Form 10-Q
Table of Contents

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

(Mark One)

 

  x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2011

or

 

  ¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from          to         

Commission file number: 001-33520

 

 

comScore, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   54-1955550

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

11950 Democracy Drive, Suite 600

Reston, VA

  20190
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

(703) 483-2000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   x
Non-accelerated filer   ¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: As of November 2, 2011, there were 33,030,092 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

COMSCORE, INC.

QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

     4   

Item 1. Financial Statements

     4   

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     22   

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk

     33   

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

     33   

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

     34   

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

     34   

Item 1A. Risk Factors

     34   

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

     51   

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

     52   

Item 4. (Removed and Reserved)

     52   

Item 5. Other Information

     53   

Item 6. Exhibits

     53   

SIGNATURES

     54   

EXHIBIT INDEX

     55   

EX-31.1

  

EX-31.2

  

EX-32.1

  

EX-32.2

  

 

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Table of Contents

CAUTIONARY NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including the sections entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk” under Items 2 and 3, respectively, of Part I of this report, and the sections entitled “Legal Proceedings,” “Risk Factors,” and “Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds” under Items 1, 1A and 2, respectively, of Part II of this report, may contain forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to, but are not limited to, expectations of future operating results or financial performance, macroeconomic trends that we expect may influence our business, plans for capital expenditures, expectations regarding the introduction of new products, regulatory compliance and expected changes in the regulatory landscape affecting our business, expected impact of litigation, plans for growth and future operations, effects of acquisitions, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. These risks and other factors include, but are not limited to, those listed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “intend,” “potential,” “continue,” “seek” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events and/or results may differ materially.

We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, other than through the filing of periodic reports in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Investors and potential investors should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our common stock, you should be aware that the occurrence of any of the events described in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q could harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

 

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Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

COMSCORE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     September 30,
2011
    December 31,
2010
 
     (Unaudited)        

Assets

    

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 33,402      $ 33,736   

Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $787 and $725, respectively

     50,405        54,269   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     8,811        8,391   

Deferred tax assets

     5,763        6,701   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     98,381        103,097   

Long-term investments

     —          2,819   

Property and equipment, net

     29,169        28,637   

Other non-current assets

     1,082        733   

Long-term deferred tax assets

     16,359        11,316   

Intangible assets, net

     45,284        50,260   

Goodwill

     103,897        86,217   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 294,172      $ 283,079   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Equity

    

Current liabilities:

    

Accounts payable

   $ 8,902      $ 5,588   

Accrued expenses

     21,131        15,297   

Deferred revenues

     63,640        70,611   

Deferred rent

     982        941   

Deferred tax liabilities

     —          132   

Capital lease obligations

     6,002        4,659   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     100,657        97,228   

Deferred rent, long-term

     7,835        8,019   

Deferred revenue, long-term

     736        843   

Deferred tax liabilities, long-term

     —          744   

Capital lease obligations, long-term

     7,053        7,959   

Other long-term liabilities

     2,054        2,454   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     118,335        117,247   

Commitments and contingencies

    

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share; 5,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010; no shares issued or outstanding at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010

     —          —     

Common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 100,000,000 shares authorized at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010; 33,030,374 and 31,523,559 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively

     33        32   

Additional paid-in capital

     239,317        216,895   

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     2,249        2,166   

Accumulated deficit

     (65,762     (53,261
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     175,837        165,832   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 294,172      $ 283,079   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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COMSCORE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  

Revenues

   $ 58,759      $ 45,703      $ 169,805      $ 123,802   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost of revenues (excludes amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions shown below) (1)

     19,560        13,743        56,000        36,480   

Selling and marketing (1)

     20,330        16,319        58,216        41,929   

Research and development (1)

     9,219        7,254        25,951        18,389   

General and administrative (1)

     12,568        10,204        36,863        24,577   

Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions

     2,458        1,380        6,886        2,545   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses from operations

     64,135        48,900        183,916        123,920   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (5,376     (3,197     (14,111     (118

Interest and other (expense) income, net

     (143     (37     (356     116   

Loss from foreign currency

     (342     (83     (90     (207

Gain on sale of marketable securities

     211        —          211        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

     (5,650     (3,317     (14,346     (209

Income tax benefit (provision)

     1,712        1,182        1,845        (874
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (3,938   $ (2,135   $ (12,501   $ (1,083
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss available to common stockholders per common share:

        

Basic

   $ (0.12   $ (0.07   $ (0.39   $ (0.04

Diluted

   $ (0.12   $ (0.07   $ (0.39   $ (0.04

Weighted-average number of shares used in per share calculation - common stock:

        

Basic

     32,492,939        31,223,077        31,996,867        30,942,078   

Diluted

     32,492,939        31,223,077        31,996,867        30,942,078   

 

        

Comprehensive (loss) income:

        

Net loss

   $ (3,938   $ (2,135   $ (12,501   $ (1,083

Other comprehensive (loss) income:

        

Foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment

     (2,716     3,119        522        2,705   

Unrealized (loss) gain on marketable securities, net

     —          (183     (228     (202

Realized gain on the sale of marketable securities, net

     (211     —          (211     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive (loss) income

   $ (6,865   $ 801      $ (12,418   $ 1,420   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1)    Amortization of stock-based compensation is included in the line items above as follows

       

Cost of revenues

   $ 514      $ 569      $ 1,582      $ 1,045   

Selling and marketing

     2,291        2,079        6,310        4,335   

Research and development

     536        699        1,594        1,278   

General and administrative

     2,069        2,407        6,955        5,257   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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COMSCORE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

 

     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
     2011     2010  

Operating activities

    

Net loss

   $ (12,501   $ (1,083

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation

     9,808        5,775   

Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions

     6,886        2,545   

Provision for bad debts

     116        31   

Stock-based compensation

     16,441        11,915   

Amortization of deferred rent

     (647     (650

Amortization of bond premium

     —          188   

Deferred tax (benefit) provision

     (3,362     19   

Loss on asset disposal

     8        13   

Gain on sale of marketable securities

     (211     —     

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable

     4,218        3,154   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     (628     (360

Accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other liabilities

     6,183        1,224   

Deferred revenues

     (8,072     1,694   

Deferred rent

     520        407   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

     18,759        24,872   

Investing activities

    

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

     (4,687     (68,880

Sales and maturities of investments

     2,591        29,964   

Purchase of property and equipment

     (5,899     (3,354
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (7,995     (42,270

Financing activities

    

Proceeds from the exercise of common stock options

     343        897   

Repurchase of common stock

     (7,181     (4,725

Principal payments on capital lease obligations

     (3,879     (944

Debt issuance costs

     (69     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

     (10,786     (4,772

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     (312     119   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

     (334     (22,051

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     33,736        58,284   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 33,402      $ 36,233   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow disclosures

    

Interest paid

   $ 536      $ 177   

Net income tax paid

   $ 1,551      $ 854   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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COMSCORE, INC.

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Organization

comScore, Inc. (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation incorporated in August 1999, provides a digital marketing intelligence platform that helps customers make better-informed business decisions and implement more effective digital business strategies. The Company’s products and solutions offer customers insights into consumer behavior, including objective, detailed information regarding usage of their online properties and those of their competitors, coupled with information on consumer demographic characteristics, attitudes, lifestyles and offline behavior.

The Company’s digital marketing intelligence platform is comprised of proprietary databases and a computational infrastructure that measures, analyzes and reports on digital activity. The foundation of the platform is data collected from a panel of more than two million Internet users worldwide who have granted to the Company explicit permission to confidentially measure their Internet usage patterns, online and certain offline buying behavior and other activities. For measuring and reporting online audiences, comScore also supplements panel information with Web site server metrics. This panel information is complemented by a Unified Digital Measurement solution to digital audience measurement. Unified Digital Measurement blends panel and server methodologies into a solution that provides a direct linkage and reconciliation between server and panel measurement. By applying advanced statistical methodologies to the panel data, the Company projects consumers’ online behavior for the total online population and a wide variety of user categories. In addition to our panelist based platforms, the Company also provides solutions to the large mobile networks that deliver network analysis focused on the experience of wireless subscribers, as well as network intelligence with respect to performance, capacity and configuration analytics. The Company also provides web analytics and innovative video measurement solutions.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated interim financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated upon consolidation. The Company consolidates investments where it has a controlling financial interest. The usual condition for controlling financial interest is ownership of a majority of the voting interest and, therefore, as a general rule, ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the outstanding voting shares is a condition indicating consolidation is required. For investments in variable interest entities, the Company would consolidate when it is determined to be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity. The Company does not have any variable interest entities.

Unaudited Interim Financial Information

The consolidated interim financial statements included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q have been prepared by the Company without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated interim financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. However, the Company believes that the disclosures contained in this quarterly report comply with the requirements of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for a quarterly report on Form 10-Q and are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The consolidated interim financial statements included herein, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. These consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed March 15, 2011 with the SEC. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be anticipated for the entire year ending December 31, 2011 or thereafter. All references to September 30, 2011 and 2010 or to the three or nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 in the notes to the consolidated interim financial statements are unaudited.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions are inherent in the analysis and the measurement of deferred tax assets, the identification and quantification of income tax liabilities due to uncertain tax positions, valuation of marketable securities, recoverability of intangible assets, other long-lived assets and goodwill, the determination of the allowance for doubtful accounts, and the determination of estimated selling prices for allocating arrangement consideration to arrangements with multiple elements. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and assumptions that it believes are reasonable. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

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Fair Value Measurements

The Company evaluates the fair value of certain assets and liabilities using the fair value hierarchy. Fair value is an exit price representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, the Company applies the three-tier value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1 — observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

Level 2 — inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly;

Level 3 — unobservable inputs of which there is little or no market data, which requires the Company to develop its own assumptions.

This hierarchy requires the Company to use observable market data, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value. On a recurring basis, the Company measures its marketable securities at fair value and determines the appropriate classification level for each reporting period. The Company is required to use significant judgments to make this determination.

The Company’s investment instruments are classified within Level 1 or Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Level 1 investment instruments are valued using quoted market prices. Level 3 instruments are valued using valuation models, primarily discounted cash flow analyses. The types of instruments valued based on quoted market prices in active markets include all U.S. government and agency securities. Such instruments are generally classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. The types of instruments valued based on significant unobservable inputs include certain illiquid auction rate securities. Such instruments are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy (see Note 4).

Cash equivalents, investments, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue, deferred rent and capital lease obligations reported in the consolidated balance sheets equal or approximate their respective fair values.

Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis include intangible assets and goodwill. The Company adjusts these items to fair value when they are considered to be impaired. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, there were no fair value adjustments for assets and liabilities measured on a non-recurring basis.

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank deposit accounts.

Investments, which consist principally of auction rate securities, are stated at fair value. These securities are accounted for as available-for-sale securities. Unrealized holding gains and losses for available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and reported as a net amount in a separate component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in interest income. The Company uses the specific identification method to compute realized gains and losses on its investments. The Company recorded a realized gain of $0.2 million on the sale of available-for-sale securities in the third quarter of 2011.

Interest income on investments was $0.0 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and are non-interest bearing. The Company generally grants uncollateralized credit terms to its customers and maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts to reserve for potentially uncollectible receivables. Allowances are based on management’s judgment, which considers historical experience and specific knowledge of accounts where collectability may not be probable. The Company makes provisions based on historical bad debt experience, a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices and an assessment of general economic conditions. If the financial condition of a customer deteriorates, resulting in an impairment of its ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to five years. Assets under capital leases are recorded at their net present value at the inception of the lease and are included in the appropriate asset category. Assets under capital leases and leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the related lease terms or their useful lives. Replacements and major improvements are capitalized; maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Amortization of assets under capital leases is included within the expense category on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income in which the asset is deployed.

 

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Business Combinations

The Company recognizes all of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, contractual contingencies, and contingent consideration at their fair value on the acquisition date. Acquisition-related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and expensed as incurred. Generally, restructuring costs incurred in periods subsequent to the acquisition date are expensed when incurred. Subsequent changes to the purchase price (i.e., working capital adjustments) or other fair value adjustments determined during the measurement period are recorded as an adjustment to goodwill. All subsequent changes to a valuation allowance or uncertain tax position that relate to the acquired company and existed at the acquisition date that occur both within the measurement period and as a result of facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date are recognized as an adjustment to goodwill. All other changes in valuation allowances are recognized as a reduction or increase to income tax expense or as a direct adjustment to additional paid-in capital as required. Acquired in-process research and development is capitalized as an intangible asset and amortized over its estimated useful life.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed when a business is acquired. The allocation of the purchase price to intangible assets and goodwill involves the extensive use of management’s estimates and assumptions, and the result of the allocation process can have a significant impact on future operating results. The allocation of the purchase price to intangible assets is done at fair value. The Company estimates the fair value of identifiable intangible assets acquired using various valuation methods, including the excess earnings and relief from royalty methods.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their useful lives while goodwill is not amortized but is evaluated for potential impairment at least annually by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill recorded by the reporting unit. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, impairment is measured by comparing the implied fair value of the goodwill to its carrying value, and any impairment determined is recorded in the current period. All of the Company’s goodwill is associated with one reporting unit. Accordingly, on an annual basis the Company performs the impairment assessment for goodwill at the enterprise level. The Company completed its annual impairment analysis as of October 1st for 2010 and determined that there was no impairment of goodwill. There have been no indicators of impairment suggesting that an interim assessment was necessary for goodwill since the October 1, 2010 analysis.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over the following useful lives:

 

     Useful  Lives
(Years)
 

Acquired methodologies/technology

     3 to 10   

Customer relationships

     3 to 12   

Panel

     7   

Intellectual property

     10   

Trade names

     2 to 10   

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company’s long-lived assets primarily consist of property and equipment and intangible assets. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. If an indication of impairment is present, the Company compares the estimated undiscounted future cash flows to be generated by the asset to its carrying amount. Recoverability measurement and estimation of undiscounted cash flows are grouped at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset, the Company records an impairment loss equal to the excess of the asset’s carrying amount over its fair value. The fair value is determined based on valuation techniques such as a comparison to fair values of similar assets or using a discounted cash flow analysis. Although the Company believes that the carrying values of its long-lived assets are appropriately stated, changes in strategy or market conditions or significant technological developments could significantly impact these judgments and require adjustments to recorded asset balances. There were no impairment charges recognized during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 or 2010.

Lease Accounting

The Company leases its facilities and accounts for those leases as operating leases. For facility leases that contain rent escalations or rent concession provisions, the Company records the total rent payable during the lease term on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The Company records the difference between the rent paid and the straight-line rent as a deferred rent liability in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Leasehold improvements funded by landlord incentives or allowances are recorded as leasehold improvement assets and a deferred rent liability, which is amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease.

 

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The Company records capital leases as an asset and an obligation at an amount equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments as determined at the beginning of the lease term. Amortization of capitalized leased assets is computed on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease and is included in depreciation expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Foreign Currency

The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries is the local currency. All assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate as of the end of the period, and revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates in effect during the period. The gain or loss resulting from the process of translating foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars is reflected as foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment and reported as a component of other comprehensive income.

The Company incurred foreign currency transaction losses of $0.3 million and $0.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, and $0.1 million and $0.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively. These losses are the result of transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenues when the following fundamental criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or the services have been rendered, (iii) the fee is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collection of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

The Company generates revenues by providing access to the Company’s online database or delivering information obtained from the database, usually in the form of periodic reports. Revenues are typically recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which access to data or reports is provided, which generally ranges from three to 24 months.

Revenues are also generated through survey services under contracts ranging in term from two months to one year. Survey services consist of survey and questionnaire design with subsequent data collection, analysis and reporting. Revenues are recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated data collection period once the survey questionnaire has been delivered. Any change in the estimated data collection period results in an adjustment to revenues recognized in future periods.

Certain of the Company’s arrangements contain multiple elements, consisting of the various services the Company offers. Multiple element arrangements typically consist of either subscriptions to multiple online product solutions or a subscription to the Company’s online database combined with customized services. Historically, the Company had determined there was not objective and reliable evidence of fair value for any of its services and, therefore, accounted for all elements in multiple element arrangements as a single unit of accounting. Access to data under the subscription element is generally provided shortly after the execution of the contract. However, the initial delivery of customized services generally occurs subsequent to the commencement of the subscription element. For these historical arrangements, the Company recognizes the entire arrangement fee over the performance period of the last deliverable. As a result, the total arrangement fee is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period beginning with the commencement of the last element delivered.

Effective January 1, 2011, the Company adopted the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2009-13, Multiple Deliverable Revenue Arrangements, which requires the Company to allocate arrangement consideration at the inception of an arrangement to all deliverables, if they represent a separate unit of accounting, based on their relative selling prices. In addition, this guidance eliminated the use of the residual method for allocating arrangement consideration. This guidance is applicable to the Company for all arrangements entered into subsequent to December 31, 2010 and for any existing arrangements that are materially modified after December 31, 2010.

For these types of arrangements, the guidance establishes a hierarchy to determine the selling price to be used for allocating arrangement consideration to deliverables: (i) vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE”), (ii) third-party evidence of selling price (“TPE”) if VSOE is not available, or (iii) an estimated selling price (“ESP”) if neither VSOE nor TPE are available. VSOE generally exists only when the Company sells the deliverable separately and is the price actually charged by the Company for that deliverable on a stand-alone basis. ESP reflects the Company’s estimate of what the selling price of a deliverable would be if it was sold regularly on a stand-alone basis.

The Company has concluded it does not have VSOE, for these types of arrangements, and TPE is generally not available because the Company’s service offerings are highly differentiated and the Company is unable to obtain reliable information on the products and pricing practices of the Company’s competitors. As such, ESP is used to allocate the total arrangement consideration at the arrangement inception based on each element’s relative selling price.

