IZEA Reports Q1 2026 Revenue of $6.6 Million, Strengthens Enterprise Client Base, Launches AI-Powered ZED Platform
IZEA
Published on 05/12/2026 at 04:02 pm EDT
ORLANDO, Fla., May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: IZEA), a leading influencer marketing company that makes Creator Economy solutions for marketers, reported its financial and operational results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Q1 2026 Financial Summary Compared to Q1 2025
Q1 2026 Highlights
* Adjusted EBITDA and revenue from on-going operations are non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to the definition and reconciliation of these measures under “Use of Key Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Management Commentary“Q1 marked a pivotal milestone for IZEA as we completed our transition to an enterprise-focused business model,” said Patrick Venetucci, CEO. “Over the past year, we made the disciplined decision to exit lower-margin SMB work, which reset our economic foundation and drove a nearly $19 million swing in profitability in 2025. Today, we have a higher-quality, more predictable revenue base anchored by large enterprise clients, with growing relationships and increasing revenue per account. Over the past twelve months, we have seen double-digit growth across our enterprise portfolio, supported by new client wins and continued momentum in our creative and technology capabilities, including the launch of ZED, our proprietary AI-powered platform. We believe this transformation positions IZEA for accelerated growth and long-term value creation.”
Q1 2026 Financial ResultsTotal revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $6.6 million, compared to $8.0 million in the prior year period, a decrease of $1.4 million, or 18%. The decline primarily reflects the Company’s deliberate shift toward growing its core enterprise customer base and reducing reliance on non-core, lower-margin customers, supporting a focus on improving the quality, sustainability, and long-term profitability of revenue. The decrease was also, to a lesser extent, impacted by contract timing differences across several enterprise accounts during the quarter, which are expected to contribute to growth in 2026.
Cost of revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was $3.6 million, a decrease of $0.8 million, or 18%, compared to the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily driven by lower overall delivery volume, consistent with the decline in revenue, and a more favorable mix of higher-margin enterprise engagements.
Costs and expenses, excluding the cost of revenue, totaled $4.1 million for the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of $0.1 million, or 3%, compared to the first quarter of 2025. Sales and marketing expense totaled $0.9 million, down 17% from $1.1 million in the prior-year period, primarily due to lower payroll and related expenses, partially offset by program costs to support growth initiatives. General and administrative expenses were $3.0 million, an increase of $0.1 million, or 3%, year over year, primarily driven by higher payroll and related expenses, net of continued cost management initiatives.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2026 was $0.8 million, or $(0.04) per share, as compared to a net loss of $0.1 million, or $(0.01) per share in the first quarter of 2025, based on 17.3 million and 17.0 million average shares outstanding, respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below, a non-GAAP measure management used as a proxy for operating cash flow) totaled $(0.5) million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with $(0.1) million in the comparative period.
As of March 31, 2026, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $46.5 million. The company has no outstanding long-term debt.
We previously announced our commitment to repurchase up to $10.0 million of our stock in the open market, subject to certain restrictions. Through March 31, 2026, we have purchased a total of 523,268 shares, investing $1.3 million under the repurchase program. No share purchases were made in the current quarter.
Conference CallIZEA will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2026 results on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET. IZEA's CEO Patrick Venetucci and CFO Peter Biere will host the call, followed by a question and answer period.
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026Time: 5:00 p.m. ETWebcast link: https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1760886&tp_key=951f9d5729Toll-free dial-in number: 1-877-407-4018International dial-in number: 1-201-689-8471
Please call the conference telephone number five (5) minutes before the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. A call replay will be made available approximately 3 hours after the conference ends until Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Toll-free replay number: 1-844-512-2921International replay number: 1-412-317-6671Replay ID: 13760257
About IZEA Worldwide, Inc.IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (“IZEA”) is a full-service creator economy agency powered by our proprietary ZED technology, with a mission to make Creator Economy solutions for marketers. We do this by lighting up the Creator Economy with IZEAs—our strategies, campaigns, and solutions that build brands and drive demand. Since launching the industry’s first-ever influencer marketing platform in 2006, IZEA has facilitated nearly 4 million collaborations between brands and creators.
Use of Key Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures Managed Services Bookings is a key metric representing total sales orders received during a period, net of cancellations and refunds. Contracts vary by customer and scope, ranging from custom content projects to integrated marketing campaigns, and generally extend from several months up to a year. Managed Services Bookings provide a useful measure of overall demand but are not necessarily predictive of quarterly revenue, as the timing of revenue recognition varies with contract size, complexity, and customer arrangements. Certain customers enter into annual spend commitments that establish a defined budget for services to be performed throughout the year, while others engage the Company for specific campaigns or deliverables. These differing contract structures may influence the timing and distribution of bookings and related revenue. The Company uses this metric to evaluate customer and market trends, to plan operational staffing, and to inform product development initiatives.
"Adjusted EBITDA" is a non-GAAP financial measure under the Securities and Exchange Commission rules. EBITDA is commonly defined as "earnings before interest income and expense, taxes, depreciation, and amortization." IZEA defines “Adjusted EBITDA” as earnings or loss before interest expense, interest income, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock-based compensation, gain or loss on asset disposals or impairment, and certain other unusual or non-cash income and expense items such as gains or losses on settlement of liabilities and exchanges, and changes in the fair value of derivatives, if applicable. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors as it primarily excludes non-cash and non-operating transactions, and it provides consistency to facilitate period-to-period comparisons.
Not all companies calculate bookings and Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner. These metrics and financial measures, as presented by IZEA, may not be comparable to those presented by other companies. Moreover, these metrics and financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. You should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results of operations or, with respect to non-GAAP financial measures, as reported under GAAP. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and revenue and costs from on-going operations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is presented in the financial tables included in this press release.
Safe Harbor StatementAll statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies, and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “hope,” “estimate,” “optimistic,” “believe,” “intend,” “ought to,” "likely," "projects," “plans,” "pursue," "strategy" or "future," or the negative of these words or other words or expressions of similar meaning. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expectations concerning product development and platform launches, future financial performance and operating results, including regarding recognition of bookings as revenues, the share repurchase authorization and any use of such authorization, growth, or maintenance of customer relationships, and expectations concerning IZEA’s business strategy. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among others, the following: competitive conditions in the content and social sponsorship segment in which IZEA operates; failure to popularize one or more of the marketplace platforms of IZEA; our ability to maintain disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; our ability to satisfy the requirements for continued listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market; changing economic conditions that are less favorable than expected; and other risks and uncertainties described in IZEA’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements made in this release speak only as of the date of this release, and IZEA assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in expectations, except as otherwise required by law.
Press ContactJohn FrancisIZEA Worldwide, Inc.Phone: 407-674-6911Email: [email protected]
IZEA Worldwide, Inc.Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets
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