DoubleVerify Holdings Inc

1. Description of Business

DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) is one of the industry’s leading media effectiveness platforms that leverages AI to drive superior outcomes for global brands. By creating more effective, transparent ad transactions, we make the digital advertising ecosystem stronger, safer and more secure, thereby preserving the fair value exchange between buyers and sellers of digital media. The Company’s solutions provide advertisers unbiased data analytics that enable advertisers to increase the effectiveness, quality and return on their digital advertising investments. The DV Authentic Ad is our proprietary metric of digital media quality, which measures whether a digital ad was delivered in a brand suitable environment, fully viewable, by a real person and in the intended geography. The Company’s software interface, DV Pinnacle, delivers these metrics to our customers in real time, allowing them to access critical performance data on their digital transactions. The Company’s software solutions are integrated across the entire digital advertising ecosystem, including programmatic platforms, social media channels and digital publishers. The Company’s solutions are accredited by the Media Rating Council, which allows the Company’s data to be used as a single source standard in the evaluation and measurement of digital ads.

The Company was incorporated on August 16, 2017, is registered in the state of Delaware and is the parent company of DoubleVerify Midco, Inc. (“MidCo”), which is in turn the parent company of DoubleVerify Inc. On August 18, 2017, DoubleVerify Inc. entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “Agreement”), whereby the Company and Pixel Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, agreed to provide for the merger of the Merger Sub with DoubleVerify Inc. pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Agreement.

On the effective date, Merger Sub was merged with and into DoubleVerify Inc. whereupon the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub ceased and DoubleVerify Inc. continued as the surviving corporation.

Through the merger, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding equity instruments of DoubleVerify Inc., (the “Acquisition”) resulting in a change of control at the parent level. The merger resulted in the application of acquisition accounting under the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Topic Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805*,*“Business Combinations.”

The Company is headquartered in New York, New York and has wholly-owned subsidiaries in numerous jurisdictions, including Israel, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, France, Japan, Spain, Finland, Italy and India, and operates inone reportable segment.

2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Preparation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 reflect all adjustments that are of a normal recurring nature and that are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the periods shown in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting periods. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures have been condensed or omitted pursuant to SEC rules that would ordinarily be required under GAAP for complete financial statements. These unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Use of Estimates and Judgments in the Preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and judgments are inherent in the analysis and measurement of items including, but not limited to: revenue recognition criteria including the determination of principal versus agent revenue considerations, income taxes, the valuation and recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets, the assessment of potential loss from contingencies, assumptions in valuing acquired assets and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the allowance for doubtful accounts, and assumptions used in determining the fair value of stock-based compensation. Management bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be affected by changes in those estimates. These estimates are based on the information available as of the date of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements*.*

Short-term Investments

Debt Securities

The Company’s accounting for debt securities varies depending on the legal form of the security, our intended holding period for the security, and the nature of the transaction. Investments in marketable debt securities include U.S. treasury bills. The Company considers all of its marketable debt securities as available for use in current operations and, therefore, classifies these securities as Short-term investments on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Marketable debt securities are classified as available-for-sale and are initially recorded at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses related to available-for-sale debt securities are recorded as a separate component of Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income until realized. Interest on marketable debt securities classified as available-for-sale is included as a component of Other income, net on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Refer to Footnote 8, Fair Value Measurement, for further information.

The Company accounts for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities in accordance with ASC 326, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses” (“ASC 326”). The Company uses ASC 326 to assess the investment portfolio for impairment at the individual security level and evaluates all securities in an unrealized loss position to determine if the impairment is credit related (realized loss recorded in earnings) or non-credit related (unrealized loss).

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Segment Reporting – Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures

In November 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures”, which expands annual and interim disclosure requirements for reportable segments, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. The updated standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and the update requires retrospective application to all prior periods presented. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of this standard on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income Taxes – Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures” (“ASU 2023-09”), which expands annual disclosure requirements related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid disclosures. ASU 2023-09 requires consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid to be disaggregated by jurisdiction. The updated standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and the update may be applied on a prospective basis with retrospective application permitted. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of this standard on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

3. Revenue

The following table disaggregates revenue between advertiser customers, where revenue is generated based on the number of ads measured for Measurement or measured and purchased for Activation, and Supply-side customers, where revenue is generated based on contracts with minimum guarantees or contracts that contain overages after minimum guarantees are achieved.

