Forge Global Holdings, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Results
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (“Forge,” or the “Company”) (NYSE: FRGE), a leading provider of marketplace infrastructure, data services and technology solutions for private market participants, ...
- Total Revenue Less Transaction Based Expenses was $18.4 million in 3Q23
- Trading Volume was $234.1 million in 3Q23
- Net Take Rate was 3.0% in 3Q23
- Forge Trust Custodial Cash was $518 million in 3Q23
SAN FRANCISCO: Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (“Forge,” or the “Company”) (NYSE: FRGE), a leading provider of marketplace infrastructure, data services and technology solutions for private market participants, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.
“In the third quarter, investors demonstrated a continued cautious return to the private market — which drove higher volumes and revenue in our markets business compared to both Q1 and Q2,” said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge. “This improvement was observed for the third quarter even as continued concern over Fed actions and interest rates, as well as existing geopolitical conflicts served as a backdrop heading into the fourth quarter.”
Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter 2023
Forge believes that quarter-over-quarter comparisons are more indicative of the current state of the business. For year-ago-quarter comparisons, please reference the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that will be filed on or around the date of this press release.
Revenue: Total revenue less transaction-based expenses was $18.4 million compared to $16.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Operating Loss: Total operating loss was $21.5 million compared to total operating loss of $22.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Net Loss: Net loss was $19.0 million compared to net loss of $25.1 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Adjusted EBITDA: Total adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $10.4 million compared to total adjusted EBITDA loss of $11.8 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities: Net cash used in operating activities was $3.5 million compared to $13.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities: Net cash used in investing activities was $0.5 million compared to net cash used in investing activities of $2.7 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
Ending Cash Balance: Cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2023 was $155.1 million.
Share Count: Basic weighted-average number of shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, was 174 million shares and fully diluted outstanding share count as of September 30, 2023 was 198 million shares.
We estimate for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 that Forge will have 175.1 million weighted average basic shares outstanding, which will be used to calculate earnings per share in a loss position.
Fully diluted outstanding share count includes all common shares outstanding plus shares that would be issued in respect to outstanding options and warrants, net of shares to be withheld in respect to exercise price of the respective instruments. Instruments that are out of the money are excluded from the fully diluted outstanding share count.
KPIs for the Third Quarter 2023
- Trading Volume was $234.1 million, up 53% quarter-over-quarter.
- Net Take Rate was 3.0%, down 19% quarter-over-quarter.
- Total Placement Fee revenues, less transaction-based expenses, totaled $7.1 million, up 27% quarter-over-quarter.
- Total Custodial Administration Fee revenues totaled $11.3 million, up 3% quarter-over-quarter.
- Total Custodial Accounts increased from 1.97 million to 2.02 million, up 3% quarter-over-quarter.
- Total Assets Under Custody decreased from $15.3 billion to $15.1 billion, down 1% quarter-over-quarter.
Additional Business Metrics for the Third Quarter 2023
- Forge Trust Custodial Cash: Forge Trust Custodial Cash totaled $518 million, down 6% quarter-over-quarter.
- Total Number of Companies with Indications of Interest (IOIs): The total number of companies with IOIs were 502, up 3% quarter-over-quarter.
- Headcount: Forge finished out the quarter ended September 30, 2023 with a total headcount of 344, a decrease of 4% quarter-over-quarter.
Please refer to the section titled “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information” and the tables within this press release which contain explanations and reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures.
Webcast/Conference Call Details
Forge will host a webcast conference call today, November 7th, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time / 1:30 p.m Pacific Time to discuss these financial results and business highlights. The listen-only webcast is available at https://ir.forgeglobal.com. Investors and participants can access the conference call over the phone by dialing 1 (888) 440-4165 from the United States, or +1 (646) 960-0858 internationally. The conference ID is 5410143. The Supplemental Investor Information for this quarter is also posted on https://ir.forgeglobal.com.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
In addition to our financial results determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"), we present Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure. We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measure, provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance by excluding specific financial items that have less bearing on our core operating performance. We consider Adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure because it helps illustrate underlying trends in our business and our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis.
