CuriosityStream Reports Q1 2024 Earnings Results

CuriosityStream Inc. (NASDAQ: CURI), a global factual entertainment company, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share, payable on July 31, 2024, to stockholders of record on July 12, 2024.

"We generated over $1 million in adjusted free cash flow in the first quarter, a major milestone for the Company and for the team that achieved it," said Clint Stinchcomb, President & CEO. "We increased our direct subscription revenue sequentially and year over year. We rolled out our subscription services with multinational global partners in 25 countries. We added seven new content licensing partners. And we now have commercial relationships with over 20 key partners and platforms for our ad-supported content. We have accomplished these objectives while simultaneously rationalizing our cost base and we believe we are now well positioned to generate increasing cash flow and sturdy, sustainable revenues that are increasingly predictable and reliable. Looking forward, in addition to guiding to greater positive cash flow in the second quarter, we believe our dividend program, which is being paid from surplus cash, underscores our positive trajectory for 2024 and beyond."

First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

• Revenue of $12.0 million, compared to $12.4 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Gross profit of $5.3 million, compared to $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Total advertising and marketing and general and administrative expenses of $8.9 million, compared to $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Net loss of $5.0 million, compared to net loss of $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Net cash provided by operating activities of $0.7 million, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $1.2 million, compared to Adjusted Free Cash Flow use of $6.3 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.8 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.4 million in the first quarter of 2023;
• Cash and restricted cash balance of $38.9 million and no debt as of March 31, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Business Highlights

• Apple TV+ launch of Curiosity Stream into 23 European countries.
• 11 Content Licensing Agreements across several territories and platforms.
• Curiosity University (newly relaunched and rebranded from One Day University) surpasses 100,000 paying subscribers and now features courses, videos, and podcasts from the world's best subject matter experts in addition to the premium talks from the best professors at the most renowned universities.
• Kidstream, with its unique and carefully curated selection of high-profile children’s shows, is the newest service to join Curiosity’s Smart Bundle, with a commitment to programming that’s safe, educational, and ad-free.
• Released original series and specials across a range of genres and formats, including Science for Evil Geniuses, an irreverent real-world test of super-villain science, starring Game of Thrones actor Paul Kaye; the fourth season of high-school football series 4th & Forever, following the DeSoto Eagles' quest to re-capture another Texas state title; The Invention of Surgery, an unflinching look at the pioneers who transformed medicine from a primitive art into a sophisticated and successful science; The Art of Seduction, an exposé of the secret powers of some of history’s most influential characters; and Believe, a beautiful look at the origins, traditions and festivals of the world’s five biggest religions, and the challenges they face today.
• Launched additional annual programming stunts including Ancient Egypt Week and the upcoming Jaws & Claws Week to enhance content discoverability and promotion.

Financial Outlook

CuriosityStream expects the following for the second quarter of 2024:

• Revenue within the range of $12.0 - $13.0 million
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow¹ within the range of $1.5 - $2.5 million

¹ See Non-GAAP Financial Measures below.

CFO Transition

CuriosityStream is also announcing a transition among its executive leadership. Peter Westley will resign his role as Chief Financial Officer and return to consulting status with the Company effective May 31, 2024. Westley helped shepherd CuriosityStream to positive cash flow, oversaw distribution of the Company's first dividend and built a capable Finance team, including Controller Brady Hayden. The Board of Directors has named Hayden, who held previous positions with Cyren Ltd, US Postal Service and Spok Holdings Inc., CFO effective May 31, 2024.

Conference Call Information

CuriosityStream will host a Q&A conference call today to discuss the Company’s first quarter 2024 results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). A live audio webcast of the call will be available on the CuriosityStream Investor Relations website at https://investors.curiositystream.com. Participants may also dial-in toll free at [phone] or International at [phone] and reference conference ID# 3957505. An audio replay of the conference call will be available for two weeks following the call on the CuriosityStream Investor Relations website at https://investors.curiositystream.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not limited to, CuriosityStream’s expectations or predictions of future financial or business performance or conditions, consumers’ valuation of factual content, and the Company’s continued success. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “predicts” or “intends” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. Certain of these risks are identified and discussed under “Risk Factors” in CuriosityStream’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, that CuriosityStream filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 25, 2024, and in CuriosityStream’s other SEC filings. These risk factors are important to consider in determining future results and should be reviewed in their entirety.

