Revenue Exceeds High End of Guidance

Full Year Revenue Grows 21.5%

Tysons, VA (March 14, 2023) — Cvent Holding Corp. (“Cvent”) (Nasdaq: CVT), an industry-leading meetings, events and hospitality technology provider, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Highlights

Revenue

• Total revenue was $170.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 18.2% from the comparable period in 2021, and $0.6 million higher than the high end of our guidance.
• Event Cloud revenue was $120.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 17.2% from the comparable period in 2021.
• Hospitality Cloud revenue was $50.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 20.5% from the comparable period in 2021.

Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA

• Net loss was $19.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $21.5 million in the comparable period in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA (defined below) was $43.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, which was $3.7 million higher than the high end of our guidance
• Adjusted EBITDA margin (defined below) was 25.5% compared to the high end of our guidance of 23.4%. Adjusted EBITDA in the comparable period of 2021 was $32.8 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 22.7%.

Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Highlights

Revenue

• Total revenue was $630.6 million for the fiscal year 2022, an increase of 21.5% from the comparable period in 2021, and $0.7 million higher than the high end of our guidance.
• Event Cloud revenue was $441.1 million for the fiscal year 2022, an increase of 21.8% from the comparable period in 2021.
• Hospitality Cloud revenue was $189.5 million for the fiscal year 2022, an increase of 20.9% from the comparable period in 2021.

Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA

• Net loss was $100.3 million for the fiscal year 2022 compared to $86.1 million in the comparable period in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA (defined below) was $113.4 million for the fiscal year 2022, which was $3.7 million higher than the high end of our guidance, and Adjusted EBITDA margin (defined below) was 18.0% compared to the high end of our guidance of 17.4%. Adjusted EBITDA in the comparable period of 2021 was $103.7 million, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 20.0%.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2022 totaled $140.0 million, compared to $127.1 million as of December 31, 2021.

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin results to their GAAP basis results are shown in detail below.

Guidance

Given Cvent’s entry into a definitive agreement on March 14, 2023 to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”), the Company will not provide guidance for first quarter and full year 2023. 

Conference Call Information

Given Cvent’s entry into a definitive agreement on March 14, 2023 to be acquired by Blackstone, the Company will not host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results and outlook. 

Full Press Release and Consolidated Balance Sheets

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Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings press release uses and discusses the following financial measures not presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”): Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expenses, Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses, Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expenses, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, and certain ratios and other metrics derived therefrom, including Adjusted EBITDA margin which represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue and Non-GAAP gross margin which represents Non-GAAP Gross Profit divided by revenue. Reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their GAAP basis results can be found within the tables included in this release.

We believe that these non-GAAP measures of financial results provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to Cvent’s financial condition and results of operations. We use these non-GAAP measures for financial, operational and budgetary decision-making purposes, and to compare our performance to that of prior periods for trend analyses. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information regarding past financial performance and future prospects, and permit us to more thoroughly analyze key financial metrics used to make operational decisions. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial measures with other software companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors.

We do not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principal limitation of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in Cvent’s financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which expenses and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. In order to compensate for these limitations, management presents non-GAAP financial measures in connection with GAAP results. We urge investors to review the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which are included in this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business.

Cvent excludes or adjusts for one or more of the following items from these non-GAAP financial measures:
Interest expense. Cvent excludes this expense from its non-GAAP financial measures primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted EBITDA.

Other income, net. Cvent excludes this item, which is comprised primarily of foreign exchange gains/(losses) and state tax settlements, from its non-GAAP financial measures primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted EBITDA.
Provision for income taxes. Cvent excludes this item from its non-GAAP financial measures primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted EBITDA.
Amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discount. Cvent excludes this expense primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted EBITDA.

