Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $4.42 EPS

Key Points

• Advantage Solutions reported a significant earnings miss: Quarterly EPS was negative $4.85 versus the consensus estimate of negative $0.43, while revenue of $889.45 million slightly exceeded expectations.
• Performance varied by segment: Experiential Services revenue and Adjusted EBITDA grew strongly, but Branded Services revenue fell 13% and Adjusted EBITDA declined 36%; overall Adjusted EBITDA dropped 12% year over year.
• Shares fell 24.4% after the results, while management maintained its full-year guidance, including $250 million to $275 million in Adjusted Unlevered Free Cash Flow, with most cash expected to go toward debt reduction.

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported ($4.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($4.42), FiscalAI reports. Advantage Solutions had a negative net margin of 6.78% and a negative return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $889.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $887.30 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Advantage Solutions' conference call:

• Second-quarter profitability declined: Net revenue rose 3% year over year to $757 million, but Adjusted EBITDA fell 12% to $76 million, reflecting divestitures, business mix, and segment-specific execution costs.
• Experiential Services remained the strongest growth driver, with revenue up 19%, Adjusted EBITDA up 32%, and event volumes up 18%; management expects continued momentum in the second half and sees durable demand for product demonstrations.
• Branded Services remained under pressure, with revenue down 13% and Adjusted EBITDA down 36% as a result of constrained CPG spending, client insourcing, and customer losses. Management expects only modest improvement in the second half of 2026.
• Retailer Services is expected to improve sequentially as larger projects ramp, although second-quarter Adjusted EBITDA fell approximately 25% because of project timing, a difficult comparison, and higher execution costs.
• The company reiterated full-year revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow guidance, including $250 million to $275 million of Adjusted Unlevered Free Cash Flow. Management expects working-capital pressure from the final SAP implementation to ease and plans to direct most free cash flow toward debt reduction.

Advantage Solutions Trading Down 24.4%

Shares of ADV traded down $10.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.56. 158,939 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 87,428. Advantage Solutions has a 52 week low of $12.23 and a 52 week high of $53.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.75 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Advantage Solutions in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Advantage Solutions from $37.50 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Advantage Solutions from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David A. Peacock bought 800 shares of Advantage Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.60 per share, for a total transaction of $27,680.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 216,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,486,194.40. The trade was a 0.37% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stoic Point Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advantage Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $1,375,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Advantage Solutions by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,761,016 shares of the company's stock worth $3,310,000 after buying an additional 1,024,633 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Advantage Solutions by 337.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,134,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 874,881 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Advantage Solutions by 71.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,973,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,020,000 after buying an additional 824,239 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Advantage Solutions by 40.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,675,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,094,000 after acquiring an additional 773,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Advantage Solutions Company Profile

Advantage Solutions is a leading sales and marketing agency that provides outsourced solutions to consumer packaged goods companies. The firm's offerings include field sales execution, retail merchandising, in-store and shopper marketing, e-commerce activation and data-driven analytics. By deploying dedicated sales teams alongside proprietary technology, Advantage Solutions helps brands optimize shelf placement, ensure compliance with promotional programs and strengthen consumer engagement.

The company's service portfolio spans field sales and marketing, retail execution, brand ambassador programs, digital and experiential promotions, and shopper insights.

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