The Company’s process for determining ESP involves management’s judgments based on multiple factors that may vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each product suite and deliverable. The Company determines ESP by considering several external and internal factors including, but not limited to, current pricing practices, pricing concentrations (such as industry, channel, customer class or geography), internal costs and market penetration of a product or service. The total arrangement consideration is allocated to each of the elements based on the relative selling price. If the ESP is determined as a

 

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range of selling prices, the mid-point of the range is used in the relative-selling-price method. Once the total arrangement consideration has been allocated to each deliverable based on the relative allocation of the arrangement fee, the Company commences revenue recognition for each deliverable on a stand-alone basis as the data or service is delivered.

The impact of adopting this new revenue recognition guidance, including arrangements that were materially modified, in the first nine months of 2011 is that the Company recognized approximately $4.2 million in revenue and expenses of approximately $0.9 million that otherwise would have been recognized in future periods under the previous revenue recognition guidance. Based on the amounts involved, the timing of when this revenue would have been recognized under the previous revenue recognition rules, and the current backlog of arrangements, the Company believes the adoption of this accounting guidance will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. ESP will be analyzed on an annual basis or more frequently if management deems it likely that changes in the estimated selling prices have occurred.

Generally, contracts are non-refundable and non-cancelable. In the event a portion of a contract is refundable, revenue recognition is delayed until the refund provisions lapse. A limited number of customers have the right to cancel their contracts by providing a written notice of cancellation. In the event that a customer cancels its contract, the customer is not entitled to a refund for prior services, and will be charged for costs incurred plus services performed up to the cancellation date.

Advance payments are recorded as deferred revenues until services are delivered or obligations are met and revenue can be recognized. Deferred revenues represent the excess of amounts invoiced over amounts recognized as revenues.

On July 1, 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Nexius, resulting in additional revenue sources, including software licenses, professional services (including software customization, implementation, training and consulting services), and maintenance and technical support contracts. The Company’s arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings. The Company recognizes software license arrangements that include significant modification and customization of the software in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue Recognition-Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the completed-contract method. Prior to March 31, 2011, the Company had not established VSOE of fair value for the multiple deliverables and therefore accounted for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the entire arrangement fee as revenue on a straight line basis over the service period of the last delivered element. During the period of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on the balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software license. To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, the Company accrues for costs immediately. During the quarter ended June 30, 2011 the Company established VSOE of fair value for post contract support (“PCS”) services for a group of certain Nexius customers. The establishment of VSOE of fair value followed an alignment of the Company’s pricing practices for these services. As a result of establishing VSOE, the Company, for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, recorded revenue and related costs of revenue of $2.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively, of which $0.9 million and $0.3 million, respectively, had been previously deferred.

On August 11, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of AdXpose, resulting in additional revenue sources, including fees for the use of the AdXpose platform. Fees for the use of the AdXpose platform are generally a fixed fee for each online advertising impression that is served using the AdXpose technology. Revenue is recognized when the impression is delivered and reported via the AdXpose service portal.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company estimates the fair value of share-based awards on the date of grant. The fair value of stock options with only service conditions is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of market-based stock options and restricted stock units is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation embedded in a lattice model. The fair value of restricted stock awards is based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The determination of the fair value of the Company’s stock option awards and restricted stock awards is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the Company’s common stock price, expected stock price volatility over the expected life of awards, and actual and projected exercise behavior. Additionally, the Company has estimated forfeitures for share-based awards at the dates of grant based on historical experience, adjusted for future expectations. The forfeiture estimate is revised, as necessary, if actual forfeitures differ from these estimates.

The Company issues restricted stock awards where restrictions lapse upon the passage of time (service vesting), achieving performance targets, or some combination of these restrictions. For those restricted stock awards with only service conditions, the Company recognizes compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the explicit service period. For awards with both performance and service conditions, the Company starts recognizing compensation cost over the remaining service period, when it is probable the performance condition will be met. For stock awards that contain performance or market vesting conditions, the Company excludes these awards from diluted earnings per share computations until the contingency is met as of the end of that reporting period.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Deferred income taxes are provided for temporary differences in recognizing certain income, expense and credit items for financial reporting purposes and tax reporting purposes.

 

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Such deferred income taxes primarily relate to the difference between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the future years in which deferred tax assets or liabilities are expected to be settled or realized.

The Company records a valuation allowance when it determines based on available positive and negative evidence, that it is more-likely-than-not that some portion or all of its deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company determines the realizability of its deferred tax assets primarily based on projections of future taxable income (exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards). In evaluating such projections, the Company considers its history of profitability, the competitive environment, the overall outlook for the online marketing industry and general economic conditions. In addition, the Company considers the timeframe over which it would take to utilize the deferred tax assets prior to their expiration.

For certain tax positions, the Company uses a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold based on the technical merits of the tax position taken. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefits determined on a cumulative probability basis, which are more-likely-than-not to be realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

Earnings Per Share

Diluted earnings per share for common stock reflects the potential dilution that could result if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. Diluted earnings per share assumes the exercise of stock options and warrants using the treasury stock method.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  
     (In thousands, except share and per share data)  

Net loss

   $ (3,938   $ (2,135   $ (12,501   $ (1,083
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, basic

     32,492,939        31,223,077        31,996,867        30,942,078   

Dilutive effect of:

        

Options to purchase common stock

     —          —          —          —     

Unvested shares of restricted stock units

     —          —          —          —     

Warrants to purchase common stock

     —          —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, diluted

     32,492,939        31,223,077        31,996,867        30,942,078   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share-common stock:

        

Basic

   $ (0.12   $ (0.07   $ (0.39   $ (0.04

Diluted

   $ (0.12   $ (0.07   $ (0.39   $ (0.04

The following is a summary of common stock equivalents for the securities outstanding during the respective periods that have been excluded from the earnings per share calculations as their impact was anti-dilutive.

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011      2010      2011      2010  

Stock options and restricted stock units

     687,851         1,818,068         668,032         1,379,314   

Common stock warrants

     16,218         9,210         12,998         9,492   

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In October 2009, the FASB issued ASU 2009-14 “Certain Revenue Arrangements That Include Software Elements”. Under the ASU tangible products that contain both software and non-software components that work together to deliver a product’s essential functionality are excluded from the scope of pre-existing software revenue recognition standards. The

 

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Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2011. The Company does not currently sell tangible products, and accordingly, the adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In December 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-28 which amends “Intangibles- Goodwill and Other” (Topic 350). The ASU modifies Step 1 of the goodwill impairment test for reporting units with zero or negative carrying amounts. For those reporting entities, they are required to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test if it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists. An entity should consider whether there are any adverse qualitative factors indicating that impairment may exist. The qualitative factors are consistent with the existing guidance in Topic 350, which requires that goodwill of a reporting unit be tested for impairment between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. This new guidance became effective for comScore on January 1, 2011. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In December 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-29, which addresses diversity in practice about the interpretation of the pro forma revenue and earnings disclosure requirements for business combinations (Topic 805). This ASU specifies that if a public entity presents comparative financial statements, the entity should disclose revenue and earnings of the combined entity as though the business combination(s) that occurred during the current year had occurred as of the beginning of the comparable prior annual reporting period only. This ASU also expands the supplemental pro forma disclosures under Topic 805 to include a description of the nature and amount of material, nonrecurring pro-forma adjustments directly attributable to the business combination included in the reported pro forma revenue and earnings. This new guidance became effective for comScore on January 1, 2011. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220)—Presentation of Comprehensive Income, to require an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of equity. ASU 2011-05 is effective for comScore in its first quarter of fiscal 2012 and should be applied retrospectively. The Company currently believes there will be no significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (Topic 820)—Fair Value Measurement, to provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value measurement principles and enhances the disclosure requirements particularly for level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2011-04 is effective for comScore in its fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 and should be applied prospectively. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2011-04, but currently believes there will be no significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). The ASU provides entities with an option to first assess certain qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less that it’s carrying amount. If, after performing a qualitative assessment, an entity determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, then performing the two-step impairment test outlined in the guidance is unnecessary. However, if the entity concludes otherwise, then it must perform the first step of the two-step impairment test. ASU 2011-08 is effective for comScore beginning on January 1, 2012, with early adoption permitted. The Company believes that the adoption of ASU 2011-08 will have no impact on its consolidated financial statements.

3. Business Combinations

During the second quarter of 2011, the Company finalized its purchase accounting for the acquisition of Nexius, Inc. An additional $0.7 million was recorded to goodwill related to the final calculation of opening working capital and tax adjustments of Nexius, Inc. During the second quarter of 2011 the Company recorded an additional $0.1 million in goodwill associated with an adjustment to the fair value of acquired deferred revenue related to the acquisition of Nedstat B.V. During the third quarter of 2011, the Company finalized its purchase accounting for the acquisition of Nedstat B.V., and no additional adjustments were recorded.

On August 11, 2011, the Company completed its acquisition of AdXpose, Inc. (“AdXpose”). AdXpose provides advertisers and publishers with greater transparency in the quality, safety, and performance of their digital advertising campaigns by allowing them to verify and optimize billions of campaign data points captured in real-time. The aggregate amount of the consideration paid by the Company upon the closing of the transaction was $19.4 million. Of the $19.4 million, $4.4 million was paid in cash and an aggregate of 982,285 shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair value of $15.0 million on the acquisition date was issued to the AdXpose stockholders.

The acquisition of AdXpose resulted in goodwill of approximately $16.5 million, none of which is deductible for tax purposes. This amount represents the residual amount of the total purchase price after allocation to net assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired. The amount recorded as goodwill is consistent with the Company’s intentions for the acquisition of AdXpose. The Company acquired AdXpose to enhance its capabilities in the marketplace for highly effective advertising campaign measurement.

 

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Definite-lived intangible assets of $0.9 million consist of the value assigned to AdXpose’s developed technology, customer relationships, and trade name of $0.7 million, $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively. These intangible assets have been assigned useful lives of five, three and one and a half years, respectively.

The Company is in the process of evaluating the opening balance sheet for deferred tax related items and may continue to adjust the preliminary purchase price allocation after obtaining more information about deferred tax assets acquired and deferred tax liabilities assumed. The Company has included the financial results of AdXpose in its consolidated financial statements beginning August 11, 2011.

The preliminary purchase price is allocated as follows (in thousands):

 

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 511   

Accounts Receivables, net

     474   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     72   

Property and equipment, net

     164   

Deferred tax asset

     1,664   

Accounts Payable

     (46

Accrued expenses

     (485

Deferred tax liability

     (324
  

 

 

 

Net tangible assets acquired

     2,030   

Definite-lived intangible assets acquired

     925   

Goodwill

     16,466   
  

 

 

 

Total estimated purchase price

   $ 19,421   
  

 

 

 

Pro Forma Adjusted Summary

The results of AdXpose’s operations have been included in the Consolidated Financial Statements subsequent to the acquisition dates.

The unaudited financial information provided below summarizes the combined results of operations of the Company and AdXpose on a pro forma basis, as though the companies had been combined as of the beginning of the periods presented. The unaudited pro forma adjusted summary combines the historical results for the Company for the periods presented with the historical results for AdXpose over the same periods. The pro forma financial information is presented for informational purposes only and does not purport to be indicative of the Company’s financial position or results of operations, which would actually have been obtained had such transaction been completed as of the date or for the periods presented, or of the financial position or results of operations that may be obtained in the future.

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  
     (In thousands)  

Revenues

   $ 59,440      $ 46,684      $ 171,848      $ 126,746   

Net loss

   $ (4,609   $ (2,902   $ (14,514   $ (2,843

Basic loss per share

   $ (0.14   $ (0.09   $ (0.44   $ (0.09

Diluted loss per share

   $ (0.14   $ (0.09   $ (0.44   $ (0.09

4. Investments and Fair Value Measurements

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had $2.8 million in investments consisting of four separate auction rate securities with a par value of $4.3 million. As of December 31, 2010, these investments were classified as long-term investments on the balance sheet. On July 6, 2011, the Company sold these securities for $2.6 million.

Auction rate securities, which are classified as available-for-sale, are summarized below (in thousands):

 

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     Amortized
Cost
     Gross
Unrealized
Gain
     Aggregate
Fair
Value
     Classification on Balance Sheet  
            Short-Term
Investments
     Long-Term
Investments
 

As of September 30, 2011:

              

Auction rate securities (Level 3)

   $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —         $ —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     Amortized
Cost
     Gross
Unrealized
Gain
     Aggregate
Fair
Value
     Classification on Balance Sheet  
            Short-Term
Investments
     Long-Term
Investments
 

As of December 31, 2010:

              

Auction rate securities (Level 3)

   $ 2,380       $ 439       $ 2,819       $ —         $ 2,819   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 2,380       $ 439       $ 2,819       $ —         $ 2,819   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

There were no gross unrealized losses related to available-for-sale securities as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010. The Company recorded realized gains of $0.2 million upon the sale of the auction rate securities in the third quarter of 2011.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for the major classes of assets measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) (in thousands):

 

     Long-term
Investments
 

Balance on December 31, 2010

   $ 2,819   

Proceeds from sale of auction rate securities

     (2,591

Unrealized gains previously included in other comprehensive income

     (439

Realized gains on the sale of auction rate securities

     211   
  

 

 

 

Balance on September 30, 2011

   $ —     
  

 

 

 

5. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

The change in the carrying value of goodwill for the three months ended September 30, 2011 is as follows (in thousands):

 

Balance as of December 31, 2010

   $ 86,217   

Acquisition of AdXpose

     16,466   

Nexius, Inc. net working capital and tax adjustments

     704   

Nedstat acquired deferred revenue adjustments

     103   

Translation adjustments

     407   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of September 30, 2011

   $ 103,897   
  

 

 

 

 

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Certain of the Company’s goodwill and intangible assets are recorded in euros, British Pounds and the local currencies of its South American subsidiaries, and therefore, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization are subject to foreign currency translation adjustments. The carrying values of the Company’s finite-lived acquired intangible assets are as follows (in thousands):

 

     September 30, 2011      December 31, 2010  
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
    Net
Carrying
Amount
     Gross
Carrying
Amount
     Accumulated
Amortization
    Net
Carrying
Amount
 

Acquired methodologies/technology

   $ 11,347       $ (2,882   $ 8,465       $ 10,157       $ (1,633   $ 8,524   

Customer relationships

     38,961         (6,674     32,287         38,471         (3,140     35,331   

Panel

     1,620         (772     848         1,615         (597     1,018   

Intellectual property

     2,564         (854     1,710         2,561         (662     1,899   

Trade names

     4,187         (2,213     1,974         4,069         (581     3,488   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 58,679       $ (13,395   $ 45,284       $ 56,873       $ (6,613   $ 50,260   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

During the quarter ended June 30, 2011, the Company decided to cease using the ARS trade name effective December 31, 2011. Accordingly, the net book value of the ARS trade name of $1.2 million will be amortized over the nine months ending December 31, 2011.

Amortization expense related to intangible assets was approximately $2.5 million and $6.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, and $1.4 million and $2.5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively.

The weighted average remaining amortization period by major asset class as of September 30, 2011, is as follows:

 

     (In years)  

Acquired methodologies/technology

     5.6   

Customer relationships

     7.7   

Panel

     3.7   

Intellectual property

     6.7   

Trade names

     1.9   

The estimated future amortization of acquired intangible assets as of September 30, 2011 is as follows:

 

     (In thousands)  

2011

   $ 2,421   

2012

     7,842   

2013

     7,166   

2014

     6,986   

2015

     5,981   

Thereafter

     14,888   
  

 

 

 
   $ 45,284   
  

 

 

 

 

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6. Long-term Debt and Other Financing Arrangements

Capital Leases

In November 2010, the Company increased its lease financing arrangement with Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC to $15.0 million. This arrangement was established to allow the Company to lease new software, hardware and other computer equipment as it expands its technology infrastructure in support of its business growth. Future minimum payments under capital leases with initial terms of one year or more are as follows:

 

     (In
thousands)
 

2011

   $ 1,657   

2012

     6,305   

2013

     5,013   

2014

     771   

2015

     43   
  

 

 

 

Total minimum lease payments

     13,789   

Less amount representing interest

     (734
  

 

 

 

Present value of net minimum lease payments

     13,055   

Less current portion

     (6,002
  

 

 

 

Capital lease obligations, long-term

   $ 7,053   
  

 

 

 

During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company acquired $3.9 million in computer equipment through the issuance of capital leases. This non-cash investing activity has been excluded from the consolidated statement of cash flows.

Secured Revolving Credit Facility

On June 30, 2011, the Company entered into a secured credit and security agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”) for a two-year, $50.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). The agreement includes a maximum $7.0 million sublimit for a euro loan facility and a $10.0 million sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit. The maturity date of the Revolving Credit Facility is June 30, 2013. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility shall be used towards working capital and other general corporate purposes as well as for the issuance of letters of credit. Loans made under the Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest at a fluctuating rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin, which will range from 1.75% to 2.75%, based on the company’s funded debt ratio.

On June 30, 2011, the Company and each of the Company’s material, wholly-owned subsidiaries entered into a Security Agreement in favor of Bank of America (the “Security Agreement”). Pursuant to the Security Agreement, the obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by a security interest in substantially all of the Company’s assets.

Under the terms of the Revolving Credit Facility, the Company is restricted from paying dividends and incurring certain indebtedness, among other restrictive covenants. The Company continues to be in full compliance with all covenants contained in the Revolving Credit Facility.

As of November 2, 2011, no amounts are outstanding under the terms of the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility.

The Company maintains letters of credit in lieu of security deposits with respect to certain office leases. During the three months ended September 30, 2011, one letter of credit was reduced by approximately $0.2 million. As of September 30, 2011, $2.9 million in letters of credit were outstanding, leaving $7.1 million available for additional letters of credit. These letters of credit may be reduced periodically provided the Company meets the conditional criteria of each related lease agreement.

 

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7. Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

In addition to equipment financed through capital leases, the Company is obligated under various noncancelable operating leases for office facilities and equipment. These leases generally provide for renewal options and rent escalation. Future minimum payments under non-cancellable lease agreements with initial terms of one year or more are as follows:

 

     (In thousands)  

2011

   $ 1,683   

2012

     6,366   

2013

     5,555   

2014

     5,654   

2015

     5,739   

Thereafter

     16,572   
  

 

 

 

Total minimum lease payments

   $ 41,569   
  

 

 

 

Total rent expense was $1.7 million and $5.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, and $1.4 million and $4.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively.

