Strategic Performance Drivers

• Revenue growth of 28% (excluding political) was driven by record CTV demand, which now represents 46% of total advertiser spend.

• The Direct Access Premium Publisher program now accounts for nearly 50% of CTV spend, improving advertiser ROI by bypassing bidstream resellers.

• IRIS ID adoption grew fivefold in the CTV bidstream, enabling show-level contextual targeting that improved conversion rates by an average of 466%.

• Management attributes market share gains to a 'fusion' of AI with proprietary data, arguing that LLMs cannot replicate their deterministic household-level identity graph.

• The launch of 'Outcomes' marks a pivot toward competing for the 70% of US ad budgets allocated to performance, traditionally dominated by search and social walled gardens.

• Operational efficiency improved for the 10th consecutive quarter, with contribution ex-TAC per employee rising 8% year-over-year.

2026 Outlook and Strategic Catalysts

• Q1 2026 guidance assumes record performance but reflects typical seasonality and the early-stage ramp of major new clients like Molson Coors and WHOOP.

• Management expects year-over-year growth to accelerate sequentially throughout 2026 as new enterprise accounts fully scale their spending.

• The 2026 World Cup and midterm elections are identified as major second-half catalysts expected to drive significant incremental CTV volume.

• Strategic expansion of the enterprise sales team is focused on high-growth verticals including healthcare, CPG, and travel to replenish the late-stage deal pipeline.

• The company anticipates IRIS ID penetration will reach 70% of the CTV bidstream in 2026, further incentivizing publisher adoption.

Operational Context and Risk Factors

• 2025 results absorbed the migration of a material client off-platform due to a corporate merger and tariff-related market pressures.

• Operating expenses increased 10% in the Q1 guide, reflecting the integration of IRIS.TV and Locker acquisitions and investments in the AI Lattice Brain.

• Management flagged a 'trust issue' with competitor platforms (Amazon/Google) that sell their own media, positioning Viant's independence as a key competitive moat.

• A $40.4 million share repurchase authorization remains active as of March 2026 to be used during periods of perceived stock undervaluation.

Q&A Session Insights

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Sustainability of growth versus larger competitors like The Trade Desk

• Management asserts that smaller, independent players can win by offering proprietary data (Household ID) that larger platforms cannot replicate through generic AI.

• They noted recent wins against The Trade Desk and Google were driven by advertisers seeking independent measurement that correlates with actual business sales.