Comscore Discloses Layoffs, Restructuring Plan
Matthew Cannon
Amid concerns about a broad economic downturn, Comscore, the analytics measurement firm and box office data provider led by CEO Jon Carpenter, is embarking on a restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs.
The Virginia-headquartered company disclosed in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had “communicated a workforce reduction as part of its broader efforts to improve cost efficiency and better align its operating structure and resources with strategic priorities.”
Comscore did not disclose the number of staff impacted by the changes but noted in the filing that costs associated with its restructuring plan include “cash charges of approximately $6 million to $8 million for severance, termination benefits and related costs for impacted employees.” Comscore has 1,700-plus total employees currently.
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Comscore posted overall revenue of $91 million in its second-quarter earnings disclosed in August but its digital advertising solutions revenue declined slightly to $51 million “due to slower ad spend,” the company said at the time.
During an earnings call with analysts Aug. 9, Carpenter was asked about “headwinds” in the digital advertising spending market the rest of this year. “That’s certainly a tailwind in the second half of the year in terms of the accelerated ad spend,” Carpenter replied on the call, adding: “It’s pretty clear to me that we’re in a bit of a pullback. And so I think what you see in the guide, at least on our digital ad business, is some pullback in our expectations around the growth rate on that side of the business.”
When contacted for comment on the disclosed Sept. 29 restructuring plan, a spokesperson for Comscore stated: “Comscore can confirm that a reduction in workforce was announced today. The action was taken as part of our normal business review and designed to improve cost efficiency and align our operating structure and resources with strategic priorities, as CEO Jon Carpenter outlined on our last earnings call.”
Since the first day of trading in 2022, Comscore stock has fallen 48 percent year-to-date. In the lead-up to the disclosure of the restructuring plan, the analytics giant unveiled several leadership appointments in August, including promoting chief product officer David Algranati to chief innovation officer and adding Greg Dale as chief operating officer. Carpenter was promoted to CEO in July, after joining the firm last year as chief financial officer.
The company’s restructuring plan, the filing states, includes “the reallocation of commercial and product development resources; reinvestment in and modernization of key technology platforms; consolidation of data storage and processing activities to reduce the Company’s data center footprint; and reduction of other operating expenses, including software and facility costs.”