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.

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

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.

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.

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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

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

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.

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.