Blucora Announces Third Quarter 2021 Results

DALLAS, Nov. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR), a leading provider of technology-enabled, tax focused financial solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

Third Quarter Highlights and Recent Developments

• Total revenue for the quarter was $174.2 million
• GAAP Net Loss of $27.8 million, or $(0.57) per diluted share
• Non-GAAP Net Loss of $12.8 million, or $(0.26) per diluted share
• Total client assets ended the quarter up 14% year-over-year to $86.6 billion, with $39.8 billion, or 45.9% in advisory assets
• Advisory assets increased 23% year-over-year, including approximately $5.4 billion in Avantax Planning Partners (“APP”) assets
• Preliminary outlook for the tax software segment projects revenue growth of between 14% and 18% from the mid-point of our 2021 full-year guidance. Preliminary outlook for operating income for full year 2022 of between $98 million and $106 million, which would be an all-time high
• In late August, we completed the acquisition of Headquarters Advisory Group, LLC and on November 2^nd, we announced the completed acquisition of Warner Finance, both were existing FPs, which continues to expand the nationwide footprint of Avantax’s in-house RIA

“We believe that continued execution of our strategy will drive long-term sustainable growth within both of our segments. It’s great to see the progress that our team is making in delivering ongoing improvements in the experiences for our Financial Professionals and customers” commented Chris Walters, Blucora’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Walters continued, “Our progress is highlighted by the strong 2022 tax software segment outlook that we’ve shared today.”

Summary Financial Performance: Q3 2021
($ in millions, except per share amounts)

_________________________
(1)   See reconciliations of all non-GAAP to GAAP measures presented in this release in the tables below.

Full Year 2021 Outlook

____________________________
(1)   See reconciliations of all non-GAAP to GAAP measures presented in this release in the tables below.

Preliminary 2022 Tax Software Outlook

As we have continued to analyze the data from our new marketing efforts and from our new product and service offerings, we are confident in providing our preliminary outlook for 2022. At this time, we are providing our preliminary 2022 outlook for the Tax Software segment to provide revenue growth of between 14% and 18% from the mid-point of our full year 2021 guidance and segment operating income of between $98 and $106 million.      

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and live webcast will be held today at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time during which the Company will further discuss third quarter results, its outlook for full year 2021, and other business matters. We will also provide supplemental financial information to our results on the Investor Relations section of the Blucora corporate website at www.blucora.com prior to the call. The supplemental financial information has also been furnished with the SEC on Form 8-K. A replay of the call will be available on our website.

About Blucora®

Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR) is a provider of data and technology-driven solutions that empower people to improve their financial wellness. Blucora operates in two segments including (i) wealth management, through its Avantax Wealth Management and Avantax Planning Partners brands, with a collective $87 billion in total client assets as of September 30, 2021 and (ii) tax software, through its TaxAct business, a market leader in tax software with approximately 3 million consumer users and approximately 24,500 professional users in 2021. With integrated tax-focused software and wealth management, Blucora is uniquely positioned to assist our customers in achieving better long-term outcomes via holistic, tax-advantaged solutions. For more information on Blucora, visit www.blucora.com.

Source: Blucora

Blucora Investor Relations
Dee Littrell (972) 870-6463
[email protected]

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by words such as “believes,” “estimates,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “may,” “forecasts,” “future,” “will,” “projects,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continues,” “target,” “outlook,” “guidance” and similar expressions and variations. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations due to various risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: our ability to effectively compete within our industries; our ability to attract and retain financial professionals, qualified employees, clients, and customers, as well as our ability to provide strong customer/client service; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our results of operations and our business, including the impact of the resulting economic and market disruption, the extension of tax filing deadlines and other related government actions; our ability to retain employees and acquired client assets following acquisitions; our future capital requirements and the availability of financing, if necessary; our ability to meet our current and future debt service obligations, including our ability to maintain compliance with our debt covenants; any downgrade of the Company’s credit ratings; our ability to generate strong performance for our clients and the impact of the financial markets on our clients’ portfolios; the impact of new or changing legislation and regulations (or interpretations thereof) on our business, including our ability to successfully address and comply with such legislation and regulations (or interpretations thereof) and increased costs, reductions of revenue, and potential fines, penalties or disgorgement to which we may be subject as a result thereof; risks, burdens, and costs, including fines, penalties, or disgorgement, associated with our business being subjected to regulatory inquiries, investigations, or initiatives including those of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. and the Securities and Exchange Commission; risks associated with legal proceedings, including litigation and regulatory proceedings; our ability to close, finance, and realize all of the anticipated benefits of acquisitions, as well as our ability to integrate the operations of recently acquired businesses, and the potential impact of such acquisitions on our existing indebtedness and leverage;   our ability to manage leadership and employee transitions, including costs and time burdens on management and our board of directors related thereto; the compromising of confidentiality, availability or integrity of information, including cyberattacks; political and economic conditions and events that directly or indirectly impact the wealth management and tax preparation software industries; our ability to respond to rapid technological changes, including our ability to successfully release new products and services or improve upon existing products and services; our expectations concerning the revenues we generate from fees associated with the financial products that we distribute; risks related to goodwill and other intangible asset impairment; our ability to develop, establish, and maintain strong brands; risks associated with the use and implementation of information technology and the effect of security breaches, computer viruses, and computer hacking attacks; our ability to comply with laws and regulations regarding privacy and protection of user data; our ability to maintain our relationships with third-party partners, providers, suppliers, vendors, distributors, contractors, financial institutions, industry associations, and licensing partners, and our expectations regarding and reliance on the products, tools, platforms, systems, and services provided by these third parties; our beliefs and expectations regarding the seasonality of our business; our assessments and estimates that determine our effective tax rate; and our ability to protect our intellectual property and the impact of any claim that we have infringed on the intellectual property rights of others. A more detailed description of these and certain other factors that could affect actual results is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as may be required by law.

