Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (NXDR) FY 2021 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis provides information which our management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated results of operations and financial condition. The discussion should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” or in other parts of this Annual Report.
Overview
At Nextdoor, our purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on. Nextdoor is the neighborhood network that connects neighborhood stakeholders, including neighbors, businesses, and public services, online and in real life to build stronger, more vibrant, and resilient neighborhoods. As of December 31, 2021, Nextdoor was in more than 285,000 neighborhoods around the world and in nearly 1 in 3 households in the United States, and during the fourth quarter of 2021, we reached 69 million global Verified Neighbors. Neighbors and organizations, which include small and mid-sized businesses, large brands, public agencies, and nonprofits, around the world turn to Nextdoor to receive trusted information, give and get help, and build real-world connections with neighborhood stakeholders.
Key business metrics for the three months ended December 31, 2021 are as follows:
•Weekly active users (“WAUs”) were 35.9 million, an increase of 32% compared to the three months ended December 31, 2020.
•Average revenue per weekly active user (“ARPU”) was $1.65, an increase of 12% compared to the three months ended December 31, 2020.
Financial Results as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 are as follows:
•Revenue was $192.2 million, an increase of 56% compared to 2020.
•Total costs and expenses were $287.0 million, an increase of 44% compared to 2020.
•Net loss increased 27% to $(95.3) million in 2021, compared to $(75.2) million in 2020.
•Adjusted EBITDA loss decreased 13% to $(43.7) million in 2021, compared to $(50.2) million in 2020.
•Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $715.8 million.
See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measure” below for more information and for a reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), to Adjusted EBITDA.
Recent Developments
Closing of Transactions
On November 5, 2021, the Company consummated the Business Combination and the PIPE Investment (as described in the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report) (collectively, the “Reverse Recapitalization”). Reported results from operations included herein prior to the Reverse Recapitalization are those of Legacy Nextdoor. Each share of Legacy Nextdoor common stock that was issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Closing Date, after giving effect to the conversion of all issued and outstanding shares of Legacy Nextdoor preferred stock to Legacy Nextdoor common stock, was canceled and converted into a number of shares of Nextdoor Class B common stock equal to the exchange ratio of 3.1057 as calculated in accordance with the Merger Agreement (“Exchange Ratio”) multiplied by the number of shares of Legacy Nextdoor common stock.
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The Merger was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, KVSB was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the financial statements of Nextdoor represent the continuation of the financial statements of Legacy Nextdoor, with the Merger reflected as the equivalent of Nextdoor issuing common stock for the net assets of KVSB, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of KVSB were recognized as of the Closing at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Merger are those of Legacy Nextdoor and Legacy Nextdoor’s operations are the only ongoing operations of Nextdoor.
Key Business Metrics
In addition to the measures presented in our consolidated financial statements, we use the following key business metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, develop financial forecasts, and make strategic decisions:
Weekly Active Users (WAUs)
We define a Weekly Active User (“WAU”) as a Nextdoor user who opens our application, logs on to our website, or engages with an email with monetizable content at least once during a defined 7-day period.2 We calculate average WAUs for a particular period by calculating the count of unique users, on a rolling basis for the past seven days, for each day of that period, and dividing that sum by the number of days in that period. We assess the health of our business by measuring WAUs because we believe that weekly usage best captures the cadence at which we expect a healthy user base to engage with, and derive the most utility from our platform, and by extension their neighborhood. We also present WAUs by geography because we are more advanced in engagement and monetization in the United States than internationally.
In September 2021, Apple released changes to the Apple email client available on its operating systems, including iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, which limit our ability to measure user engagement with emails containing monetizable content for users that use the Apple email client. The introduction of these changes impacts our ability to accurately calculate a portion of WAUs for periods following the adoption of the updated operating systems. Following this introduction, we use estimates for these user engagement numbers based on historical data sets, as well as data from users who engage with Nextdoor’s monetizable content on email clients other than Apple email.
Our WAU for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was 35.9 million and 27.1 million, respectively. In 2021, engagement as measured by WAUs has grown steadily as users have returned to our platform for the utility that it offers them. As illustrated below, our international WAUs have grown at a faster rate than our U.S. WAUs, and we expect this international growth to continue to outpace U.S. growth in the near term.