Disaggregated revenue by customer type was as follows:

Contract assets relate to the Company’s conditional right to consideration for completed performance under the contract (e.g., unbilled receivables). Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, include unbilled receivable balances of $55.1 million and $55.0 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Remaining Performance Obligations

As of March 31, 2024, the Company had $13.9 million of remaining performance obligations which are expected to be recognized over the nextone tothree years. These non-cancelable supply-side arrangements have original expected durations longer thanone year and for which the consideration is not variable. These obligations relate primarily to the Company’s supply-side revenue which represented $12.2 million, or 8.7% of the Company’s total revenue as of March 31, 2024. The vast majority of the Company’s revenue is derived primarily from our advertising customers and partners based on the volume of media transactions, or ads, that our software platform measures, and not from supply-side arrangements. In determining the remaining performance obligations, the Company applied the allowable practical expedient and did not disclose information about (1) contracts remaining performance obligations that have original expected durations of one year or less and (2) contracts for which the Company recognizes revenue at the amount to which it has the right to invoice for services performed.

4. Business Combinations

Scibids Technology SAS

On August 14, 2023, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of Scibids Technology SAS (“Scibids”), a global leader in artificial intelligence (“AI”) technology for digital campaign optimization. The acquisition combines DoubleVerify’s proprietary data with Scibids’ AI-powered optimization technology to provide advertiser customers with enhanced insights and control over their advertising performance.

The preliminary allocations of the purchase price for Scibids are subject to revisions as additional information is obtained about the facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date. The revisions may have a significant impact on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The allocations of the purchase price will be finalized once all information is obtained and assessed, not to exceed one year from the acquisition date. As of March 31, 2024, the purchase price allocation for Scibids is subject to the finalization of working capital adjustments.

5. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The following is a summary of changes to the goodwill carrying value from December 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024:

The following table summarizes the Company’s intangible assets and related accumulated amortization:

Amortization expense related to intangible assets for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023 was $7.3 million and $6.2 million, respectively.

Estimated future expected amortization expense of intangible assets as of March 31, 2024 is as follows:

The weighted-average remaining useful life by major asset classes as of March 31, 2024 is as follows:

There wereno impairments of Goodwill or Intangible assets identified during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.

6. Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment, including equipment under finance lease obligations and capitalized software development costs, consisted of the following:

For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, total depreciation expense was $3.6 million and $2.7 million, respectively.

Property and equipment under finance lease obligations, consisting of computer equipment, totaled $17.8 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, accumulated depreciation related to property and equipment under finance lease obligations totaled $13.6 million and $12.9 million, respectively. Refer to Note 7, Leases.

There wereno impairments of Property, plant and equipment identified during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.

7. Leases

The following table presents lease cost and cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for finance and operating leases for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The following table presents weighted-average remaining lease terms and weighted-average discount rates for finance and operating leases as of March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively:

Maturities of lease liabilities as of March 31, 2024 were as follows:

There wereno impairments of Operating lease right-of-use assets identified during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.

8. Fair Value Measurement

The following tables present the Company’s financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

Cash equivalents consisted of treasury bills with original maturities at the date of purchase of three months or less and money market funds of $50.1 million and $61.5 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Short-term investments consisted of treasury bills of $32.3 million as of March 31, 2024. As of March 31, 2024, all of the Company’s Short-term investments are contractually due within one year.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the amortized cost of the Company’s treasury bills approximated fair value. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company did not record any unrealized gains, unrealized losses, or credit losses.

