Business Overview
DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc. (DV) is a leading media effectiveness platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to drive superior outcomes for global brands. The company was founded in 2008 and has emerged as a trusted partner for many of the world's largest advertisers, helping them navigate the complex and rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape.
DoubleVerify's origins trace back to 2008 when the company was founded, and it introduced its first brand safety and suitability solution in 2010. The company provides a software platform that is integrated across the entire digital advertising ecosystem, including programmatic platforms, social media channels, and digital publishers. DoubleVerify delivers unique data analytics through its customer interface, DV Pinnacle, to provide detailed insights into its customers' media performance on both direct and programmatic media buying platforms and across all key digital media channels, formats, and devices.
As the global digital advertising market evolved, DoubleVerify continued to expand its measurement capabilities and market coverage through new product innovation, increasing its international footprint, and new platform partnerships. The company introduced its first programmatic platform integrations in 2015, followed by its inaugural social media platform partnership in 2017, and expanded further with the launch of its CTV certification program in 2020.
DoubleVerify has experienced rapid growth and achieved significant profitability in recent years. In 2022, the company generated revenue of $452.42 million and net income of $43.27 million. In 2023, revenue grew to $572.54 million and net income increased to $71.47 million. These results highlight DoubleVerify's ability to execute effectively while also making strategic investments to leverage its unique data assets and client engagements.
Despite its successes, DoubleVerify has also faced some challenges over the years. In 2024, the company navigated isolated headwinds, including scale back ad spend from 6 large customers. The company also continued to see the shift of ad dollars from open web programmatic to proprietary platforms like social, where most of DoubleVerify's activation solutions were unavailable until early 2024. Nevertheless, DoubleVerify has demonstrated its resilience and adaptability in navigating these challenges, and the company remains committed to investing in innovation, operational efficiencies, and scalable growth to drive long-term value for its shareholders.
Today, DoubleVerify's software platform is integrated across the entire digital advertising ecosystem, including programmatic platforms, social media channels, and digital publishers. The company's proprietary DV Authentic Ad metric serves as a definitive measure of digital media quality, evaluating factors such as fraud, brand safety, viewability, and geography for each digital ad. This comprehensive data analytics enables DoubleVerify's customers to increase the effectiveness, quality, and return on their digital advertising investments.
Financial Performance
DoubleVerify has delivered strong financial performance in recent years, with revenue growing at a compound annual rate of 25% from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, the company generated $656.85 million in total revenue, a 15% increase from the prior year. This growth was driven by a 14% increase in advertiser revenue, which accounted for 91% of total revenue, and a 25% increase in supply-side revenue.
The company's profitability has also been impressive, with 2024 net income of $56.23 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 33%. DoubleVerify's robust cash flow generation is evident, with $159.66 million in net cash provided by operating activities in 2024, representing a 73% conversion rate of adjusted EBITDA. The company also generated $132.51 million in free cash flow during the year.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, DoubleVerify reported revenue of $190.62 million, representing a 10.7% year-over-year increase. Net income for the quarter was $23.40 million. The Q4 results fell short of expectations due to reduced spending from a large CPG customer and the continued lack of a post-election rebound in ad spend.
DoubleVerify operates in a single reportable segment, providing media effectiveness and measurement solutions for the digital advertising industry. The company's core offerings can be categorized into three main product segments: Activation, Measurement, and Supply-Side.
Activation Revenue grew 13% year-over-year in 2024, reaching $373.10 million. This growth was driven primarily by new customers activating the company's core programmatic solutions, including the acquisition of Scibids, as well as greater adoption of DoubleVerify's Authentic Brand Suitability (ABS) solution.
Measurement Revenue increased 15% year-over-year in 2024 to $226.94 million, driven primarily by greater adoption of DoubleVerify's social measurement solutions across emerging platforms and formats, including short-form video.
Supply-Side Revenue grew 25% year-over-year in 2024 to $56.81 million. This revenue is generated from arrangements with publishers and other supply-side customers to provide them with software solutions and data analytics to enable them to maximize revenue from their digital advertising inventory.
In 2024, DoubleVerify measured a record $8.3 trillion billable media transactions, a 19% increase year-over-year.
