Marchex, Inc. (MCHX) Q1 2026 Earnings Report, Transcript and Summary

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to Marchex First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Francis Feeney, Chief Operating Officer. Francis, please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Marchex's Business Update and First Quarter 2026 Conference Call. Joining us today are Russ Horowitz, our Chairman of the Board; Troy Hartless, our President; and Brian Nagle, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we get started, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that our remarks today will include forward-looking statements including references to our financial and operational performance, and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause these results to differ materially are set forth in today's earnings press release and in our most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements for subsequent events. During this call, we will present both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in today's earnings press release. The earnings press release is available in the Investor Relations section of our website. I will now turn the call over to Russ.

Thank you, Frank. I'm going to start with a few current thoughts and then hand the call over to Troy, Brian and then Frank again. The main item I'd like to share is that we believe the company is crossing a positive inflection point, both strategically and operationally. The first half of 2026 is marking an important step in showing how our execution is beginning to translate into improved business performance with the indicators we care about moving in the right direction. We've come a long way in evolving our product and technology capabilities, and we are beginning to increase penetration of our customer footprint, which is starting to create real sales momentum. With this progress and deeper strategic understanding, which is against the backdrop of the very real and massive AI revolution, we've gained proprietary insight into what we believe may be a much bigger market opportunity, one where we are now evolving beyond mainly providing strategic analytics to vertical market-leading companies to one where we accelerate delivering more comprehensive solutions that open up new revenue opportunities by addressing higher value impact needs across the entire customer acquisition and optimization journey. If you zoom out and consider what our customers most fundamentally rely on, it's knowing how to leverage AI-driven strategic solutions to more efficiently drive growth-oriented customer acquisition and optimization. We believe that we are seeing initial signs of validation that there is significant opportunity for us to rapidly expand into highly measurable AI-powered bundled solutions, which provide the strategic insights our customers need, the automated actions those insights inform and the outcomes those actions achieve. We believe that there are significant untapped opportunities within our existing customer base and within each of our current verticals. We believe selling bundled solutions across this entire customer value chain can accelerate our business and make us more valuable within our vertical markets as AI opens up new product possibilities that can help businesses grow meaningfully, while driving efficiencies. At Marchex, we view ourselves as a meaningful AI beneficiary based on how rapidly we are now able to leverage AI to develop and deploy new products into our customer base that can deliver high customer value, as well as significant new company revenue opportunities. We see significant new business potential in introducing Agentic workflows for customers who are integrated on our platform. Additionally, AI is making our business more agile and efficient to operate. The combination of these factors, including our vast amount of first-party data and vertical expertise are key elements in our improving outlook for meaningful business acceleration as we move through the year. With that, I'll hand the call to Troy to briefly discuss the first quarter.

Thank you, Russ. With our previously announced proposed acquisition of Archenia, Marchex and Archenia have been collaborating to jointly develop and sell initial products that reflect the combined capabilities of the 2 companies. Product examples of this collaboration, which leverages Marchex's data and AI signals and Archenia's AI tool sets and user interface are AI verified outcomes, which drive increased revenue on a pay-per event basis and conversational AI agents, which increase customer bookings and appointment rate. In the first quarter, our focus included continuing to define the initial key products that most leverage our strategic insights into AI-based action and outcome solutions that we could present to our installed customer base. And so far, we have seen very encouraging initial adoption. While we operate in a rapidly evolving and dynamic industry with uncertainty, these sales efforts and customer interactions so far continue to reinforce our belief that we are now in a strong position with our ability to leverage new AI capabilities across the customer acquisition and optimization journey with highly impactful insight, action and outcome-based solutions. In terms of customers for background, Marchex's top 100 customers represent about 90% of our revenue. And this customer set has been an initial focus of presenting the products which leverage the combined capabilities of the companies. To date, we have made presentations to nearly 1/3 of these customers and approximately half of them have already purchased one or more of these products on a recurring or paid pilot basis. Of those remaining, we believe the majority are likely to also purchase one or more of these products on a recurring or paid pilot basis. Additionally, as the potential transaction closing approaches, we are focused on accelerating our efforts to present these products to the majority of our top customers. Marchex believes our ability to sell these and other combined solutions, which reflect the bundling of insights, actions and outcomes to our installed customer base will be a meaningful sales catalyst in 2026 and beyond. As a reminder, we have a core focus on select large vertical markets where the combination of our expanding AI capabilities built on years of operating with first-party data across these verticals give us the ability to deliver unique solutions for world-class market-leading companies. To that end, we deliver industry-specific AI solutions for automotive, auto services, home services, health care and advertising and media, as well as other industries and sub-verticals. With that, I will turn the call over to Brian to provide an overview of the first quarter 2026 financial results.

