Thryv Holdings, which operates SMB marketing software platform Thryv, reported Q4 earnings this week with strong growth for its SaaS business. Highlights include 41 percent year-over-year revenue growth in the SaaS portions of its business in Q4, and 30 percent year-over-year growth for FY 2024.
As background, Thryv’s focus is on its SMB SaaS products, as these are the growth engine of the business. It also operates print media assets, such as local directories in several markets. That sector is inherently in decline so the name of the game is to anticipate and offset declines with SaaS growth.
This tightrope act is something Thryv has been able to accomplish better than any other print directory publisher in history… and many have tried. Led by visionary and proven operator Joe Walsh, Thryv has consolidated much of the directory publishing market to achieve scale and acquire customers.
Those customers are a key piece of the equation because they’re the primary target for SaaS sales efforts, which continue to accelerate. That brings us back to Q4 earnings, which validate all the above. Another key metric in that sense is that its overall SaaS subscriber base grew 50 percent year-over-year.
“Thryv now has over 100,000 SaaS clients and has achieved Rule of 40 for two consecutive quarters – in addition to other significant milestones that we’ll be building on in 2025,” Thryv president Grant Freeman told Localogy Insider. “Our focus is on the quality integration of Keap’s sales and marketing automations into our platform, and ensuring that clients reap the benefits of our growth-oriented software.”
It’s also notable that within the SaaS portion of its business, margins are favorable, signaling operational efficiency. Specifically, Thryv achieved an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17 percent. Moreover, it achieved the rule of 40 as noted by Freeman, with revenue growth plus profit margin exceeding 40 percent.
For more on the Thryv story, which is a fascinating one, we recommend some of our past analysis and interviews with Walsh, as well as his stage appearance at L24 last April (side-note: L25 is coming up next month and you can find out more here). This will be the stuff of HBR case studies someday soon.
Highlight Reel
To leave you with more particulars from Thryv’s Q4, check out the highlights below that we’ve extracted to save you time.
Q4 Takeaways
- Total SaaS revenue was $104.3 million, a 41% increase year-over-year
- Thryv SaaS1 revenue, which excludes Keap’s revenue, was $90.9 million, a 23% increase year-over-year
- Total Marketing Services revenue was $82.3 million, a 49% decrease year-over-year resulting from the timing of the company’s print publication cycles
- Consolidated total revenue was $186.6 million, a decrease of 21% year-over-year
- Consolidated net income was $7.9 million, or $0.19 per diluted share; compared to net loss of $257.5 million, or $(7.39) per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023
- Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA was $29.4 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.7%
- Total SaaS Adjusted EBITDA was $17.3 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.6%
- Total Marketing Services Adjusted EBITDA was $12.1 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.7%
- Consolidated Gross Profit was $123.0 million
- Consolidated Adjusted Gross Profit2 was $127.8 million
- SaaS Gross Profit was $76.2 million, representing a Gross Margin of 73.1%
- SaaS Adjusted Gross Profit2 was $79.2 million, representing an Adjusted Gross Margin of 75.9%
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Full-Year 2024 Takeaways
- Total SaaS revenue was $343.5 million, a 30% increase year-over-year
- Thryv SaaS revenue, which excludes Keap’s revenue, was $330.1 million, a 25% increase year-over-year
- Total Marketing Services revenue was $480.7 million, a 26% decrease year-over-year
- Consolidated total revenue was $824.2 million, a decrease of 10% year-over-year
- Consolidated net loss was $74.2 million, or $(2.00) per diluted share, which includes a non-cash charge of $83.1 million related to Marketing Services goodwill impairment; compared to net loss of $259.3 million, or $(7.47) per diluted share, for last year
- Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA was $162.4 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.7%
- Total SaaS Adjusted EBITDA was $41.2 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.0%
- Total Marketing Services Adjusted EBITDA was $121.2 million, representing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 25.2%
- Consolidated Gross Profit was $537.2 million
- Consolidated Adjusted Gross Profit2 was $558.9 million
- SaaS Gross Profit was $238.2 million, representing a Gross Margin of 69.4%
- SaaS Adjusted Gross Profit1 was $247.2 million, representing an Adjusted Gross Margin of 72.0%
- Pension obligations, net were $38.0 million as of December 31, 2024 compared to $69.4 million as of December 31, 2023, a 45% decrease year-over-year
- Operating cash flow was $89.8 million compared to $148.2 million for the prior year
Free cash flow was $56.2 million compared to $114.8 million for the prior year
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SaaS Metrics
- Total SaaS clients increased 73% year-over-year to 114 thousand at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, Thryv SaaS clients increased 50% year-over-year to 99 thousand
- Seasoned Net Revenue Retention3 was 98% for the fourth quarter of 2024, an increase of 200 bps year-over-year, excluding Keap
- SaaS monthly Average Revenue per Unit (“ARPU”)4 was $324 for the fourth quarter of 2024
ThryvPay total payment volume was $79 million, an increase of 33% year-over-year
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“It’s exciting times here at Thryv,” said Freeman, “and our recent Top 50 placement on G2’s 2025 Best Marketing Software Awards, voted on by customers, tells us that small businesses are responding to what we’re building.”