Contingencies

On March 16, 2011, the Company received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC (“Nielsen”) filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging, among other things, infringement by the Company of certain patent rights of Nielsen. Nielsen’s complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on an initial review of these claims against the Company, the Company believes that Nielsen’s claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself. The Company has asserted counterclaims of infringement of two of its own United States patents and continues to investigate Nielsen’s claims against the Company. Trial has been scheduled for July 2012. It is not possible for the Company to estimate a potential range of loss at this time.

On March 22, 2011, the Company filed a lawsuit against Nielsen and Netratings, LLC d/b/a Nielsen Online (“Netratings”) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging infringement of certain patent rights of the Company by Nielsen and Netratings. The Company’s complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Trial is scheduled to begin in late November 2011.

On August 23, 2011, the Company received notice that Mike Harris and Jeff Dunstan, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, alleging, among other things, violations by the Company of the Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act as well as unjust enrichment. The complaint seeks unspecified damages, including statutory damages per violation and punitive damages, injunctive relief and reasonable attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs. Based on an initial review of these claims, the Company believes that they are without merit. The Company continues to investigate the claims and intends to vigorously protect and defend itself. It is not possible for the Company to estimate a potential range of loss at this time.

From time to time, the Company is exposed to unasserted potential claims encountered in the normal course of business. Although the outcome of any legal proceeding cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes that the final outcome and resolution of these matters will not materially affect the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

8. Income Taxes

The Company’s income tax provision for interim periods is calculated by applying its estimated annual effective tax rate on ordinary income before taxes to year-to-date ordinary book income before taxes. The income tax effects of any extraordinary, significant unusual or infrequent items not included in ordinary book income are determined separately and recognized in the period in which the items arise.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $1.7 million and $1.8 million, respectively, resulting in effective tax rates of 30.3% and 12.9%, respectively. During the three months ended September 30, 2010, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $1.2 million and during the nine months ended September 30, 2010, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $0.9 million, resulting in effective tax rates of 35.6% and 418.2%, respectively. These effective tax rates differ from the Federal statutory rate of 35% primarily due to the effects of valuation allowances associated with foreign losses, state income taxes, foreign income taxes, nondeductible expenses such as certain stock compensation and meals and entertainment, unrecognized tax benefits, return to provision adjustments and changes in statutory tax rates which took effect during the year.

 

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During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company incurred legal expenses related to ongoing litigation as described in footnote 7. The Company is in the process of evaluating the ultimate deductibility of the legal expenses associated with this litigation. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company has treated these legal expenses as deductible in the income tax provision. The Company does not believe that the potential change in the tax treatment of these legal expenses will have a significant impact (if any) on the Company’s effective tax rate.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, certain shares related to restricted stock awards vested at times when the Company’s stock price was substantially lower than the fair value of those shares at the time of grant. As a result, the income tax deduction related to such shares is less than the expense previously recognized for book purposes. Such shortfalls reduce additional paid-in capital to the extent windfall tax benefits have been previously recognized. However, as described below, the Company has not yet recognized windfall tax benefits because these tax benefits have not resulted in a reduction of current taxes payable. Therefore, the impact of these shortfalls totaling less than $0.1 million and $0.4 million has been included in income tax expense for the three and nine months September 30, 2010, respectively. There was no comparative amount for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

The exercise of certain stock options and the vesting of certain restricted stock awards during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, generated income tax deductions equal to the excess of the fair market value over the exercise price or grant date fair value, as applicable. The Company will not recognize a deferred tax asset with respect to the excess of tax over book stock compensation deductions until the tax deductions actually reduce its current taxes payable. As such, the Company has not recorded a deferred tax asset in the accompanying consolidated financial statements related to the additional net operating losses generated from the windfall tax deductions associated with the exercise of these stock options and the vesting of restricted stock awards. If and when the Company utilizes these net operating losses to reduce income taxes payable, the tax benefit will be recorded as an increase in additional paid-in capital.

As of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had a valuation allowance related to the deferred tax asset for the value of the auction rate securities and the deferred tax assets of the foreign subsidiaries (primarily net operating loss carryforwards), that are either loss companies or are in their start-up phases. Management will continue to evaluate the Company’s deferred tax position of its U.S. and foreign companies throughout 2011 to determine the appropriate level of valuation allowance required against its deferred tax assets.

As of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $2.4 million. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. As of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the amount of accrued interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits was approximately $0.7 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

The Company or one of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. Federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions. For income tax returns filed by the Company, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. Federal examinations by tax authorities for years before 2008 or state and local examinations by tax authorities for years before 2007 although tax attribute carryforwards generated prior to these years may still be adjusted upon examination by tax authorities.

9. Stockholders’ Equity

1999 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Equity Incentive Plan

Prior to the effective date of the registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) on June 26, 2007, eligible employees and non-employees were awarded options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, restricted stock or restricted stock units pursuant to the Company’s 1999 Stock Plan (the “1999 Plan”). Upon the effective date of the registration statement of the Company’s IPO, the Company ceased using the 1999 Plan for the issuance of new equity awards. Upon the closing of the Company’s IPO on July 2, 2007, the Company established its 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Plan” and together with the 1999 Plan, the “Plans”). The 1999 Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of outstanding awards granted thereunder, but no further shares are authorized for new awards under the 1999 Plan. As of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Plans provided for the issuance of a maximum of approximately 7.2 million shares and 5.9 million shares, respectively, of common stock. In addition, the 2007 Plan provides for annual increases in the number of shares available for issuance thereunder on the first day of each fiscal year beginning with the 2008 fiscal year, equal to the lesser of: (i) 4% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year; (ii) 1,800,000 shares; or (iii) such other amount as the Company’s board of directors may determine. The vesting period of options granted under the Plans is determined by the Board of Directors, although the vesting has historically been generally ratable over a four-year period. Options generally expire 10 years from the date of the grant. Effective January 1, 2011, the shares available for grant increased by 1,260,942 pursuant to the automatic share reserve increase provision under the Plan. Accordingly, as of September 30, 2011, 1,095,349 shares were available for future grant under the Plans.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards using the Black-Scholes option-pricing formula and a single option award approach. The Company then amortizes the fair value of awards expected to vest on a ratable straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which is generally the period from the grant date to the end of the vesting period. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, no stock options were granted.

 

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A summary of the Company’s equity Plans is presented below:

 

     Number of
Shares
    Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
     Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term

(in years)
     Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value (in
thousands)
 

Options outstanding at December 31, 2010

     1,713,165      $ 11.68         

Options granted

     —          —           

Options exercised

     (195,200     1.76          $ 3,454   

Options forfeited

     (82     9.29         

Options expired

     (862     7.85         
  

 

 

         

Options outstanding at September 30, 2011

     1,517,021      $ 12.96         3.33       $ 7,602   
  

 

 

         

Options exercisable at September 30, 2011

     473,976      $ 1.42         2.74       $ 7,602   
  

 

 

         

The intrinsic value of exercised stock options is calculated based on the difference between the exercise price and the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock as of the close of the exercise date. The aggregate intrinsic value for options outstanding and exercisable is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying stock option awards and the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock at September 30, 2011. As of September 30, 2011, total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested stock options granted prior to that date is estimated at $0.8 million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately 0.41 years. Total unrecognized compensation expense is estimated and may be increased or decreased in future periods for subsequent grants or forfeitures.

The Company’s nonvested stock awards are comprised of restricted stock and restricted stock units. The Company has a right of repurchase on such shares that lapse at a rate of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total shares awarded at each successive anniversary of the initial award date, provided that the employee continues to provide services to the Company. In the event that an employee terminates their employment with the Company, any shares that remain unvested and consequently subject to the right of repurchase shall be automatically reacquired by the Company at the original purchase price paid by the employee. During the three months ended September 30, 2011, 40,743 forfeited shares of restricted stock have been repurchased by the Company at no cost.

A summary of the status for nonvested stock awards as of September 30, 2011 is presented as follows:

 

Nonvested Stock Awards

   Restricted
Stock
    Restricted
Stock
Units
    Number
of Shares
Underlying
Awards
    Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair
Value
 

Nonvested at December 31, 2010

     1,591,522        405,071        1,996,593      $ 15.43   

Granted

     648,553        242,983        891,536        25.61   

Vested

     (723,282     (91,910     (815,192     15.89   

Forfeited

     (100,072     (76,074     (176,146     18.95   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

Nonvested at September 30, 2011

     1,416,721        480,070        1,896,791      $ 19.68   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

The aggregate intrinsic value for all non-vested shares of restricted common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2011 was $23.9 million.

As of September 30, 2011, total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested restricted stock and restricted stock units was $23.8 million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.11 years. Total unrecognized compensation expense may be increased or decreased in future periods for subsequent grants or forfeitures.

Of the 217,986 shares of the Company’s restricted stock and restricted stock units vesting during the three months ended September 30, 2011, the Company repurchased 62,897 shares at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.1 million pursuant to the stockholder’s right under the Plans to elect to use common stock to satisfy tax withholding obligations.

 

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Shares Reserved for Issuance

At September 30, 2011, the Company had reserved for future issuance the following shares of common stock upon the exercise of options and warrants:

 

Common stock available for future issuances under the Plans

     1,095,349   

Common stock reserved for outstanding options and restricted stock units

     1,997,091   

Common stock reserved for outstanding warrants

     24,375   
  

 

 

 
     3,116,815   
  

 

 

 

10. Geographic Information

The Company attributes revenues to customers based on the location of the customer. The composition of the Company’s sales to unaffiliated customers between those in the United States and those in other locations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 is set forth below:

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011      2010      2011      2010  
     (In thousands)  

United States

   $ 42,954       $ 36,797       $ 126,861       $ 102,072   

Europe

     9,727         4,218         25,169         9,744   

Canada

     2,607         2,038         7,221         5,828   

Other

     3,471         2,650         10,554         6,158   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenues

   $ 58,759       $ 45,703       $ 169,805       $ 123,802   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The composition of the Company’s property and equipment between those in the United States and those in other countries as of the end of each period is set forth below:

 

     September 30,
2011
     December 31,
2010
 
     (In thousands)  

United States

   $ 23,378       $ 22,627   

Europe

     4,997         5,221   

Canada

     354         411   

Other

     440         378   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 29,169       $ 28,637   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q . In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this document. See also “Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Overview

We provide leading digital media measurement platforms that helps our customers make better-informed business decisions and implement more effective digital business strategies. Our products and solutions offer our customers deep insights into consumer behavior, including objective, detailed information regarding usage of their online properties and those of their competitors, coupled with information on consumer demographic characteristics, attitudes, lifestyles and offline behavior. We currently provide service to over 1,900 clients worldwide and have over 1,000 employees located in 32 locations in 23 countries.

Our digital media measurement platforms are comprised of proprietary databases and a computational infrastructure that measures, analyzes and reports on digital activity. The foundation of our platform is data collected from our comScore panel of approximately two million Internet users worldwide who have granted us explicit permission to confidentially measure their Internet usage patterns, online and certain offline buying behavior and other activities. By applying advanced statistical methodologies to our panel data, we project consumers’ online behavior for the total online population and a wide variety of user categories. This panel information is complemented by our Unified Digital Measurement solution which enables us to more accurately measure digital audiences. Our Unified Digital Measurement solution blends panel and server methodologies into a solution that provides a direct linkage and reconciliation between server and panel measurement. In addition to our panelist based platforms, we also provide solutions to the large mobile networks that deliver network analysis focused on the experience of wireless subscribers, as well as network intelligence with respect to performance, capacity and configuration analytics. We also provide web analytics and innovative video measurement solutions.

We deliver our digital analytics through a wide array of solutions organized around the following four major core competencies; audience analytics, advertising analytics, web analytics and mobile and network analytics. Our audience analytics products deliver digital media intelligence by providing an independent, third-party measurement of the size, behavior and characteristics of Internet users on multiple devices (i.e., computer, mobile and tablet) as well as insight into the effectiveness of online advertising. Our core product offerings are built around Media Metrix TM, but also include Video Metrix TM, Mobile Metrix TM, Plan Metrix TM and Ad Metrix TM. As the Internet evolves, we are continually creating new products and services, such as Social Essentials, which provides insight into the audience size, composition, behavior and brand engagement of consumers reached by brands on Facebook. We typically deliver our audience analytics products electronically in the form of weekly, monthly or quarterly subscription based reports. Customers can access current and historical data and analyze this data anytime online.

Our advertising analytics products combine the proprietary information gathered from the comScore panel with the vertical industry expertise of comScore analysts to deliver digital marketing intelligence, including the measurement of online advertising effectiveness, customized for specific industries. Our advertising analytics products include AdEffx TM, Media Planner 2.0 TM and Campaign Essentials TM, which provide an end to end solution for developing, executing and evaluating online advertising campaigns. In August 2011, we acquired AdXpose, which provides advertisers and publishers with greater transparency in the quality, safety, and performance of their digital advertising campaigns by allowing them to verify and optimize billions of campaign data points captured in real-time. The AdXpose technology is integrated into our Campaign Essentials product and enables us to develop a new metric, vGRP (validated gross rating points) which provides intelligence regarding validated impressions (i.e., ads that are actually seen, shown in safe content and delivered to the right target audience). Our advertising analytics products are typically delivered on a monthly, quarterly or ad hoc basis through electronic reports and analyses.

Our web analytics products help organizations optimize customer experience and maximize return on digital media investments by allowing marketers to collect, view and distribute information tailored to their specific business requirements. Our web analytics platform is designed to integrate data from multiple sources including web, mobile, video and social media interactions. Our web analytics services, which is provided primarily through Digital Analytix TM (“Dax”) a product that enables our customers to have access to all of their proprietary clickstream data, is further enhanced by data obtained as part of our audience measurement efforts, and viewable on a quick turnaround basis. Customers can access our web analytics data sets and reports anytime online.

Our mobile & network analytics products suite connects mobile consumer behavior, content merchandising, and device capabilities to provide comprehensive mobile market intelligence to the various mobile carriers worldwide. Our core product, XPLORE TM, provides mobile carriers with information on network optimization & capacity planning, customer experience, and market intelligence. Our mobile & network analytics platform is designed to integrate data from multiple sources including

 

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web and mobile interactions as well as CRM, call center and back office systems. Customers can access our mobile and network data sets and reports anytime online.

Our company was founded in August 1999. In 2007, we completed our initial public offering. We have complemented our internal development initiatives with select acquisitions. In February 2010, we acquired the outstanding stock of ARSgroup, Inc. to expand our ability to provide our clients with actionable information to improve their creative and strategic messaging targeted against specific audiences. In July 2010, we acquired the outstanding stock of Nexius, Inc., a provider of products to the large mobile networks that deliver network analysis focused on the experience of wireless subscribers, as well as network intelligence with respect to performance, capacity and configuration analytics. In August 2010, we acquired the outstanding stock of Nedstat B.V., a provider of web analytics and innovative video measurement solutions based out of Amsterdam, Netherlands. In August 2011, we acquired all of the outstanding equity of AdXpose, Inc., a provider of digital advertising analytics solutions based out of Seattle, Washington.

Since our initial public offering in 2007, our revenues and expenses have grown significantly. We attribute the growth in our revenue and expenses primarily to:

 

   

increased sales to existing customers, as a result of our efforts to deepen our relationships with these clients by increasing their awareness of, and confidence in, the value of our digital marketing intelligence platform;

 

   

growth in our customer base through the addition of new customers and from acquired businesses;

 

   

the sales of new products to existing and new customers; and

 

   

growth in sales outside of the U.S., as a result of entering into new international markets.

As a result of the economic events over the last several years, such as the global financial crisis in the credit markets, softness in the housing markets, difficulties in the financial services sector and political uncertainty in the Middle East, the direction and relative strength of the U.S. and global economies have become somewhat uncertain. During 2010, we experienced a limited number of our current and potential customers ceasing, delaying or reducing renewals of existing subscriptions and purchases of new or additional services and products presumably due to the economic downturn. Further, certain of our existing customers exited the market due to industry consolidation and bankruptcy in connection with these challenging economic conditions. During the first nine months of 2011, the U.S. and other economies showed slow signs of recovery. Nonetheless, we continued to add net new customers and our existing customers renewed their subscriptions at a rate of over 90% based on dollars renewed during the first nine months of 2011. If economic recovery slows or adverse economic conditions continue or further deteriorate, our operating results could be adversely affected.

Our Revenues

We derive our revenues primarily from the fees that we charge for subscription-based products and customized projects. We define subscription-based revenues as revenues that we generate from products that we deliver to a customer on a recurring basis. We define project revenues as revenues that we generate from customized projects that are performed for a specific customer on a non-recurring basis. We market our subscription-based products, customized projects and survey services within the comScore Media Metrix product suite, comScore Marketing Solutions, comScore mobile solutions and comScore web analytics solutions.

A significant characteristic of our business model is our large percentage of subscription-based contracts. Subscription-based revenues accounted for 85% of total revenues in the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and the full year 2010. Many of our customers who initially purchased a customized project have subsequently purchased one of our subscription-based products. Similarly, many of our subscription-based customers have subsequently purchased additional customized projects.

Historically, we have generated most of our revenues from the sale and delivery of our products to companies and organizations located within the United States. We intend to expand our international revenues by selling our products and deploying our direct sales force model in additional international markets in the future. For the year ended December 31, 2010, our international revenues were $32.7 million, an increase of $13.0 million, or 66%, compared to 2009. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, our international revenues were $42.9 million, an increase of $21.2 million, or 98% over international revenues of $21.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010. International revenues comprised approximately 15%, 19% and 25% of our total revenues for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011.

We anticipate that revenues from our U.S. customers will continue to constitute the substantial majority of our revenues, but we expect that revenues from customers outside of the U.S. will increase as a percentage of total revenues as we build greater international recognition of our brand and expand our sales operations globally.

Subscription Revenues

We generate a significant proportion of our subscription-based revenues from our Media Metrix product suite. Products within the Media Metrix suite include Media Metrix 360, Media Metrix, Plan Metrix, World Metrix, Video Metrix and Ad Metrix. These product offerings provide subscribers with intelligence on digital media usage, audience characteristics, audience demographics and online and offline purchasing behavior. Customers who subscribe to our Media Metrix products are provided with login IDs to our web site, have access to our database and can generate reports at anytime.

