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MediaAlpha Inc

For the period ended Mar 31, 2024. Filed May 2, 2024.

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About this filing

A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.

Mar 31, 2024 · Filed May 2, 2024

MAX$14.16-0.3%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

  1. Summary of significant accounting policies

The Company's significant accounting policies are included in the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and did not materially change during the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements and related disclosures have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") applicable to interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of only those of a normal recurring nature, considered necessary for a fair statement of the financial position and interim results of the Company as of and for the periods presented have been included.

The December 31, 2023 balance sheet data was derived from audited consolidated financial statements; however, the accompanying interim notes to the consolidated financial statements do not include all of the annual disclosures required by GAAP. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of those that may be expected for a full year. The financial information included herein should be read in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements and related notes in its 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable are net of allowances for credit losses of $0.5 million as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Concentrations of credit risk and of significant customers and suppliers

Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company maintains cash balances that can, at times, exceed amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Company has not experienced any losses in these accounts and believes it is not exposed to unusual risk beyond the normal credit risk in this area based on the financial strength of the institutions with which the Company maintains its deposits.

The Company's accounts receivable, which are unsecured, may expose it to credit risk based on their collectability. The Company controls credit risk by investigating the creditworthiness of all customers prior to establishing relationships with them, performing periodic reviews of the credit activities of those customers during the course of the business relationship, regularly analyzing the collectability of accounts receivable, and recording allowances for credit losses. The Company's supplier concentration can also expose it to business risks.

Customer and supplier concentrations consisted of the below:

Three Months EndedMarch 31, 2024Three Months EndedMarch 31, 2023
Number of customers or suppliers exceeding 10%Aggregate Value(in millions)% of TotalNumber of customers or suppliers exceeding 10%Aggregate Value(in millions)% of Total
Revenue1$2016%1$1715%
Purchases1$1313%1$1010%
As of March 31, 2024As of December 31, 2023
Number of customers or suppliers exceeding 10%Aggregate Value(in millions)% of TotalNumber of customers or suppliers exceeding 10%Aggregate Value(in millions)% of Total
Accounts receivable2$1628%1$714%
Accounts payable1$713%1$1221%

Related Party Transactions

The Company is party to the tax receivables agreement ("TRA") under which it is contractually committed to pay certain holders of Class B-1 units 85% of the amount of any tax benefits that the Company actually realizes, or in some cases is deemed to realize, as a result of certain transactions. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, no payments were made pursuant to the TRA. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, payments of $2.8 million were made pursuant to the TRA.

Liquidity

As of March 31, 2024, the aggregate principal amount outstanding under the 2021 Credit Facilities was $173.6 million, with $45.0 million remaining for borrowing under the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility. As of March 31, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all of its financial covenants under such credit facilities. The Company’s ability to continue to comply with its covenants will depend on, among other things, financial, business, market, competitive and other conditions, many of which are beyond the Company’s control.

The Company’s results are subject to fluctuations as a result of business cycles experienced by companies in the insurance industry. During the second half of 2021, the auto insurance industry began to experience a cyclical downturn, as supply chain disruptions and cost increases caused by the pandemic and overall inflationary pressures contributed to higher-than-expected P&C insurance claims costs, which led many carriers to reduce their customer acquisition spending to preserve their profitability. However, the Company believes that a recovery from this cyclical downturn is now underway, as certain of the Company’s key carrier partners increased their customer acquisition spend during the first quarter of 2024. While the Company expects this improvement to continue over the course of 2024, the Company is currently unable to accurately predict the pace or slope of this recovery, or its impact on the Company’s revenue from the P&C insurance vertical or the Company’s profitability, beyond the second quarter of 2024. The Company believes that its expected near-term revenue, cash on hand and availability to access additional cash under its 2021 Revolving Credit Facility are sufficient to meet its operating and capital expenditure requirements, and to continue to comply with its debt covenants, for at least the next twelve months as of the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

The extent to which market conditions impact the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition will depend on future developments impacting its carrier partners, including inflation rates, the extent of any major catastrophic losses, and the timing of regulatory approval of premium rate increases, which remain highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with accuracy. The Company considered the impact of this uncertainty on the assumptions and estimates used when preparing these quarterly financial statements. These assumptions and estimates may continue to change as new events occur, and such changes could have an adverse impact on the Company's results of operations, financial position and liquidity.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

There have been no recently adopted accounting pronouncements by the Company which have a material impact on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Recently issued not yet adopted accounting pronouncements

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, that requires disclosure of disaggregated income taxes paid, prescribes standard categories for the components of the effective tax rate reconciliation, and modifies other income tax-related disclosure. The amendment in the ASU is intended to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments in this ASU should be applied on a prospective basis but retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the ASU on its disclosures in the consolidated financial statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued 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 ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted and the amendments in this update are required to be applied on a retrospective basis to all periods presented. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the ASU on disclosures in its consolidated financial statements.