Intangible asset amortization. Cvent excludes this expense primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit and Adjusted EBITDA.
Amortization of software development costs. Cvent excludes this expense primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit and Adjusted EBITDA.
Stock-based compensation expense. Cvent excludes this expense primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expenses, Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses, Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA.
Cost related to acquisitions. Cost related to acquisitions is comprised of the value of contingent payments included in compensation expense which relate to the potential cash payment to certain employees of acquired companies whose right to receive such payment is forfeited if they terminate their employment prior to the required service period. As the contingent payments are subject to continued employment, GAAP requires that these payments be accounted for as compensation expense and such expense is subject to revaluation. Additionally, cost related to acquisitions includes expenses related to performing due diligence, valuation, earnouts or other acquisition-related activities. Cvent excludes these expenses primarily because they are not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expenses, Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses, Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA.

Restructuring expenses. Cvent excludes this expense, which is comprised of expenses associated with severance to terminated employees of acquired entities, retention bonuses to employees retained from acquired entities, costs to discontinue use of a back-office system and closing of certain office spaces, primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expenses, Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses, Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA.
Other items. Cvent excludes this item, which is comprised of certain expenses associated with prosecuting a trade secret misappropriation claim and credit facility fees, net of the gain from government subsidies related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Sales and Marketing Expenses, Non-GAAP Research and Development Expenses, Non-GAAP General and Administrative Expenses and Adjusted EBITDA.

Loss on extinguishment of debt. Cvent excludes this expense from its non-GAAP financial measures primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted EBITDA.

Purchases of Property and Equipment. This item is customarily included as a reduction to net cash provided by operating activities in the calculation of free cash flow. This item is reflected in Adjusted Free Cash Flow. 

Capitalized Software Development Costs. This item is customarily included as a reduction to net cash provided by operating activities in the calculation of free cash flow. This item is reflected in Adjusted Free Cash Flow. 

Change in Fees Payable to Customers. Cvent excludes the change in this balance sheet item primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing net cash provided by operating activities when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted Free Cash Flow.

Interest Paid. Cvent excludes these cash payments primarily because it is not considered a part of ongoing net cash provided by operating activities when assessing the performance of our business, and Cvent believes that doing so facilitates comparisons to its historical operating results and to the results of other companies in our industry. This adjustment is reflected in Adjusted Free Cash Flow.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.  These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and you can often identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “target,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “shall,” “contemplates” or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon Cvent’s historical performance and on its current plans, operating budgets, estimates and expectations in light of information currently available to us. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to: the risk that trends stated or implied by this release cannot or will not be sustained at the current pace or may fluctuate from current expectations, including trends and expectations related to revenue, revenue growth, net loss, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Free Cash Flow margin, gross profit, gross margin, expenses, deferred revenue, interest expense, the demand for events and meetings, the return to in-person events, demand for advertising and software solutions, and demand for an integrated platform; the impact of current global events and macroeconomic conditions on customer’s demand for our products and services, Cvent’s operations, financial results and on Cvent’s virtual, hybrid and in-person offerings; Cvent’s ability to retain, engage, and upsell current customers and attract and retain new customers; Cvent’s ability to maintain and expand relationships with hotels and venues; the competitiveness of the market in which Cvent operates and Cvent’s ability to maintain and increase its market position; Cvent’s ability to attract and retain key employees, including its senior management team; the impact of a disruption of Cvent’s operations, infrastructure or systems, or disruption of the operations, infrastructure or systems of the third parties on which Cvent relies; Cvent’s ability to manage its costs and growth effectively; Cvent’s ability to develop, introduce and market new and enhanced versions of its solutions to meet customer needs and expectations; the risk that the industry does not get back to a normalized state when and as expected; the risk that the proposed merger with Blackstone may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect Cvent’s business and the price of Cvent’s common stock; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on Cvent’s business relationships, operating results and business generally; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts Cvent’s current plans and operations; and other factors beyond our control.

We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other SEC filings and public communications, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including in the “Risk Factors” section of those filings. Actual results may differ materially. Investors should evaluate all forward-looking statements in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date hereof, based on current estimates, expectations, observations and trends. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.