 

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We also generate subscription-based revenues from certain reports and analyses provided through comScore Marketing Solutions, if that work is procured by customers for at least a nine-month period and the customer enters into an agreement to continue or extend the work. Through our Marketing Solutions products, we deliver digital marketing intelligence relating to specific industries, such as automotive, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, financial services, media, pharmaceutical, retail, technology, telecommunications and travel. This marketing intelligence leverages our global consumer panel and extensive database to deliver information unique to a particular customer’s needs on a recurring schedule, as well as on a continual-access basis. Our Marketing Solutions customer agreements typically include a fixed fee with an initial term of at least one year. We also provide these products on a non-subscription basis as described under “Project Revenues” below.

In addition, we generate subscription-based revenues from survey products that we sell to our customers. In conducting our surveys, we generally use our global Internet user panel. After questionnaires are distributed to the panel members and completed, we compile their responses and then deliver our findings to the customer, who also has ongoing access to the survey response data as they are compiled and updated over time. These data include responses and information collected from the actual survey questionnaires and can also include behavioral information that we passively collect from our panelists. If a customer contractually commits to having a survey conducted on a recurring basis, we classify the revenues generated from such survey products as subscription-based revenues. Our contracts for survey services typically include a fixed fee with terms that range from two months to one year.

On July 1, 2010, we completed our acquisition of Nexius, resulting in additional revenue sources, including software licenses, professional services (including software customization, implementation, training and consulting services), and maintenance and technical support contracts. Our arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings. We recognize software license arrangements that include significant modification and customization of the software in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue Recognition-Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the completed-contract method. Prior to March 31, 2011, we had not established VSOE of fair value for the multiple deliverables and therefore accounted for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the entire arrangement fee as revenue on a straight line basis over the service period of the last delivered element. During the period of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on the balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software license. To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, we accrue for costs immediately. During the quarter ended June 30, 2011 we established VSOE of fair value for post contract support (“PCS”) services for certain Nexius customers. The establishment of VSOE of fair value followed an alignment of our pricing practices for these services. As a result of establishing VSOE, for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, we recorded revenue and related costs of revenue of $2.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively, of which $0.9 million and $0.3 million, respectively, had been previously deferred. On August 31, 2010, we completed our acquisition of Nedstat, resulting in additional revenue sources, including software subscriptions, server calls, and professional services (including training and consulting). Our arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings. On August 11, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of AdXpose, resulting in additional revenue sources, including fees for the use of the AdXpose platform. Fees for the use of the AdXpose platform are generally a fixed fee for each impression that is generated using the AdXpose technology. Revenue is recognized when the impression is delivered and reported via the AdXpose service portal.

Project Revenues

We generate project revenues by providing customized information reports to our customers on a nonrecurring basis through comScore Marketing Solutions. For example, a customer in the media industry might request a custom report that profiles the behavior of the customer’s active online users and contrasts their market share and loyalty with similar metrics for a competitor’s online user base. If this customer continues to request the report beyond an initial project term of at least nine months and enters into an agreement to purchase the report on a recurring basis, we begin to classify these future revenues as subscription-based.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in our financial statements and the accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Management considers an accounting policy to be critical if it is important to our financial condition and results of operations, and if it requires significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in its application. The development and selection of these critical accounting policies have been determined by our management. Due to the significant judgment involved in selecting certain of the assumptions used in these areas, it is possible that different parties could choose different assumptions and reach different conclusions. Our critical accounting policies relates to: (a) revenue recognition; (b) fair value measurements; (c) business combinations; (d) goodwill and intangible assets; (e) long-lived assets; (f) allowance for doubtful accounts; (g) income taxes; and (h) stock-based compensation.

 

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Our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. For a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates, see “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 under the caption Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We have made no significant changes to our critical accounting policies and estimate from those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Seasonality

Historically, a slightly higher percentage of our customers have renewed their subscription products with us during the fourth quarter.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth selected consolidated statements of operations data as a percentage of total revenues for each of the periods indicated:

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  

Revenues

     100     100     100     100

Cost of revenues

     33.3        30.1        33.0        29.5   

Selling and marketing

     34.6        35.7        34.3        33.9   

Research and development

     15.7        15.9        15.3        14.9   

General and administrative

     21.4        22.3        21.7        19.9   

Amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions

     4.2        3.0        4.1        2.1   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total expenses from operations

     109.2        107.0        108.4        100.3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (9.2     (7.0     (8.4     (0.3

Interest and other (expense) income, net

     (0.2     (0.1     (0.2     0.1   

Loss from foreign currency

     (0.6     (0.2     (0.1     (0.2

Gain on sale of marketable securities

     0.4        —          0.1        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

     (9.6     (7.3     (8.6     (0.4

Income tax benefit (provision)

     2.9        2.6        1.1        (0.6
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (6.7 )%      (4.7 )%      (7.5 )%      (1.0 )% 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Three and Nine Month period ended September 30, 2011 compared to the Three and Nine Month Period ended September 30, 2010

Revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
     Change     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
     Change  
     2011      2010      $      %     2011      2010      $      %  
     (In thousands)  

Total Revenues

   $ 58,759       $ 45,703       $ 13,056         28.6   $ 169,805       $ 123,802       $ 46,003         37.2

Total revenues increased by approximately $13.1 million, or approximately 29%, during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. We attribute the revenue growth to a combination of increased sales to our existing customer base and continued growth of our customer base during the period. Revenue from existing customers increased $12.5 million from $40.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2010 to $52.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, while revenues from new customers increased $0.6 million from $5.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2010 to $6.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011.

We experienced continued revenue growth in subscription revenues, which increased by approximately $11.9 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011, from $38.4 million in the prior year period. In addition, our project-based revenues

 

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increased by approximately $1.2 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011, from $7.3 million in the prior year period.

Revenues from U.S customers increased to $43.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, or approximately 73% of total revenues, while revenues from customers outside of the U.S. increased to $15.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011, or approximately 27% of total revenues. A substantial portion of this increase in the proportion of our international revenues is attributable to our international acquisitions in the second half of 2010. However, this growth was further supplemented by our organic growth efforts in international markets. These combined activities resulted in increased international revenues of $6.9 million, comprised of increases of $5.5 million in Europe, $0.6 million in Canada, and $0.8 million in all other international locations during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the prior year period.

Total revenues increased by approximately $46.0 million, or approximately 37%, during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. The revenue growth was due to a combination of increased sales to our existing customer base and continued growth of our customer base. Revenue from existing customers increased $36.2 million from $110.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 to $146.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, while revenues from new customers increased $9.8 million from $13.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 to $23.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011.

We experienced continued revenue growth in subscription revenues, which increased by approximately $38.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011, from $106.0 million in the prior year period. In addition, our project-based revenues increased by approximately $7.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011, from $17.8 million in the prior year period.

Revenues from U.S customers increased to $126.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, or approximately 75% of total revenues, while revenues from customers outside of the U.S. increased to $42.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, or approximately 25% of total revenues. A substantial portion of this increase is attributable to our international acquisitions in the second half of 2010. However, this growth was further supplemented by organic growth efforts in international markets. These combined activities resulted in increased international revenues of $21.2 million, comprised of increases of $15.4 million in Europe, $1.4 million in Canada, and $4.4 million in all other international locations during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the prior year period.

Operating Expenses

The majority of our operating expenses consist of employee salaries and related benefits, stock compensation expense, rent and other facility related costs, depreciation expense, and amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Our total operating expenses increased by approximately $15.2 million, or approximately 31%, during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. This increase is primarily attributable to increased expenditures for employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $4.7 million associated with our increased headcount, increased professional fees of $3.3 million primarily associated with litigation, increased use of third party providers for customer service and support related to our data collection efforts of $1.7 million due to increased revenue and expansion, increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $1.5 million and increases in amortization expense of $1.1 million related to the acquired intangible assets from our recent acquisitions. All of the above costs have been allocated to the various components of our operating expenses, as further described in the following sections.

Our total operating expenses increased by approximately $60.0 million, or approximately 48%, during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. This increase is primarily attributable to increased expenditures for employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $20.8 million and increased stock-based compensation of $4.5 million associated with our increased headcount, increased professional fees of $9.2 million primarily associated with litigation, increased use of third party providers for customer service and support related to our data collection efforts of $5.6 million due to increased revenue and expansion, increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $5.4 million, increases in amortization expense of $4.3 million related to the acquired intangible assets from our recent acquisitions and increases in sales commissions of $1.8 million due to our increases in revenue. All of the above costs have been allocated to the various components of our operating expenses, as further described in the following sections.

Cost of Revenues

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Change     Nine Months  Ended
September 30,
    Change  
     2011     2010     $      %     2011     2010     $      %  
    
(In thousands)
  

Total cost of revenues

   $ 19,560      $ 13,743      $ 5,817         42.3   $ 56,000      $ 36,480      $ 19,520         53.5

As a percentage of revenues

     33.3     30.1          33.0     29.5     

Cost of revenues consists primarily of expenses related to operating our network infrastructure, producing our products, and the recruitment, maintenance and support of our consumer panels. Expenses associated with these areas include the salaries,

 

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stock-based compensation, and related personnel expenses of network operations, survey operations, custom analytics and technical support, all of which are expensed as they are incurred. Cost of revenues also includes data collection costs for our products, operational costs associated with our data centers, including depreciation expense associated with computer equipment that supports our panel and systems, and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software.

Cost of revenues increased by approximately $5.8 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased use of third party providers for customer service and support related to our data collection efforts of $1.8 million due to increased revenue and expansion, increased expenditures for employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $1.7 million associated with our increased headcount, increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.9 million, and increased costs associated with panel recruitment, incentives and related costs of $0.6 million. Cost of revenues increased as a percentage of revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010 reflecting our increased expenses for additional employees and infrastructure in anticipation of increased growth.

Cost of revenues increased by approximately $19.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased expenditures for employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $6.6 million associated with our increased headcount, increased use of third party providers for customer service and support related to our data collection efforts of $5.3 million due to increased revenue and expansion, increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $3.5 million, and increased data center and bandwidth costs of $1.3 million related to the increased number of Web sites using our Unified Digital Measurement solution.

Cost of revenues increased as a percentage of revenues during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010 reflecting our increased expenses for additional employees and infrastructure in anticipation of increased growth.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Change     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
    Change  
     2011     2010     $      %     2011     2010     $      %  
     (In thousands)   

Total selling and marketing

   $ 20,330      $ 16,319      $ 4,011         24.6   $ 58,216      $ 41,929      $ 16,287         38.8

As a percentage of revenues

     34.6     35.7          34.3     33.9     

Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, commissions, bonuses, and stock-based compensation paid to our direct sales force and industry analysts, as well as costs related to online and offline advertising, industry conferences, promotional materials, public relations, other sales and marketing programs, and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software. All selling and marketing costs are expensed as they are incurred. Commission plans are developed for our account managers with criteria and size of sales quotas that vary depending upon the individual’s role. Commissions are paid to a salesperson and are expensed as selling and marketing costs when a sales contract is executed by both the customer and us. In the case of multi-year agreements, one year of commissions is paid initially, with the remaining amounts paid at the beginning of the succeeding years.

Selling and marketing expenses increased by $4.0 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $2.0 million and increased stock-based compensation of $0.2 million associated with our increased headcount, additional sales commissions of $0.2 million and increased travel costs of $0.3 million in connection with our sales growth, and increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.3 million.

Selling and marketing expenses increased by $16.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $8.9 million and increased stock-based compensation of $2.0 million associated with our increased headcount, additional sales commissions of $1.8 million, increased travel costs of $1.2 million in connection with our sales growth, and increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $1.1 million.

Selling and marketing expenses remained relatively constant as a percentage of revenues during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the same periods in 2010.

 

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Research and Development Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Change     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
    Change  
     2011     2010     $      %     2011     2010     $      %  
     (In thousands)  

Total research and development

   $ 9,219      $ 7,254      $ 1,965         27.1   $ 25,951      $ 18,389      $ 7,562         41.1

As a percentage of revenues

     15.7     15.9          15.3     14.9     

Research and development expenses include new product development costs, consisting primarily of salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and related costs for personnel associated with research and development activities, fees paid to third parties to develop new products and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software.

Research and development expenses increased by $2.0 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $1.0 million associated with our increased headcount for research and development activities, higher costs of $0.3 million related to certain data licensing contracts that began in Q1 2011, increased hardware and software costs of $0.3 million and increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.2 million.

Research and development expenses increased by $7.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. This increase was attributable to increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $4.3 million associated with our increased headcount for research and development activities, higher costs of $0.9 million related to certain data licensing contracts that began in Q1 2011, increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $0.6 million and increased stock-based compensation of $0.3 million.

Research and development expenses were generally unchanged as a percentage of revenues for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the same periods in 2010.

General and Administrative Expenses

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Change     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
    Change  
     2011     2010     $      %     2011     2010     $      %  
     (In thousands)  

Total general and administrative

   $ 12,568      $ 10,204      $ 2,364         23.2   $ 36,863      $ 24,577      $ 12,286         50.0

As a percentage of revenues

     21.4     22.3          21.7     19.9     

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation, and related expenses for executive management, finance, accounting, human capital, legal and other administrative functions, as well as professional fees, overhead, including allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software, and expenses incurred for other general corporate purposes.

General and administrative expenses increased by $2.4 million during the three months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2010. This increase is primarily attributable to additional professional fees of $3.2 million associated with recent litigation,. These costs were partially offset by a reduction in severance expense of $0.7 million due to significant termination costs incurred in the 3rd quarter of 2010 and a net reduction in stock compensation expense of $0.3 million.

General and administrative expenses increased by $12.3 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2010. This increase is primarily attributable to additional professional fees of $9.0 million, which includes costs related to recent litigation, and for other accounting, legal and general consulting services due to our expanding business. In addition, there was increased stock-based compensation expense of $1.7 million, and increased additional headcount resulted in increased employee salaries, benefits and related costs of $1.1 million, and increased rent and other facility related costs and depreciation expense allocations of $1.1 million. These costs were partially offset by a reduction in severance expense of $0.8 million due to significant termination costs incurred in the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

General and administrative expenses remained relatively constant as a percentage of revenues during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the same periods in 2010.

 

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Amortization Expense

 

     Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Change     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
    Change  
     2011     2010     $      %     2011     2010     $      %  
     (In thousands)  

Total amortization expense

   $ 2,458      $ 1,380      $ 1,078         78.1   $ 6,886      $ 2,545      $ 4,341         170.6

As a percentage of revenues

     4.2     3.0          4.1     2.1     

Amortization expense consists of charges related to the amortization of intangible assets associated with acquisitions.

Amortization expense increased $1.1 million and $4.3 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 due principally to amortization of intangible assets that were acquired after the second quarter of 2010 in connection with our recent acquisitions. In addition, we recorded additional amortization expense associated with a change in the useful life of the ARS trade name in the 2nd quarter of 2011, which we will cease using as of December 31, 2011.

Interest and Other Income (expense), Net

Interest income consists of interest earned from investments, such as short and long-term fixed income securities and auction rate securities, and our cash and cash equivalent balances. Interest expense is incurred due to activities under the secured revolving credit facility executed in the second quarter of 2011, as well as capital leases pursuant to several equipment loan and security agreements and a line of credit that we have entered into in order to finance the lease of various hardware and other equipment purchases. Our minimum lease payment obligations are secured by a senior security interest in eligible equipment.

Interest expense, net for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $0.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively, as compared to interest expense, net of $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2010 and interest income, net of $0.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010. The increase in interest expense is due to the increased borrowing under capital leases that were made during 2010 and the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as well as interest expense associated with the secured revolving credit facility the Company executed in the second quarter of 2011. As of September 30, 2011, we had total minimum lease payment obligations associated with capital leases of $13.8 million compared to $7.8 million as of September 30, 2010.

Gain (Loss) from Foreign Currency

The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is the local currency. All assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rates as of the end of the period, and revenues and expenses are translated at average rates in effect during the period. The gain or loss resulting from the process of translating the foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars is included as a component of other comprehensive (loss) income.

We recorded a loss of $0.3 million and $0.1 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, as compared to losses of $0.1 million and $0.2 million during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively. Our foreign currency transactions are recorded as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate primarily between the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar, euro and British Pound.

Provision for Income Taxes

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, we recorded income tax benefits of $1.7 million and $1.8 million, respectively, as compared to an income tax benefit of $1.2 million during the three months ended September 30, 2010 and an income tax provision of $0.9 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2010. The tax provisions for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 were attributable to current tax expense of $0.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, and deferred tax benefits of $1.9 million and $3.4 million, respectively. These amounts include $0.1 million and $0.2 million of current and deferred tax expense for discrete items such as stock compensation, statutory rate changes, return to provision adjustments and changes in uncertain tax positions recorded during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. The tax provisions for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 were attributable to a current tax benefit of $0.1 million and a current tax expense of $0.9 million, respectively, and a deferred tax benefit of $1.1 million and a deferred tax expense of $0.1 million, respectively. These amounts include $1.0 million and $0.4 million of current and deferred tax benefits for discrete items such as stock-based compensation, statutory rate changes, return to provision adjustments and changes in uncertain tax positions recorded during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively.

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, certain restricted stock awards vested which generated a tax deduction at a market price that was less than the price of the restricted stock on the dates the shares were granted. This shortfall of tax deductions would reduce additional paid-in capital to the extent windfall tax benefits had been realized in prior years. However, as we have not yet realized our windfall tax benefits because the tax benefits have not resulted in a reduction to current taxes payable, the three months ended September 30, 2010 were impacted. The tax provision impact of the shortfall totaling

 

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$0.1 million and $0.3 million has been included in income tax expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010, respectively. There were no comparative amounts for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

Effects of Acquisitions on our Business

During 2010, we expanded our business by completing three acquisitions. Specifically, we acquired ARS, Nexius, and Nedstat on February 19, 2010, July 1, 2010, and August 31, 2010, respectively. As a result of these acquisitions, our revenues and expenses increased significantly. On a comparative basis, the amount of our revenues and expenses in the second half of 2010 and the first half of 2011 were significantly higher than the applicable year ago period due to the fact that the results of operations from these acquisitions were not included in the comparative year ago periods.