However, non-GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only, has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of Adjusted EBITDA as a tool for comparison. A reconciliation is provided below for Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review Adjusted EBITDA and the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business. We defined Adjusted EBITDA as net loss, adjusted to exclude: (i) interest expense, net, (ii) provision for or benefit from income taxes, (iii) depreciation and amortization, (iv) share-based compensation expense, (v) change in fair value of warrant liabilities, (vi) acquisition-related transaction costs, and (vii) other significant gains, losses, and expenses (such as impairments, transaction bonus) that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing results.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” which generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “target,” “goal,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “forecast,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict, indicate or relate to future events or trends or Forge’s future financial or operating performance, or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Forge’s beliefs regarding its financial position and operating performance, as well as future opportunities for Forge to expand its business. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, while considered reasonable by Forge and its management, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in Forge’s documents filed, or to be filed, with the SEC, including in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that will be filed on or around the date of this press release. There may be additional risks that Forge presently does not know of or that it currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Forge’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Forge anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Forge may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Forge specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Forge’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
About Forge
Forge is a leading provider of marketplace infrastructure, data services and technology solutions for private market participants. Forge Securities LLC is a registered broker-dealer and a Member of FINRA that operates an alternative trading system.
FORGE GLOBAL HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share data) | |||||||
| September 30, |
| December 31, | ||||
Assets |
|
|
| ||||
Current assets: |
|
|
| ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 155,127 |
|
| $ | 193,136 |
|
Restricted cash |
| 1,299 |
|
|
| 1,829 |
|
Accounts receivable, net |
| 3,871 |
|
|
| 3,544 |
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
| 10,148 |
|
|
| 8,379 |
|
Total current assets | $ | 170,445 |
|
| $ | 206,888 |
|
Property and equipment, net |
| 317 |
|
|
| 359 |
|
Internal-use software, net |
| 5,023 |
|
|
| 7,640 |
|
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net |
| 130,897 |
|
|
| 133,887 |
|
Operating lease right-of-use assets |
| 3,379 |
|
|
| 5,706 |
|
Payment-dependent notes receivable, noncurrent |
| 5,763 |
|
|
| 7,371 |
|
Other assets, noncurrent |
| 1,696 |
|
|
| 1,878 |
|
Total assets | $ | 317,520 |
|
| $ | 363,729 |
|
Liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity |
|
|
| ||||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
| ||||
Accounts payable | $ | 1,480 |
|
| $ | 2,797 |
|
Accrued compensation and benefits |
| 8,798 |
|
|
| 13,271 |
|
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities |
| 8,121 |
|
|
| 6,421 |
|
Operating lease liabilities, current |
| 2,300 |
|
|
| 3,896 |
|
Total current liabilities | $ | 20,699 |
|
| $ | 26,385 |
|
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent |
| 2,002 |
|
|
| 3,541 |
|
Payment-dependent notes payable, noncurrent |
| 5,763 |
|
|
| 7,371 |
|
Warrant liabilities |
| 3,321 |
|
|
| 606 |
|
Other liabilities, noncurrent |
| 185 |
|
|
| 365 |
|
Total liabilities | $ | 31,970 |
|
| $ | 38,268 |
|
Commitments and contingencies |
|
|
| ||||
Stockholders’ equity: |
|
|
| ||||
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 175,173,113 and 172,560,916 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively |
| 18 |
|
|
| 18 |
|
Additional paid-in capital |
| 534,659 |
|
|
| 509,094 |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
| 601 |
|
|
| 693 |
|
Accumulated deficit |
| (254,843 | ) |
|
| (190,418 | ) |
Total Forge Global Holdings, Inc. stockholders’ equity | $ | 280,435 |
|
| $ | 319,387 |
|
Noncontrolling Interest |
| 5,115 |
|
|
| 6,074 |
|
Total stockholders’ equity | $ | 285,550 |
|
| $ | 325,461 |
|
Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity | $ | 317,520 |
|
| $ | 363,729 |
|
FORGE GLOBAL HOLDINGS, INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share data) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended |
| Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2023 |
| June 30, 2023 |
| September 30, 2022 |
| September 30, 2023 |
| September 30, 2022 | ||||||||||
Revenues: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
Placement fees | $ | 7,283 |
|
| $ | 5,723 |
|
| $ | 8,227 |
|
| $ | 17,638 |
|
| $ | 33,763 |
|
Custodial administration fees |
| 11,280 |
|
|
| 10,997 |
|
|
| 7,673 |
|
|
| 33,124 |
|
|
| 18,799 |
|
Total revenues | $ | 18,563 |
|
| $ | 16,720 |
|
| $ | 15,900 |
|
| $ | 50,762 |
|
| $ | 52,562 |
|
Transaction-based expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
Transaction-based expenses |
| (148 | ) |
|
| (83 | ) |
|
| (86 | ) |
|
| (250 | ) |
|
| (397 | ) |
Total revenues, less transaction-based expenses | $ | 18,415 |
|
| $ | 16,637 |
|
| $ | 15,814 |
|
| $ | 50,512 |
|
| $ | 52,165 |
|
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