  1. Disaggregation of revenue

The following table shows the Company’s revenue disaggregated by transaction model:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Open marketplace transactions$122,429$107,659
Private marketplace transactions4,2203,971
Total$126,649$111,630

The following table shows the Company’s revenue disaggregated by product vertical:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Property & casualty insurance$69,242$55,107
Health insurance47,27945,603
Life insurance7,5637,091
Other2,5653,829
Total$126,649$111,630
  1. Goodwill and intangible assets

Goodwill and intangible assets consisted of:

As of
March 31, 2024 · December 31, 2023
(in thousands)Usefullife(months)Gross carrying amountAccumulated amortizationNet carrying amountGross carrying amountAccumulated amortizationNet carrying amount
Customer relationships84 - 120$43,500$(25,336)$18,164$43,500$(23,947)$19,553
Non-compete agreements60303(303)—303(303)—
Trademarks, trade names, and domain names60 - 1208,884(2,642)6,2428,884(2,422)6,462
Intangible assets$52,687$(28,281)$24,406$52,687$(26,672)$26,015
GoodwillIndefinite$47,739$—$47,739$47,739$—$47,739

Amortization expense related to intangible assets amounted to $1.6 million and $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company hasno accumulated impairment of goodwill.

The following table presents the changes in goodwill and intangible assets:

As of
March 31, 2024December 31, 2023
(in thousands)GoodwillIntangibleassetsGoodwillIntangibleassets
Beginning balance at January 1,$47,739$26,015$47,739$32,932
Amortization—(1,609)—(6,917)
Ending balance$47,739$24,406$47,739$26,015

As of March 31, 2024, future amortization expense relating to identifiable intangible assets with estimable useful lives over the next five years was as follows:

(in thousands)Amortization expense
2024–Remaining Period$4,819
20255,759
20265,143
20274,106
20282,298
Thereafter2,281
$24,406
  1. Long-term debt

On July 29, 2021, the Company entered into an amendment (the "First Amendment") to the 2020 Credit Agreement dated as of September 23, 2020, with the lenders that are party thereto and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent (as amended by the First Amendment, the “Existing Credit Agreement”). On June 8, 2023, the Company entered into a Second Amendment (the “Second Amendment”) to the Existing Credit Agreement (as amended by the Second Amendment, the “Amended Credit Agreement”).

The 2021 Term Loan Facility requires mandatory prepayments of principal with any Excess Cash Flow (as defined in the 2021 Credit Facilities) on an annual basis. The Company generated excess cash flow (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement) for the year ended December 31, 2023, and so will be required to prepay approximately $3.0 million of the principal under the 2021 Term Loan Facility during the three months ending June 30, 2024, which amount has been classified within the current portion of long-term debt on the consolidated balance sheets.

Long-term debt consisted of the following:

As of
(in thousands)March 31,2024December 31,2023
2021 Term Loan Facility$168,625$171,000
2021 Revolving Credit Facility5,0005,000
Debt issuance costs(1,525)(1,701)
Total debt$172,100$174,299
Less: current portion, net of debt issuance costs of $681 and $693, respectively(11,866)(11,854)
Total long-term debt$160,234$162,445

The Company incurred interest expense on the 2021 Term Loan Facility of $3.6 million and $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Interest expense included amortization of debt issuance costs on the 2021 Credit Facilities of $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

As of March 31, 2024, the Company’s borrowing capacity available under the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility was $45.0 million, which carries a commitment fee based on the Company’s consolidated total net leverage ratio and ranges from 0.25% to 0.50%. The commitment fee on the unused portion of the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility was 0.38% as of March 31, 2024. The Company incurred interest expense on the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility of $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of March 31, 2024, the Company’s interest rate on the outstanding borrowings under the 2021 Term Loan Facility and the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility was 7.93%.

Accrued interest was $3.6 million as of March 31, 2024 and $3.7 million as of December 31, 2023, and is included within accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all covenants under the 2021 Credit Facilities.

The expected future principal payments for all borrowings as of March 31, 2024 were as follows:

(in thousands)Contractual maturity
2024–Remaining Period$10,172
20259,500
2026153,953
Debt and issuance costs173,625
Unamortized debt issuance costs(1,525)
Total debt$172,100
  1. Commitments and contingencies

Litigation and other matters

The Company is subject to certain legal proceedings and claims that arise in the normal course of business. In the opinion of management, the Company does not believe that the amount of liability, if any, as a result of these proceedings and claims will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

On February 21, 2023, the Company received a civil investigative demand from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding compliance with the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, as they relate to the advertising, marketing, promotion, offering for sale, or sale of healthcare-related products, the collection, sale, transfer or provision to third parties of consumer data, telemarketing practices, and/or consumer privacy or data security. The Company is cooperating fully with the FTC. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company incurred legal fees of $1.1 million and $0.3 million, respectively, in connection with the demand, which are included within general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statement of operations. At this time, the Company is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of this matter or the significance, if any, to the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company didnot have any material contingency reserves established for any litigation liabilities.

