Upgrade to SI Premium - Free Trial

Upstart Announces Fourth Quarter 2020 and Fiscal Year 2020 Results

March 17, 2021 4:05 PM

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Upstart Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST), a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Upstart will host a conference call and webcast at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today. An earnings presentation and link to the webcast are available at ir.upstart.com.

“We’re excited to share our financial results for the first time as a public company. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered strong growth and profits in Q4 and for the full year 2020. This combination is rare among FinTechs and demonstrates the growing advantages of AI-based lending,” said Dave Girouard, CEO of Upstart. He added, “We believe virtually all lending will be powered by AI in the future, and we’re in the earliest stages of helping our bank partners successfully navigate that transformation.”

Separately, Upstart today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Prodigy Software, Inc., a provider of cloud-based automotive retail software. With the acquisition of Prodigy, Upstart will accelerate its efforts to offer AI-enabled auto loans through the tens of thousands of auto dealers nationwide where the majority of auto loans are originated.

Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Highlights

Financial Outlook

For the first quarter of 2021, Upstart expects:

For the 2021 fiscal year, Upstart expects:

Upstart has not reconciled the forward-looking non-GAAP measures above to comparable forward-looking GAAP measures because of the potential variability and uncertainty of incurring these costs and expenses in the future. Accordingly, a reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort.

Key Operating Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

For a description of our key operating measures, please see the section titled “Key Operating Metrics” below.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial results as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, please see the section titled "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

Conference Call and Webcast

About Upstart

Upstart is a leading AI lending platform partnering with banks to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI platform, Upstart-powered banks can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than two-thirds of Upstart loans are approved instantly and are fully automated. Upstart was founded by ex-Googlers in 2012 and is based in San Mateo, California and Columbus, Ohio.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, statements regarding our outlook for the full year and first quarter of 2021 and Upstart’s ability to offer AI-enabled auto loans due to its proposed acquisition of Prodigy. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", “project”, "intend", “target”, “aim”, "believe", "may", "will", "should", “could”, "can have", "likely" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition; plans; objectives; assumptions; risks; future performance; business; and results of operations, including revenue, net income (loss), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, contribution margin, non-GAAP adjusted net income, basic weighted-average share count and fully diluted weighted-average share count. Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release and on the related teleconference call relate only to events as of the date hereof. Upstart undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected. More information about factors that could affect our results of operations are described in greater detail in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be obtained by visiting our investor relations website at www.upstart.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Key Operating Metrics

We review a number of operating metrics, including number of loans transacted and conversion rate, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans, and make strategic decisions.

We define the number of loans transacted as the transaction volume, measured by number of loans facilitated on our platform, between a borrower and originating bank during the period presented. We believe this metric to be a good proxy for our overall scale and reach as a platform.

We define conversion rate as the number of loans transacted in a period divided by the number of rate inquiries received, which we record when a borrower requests a loan offer on our platform. We track this metric to understand the impact of improvements to the efficiency of our borrower funnel on our overall growth.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to our results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), we believe the non-GAAP measures of contribution profit (loss), contribution margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income or loss, and adjusted net income or loss per share are useful in evaluating our operating performance. Certain of these non-GAAP measures exclude stock-based compensation, warrant expenses, depreciation, amortization, and other non-operating expenses. We exclude stock-based compensation and income and expense on warrants and other non-operating expenses because they are non-cash in nature and exclude in order to facilitate comparisons to other companies’ results.

We believe non-GAAP information is useful in evaluating the operating results, ongoing operations, and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We also believe that non-GAAP financial measures provide consistency and comparability with past financial performance and assist investors with comparing Upstart to other companies some of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results. We believe non-GAAP financial measures are presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and may be different from similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

Key limitations of our non-GAAP financial measures include:

Reconciliation tables of the most comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures are used in this press release.

UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

(Unaudited)

December 31,

December 31,

2019

2020

Assets
Cash

$

44,389

$

250,819

Restricted cash

35,678

60,514

Loans (at fair value)

232,305

78,460

Notes receivable and residual certificates (at fair value)

34,116

19,074

Property, equipment, and software, net

6,030

10,032

Operating lease right of use assets

16,190

18,310

Other assets (includes $4,725 and $6,831 at fair value as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively)

24,754

40,046

Total assets

393,462

477,255

Liabilities, Convertible Preferred Stock, and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Liabilities:
Accounts payable

6,559

13,775

Payable to investors

19,620

45,501

Borrowings

118,609

62,626

Payable to securitization note holders and residual certificate holders (includes $89,672 and $0 and at fair value and $41,343 and $0 to related parties as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively)

96,107

-

Accrued expenses and other liabilities (includes $12,446 and $9,530 at fair value as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively)