Thank you, Troy. Revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $10.6 million compared to $10.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. We saw favorable impact of new sales and existing customer upsells benefit the company in the first quarter. We also saw offsets to that growth due to the previously completed migration activities from our legacy platforms onto our new Marchex Engage platform, which impacted revenue run rates entering 2026. For operating expenditures, we saw efficiencies throughout the business as we benefited from the continued realignment of the organization and the completion of certain technology platform initiatives during 2025, which have lowered our overall recurring cost structure. We anticipate that our gross profit margins can continue to improve over time as we are carrying an overall lower cost structure going forward, which could enable meaningful future operating and financial leverage for the business as new products and features sell through. On the balance sheet, cash decreased to $9 million from $9.9 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The decrease in cash was primarily due to annual payroll and severance payments associated with our organizational realignment and efficiency initiatives. Moving to guidance. Based on our evolved strategic approach with delivering bundled solutions across insights, actions and outcomes, as well as other positive factors for the second quarter of 2026, Marchex currently anticipates that revenue will see sequential increases from the first quarter and that adjusted EBITDA is now anticipated to increase to a range of $1.6 million to $1.8 million, up from prior guidance of more than $1 million. Additionally, in terms of initial guidance for the third quarter of 2026, we currently anticipate that revenue will sequentially increase and potentially accelerate over second quarter 2026 levels. And that on a stand-alone basis, adjusted EBITDA can potentially be in the $2 million range or more. To the extent, the Archenia transaction has been approved and closed by the third quarter of 2026, Marchex believes that the combined company can potentially see adjusted EBITDA in the $2.5 million range or more for the third quarter or an annualized run rate of $10 million or more. We currently anticipate that we can continue to see quarterly revenue increases during 2026 and that over the course of the year, we can potentially see revenue growth on a run rate basis in the 10% range from 2025 year-end levels. We also currently anticipate that in the course of 2026, the combination of anticipated increasing revenue growth, combined with lower overall operating expenses can potentially lead to adjusted EBITDA margins of 10% or more. With that, I will hand the call to Frank.

Thank you, Brian. I would like to take a moment to provide an update on the Archenia transaction. On May 8, 2026, Marchex entered into a stock purchase agreement, the SPA, to acquire 100% of the stock of Archenia Inc., the transaction from the Archenia stockholders, the sellers. A special committee of Marchex's Board of Directors consisting solely of independent directors, the special committee has approved Marchex entering into the SPA because certain of the sellers are related parties. In considering the SPA, the special committee retained Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC as financial adviser, which provided a fairness opinion with respect to the purchase price. DLA Piper LLP U.S. served as independent legal counsel to the special committee. Subject to receiving approval of the transaction by a majority of Marchex's disinterested stockholders and satisfaction of other closing conditions, the company expects the transaction to close in July 2026. For your reference, Archenia is a performance-based customer qualification and acquisition company, which transforms consumer intent into AI verified outcome-based results. Leveraging advanced AI signals, natural language analytics and automated decisioning, Archenia detects consumer intent and advertiser value in real time, optimizing customer acquisition campaigns dynamically across channels. With machine learning models that continuously refine qualification accuracy and ROI, Archenia enables its customers to pay for verified AI validated outcomes such as appointments, sales and high-intent conversations. We believe that our potential combination with Archenia, if successfully consummated, we create a vertically focused AI-driven customer acquisition and outcome optimization platform, integrating deep insights, automated actions and verifiable outcomes. Additionally, we believe that the expanded AI-driven product offerings across insights, actions and outcomes could create more ways to win new business and the bundling solutions could create greater customer value, stickiness and risk mitigation. We believe that the potential combined company could have the opportunity to achieve greater revenue scale and growth, higher margins, expanded market reach and enhanced strategic flexibility, which could include: first, a potentially expandable addressable market with opportunity to cross-sell and bundle. We believe the combined ability to sell insights, actions and outcomes would meaningfully expand our addressable market into new large vertical markets. Additionally, we believe we would have the ability to relatively quickly offer or bundle Archenia's outcome-based solutions to many of Marchex insights-based enterprise customers. Second, greater potential revenue, scale and growth. Marchex believes that revenue run rates for the potential combined company are approximately $15 million quarterly or approximately $60 million annualized, which could grow in the 15% to 20% range in the course of 2026. Third, we see the potential for adjusted EBITDA expansion. We believe that our adjusted EBITDA margins are anticipated to trend up to 10% or more in 2026 and that Archenia could contribute additional positive adjusted EBITDA beyond these levels. And finally, Rule of 30 to 40 trajectory. For reference, the Rule of 30 to 40 metric represents the combination of annual revenue growth rates plus adjusted EBITDA margins. If we're able to achieve the anticipated revenue run rate growth in the 15% to 20% range and combine this with improving adjusted EBITDA margins in double digits, the combined company could be positioned to potentially achieve these Rule of 30 to 40 metrics over time, which we believe helps highlight the unique opportunity of the combined company if consummated. I will now hand the call back to Russ for closing remarks.