  1. Equity-based compensation

Equity-based compensation cost recognized for equity-based awards outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was as follows:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands)20242023
QLH restricted Class B-1 units$7$45
Restricted Class A shares105202
Restricted stock units8,47014,057
Performance-based restricted stock units5237
Total equity-based compensation$8,634$14,341

Equity-based compensation cost was included in the following expense categories in the consolidated statements of operations during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands)20242023
Cost of revenue$1,857$966
Sales and marketing1,7012,381
Product development1,4822,172
General and administrative3,5948,822
Total equity-based compensation$8,634$14,341

As of March 31, 2024, total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested QLH restricted Class B-1 units, restricted Class A shares, restricted stock units, and PRSUs was $9 thousand, $0.2 million, $73.4 million, and $1.1 million, respectively, which are expected to be recognized over weighted-average periods of 0.32 years,0.41 years,2.82 years, and 0.95 years, respectively.

  1. Fair Value Measurements

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

Contingent consideration

Contingent consideration is measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs and thus represent a Level 3 measurement in the valuation hierarchy.

Contingent consideration relates to the estimated amount of additional cash consideration to be paid in connection with the Company's acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Customer Helper Team, LLC ("CHT") which was closed on April 1, 2022. The fair value is dependent on the probability of achieving certain revenue and gross profit margin targets for thetwo successive twelve-month periods following the closing of the acquisition. The Company used the Monte Carlo simulation approach to estimate the fair value of the revenue and gross margin targets. A change in any of these unobservable inputs could significantly change the fair value of the contingent consideration. The fair value for the contingent consideration as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 waszero. CHT did not achieve the minimum revenue target for either twelve-month period, and so the Company did not pay any contingent consideration.

The following are the Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis:

Long-Term Debt

As of March 31, 2024, the carrying amount of the 2021 Term Loan Facility and the 2021 Revolving Credit Facility approximates their respective fair values. The Company used a discounted cash flow analysis to estimate the fair value of the long-term debt, using an adjusted discount rate of 6.55% and the estimated payments under the 2021 Term Loan Facility until maturity, including interest payable based on the Company's forecasted total net leverage ratio.

Cost method investment

The Company has elected the measurement alternative for its investment in equity securities without readily determinable fair values and reviews such investment on a quarterly basis to determine if it has been impaired. If the Company's assessment indicates that an impairment exists, the Company estimates the fair value of the equity investment and recognizes in its consolidated statement of operations an impairment loss that is equal to the difference between the fair value of the equity investment and its carrying amount. On March 29, 2024, the board of directors and stockholders of the investee approved a plan of restructuring and liquidation that had the effect of cancelling the Company's investment. The Company had previously determined as of December 31, 2023 that the fair value of the investment waszero and accordingly this cancellation had no impact on the consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

The Company used a market approach to estimate the fair value of equity and allocated the overall equity value to estimate the fair value of the common stock based on the liquidation preference and was classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

  1. Income taxes

MediaAlpha, Inc. is taxed as a corporation and pays corporate federal, state and local taxes on income allocated to it from QLH based upon MediaAlpha, Inc.’s economic interest held in QLH. QLH is treated as a pass-through partnership for income tax reporting purposes and is not subject to federal income tax. Instead, QLH’s taxable income or loss is passed through to its members, including MediaAlpha, Inc. Accordingly, the Company is not liable for income taxes on the portion of QLH’s earnings not allocated to it. MediaAlpha, Inc. files and pays corporate income taxes for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes and its corporate subsidiary, Skytiger Studio, Ltd., is subject to taxation in Taiwan. The Company expects this structure to remain in existence for the foreseeable future.

The Company estimates the annual effective tax rate for the full year to be applied to actual year-to-date income (loss) and adds the tax effects of any discrete items in the reporting period in which they occur. The following table summarizes the Company's income tax expense:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands, except percentages)20242023
(Loss) before income taxes$(1,464)$(14,506)
Income tax expense$27$78
Effective Tax Rate(1.8)%(0.5)%

The Company's effective tax rate of (1.8)% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and (0.5)% for the three months ended March 31, 2023 differed from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21%, due primarily to the tax impacts of recording a valuation allowance against current year losses, nondeductible equity-based compensation, losses associated with non-controlling interests not taxable to the Company, state taxes, and other nondeductible permanent items.