9. Long-term Debt

On October 1, 2020, DoubleVerify Inc., as borrower (the “Borrower”), and MidCo, as guarantor, entered into an amendment and restatement agreement with the banks and other financial institutions party thereto, as lenders, and Capital One, National Association, as administrative agent, letter of credit issuer and swing lender, and others, to (i) amend and restate the Company’s prior credit agreement, as amended and restated on October 1, 2020 (the “Credit Agreement”) and (ii) replace the Company’s prior credit facilities with a new senior secured revolving credit facility (the “New Revolving Credit Facility”) in an aggregate principal amount of $150.0 million (with a letter of credit facility of up to $15.0 million as a sublimit). Subject to certain terms and conditions, the Borrower is entitled to request additional term loan facilities or increases in the revolving credit commitments under the New Revolving Credit Facility. The New Revolving Credit Facility is payable in quarterly installments for interest, with the principal balance due in full at maturity on October 1, 2025. Additional fees paid quarterly include fees for the unused revolving facility and unused letter of credit. The commitment fee on any unused balance is payable periodically and may range from 0.25% to 0.40% based upon the Borrower’s total net leverage ratio calculated in accordance with the Credit Agreement.

On March 29, 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the New Revolving Credit Facility to replace the LIBOR based interest rate with a Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) based interest rate. The New Revolving Credit Facility bears interest at SOFR plus 2.00% or the Alternate Base Rate plus 1.00% (at the Company’s option), which may vary from time to time based on the Borrower’s total net leverage ratio calculated in accordance with the Credit Agreement.

The New Revolving Credit Facility contains a number of significant negative covenants. Subject to certain exceptions, these covenants require the Borrower to comply with certain requirements and restrictions on its ability to, among other things: incur indebtedness; create liens; engage in mergers or consolidations; make investments, loans and advances; pay dividends or other distributions and repurchase capital stock; sell assets; engage in certain transactions with affiliates; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; and make certain accounting changes. As a result of these restrictions, substantially all of the net assets of the Borrower are restricted from distribution to the Company or any holders of its equity.

The New Revolving Credit Facility has a first priority lien on substantially all of the assets of MidCo, the Borrower and Ad-Juster Inc., the Company’s indirect subsidiary. The New Revolving Credit Facility requires the Borrower to remain in compliance with a maximum total net leverage ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, each as defined in the Credit Agreement.

As of March 31, 2024, the maximum total net leverage ratio and minimum fixed charge coverage ratio was 3.5 x and 1.25 x, respectively. The Borrower was in compliance with all covenants under the New Revolving Credit Facility as of March 31, 2024.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there wasno outstanding debt under the New Revolving Credit Facility.

10. Income Tax

The Company’s quarterly income tax provision is calculated using an estimated annual effective income tax rate (“ETR”) based on historical information and forward-looking estimates. The Company’s estimated annual ETR may fluctuate due to changes in forecasted annual pre-tax income, and changes to forecasted permanent book to tax differences (e.g., non-deductible expenses).

The Company’s ETR for a particular reporting period may fluctuate as the result of changes to the valuation allowance for net deferred tax assets, the impact of anticipated tax settlements with federal, state, or foreign tax authorities, or the impact of tax law changes. The Company identifies items that are unusual and non-recurring in nature and treats these as discrete events. The tax effect of these discrete events is booked entirely in the quarter in which they occur.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $1.8 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 19.9%, that includes the effects of various permanent book-to-tax adjustments, foreign tax rate differences, U.S. tax on foreign operations, and U.S. state/local taxes, which represent a rate impact of (10.9%). During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $5.5 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 31.1%.

A valuation allowance has been established against a small amount of foreign capital losses and certain U.S. tax loss carryforwards. All other net deferred tax assets have been determined to be more likely than not realizable. The Company regularly reviews its deferred tax assets for recoverability and would establish a valuation allowance if it believed that such assets may not be recovered, taking into consideration historical operating results, expectations of future earnings, changes in its operations, and the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes utilizing ASC 740-10, “Income Taxes.” ASC 740-10 clarifies whether or not to recognize assets or liabilities for tax positions taken that may be challenged by a tax authority. It prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for financial statement disclosure of tax positions taken or expected to be taken. This interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, and disclosures. The application of ASC 740-10 requires judgment related to the uncertainty in income taxes and could impact the Company’s effective tax rate.

