Inuvo Reports Record Fourth Quarter 2024 Revenue of $26.2 Million, 26% Year-Over-Year Growth and Net Income

Rhea-AI Summary

Inuvo (NYSE: INUV) reported record Q4 2024 financial results with revenue reaching $26.2 million, marking a 26% year-over-year increase. The company achieved Q4 net income of $141,000 and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million, compared to losses in Q4 2023.

For full-year 2024, revenue grew 13% to $83.8 million, with gross profit increasing to $71.8 million. The net loss decreased 45% to $5.8 million, while Adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $816,000. Key operational highlights included securing a Master Services Agreement with a major retailer, signing 33 new agencies/brands, obtaining a $10.0 million credit line, and launching enhancements to the IntentKey Self-Serve Platform.

Positive

• Record Q4 revenue of $26.2M, up 26% YoY
• First quarterly net income of $141K in Q4 2024
• Q4 Adjusted EBITDA positive at $1.2M
• 45% reduction in annual net loss
• Secured $10M credit line
• Signed 33 new agencies/brands
• No debt and $12.5M available liquidity

Negative

• Full-year net loss of $5.8M despite improvements
• Gross profit margin declined to 83.1% in Q4 from 87.3% YoY
• 14.8% increase in Marketing costs
• Higher interest expenses due to credit line usage

Insights

Financial Analyst

Inuvo's Q4 2024 results mark a pivotal inflection point in the company's financial trajectory, delivering its first quarterly profit in recent history with net income of $141,000 alongside record revenue of $26.2 million (26% YoY growth). This performance caps a year of accelerating momentum, with the company maintaining an impressive 7% compounded quarterly growth rate over 18 consecutive quarters.

The sixfold improvement in full-year Adjusted EBITDA (loss narrowed from $5.3 million to just $816,000) signals that Inuvo's path to sustainable profitability is materializing. Particularly encouraging is the $230,000 in positive operating cash flow generated in 2024, demonstrating that the business model is beginning to achieve operational scale.

The company's AI-driven IntentKey Self-Serve Platform appears to be gaining market traction, with technological enhancements democratizing advanced audience targeting capabilities. This development is significant as self-serve platforms typically deliver higher margins and more scalable revenue growth compared to managed service models in the AdTech industry.

While marketing costs increased 14.8% year-over-year, this investment appears justified by the accelerating revenue growth. However, the slight compression in Q4 gross margin (from 87.3% to 83.1%) warrants monitoring, as it reflects higher costs associated with platform clients.

The Master Services Agreement with "one of the largest retailers in the world" represents a potentially transformative opportunity, as such enterprise clients typically drive significant recurring revenue while validating Inuvo's AI technology in a highly competitive market. Combined with 33 new agency/brand relationships, Inuvo appears to be diversifying its client base effectively.

With $2.5 million in cash, no debt, and an untapped $10 million credit facility, Inuvo has sufficient liquidity to fund continued growth initiatives while maintaining financial flexibility in a rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape.

Technology Analyst

Inuvo's IntentKey Self-Serve Platform represents a significant technological breakthrough in the AI AdTech landscape by effectively removing the technical barriers that have historically advanced audience targeting to specialists. The platform's ability to transform simple natural language audience descriptions into executable targeting parameters addresses a fundamental pain point in digital advertising: the expertise gap between marketers' conceptual understanding of their audience and the technical implementation of targeting parameters.

Unlike conventional contextual or behavioral targeting systems that rely on pre-defined audience segments or keyword matching, Inuvo's technology appears to employ advanced natural language processing capabilities to interpret marketer intent and translate it into sophisticated targeting algorithms. This approach fundamentally differs from competitors that typically require either technical expertise or predefined audience segments.

The technological significance extends beyond mere usability improvements. By democratizing access to AI-powered targeting, Inuvo is potentially expanding the addressable market for advanced advertising technology beyond large agencies and brands to include mid-market advertisers who previously lacked the resources for sophisticated campaigns. This expanded market accessibility likely contributed to their ability to sign 33 new agencies/brands in 2024.