In evaluating the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, it is important to note that the period of time that each acquired entity is included in our results of operations is different. The following table illustrates the number of months that each of these acquired entities has been included in our results of operations discussed below:

 

     Three Months
Ended
September 30,
2011
     Three Months
Ended
September 30,
2010
     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2011
     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2010
 

ARS

     3         3         9         8   

Nexius

     3         3         9         6   

Nedstat

     3         1         9         1   

During the third quarter of 2011, we acquired AdXpose. The acquisition of AdXpose did not have a material impact on our results of operations.

We have estimated the impact from acquired businesses for the year ended December 31, 2010 as follows:

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
2010
(in thousands)
 

Revenues

   $ 28.0   

Cost of revenues

     9.9   

Selling and marketing

     11.6   

Research and development

     4.5   

General and administrative

     4.2   
  

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

   $ 30.2   

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent accounting pronouncements are detailed in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes our cash flows:

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2011     2010  
     (In thousands)  

Net cash provided by operating activities

   $ 18,759      $ 24,872   

Net cash used in investing activities

     (7,995     (42,270

Net cash used in financing activities

     (10,786     (4,772

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     (312     119   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

   $ (334   $ (22,051
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Our principal uses of cash historically have consisted of payroll and other operating expenses and payments related to the investment in equipment primarily to support our consumer panel and technical infrastructure required to support our customer base, and cash paid for acquisitions. As of September 30, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $33.4 million, which represent cash generated from operating activities. We sold four auction rate securities for $2.6 million in July 2011.

On June 30, 2011, we entered into a secured credit and security agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”) for a two-year, $50.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). The agreement includes a maximum $7.0 million sublimit for a euro loan facility and a $10.0 million sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit. The maturity date of the Revolving Credit Facility is June 30, 2013. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility shall be used towards working capital and other general corporate purposes as well as for the issuance of letters of credit. Loans made under the Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest at a fluctuating rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin, which will range from 1.75% to 2.75%, based on the company’s funded debt ratio.

On June 30, 2011, we and each of the Company’s material, wholly-owned subsidiaries entered into a Security Agreement in favor of Bank of America (the “Security Agreement”). Pursuant to the Security Agreement, the obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by a security interest in substantially all of our assets.

Under the terms of the Revolving Credit Facility, we are restricted from paying dividends and incurring certain indebtedness, among other restrictive covenants. We continue to be in full compliance with all covenants contained in the Revolving Credit Facility.

As of November 2, 2011, no amounts are outstanding under the terms of the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility.

We maintain letters of credit in lieu of security deposits with respect to certain office leases. During the three months ended September 30, 2011, one letter of credit was reduced by approximately $0.2 million. As of September 30, 2011, $2.9 million in letters of credit were outstanding, leaving $7.1 million available for additional letters of credit. These letters of credit may be reduced periodically provided that we meet the conditional criteria of each related lease agreement.

Operating Activities

Our cash flows from operating activities are significantly influenced by our investments in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth in our business, increases in the number of customers using our products and the amount and timing of payments made by these customers.

We generated approximately $18.8 million of net cash from operating activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2011. Our cash flows from operations were driven by our net loss of $12.5 million, offset by $29.0 million in non-cash charges such as depreciation, amortization, provision for bad debts, stock-based compensation, a non-cash deferred tax benefit, and a gain on the sale of marketable securities. In addition, we experienced a $4.2 million decrease in accounts receivable due to continued strong collection activities during the first nine months of 2011 in light of the increase in revenues. In addition, our operating cash flows were positively impacted by a $6.2 million net increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses due to the timing of payments issued to our vendors and a $0.5 million increase in deferred rent due to tenant allowances related to our leases. Cash flows from operations were negatively impacted by a $8.1 million decrease in amounts collected from customers in advance of when we recognize revenue and a $0.6 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.

We generated approximately $24.9 million of net cash from operating activities during nine months ended September 30, 2010. Our cash flows from operations was driven by our net loss of $1.1 million, as adjusted for $19.8 million in non-cash charges such as depreciation, amortization, provision for bad debts, stock-based compensation and bond premium amortization, and a non-cash deferred tax expense. In addition, we experienced a $3.2 million decrease in accounts receivable due to improved collections activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2010. We also experienced a $1.7 million increase in amounts collected from customers in advance of when we recognize revenues as a result of our growing customer base. In addition, our operating cash flows were positively impacted due to a $1.2 million increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses due to the timing of payments issued to our vendors. Cash flows from operations were also positively impacted by a $0.4 million increase in deferred rent due to tenant allowances related to our leases.

 

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Investing Activities

Our primary recurring investing activities have consisted of purchases of computer network equipment to support our Internet user panel and maintenance of our database, furniture and equipment to support our operations, purchases and sales of marketable securities, and payments related to the acquisition of several companies. As our customer base expands, we expect purchases of technical infrastructure equipment to grow in absolute dollars. The extent of these investments will be affected by our ability to expand relationships with existing customers, grow our customer base, introduce new digital formats and increase our international presence.

We used $8.0 million of net cash in investing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2011. Approximately $5.9 million was associated with the purchase of property and equipment to maintain and expand our technology infrastructure, approximately $3.9 million, net of cash acquired, was used for the acquisition of AdXpose, approximately $0.4 million related to cash payments associated with the acquisition of Nexius, and approximately $0.4 million associated with the acquisition of certain intellectual property intangible assets. In addition, we sold certain marketable securities for $2.6 million.

We used $42.3 million of net cash in investing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2010. $68.9 million, net of cash acquired was used for the acquisition of ARSgroup, Nexius, and Nedstat. In addition, $3.4 million was used to purchase property and equipment to maintain and expand our technology and infrastructure. Of this amount, $0.4 million was funded through landlord allowances received in connection with our Canadian office lease. These amounts were offset by $30.0 million generated from maturities of our investments.

We expect to achieve greater economies of scale and operating leverage as we expand our customer base and utilize our Internet user panel and technical infrastructure more efficiently. While we anticipate that it will be necessary for us to continue to invest in our Internet user panel, technical infrastructure and technical personnel to support the combination of an increased customer base, new products, international expansion and new digital market intelligence formats, we believe that these investment requirements will be less than the revenue growth generated by these actions. This should result in a lower rate of growth in our capital expenditures to support our technical infrastructure. In any given period, the timing of our incremental capital expenditure requirements could impact our cost of revenues, both in absolute dollars and as a percentage of revenues.

Financing Activities

We used $10.8 million of cash during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 for financing activities. This included $7.2 million for shares repurchased by us pursuant to the exercise by stock incentive plan participants of their right to elect to use common stock to satisfy their tax withholding obligations. In addition we used $3.9 million to make payments on our capital lease obligations offset by $0.3 million in proceeds from the exercise of our common stock options.

We used $4.8 million of cash during the nine months ended September 30, 2010 for financing activities. This included $4.8 million for shares repurchased by us pursuant to the exercise by stock incentive plan participants of their right to elect to use common stock to satisfy their tax withholding obligations. In addition, we used $0.9 million to make payments on our capital lease obligations offset by $0.9 million in proceeds from the exercise of our common stock options. We do not have any special purpose entities.

Contractual Obligations and Known Future Cash Requirements

Our principal lease commitments consist of obligations under leases for office space and computer and telecommunications equipment. In prior and current years, we financed the purchase of some of our computer equipment under a capital lease arrangement over a period of either 36 or 42 months. Our purchase obligations relate to outstanding orders to purchase computer equipment and are typically small; they do not materially impact our overall liquidity.

In November 2010, we increased our lease financing arrangement with Banc of America Leasing & Capital, LLC to $15.0 million. This arrangement has been established to allow us to finance the purchase of new software, hardware and other computer equipment as we expand our technology infrastructure in support of our business growth. During the nine months ended September 30, 2011 we incurred $3.9 million of additional borrowings under this financing arrangement. As of September 30, 2011, we have total borrowings under this arrangement of approximately $10.3 million. These leases bear an interest rate of approximately 5% per annum. The base terms for these leases range from three years to three and a half years and include a nominal charge in the event of prepayment. Lease payments are approximately $5.1 million per year. Assets acquired under the equipment lease secure the obligations.

During the three months ended September 30, 2011, one letter of credit was reduced by approximately $0.2 million. As of September 30, 2011, $2.9 million in letters of credit were outstanding, leaving $7.1 million available for additional letters of credit. These letters of credit may be reduced periodically provided the Company meets the conditional criteria of each related lease agreement.

As noted in the liquidity and capital resources section, in June 2011, we entered into a $50.0 million revolving credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A.

 

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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K).

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes or have any derivative financial instruments. To date, most payments made under our contracts are denominated in U.S. dollars, and we have not experienced material gains or losses as a result of transactions denominated in foreign currencies. As of September 30, 2011, our cash reserves were maintained in bank deposit accounts totaling $33.4 million.

Foreign Currency Risk

A portion of our revenues and expenses from business operations in foreign countries are derived from transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of our operations in those countries. As such, we have exposure to adverse changes in exchange rates associated with revenues and operating expenses of our foreign operations, but we believe this exposure to not be significant at this time. As such, we do not currently engage in any transactions that hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk. In addition, because we have operations outside of the U.S., the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities may fluctuate due to movements in foreign currency exchange rates and the resulting foreign currency translation adjustments. As we grow our international operations, our exposure to foreign currency risk could become more significant.

Interest Rate Sensitivity

As of September 30, 2011, our principal sources of liquidity consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $33.4 million. These amounts were invested primarily in bank deposit accounts. The cash and cash equivalents are held for working capital purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. We believe that we do not have any material exposure to changes in the fair value as a result of changes in interest rates. Declines in interest rates, however, will reduce future investment income. If overall interest rates changed by 1% during the nine months ended September 30, 2011, our interest exposure would have been less than $0.1 million, assuming consistent investment levels.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, after evaluating the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this report (the “Evaluation Date”), have concluded that as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective, in all material respects, to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file and submit under the Exchange Act (i) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rule and forms and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are involved in various legal proceedings arising from the normal course of business activities. We are not presently a party to any pending legal proceedings the outcome of which we believe, if determined adversely to us, would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse impact on our consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

Litigation with The Nielsen Company (US) LLC and Netratings, LLC d/b/a Nielsen Online

On March 16, 2011, we received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC (“Nielsen”) filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging, among other things, infringement by us of certain patent rights of Nielsen. Nielsen’s complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on a review of these claims against us, we believe that Nielsen’s claims are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves. We have asserted counterclaims of infringement of two of our United States patents and we continue to investigate Nielsen’s claims against us. Trial has been scheduled for July 2012.

On March 22, 2011, we filed a lawsuit against Nielsen and Netratings, LLC d/b/a Nielsen Online (“Netratings”) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging infringement of certain patent rights of ours by Nielsen and Netratings. Our complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Trial is scheduled to begin in late November 2011.

Litigation with Mike Harris and Jeff Dunstan

On August 23, 2011, we received notice that Mike Harris and Jeff Dunstan, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, alleging, among other things, violations by us of the Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act as well as unjust enrichment. The complaint seeks unspecified damages, including statutory damages per violation and punitive damages, injunctive relief and reasonable attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs. Based on an initial review of these claims, we believe that they are without merit, and we intend to vigorously protect and defend ourselves.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a substantial risk of loss. You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included herewith, before you decide to purchase shares of our common stock. The occurrence of any of the following risks could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Our Technologies

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from sales of our subscription-based digital marketing intelligence products. If our customers terminate or fail to renew their subscriptions, our business could suffer.

We currently derive a significant portion of our revenues from our subscription-based digital marketing intelligence products. Subscription-based products accounted for 85% of our revenues during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and the full year 2010. Uncertain economic conditions or other factors, such as the failure or consolidation of large financial institutions, may cause certain customers to terminate or reduce their subscriptions. If our customers terminate their subscriptions for our products, do not renew their subscriptions, delay renewals of their subscriptions or renew on terms less favorable to us, our revenues could decline and our business could suffer.

Our customers have no obligation to renew after the expiration of their initial subscription period, which is typically one year, and we cannot be assured that current subscriptions will be renewed at the same or higher dollar amounts, if at all. Some of our customers have elected not to renew their subscription agreements with us in the past. If we experience a change of control, as defined in such agreements, some of our customers also have the right to terminate their subscriptions. Moreover, some of our major customers have the right to cancel their subscription agreements without cause at any time. Given the current unpredictable economic conditions as well as our limited historical data with respect to rates of customer subscription renewals, we may have difficulty accurately predicting future customer renewal rates. Our customer renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products, the costs or functionality of our products, the prices or functionality of products offered by our competitors, mergers and acquisitions affecting our customer base, general economic conditions or reductions in our customers’ spending levels. In this regard, we have seen a number of customers with weaker balance sheets choosing not to renew subscriptions with us during economic downturns.

The success of our business depends in large part on our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights.

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, service mark, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited

 

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protection. While we have filed a number of patent applications and own eight issued patents, we cannot assure you that any additional patents will be issued with respect to any of our pending or future patent applications, nor can we assure you that any patent issued to us will provide adequate protection, or that any patents issued to us will not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, or held to be unenforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Also, we cannot assure you that any future trademark or service mark registrations will be issued with respect to pending or future applications or that any of our registered trademarks and service marks will be enforceable or provide adequate protection of our proprietary rights. Furthermore, adequate (or any) patent, trademark, service mark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services are available.

We endeavor to enter into agreements with our employees and contractors and with parties with whom we do business in order to limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology or the reverse engineering of our technology. Moreover, third parties might independently develop technologies that are competitive to ours or that infringe upon our intellectual property. In addition, the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving, both in the United States and in other countries. The protection of our intellectual property rights may depend on our legal actions against any infringers being successful. We cannot be sure any such actions will be successful, and any such action may be expensive and divert considerable attention of our management team from the normal operation of our business.

An assertion from a third party that we are infringing its intellectual property, whether such assertions are valid or not, could subject us to costly and time-consuming litigation or expensive licenses.

The Internet, mobile media, software and technology industries are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and by frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights, domestically or internationally. As we grow and face increasing competition, the probability that one or more third parties will make intellectual property rights claims against us increases. In such cases, our technologies may be found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Additionally, many of our subscription agreements may require us to indemnify our customers for third-party intellectual property infringement claims, which would increase our costs if we have to defend such claims and may require that we pay damages and provide alternative services if there were an adverse ruling in any such claims. Intellectual property claims could harm our relationships with our customers, deter future customers from subscribing to our products or expose us to litigation, which could be expensive and divert considerable attention of our management team from the normal operation of our business. Even if we are not a party to any litigation between a customer and a third party, an adverse outcome in any such litigation could make it more difficult for us to defend against intellectual property claims by the third party in any subsequent litigation in which we are a named party. Any of these results could adversely affect our brand, business and results of operations.

For example, on March 16, 2011, we received notice that The Nielsen Company (US) LLC, or Nielsen, filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia alleging, among other things, infringement of certain patent rights of Nielsen by us. Nielsen’s complaint seeks unspecified damages and injunctive relief. Based on a review of these claims against us, we believe that they are without merit. We continue investigate the claims against us by Nielsen, as well as any defenses and additional potential counterclaims, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves. Any intellectual property rights claim such as this, against us (whether for our practices, products and technology or for those of companies recently acquired by us) or our customers, with or without merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle and could divert management resources and attention. An adverse determination also could prevent us from offering our products to our customers and may require that we procure or develop substitute products that do not infringe on other parties’ rights.

With respect to any intellectual property rights claim against us or our customers, we may have to pay damages or stop using technology found to be in violation of a third party’s rights. We may have to seek a license for the technology, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, may significantly increase our operating expenses or may significantly restrict our business activities in one or more respects. We may also be required to develop alternative non-infringing technology, which could require significant effort and expense. Any of these outcomes could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Even if we prove successful in defending ourself against such claims, we may incur substantial expenses and the active defense of such claims may divert considerable attention of our management team from the normal operation of our business.

Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate in the future. As a result, we may fail to meet or exceed the expectations of securities analysts or investors, which could cause our stock price to decline.

Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. If our quarterly revenues or results of operations do not meet or exceed the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. In addition to the other risk factors set forth in this “Risk Factors” section, factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly revenues or results of operations include:

 

   

our ability to increase sales to existing customers and attract new customers;

 

   

our failure to accurately estimate or control costs — including those incurred as a result of acquisitions,

 

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investments, other business development initiatives and litigation;

 

   

the timing of contract renewals, delivery of products and duration of contracts and the corresponding timing of revenue recognition as well as the effects of revenue derived from recently-acquired companies;

 

   

the uncertainties associated with the integration of acquired new lines of business, and operations in countries in which we may have little or no previous experience;

 

   

the mix of subscription-based versus project-based revenues;

 

   

changes in our customers’ subscription renewal behaviors and spending on projects;

 

   

our ability to estimate revenues and cash flows associated with business operations acquired by us;

 

   

the impact on our contract renewal rates, for both our subscription and project-based products, caused by our customers’ budgetary constraints, competition, customer dissatisfaction, customer corporate restructuring or change in control, or our customers’ actual or perceived lack of need for our products;

 

   

the potential loss of significant customers;

 

   

the effect of revenues generated from significant one-time projects or the loss of such projects;

 

   

the impact of our decision to discontinue certain products;

 

   

the amount and timing of capital expenditures and operating costs related to the maintenance and expansion of our operations and infrastructure;

 

   

the timing and success of new product introductions by us or our competitors;

 

   

variations in the demand for our products and the implementation cycles of our products by our customers;

 

   

changes in our pricing and discounting policies or those of our competitors;

 

   

service outages, other technical difficulties or security breaches;

 

   

limitations relating to the capacity of our networks, systems and processes;

 

   

maintaining appropriate staffing levels and capabilities relative to projected growth, or retaining key personnel as a result of the integration of recent acquisitions;

 

   

adverse judgments or settlements in legal disputes;

 

   

the cost and timing of organizational restructuring, in particular in international jurisdictions;

 

   

the extent to which certain expenses are more or less deductible for tax purposes, such as share-based compensation that fluctuates based on the timing of vesting and our stock price;

 

   

the timing of any additional reversal of our deferred tax valuation allowance;

 

   

adoption of new accounting pronouncements; and

 

   

general economic, political, industry and market conditions and those conditions specific to Internet usage and online businesses.

