Prospectus Supplement No. 8

(to Prospectus dated February 10, 2022)

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)

Registration Statement No. 333-261059

2,800,000 Units Consisting of Shares of Class A

Common Stock and Warrants

This prospectus supplement updates and supplements the prospectus dated February 10, 2022 (the “Prospectus”), which forms a part of our Registration Statement on Form S-1. This prospectus supplement is being filed to update and supplement the information in the Prospectus with the information contained in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2023 (the “Quarterly Report”). Accordingly, we have attached the Quarterly Report to this prospectus supplement.

The Prospectus and this prospectus supplement relate to the offer and sale by us of up to (i) 3,220,000 shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Class A common stock”), that may be issued upon the exercise of warrants issued on the closing date of our initial public offering to purchase shares of Class A common stock, (ii) 161,000 warrants to purchase shares of our Class A common stock (“Additional Warrants”) that may be issued upon exercise of unit purchase options issued to the underwriters of our initial public offering and (iii) 161,000 shares of our Class A common stock that may be issued upon exercise of the Additional Warrants.

This prospectus supplement should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus and is not complete without, and may not be delivered or utilized except in combination with, the Prospectus, including any amendments or supplements thereto, which is to be delivered with this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement updates and supplements the information in the Prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in the Prospectus and this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement.

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DRCT”. On November 27, 2023, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) was $12.59. Our warrants were traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “DRCTW” until their redemption in full, and subsequent delisting from Nasdaq, on October 30, 2023. There is currently no active trading market for our warrants, nor can there be any assurance that one develops.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will be subject to reduced public reporting requirements. This prospectus supplement (including the Prospectus) complies with the requirements that apply to an issuer that is an emerging growth company.

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 25 of the Prospectus, and under similar headings in any further amendments or supplements to the Prospectus before you decide whether to invest in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body or state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus supplement is November 28, 2023.

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)


☒	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2023


☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 001-41261

_________________________________________________________

DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

_________________________________________________________

Delaware		87-2306185
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1177 West Loop South,	Suite 1310
Houston, Texas		77027
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip code)

(832) 402-1051

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class:	Trading symbol(s)	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share	DRCT	NASDAQ

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

________________________________________________________

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒
Emerging growth company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of November 7, 2023, there were 2,992,425 shares of the registrant’s Class A common stock outstanding, par value $0.001 per share, and 11,278,000 shares of the registrant’s Class B common stock outstanding, par value $0.001 per share.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS



		PAGE
ITEM

	Part I. Financial Information	3

1.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
	Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022	3
	Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	4
	Consolidated Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	5
	Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023 and 2022	6
	Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	7

2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	28

3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	41

4.	Controls and Procedures	42

	Part II. Other Information	43

1.	Legal Proceedings	43

1A.	Risk Factors	43

2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	43

3.	Defaults Upon Senior Securities	43

4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	43

5.	Other Information	44

6.	Exhibits	45

Signatures		46

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PART 1. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)


	September 30, 2023		December 31, 2022

ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$	5,481,949	$	4,047,453
Accounts receivable, net		54,637,634		26,354,114
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		1,426,925		883,322
Total current assets		61,546,508		31,284,889

Property, equipment and software, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $219,386 and $34,218, respectively		625,028		673,218
Goodwill		6,519,636		6,519,636
Intangible assets, net		12,172,396		13,637,759
Deferred tax asset, net		5,082,424		5,164,776
Operating lease right-of-use assets		674,846		798,774
Other long-term assets		127,492		46,987
Total assets	$	86,748,330	$	58,126,039

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	$	45,021,034	$	17,695,404
Accrued liabilities		4,071,128		4,777,764
Liability related to tax receivable agreement, current portion		41,141		182,571
Notes payable, current portion		1,146,250		655,000
Deferred revenues		1,044,069		546,710
Operating lease liabilities, current portion		49,977		91,989
Income taxes payable		113,355		174,438
Related party payables		1,428,093		1,448,333
Total current liabilities		52,915,047		25,572,209

Notes payable, net of short-term portion and deferred financing cost of $1,722,716 and $2,115,161, respectively		22,323,534		22,913,589
Economic Injury Disaster Loan		150,000		150,000
Liability related to tax receivable agreement, net of current portion		4,245,234		4,149,619
Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion		717,632		745,340
Total liabilities		80,351,447		53,530,757

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 9)

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 160,000,000 shares authorized, 2,991,792 and 2,900,000 shares issued and outstanding, respectively		2,992		2,900
Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 11,278,000 shares issued and outstanding		11,278		11,278
Additional paid-in capital		8,782,092		8,224,365
Accumulated deficit		(2,399,479)		(3,643,261)
Total stockholders’ equity		6,396,883		4,595,282
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	86,748,330	$	58,126,039

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)


	For the Three Months Ended				For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Revenues
Buy-side advertising	$	7,850,058	$	7,130,736	$	27,092,816	$	22,283,044
Sell-side advertising		51,622,066		18,854,639		89,006,018		36,333,976
Total revenues		59,472,124		25,985,375		116,098,834		58,617,020

Cost of revenues
Buy-side advertising		3,113,491		2,471,170		10,650,541		7,694,987
Sell-side advertising		44,605,815		16,053,461		77,189,787		30,344,670
Total cost of revenues		47,719,306		18,524,631		87,840,328		38,039,657
Gross profit		11,752,818		7,460,744		28,258,506		20,577,363

Operating expenses
Compensation, taxes and benefits		4,747,081		3,845,918		12,934,406		9,895,646
General and administrative		2,512,330		1,770,002		8,717,584		5,187,875
Total operating expenses		7,259,411		5,615,920		21,651,990		15,083,521
Income from operations		4,493,407		1,844,824		6,606,516		5,493,842

Other income (expense)
Other income		83,331		—		175,472		47,982
Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loan		—		—		—		287,143
Loss on redemption of non-participating preferred units		—		—		—		(590,689)
Contingent loss on early termination of line of credit		—		—		(299,770)		—
Interest expense		(1,059,890)		(905,605)		(3,104,684)		(2,269,643)
Total other expense		(976,559)		(905,605)		(3,228,982)		(2,525,207)

Income before taxes		3,516,848		939,219		3,377,534		2,968,635
Tax expense		165,994		128,436		165,658		215,112
Net income	$	3,350,854	$	810,783	$	3,211,876	$	2,753,523

Net income per common share:
Basic	$	0.23	$	0.06	$	0.23	$	0.23
Diluted	$	0.23	$	0.06	$	0.22	$	0.23

Weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding:
Basic		14,268,168		14,178,000		14,216,211		11,846,601
Diluted		14,827,165		14,545,241		14,817,770		11,996,969

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Unaudited)

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023


	Common Stock
	Class A			Class B					Accumulated		Stockholders’
	Units	Amount		Units	Amount		APIC		deficit		equity
Balance, December 31, 2022	2,900,000	$	2,900	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	8,224,365	$	(3,643,261)	$	4,595,282
Stock-based compensation	—		—	—		—		545,504		—		545,504
Issuance related to vesting of restricted stock units, net of tax withholdings	89,459		90	—		—		(90)		—		—
Warrants exercised	2,200		2	—		—		12,098		—		12,100
Stock options exercised	133		—	—		—		215		—		215
Distributions to members	—		—	—		—		—		(1,968,094)		(1,968,094)
Net income	—		—	—		—		—		3,211,876		3,211,876
Balance, September 30, 2023	2,991,792	$	2,992	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	8,782,092	$	(2,399,479)	$	6,396,883

