Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $53.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.08 million. Fluent had a negative return on equity of 155.09% and a negative net margin of 11.48%.

Here are the key takeaways from Fluent’s conference call:

• Commerce Media Solutions (CMS) continued to scale rapidly, doubling year over year to $37.5 million, or 70% of revenue, and reaching an annual revenue run rate above $145 million.
• Revenue from continuing businesses rose 29%, accelerating from 25% in Q2; total consolidated revenue increased 14% to $53.6 million, marking a second consecutive quarter of growth on the continuing-business basis.
• Profitability improved: gross profit increased 41% to $15.3 million, adjusted EBITDA was nearly break-even versus a $3.4 million loss a year earlier, and year-to-date operating cash flow was positive $2.8 million.
• Management expects double-digit revenue growth in Q4 and for full-year 2026 continuing businesses, positive Q4 adjusted EBITDA, and double-digit consolidated revenue growth in 2027. CMS growth is expected to remain high double digits in Q4, though moderate from Q3 as the partner mix diversifies.
• Q3 CMS gross margin benefited from a partner contract renegotiation that management said will not recur; it expects CMS gross margin to settle in the high-20% range. Fluent reported $11.4 million in cash against $31.5 million in short-term debt.

Fluent Trading Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:FLNT traded down $0.14 on Thursday, reaching $3.32. 79,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,056. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.12 and its 200-day moving average is $3.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Fluent has a 1-year low of $1.70 and a 1-year high of $4.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FLNT. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $4.50 target price on Fluent and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $5.50 price target (up from $5.00) on shares of Fluent in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Graff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.00, for a total value of $75,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 95,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,314. This represents a 20.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Geygan acquired 12,376 shares of Fluent stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.38 per share, for a total transaction of $41,830.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,137,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,606,304.80. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 27,575 shares of company stock worth $92,357 and sold 28,830 shares worth $89,764. Company insiders own 38.40% of the company’s stock.

About Fluent

Fluent, Inc. is a digital marketing and advertising technology company that helps brands and agencies acquire, engage and retain customers. Its services are designed to support performance marketing campaigns across digital channels, using audience data, targeting tools and campaign optimization capabilities. The company provides solutions for programmatic advertising, customer acquisition, lead generation and audience engagement. Fluent’s offerings are intended to help advertisers reach relevant consumers, manage campaigns across multiple channels and measure marketing outcomes.