We believe that our quarterly revenues and results of operations on a year-over-year and sequential quarter-over-quarter basis may vary significantly in the future and that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. Investors are cautioned not to rely on the results of prior quarters as an indication of future performance.

 

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Our business may be harmed if we deliver, or are perceived to deliver, inaccurate information to our customers, to the media or to the public generally.

If the information that we provide to our customers, to the media, or to the public is inaccurate, or perceived to be inaccurate, our brand may be harmed. The information that we collect or that is included in our databases and the statistical projections that we provide to our customers, to the media or to the public may contain or be perceived to contain inaccuracies. These projections may be viewed as an important measure for the success of certain businesses, especially those businesses with a large online presence. Any inaccuracy or perceived inaccuracy in the data reported by us about such businesses may potentially affect the market perception of such businesses and result in claims or litigation around the accuracy of our data, or the appropriateness of our methodology, may encourage aggressive action on the part of our competitors, and could harm our brand. Any dissatisfaction by our customers or the media with our digital marketing intelligence, measurement or data collection and statistical projection methodologies, whether as a result of inaccuracies, perceived inaccuracies, or otherwise, could have an adverse effect on our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers and could harm our brand. Additionally, we could be contractually required to pay damages, which could be substantial, to certain of our customers if the information we provide to them is found to be inaccurate. Any liability that we incur or any harm to our brand that we suffer because of actual or perceived irregularities or inaccuracies in the data we deliver to our customers could harm our business.

Material defects or errors in our data collection and analysis systems could damage our reputation, result in significant costs to us and impair our ability to sell our products.

Our data collection and analysis systems are complex and may contain material defects or errors. In addition, the large amount of data that we collect may make our data collection and analysis systems more susceptible to defects or errors. The companies that we recently acquired also rely on data collection and analysis software and systems to service enterprise clients. Any defect in our panelist data collection software, our census collection systems, our enterprise focused software and systems, network systems, statistical projections or other methodologies could lead to consequences that impact operating results, including:

 

   

loss of customers;

 

   

damage to our brand;

 

   

lost or delayed market acceptance and sales of our products;

 

   

interruptions in the availability of our products;

 

   

the incurrence of substantial costs to correct any material defect or error;

 

   

sales credits, refunds or liability to our customers;

 

   

diversion of development resources; and

 

   

increased warranty and insurance costs.

We may lose customers or be liable to certain customers if we provide poor service or if our products do not comply with our customer agreements.

Errors in our systems resulting from the large amount of data that we collect, store and manage could cause the information that we collect to be incomplete or to contain inaccuracies that our customers regard as significant. The failure or inability of our systems, networks and processes to adequately handle the data in a high quality and consistent manner could result in the loss of customers. In addition, we may be liable to certain of our customers for damages they may incur resulting from these events, such as loss of business, loss of future revenues, breach of contract or loss of goodwill to their business.

Our insurance policies may not cover any claim against us for loss of data, unauthorized use of data, improper access to data, inaccuracies in data or other indirect or consequential damages and defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and divert management’s attention. Adequate insurance coverage may not be available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all. Any such developments could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our business may be harmed if we change our methodologies or the scope of information we collect.

We have in the past and may in the future change our methodologies, the methodologies of acquired companies, or the scope of information we collect. Such changes may result from identified deficiencies in current methodologies, development of more advanced methodologies, changes in our business plans or expressed or perceived needs of our customers or potential customers. Any such changes or perceived changes, or our inability to accurately or adequately communicate to our customers and the media such changes and the potential implications of such changes on the data we have published or will publish in the future,

 

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may result in customer dissatisfaction, particularly if certain information is no longer collected or information collected in future periods is not comparable with information collected in prior periods. For example, in 2009, we adopted new methodology that would integrate server-based web beacon information with our existing panel-based data. In 2009, we also acquired and entered into a strategic alliance with web analytics companies in order to enhance the scope of our server-based web beacon information. As a result, some of our existing customers or customers of acquired entities may refuse to participate, or participate only in a limited fashion, and other may become dissatisfied as a result of changes in our methodology and decide not to continue purchasing their subscriptions or may decide to discontinue providing us with their web beacon or other server-side information. Such customers may elect to publicly air their dissatisfaction with the methodological changes made by us, thereby damaging our brand and harming our reputation. Additionally, we expect that we will need to further integrate new capabilities with our existing methodologies if we develop or acquire additional products or lines of business in the future. The resulting future changes to our methodologies, the information we collect, or the strategy we implement to collect and analyze information, such as the movement away from pure panel-centric measurement to a hybrid of panel- and site-centric measurement, may cause additional customer dissatisfaction and result in loss of customers.

If we are not able to maintain panels of sufficient size and scope, or if the costs of maintaining our panels materially increase, our business would be harmed.

We believe that the quality, size and scope of our Internet, mobile and cross-media user panels are critical to our business. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to maintain panels of sufficient size and scope to provide the quality of marketing intelligence that our customers demand from our products. If we fail to maintain a panel of sufficient size and scope, including coverage of international markets, customers might decline to purchase our products or renew their subscriptions, our reputation could be damaged and our business could be materially and adversely affected. We expect that our panel costs may increase and may comprise a greater portion of our cost of revenues in the future. The costs associated with maintaining and improving the quality, size and scope of our panel are dependent on many factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the participation rate of potential panel members, the turnover among existing panel members and requirements for active participation of panel members, such as completing survey questionnaires. Concerns over the potential unauthorized disclosure of personal information or the classification of our software as “spyware” or “adware” may cause existing panel members to uninstall our software or may discourage potential panel members from installing our software. To the extent we experience greater turnover, or churn, in our panel than we have historically experienced, these costs would increase more rapidly. We also have terminated and may in the future terminate relationships with service providers whose practices we believe may not comply with our privacy policies, and have removed and may in the future remove panel members obtained through such service providers. Such actions may result in increased costs for recruiting additional panel members. In addition, publishing content on the Internet and purchasing advertising space on Web sites may become more expensive or restrictive in the future, which could decrease the availability and increase the cost of advertising the incentives we offer to panel members. To the extent that such additional expenses are not accompanied by increased revenues, our operating margins would be reduced and our financial results would be adversely affected. Finally, we are currently subject to privacy and data security related claims by certain panel members in a pending class action lawsuit, and we may be so again in the future. The outcome of this litigation or the negative public reaction to the details of the litigation may make it difficult for us to attract and retain panel members.

Difficulties entering into arrangements with website owners, wireless communications operators and other entities supporting server- and census-based methodologies may negatively affect our methodologies and harm our business.

We believe that our methodologies are enhanced by the ability to collect information using server-based web beacon information and other census-level approaches. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to maintain relationships with a sufficient number and scope of websites in order to provide the quality of marketing intelligence that our customers demand from our products. If we fail to continue to expand the scope of our server-based data collection approaches, customers might decline to purchase our products or renew their subscriptions, our reputation could be damaged and our business could be adversely affected.

We may expand through investments in, acquisitions of, or the development of new products with assistance from other companies, any of which may not be successful and may divert our management’s attention.

In recent years, we acquired M:Metrics, the Certifica group of companies located in Latin America, ARSgroup, Nexius, , Nedstat and AdXpose. We also expect to continue to evaluate and enter into discussions regarding a wide array of potential strategic transactions, including acquiring complementary products, technologies or businesses. We also may enter into relationships with other businesses in order to expand our product offerings, which could involve preferred or exclusive licenses, discount pricing or investments in other company, or to expand our sales capabilities. These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. Although these transactions may provide additional benefits, they may not be profitable immediately or in the long term. Negotiating any such transactions could be time-consuming, difficult and expensive, and our ability to close these transactions may be subject to regulatory or other approvals and other conditions which are beyond our control. Consequently, we can make no assurances that any such transactions, if undertaken and announced, would be completed.

 

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An acquisition, investment or business relationship may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, products, personnel or operations of the acquired companies, particularly if the key personnel of the acquired company choose not to be employed by us, and we may have difficulty retaining the customers of any acquired business due to changes in management and ownership. Acquisitions may also disrupt our ongoing business, divert our resources and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for ongoing development of our business. Moreover, we cannot assure you that the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, investment or business relationship would be realized or that we would not be exposed to unknown liabilities. In connection with any such transaction, we may:

 

   

encounter difficulties retaining key employees of the acquired company or integrating diverse business cultures;

 

   

issue additional equity securities that would dilute the common stock held by existing stockholders;

 

   

incur large charges or substantial liabilities, including without limitation, liabilities associated with products or technologies accused or found to infringe third party intellectual property;

 

   

become subject to adverse tax consequences, substantial depreciation or deferred compensation charges;

 

   

use cash that we may need in the future to operate our business;

 

   

enter new geographic markets that subject us to different laws and regulations that may have an adverse impact on our business;

 

   

experience difficulties effectively utilizing acquired assets;

 

   

encounter difficulties integrating the information and financial reporting systems of acquired foreign businesses, particularly those that operated under accounting principles other than those generally accepted in the United States prior to the acquisition by us; and

 

   

incur debt on terms unfavorable to us or that we are unable to repay.

The impact of any one or more of these factors could adversely affect our business or results of operations or cause the price of our common stock to decline substantially.

Following an acquisition of another business, we may also be required to defer the recognition of revenue that we receive from the sale of products that we acquired, or from the sale of bundles products that include products that we acquired. For instance, if we acquire a software company and are not able to establish vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, for any undelivered elements in the arrangement, we may be required to defer substantial portions of revenue. If we are unable to establish VSOE for transactions related to acquired products and services in future periods, we may be required to delay the recognition of current and future revenue sources. This may result in fluctuations in our operating results and may adversely affect both revenues and operating margins in a given period or periods.

Future acquisitions or dispositions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. Also, the anticipated benefit of many of our acquisitions may not materialize.

Concern over spyware and privacy, including any violations of privacy laws, perceived misuse of personal information, or failure to adhere to the privacy commitments that we make, could cause public relations problems, regulatory scrutiny, and potential class action lawsuits and could impair our ability to recruit panelists or maintain panels of sufficient size and scope, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to provide our products.

Any perception of our practices as an invasion of privacy, whether legal or illegal, may subject us to public criticism, and in turn, regulatory scrutiny, and potential class action lawsuits. Existing and future privacy laws and increasing sensitivity of consumers to the collection or use of personal information and online usage information and the possibility of an unauthorized disclosure of this information may create negative public reaction related to our business practices. U.S. and European lawmakers and regulators recently have expressed concern over the use of third party cookies or web beacons for the purpose of online behavioral advertising and efforts to address these uses may result in broader requirements that would apply to research activities, including understanding Internet usage. Likewise, the European Commission has issued a new directive requiring the regulation of cookies throughout the European Union; the individual country laws that are passed as a result of this directive will likely introduce requirements that differ from country to country. Such actions may have a chilling effect on businesses that collect or use online usage information generally or substantially increase the cost of maintaining a business that collects or uses online usage information, increase regulatory scrutiny and increase the potential of class action lawsuits. In response to marketplace concerns about the usage of third party cookies and web beacons to track user behaviors, the major browsers have enabled features that allow the user to limit the collection of certain data. We actively seek to prevent the inclusion of our cookies

 

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and beacons on the lists of companies whose activities are automatically blocked without prior individual review of those cookies and beacons by the end user. Additionally, public concern has grown regarding certain kinds of downloadable software known as “spyware” and “adware.” These concerns might cause users to refrain from downloading software from the Internet, including our proprietary technology, if they inaccurately believe our software is “spyware” or “adware.” This could make it difficult to recruit additional panelists or maintain a panel of sufficient size and scope to provide meaningful marketing intelligence. In response to general spyware and adware concerns in the marketplace, numerous programs are available, many of which are available for free, and that claim to identify, remove or block such software or activity. Some anti-spyware programs have in the past identified, and may in the future identify, our software as spyware or potential spyware applications. We actively seek to prevent the inclusion of our software on lists of spyware applications or potential spyware applications and apply best industry practices for obtaining appropriate consent from panelists, protect the privacy and confidentiality of our panelist data, and comply with existing privacy laws. However, to the extent that we are not successful, and anti-spyware programs classify our software as spyware, a potential spyware application, or third party service providers fail to comply with our privacy or data security requirements, our brand may be harmed and users may refrain from downloading these programs, may uninstall our software or pursue actions against us for damages. For example, we received notice in August 2011 that two individuals, filing individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, filed a lawsuit against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, alleging among other things, violations by us of the Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act as well as unjust enrichment. The complaint seeks unspecified damages, including statutory damages per violation and punitive damages, injunctive relief and reasonable attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs. Based on an initial review of these claims, we believe that these claims are without merit, and we intend to vigorously protect and defend ourselves. Any resulting reputational harm, potential claims asserted against us or decrease in the size or scope of our panel could reduce the demand for our products, increase the cost of recruiting panelists, adversely affect our ability to provide our products to our customers or result in additional costs in the form of settlement, judgments, restrictions on our business or diversion of resources to address and defend the claims. Any of these effects could harm our business.

Any unauthorized disclosure or theft of private information we gather could harm our business.

Unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information regarding Web site visitors, whether through breach of our secure network by an unauthorized party, employee theft or misuse, or otherwise, could harm our business. If there were an inadvertent disclosure of personally identifiable information, or client confidential information, or if a third party were to gain unauthorized access to the personally identifiable or client confidential information we possess, our operations could be seriously disrupted and we could be subject to claims or litigation arising from damages suffered by panel members or pursuant to the agreements with our customers. In addition, we could incur significant costs in complying with the multitude of state, federal and foreign laws regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information. Finally, any perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of the information we collect could harm our reputation, substantially impair our ability to attract and retain panelists and have an adverse impact on our business.

The market for digital marketing intelligence is at an early stage of development, and if it does not develop, or develops more slowly than expected, our business will be harmed.

The market for digital marketing intelligence products is at a relatively early stage of development, and it is uncertain whether these products will achieve high levels of demand and increased market acceptance. Our success will depend to a substantial extent on the willingness of companies to increase their use of such products and to continue use of such products on a long-term basis. Factors that may affect market acceptance include:

 

   

the reliability of digital marketing intelligence products;

 

   

public concern regarding privacy and data security;

 

   

decisions of our customers and potential customers to develop digital marketing intelligence capabilities internally rather than purchasing such products from third-party suppliers like us;

 

   

decisions by industry associations in the United States or in other countries that result in association-directed awards, on behalf of their members, of digital measurement contracts to one or a limited number of competitive vendors;

 

   

the ability to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction; and

 

   

the rate of growth in eCommerce, online advertising and digital media.

The market for our products may not develop further, or may develop more slowly than we expect or may even contract, all of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

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Because our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the sales of our products to customers located outside of the United States, our business will become increasingly susceptible to risks associated with international operations.

In recent years, we acquired various businesses with substantial presence or clientele in multiple Latin American, European and Middle Eastern countries. Prior to these acquisitions, we otherwise have had limited experience operating in markets outside of the United States. Our inexperience in operating our business outside of the United States may increase the risk that the international expansion efforts which we are engaged will not be successful. In addition, conducting international operations subjects us to risks that we have not generally faced in the United States. These risks include:

 

   

recruitment and maintenance of a sufficiently large and representative panel both globally and in certain countries;

 

   

expanding the adoption of our server- or census-based web beacon data collection in international countries;

 

   

different customer needs and buying behavior than we are accustomed to in the United States;

 

   

difficulties and expenses associated with tailoring our products to local markets, including their translation into foreign languages;

 

   

difficulties in staffing and managing international operations — including complex and costly hiring, disciplinary, and termination requirements;

 

   

longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;

 

   

potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value-added taxes and restrictions on the repatriation of earnings;

 

   

reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;

 

   

the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations;

 

   

fluctuations in currency exchange rates;

 

   

increased accounting and reporting burdens and complexities; and

 

   

political, social and economic instability abroad, terrorist attacks and security concerns.

Additionally, operating in international markets requires significant management attention and financial resources. We cannot be certain that the investments and additional resources required to establish and maintain operations in other countries will hold their value or produce desired levels of revenues or profitability. We cannot be certain that we will be able to maintain and increase the size of the Internet user panel that we currently have in various countries, that we will be able to recruit a representative sample for our audience measurement products, or that we will be able to enter into arrangements with a sufficient number of website owners to allow us to collect server-based information for inclusion in our digital marketing intelligence products. In addition, there can be no assurance that Internet usage and eCommerce will continue to grow in international markets. In addition, governmental authorities in various countries have different views regarding regulatory oversight of the Internet. For example, the Chinese government has taken steps in the past to restrict the content available to Internet users in China.

The impact of any one or more of these risks could negatively affect or delay our plans to expand our international business and, consequently, our future operating results.

If the Internet advertising and eCommerce markets develop more slowly than we expect, our business will suffer.

Our future success will depend on continued growth in the use of the Internet as an advertising medium, a continued increase in eCommerce spending and the proliferation of the Internet as a platform for a wide variety of consumer activities. These markets are evolving rapidly, and it is not certain that their current growth trends will continue.

The adoption of Internet advertising, particularly by advertisers that have historically relied on traditional offline media, requires the acceptance of new approaches to conducting business and a willingness to invest in such new approaches in light of a difficult economic environment. Advertisers may perceive Internet advertising to be less effective than traditional advertising for marketing their products. They may also be unwilling to pay premium rates for online advertising that is targeted at specific segments of users based on their demographic profile or Internet behavior. The online advertising and eCommerce markets may also be adversely affected by privacy issues relating to such targeted advertising, including that which makes use of personalized

 

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information, or online behavioral information. Furthermore, online merchants may not be able to establish online commerce models that are cost effective and may not learn how to effectively compete with other Web sites or offline merchants. In addition, consumers may not continue to shift their spending on goods and services from offline outlets to the Internet. As a result, growth in the use of the Internet for eCommerce may not continue at a rapid rate, or the Internet may not be adopted as a medium of commerce by a broad base of customers or companies worldwide. Moreover, the adoption of advertising through mobile media may slow as a result of uncertain economic conditions or other factors. Because of the foregoing factors, among others, the market for Internet advertising and eCommerce, including commerce through mobile media, may not continue to grow at significant rates. If these markets do not continue to develop, or if they develop more slowly than expected, our business will suffer.

