Perion, which is quietly one of the larger publicly-traded adtech companies, providing omnichannel solutions through divisions like Undertone and Hivestack, reported “strong” Q3 results yesterday, with revenue reaching $102.2 million for the quarter.
Earlier this year, changes in Microsoft Bing’s ad pricing and search distribution impacted Perion’s legacy search ad business, which was a large part of its revenue. In response to that, Perion’s Tal Jacobson, CEO, increased the company’s focus on high-growth online ad channels, specifically retail media, CTV, and DOOH, to make up for it—and these efforts seem to be paying off.
Q3 highlights include a 62% year-over-year jump in retail media revenue to $21 million (accounting for 26% of non-search revenue, up from 13% last year), a 19% increase in CTV revenue to $9.5 million (now 12% of non-search revenue, up from 8% last year), and a 63% boost in DOOH revenue to $19.1 million (making up 23% of non-search revenue, up from 11% last year).
Following the report, Perion’s stock was up, with an overall increase of nearly 20% for the month.
Why This Matters:
Perion’s growth across retail media, CTV, and DOOH aligns with the momentum for each category.
Global retail media ad spend has increased by 21% over the past year, and is growing at a faster clip than social (!) and search. This is driven by retailers realizing their first-party data and owned channels are valuable, and can be used to build ad businesses—especially in a data deprecation environment where brands seek more data-driven channels to advertise on, and as legacy retail margins have shrunk. Criteo, which is investing a lot in retail media, too, also saw a big boost in its Q3 retail media numbers, powered by the category’s overall growth.
CTV has also exploded, with US brands expected to spend over $28 billion on it in 2024, or one-third of total TV ad spend (CTV and linear). This is ultimately fueled by the shift of viewers from traditional linear TV to streaming, with advertisers simply following audiences. (Today, continuing the CTV drumbeat, Marketing Dive reports Perion has also launched a “Stay Live” CTV ad format that “uses AI to place ads dynamically by analyzing broadcast streams for moments of high engagement but low interruption.”)
DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) is also on the rise, with spending expected to eclipse $20.4 billion this year. This growth is driven by advancements in digital display technologies and the ability to deliver dynamic, contextually relevant ads in public spaces through programmatic buying.
Experts React:
Tal Jacobson, Perion’s CEO, via the company’s earnings press release:
“All three growth engines delivered strong results in the quarter, signaling that our multi-channel strategy is gaining traction with advertisers who trust us to activate their messages across all screens and formats. DOOH, Retail Media and CTV are leading today’s industry trends, and we are committed to developing and introducing new innovative omni-channel solutions that position Perion at the forefront of these high-growth areas.”
Our Take:
Adtech companies chasing retail media and CTV are a no-brainer. Clearly, from Perion’s earnings announcement (63% DOOH YoY growth), OOH is also an intriguing opportunity area that’s underdiscussed. Yes, the growth of OOH is moderate and steady, but ongoing tech advancements—more digital screens inside, outside, and wherever you are, and greater integration into adtech platforms—will open up more opportunities for targeted and creative advertising.
For what it’s worth, EMARKETER predicts OOH ad spending in the US will top $10 billion for the first time in 2027.