2 Emails with monetizable content are emails with a primary purpose to regularly inform users about topics that are relevant to them, and are therefore appropriate for delivering ads to users. These emails comprise almost all of the emails that we send our users and include, but are not limited to, new, trending and top posts, weekly and anytime digests, welcome emails and urgent and emergency alerts. We earn revenue from delivery of ad impressions in emails with monetizable content on either a cost per thousand (“CPM”) basis or on a cost per click (“CPC”) basis or, with respect to neighborhood sponsorships and local deals, on a fixed-fee basis. While we have the ability to serve ads in all emails with monetizable content, we currently only do so on a portion of the total.
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Quarterly Average Weekly Active Users
(in millions)
Average Revenue per Weekly Active User (ARPU)
We generate revenue primarily from advertising. We measure monetization of our platform through our ARPU metric. We define ARPU as our total revenue in that geography during a period divided by the average of the number of WAUs in that geography during the same period. We present ARPU on a U.S. and international basis because we are more advanced in our monetization in the United States than internationally.
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U.S. ARPU is higher primarily due to our decision to focus our earliest monetization efforts there, the size and maturity of our audience in the United States, as well the size of the U.S. advertising market. For purposes of calculating ARPU, revenue by user geography is apportioned to each region based on a determination of the location of the account where the revenue-generating activities occur. Our ARPU for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $6.13 and $4.62, respectively. Our ARPU reflects the seasonality of our advertising revenue, with the fourth quarter typically being the strongest quarter of each year.
Quarterly ARPU
Factors Affecting Our Performance
Growth in and Engagement of Users. We measure growth in, and engagement of, users by tracking WAUs. As the size and engagement of our user base grows, we believe the potential to increase our revenue grows.
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We may face challenges increasing the size and engagement of our user base due to a number of factors including competition, challenges in acquiring and engaging users, or changes in regulations.
Growth in Monetization. Monetization trends, which are reflected in our ARPU, are a key factor that affects our revenue and financial results. To increase monetization, we are focused on serving more national brands by building out our salesforce, and enhancing our self-serve tools for customers of all sizes. We are also focused on increasing our user base and engagement in the United States and internationally, which will increase the opportunities for businesses to advertise on Nextdoor.
There are many variables that impact ARPU, including the number of ad impressions shown on our platform and the price per ad, which depends on a number of factors including the engagement of our user base, the number and diversity of our customers, seasonality of advertising spend, our customers’ advertising objectives, advertising performance, the effectiveness of our advertising products, our ability to measure that effectiveness for our customer, and the effect of geographic differences on each of these factors.
Due to our decision to focus our earliest monetization efforts in the United States, we have less experience monetizing international markets and therefore may experience challenges scaling and monetizing these markets. The international advertising market is also less mature than the U.S. digital advertising market.
Investment for Growth. We intend to continue to invest in technology that we believe will enhance user and customer experiences. We also intend to continue to invest heavily in our advertising products, including our self-serve advertising platform and first-party and third-party ad measurement tools, as well as our sales team. Our ability to grow our user base, attract new advertisers, increase our revenue, and expand our total addressable market will depend, in part, on our ability to continue innovating.
International Expansion. Our early proof points from launches in certain countries outside of the United States show user engagement across international markets on par with the U.S. market. We believe that increased international monetization presents an important opportunity for growth, and we are working on localizing our product and expanding our operations to better serve our international user and customer base. We are still in the early stages of global expansion and will continue to evaluate expansion opportunities in our current international markets, and also in additional geographies. Over time, we believe that international WAUs can grow rapidly. We also believe that we can increase the monetization of users in international markets and that we can increase long-term ARPU for international WAUs from current levels. While we expect to grow ARPU for international WAUs, we still expect this to be lower than ARPU for U.S. WAUs. We expect that our international expansion will require significant investment. Although our investments in international expansion may adversely affect our operating results in the near term, we believe that they will contribute to our long-term growth. If our near-term investments do not lead to increased international WAUs and ARPU and expected revenue growth over time, we may not achieve or, if achieved, maintain profitability and our growth rates may slow or decline.
Seasonality. Industry advertising spend tends to be strongest in the fourth quarter, and we observe a similar pattern in our historical revenue. Our significant growth has partially masked these trends in historical periods.
Components of Results of Operations
Revenue
We generate substantially all of our revenue from the delivery of advertisements on our platform which includes the delivery of advertising impressions sold on a CPM basis and CPC basis, as well as neighborhood sponsorships and local deals which are sold on a fixed-fee basis. The majority of our revenue is generated in the United States.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue consists primarily of expenses associated with the delivery of our revenue generating activities, including the third-party cost of hosting our platform and allocated personnel-related costs, which include salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in development of our revenue generating products. Cost of revenue also includes third-party costs associated with delivering and supporting our advertising products and credit card transaction fees related to processing customer transactions.
