Dun & Bradstreet Q2 2024 results: revenue up 3.9%, showcasing B2B data strength

On August 1, 2024, Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The global provider of business decisioning data and analytics reported revenue growth of 3.9% year-over-year to $576.2 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 5.7% to $217.9 million compared to the same period in 2023. These results underscore Dun & Bradstreet's pivotal role in the B2B marketing landscape, a position strengthened by its strategic acquisitions and vast data resources.

According to the company's earnings release, organic revenue growth, which excludes the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and recent acquisitions or divestitures, reached 4.3% in Q2 2024. This marks Dun & Bradstreet's fourth consecutive quarter of mid-single-digit organic growth, demonstrating the resilience of its business model in the face of ongoing macroeconomic challenges.

Dun & Bradstreet's importance in the marketing world, particularly for B2B companies, cannot be overstated. The company's vast repository of business data, combined with its advanced analytics capabilities, provides marketers with invaluable insights for targeting, segmentation, and personalization. This is especially crucial in the B2B sector, where accurate company information and decision-maker data are essential for effective marketing campaigns.

The company's acquisition of Eyeota in November 2021 has further cemented its position as a leader in B2B marketing data. Eyeota, a leading audience technology platform, enhances Dun & Bradstreet's ability to provide marketers with high-quality audience data for digital targeting. This acquisition has allowed Dun & Bradstreet to expand its digital activation capabilities, enabling clients to reach their target audiences across a broader range of channels and platforms.

Anthony Jabbour, Chief Executive Officer of Dun & Bradstreet, highlighted the company's progress in leveraging these capabilities: "Our continued partnership with IBM has the new Ask Procurement Assistant in early trials as well. As a reminder, all of our Gen AI solutions are based on APE, our foundational architecture for quickly building, testing and launching new solutions."

The company's Sales & Marketing solutions, which include its data-driven marketing offerings, saw mixed performance in Q2 2024. In the North America segment, Sales & Marketing revenue increased 4.2% to $188.6 million, driven by higher data sales and increased revenue from Master Data Management solutions. However, this growth was partially offset by decreased revenue from digital marketing solutions, reflecting broader industry challenges.

Dun & Bradstreet's data segments play a crucial role in its value proposition for B2B marketers. The company's D-U-N-S Number, a unique nine-digit identifier for businesses, serves as the foundation for its comprehensive database of over 400 million business records worldwide. This proprietary identifier allows for precise matching and linking of business entities across various data sources, enabling marketers to create highly targeted and accurate audience segments.

The company's data segments cover a wide range of business attributes, including firmographics, financial performance, risk profiles, and industry-specific characteristics. These segments allow B2B marketers to create highly targeted campaigns based on factors such as company size, industry, location, credit risk, growth trajectory, and more. The granularity and accuracy of these segments set Dun & Bradstreet apart in the B2B marketing data landscape.

During the earnings call, Jabbour also touched on the company's efforts to expand its data offerings: "We continue to expand our DUNS and data graphs from the offline world to the online world. Our business-to-person, or B2P, service, combining specific consumer marketing characteristics to our best-in-class B2B identity graph, creating a uniquely blended offering."

This B2P initiative represents a significant development for B2B marketers, as it bridges the gap between business and individual data. By connecting business roles with personal characteristics, Dun & Bradstreet is enabling more sophisticated and personalized B2B marketing strategies that take into account both professional and personal attributes of decision-makers.

Despite these strengths, Dun & Bradstreet faced some challenges in its digital marketing solutions during Q2 2024. The company reported that these solutions were down $4.6 million or 14% in the second quarter, and $7.7 million or 12% year-to-date. Management attributed this decline to depressed transactional volumes, likely influenced by broader economic factors affecting marketing budgets.

To address these challenges, Dun & Bradstreet outlined a three-pronged strategy: anticipating interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to stimulate marketing spend, adapting to Google's decision not to deprecate third-party cookies, and expanding into growth areas such as connected TV, retail media, and social media advertising.

The company's ongoing investment in innovation also has significant implications for B2B marketing. The introduction of AI-powered capabilities like Hoover Smart Mail for automated messaging and a patent-pending autonomous AI agent that can answer complex questions about businesses demonstrates Dun & Bradstreet's commitment to enhancing its marketing technology offerings.

As businesses increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making in their marketing efforts, Dun & Bradstreet's role as a provider of high-quality, comprehensive B2B data becomes even more critical. The company's ability to combine traditional business information with digital activation capabilities, enhanced by the Eyeota acquisition, positions it as a key player in the evolving landscape of B2B marketing.

Looking ahead, Dun & Bradstreet's performance in its marketing-related segments will be closely watched by industry observers. As the company continues to integrate its vast data resources with advanced analytics and AI capabilities, it has the potential to further transform B2B marketing practices, enabling more precise targeting, improved customer experiences, and better return on marketing investments for its clients.

In conclusion, while Dun & Bradstreet's Q2 2024 results show some challenges in certain areas of its business, they also highlight the company's enduring strength in B2B data and its potential to shape the future of marketing in this space. As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, Dun & Bradstreet's unique combination of comprehensive business data, advanced analytics, and expanding digital capabilities position it as a crucial partner for B2B marketers seeking to navigate an increasingly complex and data-driven environment.

Key facts from Dun & Bradstreet's Q2 2024 earnings report

Total revenue: $576.2 million, up 3.9% year-over-year

Organic revenue growth: 4.3%

Adjusted EBITDA: $217.9 million, up 5.7% year-over-year

Adjusted EBITDA margin: 37.8%, up 60 basis points year-over-year

North America segment revenue: $404.6 million, up 3.3% year-over-year

International segment revenue: $171.6 million, up 5.2% year-over-year

Net loss: $16.4 million, improved from $19.4 million in Q2 2023

Adjusted net income: $99.1 million, up from $95.1 million in Q2 2023

Share repurchases: Approximately 960,000 shares at an average price of $9.70 per share

Full-year 2024 revenue guidance: Low end of $2,400 million to $2,440 million range

Full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance: Maintained at $930 million to $950 million