34,648

35,669

Operating lease liabilities

17,061

19,432

Total liabilities

292,604

177,003

Commitments and contingencies
Convertible preferred stock $0.0001 par value; 53,927,657 and 70,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively; aggregate liquidation preference of $166,257 and $0 as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 respectively; 47,349,577 and 0 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and 2020

162,546

-

Stockholders’ equity (deficit):

Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 90,000,000 and 700,000,000 and shares authorized as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively; 14,561,398 and 73,314,026 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively

2

7

Additional paid-in capital

12,489

369,467

Accumulated deficit

(75,205

)

(69,222

)

Total Upstart Holdings, Inc. stockholders’ equity (deficit)

(62,714

)

300,252

Noncontrolling interests

1,026

-

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

(61,688

)

300,252

Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

$

393,462

$

477,255

UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS and COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Year Ended
December 31,

2019

2020

2019

2020

Revenue:
Revenue from fees, net

$

61,148

$

84,421

$

159,847

$

228,600

Interest income and fair value adjustments, net (includes $703, $0, $2,963, and $1,014 from related parties expense and $1,804, $0, $7,400, and of related parties fair value adjustments for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, and years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively

1,424

2,289

4,342

4,816

Total revenue

62,572

86,710

164,189

233,416

Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing

31,939

34,546

93,175

99,659

Customer operations

8,354

12,789

24,947

37,581

Engineering and product development

7,297

14,151

18,777

38,802

General, administrative, and other

11,466

14,831

31,865

45,609

Total operating expenses

59,056

76,317

168,764

221,651

Income (loss) from operations

3,516

10,393

(4,575)

11,765

Other income

204

52

1,036

5,549

Income (expense) on warrants and other non-operating expenses, net

1,219

(9,047)

(1,407)

(11,364)

Net income (loss) before income taxes

4,939

1,398

(4,946)

5,950

Provision for income taxes

74

371

74

371

Net income (loss) before attribution to noncontrolling interests

4,865

1,027

(5,020)

5,579

Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests

(1,186)

-

(4,554)

(404)

Net income (loss) attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders

$

6,051

$

1,027

$

(466)

$

5,983

Net income (loss) per share attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders, basic

0.06

-

(0.03)

-

Net income (loss) per share attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders, diluted

0.05

-

(0.03)

-

Weighted-average number of shares outstanding used in computing net income (loss) per share attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders, basic

14,401,927

26,001,856

14,335,611

17,513,670

Weighted-average number of shares outstanding used in computing net income (loss) per share attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders, diluted

24,978,484

26,001,856

14,335,611

17,513,670

UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

Year Ended December 31,

2019

2020

Cash flows from operating activities
Net income (loss) before attribution to noncontrolling interests

$

(5,020

)

$

5,579

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities
Change in fair value of financial instruments (includes $($7,400) and $(4,238) to related parties for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively)

34,716

29,049

Stock-based compensation

3,806

11,513

Loss (gain) on loan servicing arrangements and sale of noncontrolling interests, net

856

(1,530

)

Depreciation and amortization

774

2,278

Incentive share expense

-

787

Noncash interest expense

74

73

Gain on repurchased and retired convertible preferred stock warrants

(3,657

)

-

Net changes in operating assets and liabilities
Purchase of loans for immediate resale to investors

(1,779,180

)

(2,540,948

)

Proceeds from immediate resale of loans to investors

1,779,180

2,540,948

Purchase of loans held-for-sale

-

(116,127

)

Principal payments received for loans held-for-sale

-

18,218

Net proceeds from sale of loans held-for-sale

-

47,604

Other assets

(11,957

)

(13,186

)

Operating lease liability and right-of-use asset

871

251

Accounts payable

3,613

7,033

Payable to investors

(14,875

)

19,446

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

22,381

4,709

Net cash provided by operating activities

31,582

15,697

Cash flows from investing activities
Principal payments received for loans held by consolidated securitizations

158,921

24,018

Net proceeds from sale of loans held-for-investment

100,678

97,340

Principal payments received for loans held-for-investment

48,124

15,758

Principal payments received for notes receivable and repayments of residual certificates

8,760

14,665

Purchase of loans held-for-investment

(265,286

)

(9,655

)

Purchase of notes receivable and residual certificates

(485

)

(4

)

Purchase of property and equipment

(4,004

)

(1,355

)

Capitalized software costs

(1,275

)

(4,250

)

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

45,433

136,517

Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriting discounts and offering costs

-

159,488

Payments made on securitization notes and certificates (includes $3,262 and paid to related parties for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively)

(176,742

)

(26,126

)

Repayments of borrowings

(109,939

)

(148,113

)

Repayments of notes payable

(22,637

)

