Unity Announces Fourth Quarter & Full Year 2021 Financial Results

Company delivered $1.1 billion in revenue in 2021, up 44% year-over-year and exceeding guidance; guides to a range of 34%-36% revenue growth in 2022

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D (RT3D) content, today announced fourth quarter 2021 revenue of $315.9 million, which is up 43% from the same period in 2020 and ahead of guidance. Additionally, the company announced full-year 2021 revenue of $1.1 billion, a growth of 44% year-over-year.

“Unity’s strong fourth-quarter and full-year results were driven by exceptional execution and innovation by the Unity teams,” said John Riccitiello, President and Chief Executive Officer, Unity. “We believe that the transition from linear 2D to interactive real-time 3D, presents a massive growth opportunity for the next decades. These are strong tailwinds that help us drive growth for years to come.”

Since becoming a public company in September 2020, Unity has averaged 43% revenue growth. Customers contributing $100,000 or more in revenue in the trailing 12 months increased 33%, from 793 as of December 31, 2020 to 1,052 as of December 31, 2021.

“We are encouraged by our performance in 2021 with strong results across Create and Operate Solutions,” said Luis Visoso, Chief Financial Officer, Unity. “The business momentum coupled with the quality of our innovation plans gives us confidence to guide to a revenue growth range of 34% to 36% in 2022 as we continue to improve margins.”

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $315.9 million, an increase of 43% from the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Create Solutions revenue was $99.9 million, an increase of 49%; Operate Solutions revenue was $194.6 million, an increase of 45%; Strategic Partnerships and Other revenue was $21.3 million, an increase of 12%, each as compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Loss from operations was $144.8 million, or 46% of revenue, compared to loss from operations of $80.8 million, or 37% of revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2020. These results were impacted by an increase in stock-based compensation expenses.
• Non-GAAP loss from operations was $12.0 million, or 4% of revenue, compared to a non-GAAP loss from operations of $20.1 million, or 9% of revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.56, compared to basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.31 in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.05, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.10 in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• 1,052 customers each generated more than $100,000 of revenue in the trailing 12 months as of December 31, 2021, compared to 793 as of December 31, 2020.
• Dollar-based net expansion rate as of December 31, 2021 was 140% as compared to 138% as of December 31, 2020.
• Net cash used by operating activities was $39.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $14.8 million for the same period last year. Free cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2021 was $(53.5) million, compared to $3.6 million for the same period last year. Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash were $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2021, compared to $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2020.

Full Year 2021 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $1.1 billion, an increase of 44% from 2020.
• Create Solutions revenue was $326.6 million, an increase of 41%; Operate Solutions revenue was $709.1 million, an increase of 51%; Strategic Partnerships and Other revenue was $74.8 million, an increase of 7%, each as compared to 2020.
• Loss from operations was $531.7 million, or 48% of revenue, compared to loss from operations of $274.8 million, or 36% of revenue, in 2020. The 2021 full-year GAAP results were impacted by an increase in stock-based compensation expense, as well as a charge of $49.8 million related to the termination of a lease agreement.
• Non-GAAP loss from operations was $50.7 million, or 5% of revenue, compared to a non-GAAP loss from operations of $50.6, or 7% of revenue, in 2020.
• Basic and diluted net loss per share was $1.89, compared to basic and diluted net loss per share of $1.66 in 2020.
• Basic and diluted non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.22, compared to basic and diluted non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.39 in 2020.
• Net cash used by operating activities was $111.4 million for 2021, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $19.9 million for the same period last year. Free cash flow in 2021 was $(153.4) million, compared to $(20.2) million for the same period last year.

Recent Business Highlights

• Unity expanded its addressable market through strategic acquisitions and product innovations: In 2021, Unity added key capabilities and expanded its addressable market with key acquisitions, heavily focused on supporting artists. In the remote collaboration space, Unity brought on remote access platform Parsec and SyncSketch, which enables cloud-based, secure collaboration between separated creators and artists. With certain tools and technologies from Weta Digital, Interactive Data Visualization (makers of SpeedTree), and most recently, Ziva Dynamics, Unity aims to democratize access to some of artistry’s most exclusive tools and services via the cloud. On the product front, Unity introduced Unity Game Services, which unifies existing solutions and introduces new tools and services to simplify launching cross-platform, multiplayer games. These initiatives expanded the company’s total addressable market, increased its serviceable market and strengthened the value of the Unity platform to customers.
• Unity’s Operate Solutions continued to command attention: In 2021, Operate Solutions contributed to the stability and success of more than 200K games. Use of Unity monetization services drove more than 2 billion net-new installs, and as cross-platform, multiplayer games became more mainstream, our Multiplay and Vivox offerings continue to grow. They supported some of the most successful game launches last year including Amazon’s New World and Splitgate by 1047 Games.
• Unity’s Create Solutions accelerated throughout the year: Create Solutions experienced a strong year across games and non-gaming. In late 2021 particularly, AAA publishers and platform providers launched made with Unity games, including Riot Games’ Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. Unity continued to expand market share within the top 1,000 mobile games in 2021. Outside of gaming, Unity’s RT3D capabilities led to more customers across industries and use-cases to implement Unity software as part of their digital strategies. For example, Hyundai Motors and Unity partner to connect a physical factory with its digital twin to enhance plant management, drive productivity and innovate in the manufacturing process. eBay partnered with Unity to enable sellers to showcase the actual item they are selling in Unity’s proprietary, interactive 360-view.

Outlook

Unity is providing the following guidance for the first quarter and guidance for the full year ending December 31, 2022.

A reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to corresponding GAAP measures is not available on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the uncertainty of expenses that may be incurred in the future and cannot be reasonably determined or predicted at this time, although it is important to note that these factors could be material to Unity’s results computed in accordance with GAAP.

Earnings Webcast Details

Unity plans to host a video webcast for analysts and investors today to discuss its fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results and outlook for its first quarter and full-year 2022. The video webcast is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time/5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and can be accessed at the Unity Investor Relations website at investors.unity.com. The video webcast will be available live, and a replay will be available on the Investor Relations website following completion of the live broadcast for approximately 90 days.

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