Illumin, formerly AcuityAds, is an adtech platform. My thesis going into this quarter was reasonably straightforward. After a few years of showing no revenue growth and virtually no profitability, I thought the newly appointed CEO (in March 2024) would bring the company back to growth and improved profitability.
Fundamentally, it played out exactly as expected. Third-quarter revenue was up 23% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA was up 200%. The EBITDA margin was a little over 5% of revenues, so there is still much room for improvement. Historically, Illumin has achieved EBITDA margins of 15-17%.
The market reacted well to the results, sending the stock 10% higher the following day. However, sellers quickly appeared, and the stock returned within its previous trading range. I guess it will take another strong quarter or two before anybody gives them any credit. That said, I was delighted to see the progress.
Stock price when profiled (Oct 30): $1.74
Closing stock price yesterday (Nov 26): $1.75
Return: + 1%