Blucora, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

_________________________
(1)   Other loss, net consisted of the following (in thousands):

Blucora, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

Blucora, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands)

Blucora, Inc.
Segment Information
(Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands)

_________________________
(1)   Revenues by major category within each segment are presented below (in thousands):

(2) Corporate-level activity included the following (in thousands):

Blucora, Inc.
Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures (1)

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation (1)
(Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands)

Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) and Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Per Share Reconciliation (1)
(Unaudited) (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation for Forward-Looking Guidance (1)
(Amounts in thousands)

Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP Net Income Per Share Reconciliation
for Forward-Looking Guidance (1)
(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation for Prior Guidance (1)
(Amounts in thousands)

Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP Net Income Per Share Reconciliation for Prior Guidance (1)

(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

Notes to Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures

(1)   We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), determined in accordance with GAAP, excluding the effects of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization of acquired intangible assets, other loss, net, acquisition and integration costs, impairment of goodwill, executive transition costs, headquarters relocation costs, contested proxy and other legal and consulting costs, and income tax expense. Other loss, net primarily consists of interest expense, net and non-capitalized debt issuance expenses. Acquisition and integration costs primarily relate to the HKFS Acquisition and 1st Global Acquisition. Impairment of goodwill relates to the impairment of our Wealth Management reporting unit goodwill in the first quarter of 2020. Executive transition costs relate to the departure of certain Company executives in the first quarter of 2020. Headquarters relocation costs relate to the process of moving from our Dallas and Irving offices to our new headquarters.

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance. We use this non-GAAP financial measure for internal management and compensation purposes, when publicly providing guidance on possible future results, and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a common measure used by investors and analysts to evaluate our performance, that it provides a more complete understanding of the results of operations and trends affecting our business when viewed together with GAAP results, and that management and investors benefit from referring to this non-GAAP financial measure. Items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant and necessary components to the operations of our business and, therefore, Adjusted EBITDA should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, GAAP net income (loss). Other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently and, therefore, our Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

We define non-GAAP net income (loss) as net income (loss), determined in accordance with GAAP, excluding the effects of stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, gain on the sale of a business, acquisition and integration costs, impairment of goodwill, executive transition costs, headquarters relocation costs, contested proxy and other legal and consulting costs, non-capitalized debt issuance expenses, the related cash tax impact of those adjustments, and non-cash income tax (benefit) expense. We exclude the non-cash portion of income tax expense because of our ability to offset a substantial portion of our cash tax liabilities by using deferred tax assets, which primarily consist of U.S. federal net operating losses. The majority of these net operating losses will be utilized or expire between 2021 and 2024. Gain on the sale of a business relates to the disposition of SimpleTax in 2019 and the subsequent working capital adjustment in the third quarter of 2020. Non-capitalized debt issuance expense relates to the expense recognized as a result of the Term Loan increase in the third quarter of 2020.

We believe that non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share provide meaningful supplemental information to management, investors, and analysts regarding our performance and the valuation of our business by excluding items in the statement of operations that we do not consider part of our ongoing operations or have not been, or are not expected to be, settled in cash. Additionally, we believe that non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share are common measures used by investors and analysts to evaluate our performance and the valuation of our business. Non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share should be evaluated in light of our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP and should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share. Other companies may calculate non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share differently, and, therefore, our non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

(2)   As presented in the condensed consolidated statements of operations (unaudited).

(3)   Any difference in the “per diluted share” amounts between this table and the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income is due to using different weighted average shares outstanding in the event that there is GAAP net loss but non-GAAP net income and vice versa.

(4)   The breakout of components cannot be determined on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable efforts.