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in various state and international jurisdictions. The Company’s Israeli subsidiary is under audit by the Israeli Tax Authority for the 2021 and later tax years. The Company is also under audit by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the 2019 and 2020 tax years. These examinations may lead to ordinary course adjustments or proposed adjustments to the Company’s taxes. Aside from the aforementioned, the Company is not currently under audit in any other jurisdiction.

11. Earnings Per Share

The following table reconciles the numerators and denominators used in computations of the basic and diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023:

Approximately 6.2 million and 7.1 million weighted average shares issuable under stock-based awards were not included in the diluted EPS calculation in the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, respectively, because they were antidilutive.

12. Stock-Based Compensation

Employee Equity Incentive Plan

On September 20, 2017, the Company established its 2017 Omnibus Equity Incentive Program (the “2017 Plan”) which provides for the granting of equity-based awards to certain employees, directors, independent contractors, consultants and agents. Under the 2017 Plan, the Company may grant non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, and other stock-based awards.

On April 19, 2021, the Company established its 2021 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (“2021 Equity Plan”). The 2021 Equity Plan provides for the grant of stock options (including qualified incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options), stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalents, and other stock or cash settled incentive awards.

Stock Options

Options become exercisable subject to vesting schedules up tofour years from the date of the grant and subject to certain timing restrictions upon an employee’s separation of service and no later than 10 years after the grant date.

A summary of stock option activity as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 is as follows:

Stock options include grants to executives that contain both market-based and performance-based vesting conditions. There wereno stock options granted that contain both market-based and performance-based vesting conditions during the three months ended March 31, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, there wereno stock options exercised and 1,373 market-based and performance-based stock options remain outstanding as of March 31, 2024.

The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023 was $5.1 million and $12.8 million, respectively.

The Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) did not declare or pay dividends on any Company stock during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023.

Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”)

RSUs are subject to vesting schedules up tofour years from the date of the grant and subject to certain restrictions upon employee separation.

A summary of RSUs activity as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 is as follows:

The total grant date fair value of RSUs that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $11.8 million.

Performance Stock Units (“PSUs”)

PSUs are subject to vesting and performance periods of up to approximately three years from the date of the grant.

A summary of PSUs activity as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 is as follows:

The fair market value of PSUs with market-based and service-based vesting conditions granted for the years presented has been estimated on the grant date using the Monte Carlo Simulation model with the following assumptions:

Stock-based Compensation Expense

Total stock-based compensation expense recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income was as follows:

As of March 31, 2024, unrecognized stock-based compensation expense was $217.7 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.5 years.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”)

In March 2021, the Board approved the Company’s 2021 ESPP. Purchases are accomplished through participation in discrete offering periods. The ESPP is available to U.S.-based employees and most of the Company’s non-U.S.-based employees. The current offering period began on December 1, 2023 and will end on May 31, 2024. The Company expects the program to continue consecutively for six-month offering periods for the foreseeable future.

Under the ESPP, eligible employees are able to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock by accumulating funds through payroll deductions. The purchase price for shares of common stock purchased under the ESPP is 85% of the lesser of the fair market value of the common stock on (i) the first trading day of the applicable offering period and (ii) the last trading day of the applicable offering period. Employees are required to hold shares purchased for a minimum of six months following the purchase date.

Stock-based compensation expense for the ESPP is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of each award. Stock-based compensation expense related to the ESPP totaled $0.3 million and $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and March 31, 2023, respectively.

13. Supplemental Financial Statement Information

Accrued Expenses

Accrued expenses as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were as follows:

Other Income, Net

The components of Other income, net recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income were as follows:

14. Commitments and Contingencies

Contingencies

Litigation

From time to time, the Company is subject to various legal proceedings and claims, either asserted or unasserted, that arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company records liabilities for contingencies including legal costs when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and when the amount can be reasonably estimated. Legal costs are expensed as incurred. Although the outcome of the various legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, management does not believe that any of these proceedings or other claims will have a material effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

15. Segment Information

The Company has determined that it operates asone operating andreportable segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker reviews financial information on a consolidated basis, together with certain operating and performance measures principally to make decisions about how to allocate resources and measure performance.