Three Months Ended September 30, 2023


	Common Stock
	Class A			Class B					Accumulated		Stockholders’
	Units	Amount		Units	Amount		APIC		deficit		equity
Balance, June 30, 2023	2,988,916	$	2,989	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	8,540,389	$	(4,534,925)	$	4,019,731
Stock-based compensation	—		—	—		—		241,491		—		241,491
Issuance related to vesting of restricted stock units, net of tax withholdings	2,743		3	—		—		(3)		—		—
Stock options exercised	133							215				215
Distributions to members	—		—	—		—		—		(1,215,408)		(1,215,408)
Net income	—		—	—		—		—		3,350,854		3,350,854
Balance, September 30, 2023	2,991,792	$	2,992	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	8,782,092	$	(2,399,479)	$	6,396,883

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2022


				Common Stock
														Members' /
	Common Units			Class A			Class B					Accumulated		Stockholders'
	Units	Amount		Units	Amount		Units	Amount		APIC		deficit		equity
Balance, December 31, 2021	34,182	$	4,294,241	—	$	—	—	$	—	$	—	$	(4,669,097)	$	(374,856)
Issuance of Class A common stock, net of transaction costs	—		—	2,800,000		2,800	—		—		10,164,243		—		10,167,043
Conversion of member units to Class B shares	(28,545)		(200)	—		—	11,378,000		11,378		(11,178)		—		—
Conversion of Class B shares to Class A common stock	—		—	100,000		100	(100,000)		(100)		—		—		—
Redemption of common units	(5,637)		(4,294,041)	—		—	—		—		(2,905,959)		—		(7,200,000)
Stock-based compensation	—		—	—		—	—		—		85,437		—		85,437
Distributions to members	—		—	—		—	—		—		—		(916,433)		(916,433)
Additional paid-in capital related to tax receivable agreement	—		—	—		—	—		—		485,100		—		485,100
Net income	—		—	—		—	—		—		—		2,753,523		2,753,523
Balance, September 30, 2022	—	$	—	2,900,000	$	2,900	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	7,817,643	$	(2,832,007)	$	4,999,814

Three Months Ended September 30, 2022


	Common Stock
	Class A			Class B					Accumulated		Stockholders'
	Units	Amount		Units	Amount		APIC		deficit		equity
Balance, June 30, 2022	2,800,000	$	2,800	11,378,000	$	11,378	$	7,747,613	$	(3,036,348)	$	4,725,443
Conversion of Class B shares to Class A common stock	100,000		100	(100,000)		(100)		—		—		—
Stock-based compensation	—		—	—		—		70,030		—		70,030
Distributions to members	—		—	—		—		—		(606,442)		(606,442)
Net income	—		—	—		—		—		810,783		810,783
Balance, September 30, 2022	2,900,000	$	2,900	11,278,000	$	11,278	$	7,817,643	$	(2,832,007)	$	4,999,814

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)


	For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2023		2022
Cash Flows Provided By Operating Activities:
Net income	$	3,211,876	$	2,753,523
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of deferred financing costs		434,847		463,008
Amortization of intangible assets		1,465,363		1,465,364
Amortization of right-of-use assets		123,928		94,974
Amortization of capitalized software		159,057		—
Depreciation of property and equipment		26,112		—
Stock-based compensation		545,504		85,437
Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loan		—		(287,143)
Deferred income taxes		82,352		(40,591)
Payment on tax receivable agreement		(45,815)		—
Loss on redemption of non-participating preferred units		—		590,689
Contingent loss on early termination of line of credit		299,770		—
Bad debt expense		97,740		2,717
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		(28,381,260)		(13,520,067)
Prepaid expenses and other assets		(524,098)		482,190
Accounts payable		27,325,629		10,008,327
Accrued liabilities		(513,138)		1,555,037
Income taxes payable		(61,083)		94,440
Deferred revenues		497,359		(201,907)
Operating lease liability		(69,720)		(75,396)
Related party payable		—		(70,801)
Net cash provided by operating activities		4,674,423		3,399,801

Cash Flows Used In Investing Activities:
Cash paid for capitalized software and property and equipment		(136,978)		—
Net cash used in investing activities		(136,978)		—

Cash Flows Used In Financing Activities:
Proceeds from note payable		—		4,260,000
Payments on term loan		(491,250)		(412,500)
Payments of litigation settlement		(193,500)		—
Payments on lines of credit		—		(400,000)
Payment of deferred financing costs		(442,181)		(525,295)
Proceeds from Issuance of Class A common stock, net of transaction costs		—		11,167,043
Redemption of common units		—		(7,200,000)
Redemption of non-participating preferred units		—		(7,046,251)
Proceeds from options exercised		215		—
Proceeds from warrants exercised		12,100		—
Distributions to members		(1,988,333)		(916,433)
Net cash used in financing activities		(3,102,949)		(1,073,436)

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		1,434,496		2,326,365
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period		4,047,453		4,684,431
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period	$	5,481,949	$	7,010,796

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:
Cash paid for taxes	$	348,862	$	133,401
Cash paid for interest	$	2,667,283	$	1,744,365

Non-cash Financing Activities:
Transaction costs related to issuances of Class A shares included in accrued liabilities	$	—	$	1,000,000
Outside basis difference in partnership	$	—	$	3,234,000
Tax receivable agreement payable to Direct Digital Management, LLC	$	—	$	278,900
Tax benefit on tax receivable agreement	$	—	$	485,100
Issuance related to vesting of restricted stock units, net of tax withholdings	$	90	$	—

See accompanying notes to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

Note 1 — Organization and Description of Business

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., incorporated as a Delaware corporation on August 23, 2021 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, together with its subsidiaries, operates an end-to-end, full-service programmatic advertising platform primarily focused on providing advertising technology, data-driven campaign optimization and other solutions to underserved and less efficient markets on both the buy- and sell-side of the digital advertising ecosystem. Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. is the holding company for Direct Digital Holdings, LLC (“DDH LLC”), which is, in turn, the holding company for the business formed by DDH LLC’s founders in 2018 through the acquisition of Huddled Masses, LLC (“Huddled Masses^TM” or “Huddled Masses”) and Colossus Media, LLC (“Colossus Media”). Colossus Media operates the Company’s proprietary sell-side programmatic platform operating under the trademarked banner of Colossus SSP^TM (“Colossus SSP”). In late September 2020, DDH LLC acquired Orange142, LLC (“Orange142”) to further bolster its overall programmatic buy-side advertising platform and to enhance its offerings across multiple industry verticals such as travel, healthcare, education, financial services, consumer products and other sectors with particular emphasis on small and mid-sized businesses transitioning into digital with growing digital media budgets. In February 2022, Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. completed an initial public offering of its securities and, together with DDH LLC, effected a series of transactions (together, the “Organizational Transactions”) whereby Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. became the sole managing member of DDH LLC, the holder of 100% of the voting interests of DDH LLC and the holder of 19.7% of the economic interests of DDH LLC, commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure. (See Note 8 – Related Party Transactions). In these financial statements, the “Company,” “Direct Digital,” “Direct Digital Holdings,” “DDH,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer (i) following the completion of the Organizational Transactions, including the initial public offering, to Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., and, unless otherwise stated, all of its subsidiaries, including DDH LLC, and, unless otherwise stated, its subsidiaries, and (ii) on or prior to the completion of the Organizational Transactions, to DDH LLC and, unless otherwise stated, its subsidiaries. All of the subsidiaries are incorporated in the state of Delaware, except for DDH LLC, which was formed under the laws of the State of Texas.