There were no material changes to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits during the three months ended March 31, 2024. The Company is currently under examination by various tax authorities in the United States. These examinations are in preliminary stages and the Company does not expect to have any significant changes to unrecognized tax benefits through the end of the fiscal year.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, holders of Class B-1 units exchanged 3,057,000 Class B-1 units, together with an equal number of shares of Class B common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on aone-for-one basis (“Exchanges”). In connection with the Exchanges, the Company did not establish any additional liabilities related to the TRA, which are presented within additional-paid-in-capital in its consolidated statements of stockholders’ equity (deficit). In connection with the Exchanges and the changes to the carrying value of the non-controlling interest, the Company also recognizes deferred tax assets associated with the basis difference in its investment in QLH through additional-paid-in-capital, but during the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company did not recognize any additional deferred tax assets as the Company has recognized a full valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had a valuation allowance of $116.6 million and $95.1 million, respectively, against its deferred tax assets based on the recent history of pre-tax losses, which is considered a significant piece of objective negative evidence that is difficult to overcome and limits the ability to consider other subjective evidence, such as projections of future growth. It is possible in the foreseeable future that there may be sufficient positive evidence, and/or that the objective negative evidence in the form of history of pre-tax losses will no longer be present, in which event the Company could release a portion or all of the valuation allowance. Release of any amount of valuation allowance would result in a benefit to income tax expense for the period the release is recorded, which could have a material impact on net earnings.

Tax Receivables Agreement

In connection with the Reorganization Transactions and the IPO, the Company entered into the TRA with Insignia, Senior Executives, and White Mountains. The Company expects to obtain an increase in its share of the tax basis in the net assets of QLH as Class B-1 units, together with shares of Class B common stock, are exchanged for shares of Class A common stock (or, at the Company’s election, redeemed for cash of an equivalent value). The Company intends to treat any redemptions and exchanges of Class B-1 units as direct purchases for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These increases in tax basis may reduce the amounts that it would otherwise pay in the future to various tax authorities.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company determined that making a payment under the TRA was not probable under ASC 450 —Contingencies since a valuation allowance has been recorded against the Company’s deferred tax assets and the Company does not believe it will generate sufficient taxable income in the foreseeable future to utilize related tax benefits and result in a payment under the TRA. As a result, the Company continues to remeasure the liabilities due under the TRA to bezero as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 in the consolidated balance sheets. If the Company had determined that making a payment under the TRA and generating sufficient future taxable income was probable, it would have also recorded a liability pursuant to the TRA of approximately $107 million as of March 31, 2024 in the consolidated balance sheets.

Payments pursuant to the TRA of $0 and $2.8 million were made during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

  1. Earnings (Loss) Per Share
Three Months EndedMarch 31,
(in thousands except share data and per share amount)20242023
Basic
Net (loss)$(1,491)$(14,584)
Less: net (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest(378)(4,318)
Net (loss) available for basic common shares$(1,113)$(10,266)
Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding - basic and diluted48,574,44843,870,005
(Loss) per share of Class A common stock - basic and diluted$(0.02)$(0.23)

Potentially dilutive shares, which are based on the weighted-average shares of underlying unvested QLH restricted Class B-1 units, restricted Class A shares, restricted stock units, and PRSUs using the treasury stock method and the outstanding QLH restricted Class B-1 units using the if-converted method, are included when calculating diluted net loss per share attributable to MediaAlpha, Inc. when their effect is dilutive. The effects of the Company’s potentially dilutive securities were not included in the calculation of diluted loss per share as the effect would be anti-dilutive. The following table summarizes the shares and units with a potentially dilutive impact:

As of
March 31, 2024March 31, 2023
QLH Class B-1 Units15,049,78218,921,446
Restricted Class A Shares16,598109,328
Restricted stock units4,662,2136,354,505
Potential dilutive shares19,728,59325,385,279

The outstanding PRSUs were not included in the potentially dilutive securities as of March 31, 2024 as the performance conditions have not been met.

  1. Non-Controlling Interest

Pursuant to QLH’s limited liability company agreement, QLH has two classes of equity securities, Class A-1 units, which have all voting rights in QLH, and Class B-1 units, which have no voting or control rights. The Company allocates a share of net income (loss) to the holders of non-controlling interests pro-rata to their ownership interest in QLH at a point in time. The non-controlling interests balance represents the Class B-1 units, substantially all of which are held by Insignia and the Senior Executives.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the holders of the non-controlling interests exchanged 3,057,000 Class B-1 units, together with an equal number of shares of Class B common stock, for shares of Class A common stock on aone-for-one basis. As of March 31, 2024, the holders of the non-controlling interests owned 22.8% of the total equity interests in QLH, with the remaining 77.2% owned by MediaAlpha, Inc. As of December 31, 2023, the holders of the non-controlling interests owned 27.7% of the total equity interests in QLH, with the remaining 72.3% owned by MediaAlpha, Inc.

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