NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPSN), a global leader in conversational AI, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Fourth Quarter and 2020 Highlights

Total revenue was $102.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase of 29% as compared to the same period last year. Within total revenue, business operations (B2B) revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased 29% year over year to $94.1 million and revenue from consumer operations increased 29% to $8.1 million.

Total revenue was $366.6 million for fiscal year 2020, an increase of 26% as compared to 2019. Within total revenue, B2B revenue increased 26% year over year to $336.9 million and consumer operations revenue increased 22% to $29.8 million.

LivePerson signed 10 seven-figure deals and 128 deals in total in the fourth quarter, including the addition of 46 new and 82 existing customer contracts. LivePerson signed 525 deals in 2020, including the addition of 197 new and 328 existing customer contracts.

Trailing-twelve-month average revenue per enterprise and mid-market customer set new records throughout 2020, and increased by 35% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to approximately $465,000, up from $345,000 in the comparable prior-year period.

"The outstanding results of the year have confirmed LivePerson's leadership in Conversational AI. Building a digital strategy is now simply table stakes for brands. LivePerson has created the world-class Conversational AI at the heart of our Conversational Cloud that powers the best digital experiences between brands and consumers at scale." said CEO and founder, Robert LoCascio. "We are seeing a massive opportunity ahead where brands of all kinds increasingly rely on our Conversational Cloud not only for exceptional customer care but also for incremental sales and marketing. In 2021, LivePerson will continue to invest to accelerate our leadership in Conversational Commerce."

"We closed 2020 with exceptional business and financial performance, surpassing previous records across several key metrics in the fourth quarter, including revenue, profit, the quantity of 7-figure deals, average revenue per customer, and billable platform usage." added CFO John Collins. "We exceeded the high end of our guidance range for the top and bottom line, once again demonstrating our ability to enhance operating leverage while aggressively growing the business. Overall, these results reinforce our position as a clear market leader for Conversational AI and demonstrate the ease with which our platform can be adapted to meet accelerating demand across a broad spectrum of use cases, industries, and geographies."

Customer Expansion

During the fourth quarter, the Company signed contracts with the following new customers, among others:

• A Top 5 global largest logistics company
• A Top 5 global consumer goods company
• A Top 5 global bookmaker
• One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world
• A Fortune 500 paint manufacturer and retailer

The Company also expanded business with:

• One of the world's largest automobile manufacturers
• A Fortune 100 home improvement retailer
• A multi-billion dollar S&P500 software company
• One of the top 5 largest banks in Italy
• One of the world's largest online travel and related services companies

Net Loss and Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $13.3 million or $0.20 per share, as compared to a net loss of $27.3 million or $0.43 per share in the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted operating income for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $12.6 million, as compared to adjusted operating (loss) of $3.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted operating (loss) income excludes amortization of purchased intangibles and finance leases, stock-based compensation, other litigation and consulting costs, restructuring costs, acquisition costs and other income (loss).

Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP Measure)

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $18.2 million or $0.25 per share, as compared to $1.2 million or $0.02 per share in the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA excludes amortization of purchased intangibles and finance leases, stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, other litigation and consulting costs, restructuring costs, acquisition costs, provision for (benefit from) income taxes, and other income (loss).

A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures has been provided in the financial tables included in this press release. An explanation of the non-GAAP financial measures and how they are calculated is included below under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company's cash balance was $654.2 million at December 31, 2020, inclusive of proceeds from the convertible debt offering in the fourth quarter of 2020, as compared to $176.5 million at December 31, 2019.

Financial Expectations

LivePerson is entering 2021 with strong momentum. Demand for Conversational AI has hit an inflection point, highlighted by a record-breaking number of seven-figure deals. Volumes on Conversational Cloud continue to accelerate and LivePerson's revenue run rate is ahead of plan.

With this backdrop, the Company is targeting a revenue range of $458 million to $466 million, or 25% to 27% revenue growth in 2021, compared to 26% growth in 2020 and up from 17% growth in 2019. The Company is guiding for first quarter revenue growth of 32% to 33% to a range of $103 million to $104 million.

Regarding profitability, the Company is expecting to accelerate investments in go-to-market capacity and product development in the first half of 2021 while continuing to realize efficiency gains from internal automation. With this in mind, the Company is guiding for 2021 adjusted EBITDA range of $33.5 million to $41.5 million or 7% to 9% margin. First quarter adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in a range of $5.0 million to $7.0 million or 5% to 7% margin.

The Company's detailed 2021 financial expectations are as follows:  

First Quarter 2021

Full Year 2021

Other Full Year 2021 Assumptions 

• Estimated IP litigation and consulting expenses of approximately $3.5 million ($0.05 per share) and severance and restructuring of $6.0 million ($0.08 per share)
• Amortization of purchased intangibles and finance leases of approximately $6.2 million
• Non-cash interest expense of approximately $35.8 million
• Stock-based compensation expense of approximately $77.2 million
• Depreciation and amortization of approximately $37.8 million
• Cash taxes paid of $2.0 million to $4.0 million. A GAAP tax liability of approximately $4.0 million
• Capital expenditures of approximately $47.3 million

Furthermore, as a percent of revenue for the year, including amortization of intangibles and finance leases, and stock-based compensation, but excluding non-recurring expenses discussed above, we anticipate gross profit to be approximately 70.0%, sales and marketing 37.0%, product development 37.4% and G&A at 13.6%.