The subsidiaries of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. are as follows:


			Advertising
			Solution		Date
	Current %		and		of
Subsidiary	Ownership		Segment	Date of Formation	Acquisition
Direct Digital Holdings, LLC	100.0	%	N/A	June 21, 2018	August 26, 2021
Huddled Masses, LLC	100.0	%	Buy-side	November 13, 2012	June 21, 2018
Colossus Media, LLC	100.0	%	Sell-side	September 8, 2017	June 21, 2018
Orange142, LLC	100.0	%	Buy-side	March 6, 2013	September 30, 2020

Both buy-side subsidiaries, Huddled Masses and Orange142, offer technology-enabled advertising solutions and consulting services to clients through multiple leading demand side platforms (“DSPs”). Colossus SSP is a stand-alone tech-enabled, data-driven platform that helps deliver targeted advertising to diverse and multicultural audiences, including African Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans and LGBTQIA+ customers, as well as other specific audiences.

Providing both the front-end, buy-side operations coupled with the Company’s proprietary sell-side operations enables the Company to curate the first through the last mile in the ad tech ecosystem execution process to drive higher results.

Note 2 — Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of presentation

The Company’s consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and reflect the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for all periods presented. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on April 17, 2023. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods presented.

Table of Contents

The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards otherwise applicable to public companies until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) it affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. The adoption dates discussed below reflect this election.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Business combinations

The Company analyzes acquisitions to determine if the acquisition should be recorded as an asset acquisition or a business combination. The Company accounts for acquired businesses using the acquisition method of accounting under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805, Business Combinations, (“ASC 805”), which requires that assets acquired and liabilities assumed be recorded at the date of acquisition at their respective fair values. The fair value of the consideration paid, including any contingent consideration as applicable, is assigned to the underlying net assets of the acquired business based on their respective fair values based on widely accepted valuation techniques in accordance with ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, as of the closing date. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired is recorded as goodwill.

Significant judgments are used in determining the estimated fair values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed and in determining estimates of useful lives of long-lived assets. Fair value determinations and useful life estimates are based on, among other factors, estimates of expected future net cash flows, estimates of appropriate discount rates used to calculate the present value of expected future net cash flows, the assessment of each asset’s life cycle, and the impact of competitive trends on each asset’s life cycle and other factors. These judgments can materially impact the estimates used to allocate acquisition date fair values to assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and the resulting timing and amounts charged to, or recognized in, current and future operating results. For these and other reasons, actual results may vary significantly from estimated results.

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Significant estimates include the allocation of purchase price consideration in the business combination and the related valuation of acquired assets and liabilities, intangible assets, and goodwill impairment testing. The Company bases its estimates on past experiences, market conditions, and other assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable under the circumstances, and the Company evaluates these estimates on an ongoing basis.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of funds deposited with financial institutions and highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less. Such deposits may, at times, exceed federally insured limits. As of September 30, 2023, $4,555,527 of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents exceeded the federally insured limits, none of which is held at Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”). The Company has not experienced any losses in such amounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk to cash.

Accounts receivable, net

Accounts receivable primarily consists of billed amounts for products and services rendered to customers under normal trade terms. The Company performs credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally does not require collateral. Accounts receivables are stated at net realizable value. The Company insures a significant portion of its accounts receivable with unrelated third-party insurance companies in an effort to mitigate any future write-offs and establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts as deemed necessary for accounts not covered by this insurance. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company’s allowance for

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doubtful accounts was $46,433 and $4,323, respectively. Management periodically reviews outstanding accounts receivable for reasonableness. If warranted, the Company processes a claim with the third-party insurance company to recover uncollected balances, rather than writing the balances off to bad debt expense. The guaranteed recovery for the claim is approximately 90% of the original balance, and if the full amount is collected by the insurance company, the remaining 10% is remitted to the Company. If the insurance company is unable to collect the full amount, the Company records the remaining 10% to bad debt expense. Bad debt expense was $46,208 for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and for the three months ended September 30, 2022, the Company recovered $22,082 on receivables previously written off. Bad debt expense was $97,740 and $2,717 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Concentration of customers

There is an inherent concentration of credit risk associated with accounts receivable arising from revenue from major customers on both the buy-side and sell-side of the business. For the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, one customer represented 82% and 70% of revenues, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, one customer represented 72% and 60% of revenues. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, one customer accounted for 90% and 80%, respectively, of accounts receivable.

Property and equipment, net

Property and equipment are recognized in the consolidated balance sheets at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. The Company capitalizes purchases and depreciates its property and equipment using the straight-line method of depreciation over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, generally ranging from three to five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their useful lives or the remaining terms of the related leases.

The cost of repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Major renewals or improvements that extend the useful lives of the assets are capitalized. When assets are retired or disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation thereon are removed, and any resulting gain or loss is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations.

Internal Use of Software Development Costs (Capitalized Software)

The Company capitalizes costs related to the development of internal-use software. Costs incurred during the application development phase are capitalized and amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life, estimated at three years.

Goodwill

Under the purchase method of accounting pursuant to ASC 805, goodwill is calculated as the excess of purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. In testing goodwill for impairment, the Company has the option to begin with a qualitative assessment, commonly referred to as “Step 0”, to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit containing goodwill is less than its carrying value. This qualitative assessment may include, but is not limited to, reviewing factors such as macroeconomic conditions, industry and market considerations, cost factors, entity-specific financial performance and other events, such as changes in management, strategy and primary user base. If the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, then a quantitative goodwill impairment analysis is performed, which is referred to as “Step 1”. Depending upon the results of the Step 1 measurement, the recorded goodwill may be written down, and an impairment expense is recorded in the consolidated statements of operations when the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit. Goodwill is reviewed annually and tested for impairment upon the occurrence of a triggering event.

As of September 30, 2023, goodwill was $6,519,636, which includes $2,423,936 as a result of the acquisition of Huddled Masses and Colossus Media in 2018 and $4,095,700 of goodwill recognized from the acquisition of Orange142 in September 2020.

Intangible assets, net

Intangible assets consist of customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Intangible assets are recorded at fair value at the time of their acquisition and are stated within the consolidated balance sheets net of accumulated amortization. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives and recorded as amortization expense within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

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Impairment of long-lived assets

The Company evaluates long-lived assets, including property and equipment, and acquired intangible assets consisting of customer relationships, trademarks and trade names, and non-compete agreements, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is assessed based on the future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. If the sum of the undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognized. Any impairment loss, if indicated, is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its estimated fair value and is recognized as a reduction in the carrying amount of the asset. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, there were no events or changes in circumstances to indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable.

Fair value measurements

The Company follows ASC 820-10, Fair Value Measurement, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in U.S. GAAP, and requires certain disclosures about fair value measurements. ASC 820-10 defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction. Fair value measurement is based on a hierarchy of observable or unobservable inputs. The standard describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value.

Level 1 — Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical securities as of the reporting date;

Level 2 — Inputs to the valuation methodology are other significant observable inputs, including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, credit risk etc. as of the reporting date, and the fair value can be determined through the use of models or other valuation methodologies; and

Level 3 — Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs in situations where there is little or no market activity of the securities and the reporting entity makes estimates and assumptions relating to the pricing of the securities, including assumptions regarding risk.

The Company segregates all financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis into the most appropriate level within the fair value hierarchy based on the inputs used to determine the fair value at the measurement date.