Forward-looking statements are based on the current belief of the management of CuriosityStream, based on currently available information, as to the outcome and timing of future events, and involve factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual results in future periods to differ materially from such statements. However, there can be no assurance that the events, results or trends identified in these forward-looking statements will occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and CuriosityStream is not under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review the statements set forth in the reports that CuriosityStream has filed or will file from time to time with the SEC.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in CuriosityStream’s reports filed with the SEC and those identified elsewhere in this communication, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (i) risks related to CuriosityStream’s ability to maintain and develop new and existing revenue-generating relationships and partnerships or to significantly increase CuriosityStream's subscriber base and retain customers; (ii) the effects of pending and future legislation; (iii) risks of the internet, online commerce and media industry; (iv) the highly competitive nature of the internet, online commerce and media industry and CuriosityStream’s ability to compete therein; (v) litigation, complaints, and/or adverse publicity; and (vi) privacy and data protection laws, privacy or data breaches, or the loss of data.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our unaudited consolidated statement of operations, which is prepared in accordance with GAAP, we present Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow in this press release. Our use of non-GAAP financial measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, has limitations as an analytical tool, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of financial results as reported under GAAP.

The Company is not able to provide expectations of net cash generated from operating activities, the closest comparable GAAP measure to Adjusted Free Cash Flow (a non-GAAP measure), on a forward-looking basis. The Company is unable to predict without unreasonable costs and efforts the ultimate amounts of certain cash receipts and outlays because, in part, such items may have not yet occurred, are out of the Company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. These items are further described in the reconciliation tables and related descriptions below. Further, these items are uncertain, depend on various factors and could be material to the Company’s results computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP for planning purposes, including in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our core operating results and the effectiveness of our business strategy, and in evaluating our financial performance. These measures provide consistency and comparability with past financial performance, facilitate period-to-period comparisons of core operating results, and also facilitate comparisons with other peer companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company’s operating performance. We exclude the following items from net income to calculate Adjusted EBITDA: interest and other income (expense), provision for income taxes, depreciation and non-content amortization, loss/(gain) on the change in fair value of our warrants, equity interests loss (gain), impairment of goodwill, intangible assets and content assets, restructuring charges and stock-based compensation. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is calculated as net cash flow used in operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, restructuring charges and nonrecurring license fees.

Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In particular, (1) although depreciation and amortization expense are non-cash charges, the assets subject to depreciation and amortization may have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements; (2) Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect: (a) changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; or (b) tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us; and (3) Adjusted Free Cash Flow does not reflect: (a) our cash flow available for discretionary payments; (b) our future contractual commitments (such as any debt service requirements or dividend payments); (c) funds available for investment or other discretionary uses; (d) certain capital expenditure requirements; or (e) the total increase or decrease in our cash balances for the stated period. The non-GAAP financial measures we use may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP items excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures has been provided in the financial statements tables included in this press release and investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation.

About Curiosity Inc.

Curiosity Inc. is the entertainment brand for people who want to know more. The global media company is home to award-winning original and curated factual films, shows, and series covering science, nature, history, technology, society, and lifestyle. With millions of subscribers worldwide and thousands of titles, the company operates the flagship Curiosity Stream SVOD service, available in more than 175 countries worldwide; Curiosity Channel, the linear television channel available via global distribution partners; Curiosity University, featuring talks from the best professors at the world's most renowned universities as well as courses, short and long-form videos, and podcasts; Curiosity Now, a free, ad-supported channel; Curiosity Audio Network, with original content and podcasts; and Curiosity Studios, which oversees original programming. Curiosity Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CuriosityStream Inc. (Nasdaq: CURI). For more information, visit CuriosityStream.com.