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We expect cost of revenue will increase on an absolute dollar basis as neighbor activity on our platform increases. While we expect to realize scale benefits over time, our cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue may vary from period-to-period and is expected to increase modestly over the near and medium term as we invest in new products and features to further increase platform engagement.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation for our employees engaged in research and development, as well as costs for consultants, contractors and third-party software. In addition, allocated overhead costs, such as facilities, information technology, and depreciation are included in research and development expenses.
We expect research and development expenses will increase on an absolute dollar basis due to investments that we are making in our platform. We expect that research and development expenses as a percentage of revenue will vary from period-to-period over the short term and decrease over the long term.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel-related and other costs which include salaries, commissions, benefits, and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in sales and marketing activities as well as other costs including third-party consulting, public relations, allocated overhead costs, and amortization of acquired intangible assets. Sales and marketing expenses also include brand and performance marketing for both user and small and mid-sized customer acquisition, and neighbor services, which includes personnel-related costs for our neighbor support team, our outsourced neighbor support function, and verification costs.
Performance marketing costs related to user acquisition largely consist of the distribution of mailed invitations and, to a lesser extent, digital advertising. Performance marketing costs related to small and mid-sized customer acquisition largely consists of digital advertising and, to a lesser extent, direct mail campaigns. Fluctuations in our performance marketing expenses are driven by a variety of factors, including but not limited to: our target geographies, whether we are acquiring users or businesses, assessment of return on investment of marketing spend, strategic priorities, and seasonal factors.
We expect sales and marketing expenses will increase on an absolute dollar basis due to continued investment in sales activities, increased investment in marketing to acquire users, small and mid-sized customers, and further investment in international expansion. We expect sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue will vary from period-to-period over the short term and decrease over the long term.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits, and stock-based compensation for certain executives, finance, legal, information technology, human resources, and other administrative employees. In addition, general and administrative expenses include fees and costs for professional services, including consulting, third-party legal and accounting services, and allocated overhead costs.
We expect general and administrative expenses will increase on an absolute dollar basis for the foreseeable future to support our growth as well as due to additional costs associated with legal, accounting, compliance, investor relations, and other costs as a result of operating as a public company. We expect general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue will vary from period-to-period over the short term and decrease over the long term.
Interest Income
Interest income consists of interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net consists primarily of unrealized gains and losses from the re-measurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies, and foreign currency transaction gains and losses.
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Provision for Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes consists primarily of income taxes related to foreign and state jurisdictions in which we conduct business. We maintain a full valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as we have concluded that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
Results of Operations
The results of operations presented below should be reviewed in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The following table sets forth our consolidated results of operations for the periods presented.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Revenue | $ | 192,197 | $ | 123,284 | ||
| Costs and expenses(1): | ||||||
| Cost of revenue | 28,813 | 21,586 | ||||
| Research and development | 97,096 | 69,231 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 106,430 | 80,325 | ||||
| General and administrative | 54,664 | 28,793 | ||||
| Total costs and expenses | 287,003 | 199,935 | ||||
| Loss from operations | (94,806) | (76,651) | ||||
| Interest income | 177 | 727 | ||||
| Other income (expense), net | (539) | 817 | ||||
| Loss before income taxes | (95,168) | (75,107) | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 157 | 127 | ||||
| Net loss | $ | (95,325) | $ | (75,234) |
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(1)Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 1,466 | $ | 905 | ||
| Research and development | 20,690 | 10,235 | ||||
| Sales and marketing | 6,388 | 3,403 | ||||
| General and administrative | 18,970 | 8,065 | ||||
| Total | $ | 47,514 | $ | 22,608 |
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The following table sets forth the components of our consolidated statements of operations as a percentage of revenue for each of the periods presented:
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (as a percentage of total revenue) | 2021 | 2020 | |||
| Revenue | 100 | % | 100 | % | |
| Costs and expenses: | |||||
| Cost of revenue | 15 | 18 | |||
| Research and development | 51 | 56 | |||
| Sales and marketing | 55 | 65 | |||
| General and administrative | 28 | 23 | |||
| Total costs and expenses | 149 | 162 | |||
| Loss from operations | (49) | (62) | |||
| Interest income | — | 1 | |||
| Other income (expense), net | — | 1 | |||
| Loss before income taxes | (50) | (61) | |||
| Provision for income taxes | — | — | |||
| Net loss | (50) | % | (61) | % |
Note: Certain figures may not sum due to rounding.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 192,197 | $ | 123,284 | $ | 68,913 | 56 | % |
Revenue increased by $68.9 million, or 56%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to increased advertiser demand across our product offerings, our growing sales team, and increased user engagement as measured by a 32% increase in Q4 WAUs. ARPU increased 33% primarily due to a 40% increase in the number of impressions delivered, which outpaced WAU growth during the period, and a 7% increase in the price per delivered impression.
