The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Stride (NYSE: LRN) and the rest of the digital media & content platforms stocks fared in Q4.
AI-driven content creation, personalized media experiences, and digital advertising are evolving, which could benefit companies investing in these themes. For example, companies with a portfolio of licensed visual content or platforms facilitating direct monetization models could see increased demand for years. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective.
The 7 digital media & content platforms stocks we track reported a slower Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 3.5% below.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 10.5% since the latest earnings results.
Best Q4: Stride (NYSE: LRN)
Formerly known as K12, Stride (NYSE: LRN) is an education technology company providing education solutions through digital platforms.
Stride reported revenues of $587.2 million, up 16.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is up 16.7% since reporting and currently trades at $140.79.
WEBTOON (NASDAQ: WBTN)
Pioneering a vertical-scrolling format optimized for mobile devices, WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ: WBTN) operates a global platform where creators publish serialized web-comics and web-novels that users can read in bite-sized episodes.
WEBTOON reported revenues of $352.8 million, up 5.6% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. The business performed better than its peers, but it was unfortunately a slower quarter with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 9.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $9.10.
Is now the time to buy WEBTOON? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD)
Originally a pioneering technology publisher founded in 1927 that became famous for PC Magazine, Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD) operates a portfolio of digital media brands and subscription services across technology, shopping, gaming, healthcare, and cybersecurity markets.
Ziff Davis reported revenues of $412.8 million, up 5.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
Ziff Davis delivered the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 35.5% since the results and currently trades at $30.95.
Read our full analysis of Ziff Davis’s results here.
Getty Images (NYSE: GETY)
With a vast library of over 562 million visual assets documenting everything from breaking news to iconic historical moments, Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a global visual content marketplace that licenses photos, videos, illustrations, and music to businesses, media outlets, and creative professionals.
Getty Images reported revenues of $247.3 million, up 9.5% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. However, it was a softer quarter as it recorded a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
Getty Images had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 8.6% since reporting and currently trades at $1.97.
Read our full, actionable report on Getty Images here, it’s free.
Vimeo (NASDAQ: VMEO)
Originally launched in 2004 as a platform for filmmakers seeking a high-quality alternative to YouTube, Vimeo (NASDAQ: VMEO) provides cloud-based video creation, editing, hosting, and distribution software that helps businesses and creators make, manage, and share professional-quality videos.
Vimeo reported revenues of $103.2 million, down 2.3% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. Aside from that, it was a softer quarter as it logged a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 25.5% since reporting and currently trades at $5.06.
Read our full, actionable report on Vimeo here, it’s free.
Market Update
Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
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