comScore Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Q2 performance weakened sharply: Revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $79.2 million, while adjusted EBITDA dropped 85% to $1.3 million. Declines were driven by lower syndicated audience, cross-platform and research revenue, as well as the Movies divestiture.
• Comscore launched its “ROI” restructuring plan—realign, optimize and invest—to simplify operations and reduce costs. The company expects $20 million to $25 million in annual run-rate savings, with $7 million to $9 million in one-time restructuring costs.
• Growth prospects are focused on local TV, AI, creator media and Proximic activation. Comscore expects no near-term growth and forecasts 2026 revenue of $315 million to $325 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin in the low- to mid-single digits, while targeting a leaner cost structure entering 2027.

comScore NASDAQ: SCOR reported second-quarter revenue declines and a sharp reduction in adjusted EBITDA as the media measurement company unveiled a restructuring plan aimed at lowering costs, simplifying operations and concentrating investment on selected growth opportunities.

Chief Executive Officer Matt McLaughlin, who joined the company in June, said Comscore exited the quarter in a stronger structural financial position after selling its Movies business in late May. The transaction eliminated $40 million of long-term debt and freed approximately $7 million of annual interest and principal payments, according to McLaughlin.

However, he said the company’s second-quarter results underscored the need for more urgent changes. Comscore recorded revenue of $79.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 million during the period. McLaughlin said the company has valuable data assets, longstanding client relationships and a recognized role as an independent measurement provider, but is not organized or operating in a way that fully leverages those strengths.

Second-Quarter Results Decline

Total second-quarter revenue fell 11.3% from a year earlier. On a pro forma basis excluding Movies business revenue from both periods, revenue was $73 million, down $6.8 million, or 8.5%, from $79.8 million in the second quarter of 2025, Chief Financial Officer Mary Margaret Curry said.

• Content and ad measurement revenue totaled $67.8 million, down 11.7% year over year.
• Syndicated audience revenue declined 13.6% to $55.2 million, reflecting the Movies divestiture, lower renewals in national TV and syndicated digital offerings, and the absence of a large one-time local TV deliverable recognized in the prior-year period.
• Cross-platform revenue decreased 2.1% to $12.5 million, as lower Proximic product usage was partly offset by new business in Comscore Content Measurement.
• Research and Insight Solutions revenue fell 9.2% to $11.5 million, primarily due to lower renewals and the timing of certain deliveries.

Adjusted EBITDA fell 85% to $1.3 million from $8.9 million a year earlier, producing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 1.7%, compared with 10% in the prior-year quarter. Core operating expenses decreased 2.8% to $87.9 million, mainly due to lower employee compensation costs, partly offset by professional fees associated with the Movies divestiture.

Curry said the divested Movies business had generated healthy margins and contributed to adjusted EBITDA and cash flow. She added that Comscore’s data and employee compensation costs are relatively fixed, meaning weaker revenue can have a disproportionate impact on profitability and cash generation.

ROI Strategy Targets Cost Savings and Operational Focus

Management introduced an “ROI” strategy, standing for realign, optimize and invest. The plan is intended to establish a more flexible cost structure, clearer accountability and a more selective approach to product development and commercial opportunities.

McLaughlin said Comscore’s existing operating model had been built for a larger business and that its biggest fixed data expense supports a linear TV business facing secular pressure. He said the company had often responded to challenges by broadly pursuing near-term revenue opportunities or trimming expenses, approaches that addressed immediate issues but increased complexity and limited capacity for longer-term investment.

The company has taken headcount-reduction actions and plans further steps to reduce complexity, improve efficiency and rationalize its international commercial footprint. Curry said the realignment plan is expected to produce annual run-rate cost savings of $20 million to $25 million once complete. One-time costs, mainly severance and employee-related expenses, are expected to total $7 million to $9 million, with most of those costs paid by year-end.

Comscore expects to use part of the savings to hire key leaders, invest in continuing employees and fund other transformation initiatives. Management said it intends to streamline legacy business costs, align data costs with current business value, discontinue expensive and underused features, and improve pricing and packaging in legacy offerings.

Growth Priorities Include AI, Creator Media and Activation

McLaughlin identified local TV, artificial intelligence-related data products, creator media measurement and expanded Proximic activation as the company’s principal growth areas.

He said Comscore is developing a next-generation audience measurement platform that combines viewing behavior from millions of televisions with enhanced U.S. population modeling. The company expects to begin testing the solution this year with some of its largest strategic TV opportunities. Management said customers are particularly interested in the solution’s local-market coverage and its alignment between local and national ratings methodologies.

In AI, McLaughlin said Comscore sees an opportunity to license real-world consumer prompt and response data from its opt-in digital panel to answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization providers. He said the company has validated the utility of its data with several leading firms in those markets and has initiated negotiations with several potential partners.

The company also plans to pursue measurement products for creator media, which McLaughlin said is attracting audiences that increasingly rival large distribution channels. In addition, Comscore aims to broaden the availability of Proximic data across enterprise buying workflows and more closely connect planning, activation and measurement.

2026 Outlook

Given the Movies divestiture and the transformation underway, Curry said Comscore does not anticipate near-term growth. The company now expects full-year 2026 revenue of $315 million to $325 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin in the low- to mid-single digits.

Management expects to enter 2027 with a leaner and more flexible cost model. McLaughlin said investors should look for continued commercial progress in local TV, activation expansion, creator media and AI over the next several quarters, while the full benefit of lower operating expenses is expected to become more apparent in 2027.

About comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR)

comScore, Inc is a global media measurement and analytics company that specializes in delivering insights into consumer behavior across digital, television and theatrical platforms. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, comScore provides data-driven solutions designed to help media companies, advertisers and agencies understand audience engagement and optimize marketing strategies. The company's analytics offerings enable clients to measure the reach and impact of online content, mobile applications, streaming video, and traditional broadcast media with a unified data view.

The company's product suite includes Digital Analytix for website and app analytics, Media Metrix for audience measurement, Advertising Analytics for campaign performance tracking, Video Metrix for streaming and online video insights, and theatrical measurement services for box office analytics.

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