ZETA Q1 Earnings Call: AI, Agency Expansion, and Conservative Guidance Define Results

Yahoo

16-05-2025

Advertising and marketing company Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) reported Q1 CY2025 results topping the market's revenue expectations , with sales up 35.6% year on year to $264.4 million. The company expects next quarter's revenue to be around $296.5 million, close to analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.09 per share was 22.6% below analysts' consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy ZETA? Find out in our full research report (it's free).
Revenue: $264.4 million vs analyst estimates of $254.1 million (35.6% year-on-year growth, 4.1% beat)
Adjusted EPS: $0.09 vs analyst expectations of $0.11 (22.6% miss)
Adjusted Operating Income: $29.03 million vs analyst estimates of $25.73 million (11% margin, 12.8% beat)
The company slightly lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $1.24 billion at the midpoint from $1.24 billion
EBITDA guidance for the full year is $258.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $256 million
Operating Margin: -6.1%, up from -18.4% in the same quarter last year
Free Cash Flow Margin: 10.7%, similar to the previous quarter
Net Revenue Retention Rate: 96.6%, in line with the previous quarter
Billings: $260.1 million at quarter end, up 32.6% year on year
Market Capitalization: $3.28 billion
Zeta Global's first quarter performance reflected ongoing customer adoption of its artificial intelligence-driven marketing platform and growing relationships with both large enterprises and independent agencies. Management attributed the revenue gains to deeper use case expansion among existing customers and highlighted success stories in telecommunications, insurance, and finance, where Zeta helped clients lower customer acquisition costs and secure multi-year agreements. CEO David Steinberg also pointed to the company's new AI Agent Studio and agentic workflows as key contributors, describing how these tools streamline marketing tasks and deliver measurable return on investment.
Looking ahead, Zeta adopted a cautious approach to full-year guidance despite a robust sales pipeline and strong results through April. CFO Chris Greiner explained that, while underlying demand remains solid, guidance factors in 'prudent conservatism' for the second half of the year due to macroeconomic uncertainty. Management emphasized its focus on performance-based marketing and highlighted steps taken to increase free cash flow conversion and reduce stock-based compensation, aiming to balance ongoing investment in innovation with shareholder returns.
Management emphasized that Zeta's revenue growth was driven by deeper integration with existing clients, expansion of AI-powered solutions, and increased adoption by agencies. The following points summarize the main factors shaping Q1 performance and Zeta's operational trajectory:
AI Platform Expansion: The launch of AI Agent Studio and agentic workflows enabled marketers to automate complex tasks across multiple channels. Management highlighted strong early adoption, with customers utilizing these tools experiencing faster revenue growth and improved marketing efficiency.
Agency Channel Growth: Zeta doubled its independent agency business quarter-over-quarter and secured multi-year contracts with both independent agencies and large holding companies. This led to more stable, long-term revenue streams and increased visibility for future quarters.
Customer Upsell Momentum: Existing Super Scaled customers, particularly in telecommunications, insurance, and financial services, expanded their commitments with Zeta after achieving lower customer acquisition costs and measurable ROI. Multiple clients signed agreements that more than doubled their annual spend.
Business Model Resilience: The company's focus on lower funnel, performance-based marketing spend insulated it from discretionary budget cuts. Management noted that more than 90% of annual revenue is tied to customers with at least a year of tenure, and Zeta's net revenue retention rate has consistently exceeded 111% since 2021.
Capital Allocation Shift: Zeta increased free cash flow generation, repurchased shares, and introduced new measures to reduce dilution from stock-based compensation. Leadership stated that these steps were taken in response to investor feedback, aiming for a more shareholder-friendly capital strategy.
Management's outlook for the coming quarters centers on continued adoption of Zeta's AI solutions, deeper agency partnerships, and operational discipline to protect margins if macroeconomic conditions worsen.
AI Tools Driving Adoption: Ongoing investment in generative AI and agentic workflows is expected to support upsell opportunities and increase revenue per user as clients automate more of their marketing operations.
Agency Channel Expansion: Growth among independent agencies and multi-year commitments with large holding companies are anticipated to provide more predictable revenue and reduce exposure to short-term budget cycles.
Operational Flexibility: Management highlighted its ability to pull back on sales, marketing, and R&D expenses if revenue growth slows, supporting margin preservation. Risks include potential macroeconomic headwinds and slower than anticipated customer expansion among key verticals.
Terry Tillman (Truist Securities): Asked about the pace and success of the One Zeta cross-sell strategy; management stated the approach is ahead of schedule, with increasing numbers of customers expanding to multiple use cases and channels, contributing significantly to growth.
Jason Kreyer (Craig-Hallum): Inquired about the impact of macro uncertainty on demand; Zeta responded that no clients had paused or reduced spend, but the company remains cautious in guidance to account for broader market volatility.
DJ Hynes (Canaccord Genuity): Questioned which customer verticals Zeta monitors most closely for risk; management cited automotive and retail but noted these segments showed continued growth rather than weakness through April.
Elizabeth Porter (Morgan Stanley): Sought clarity on the mix shift from integrated to direct agency business; executives explained that agencies are migrating to direct, on-platform relationships for better ROI, accelerating the trend.
Brian Schwartz (Oppenheimer & Co.): Asked about customer adoption of agentic AI and whether early adopters are scaling usage; management reported that customers using agentic AI tools are growing revenue from Zeta faster than others, with multi-agent workflows in beta driving significant interest.
In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will watch for (1) broader adoption of AI Agent Studio and measurable customer productivity gains, (2) continued expansion of independent agency partnerships and the conversion of integrated agency business to direct engagements, and (3) Zeta's ability to maintain margin improvements amid any macroeconomic headwinds. Progress on multi-agent workflow adoption and the pace of upsells within key verticals will also be important markers for evaluating execution.
Zeta currently trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 2.3×. In the wake of earnings, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our free research report.
Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.