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
	March 31, 2024				December 31, 2023
(In thousands, except par value)	(Unaudited)
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	38,750			$	37,715
Restricted cash		125				500
Accounts receivable, net		4,876				4,760
Other current assets		1,831				2,315
Total current assets		45,582				45,290
Investments in equity method investees		4,598				6,354
Property and equipment, net		639				727
Content assets, net		40,154				44,943
Operating lease right-of-use assets		3,279				3,350
Other assets		311				358
Total assets	$	94,563			$	101,022
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities
Content liabilities	$	74			$	407
Accounts payable		3,288				4,765
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		4,766				3,705
Deferred revenue		14,651				14,521
Total current liabilities		22,779				23,398
Warrant liability		74				44
Non-current operating lease liabilities		4,187				4,283
Other liabilities		562				651
Total liabilities		27,602				28,376
Stockholders’ equity
Common stock, $0.0001 par value – 125,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2023, and December 31, 2022; 53,071 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023; 52,853 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022		5				5
Additional paid-in capital		363,319				362,636
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		—				—
Accumulated deficit		(296,363	)			(289,995	)
Total stockholders’ equity		66,961				72,646
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	94,563			$	101,022

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
	Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
(Unaudited and in thousands except per share amounts)	2024				2023
Revenues	$	12,001			$	12,387
Operating expenses
Cost of revenues		6,748				9,001
Advertising and marketing		3,105				3,115
General and administrative		5,802				8,059
		15,655				20,175
Operating loss		(3,654	)			(7,788	)
Change in fair value of warrant liability		(30	)			(74	)
Interest and other income		439				388
Equity method investment loss		(1,756	)			(219	)
Loss before income taxes		(5,001	)			(7,693	)
Provision for income taxes		34				58
Net loss	$	(5,035	)		$	(7,751	)
Net loss per share
Basic	$	(0.09	)		$	(0.15	)
Diluted	$	(0.09	)		$	(0.15	)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
Basic		53,301				52,950
Diluted		53,301				52,950

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
	Three Months Ended March 31,
(Unaudited and in thousands)	2024				2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss	$	(5,035	)		$	(7,751	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities
Change in fair value of warrant liability		30				74
Additions to content assets		(426	)			(3,723	)
Change in content liabilities		(333	)			(1,206	)
Amortization of content assets		5,215				5,852
Depreciation and amortization expenses		117				127
Amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts associated with investments in debt securities, net		—				26
Stock-based compensation		689				1,267
Equity method investment loss		1,756				219
Other non-cash items		122				121
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Accounts receivable		(116	)			1,200
Other assets		502				944
Accounts payable		(1,477	)			1,440
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		(419	)			(4,514	)
Deferred revenue		41				(384	)
Net cash used in operating activities		666				(6,308	)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment		—				(5	)
Maturities of investments in debt securities		—				15,000
Net cash provided by investing activities		—				14,995
Cash flows from financing activities
Payments related to tax withholding		(6	)			(26	)
Net cash used in financing activities		(6	)			(26	)
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		660				8,661
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period		38,215				40,507
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period	$	38,875			$	49,168
Supplemental disclosure:
Cash paid for taxes	$	(2	)		$	—
Cash paid for operating leases	$	138			$	134

CuriosityStream Inc.
Reconciliation from Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA
	Three Months Ended March 31,
(Unaudited and in thousands)		2024				2023
Net loss	$	(5,035	)		$	(7,751	)
Change in fair value of warrant liability		30				74
Interest and other (income) expense		(439	)			(388	)
Provision for Income taxes		34				58
Equity method investment loss		1,756				219
Depreciation and amortization1		117				127
Stock-based compensation		689				1,267
Adjusted EBITDA	$	(2,848	)		$	(6,394	)
1 These amounts do not include amortization of content assets.

CuriosityStream Inc.
Reconciliation from Net Cash Flow used in Operating Activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow
	Three Months Ended March 31,
(Unaudited and in thousands)		2024				2023
Net cash flow used in operating activities	$	666			$	(6,308	)
Purchases of property and equipment		—				(5	)
Restructuring payments1		435				—
Nonrecurring license fees		85				—
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	$	1,186			$	(6,313	)
1 Consists primarily of severance and workforce optimization payments resulting from a December 2023 reduction in force.

 

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The CuriosityStream Registered (A) Stock at the time of publication of the news with a fall of -4,95 % to 1,055USD on Lang & Schwarz stock exchange (07. Mai 2024, 22:13 Uhr).