Cost of revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Cost of revenue | $ | 28,813 | $ | 21,586 | $ | 7,227 | 33 | % |
Cost of revenue increased by $7.2 million, or 33%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to $4.0 million higher third-party hosting costs due to increased user growth and engagement, a $1.4 million increase in third-party costs associated with delivering and supporting our advertising products, and a $1.1 million increase in allocated personnel-related costs.
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Research and development
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 97,096 | $ | 69,231 | $ | 27,865 | 40 | % |
Research and development expenses increased by $27.9 million, or 40%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $21.9 million increase in personnel-related costs primarily driven by an increase in headcount, a $2.9 million increase in third-party software costs, and a $1.7 million increase in allocated overhead costs reflecting an increase in headcount.
Sales and marketing
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Personnel-related and other | $ | 56,950 | $ | 45,622 | $ | 11,328 | 25 | % | ||||||
| Brand and performance marketing | 37,534 | 23,666 | 13,868 | 59 | % | |||||||||
| Neighbor services | 11,946 | 11,037 | 909 | 8 | % | |||||||||
| Total sales and marketing | $ | 106,430 | $ | 80,325 | $ | 26,105 | 32 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $26.1 million, or 32%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to an $11.3 million increase in personnel-related and other costs, which was primarily driven by growth in our sales team who supports large brands, a $9.9 million increase in performance marketing costs to attract small and mid-sized customers, a $4.0 million increase in performance marketing costs for user acquisition, and an increase of $0.9 million in neighbor services costs due to the growth of our user base and the corresponding neighbor support and verification costs.
General and administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 54,664 | $ | 28,793 | $ | 25,871 | 90 | % |
General and administrative expenses increased by $25.9 million, or 90%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $14.9 million increase in personnel-related costs which was driven by an increase in headcount and also includes a one-time stock-based compensation expense of $8.5 million related to a stock option grant with a performance-based vesting condition that was satisfied upon the closing of the Merger. General and administrative expenses also experienced a $6.5 million increase in fees for professional services primarily due to costs related to preparations for and operating as a public company.
Interest income
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 177 | $ | 727 | $ | (550) | (76) | % |
Interest income decreased by $0.6 million, or 76%, for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a decline in effective market yields on our marketable securities.
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Other income (expense), net
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands, except percentages)(NM = Not Meaningful) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | (539) | $ | 817 | $ | (1,356) | NM |
Other income (expense), net decreased by $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to the periodic re-measurement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies.
Provision for income taxes
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | $ | % | ||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 157 | $ | 127 | $ | 30 | 24 | % |
Provision for income taxes increased by $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to state income tax expenses.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception, we have generated negative cash flows from operations and have primarily financed our operations from net proceeds received from the sale of equity securities and payments received from our customers. As of December 31, 2021, we had raised an aggregate of $470.9 million, net of issuance costs, through the sales of redeemable convertible preferred stock and issuance of restricted stock. We currently have no debt outstanding. On November 5, 2021, we consummated the Reverse Recapitalization and received net cash proceeds of $628.5 million, prior to the payment of transaction costs of $5.4 million.
We have generated losses from our operations, as reflected in our accumulated deficit of $480.3 million as of December 31, 2021. We incurred operating losses and cash outflows from operations by supporting the growth of our business. We expect these losses and operating cash outflows to continue for the foreseeable future. We also expect to incur significant research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses over the next several years in connection with the continued development and expansion of our business.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $715.8 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. We
anticipate satisfying our short term cash requirements, including meeting our working capital and capital expenditure requirements, with our existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. In the long term, we may satisfy our cash requirements with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on hand or with proceeds from a future equity or debt financing. Our ability to support our requirements and plans for cash, including working capital and capital expenditure requirements, will depend on many factors, including the rate of our revenue growth, the timing and extent of spending on research and development efforts and other business initiatives, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the introduction of new and enhanced product offerings and features, and the continuing market adoption of our platform, and our ability to obtain equity or debt financing. Our principal commitments were as follows as of December 31, 2021:
| Payments Due By Period | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | Total | Less Than 1 Year | 1-3 Years | 3-5 Years | More Than 5 Years | |||||||||||||
| Operating lease commitments(1) | $ | 81,029 | $ | 10,045 | $ | 21,004 | $ | 22,283 | $ | 27,697 | ||||||||
| Non-cancellable purchase commitments(2) | 51,923 | 18,978 | 32,945 | — | — | |||||||||||||
| Total contractual obligations and commitments | $ | 132,952 | $ | 29,023 | $ | 53,949 | $ | 22,283 | $ | 27,697 |
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(1)The contractual commitment amounts under operating leases in the table above are primarily related to corporate office facility leases.