The 26% year-over-year revenue growth in Q4 suggests the technology is delivering measurable performance advantages that justify adoption. Particularly notable is that this growth occurred during a period when many AdTech companies faced headwinds from privacy changes and cookie deprecation, indicating Inuvo's AI approach may be more resilient to these industry challenges.

From a technical architecture perspective, the self-serve model enables greater scalability with lower marginal costs compared to managed service approaches. This structural advantage likely contributed to the significant improvement in Adjusted EBITDA, as incremental revenue can be generated without proportional increases in operational overhead.

The master agreement with a major retailer represents a particularly valuable validation of the technology's enterprise readiness, as retail advertising environments demand both precision and scale across vast product catalogs and customer segments - technical requirements that stress-test the capabilities of any AI system.

Q4 2024 Net Income of $141 thousand and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million

Inuvo management to host conference call today at 4:15 PM ET

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV), a leading provider of artificial intelligence AdTech solutions, today provided a business update and announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights:

• Revenue was a record $26.2 million, a 26% increase compared to $20.8 million in Q4 2023
• Gross profit increased 20% to $21.8 million, compared to $18.2 million in Q4 2023
• Net income was $141 thousand, compared to net loss of $2.4 million for Q4 2023
• Adjusted EBITDA was $1.2 million, compared to a loss of $1.2 million for Q4 2023

Full Year 2024 Financial Highlights:

• Revenue increased 13% to $83.8 million, compared to $73.9 million in 2023
• Gross profit increased 13% to $71.8 million, compared to $63.4 million in 2023
• Net loss decreased by 45% to a loss of $5.8 million, compared to a net loss of $10.4 million in 2023
• Adjusted EBITDA loss improved sixfold to $816,000 compared to $5.3 million in 2023
• $230,000 in Net Cash from Operating activities was generated in 2024
  

2024 Operational Highlights:

• Secured a Master Services Agreement with one of the largest retailers in the world
• Signed 33 new agencies/brands and one new platform during the year
• Secured a $10.0 million credit line in July
• Launched enhancements to the IntentKey Self-Serve Platform, an advanced AI agent specifically designed for audience modeling

Richard Howe, CEO of Inuvo, stated, “Q4 2024 was a record-breaking quarter, delivering 26% year-over-year growth and generating $26.2 million in revenue—our largest quarter ever. This strong performance contributed to a 13% revenue increase for the full fiscal year. Over the past 18 quarters, we have sustained an approximately 7% compounded quarterly growth rate. This year, all our key financial metrics had strong year-over-year improvements. Notably, in Q4, we achieved positive net income and adjusted EBITDA.”

Mr. Howe continued, “We made a number of significant technological advancements in 2024, most notably the enhancements to the IntentKey Self-Serve Platform. This groundbreaking innovation democratizes advertising by allowing anyone of any caliber to describe and then immediately execute targeting, giving the AI nothing other than some simple audience descriptions.”

Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 31, 2024

Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $26.2 million, compared to $20.8 million for the same period last year, a 26% year-over-year increase. The higher revenue was due to increasing demand within both Platforms and Agencies & Brands. Net revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 totaled $83.8 million, compared to $73.9 million during the same period in 2023, a 13% year-over-year increase.

Cost of revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, totaled $4.4 million compared to $2.6 million for the same period last year. Cost of revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2024, totaled $12.0 million, as compared to $10.5 million for the same period last year. The increase in the cost of revenue for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the same period last year, was due to higher revenue within a Platform client this year.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2024 and full year ended December 31, 2024 totaled $21.8 million and $71.8 million, respectively, as compared $18.2 million and $63.4 million, respectively, for the same periods last year. Gross profit margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the full year ended December 31, 2024 was approximately 83.1% and 85.6%, respectively, as compared to 87.3% and 85.8%, respectively, for the same periods last year.

Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $21.5 million, compared to $20.6 million for the same period last year. Operating expenses for the full year ended December 31, 2024 totaled $77.3 million, compared to $73.8 million for the same period last year. The higher operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily driven by a 14.8% increase in Marketing costs compared to the same period in 2023. This increase was largely attributable to higher revenue from Platform advertisers.

Net interest expense/income for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the full year ended December 31, 2024 was approximately an expense of $103 thousand and an income of $267 thousand, respectively, compared to an income of approximately $8 thousand and an expense of $30 thousand for the same periods last year, respectively. The higher interest expense this year was due to increased borrowing from our line of credit.

Other expense/income for both the fourth quarter of 2024 and the full year ended December 31, 2024 was income of approximately $27 thousand, respectively, compared to income of approximately $0 and $15 thousand for the same periods last year, respectively. The income for this year was due to setup charges for new Platform partners. Last year’s income was due to unrealized and realized gains on trading securities.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $141 thousand, or $0.00 per basic and diluted share, as compared to net loss of $2.4 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, for the same period last year. Net loss for the full year ended December 31, 2024 totaled $5.8 million, or $0.04 per basic and diluted share, as compared to net loss of $10.4 million, or $0.08 per basic and diluted share, for the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA [see reconciliation table below] was approximately $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $1.2 million for the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of approximately $816 thousand for the full year ended December 31, 2024, compared to a loss of approximately $5.3 million for the same period last year.

Liquidity and Capital Resources:

On December 31, 2024, Inuvo had $2.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, an unused working capital facility of $10.0 million and no debt.

As of February 21, 2025, Inuvo had 142,795,483 common shares issued and outstanding.

Conference Call Details: 
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time: 4:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 
Toll-free Dial-in Number: 1-800-717-1738
International Dial-in Number: 1-646-307-1865
Conference ID: 11158080
Webcast Link: HERE

A telephone replay will be available through Thursday, March 13, 2025. To access the replay, please dial 1- 844-512-2921 (domestic) or 1-412-317-6671 (international). At the system prompt, please enter the code 11158080 followed by the # sign. You will then be prompted for your name, company, and phone number. Playback will then automatically begin.

About Inuvo

Inuvo^®, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV) is a market leader in Artificial Intelligence built for advertising. Its IntentKey AI solution is a first-of-its-kind proprietary and patented technology capable of identifying and actioning to the reasons why consumers are interested in products, services, or brands, not who those consumers are. To learn more, visit www.inuvo.com.

Safe Harbor / Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation risks detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and represent our views only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” in Inuvo, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 as filed on February 27, 2025, and our other filings with the SEC. Inuvo cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should one of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. Inuvo does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Inuvo further expressly disclaims any written or oral statements made by a third-party regarding the subject matter of this press release. The information which appears on our websites and our social media platforms is not part of this press release.

Inuvo Company Contact:
Wally Ruiz
Chief Financial Officer
Tel (501) 205-8397
wallace.ruiz@inuvo.com

Investor Relations:
David Waldman / Natalya Rudman
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: (212) 671-1020
inuv@crescendo-ir.com

(tables follow)

INUVO, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
	Three Months Ended								Twelve Months Ended
	December 31				December 31				December 31				December 31
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Net revenue	$	26,189,924			$	20,842,095			$	83,793,859			$	73,911,528
Cost of revenue		4,433,905				2,643,543				12,033,777				10,477,272
Gross profit		21,756,019				18,198,552				71,760,082				63,434,256
Operating expenses:		83.1	%			87.3	%			85.6	%			85.8	%
Marketing costs		17,122,706				15,212,600				59,663,061				51,982,572
Compensation		2,703,309				3,591,109				12,065,783				13,793,309
General and administrative		1,709,887				1,821,821				5,545,049				8,050,590
Total operating expenses		21,535,902				20,625,530				77,273,893				73,826,771
Operating income (loss)		220,117				(2,426,978	)			(5,513,811	)			(10,392,515	)
Interest expense (income), net		102,910				(7,884	)			266,772				29,570
Other income		26,812				-				26,812				14,668
Income tax expense (benefit)		2,678				(17,764	)			8,030				(17,764	)
Net income (loss)		141,341				(2,401,330	)			(5,761,801	)			(10,389,653	)
Other comprehensive income:
Unrealized loss on marketable securities		-				-				-				84,868
Comprehensive income (loss)	$	141,341			$	(2,401,330	)		$	(5,761,801	)		$	(10,304,785	)
Net loss per share, basic and diluted	$0.00				($0.02		)		($0.04		)		($0.08		)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		140,494,192				127,381,051				139,968,374				131,116,370
Diluted		140,494,192				127,381,051				139,968,374				131,116,370