Our growth depends upon our ability to retain existing large customers and add new large customers; however, to the extent we are not successful in doing so, our ability to maintain profitability and positive cash flow may be impaired.

Our success depends in part on our ability to sell our products to large customers and on the renewal of the subscriptions of those customers in subsequent years. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and the years ended December 31, 2010, and 2009, we derived approximately 27%, 29% and 29%, respectively, of our total revenues from our top 10 customers. Uncertain economic conditions or other factors, such as the failure or consolidation of large client companies, or internal reorganization or changes in focus, may cause certain large customers to terminate or reduce their subscriptions. Moreover, certain recently acquired companies, have revenues highly concentrated in a few large customers. The loss of any one or more of those customers could decrease our revenues and harm our current and future operating results. The addition of new large customers or increases in sales to existing large customers may require particularly long implementation periods and other costs, which may adversely affect our profitability. To compete effectively, we have in the past been, and may in the future be, forced to offer significant discounts to maintain existing customers or acquire other large customers. In addition, we may be forced to reduce or withdraw from our relationships with certain existing customers or refrain from acquiring certain new customers in order to acquire or maintain relationships with important large customers. As a result, new large customers or increased usage of our products by large customers may cause our profits to decline and our ability to sell our products to other customers could be adversely affected.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a single customer, Microsoft Corporation. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and the years ended December 31, 2010, and 2009, we derived approximately 10%, 11% and 12%, respectively, of our total revenues from Microsoft. If Microsoft were to cease or substantially reduce its use of our products, our revenues and earnings might decline.

As our international operations grow, changes in foreign currencies could have an increased effect on our operating results.

A portion of our revenues and expenses from business operations in foreign countries are derived from transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of our operations in those countries. As such, we have exposure to adverse changes in exchange rates associated with revenues and operating expenses of our foreign operations, but we believe this exposure to be immaterial at this time and do not currently engage in any transactions that hedge foreign currency exchange rate risk. As we grow our international operations, and acquire companies with established business in international regions, our exposure to foreign currency risk could become more significant.

Conditions and changes in the national and global economic environment may adversely affect our business and financial results.

Adverse economic conditions in markets in which we operate can harm our business. If the economies of the United States and other countries continue to experience prolonged uncertainty, customers may delay or reduce their purchases of digital marketing intelligence products and services. In recent years, economic conditions in the countries in which we operate and sell products have been negative, and global financial markets have experienced significant volatility stemming from a multitude of factors, including adverse credit conditions impacted by concerns about the credit worthiness of U.S. treasury securities, the subprime-mortgage crisis, slower economic activity, inflation and deflation, decreased consumer confidence, increased unemployment, reduced corporate profits and capital spending, adverse business conditions, liquidity and other factors. Notwithstanding certain signs of economic recovery during 2010, economic growth may stagnate during 2011 in the U.S. and internationally, particularly in view of recent economic turmoil in Europe as well as political unrest in the Middle East. During challenging economic times, and in tight credit markets, many customers have and may continue to delay or reduce spending. Additionally, some of our customers may be unable to fully pay for purchases or may discontinue their businesses, resulting in the incurrence of uncollectible receivables for us. This could result in reductions in our sales, longer sales cycles, difficulties in collection of accounts receivable, slower adoption of new technologies and increased price competition. This downturn may also impact our available resources for financing new and existing operations. If global economic and market conditions, or economic conditions in the United States or other key markets deteriorate, we may experience a material and adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

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Changes and instability in the national and global political environments may adversely affect our business and financial results.

Recent turmoil in the political environment in many parts of the world, including terrorist activities, military actions, political unrest and increases in energy costs due to instability in oil-producing regions may continue to put pressure on global economic conditions. If global economic and market conditions, or economic conditions in the United States or other key markets deteriorate, we may experience material impacts on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

If we fail to respond to technological developments, our products may become obsolete or less competitive.

Our future success will depend in part on our ability to modify or enhance our products to meet customer needs, to add functionality and to address technological advancements. For example, if certain handheld devices become the primary mode of receiving content and conducting transactions on the Internet, and we are unable to adapt to collect information from such devices, then we would not be able to report on online activity. To remain competitive, we will need to develop new products that address these evolving technologies and standards across the universe of digital media — including television, Internet and mobile usage. However, we may be unsuccessful in identifying new product opportunities or in developing or marketing new products in a timely or cost-effective manner. In addition, our product innovations may not achieve the market penetration or price levels necessary for profitability. If we are unable to develop enhancements to, and new features for, our existing methodologies or products or if we are unable to develop new products that keep pace with rapid technological developments or changing industry standards, our products may become obsolete, less marketable and less competitive, and our business will be harmed.

The market for digital marketing intelligence is highly competitive, and if we cannot compete effectively, our revenues will decline and our business will be harmed.

The market for digital marketing intelligence is highly competitive and is evolving rapidly. We compete primarily with providers of digital media intelligence and related analytical products and services. We also compete with providers of marketing services and solutions, with full-service survey providers and with internal solutions developed by customers and potential customers. Our principal competitors include:

 

   

large and small companies that provide data and analysis of consumers’ online behavior, including Effective Measures, Gemius, Compete Inc. (owned by WPP), Google, Inc., Hitwise (owned by Experian), Quantcast, Visible Measures and Nielsen;

 

   

online advertising companies that provide measurement of online ad effectiveness, including DoubleClick (owned by Google), Kantar (owned by WPP), ValueClick and WPP;

 

   

companies that provide audience ratings for TV, radio and other media that have extended or may extend their current services, particularly in certain international markets, to the measurement of digital media, including Arbitron, Nielsen and Taylor Nelson Sofres (owned by WPP);

 

   

analytical services companies that provide customers with detailed information of behavior on their own Web sites, including Omniture (owned by Adobe), Coremetrics (owned by IBM), and WebTrends;

 

   

full-service market research firms and survey providers that may measure online behavior and attitudes, including Harris Interactive, Ipsos, Synnovate, GFK, Kantar (owned by WPP) and Nielsen;

 

   

companies that provide behavioral, attitudinal and qualitative advertising effectiveness, including Toluna/Nurago, Click Forensics, Datran’s Aperture, Ipsos OTX, Dynamic Logic, Insight Express and Marketing Evolution; and

 

   

specialty information providers for certain industries that we serve, including IMS Health (healthcare) and Techtronix (telecommunications).

Some of our current competitors have longer operating histories, access to larger customer bases and substantially greater resources than we do. As a result, these competitors may be able to devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns, panel retention, panel development or development of systems and technologies than we can. In addition, some of our competitors may adopt more aggressive pricing policies or have started to provide some services at no cost. Furthermore, large software companies, Internet portals and database management companies may enter our market or enhance their current offerings, either by developing competing services or by acquiring our competitors, and could leverage their significant resources and pre-existing relationships with our current and potential customers.

 

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If we are unable to compete successfully against our current and future competitors, we may not be able to retain and acquire customers, and we may consequently experience a decline in revenues, reduced operating margins, loss of market share and diminished value from our products.

We may encounter difficulties managing our growth and costs, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have experienced significant growth over the past several years in the U.S. and internationally. We have substantially expanded our overall business, customer base, headcount, data collection and processing infrastructure and operating procedures as our business has grown through both organic growth and acquisitions. We increased our total number of full time employees to approximately 1,014 employees as of September 30, 2011 from 176 employees as of December 31, 2003. As a result of downward adjustments to compensation and reductions in our workforce made in recent periods, however, we may encounter decreased employee morale and increased employee turnover. Moreover, as a result of acquisition integration initiatives, we may reduce the workforce of an acquired company or reassign personnel. Such actions may expose us to disruption by dissatisfied employees or employee-related claims, including without limitation, claims by terminated employees that believe they are owed more compensation than we believe these employees are due under our compensation and benefit plans, or claims maintained internationally in jurisdictions whose laws and procedures differ from those in the United States. In addition, during this same period, we made substantial investments in our network infrastructure operations as a result of our growth and the growth of our panel, and we have also undertaken certain strategic acquisitions.

We believe that we will need to continue to effectively manage and expand our organization, operations and facilities in order to accommodate potential future growth or acquisitions and to successfully integrate acquired businesses. If we continue to grow, either organically or through acquired businesses, our current systems and facilities may not be adequate. Our need to effectively manage our operations and cost structure requires that we continue to assess and improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures. For example, we may be required to enter into leases for additional facilities or commit to significant investments in the build out of current or new facilities to support our growth. If we are unable to effectively forecast our facilities needs or if we are unable to sublease or terminate leases for unused space, we may experience increased unexpected costs. If we are not able to efficiently and effectively manage our cost structure or are unable to find appropriate space to support our needs, our business may be impaired.

Failure to effectively expand our sales and marketing capabilities could harm our ability to increase our customer base and achieve broader market acceptance of our products.

Increasing our customer base and achieving broader market acceptance of our products will depend to a significant extent on our ability to expand our sales and marketing operations. We expect to continue to rely on our direct sales force to obtain new customers. We may expand or enhance our direct sales force both domestically and internationally. We believe that there is significant competition for direct sales personnel with the sales skills and technical knowledge that we require. Our ability to achieve significant growth in revenues in the future will depend, in large part, on our success in recruiting, training and retaining sufficient numbers of direct sales personnel, and our ability to cross train our existing sales force with the sales forces of acquired businesses so that the sales personnel have the necessary information and ability to sell or develop sales prospects for both our products and the products of recently-acquired companies. In general, new hires require significant training and substantial experience before becoming productive. Our recent hires and planned hires may not become as productive as we require, and we may be unable to hire or retain sufficient numbers of qualified individuals in the future in the markets where we currently operate or where we seek to conduct business. Our business will be seriously harmed if the efforts to expand our sales and marketing capabilities are not successful or if they do not generate a sufficient increase in revenues.

If we fail to develop our brand, our business may suffer.

We believe that building and maintaining awareness of comScore and our portfolio of products in a cost-effective manner is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our current and future products and is an important element in attracting new customers. We will also need to carefully manage the brands used by recently-acquired businesses as we integrate such businesses into our own. We rely on our relationships with the media and the exposure we receive from numerous citations of our data by media outlets to build brand awareness and credibility among our customers and the marketplace. Furthermore, we believe that brand recognition will become more important for us as competition in our market increases. Our brand’s success will depend on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts and on our ability to provide reliable and valuable products to our customers at competitive prices. Our brand marketing activities may not yield increased revenues, and even if they do, any increased revenues may not offset the expenses we incur in attempting to build our brand. If we fail to successfully market our brand, we may fail to attract new customers, retain existing customers or attract media coverage to the extent necessary to realize a sufficient return on our brand-building efforts, and our business and results of operations could suffer.

We have a limited operating history and may not be able to achieve financial or operational success.

We were incorporated in 1999 and introduced our first syndicated Internet audience measurement product in 2000. Many of our other products were first introduced during the past few years. Accordingly, we are still in the early stages of development and have only a limited operating history upon which our business can be evaluated. You should evaluate our likelihood of

 

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financial and operational success in light of the risks, uncertainties, expenses, delays and difficulties associated with an early-stage business in an evolving market, some of which may be beyond our control, including:

 

   

our ability to successfully manage any growth we may achieve in the future;

 

   

the risks associated with operating a business in international markets, including Asia, Europe and Latin America; and

 

   

our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, technologies or services.

We have a history of significant net losses, may incur significant net losses in the future and may not maintain profitability.

Although we have generated profits in prior periods, we incurred a net loss of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. As such we cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve, sustain or increase profitability in the future, particularly if we engage in additional acquisition activity as we did in 2010. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, we incurred a net loss of $12.5 million. As of September 30, 2011, we had an accumulated deficit of $65.8 million. Because a large portion of our costs are fixed, we may not be able to reduce or maintain our expenses in response to any decrease in our revenues, which would adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we expect operating expenses to increase as we implement certain growth initiatives, which include, among other things, the development of new products, expansion of our infrastructure, plans for international expansion and general and administrative expenses associated with being a public company. If our revenues do not increase to offset these expected increases in costs and operating expenses, our operating results would be materially and adversely affected. You should not consider our revenue growth in recent periods as indicative of our future performance, as our operating results for future periods are subject to numerous uncertainties.

We have limited experience with respect to our pricing model, and if the fees we charge for our products are unacceptable to our customers, our revenues and operating results will be harmed.

We have limited experience in determining the fees that our existing and potential customers will find acceptable for our products, the products of companies that we recently acquired, and any potential products that are developed as a result of the integration of our company with acquired companies. The majority of our customers purchase specifically-tailored subscription packages that are priced in the aggregate. Due to the level of customization of such subscription packages, the pricing of contracts or individual product components of such packages may not be readily comparable across customers or periods. Existing and potential customers may have difficulty assessing the value of our products and services when comparing it to competing products and services. As the market for our products matures, or as new competitors introduce new products or services that compete with ours, we may be unable to renew our agreements with existing customers or attract new customers with the fees we have historically charged. As a result, it is possible that future competitive dynamics in our market as well as global economic pressures may require us to reduce our fees, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues, profitability and operating results.

If we are unable to sell additional products to our existing customers or attract new customers, our revenue growth will be adversely affected.

To increase our revenues, we believe we must sell additional products to existing customers, including existing customers of acquired businesses, and regularly add new customers. If our existing and prospective customers do not perceive our products to be of sufficient value and quality, we may not be able to increase sales to existing customers and attract new customers, or we may have difficulty retaining existing customers, and our operating results will be adversely affected.

We depend on third parties for data that is critical to our business, and our business could suffer if we cannot continue to obtain data from these suppliers.

We rely on third-party data sources for information regarding certain digital activities such as television viewing and mobile usage, as well as for information about offline activities of and demographic information regarding our panelists. The availability and accuracy of these data is important to the continuation and development of our cross-media products, products that use server- or census-based information as part of the research methodology, and products that link online and offline activity. If this information is not available to us at commercially reasonable terms, or is found to be inaccurate, it could harm our reputation, business and financial performance.

System failures or delays in the operation of our computer and communications systems may harm our business.

Our success depends on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems and the third-party data centers we use. Our ability to collect and report accurate data may be interrupted by a number of factors, including our inability to access the Internet, the failure of our network or software systems, computer viruses, security breaches or variability in user traffic on customer Web sites. A failure of our network or data gathering procedures could impede the processing of data, cause the corruption or loss of data or prevent the timely delivery of our products.

 

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In the future, we may need to expand our network and systems at a more rapid pace than we have in the past. Our network or systems may not be capable of meeting the demand for increased capacity, or we may incur additional unanticipated expenses to accommodate these capacity demands. In addition, we may lose valuable data, be unable to obtain or provide data on a timely basis or our network may temporarily shut down if we fail to adequately expand or maintain our network capabilities to meet future requirements. Any lapse in our ability to collect or transmit data may decrease the value of our products and prevent us from providing the data requested by our customers. Any disruption in our network processing or loss of Internet user data may damage our reputation and result in the loss of customers, and our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We rely on a small number of third-party service providers to host and deliver our products, and any interruptions or delays in services from these third parties could impair the delivery of our products and harm our business.

We host our products and serve all of our customers from two third-party data center facilities located in Virginia and Illinois. While we operate our equipment inside these facilities, we do not control the operation of either of these facilities, and, depending on service level requirements, we may not continue to operate or maintain redundant data center facilities for all of our products or for all of our data, which could increase our vulnerability. These facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures and similar events. They are also subject to break-ins, computer viruses, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and other misconduct. A natural disaster or an act of terrorism, a decision to close the facilities without adequate notice or other unanticipated problems could result in lengthy interruptions in availability of our products. We may also encounter capacity limitations at our third-party data centers. Additionally, our data center facility agreements are of limited durations, and our data center facilities have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Our agreement for our data center facility located in Virginia expires in April 2013, if not renewed, and our agreement for our data center facility located in Illinois expires in July 2011, if not renewed. Although we are not substantially dependent on either data center facility because of planned redundancies, and although we currently are able to migrate to alternative data centers, such a migration may result in an interruption or delay in service. If we are unable to renew our agreements with the owners of the facilities on commercially reasonable terms, or if we migrate to a new data center, we may experience delays in delivering our products until an agreement with another data center facility can be arranged or the migration to a new facility is completed.

We currently leverage a large content delivery network, or CDN, to provide services that allow us to offer a more efficient tagging solution for our Media Metrix 360 product offerings. If that service faced unplanned outage or the service became immediately unavailable, an alternate CDN provider or additional capacity in our data centers would need to be established to support the large volume of tag requests that we currently manage which would either require additional investments in equipment and facilities or a transition plan. This could unexpectedly raise the costs and could contribute to delays or losses in tag data that could affect the quality and reputation of our Media Metrix 360 data products.

Further, we depend on access to the Internet through third-party bandwidth providers to operate our business. If we lose the services of one or more of our bandwidth providers for any reason, we could experience disruption in the delivery of our products or be required to retain the services of a replacement bandwidth provider. It may be difficult for us to replace any lost bandwidth on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, due to the large amount of bandwidth our operations require.

Our operations also rely heavily on the availability of electrical power and cooling capacity, which are also supplied by third-party providers. If we or the third-party data center operators that we use to deliver our products were to experience a major power outage or if the cost of electrical power increases significantly, our operations and profitability would be harmed. If we or the third-party data centers that we use were to experience a major power outage, we would have to rely on back-up generators, which may not function properly, and their supply may be inadequate. Such a power outage could result in the disruption of our business. Additionally, if our current facilities fail to have sufficient cooling capacity or availability of electrical power, we would need to find alternative facilities.