Liquidity
As of December 31, 2024, DoubleVerify had $292.82 million in cash and cash equivalents and no long-term debt, providing a strong balance sheet to support the company's growth initiatives. The company's debt-to-equity ratio stood at 0.08, and it had access to a $200 million credit line under its New Revolving Credit Facility. DoubleVerify's current ratio and quick ratio were both 5.40, indicating strong short-term liquidity.
Geographic Expansion and Product Innovation
DoubleVerify has a global footprint, serving customers in 31 locations across 25 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. The company's international operations accounted for 30% of measurement revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 29% in the prior-year period.
Product innovation has been a key driver of DoubleVerify's success. In 2024, the company launched several new solutions, including a content-level avoidance solution for Meta's Facebook and Instagram feeds and reels, powered by DoubleVerify's Universal Content Intelligence AI. This solution helps advertisers proactively avoid unsuitable content while continuing to drive superior media performance.
DoubleVerify also expanded its brand safety and suitability solutions to 18 new international markets on TikTok and introduced advanced vertical sensitivities tailored to local market needs. Additionally, the company launched an integration with Google Ad Manager, allowing programmatic buyers to seamlessly access DoubleVerify's media quality data through curated inventory packages.
Acquisitions and Strategic Initiatives
DoubleVerify has a track record of strategic acquisitions to enhance its capabilities and expand its addressable market. In August 2023, the company acquired Scibids, a global leader in AI-powered digital campaign optimization. The acquisition combined DoubleVerify's proprietary data with Scibids' AI-powered optimization technology, providing advertisers with enhanced insights and control over their advertising performance.
More recently, in February 2025, DoubleVerify announced the acquisition of Rockerbox, a leading marketing attribution and performance measurement platform. This acquisition is expected to expand DoubleVerify's total addressable market by integrating Rockerbox's advanced attribution capabilities with DoubleVerify's media quality data and Scibids' AI optimization, creating a comprehensive real-time view of media performance.
Risks and Challenges
Despite DoubleVerify's strong performance, the company faces several risks and challenges that investors should be aware of. The digital advertising industry is highly competitive, and the company must continually innovate to maintain its market-leading position. Additionally, changes in government regulations and industry privacy standards, such as the ongoing evolution of cookie-based data collection, could impact DoubleVerify's business model.
The company also relies on integrations with demand-side and social media platforms, and any disruptions or changes to these partnerships could adversely affect DoubleVerify's operations. Furthermore, the company's financial results can be impacted by macroeconomic factors, such as fluctuations in advertising spend and the shift of ad dollars to proprietary platforms.
Industry Trends
The digital advertising industry continues to grow rapidly, with global digital ad spend excluding search reaching $329 billion in 2024 and expected to grow to $448 billion by 2028, according to Magna Global. This represents a significant market opportunity for DoubleVerify's solutions.
Outlook and Guidance
For the first quarter of 2025, DoubleVerify expects revenue between $151-$155 million, representing 9% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, and adjusted EBITDA between $37-$41 million, representing a 25% adjusted EBITDA margin.
For the full year 2025, DoubleVerify expects revenue growth of approximately 10%, with adjusted EBITDA margins of 32%. This guidance reflects the company's navigation of several headwinds, including the suspension of service for one of its largest customers and limited anticipated year-over-year growth from a cohort of six advertisers that scaled back spending in 2024.
The company also sees moderate growth in new social revenue, as clients test and onboard the newly launched social activation solutions, and a measured contribution from the Rockerbox acquisition as DoubleVerify prioritizes the integration of the product and operations in 2025.
DoubleVerify expects full year 2025 revenue less cost of sales to remain above 80%, indicating strong gross margins despite the anticipated headwinds.
Conclusion
DoubleVerify has established itself as a leading provider of digital advertising measurement and optimization solutions, serving many of the world's largest brands. The company's strong financial performance, global expansion, and innovative product roadmap position it well to capitalize on the continued growth of the digital advertising market. While the company faces certain risks and headwinds, DoubleVerify's unique data assets, deep industry integrations, and strategic acquisitions suggest it is well-equipped to navigate the evolving landscape and deliver long-term value for shareholders.