Deferred financing costs

The Company records costs related to its line of credit and the issuance of debt obligations as deferred financing costs. These costs are deferred and amortized to interest expense using the straight-line method over the life of the debt. In December 2021, the Company amended its line of credit with East West Bank (see Note 6 – Long-Term Debt) and incurred additional deferred financing costs of $4,613 during the nine months ended September 30, 2022. On July 26, 2022, the Company repaid the line of credit and terminated the revolving credit facility as of such date and the remaining deferred financing costs of $33,434 were amortized to interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2022. On July 7, 2023, the Company entered into a new revolving credit facility with East West Bank and incurred deferred financing costs of $214,680 during the three months ended September 30, 2023. Unamortized deferred financing costs related to the new line of credit were $187,845 and $0 as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. As of September 30, 2023, $80,505 of these unamortized deferred financing costs were included in prepaid expenses and other current assets with the balance in other long-term assets.

In January 2023, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement with Silicon Valley Bank (the “SVB Loan Agreement”) and incurred $211,934 of deferred financing costs during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. As the Company had not yet drawn any amounts on the agreement, on March 13, 2023 the Company issued a notice of termination and expensed the deferred financing costs which totaled $299,770 to contingent loss on early termination of line of credit during the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Termination of the facility with Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) became effective April 20, 2023.

In December 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with Lafayette Square Loan Servicing, LLC (“Lafayette Square”) (see Note 6 – Long-Term Debt) and incurred additional deferred financing costs of $15,567 and $520,682 during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Unamortized deferred financing costs for the note payable was $1,722,716 and $2,115,161

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as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, and netted against the outstanding debt on the consolidated balance sheets.

Right-of-use assets

The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”), Leases (Topic 842) as of January 1, 2022, and recognizes operating lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheets. The standard requires the Company to increase assets and liabilities by equal amounts through the recognition of Right-of-Use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities for the operating leases and to recognize the initial and the monthly payments as operating expenses when paid or accrued on the consolidated statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows.

Revenue recognition

The Company recognizes revenue using the following five steps: 1) identification of a contract(s) with a customer; 2) identification of the performance obligation(s) in the contract; 3) determination of the transaction price; 4) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligation(s) in the contract; and 5) recognition of revenue when, or as, the performance obligation(s) are satisfied. The Company’s revenues are derived primarily from two sources: buy-side advertising and sell-side advertising.

Buy-side advertising

The Company purchases media based on the budget established by its customers with a focus on leveraging data services, customer branding, real-time market analysis and micro-location advertising. The Company offers its services on a fully managed basis, which is recognized over time using the output method when the performance obligation is fulfilled. An “impression” is delivered when an advertisement appears on pages viewed by users. The performance obligation is satisfied over time as the volume of impressions are delivered up to the contractual maximum for fully managed revenue. Many customers run several different campaigns throughout the year to capitalize on different seasons, special events and other happenings at their respective regions and localities. The Company provides digital advertising and media buying capabilities with a focus on generating measurable digital and financial life for its customers.

Revenue arrangements are evidenced by a fully executed insertion order (“IO”) and/or a master service agreement (“MSA”) covering a combination of marketing tactics. Generally, IOs specify the number and type of advertising impressions to be delivered over a specified time at an agreed upon price and performance objectives for an ad campaign. Performance objectives are generally a measure of targeting, as defined by the parties in advance, such as number of ads displayed, consumer clicks on ads or consumer actions (which may include qualified leads, registrations, downloads, inquiries or purchases). These payment models are commonly referred to as CPM (cost per impression), CPC (cost per click) and CPA (cost per action). The majority of the Company’s contracts are flat-rate, fee-based contracts.

In instances where the Company contracts with third-party advertising agencies on behalf of their advertiser clients, a determination is made to recognize revenue on a gross or net basis based on an assessment of whether the Company is acting as the principal or an agent in the transaction. The Company is acting as the principal in these arrangements and therefore revenue earned and costs incurred are recognized on a gross basis as the Company has control of the digital ad units and is responsible for fulfilling the advertisement delivery, establishing the minimum selling prices, delivering the advertisements, providing updates and performing all billing and collection activities for the applicable platform.

Cash payments received prior to the Company’s delivery of its services are recorded to deferred revenue until the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company recorded deferred revenue (contract liabilities) to account for billings in excess of revenue recognized, primarily related to contractual minimums billed in advance and customer prepayment, of $1,044,069 and $546,710 as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Sell-side advertising

The Company partners with publishers to sell advertising inventory to the Company’s Colossus Media-curated clients and the open markets (collectively referred to as “buyers”) seeking to access the general market as well as unique multi-cultural audiences. The Company generates revenue from the delivery of targeted digital media solutions, enabling advertisers to connect intelligently with their audiences across online display, video, social and mobile mediums using its proprietary programmatic sell-side platform (“SSP”). The Company refers to its publishers, app developers, and channel partners collectively as its publishers. The Company generates revenue

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through the monetization of publisher ad impressions on its platform. The Company’s platform allows the Company to sell, in real time, ad impressions from publishers to buyers and provides automated inventory management and monetization tools to publishers across various device types and digital ad formats. The Company recognizes revenue when an ad is delivered or displayed in response to a winning bid request from ad buyers. The Company is acting as the principal in these arrangements and therefore revenue earned and costs incurred are recognized on a gross basis, as the Company has control of the digital ad units and is responsible for fulfilling the advertisement delivery, establishing the minimum selling prices, delivering the advertisements, providing updates and performing all billing and collection activities for its proprietary platform.

Overall

The Company maintains agreements with its customers in the form of written service agreements, which set out the terms of the relationship, including payment terms (typically 30 to 90 days) and access to its platform. In an effort to reduce the risk of nonpayment, the Company has insurance with a third-party carrier for its accounts receivable as noted above.

Cost of revenues

Buy-side advertising

Cost of revenues consists primarily of digital media fees, third-party platform access fees, and other third-party fees associated with providing services to the Company’s customers.

Sell-side advertising

The Company pays publishers a fee, which is typically a percentage of the value of the ad impressions monetized through the Company’s platform. Cost of revenues consists primarily of publisher media fees and data center co-location costs. Media fees include the publishing and real-time bidding costs to secure advertising space.

Advertising costs

The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expense incurred during the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 was $471,987 and $295,794, respectively and $1,474,250 and $618,461 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These costs are included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

Stock-based compensation

The Company recognizes and measures compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards granted to employees, directors and non-employee directors, including stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”), based on the fair value of the awards on the date of grant. The fair value of stock options is estimated using the Black Scholes option pricing model. The grant date fair value of RSUs is based on the prior day closing market price of the Company’s Class A common stock. The Black Scholes option pricing model inputs include the fair value of the Company’s common stock, as well as assumptions regarding the expected common stock price volatility over the term of the stock options, the expected term of the stock options, risk-free interest rates, and the expected dividend yield.

For additional information regarding stock-based compensation and the assumptions used for determining the fair value of stock options, see Note 10 — Stockholders’ Equity and Stock-Based Compensation Plans.

Income per share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period. Potentially dilutive securities include potential shares of common stock related to the Company’s stock options and RSUs. Diluted earnings per share considers the impact of potentially dilutive securities except in periods in which there is a loss because the inclusion of potential shares of common stock would have an anti-dilutive effect. Diluted income per share excludes the impact of potential shares of common stock related to the Company’s stock options in periods in which the options exercise price is greater than the average market price of the Company’s common stock for the period.

