What caused SST's Q4 earnings to drop sharply?

System1 Inc.'s (SST) Q4 2024 earnings dropped sharply primarily due to a **Decreased Supply of Consumer Sessions** and **Challenges in the Advertising Partner Ecosystem**. 1. **Decreased Supply of Consumer Sessions**: The Owned and Operated Advertising segment experienced a 14% decrease in revenue, primarily attributed to a decreased supply of consumer sessions available on certain marketing channels. This indicates a limitation in the number of consumer interactions or engagements with System1's advertising offerings, which directly impacts revenue. 2. **Challenges in the Advertising Partner Ecosystem**: The Partner Network segment saw a 15% decrease in revenue, affected by instability in the Advertising Partner ecosystem. This suggests that the company's partnerships with advertising partners, which are crucial for generating revenue, are facing challenges that negatively impacted performance. In summary, System1's Q4 earnings drop is primarily caused by a combination of a decreased supply of consumer sessions across its owned and operated marketing channels and challenges within its advertising partner ecosystem. |code|Ticker|Name|Date|Business Composition|Revenue By Business|market_code| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Partner Network|6.1995E7|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Partner Network|5.1106E7|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Partner Network|3.3072E7|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Partner Network|1.5887E7|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Partner Network|1.5887E7|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240101-2024|Owned and Operated Advertising|6.903E7|169| |code|Ticker|Name|Date|Total Revenue|Net Income|Diluted EPS|market_code| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q1|8.4917E7|-1.3791E7|-0.16|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q2|9.4581E7|-3.4845E7|-0.38|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q3|8.8832E7|-3.0639E7|-0.34|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q4|7.5595E7|-1.8023E7||169| |code|Ticker|Name|Date|Closing Price|market_code| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240102|2.22|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240103|1.8|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240104|1.83|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240105|1.96|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240108|1.87|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240109|1.69|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240110|1.68|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240111|1.65|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240112|1.63|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|20240116|1.56|169| |code|Ticker|Name|Date|Net Income YoY|Total Revenue YoY|Diluted EPS YoY|market_code| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q1|67.8726179937567|-29.8890338347727|55.55555555555556|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q2|18.948151938777883|-2.4072889365829497|-2.7027027027027053|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q3|81.21885286599606|1.1546607756951879|75.53956834532374|169| |SST|SST.N|System1|2024 Q4|50.66517026168839|-21.3535164377861||169|