HealthStream, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: HSTM), a leading healthcare technology platform for workforce solutions, announced today results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.
First Quarter 2024
- Revenues of $72.8 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 6% from $68.9 million in the first quarter of 2023
- Operating income of $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 97% from $2.9 million in the first quarter of 2023
- Net income of $5.2 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 99% from $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2023
- Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17 per share (diluted) in the first quarter of 2024, up from $0.09 per share (diluted) in the first quarter of 2023
- Adjusted EBITDA1 of $17.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 24% from $13.7 million in the first quarter of 2023
- Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.028 per share, payable on May 17, 2024 to holders of record on May 6, 2024
| 1 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income and disclosure regarding why we believe adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors is included later in this release. |
Financial Results:
First Quarter 2024 Compared to First Quarter 2023
Revenues for the first quarter of 2024 increased by $3.8 million, or six percent, to $72.8 million, compared to $68.9 million for the first quarter of 2023. Subscription revenues increased $4.2 million, or six percent, and professional services revenues declined by $0.4 million.
Operating income was $5.7 million for the first quarter of 2024, up 97 percent from $2.9 million in the first quarter of 2023. The improvement in operating income was primarily attributable to increased revenues, a reduction in labor costs (primarily resulting from $1.0 million of severance charges incurred during the first quarter of 2023 in connection with the Company’s restructuring under a single platform strategy), a decrease in professional fees, and an increase in capitalized labor associated with software development activities, which were partially offset by increases in software, cloud hosting expenses, royalties, amortization, and general marketing expenses.
Net income was $5.2 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 99 percent from $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2023, and EPS was $0.17 per share (diluted) in the first quarter of 2024, up from $0.09 per share (diluted) in the first quarter of 2023. Net income and EPS for the first quarter of 2023 were negatively impacted by severance charges recognized in the amounts of $0.8 million and $0.03 per share (diluted), respectively, in connection with the 2023 restructuring discussed above.
Adjusted EBITDA was $17.1 million for the first quarter of 2024, up 24 percent from $13.7 million in the first quarter of 2023.
At March 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $83.7 million. The Company does not have any outstanding indebtedness for borrowed money. Capital expenditures incurred during the first quarter of 2024 were $6.9 million.
Other Business Updates
On September 13, 2023, the Company announced a share repurchase program under which the Company was authorized to repurchase up to $10.0 million of its outstanding shares of common stock. Pursuant to this authorization, the Company repurchased shares valued at an aggregate of $8.9 million, with no shares repurchased during the three months ended March 31, 2024. The program expired on March 31, 2024.
On April 22, 2024, the Board approved a quarterly cash dividend under the Company’s dividend policy of $0.028 per share, payable on May 17, 2024 to holders of record on May 6, 2024.
Financial Outlook for 2024
The Company reaffirms its guidance for 2024 for the measures set forth below as previously announced on February 19, 2024. For a reconciliation of projected adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure defined later in this release, to projected net income (the most comparable GAAP measure) for 2024, see the table included on page nine of this release.
| Full-Year 2024 Guidance | ||||||||||||
| Low | High | |||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 292.0 | – | $ | 296.0 | million | ||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA1 | $ | 64.5 | – | $ | 67.5 | million | ||||||
| Capital Expenditures | $ | 28.0 | – | $ | 30.0 | million |
| 1 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of projected adjusted EBITDA to projected net income (the most comparable GAAP measure) is included later in this release. |
The Company’s guidance for 2024 as set forth above reflects the Company’s assumptions regarding, among other things, expectations for new sales and renewals, and assumes that general economic conditions, including inflationary pressures, do not deteriorate. This consolidated guidance does not include the impact of any acquisitions that we may complete during 2024, gains or losses from changes in the fair value of minority investments, or impairment of long-lived assets.
Commenting on first quarter 2024 results, Robert A. Frist, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, HealthStream, said, “We were pleased to achieve record quarterly revenues, record adjusted EBITDA, and a strong quarter overall, giving us confidence to reiterate our previously announced financial guidance. We believe our workforce solutions are well-aligned with the current industry focus to engage, retain, and develop the healthcare workforce.”
A conference call with Robert A. Frist, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Scott A. Roberts, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, and Mollie Condra, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. (ET). Participants may access the conference call live via webcast using this link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/qb8uq3o7. To participate via telephone, please register in advance using this link: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI99e7a8ec23464d6b8234f2b518bc2799. A replay of the conference call and webcast will be archived on the Company’s website in the Investor Relations section under “Events & Presentations.”
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release presents adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure used by management in analyzing the Company’s financial results and ongoing operational performance. In order to better assess the Company’s financial results, management believes that net income before interest, income taxes, stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, and changes in fair value of, including gains (losses) on the sale of, non-marketable equity investments (“adjusted EBITDA”), is a useful measure for evaluating the operating performance of the Company because adjusted EBITDA reflects net income adjusted for certain GAAP accounting, non-cash, and/or non-operating items which may not, in any such case, fully reflect the underlying operating performance of our business. In addition, as discussed below, for periods ended on or prior to December 31, 2023, adjusted EBITDA excludes the impact of the deferred revenue write-downs associated with fair value accounting for acquired businesses. We believe that adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors to assess the Company’s ongoing operating performance and to compare the Company’s operating performance between periods. In addition, certain short-term cash incentive bonuses and performance-based equity awards are based on the achievement of adjusted EBITDA (as defined in applicable bonus and equity grant documentation) targets.
As previously disclosed, prior to the Company early adopting ASU 2021-08 effective January 1, 2022, following the completion of any acquisition by the Company, the Company was required to record the acquired deferred revenue at fair value as defined in GAAP, which typically resulted in a write-down of the acquired deferred revenue. In connection therewith, management determined that including an adjustment in the definition of adjusted EBITDA for the impact of the deferred write-downs associated with fair value accounting for businesses acquired prior to the January 1, 2022 effective date of the Company’s adoption of ASU 2021-08 (the “Pre-2022 Acquisitions”) provided useful information to investors because the deferred revenue write-down recognized in periods after any such Pre-2022 Acquisitions could, given the nature of this non-cash accounting impact, cause our GAAP financial results during such periods to not fully reflect our underlying operating performance. Following the adoption of ASU 2021-08, contracts acquired in an acquisition completed on or after January 1, 2022 have been measured as if the Company had originated the contract (rather than the contract being measured at fair value) such that, for such acquisitions, the Company no longer records deferred revenue write-downs associated with acquired businesses. With respect to periods ended on or prior to December 31, 2023, the Company has included an adjustment in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA for the impact of deferred revenue write-downs associated with the Pre-2022 Acquisitions consistent with this prior accounting standard, given the ongoing impact of such deferred revenue on our financial results under GAAP over this time period. With respect to periods beginning on and after January 1, 2024, the Company is no longer recognizing any deferred revenue write-downs associated with the Pre-2022 Acquisitions under GAAP, and accordingly such deferred revenue write-downs are no longer an adjustment in connection with the calculation of adjusted EBITDA for periods beginning on and after January 1, 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and should not be considered as a measure of financial performance under GAAP. Because adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement determined in accordance with GAAP, adjusted EBITDA is susceptible to varying calculations. Accordingly, adjusted EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and has limitations as an analytical tool.
This non-GAAP financial measure should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance, which are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA to net income (the most comparable GAAP measure), which is set forth below in this release.
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