EXCLUSIVE: Zeta CFO Attributes 39% Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth To COVID-Era Refocusing

Zeta ZETA, the cloud-based marketing technology company, reported a 39% year-over-year increase in its second-quarter revenue.

What Happened: The New York City-based company reported $106.8 million in revenue in its newly published second-quarter earnings report, up from $77 million one year earlier.

The second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $11.4 million was a 106% year-over-year spike from the previous year’s $5.5-million figure.

In an interview with Benzinga, Zeta’s Chief Financial Officer Chris Greiner attributed the quarterly results to the company’s ability to pivot in a quickly changing business environment.

“Of our 39% year-over-year revenue growth, half was driven by new customers and the other half driven by our existing customers, which is important for us,” Greiner said.

“Last year in the middle of COVID, we completely transformed the sales organization to have focused hunters and focused farmers. We think about our customers in terms of their size, and our scaled customers — those that do over $100,000 per year in revenue — all grew across the board.”

The second-quarter report was not flawless. The company reported a net loss of $94.9 million for the quarter, compared to $15.1 million one year earlier. Greiner said he's unconcerned about that statistic, pointing out the company’s initial public offering in June contributed to that year-over-year difference.

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What Happens Next: Looking ahead, Zeta offered third-quarter guidance of projected revenue of $108 million to $111 million, a year-over-year increase of 13% to 16%, and full-year guidance for $432 million to $436 million in revenue, which would represent a year-over-year increase of 17% to 19%.

“What's been impressive to us this quarter is that our customers are certainly speaking with their wallets,” said Greiner.

“But I think even more of a validation for us is that the industry experts are also validating our product – Forrester, for example, put out a report on Zeta’s product that shows we drive 50% better results than the alternative for our customers over a three-year period.”

Greiner is also predicting the company will become a more prominent figure in overseas markets.

“The vast majority of our of our revenues and customers are in the United States, about 94% of our revenues,” he said.

“Six percent is international, but we've identified international as a great long-term growth opportunity for us. About 10% of the sales force is international today, and we're investing there.”

Photo: Max Pixel.