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Income taxes

Effective February 15, 2022, concurrent with the closing of the Company’s initial public offering, the Company entered into a tax receivable agreement (“Tax Receivable Agreement” or “TRA”) with DDH LLC and Direct Digital Management, LLC (“DDM” or the “Continuing LLC Owner”). The TRA provides for certain income (loss) allocations between the Company and DDH LLC under the agreement. DDH LLC is a limited liability company and will continue to be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and, as such, generally will not be subject to any entity-level U.S. federal income tax and certain state and local income taxes. Any taxable income or loss generated by the Company will be allocated to holders of LLC units (“LLC Units”) in accordance with the Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement (“LLC Agreement”), and distributions to the owners of LLC Units in an amount sufficient to fund their tax obligations will be made. The Company is subject to U.S. federal income taxes, in addition to state and local income taxes with respect to its allocable share of any taxable income or loss under the LLC Agreement. Pursuant to the Company’s election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), the Company expects to obtain an increase in its share of the tax basis in the net assets of DDH, LLC when LLC Units are redeemed or exchanged by the members of DDH, LLC. The Company made an election under Section 754 of the Code for each taxable year in which a redemption or exchange of LLC interest occurred. During the year ended December 31, 2022, a member of DDM exchanged 100,000 Class B shares into Class A shares.

The Company applies ASC 740-10, Income Taxes, in establishing standards for accounting for uncertain tax positions. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions with the presumption of audit detection and applies a “more likely than not” standard to evaluate the recognition of tax benefits or provisions. ASC 740-10 applies a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefits or provisions to record in the consolidated financial statements. First, the Company determines whether any amount may be recognized and then determines how much of a tax benefit or provision should be recognized. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had no uncertain tax positions. Accordingly, the Company has not recognized any penalty, interest or tax impact related to uncertain tax positions. If the Company were to incur an income tax liability in the future, interest on any income tax liability would be reported as interest expense and penalties on any income tax liability would be reported as income taxes. The Company’s conclusion regarding uncertain tax positions may be subject to review and adjustments at a later date based upon ongoing analyses of tax laws regulations and interpretations thereof as well as other factors. See Note 13 – Tax Receivable Agreement and Income Taxes.

Segment information

Operating segments are components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources and assessing performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Company views its business as two reportable segments, buy-side advertising, which includes the results of Huddled Masses and Orange142, and sell-side advertising, which includes the results of Colossus Media.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting pronouncements recently adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, as amended, which requires, among other things, the use of a new current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model in order to determine the Company’s allowances for doubtful accounts with respect to accounts receivable. The CECL model requires that the Company estimate its lifetime expected credit loss with respect to its receivables and contract assets and record allowances that, when deducted from the balance of the receivables, represent the net amounts expected to be collected. The Company is required to disclose information about how it developed the allowances, including changes in the factors that influence its estimate of expected credit losses and the reasons for those changes. This ASU is effective for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2023 on a modified retrospective basis and determined it did not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows or net income per share.

Accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

There are no accounting pronouncements that the Company has not yet adopted that it believes are applicable or would have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements of the Company.

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Liquidity and capital resources

As of September 30, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $5,481,949. Based on projections of growth in revenue and operating results in the coming year, the available cash held by the Company and the amounts the Company may borrow under the Credit Agreement (as defined below) executed in July 2023, the Company believes that it will have sufficient cash resources to finance its operations and service any maturing debt obligations for at least the next twelve months following the issuance of these financial statements.

Note 3 — Property, Equipment and Software, net

Property, equipment and software, net consists of the following:


	September 30,		December 31,
	2023		2022
Furniture and fixtures	$	127,932	$	118,601
Computer equipment		19,636		16,985
Leasehold Improvements		36,230		—
Capitalized software		660,616		571,850
Property, equipment and software, gross		844,414		707,436
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(219,386)		(34,218)
Total property, equipment and software, net	$	625,028	$	673,218

The Company moved headquarters in 2022 and capitalized furniture and fixtures, computer equipment and leasehold improvements related to the move. The Company acquired the license to its proprietary Colossus SSP platform in November 2022 from its third-party developer. The following table summarizes depreciation and amortization expense related to property, equipment and software by line item for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022:


	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Cost of revenue	$	55,051	$	—	$	159,057	$	—
General and administrative		8,638		—		26,112		—
Total depreciation and amortization	$	63,689	$	—	$	185,169	$	—

Note 4 — Intangible Assets

Effective September 30, 2020, the Company acquired 100% of the equity interests of Orange142 for a purchase price of $26,207,981. The acquisition of Orange142 was recorded by allocating the total purchase consideration to the fair value of the net tangible assets acquired, including goodwill and intangible assets, in accordance with ASC 805. The purchase consideration exceeded the fair value of the net assets, resulting in goodwill of $4,095,700 and intangible assets of $18,033,850. The Company records amortization expense on a straight-line basis over the life of the identifiable intangible assets. For the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, amortization expense of $488,455 and $488,455, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, amortization expense of $1,465,363 and $1,465,364, respectively, was recognized. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, intangible assets net of accumulated amortization was $12,172,396 and $13,637,759, respectively.

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As of September 30, 2023, intangible assets and the related accumulated amortization, weighted-average remaining life and future amortization expense are as follows:


			Trademarks and		Non-compete
	Customer lists		tradenames		agreements		Total
Fair value at acquisition date	$	13,028,320	$	3,501,200	$	1,504,330	$	18,033,850
Accumulated amortization		(3,908,496)		(1,050,360)		(902,598)		(5,861,454)
Intangible assets, net	$	9,119,824	$	2,450,840	$	601,732	$	12,172,396
Estimated life (years)		10.0		10.0		5.0
Weighted-average remaining life (years)		7.0		7.0		2.0


	Total
2023	$	488,456
2024		1,953,818
2025		1,878,602
2026		1,652,952
2027		1,652,952
Thereafter		4,545,616
Total future amortization expense	$	12,172,396

The Company expects to deduct goodwill for tax purposes in future years. The factors that make up goodwill include entry into new markets not previously accessible and generation of future growth opportunities.

Note 5 — Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following:


	September 30,		December 31,
	2023		2022
Accrued compensation and benefits	$	2,967,115	$	4,128,505
Accrued expenses		547,661		206,639
Accrued severance		309,618		—
Accrued litigation settlement		235,596		429,096
Accrued interest		11,138		13,524
Total accrued liabilities	$	4,071,128	$	4,777,764

On July 10, 2019, Huddled Masses was named as a defendant in a lawsuit related to a delinquent balance to a vendor. On July 28, 2022, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the vendor and agreed to pay a total of $515,096 with monthly installment payments over 24 months beginning September 1, 2022.

Note 6 — Long-Term Debt

Lafayette Square

On December 3, 2021, DDH LLC entered into the Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “2021 Credit Facility”) with Lafayette Square as administrative agent, and the various lenders thereto. The term loan under the 2021 Credit Facility provides for a term loan in the principal amount of up to $32,000,000, consisting of a $22,000,000 closing date term loan and an up to $10,000,000 delayed draw term loan (“Delayed Draw Loan”). The loans under the 2021 Credit Facility bear interest at LIBOR plus the applicable margin minus any applicable impact discount. The applicable margin under the 2021 Credit Facility is determined based on the consolidated total net leverage ratio of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, at a rate of 6.50% per annum if the consolidated total net leverage ratio is less than 2.00 to 1.00 and up to 9.00% per annum if the consolidated total net leverage ratio is greater than 4.00 to 1.00. The applicable impact discount under the 2021 Credit Facility is a discount of 0.05% per annum to the extent that DDH LLC adopts certain services intended to improve overall employee satisfaction and retention plus an additional discount of 0.05% per annum to the extent that DDH LLC maintains a B Corp certification by Standards Analysts at the non-profit B Lab (or a successor certification or administrator). On June 1, 2023 the Company entered into an agreement with Lafayette Square to convert the existing LIBOR based rate to a Term SOFR

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Rate with a credit spread of 0.15% per annum for the interest periods of three months and provides for a credit spread adjustment of 0.10%, 0.15% or 0.25% per annum for interest periods of one month, three months or six months, respectively. The maturity date of the 2021 Credit Facility is December 3, 2026.

