APP Q4 2021 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Applovin Q4 2021 Earnings Call
• Date: 2022-02-16T22:00:00Z
• Management Team:
  • Ryan Gee (Head of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance)
  • Adam Foroughi (Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson)
  • Harold Chen (President and Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Revenue for 2021 grew more than 90% versus the prior year according to the prepared remarks.
• Adjusted EBITDA for 2021 grew more than 100% year-over-year as stated on the call.
• Software platform revenue was larger in Q4 2021 than for all of 2020 and grew 27% quarter-over-quarter in Q4.
• The company reported over 200% net dollar-based revenue retention for existing software clients.
• The apps business reached a multibillion-dollar scale with the company forecasting $2.2B in apps revenue at the midpoint for 2022.
• The company reported historical spec run-rate thresholds and noted a change to report spec metrics on an LTM basis going forward.

Guidance

• The company raised its 2022 software revenue outlook to just over $1.4B at the midpoint, representing 111% year-over-year growth versus the prior year.
• The company reiterated a target of approximately $2B in software revenue for 2023.
• The 2022 apps outlook midpoint was $2.2B with modest assumed contribution from new content in the first half and more impact in the second half of 2022.
• The company is targeting adjusted EBITDA margins in the high 20s percent range for 2022.
• The guide assumes a sizable add-back to adjusted EBITDA for migration fees related to the MoPub transaction and excludes the substantial portion of those fees from the EBITDA margin calculation.
• Previously provided software guidance of roughly $1.0B for 2022 was explicitly revised upward to the current $1.4B+ midpoint.