INUVO, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
	December 31				December 31
	2024				2023
Assets
Cash and cash equivalent	$	2,459,245			$	4,440,454
Accounts receivable, net		12,545,771				9,226,956
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		639,805				1,076,121
Total current assets		15,644,821				14,743,531
Property and equipment, net		1,792,903				1,680,788
Goodwill		9,853,342				9,853,342
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization		3,897,875				4,664,791
Other assets		1,006,990				1,431,692
Total assets	$	32,195,931			$	32,374,144
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$	8,422,351			$	6,432,120
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		9,463,537				8,100,354
Total current liabilities		17,885,888				14,532,474
Long-term liabilities		835,271				859,484
Total stockholders' equity		13,474,772				16,982,186
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	32,195,931			$	32,374,144

RECONCILIATION OF LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE TAXES TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
(unaudited)
	Three Months Ended								Twelve Months Ended
		December 31			December 31				December 31				December 31
		2024				2023				2024				2023
Net income (loss)		141,341				(2,401,330	)		$	(5,761,801	)		$	(10,389,653	)
Interest expense (income), net		102,910				(7,884	)			266,772				29,570
Income tax expense (benefit)		2,678				(17,764	)			8,030				(17,764	)
Depreciation and amortization on PP&E		446,608				425,106				1,745,261				1,670,868
Amortization		123,412				264,523				824,272				1,080,690
EBITDA		816,949				(1,737,349	)			(2,917,466	)			(7,626,289	)
Stock-based compensation		413,911				514,613				1,501,444				1,986,296
Non recurring items:
Unrealized loss on marketable securities														14,668
Doubtful account reserve														361,097
Impairment & amortization of services agreement										600,000
Adjusted EBITDA		1,230,860				(1,222,736	)			(816,022	)			(5,264,228	)

Reconciliation of Operating Loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA 

We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance. We defined EBITDA as Net loss plus (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense, (iii) depreciation, and (iv) amortization. We further define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA plus (v) stock-based compensation and (vi) certain identified expenses that are not expected to recur or be representative of future ongoing operation of the business. These adjustments are itemized above. You are encouraged to evaluate these adjustments and the reasons we consider them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same or similar to some of the adjustments in the presentation. Our presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.

FAQ

What was Inuvo's (INUV) Q4 2024 revenue growth compared to Q4 2023?

Inuvo's Q4 2024 revenue grew 26% year-over-year to $26.2 million, compared to $20.8 million in Q4 2023.

How much did Inuvo (INUV) reduce its net loss in fiscal year 2024?

Inuvo reduced its net loss by 45% in 2024, from $10.4 million in 2023 to $5.8 million in 2024.

What was Inuvo's (INUV) gross profit margin in Q4 2024?

Inuvo's gross profit margin in Q4 2024 was 83.1%, compared to 87.3% in Q4 2023.

How many new agencies and brands did Inuvo (INUV) sign in 2024?

Inuvo signed 33 new agencies/brands and one new platform during 2024.

What was Inuvo's (INUV) cash position at the end of 2024?

As of December 31, 2024, Inuvo had $2.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, with an unused $10.0 million working capital facility and no debt.