On July 28, 2022, the Company entered into the Second Amendment and Joinder to Term Loan and Security Agreement (the “Term Loan Amendment”) and received proceeds of $4,260,000 borrowed under the Delayed Draw Loan to pay the balance owed on the common unit redemption as well as costs associated with the transaction.

Pursuant to the 2021 Credit Facility, as amended by the Term Loan Amendment, DDH LLC will indemnify the Company from and against any claims, losses, expenses and other liabilities incurred by the Company arising from the Company’s guarantor obligations under the 2021 Credit Facility and related term loan documents. The Delayed Draw Loan is required to be repaid in quarterly installments payable on the last day of each fiscal quarter in an amount equal to (i) commencing with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2022 through and including the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023, $26,250, and (ii) commencing March 31, 2024 and continuing on the last day of each fiscal quarter thereafter, $52,500, with a final installment due December 3, 2026 in an amount equal to the remaining entire principal balance thereof.

The obligations under the 2021 Credit Facility are secured by senior, first-priority liens on all or substantially all assets of DDH LLC and its subsidiaries and are guaranteed by the subsidiaries of DDH LLC and include a pledge and guarantee by the Company. As of September 30, 2023, the Company owed a balance on the 2021 Credit Facility of $25,192,500. Additional deferred financing costs of $15,567 and $520,682 were incurred during the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Unamortized deferred financing costs as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 were $1,722,716 and $2,115,161 respectively. Accrued and unpaid interest was $0 as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The 2021 Credit Facility contains affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, require the Company to maintain a net leverage ratio of no more than 3.50 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter through December 31, 2023, as adjusted thereafter, and a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.50 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, as well as restrictions on the ability to incur indebtedness, create certain liens, make certain investments, make certain dividends and other types of distributions, and enter into or undertake certain mergers, consolidations, acquisitions and sales of certain assets and subsidiaries. The Company was in compliance with all the financial covenants under the 2021 Credit Facility as of September 30, 2023.

On October 3, 2023, the Company entered into the Fourth Amendment to the 2021 Credit Facility and received proceeds of $3.6 million borrowed under the Delayed Draw Term Loan to make payments in connection with the consummation of the 2023 warrant tender offer and fees and expenses incurred as described in Note 16 – Subsequent Events. In connection with this Fourth Amendment, the Company agreed it would not be permitted to request any additional funds under the Delayed Draw Term Loan, and Lafayette Square would not be obligated to fund any such requests.

The components of interest expense and related fees for the 2021 Credit Facility are as follows:


	For the Three Months				Nine Months Ended
	Ended				Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Interest expense – Lafayette Square	$	895,638	$	696,818	$	2,665,091	$	1,673,648
Amortization of deferred financing costs – Lafayette Square		136,004		128,064		408,012		362,243
Total interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs	$	1,031,642	$	824,882	$	3,073,103	$	2,035,891

2023 Revolving Line of Credit - East West Bank

On July 7, 2023, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”), by and among East West Bank (“EWB”), as lender, and DDH LLC, the Company, Huddled Masses, Colossus Media, and Orange142, as borrowers. The Credit Agreement provides for a revolving credit facility (the “2023 Credit Facility”) in the original principal amount of up to $5 million, subject to a borrowing base determined based on eligible accounts, and an up to $5 million uncommitted incremental revolving facility. Loans under the 2023 Credit Facility mature on July 7, 2025 (the “Maturity Date”), unless the 2023 Credit Facility is otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement.

Borrowings under the 2023 Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the one-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate, as administered by the CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited (“CBA”) (or a successor administrator of the

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secured overnight financing rate) and displayed by Bloomberg LP (or any successor thereto, or replacement thereof, as approved by EWB) and as determined by EWB on the first day of the applicable interest period, plus 0.10% (10 basis points), plus 3.00% per annum (the “Loan Rate”); provided, that, in no event shall the Loan Rate be less than 0.50% of the Loan Rate effective as of the date of the Credit Agreement nor more than the maximum rate of interest allowed under applicable law. Upon an event of default under the Credit Agreement, the outstanding principal amounts of any advances will accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to the Loan Rate plus five percent (5%), but in no event in excess of the maximum rate of interest allowed under applicable law.

At the Company’s option, the Company may at any time prepay the outstanding principal balance of the 2023 Credit Facility in whole or in part, without fee, penalty or premium. All accrued but unpaid interest on outstanding advances under the Credit Agreement are payable in monthly installments on the last day of each monthly interest period until the Maturity Date when the then outstanding principal balance of the advances and all accrued but unpaid interest thereon becomes due and payable. The obligations under the 2023 Credit Facility are secured by all or substantially all of the borrowers’ assets.

The Company and the other borrowers are required to maintain compliance at all times with the following financial covenants on a consolidated basis: (i) a fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.25 to 1.0, beginning with the fiscal quarter ended on June 30, 2023 and at the end of each fiscal quarter thereafter; (ii) a total funded debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.50 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter from June 30, 2023 through December 31, 2023, 3.25 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter from March 31, 2024 through March 31, 2025 and 3.00 to 1.00 as of the last day of each fiscal quarter from June 30, 2025 and thereafter; and (iii) a liquidity covenant requiring the Company and the other borrowers to maintain minimum liquid assets at all times (calculated using unencumbered cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities), in one or more accounts held with EWB plus Revolving Credit Availability in the amount of $1,000,000. Revolving Credit Availability is defined as an amount such that the ratio of the value of eligible accounts to the aggregate amount of all outstanding advances under the credit agreement at such time is not less than 2.0 to 1.0. The Company was in compliance with all the financial covenants under the 2023 Credit Facility as of September 30, 2023.

The Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties and includes affirmative and negative covenants applicable to the borrowers and their respective subsidiaries. The affirmative covenants include, among others, covenants requiring the Company to maintain its legal existence and governmental compliance, deliver certain financial reports and maintain insurance coverage. The negative covenants include, among others, restrictions on indebtedness, liens, investments, mergers, dispositions, prepayment of other indebtedness and dividends and other distributions.

The Credit Agreement also includes customary events of default, including, among other things, non-payment defaults, covenant defaults, inaccuracy of representations and warranties, defaults under any of the loan documents, certain cross-defaults to other indebtedness, certain bankruptcy and insolvency events, invalidity of guarantees or grant of security interest, certain ERISA-related transactions and events, certain orders of forfeiture, change of control, certain undischarged attachments, sequestrations, or similar proceedings, and certain undischarged or non-stayed judgments, in certain cases subject to certain thresholds and grace periods. The occurrence of an event of default could result in the acceleration of the obligations under the Credit Agreement of the Company or other borrowers. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company incurred $214,680 of deferred financing costs associated with the 2023 Credit Facility.

2020 Revolving Line of Credit - East West Bank

On September 30, 2020, the Company entered into a credit agreement that provided for a revolving credit facility with EWB in the amount of $4,500,000 with an initial availability of $1,000,000 (the “2020 Revolving Credit Facility”). On December 17, 2021, the Company amended the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility, which increased the amount of the revolving loan to $5,000,000 with an initial availability of $2,500,000, and in connection with the amendment, the Company incurred additional deferred financing fees of $4,613 in January 2022. The loans under the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility bore interest at the LIBOR rate plus 3.5% per annum, and as of March 31, 2022, the rate was 7.0% with a 0.50% unused fee.

On July 26, 2022, the Company terminated the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company did not have any outstanding borrowings or deferred financing costs under the Revolving Credit Facility.

