally will be accelerated and due as if ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. had exercised its right to terminate the tax receivable agreements, or (iii) there is a change of control of ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc., in which case the Pre-IPO Owners may elect to receive an amount based on the agreed payments remaining to be made under the agreement determined as described above in clause (i). Estimating the amount of payments that may be made under the tax receivable agreements is by its nature imprecise, insofar as the calculation of amounts payable depends on a variety of factors. The amount of existing tax basis and the anticipated tax basis adjustments, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the tax receivable agreements, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including our blended federal and state tax rate and the amount and timing of our income.
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We expect that as a result of the size of the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis acquired in the IPO, the increase in the ZoomInfo Tax Group’s allocable share of existing tax basis and the tax basis adjustment of the tangible and intangible assets of the ZoomInfo Tax Group upon the exchange of OpCo Units for shares of Class A common stock and our possible utilization of certain tax attributes, the payments that ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. may make under the tax receivable agreements will be substantial. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a liability of $3,056.4 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and OpCo Units. The payments under the tax receivable agreements are not conditioned upon continued ownership of us by the exchanging holders of OpCo Units. Refer to Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2021 and the years in which these obligations are due:
| Payments due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in millions) | Total | Less than one year | One to three years | Three to five years | Greater than five years | |||||||||||||
| Long-term indebtedness(1) | $ | 1,250.0 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 600.0 | $ | 650.0 | ||||||||
| Operating leases(2) | 87.4 | 6.9 | 29.7 | 15.0 | 35.8 | |||||||||||||
| Deferred consideration and employee compensation(3) | 5.0 | 5.0 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations(4) | 70.9 | 20.0 | 50.9 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations | $ | 1,413.3 | $ | 31.9 | $ | 80.6 | $ | 615.0 | $ | 685.8 |
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(1)Includes future principal payments on long-term indebtedness through the scheduled maturity dates thereof. Indebtedness is discussed in Note 8 - Financing Arrangements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Interest incurred on amounts we borrow is based on relative borrowing levels, fluctuations in the variable interest rates, and the spread we pay over those interest rates. As such, we are unable to quantify our future obligations relating to interest and therefore no amounts have been included in the above table.
(2)Represents future payments on existing operating leases through the scheduled expiration dates thereof. This amount excludes lease agreements executed after December 31, 2021.
(3)Includes deferred consideration and employee compensation related to the Insent and RingLead acquisitions at the currently estimated payout amounts, undiscounted. Acquisitions and related deferred consideration are discussed in Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Estimated contingent consideration is subject to change depending on results of factors each arrangement is based on.
(4)Primarily relates to third-party cloud hosting and software as a service arrangements.
The amounts included in the table above represent agreements that are enforceable and legally binding; any obligations under contracts that we can cancel without significant penalty are not included here. The ultimate timing of these liabilities cannot be determined; therefore, we have excluded these amounts from the contractual obligations table above. Purchase orders issued in the ordinary course of business are not included in the table above as they represent authorizations to purchase the items rather than binding agreements. However, if such claims arise in the future, they could have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
The payments that we may be required to make under the tax receivable agreements that we entered into may be significant and are not reflected in the contractual obligations tables set forth above, as we are currently unable to estimate the amounts and timing of the payments that may be due thereunder.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Our critical accounting policies are those that we believe have the most significant impact to the presentation of our financial position and results of operations and that require the most difficult, subjective, or complex judgments. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a transaction is specifically dictated by U.S. GAAP with no need for the application of judgment.
In certain circumstances, however, the preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions that effect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, we believe the following topics reflect our critical accounting policies and our more significant judgment and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
We derive revenue primarily from subscription services. Our subscription services consist of our SaaS applications and related access to our databases. Subscription contracts are generally based on the number of users that access our applications, the level of functionality that they can access, and the amount of data that a customer integrates with their systems. Our subscriptions contracts typically have a term of one to three years and are non-cancelable. We typically bill for services annually, semi-annually, or quarterly in advance of delivery.
We account for revenue contracts with customers using the following steps: (i) identification of contracts with customers, (ii) identification of distinct performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determination of contract transaction price, (iv) allocation of contract transaction price to the performance obligations, and (v) determination of revenue recognition based on the timing of satisfaction of the performance obligation(s).
We recognize revenue for subscription contracts on a ratable basis over the contract term based on the number of calendar days in each period, beginning on the date that our service is made available to the customer. Unearned revenue results from revenue amounts billed to customers in advance or cash received from customers in advance of the satisfaction of performance obligations.
Business Combinations
We allocate the purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed, and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The purchase price is determined based on the fair value of the assets transferred, liabilities assumed, and equity interests issued, after considering any transactions that are separate for the business combination. The excess of fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Such valuations require management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets and contingent liabilities. Significant estimates in valuing certain intangible assets include, but are not limited to, future expected cash flows from acquired customer bases, acquired technology and acquired trade names, useful lives, royalty rates, and discount rates.
The estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement during the measurement period for an acquisition, which may last up to one year from the acquisition date. During the measurement period, we may record adjustments to the fair value of tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with a corresponding offset to goodwill. After the conclusion of the measurement period or the final determination of the fair value of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings.
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In addition, uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances assumed in connection with a business combination are initially estimated as of the acquisition date. We re-evaluate these items based upon the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date, with any adjustments to our preliminary estimates being recorded to goodwill, provided that the timing is within the measurement period. Subsequent to the measurement period, changes to uncertain tax positions and tax related valuation allowances will be recorded to earnings.
Tax Receivable Agreements
In connection with our IPO, we entered into two Tax Receivable Agreements with certain non-controlling interest owners (the “TRA Holders”). The TRAs generally provide for payment by the Company to the TRA Holders of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax or franchise tax that the Company actually realizes or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings.
We account for amounts payable under the TRA in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 450, Contingencies. As such, subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the statements of income as a component of other income (expense), net. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a liability of $3,056.4 million related to its projected obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreements in connection with the Reorganization Transactions and OpCo units exchanged. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we recognized a TRA remeasurement gain of $39.5 million. Refer to Note 18 - Tax Receivable Agreements to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further details on the TRA liability.
Income Taxes
Deferred taxes are recorded using the asset and liability method, whereby tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. We regularly evaluate the valuation allowances established for deferred tax assets for which future realization is uncertain. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider both positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax assets and liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and results of recent operations. If, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded.
ZoomInfo Intermediate Inc. is a corporation and is subject to U.S. federal as well as state income tax related to its ownership percentage in ZoomInfo Holdings LLC. ZoomInfo Holdings LLC is a limited liability company treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and files a U.S. Return of Partnership Income. Consequently, the members of ZoomInfo Holdings are taxed individually on their share of earnings for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, our operating entity, ZoomInfo Technologies LLC, made an election to be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. As a result, taxable income from our operations is no longer expected to flow up to ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. ZoomInfo Technologies LLC is subject to the Texas Margins Tax. Additionally, our operations in Canada, India, Israel, and the U.K. are subject to local country income taxes. Refer to Note 19 - Income Taxes to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding income taxes.
Changes from Prior Periodic Reports
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have adopted the changes in the disclosure standards included in SEC Release No. 33-10890, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Selected Financial Data, Supplementary Financial Information.”
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Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.
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