Thank you, Frank. I'd like to close out today's call by thanking all of our investors, partners and other stakeholders for your ongoing support. I would also like to deeply thank our employees for their expertise, sense of urgency and continued commitment while we execute on what we believe is an increasingly dynamic opportunity. And with that, I'll hand the call back to the operator.

Your first question comes from the line of Mike Latimore with Northland Capital Markets.

So the EBITDA guidance for the second quarter, is that largely driven by OpEx refinements? And if so, what kind of reduction in OpEx should we see?

Yes. It's driven by a combination of our expected sales acceleration in the sequential growth in the second quarter. And then there's also contribution from some of the operations efficiency. So if you're looking at Q1 revenue levels, I think you could see kind of a reduction in the 5% plus range on the OpEx side. And on the other parts of it, we see the sell-through on products and upsells and expansion of the new revenue opportunities being drivers as well.

Okay. And then it sounds like you're already selling some bundles with Archenia and I think kind of the mass is like 15% of the base that already bought them. I guess, can you talk a little bit about the size of the upsell there, how much revenue per sale? And if you're already selling some bundles, like I assume there's more bundles to come, like what percent of the total bundle potential are we selling right now?

Yes. If you hit on the metrics as it relates to, call it, the initial customer outreach, yes, it's been very validating. When you look at some of the elements that I think we're most encouraged by, it's that the adoption of some of these new products are seeing opportunities to potentially double revenue on a per customer basis. And the fact that we're seeing guesses pretty quickly and indications on the ones we met with is what gives us, I think, kind of an encouraging lens in combination with the efficiency and just the acceleration of the whole business, both with product development, customer support and expansion. So the intent is to sell bundles to everybody. We know that's going to allow them to maximize the value of our capabilities. And we're leveraging our vertical expertise and their data to illuminate where they have big opportunities to drive increased customer acquisition, as well as drive more customer bookings and appointments with the qualified leads they already have coming into their ecosystem. The bundled solution, we think, meaningfully expands per customer revenue opportunity and also is going to drive a lot of increased stickiness as well. So all the pulse metrics that we think translate to a more dynamic company that can support the kind of growth we foresee and expanding EBITDA margins that we're starting to message. Good questions.

Your next question comes from the line of Ross Koller with Koller Capital.

A few questions here. Russ, you mentioned that you've met with or pitched about 1/3 of your top 100 customers. How do you go about targeting the other 2/3?

Yes. It's another good question. As we got started pitching the new stuff, we decided to focus on specific customers in specific verticals like auto and home services, who we believe had common problems and we're bundling with the logical next step, given what we knew to be their pain points and the value impacts of our solutions against those pain points. Doing it this way was really first to try and have success with revenue expansion, but also to validate our approach, expose ourselves into the learnings we need to scale our sales efforts and then iterate. We feel like this approach has worked really well so far and what we've learned in terms of -- is informing us on how to start expanding to our other verticals and also to more of the top customers. Obviously, our intent is to get to all of the top 100 customers as soon as practical and then go beyond where we see strategic product fit and meaningful revenue opportunities. So this is happening like right now as we speak. We're at that inflection point. The metrics we provided around initial uptake has kind of given us the line of sight on how we approach and scale those efforts to more of the top 100 and beyond. So what we've also learned in this process is doing nothing but continuing to support our belief that on a combined basis, the business has a $100 million revenue opportunity, and we're approaching all of our efforts in viewing this as a profitably focused sprint to that $100 million revenue run rate and beyond.

Awesome. And then the $10 million annualized adjusted EBITDA guidance for Q3 is impressive. As the business returns to substantial profitability, what are your thoughts on capital allocation?

Yes. Look, the first and most important thing is we think we're at a really positive inflection point. And obviously, the updated guidance today with the increased EBITDA reflects that. We're just getting started in this new up cycle, and we're working toward the Archenia transaction approval and formalization. But in looking at increasing cash generation, we'll assess the best and highest use of increasing cash as we go forward and we achieve these milestones. But it is worth noting we are a low CapEx business, and we have meaningful tax shields. And with the Archenia transaction, this will help us optimize our free cash flow generation as we go forward. And as I've noted before in our history, we've had times where we've done stock buybacks, sell tender offers, declared special dividends and more. And as a reminder, we do have an existing $3 million share buyback program authorized at this time. In terms of primary focus, we understand it's a simple concept. But if we can just keep driving increasing organic growth with expanding profitability, then we'll have a lot of flexibility and latitude with the business and with our cash.

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. I will now turn the call back to the management team to conclude the call.

Once again, I just want to thank everybody for your ongoing support, participation in today's call. And we're just energized with where we are. Look forward to executing on what we think is an increasingly dynamic opportunity and updating you as we move forward. Thanks again.

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