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The components of interest expense and related fees for the 2023 Revolving Credit Facility and 2020 Revolving Credit Facility are as follows:


	For the Three Months				Nine Months Ended
	Ended				Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Interest expense – 2020 Revolving Credit Facility	$	—	$	3,573	$	—	$	23,391
Amortization of deferred financing costs – 2023 Revolving Credit Facility		26,835		—		26,835		—
Amortization of deferred financing costs – 2020 Revolving Credit Facility		—		33,434		—		100,765
Total interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs	$	26,835	$	37,007	$	26,835	$	124,156

Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) Financing

On January 9, 2023, the Company entered into the SVB Loan Agreement, by and among SVB, as lender, and DDH LLC, the Company, Huddled Masses, Colossus Media and Orange142, as borrowers. The SVB Loan Agreement provided for a revolving credit facility (the “SVB Revolving Credit Facility”) in the original principal amount of $5 million, subject to a borrowing base determined based on eligible accounts, and up to an additional $2.5 million incremental revolving facility subject to the lender’s consent, which would increase the aggregate principal amount of the Credit Facility to $7.5 million. Loans under the SVB Revolving Credit Facility were to mature on September 30, 2024 unless the Credit Facility was otherwise terminated pursuant to the terms of the Loan Agreement.

On March 10, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. As the Company had not yet drawn any amounts under the SVB Revolving Credit Facility, on March 13, 2023, the Company issued a notice of termination of the SVB Loan Agreement. The termination of the SVB Revolving Credit Facility became effective April 20, 2023. Prior to issuing the notice of termination, the Company received consent to terminate the SVB Revolving Credit Facility and a waiver of the terms relating to the SVB Revolving Credit Facility under its Term Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of December 3, 2021, with Lafayette Square Loan Servicing, LLC (“Lafayette Square”). The Company did not hold material cash deposits or securities at Silicon Valley Bank and as of the date of this report, has not experienced any adverse impact to its liquidity or to its current and projected business operations, financial condition or results of operations. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company incurred $211,934 of deferred financing costs. After the Company issued the notice of termination, total deferred financing costs of $299,770 were expensed to contingent loss on early termination of line of credit during the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

U.S. Small Business Administration Loans

Economic Injury Disaster Loan

In 2020, the Company applied and was approved for a loan pursuant to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”), administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The Company received the loan proceeds of $150,000 on June 15, 2020. The loan bears interest at a rate of 3.75% and matures on June 15, 2050. Installment payments, including principal and interest, of $731 began monthly on December 15, 2022. Each payment will first be applied to pay accrued interest, then the remaining balance will be used to reduce principal. The loan is secured by substantially all assets of DDH LLC.

Accrued and unpaid interest expense as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 was $11,138 and $13,524, respectively, and is included in accrued expenses on the consolidated balance sheets.

Paycheck Protection Program

In 2020, the Company applied and was approved for a loan pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), administered by the SBA (the “PPP-1 Loan”). The PPP was authorized in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and was designed to provide a direct financial incentive for qualifying business to keep their workforce employees. The SBA made PPP loans available to qualifying businesses in amounts up to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll expenses, and loans were forgivable after a “covered period” (eight or twenty-four weeks) as long as the borrower maintained its payroll and utilities.

The forgiveness amount would be reduced if the borrower terminated employees or reduced salaries and wages more than 25% during the covered period. Any unforgiven portion was payable over two years if issued before, or five years if issued after, June 5, 2020

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at an interest rate of 1.0% with payments deferred until the SBA remits the borrower’s loan forgiveness amount to the lender, or if the borrower did not apply for forgiveness, then six months after the end of the covered period.

In March 2021, DDH LLC applied for and received a PPP loan (the “PPP-2 Loan”) for a principal amount of $287,143 and there were no collateral or guarantee requirements. On April 11, 2022, the balance on the PPP-2 Loan was forgiven.

Overall

As of September 30, 2023, future minimum payments related to long-term debt are as follows for the years ended December 31:


2023	$	163,750
2024		1,310,000
2025		1,310,473
2026		22,411,965
2027		3,337
Thereafter		142,975
Total		25,342,500
Less current portion		(1,146,250)
Less deferred financing costs		(1,722,716)
Long-term debt, net	$	22,473,534

Note 7 — Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Units

In connection with the Orange142 acquisition, DDH LLC issued 7,076 non-voting Class B Preferred Units at a purchase price of $7,046,251, and a fair value of $6,455,562. Class B Preferred Units were mandatorily redeemable for $7,046,251 on September 30, 2024, with 7% preferred annual returns paid on a quarterly basis. Due to the mandatory redemption feature, the Class B Preferred Units were classified as a liability rather than as a component of equity, with the preferred annual returns being accrued and recorded as interest expense.

In February 2022, DDH LLC redeemed the Class B Preferred Units and recognized a loss on the redemption of $590,689 in connection with the write-off of the fair value associated with the units. The Company recorded interest expense relating to the Class B Preferred Units of $0 and $0, for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $0 and $62,162 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Note 8 — Related Party Transactions

Related Party Transactions

Member Payable

As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had a net payable to members that totaled $1,428,093 and $1,448,333, respectively, which is included as a related party payable on the consolidated balance sheets.

Up-C Structure

In February 2022, the Company completed an initial public offering of its securities, and through the Organizational Transactions, formed an Up-C structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies and allows the Continuing LLC Owner, a Delaware limited liability company indirectly owned by Mark Walker (“Walker”) and Keith Smith (“Smith”), to retain its equity ownership in DDH LLC and to continue to realize tax benefits associated with owning interests in an entity that is treated as a partnership, or “pass-through” entity, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Continuing LLC owner holds economic nonvoting LLC Units in DDH LLC and also holds noneconomic voting equity interests in the form of the Class B common stock in Direct Digital Holdings (See Note 10 – Stockholders’ Equity and Stock-Based Compensation Plans). One of the tax benefits to the Continuing LLC Owner associated with this structure is that future taxable income of DDH LLC that is allocated to the Continuing LLC Owner will be taxed on a pass-through basis and therefore will not be subject to corporate taxes at the entity level. Additionally, the Continuing LLC Owner may, from time to time, redeem or exchange its LLC Units for shares of the Company’s Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. The Up-C

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structure also provides the Continuing LLC Owner with potential liquidity that holders of non-publicly traded limited liability companies are not typically afforded. If the Company ever generates sufficient taxable income to utilize the tax benefits, Digital Direct Holdings expects to benefit from the Up-C structure because, in general, the Company expects cash tax savings in amounts equal to 15% of certain tax benefits arising from such redemptions or exchanges of the Continuing LLC Owner's LLC Units for Class A common stock or cash and certain other tax benefits covered by the TRA. (See Note 13 - Tax Receivable Agreement and Income Taxes).

The aggregate change in the balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits, which includes interest and penalties for 2023 and 2022, is as follows:


	As of		As of
	September 30,		December 31,
	2023		2022
Liability related to tax receivable agreement
Short term	$	41,141	$	182,571
Long term		4,245,234		4,149,619
Total liability related to tax receivable agreement	$	4,286,375	$	4,332,190

Board Services and Consulting Agreement

On September 30, 2020, the Company entered into board services and consulting agreements with Walker, Smith and Leah Woolford (“Woolford”). Walker, Smith and Woolford were then all members of DDH LLC. Prior to the Organizational Transactions, Walker served as a Manager on the Board of Managers of DDH LLC, and now serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Prior to the Organizational Transactions, Smith served as a Manager on the Board of Managers of DDH LLC and now serves as a director on the Board of Directors and President of the Company. Woolford previously served as a Manager on the Board of Managers of DDH LLC and Senior Advisor of DDH LLC. In exchange for these services, the Company paid Walker and Smith annual fees of $450,000 each and employee benefits for their direct families. The Company paid Woolford $300 per hour for up to 50 hours per month and employee benefits for Woolford and her direct family. In connection with the Organizational Transactions, the consulting agreements were canceled, and, for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 and the nine months ended September 30, 2023, no fees were paid to Walker, Smith and Woolford. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, total fees paid to Walker, Smith, and Woolford were $56,250, $56,250, and $22,500, respectively.