(2)As of December 31, 2021, our non-cancellable purchase commitments primarily related to third-party hosting costs. These purchase commitments were not recorded as liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021, as we had not yet received the related services.
To the extent existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities are insufficient to fund our working capital and capital expenditure requirements, or should we require additional cash for other purposes, we may attempt to raise additional capital through the sale of equity or debt securities. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to the rights of our Class A and Class B common stock, and our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future indebtedness we incur may result in terms that could also be unfavorable to our equity investors. There can be no assurances that we will be able to raise additional capital on terms we deem acceptable, or at all. The inability to raise additional capital as and when required would have an adverse effect, which could be material, on our results of operations, financial condition, and ability to achieve our business objectives.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any commitments or obligations, including contingent obligations, arising from arrangements with unconsolidated entities or persons that have or are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, cash requirements, or capital resources.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods presented:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (51,268) | $ | (41,604) | ||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | $ | (149,522) | $ | 36,792 | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 637,576 | $ | 6,367 |
Operating activities
Cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 was $51.3 million which resulted from a net loss of $(95.3) million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $52.0 million and net cash outflows of $7.9 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash charges primarily consisted of $47.5 million of stock-based compensation expense and $4.2 million of depreciation and amortization expense. The net cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily due to an $8.2 million increase in accounts receivable, a $4.1 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets, and a $5.8 million decrease in operating lease liabilities due to lease payments. These amounts were partially offset by a $6.6 million decrease in operating lease right-of-use assets due to normal amortization and a $2.8 million increase in accounts payable.
Cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $41.6 million which resulted from a net loss of $(75.2) million, adjusted for non-cash charges of $26.2 million and net cash inflows of $7.4 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities. Non-cash charges primarily consisted of $22.6 million of stock-based compensation expense and $3.1 million of depreciation and amortization expense. The net cash inflow from changes in operating assets and liabilities was primarily the result of a $7.7 million increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, a $5.2 million decrease in operating lease right-of-use assets due to normal amortization, and a $2.5 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets. These amounts were partially offset by a $4.5 million decrease in operating lease liabilities due to lease payments and a $3.2 million increase in accounts receivable.
Investing activities
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Cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $149.5 million, which consisted of purchases of marketable securities of $199.8 million and the purchase of property and equipment of $8.8 million. This was offset by proceeds from maturities of marketable securities of $56.7 million and proceeds from sales of marketable securities of $2.4 million.
Cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $36.8 million, which consisted of proceeds from sales of marketable securities of $21.8 million and maturities of marketable securities of $97.6 million. This was offset by the purchases of marketable securities of $77.6 million and the purchase of property and equipment of $5.0 million related to our new San Francisco headquarters.
Financing activities
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $637.6 million, which included $628.5 million in proceeds from the Reverse Recapitalization and $15.3 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options, net of repurchases. This was partially offset by the payment of deferred transaction costs of $5.4 million.
Cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $6.4 million, which reflected proceeds from the exercise of stock options, net of repurchases.
Non-GAAP Financial Measure
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents our net loss adjusted for depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, net interest income, provision for income taxes, and acquisition-related costs.
We use Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our Board of Directors concerning our financial performance. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is also helpful to investors, analysts, and other interested parties because it can assist in providing a more consistent and comparable overview of our operations across our historical financial periods. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, however, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net loss and our other GAAP results. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed to imply that our future results will be unaffected by the types of items excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is not presented in accordance with GAAP and the use of this term varies from others in our industry.
The following is a reconciliation of net loss, the most comparable GAAP measure, to Adjusted EBITDA:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in thousands) | 2021 | 2020 | ||||
| Net loss | $ | (95,325) | $ | (75,234) | ||
| Depreciation and amortization | 4,172 | 3,058 | ||||
| Stock-based compensation | 47,514 | 22,608 | ||||
| Interest income | (177) | (727) | ||||
| Provision for income taxes | 157 | 127 | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (43,659) | $ | (50,168) |
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Preparing consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and related disclosures. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our estimates are based on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Our actual results could differ from these estimates.