Stock-Based Compensation

Included in the accompanying financial results are expenses related to stock-based compensation, as follows (in thousands):

Amortization of Purchased Intangible Assets and Finance Leases

Included in the accompanying financial results are expenses related to the amortization of purchased intangible assets and finance leases, as follows (in thousands):

Supplemental Fourth Quarter 2020 Presentation

LivePerson will post a presentation providing supplemental information for the fourth quarter 2020 on the investor relations section of the Company's web site at https://ir.liveperson.com.

Earnings Teleconference Information

The Company will discuss its fourth quarter 2020 financial results during a teleconference today, February 25, 2021.  To participate via telephone, callers should dial in five to ten minutes prior to the 5:00 p.m. Eastern start time; domestic callers (U.S. and Canada) should dial 1-877-300-8521, while international callers should dial 1-412-317-6026, and both should reference the conference ID "10152081."  The conference call will also be simulcast live on the Internet and can be accessed by logging onto the investor relations section of the Company's web site at https://ir.liveperson.com.  

If you are unable to participate in the live call, the teleconference will be available for replay approximately two hours after the call until March 11, 2021. To access the replay, please call 1-844-512-2921 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-412-317-6671 (international).  Please reference the conference ID "10152081." A replay will also be available on the investor relations section of the Company's web site at  https://ir.liveperson.com/financial-information/quarterly-results.

About LivePerson

LivePerson makes life easier for people and brands everywhere through trusted conversational AI. Our 18,000 customers, including leading brands like HSBC, Orange, GM Financial, and The Home Depot, use our conversational solutions to orchestrate humans and AI, at scale, and create a convenient, deeply personal relationship - a conversational relationship - with their millions of consumers. LivePerson was named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies list in 2020 for its leadership in artificial intelligence. For more information about LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), please visit  www.liveperson.com.  

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Investors are cautioned that the following financial measures used in this press release are defined as "non-GAAP financial measures" by the Securities and Exchange Commission: adjusted EBITDA, or earnings/(loss) before provision for (benefit from) income taxes, interest income (expense), other expense (income), depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, acquisition costs and other costs; and adjusted operating income, or operating income excluding amortization, stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, acquisition costs, deferred tax asset valuation allowance, and other costs.

A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial information to GAAP financial information is not a financial measure under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In addition, non-GAAP financial information should not be construed as an alternative to any other measures of performance determined in accordance with GAAP, or as an indicator of our operating performance, liquidity or cash flows generated by operating, investing and financing activities as there may be significant factors or trends that it fails to address. We present non-GAAP financial information because we believe that it is helpful to some investors as one measure of our operations

Safe Harbor Provision

Statements in this press release regarding LivePerson that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. Any such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to financial guidance, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the quarter and year progress, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations may change. Although these expectations may change, we are under no obligation to inform you if they do. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation: major public health issues, and specifically the pandemic caused by the spread of COVID-19 on the U.S. and global markets; our ability to retain key personnel, attract new personnel and to manage staff attrition; supporting our existing and growing customer base could strain our personnel resources and infrastructure; risks related to the ability to successfully integrate past or potential future acquisitions; our ability to secure additional financing to execute our business strategy; delays in our implementation cycles; payment-related risks; potential fluctuations in our quarterly revenue and operating results; risks associated with the limitations on the effectiveness of our controls; non-payment or late payment of amounts due to us from a significant number of customers; risks associated with the recent volatility in the capital markets; risks related to our recognition of revenue from subscriptions; customer retention and their purchase of additional services, the migration of existing customers to our new platform, and attracting new customers and new consumer users of our consumer services; our ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with social media and other third-party consumer messaging platforms and endpoints; the markets in which we operate are highly competitive; the adverse effect that the global economic downturn may have on our business and results of operations; privacy concerns relating to the Internet that could result in new legislation or negative public perception; risks related to new regulatory or other legal requirements that could materially impact our business; risks relating to governmental export controls and economic sanctions; risks related to industry-specific regulation and unfavorable industry-specific laws, regulations or interpretive positions; future regulation of the Internet or mobile devices; our operations may expose us to greater than anticipated income, non-income and transactional tax liabilities; failures or security breaches in our services, those of our third party providers, or in the websites of our customers; risks related to the regulation or possible misappropriation of personal information belonging to our customers' Internet users; technology systems beyond our control and technology-related defects that could disrupt the LivePerson services; our dependence on the continued viability of the Internet; risks related to protecting our intellectual property rights or potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties; risks associated with the use of AI in our product offerings; errors, failures or "bugs" in our products may be difficult to correct; our ability to license necessary third party software for use in our products and services, and our ability to successfully integrate third party software; potential adverse impact due to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; additional regulatory requirements, tax liabilities, currency exchange rate fluctuations and other risks as we expand internationally and/or as we expand into direct-to-consumer services; risks related to our operations in Israel, and the civil and political unrest in that region; risks related to our outstanding convertible notes; potential failure to meeting service level commitments to certain customers; legal liability and/or negative publicity for the services provided to consumers via our technology platforms; technological or other defects could disrupt or negatively impact our services; risks related to corporate and social responsibility and reputation; our history of losses; our ability to maintain our reputation; our lengthy sales cycles; changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States; natural catastrophic events and interruption to our business by man-made problems; potential limitations on our ability to use net operating losses to offset future taxable income; and risks related to our common stock being traded on more than one securities exchange. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed from time to time by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements.

Investor Relations contact
Idalia Rodriguez
ir-lp@liveperson.com
212-609-4214

SOURCE LivePerson, Inc.