Note 9 — Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

The Company may from time to time be subject to various legal or administrative claims and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. In management’s opinion, the outcome of any such currently pending litigation will not materially affect the Company’s financial condition. Nevertheless, due to uncertainties in the settlement process, it is at least reasonably possible that management’s view of the outcome could change materially in the near term.

Huddled Masses was named as a defendant in a lawsuit on July 10, 2019 related to a delinquent balance to a vendor. On July 28, 2022, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the vendor and agreed to pay a total of $515,096 with monthly installment payments over 24 months beginning September 1, 2022. The liability has been recorded and included in accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 (See Note 5 – Accrued Liabilities).

Operating Leases

In June 2019, the Company entered into a sublease for its corporate office headquarters at 1233 West Loop South, Suite 1170 in Houston, TX. The lease term expired on July 1, 2022 and had a base monthly rent of approximately $3,600 per month.

In March 2022, the Company entered into a new lease to move its corporate headquarters to 1177 West Loop South, Suite 1310 in Houston, TX effective July 1, 2022, and paid a security deposit of approximately $29,000. The lease is for 7,397 square feet of office space that expires February 28, 2030. The base monthly rent varies annually over the term of the lease. The Company also leased office furniture for its corporate headquarters under a lease agreement effective April 2019 which expired July 2023.

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In March 2021, the Company extended its lease for office space at 716 Congress Ave, Suite 100 in Austin, Texas with an effective date of January 1, 2022. The lease expires on December 31, 2023 and has a base rent of approximately $6,700 per month.

For the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company incurred rent expense of $73,496 and $89,452, respectively, for the combined leases. For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company incurred rent expense of $231,982 and $193,013, respectively, for the combined leases.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to operating leases is included in the table below as of September 30, 2023:


	2023
Operating lease right-of-use asset	$	674,846

Operating lease liabilities - current	$	49,977
Operating lease liabilities - long-term		717,632
Total operating lease liability	$	767,609

The weighted-average remaining lease term for the Company’s operating lease is 6.25 years as of September 30, 2023, with a weighted-average discount rate of 8%.

Lease liability with enforceable contract terms that have greater than one-year terms are as follows:


2023	$	37,251
2024		110,215
2025		156,077
2026		159,775
2027		163,474
Thereafter		366,830
Total lease payments		993,622
Less imputed interest		(226,013)
Total lease liability	$	767,609

Note 10 — Stockholders’ Equity and Stock-Based Compensation

Stockholders’ Equity – Initial Public Offering

Following the completion of the Organizational Transactions, DDH LLC’s limited liability company agreement was amended and restated to, among other things, appoint the Company as the sole managing member of DDH LLC and effectuate a recapitalization of all outstanding preferred units and common units into (i) economic nonvoting units of DDH LLC held by the Company and, through their indirect ownership of DDM, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and its President, and (ii) noneconomic voting units of DDH LLC, 100% of which are held by the Company. In August 2022, DDM tendered 100,000 of its limited liability company units to the Company in exchange for newly issued shares of Class A common stock of the Company on a one-for-one basis. In connection with this exchange, an equivalent number of the holder’s shares of Class B common stock were cancelled. As of September 30, 2023, DDM held 11,278,000 shares of Class B common stock.

The Company is authorized to issue 160,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.

On February 15, 2022, the Company completed its initial public offering of 2,800,000 units (“Units”), each consisting of (i) one share of its Class A common stock and (ii) one warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of its Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $5.50 per share. The warrants became immediately exercisable upon issuance and are exercisable for a period of five years after the issuance date. The shares of Class A Common Stock and warrants were immediately transferable separately upon issuance. At September 30, 2023, 2,797,800 of these warrants are outstanding and the intrinsic value of these warrants is $0. The underwriters in the initial public offering were granted a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 420,000 shares and/or warrants, or any combination thereof, to cover over-allotments, which they initially exercised, in part, electing to purchase warrants to purchase an additional 420,000 shares of Class A Common Stock. As of September 30, 2023, 420,000 of these warrants are outstanding. In

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connection with the Company’s initial public offering, the Company issued to the underwriters of the offering a unit purchase option to purchase (i) an additional 140,000 Units at a per Unit exercise price of $6.60, which was equal to 120% of the public offering price per Unit sold in the initial public offering, and (ii) warrants to purchase 21,000 shares of Class A Common Stock at a per warrant exercise price of $0.012, which was equal to 120% of the public offering price per warrant sold in the offering. The underwriters have not exercised this option as of September 30, 2023.

The Units were sold at a price of $5.50 per Unit, and the net proceeds from the offering were $10,167,043, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company. The offering expenses recorded in accrued liabilities are approximately $1,000,000 as of September 30, 2023, and relate to executive performance bonuses which are payable upon a certain level of cash generated by warrant exercises. DDH LLC used the proceeds, together with pre-existing cash and cash equivalents, to purchase all of the remaining 5,637 common units and 7,046 Class B Preferred Units held indirectly by Woolford for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $14,246,251, of which $10,284,089 was paid on the closing date of the initial public offering. On July 28, 2022, DDH LLC entered into the Redemption Agreement Amendment with USDM Holdings, Inc. that amended the previously disclosed Redemption Agreement by and between DDH LLC and USDM Holdings, Inc. dated as of November 14, 2021 (the “Original Redemption Agreement”), as amended by the Amendment to Redemption Agreement dated as of February 15, 2022. The Redemption Agreement Amendment, among other things, amended the remainder of the principal and interest for the Common Units Redemption Price to be $3,998,635, which was paid in full on July 28, 2022.

The warrants had a fair value of $0 that was calculated using the Black-Scholes option -pricing model. Variables used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model include: (1) discount rate of 1.94% based on the applicable U.S. Treasury bill rate, (2) expected life of 5 years, (3) expected volatility of approximately 66% based on the trading history of similar companies, and (4) zero expected dividends.

The following table summarizes warrant activity as of September 30, 2023:


	Warrants
				Weighted Average
		Weighted Average		Contractual Life	Aggregate
	Shares	Exercise Price		(in years)	Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at January 1, 2023	3,220,000	$	5.50	4.13	$	—
Granted	—	$	—	—	$	—
Exercised	(2,200)	$	5.50	—	$	—
Canceled	—	$	—	—	$	—
Outstanding at September 30, 2023	3,217,800	$	5.50	3.38	$	—
Exercisable at September 30, 2023	3,217,800

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

In connection with the IPO, the Company adopted the 2022 Omnibus Incentive Plan (“2022 Omnibus Plan”) to facilitate the grant of equity awards to the Company’s employees, consultants and non-employee directors. The Company’s board of directors reserved 1,500,000 shares of Class A common stock for issuance in equity awards under the 2022 Omnibus Plan. Information on activity for both the stock options and RSUs is detailed below.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company recognized $545,504 of total stock-based compensation expense in the consolidated statement of operations in compensation, tax and benefits.

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Stock Options

Options to purchase shares of common stock vest annually on the grant date anniversary over a period of three years and expire 10 years following the date of grant. The following table summarizes the stock option activity under the 2022 Omnibus Plan as of September 30, 2023:


		Stock Options