Any errors, defects, disruptions or other performance problems with our products caused by third parties could harm our reputation and may damage our business. Interruptions in the availability of our products may reduce our revenues due to increased turnaround time to complete projects, cause us to issue credits to customers, cause customers to terminate their subscription and project agreements or adversely affect our renewal rates. Our business would be harmed if our customers or potential customers believe our products are unreliable.

Domestic or foreign laws, regulations or enforcement actions may limit our ability to collect and use information about Internet users or restrict or prohibit our product offerings, causing a decrease in the value of our products and an adverse impact on the sales of our products.

Our business could be adversely impacted by existing or future laws or regulations of, or actions by, domestic or foreign regulatory agencies. For example, privacy concerns could lead to legislative, judicial and regulatory limitations on our ability to collect maintain and use information about Internet users in the United States and abroad. Various state legislatures have enacted legislation designed to protect Internet users’ privacy, for example by prohibiting spyware. In recent years, similar legislation has been proposed in other states and at the federal level and has been enacted in foreign countries, most notably by the European Union, which adopted a privacy directive regulating the collection of personally identifiable information online and more recently, restricting the use of cookies without opt-in consent by the user. Recently, the U.S. Congress and regulators have

 

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expressed concern over the collection of Internet usage information as part of a larger initiative to regulate online behavioral advertising. A similar concern has been raised by regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom. In addition, U.S. and European lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern over the use of third party cookies or web beacons to understand Internet usage. These laws and regulations, if drafted or interpreted broadly, could be deemed to apply to the technology we use, and could restrict our information collection methods, and the collection methods of third parties from whom we may obtain data, or decrease the amount and utility of the information that we would be permitted to collect. Even if such laws and regulations are not enacted, lawmakers and regulators may publicly call into question the collection and use of Internet or mobile usage data and may affect vendors and customers’ willingness to do business with us. In addition, our ability to conduct business in certain foreign jurisdictions, including China, is restricted by the laws, regulations and agency actions of those jurisdictions. The costs of compliance with, and the other burdens imposed by, these and other laws or regulatory actions may prevent us from selling our products or increase the costs associated with selling our products, and may affect our ability to invest in or jointly develop products in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions.

In addition, failure to comply with these and other laws and regulations may result in, among other things, administrative enforcement actions and fines, class action lawsuits and civil and criminal liability. State attorneys general, governmental and non-governmental entities and private persons may bring legal actions asserting that our methods of collecting, using and distributing Web site visitor information are illegal or improper, which could require us to spend significant time and resources defending these claims. For example, some companies that collect, use and distribute Web site visitor information have been the subject of governmental investigations and class-action lawsuits. Any such regulatory or civil action that is brought against us, even if unsuccessful, may distract our management’s attention, divert our resources, negatively affect our public image or reputation among our panelists and customers and harm our business.

The impact of any of these current or future laws or regulations could make it more difficult or expensive to attract or maintain panelists, particularly in affected jurisdictions, and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Laws related to the regulation of the Internet could adversely affect our business.

Laws and regulations that apply to communications and commerce over the Internet are becoming more prevalent. In particular, the growth and development of the market for eCommerce has prompted calls for more stringent tax, consumer protection and privacy laws in the United States and abroad that may impose additional burdens on companies conducting business online. The adoption, modification or interpretation of laws or regulations relating to the Internet or our customers’ digital operations could negatively affect the businesses of our customers and reduce their demand for our products. Even if such laws and regulations are not enacted, lawmakers and regulators may publicly call into question the collection and use of Internet or mobile usage data and may affect vendors and customers’ willingness to do business with us.

If we fail to respond to evolving industry standards, our products may become obsolete or less competitive.

The market for our products is characterized by rapid technological advances, changes in customer requirements, changes in protocols and evolving industry standards. For example, industry associations such as the Advertising Research Foundation, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, the Internet Advertising Bureau, or IAB, and the Media Rating Council have independently initiated efforts to either review online market research methodologies or to develop minimum standards for online market research. In September 2007, we began a full audit to obtain accreditation by the Media Rating Council. Any standards adopted by U.S or internationally based industry associations may lead to costly changes to our procedures and methodologies. As a result, the cost of developing our digital marketing intelligence products could increase. If we do not adhere to standards prescribed by the IAB or other industry associations, our customers could choose to purchase products from competing companies that meet such standards. Furthermore, industry associations based in countries outside of the United States often endorse certain vendors or methodologies. If our methodologies fail to receive an endorsement from an important industry association located in a foreign country, advertising agencies, media companies and advertisers in that country may not purchase our products. As a result, our efforts to further expand internationally could be adversely affected.

The success of our business depends on the continued growth of the Internet as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications.

Expansion in the sales of our products depends on the continued acceptance of the Internet as a platform for commerce, content, advertising and communications. The use of the Internet as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications could be adversely impacted by delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased demands of Internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease-of-use, accessibility and quality-of-service. The performance of the Internet and its acceptance as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications has been harmed by viruses, worms, and similar malicious programs, and the Internet has experienced a variety of outages and other delays as a result of damage to portions of its infrastructure. If for any reason the Internet does not remain a medium for widespread commerce, content, advertising and communications, the demand for our products would be significantly reduced, which would harm our business.

 

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We rely on our management team and may need additional personnel to grow our business; the loss of one or more key employees or the inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could harm our business.

Our success and future growth depends to a significant degree on the skills and continued services of our management team, including our founders, Magid M. Abraham, Ph.D. and Gian M. Fulgoni. Our future success also depends on our ability to retain, attract and motivate highly skilled technical, managerial, marketing and customer service personnel, including members of our management team. All of our employees work for us on an at-will basis. We plan to hire additional personnel in all areas of our business, particularly for our sales, marketing and technology development areas, both domestically and internationally, which will likely increase our recruiting and hiring costs. Competition for these types of personnel is intense, particularly in the Internet and software industries. As a result, we may be unable to successfully attract or retain qualified personnel. Our inability to retain and attract the necessary personnel could adversely affect our business.

Changes in, or interpretations of, accounting rules and regulations, could result in unfavorable accounting charges or cause us to change our compensation policies.

Accounting methods and policies, including policies governing revenue recognition, expenses and accounting for stock options are continually subject to review, interpretation, and guidance from relevant accounting authorities, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, and the SEC. Changes to, or interpretations of, accounting methods or policies in the future may require us to reclassify, restate or otherwise change or revise our financial statements.

Investors could lose confidence in our financial reports, and our business and stock price may be adversely affected, if our internal control over financial reporting is found by management or by our independent registered public accounting firm to not be adequate or if we disclose significant existing or potential deficiencies or material weaknesses in those controls.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to include a report on our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. That report includes management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end the fiscal year. Additionally, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to issue a report on their evaluation of the operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

We continue to evaluate our existing internal controls against the standards adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB. During the course of our ongoing evaluation of our internal controls, we have in the past identified, and may in the future identify, areas requiring improvement, and may have to design enhanced processes and controls to address issues identified through this review. Remedying any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses that we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify could require us to incur significant costs and expend significant time and management resources. We cannot assure you that any of the measures we may implement to remedy any such deficiencies will effectively mitigate or remedy such deficiencies. Further, if we are not able to complete the assessment under Section 404 in a timely manner or to remedy any identified material weaknesses, we and our independent registered public accounting firm would be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective at the required reporting deadlines. If our internal control over financial reporting is found by management or by our independent registered public accountant to not be adequate or if we disclose significant existing or potential deficiencies or material weaknesses in those controls, investors could lose confidence in our financial reports, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by The NASDAQ Global Market, the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory authorities and our stock price could be adversely affected.

In future periods, we may upgrade our financial reporting systems and to implement new information technology systems to better manage our business, streamline our financial reporting and enhance our existing internal controls. We may experience difficulties if we transition to new or upgraded systems, including loss of data and decreases in productivity as our personnel become familiar with new systems. In addition, we expect that our existing management information systems may require modification and refinement as we grow and our business needs change. Any modifications could prolong difficulties we experience with systems transitions, and we may not always employ the most efficient or effective systems for our purposes. If upgrades cost more or take longer than we anticipate, our operating results could be adversely affected. Moreover, if we experience difficulties in implementing new or upgraded information systems or experience system failures, or if we are unable to successfully modify our management information systems to respond to changes in our business needs, our ability to timely and effectively process analyze and prepare financial statements could be adversely affected.

A determination that there is a significant deficiency or material weakness in the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could also reduce our ability to obtain financing or could increase the cost of any financing we obtain and require additional expenditures to comply with applicable requirements.

Our net operating loss carryforwards may expire unutilized or underutilized, which could prevent us from offsetting future taxable income.

We have previously experienced “changes in control” that have triggered the limitations of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code on a portion of our net operating loss carryforwards. As a result, we may be limited in the amount of net operating loss carryforwards that we can use in the future to offset taxable income for U.S. Federal income tax purposes.

 

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As of September 30, 2011, we estimate our federal and state net operating loss carryforwards for tax purposes are approximately $40.3 million and $31.7 million, respectively. These net operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire in 2022 for federal income tax reporting purposes and in 2016 for state income tax reporting purposes.

In addition, at September 30, 2011 we estimate our aggregate net operating loss carryforwards for tax purposes related to our foreign subsidiaries are $30.6 million, which will begin to expire in 2011.

We apply a valuation allowance to certain deferred tax assets when management does not believe that it is more-likely-than-not that they will be realized. In assessing the need for any valuation allowances, we consider the reversal of existing temporary differences associated with deferred tax assets and liabilities, future taxable income, tax planning strategies and historical and future pre-tax book income (as adjusted for permanent differences between financial and tax accounting items) in order to determine if it is more likely than not that the deferred tax asset will be realized.

As of September 30, 2011, we had a valuation allowance related to the deferred tax asset for the value of the auction rate securities and the deferred tax assets of the foreign subsidiaries (primarily net operating loss carryforwards) that are either loss companies or are in their start-up phases, including Spain, Australia and the Netherlands. Management will continue to evaluate the deferred tax position of our U.S. and foreign companies throughout 2011 to determine the appropriate level of valuation allowance required against our deferred tax assets.

We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital may not be available on acceptable terms or at all.

We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new products or enhance our existing products, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary businesses and technologies.

Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could include restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited. In addition, the terms of any additional equity or debt issuances may adversely affect the value and price of our common stock.

Risks Related to the Securities Market and Ownership of our Common Stock

The trading price of our common stock may be subject to significant fluctuations and volatility, and our new stockholders may be unable to resell their shares at a profit.

The stock markets, in general, and the markets for technology stocks in particular, have experienced high levels of volatility. The market for technology stocks has been extremely volatile and frequently reaches levels that bear no relationship to the past or present operating performance of those companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. In addition, the trading price of our common stock has been subject to significant fluctuations and may continue to fluctuate or decline.

The price of our common stock in the market may be higher or lower than the price you pay, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. It is possible that, in future quarters, our operating results may be below the expectations of analysts or investors. As a result of these and other factors, the price of our common stock may decline, possibly materially. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock include the following:

 

   

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;

 

   

volatility in the market price and trading volume of technology companies and of companies in our industry;

 

   

actual or anticipated changes or fluctuations in our operating results;

 

   

actual or anticipated changes in expectations regarding our performance by investors or securities analysts;

 

   

the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock or changes in financial estimates by analysts;

 

   

actual or anticipated developments in our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape;

 

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actual or perceived inaccuracies in, or dissatisfaction with, information we provide to our customers or the media;

 

   

litigation involving us, our industry or both;

 

   

regulatory developments;

 

   

privacy and security concerns, including public perception of our practices as an invasion of privacy;

 

   

general economic conditions and trends;

 

   

major catastrophic events;

 

   

sales of large blocks of our stock;

 

   

the timing and success of new product introductions or upgrades by us or our competitors;

 

   

changes in our pricing policies or payment terms or those of our competitors;

 

   

concerns relating to the security of our network and systems;

 

   

our ability to expand our operations, domestically and internationally, and the amount and timing of expenditures related to this expansion; or

 

   

departures of key personnel.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If our stock price is volatile, we may become the target of securities litigation, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources from our business. In addition, volatility, lack of positive performance in our stock price or changes to our overall compensation program, including our equity incentive program, may adversely affect our ability to retain key employees.

We cannot assure you that a market will continue to develop or exist for our common stock or what the market price of our common stock will be.

We cannot assure you that a public trading market for our common stock will continue to develop or be sustained. If a market is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at an attractive price or at all. We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Future sales of shares by existing stockholders or new issuances of securities by us could cause our stock price to decline.

If we or our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock or other securities in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline. Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock or other securities by us or our existing stockholders could lower the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of new securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting a public company, which could adversely affect our operating results.

As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission and The NASDAQ Stock

 

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Market, requires certain corporate governance practices for public companies. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to public reporting requirements and corporate governance. These rules and regulations have significantly increased our legal and financial compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. We also have incurred additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. If these costs do not continue to be offset by increased revenues and improved financial performance, our operating results would be adversely affected. These rules and regulations also make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage if these costs continue to rise. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could depress the trading price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:

 

   

provide for a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board of directors are elected at one time;

 

   

authorize “blank check” preferred stock that our board of directors could issue to increase the number of outstanding shares to discourage a takeover attempt;

 

   

prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which means that all stockholder actions must be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;

 

   

prohibit stockholders from calling a special meeting of our stockholders;

 

   

provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and

 

   

provide for advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.

Additionally, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder and which may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

(a) Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities during the Three Months Ended September 30, 2011

On August 11, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of AdXpose. The aggregate merger consideration paid was $4.4 million in cash, 926,837 unregistered shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Unregistered Shares”), and an additional 55,448 shares of the Company’s common stock issued pursuant to comScore’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan. The Unregistered Shares were issued in a private placement exempt from registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Act because the issuance did not involve a public offering.

(b) Use of Proceeds from Sale of Registered Equity Securities

None.

(c) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

During the three months ended September 30, 2011, we repurchased the following shares of common stock in connection with certain restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards issued under our Equity Incentive Plans:

 

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     Total Number of
Shares (or Units)
Purchased(1)
     Average Price
Per

Share  (or Unit)
     Total
Number of
Shares (or
Units)
Purchased as
Part

of Publicly
Announced
Plans or
Programs
     Maximum
Number (or
Approximate
Dollar
Value) of
Shares

(or Units) that
May

Yet Be
Purchased
Under the
Plans or
Programs
 

July 1 — July 31, 2011

     10,811       $ 18.40         —           —     

August 1 — August 31, 2011

     41,175       $ 13.47         —           —     

September 1 — September 30, 2011

     51,654       $ 6.71         —           —     
  

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     103,640            —           —     
  

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) The shares included in the table above were repurchased either in connection with (i) our exercise of the repurchase right afforded to us in connection with certain employee restricted stock awards or (ii) the forfeiture of shares by an employee as payment of the minimum statutory withholding taxes due upon the vesting of certain employee restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards. A detailed breakout of each category follows below.

For the three months ended September 30, 2011, the shares repurchased in connection with our exercise of the repurchase right afforded to us upon the cessation of employment consisted of the following:

 

     Total Number of
Shares Purchased
     Average Price
Per Share
 

July 1 — July 31, 2011

     3,126       $ 0.00   

August 1 — August 31, 2011

     5,817       $ 0.00   

September 1 — September 30, 2011

     31,800       $ 0.00   
  

 

 

    

Total

     40,743      
  

 

 

    

The shares we repurchased in connection with the payment of minimum statutory withholding taxes due upon the vesting of certain restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards were repurchased at the then current fair market value of the shares. For the three months ended September 30, 2011, these shares consisted of the following:

 

     Total Number of
Shares Purchased
     Average Price
Per Share
 

July 1 — July 31, 2011

     7,685       $ 25.88   

August 1 — August 31, 2011

     35,358       $ 15.69   

September 1 — September 30, 2011

     19,854       $ 17.45   
  

 

 

    

Total

     62,897      
  

 

 

    

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4. Removed and Reserved

Not Applicable.

 

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Item 5. Other Information

None.

Item 6. Exhibits

The exhibits listed on the Exhibit Index attached hereto are filed or incorporated by reference (as stated therein) as part of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

comScore, Inc.

/s/ Kenneth J. Tarpey

Kenneth J. Tarpey

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer and

Duly Authorized Officer)

Date: November 3, 2011

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

2.1(1)   Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among comScore, Inc., CS Ad Solutions, LLC, AdXpose, Inc., Draper Associates, L.P., Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund IX, L.P., Draper Fisher Jurvetson Partners IX, LLC and Draper Fisher Jurveston Fund IX, L.P., as Stockholder Representative dated August 11, 2011 (Exhibit 2.1)*
3.1(2)   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (Exhibit 3.3)
3.2(2)   Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (Exhibit 3.4)
10.1(3)   Credit and Security Agreement by and between comScore, Inc., Bank of America, N.A. dated June 30, 2011 (Exhibit 10.2)
10.2(4)   Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (Exhibit 10.1)
31.1   Certification of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a 14(a) and Rule 15d 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2   Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a 14(a) and Rule 15d 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1   Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101(5)   Interactive Data Files Pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T: (i) Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, (ii) Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 and (iv) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. ††

 

* The registrant has omitted certain immaterial schedules and exhibits to this exhibit pursuant to the provisions of Regulation S-K, Item 601(b)(2). The schedule of exhibits omitted is included with such agreement. The registrant shall supplementally furnish a copy of any of the omitted schedules to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.
(1) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 12, 2011 (File No. 001-33520). The number given in parentheses indicates the corresponding exhibit number in such Form 8-K.
(2) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, dated June 26, 2007 (No. 333-141740). The number given in parentheses indicates the corresponding exhibit number in such Form S-1.
(3) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, filed August 9, 2011 (File No. 001-33520). The number given in parentheses indicates the corresponding exhibit number in such Form 10-Q.
(4) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 27, 2011 (File No. 001-33520). The number given in parentheses indicates the corresponding exhibit number in such Form 8-K.
(5) In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the information in these exhibits is furnished and deemed not filed or a part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act of 1934, and otherwise is not subject to liability under these sections and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

 

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