-

Distributions made to noncontrolling interests

(4,960

)

(622

)

Repurchase and retirement of convertible preferred stock warrants

(1,426

)

-

Repurchase and retirement of convertible preferred stock

(661

)

-

Proceeds from borrowings

153,491

92,057

Proceeds from issuance of notes payable

39,863

-

Proceeds from issuance of convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs

1,912

-

Proceeds from exercise of convertible preferred stock warrants

1,631

6

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

278

2,362

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

(119,190

)

79,052

Net increase (decrease) in cash and restricted cash

(42,175

)

231,266

Cash and restricted cash
Beginning of year

122,242

80,067

End of year

$

80,067

$

311,333

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest

26,871

8,028

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities

1,905

4,158

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash operating activities
Total right-of-use assets capitalized

16,190

5,506

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities
Reclassification of common stock warrant liability related to cashless exercise

-

2,971

Reclassification of preferred stock warrant liability related to cash exercise

-

12,177

Reclassification of common stock warrant liability to equity upon termination of repurchase option

-

2,945

Derecognition of loans held-for-investment in consolidated VIE

154,864

57,222

Derecognition of notes payable held in consolidated VIE

69,419

-

Derecognition of payable to securitization note holders and residual certificate holders

80,825

58,017

Securities retained under unconsolidated securitization transactions

31,160

-

Transfer of notes receivable and residual certificate on deconsolidation of VIE

3,699

-

Capitalized stock-based compensation expense

-

492

UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC.

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

December 31,

Year Ended

December 31,

2019

2020

2019

2020

Income (loss) from operations

$

3,516

$

10,393

$

(4,575

)

$

11,765

Sales and marketing, net of borrower acquisition costs(1)

1,133

2,308

3,606

7,959

Customer operations, net of borrower verification and servicing costs(2)

1,390

1,996

3,609

5,769

Engineering and product development

7,297

14,151

18,777

38,802

General, administrative, and other

11,466

14,831

31,865

45,609

Interest income and fair value adjustments, net

(1,424

)

(2,289

)

(4,342

)

(4,816

)

Contribution Profit

$

23,378

$

41,390

$

48,940

$

105,088

Contribution margin

38

%

49

%

31

%

46

%

(1)

Borrower acquisition costs were $30.8 million, $32.2 million, $89.6 million, and $91.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 and years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Borrower acquisition costs consist of our sales and marketing expenses adjusted to exclude costs not directly attributable to attracting a new borrower, such as payroll-related expenses for our business development and marketing teams, as well as other operational, brand awareness and marketing activities.

(2)

Borrower verification and servicing costs were $7.0 million, $10.8 million, $21.3 million and $31.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 and years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Borrower verification and servicing costs consist of payroll and other personnel-related expenses for personnel engaged in loan onboarding, verification and servicing, as well as servicing system costs. It excludes payroll and personnel-related expenses and stock-based compensation for certain members of our customer operations team whose work is not directly attributable to onboarding and servicing loans.

(3)

Contribution Margin is calculated as Contribution Profit divided by revenue from fees, net for the relevant period.

UPSTART HOLDINGS, INC.

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Year Ended

December 31,

2019

2020

2019

2020

Net income (loss) attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common shareholders

$

6,051

$

1,027

$

(466

)

$

5,983

Adjusted to exclude the following:
Stock-based compensation

1,602

4,411

3,806

11,513

Depreciation and amortization

450

647

774

2,278

(Income) Expense on warrants and other non-operating expenses(1)

(1,219

)

9,047

1,407

11,364

Provision for income taxes

74

371

74

371

Adjusted EBITDA

$

6,958

$

15,503

$

5,595

$

31,509

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

11

%

18

%

3

%

13

%

(1)

Consists of fair value adjustments to our warrant liability and interest expense on convertible notes.

(2)

Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue for the relevant period.

Three Months Ended

December 31,

Year Ended

December 31,

2019

2020

2019

2020

Net income (loss) attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders

$

6,051

$

1,027

$

(466

)

$

5,983

Adjusted to exclude the following:
Stock-based compensation

1,602

4,411

3,806

11,513

Adjusted net income (loss)

7,653

5,438

3,340

17,496

Adjusted net income (loss) per share
Basic

$

0.54

$

0.21

$

0.23

$

1.00

Diluted

$

0.10

$

0.07

$

0.05

$

0.23

Weighted-average common shares outstanding
Basic

14,301,641

26,001,856

14,335,611

17,513,670

Diluted

73,511,809

80,275,422

72,336,672

76,098,275

Press

[email protected]

Investors

Jason Schmidt

[email protected]

Source: Upstart Holdings, Inc.

Categories

Business Wire Press Releases

Next Articles