Veritone (NASDAQ: VERI) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.12), $0.02 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.14). Revenue for the quarter came in at $18.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $17.37 million.

• Posted Record Revenue in Q1 of $18.3 Million, Up 54% Year over Year
• Grew Q1 aiWARE SaaS Solutions and Advertising Revenues to $4.7 Million and $10.3 Million, Respectively
• Increased Q1 Gross Profit 56% Year over Year to $13.5 Million
• GAAP Net Loss in Q1 of $30.6 Million, including $25.0 Million of Charges Related to Stock-based Compensation and a Facility Sublease
• Improved Q1 Non-GAAP Net Loss 41% Year over Year to $3.9 Million
• Improved Full Year 2021 Guidance

“With a tremendous start to 2021, Veritone is in the strongest position in our history. We have over $125 million in cash, no debt and a rapidly growing pipeline,” said Chad Steelberg, Chairman and CEO of Veritone. “Our total year-over-year revenue growth accelerated to 54% in Q1, compared with 35% in Q4. Underpinning this growth, and everything we do at Veritone, is aiWARE, the world’s leading operating system for AI. aiWARE’s unique architecture enables unparalleled scalability and deployment flexibility, delivering over 500 machine learning models, dozens of applications and a developer suite that accelerates enterprise AI adoption. The market is rapidly shifting their focus to aiWARE, as more and more organizations come to realize the need for an operating system for their machine learning applications and solutions.”

Ryan Steelberg, President of Veritone, added, “The first quarter was truly exceptional. Our AI-driven advertising business grew 72% year over year, and our aiWARE SaaS business grew 51% year over year, with particular strength from our Government, Legal and Compliance market, where partnerships with Microsoft, Deloitte, CACI, PAE, Leidos and others are all rapidly expanding our pipeline. Content licensing also posted strong growth as sporting events and creative content production is beginning to resume. The broad applicability of aiWARE as a technology has never been more evident.”

GUIDANCE:

Veritone sees Q2 2021 revenue of $18.8-19.2 million, versus the consensus of $19 million.

Veritone sees FY2021 revenue of $78.5-83.5 million, versus the consensus of $78.54 million.

Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2021

• Revenue is expected to be in the range of $18.8 million to $19.2 million, representing a 43% increase year over year at the midpoint.
• Non-GAAP net loss is expected to be in the range of $5.0 million to $4.5 million, representing a 17% improvement year over year at the midpoint.

Full Year 2021

• The Company increased its 2021 revenue expectations to be in the range of $78.5 million to $83.5 million, representing a year-over-year increase of over 40% at the midpoint, with aiWARE SaaS Solutions revenue expected to grow over 65% year over year.
• The Company narrowed its 2021 non-GAAP net loss expectations to be in the range of $17.0 million to $14.0 million, representing a 25% improvement year over year at the midpoint.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Veritone (VERI) click here.