The critical accounting policies requiring estimates, assumptions, and judgments that we believe have the most significant impact on our consolidated financial statements are described below.
Revenue Recognition
We generate a majority of our revenue from the delivery of advertising services.
We determine revenue recognition through the following steps:
1)Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer;
2)Identification of the performance obligations in the contract;
3)Determination of the transaction price;
4)Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and
5)Recognition of revenue when, or as, we satisfy a performance obligation.
We recognize advertising revenue after satisfying our contractual performance obligation, which, for the majority of our advertising arrangements, is when an advertising impression is displayed to users. None of our arrangements contain minimum impression guarantees. We typically bill advertisers on a monthly basis and our payment terms vary by customer type and location. We have other advertising arrangements for the sale of neighborhood sponsorship and local deals which are typically fixed-fee arrangements and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the non-cancellable contractual term of the agreement, generally beginning on the date our service is made available to the customer.
Deferred Revenue
In certain advertising arrangements we require payment upfront from our customers. We record deferred revenue when we collect cash from customers in advance of revenue recognition.
Leases
At the inception of our contracts we determine if the contract is or contains a lease. A contract is or contains a lease if it conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Operating leases consist of real estate leases and are included in operating lease right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets at commencement date based on the present value of remaining fixed lease payments.
When the discount rate implicit in the lease cannot be readily determined, we use the applicable incremental borrowing rate at lease commencement in order to discount lease payments to present value for purposes of performing lease classification tests and measuring the lease liability. The incremental borrowing rate is a hypothetical rate based on the rate of interest we would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term and amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.
Stock-based compensation
Stock-based compensation expense for stock-based awards is measured based on the grant date fair value of the awards and recognized in the consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the requisite service
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period of the awards. The grant date fair value of stock options granted is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur. Historically, our stock option awards and restricted stock permitted early exercise. The unvested portion of shares exercised is recorded as a liability on our consolidated balance sheets and reclassified into stockholders’ equity (deficit) as vesting occurs.
The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective assumptions. These assumptions are estimated as follows:
•Fair Value of the Underlying Common Stock—Prior to the Reverse Recapitalization, the Board of Directors considered numerous objective and subjective factors to determine the fair value of our common stock. After the Reverse Recapitalization, the fair value of the underlying common stock is determined by the closing price, on the date of grant, of our Class A common stock, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
•Expected Volatility—Expected volatility is a measure of the amount by which the stock price is expected to fluctuate. Since we do not have sufficient trading history of our common stock, we estimate the expected volatility of our stock options at their grant date by taking the weighted average historical volatility of a group of comparable publicly traded companies over a period equal to the expected term of the options;
•Expected Term—We determine the expected term based on the average period the stock options are expected to remain outstanding using the simplified method, calculated as the midpoint of the stock options’ vesting term and contractual expiration period, as we do not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior;
•Risk Free Interest Rate—We use the U.S. Treasury yield for our risk-free interest rate that corresponds with the expected term; and
•Dividend Yield—We utilize a dividend yield of zero, as we do not currently issue dividends and do not expect to in the future.
Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our uncertain tax positions. We recognize a tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position.
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or in our tax returns. Deferred income taxes are recognized for differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities at the enacted statutory tax rates in effect for the years in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. We make an assessment of the likelihood that the resulting deferred tax assets will be realized. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
JOBS Act Accounting Election
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, and have elected to take advantage of the benefits of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. We expect to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until the earlier of the date we (a) are no longer an emerging growth company or (b) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided for in the JOBS Act. This may make it difficult or impossible to compare our financial results with the financial results of another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has chosen not to take advantage of the extended transition period exemptions because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. See Note 2 of the accompanying
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audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for the recent accounting pronouncements adopted and the recent accounting pronouncements not yet adopted for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
In addition, we intend to rely on the other exemptions and reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, as an emerging growth company, we are not required to, among other things: (a) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (b) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; and (c) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the comparison of the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation to median employee compensation.
We will remain an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act until the earliest of (a) the last day of our first fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the IPO, (b) the last date of the fiscal year in which our total annual gross revenue is at least $1.1 billion, (c) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the SEC with at least $700.0 million of outstanding securities held by non-affiliates or (d) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the previous three years.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Refer to Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements.