Emerald Holding's Q3 2025: Contradictions Emerge on Las Vegas Construction, AI Tools, and Macro Impact

Date of Call: October 31, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: $77.5M in Q3 2025, up from $72.6M in Q3 2024; Reported Organic Revenue down 6.8% YOY in Q3; YTD revenue $330.7M, up 13.3% YOY; FY2025 guidance raised to $460M–$465M

Guidance:

• FY2025 revenue raised and narrowed to $460M–$465M to reflect the Generis acquisition and improved visibility.
• FY2025 adjusted EBITDA raised and narrowed to $122.5M–$127.5M.
• Guidance assumes potential tariff impacts and seasonal effects; management cites increased visibility as reason for narrowing range.
• Management expects ~ $10M incremental revenue from Generis in the next year (benefit largely not present in Q3 2025).

Business Commentary:

* Revenue and EBITDA Performance: - Emerald Holding reported total revenue of $77.5 million for Q3 2025, a 16% decrease year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA was $12.8 million, up 2.4% year-over-year. - The revenue decline was primarily due to construction disruptions at the Las Vegas Convention Center and tariff impacts, which affected the largest event of the quarter.

• Acquisition Impact and International Sales:
• The acquisitions of Generis, This is Beyond, and Insurtech would have increased organic revenue by 4.3% year-over-year if included in the previous year's portfolio.

• Emerald's international sales were impacted by tariffs, particularly in markets like China and Canada, but the company has been expanding its international agent network to mitigate these effects.

• Booking and Pacing Trends:

• Emerald reported strong rebooking momentum for the first half of 2026, highlighting sustained customer confidence across its portfolio.

• This resilience is attributed to the value and reach of the company's portfolio, which continues to drive confidence in live in-person engagement as a critical growth channel.

• AI-Driven Initiatives:

• Emerald launched an AI-powered event agent to automate attendee interactions before, during, and after events, aiming to simplify the customer experience and improve service.
• This initiative is part of a broader strategy to leverage AI to enhance event efficiency and customer satisfaction, moving towards more meaningful interactions at Emerald's events.

Sentiment Analysis:

Overall Tone: Positive

• Management raised and narrowed full-year 2025 guidance to reflect acquisitions and increased visibility, stated they are "confident in our ability to deliver on our full-year commitments," and highlighted record event attendance, strategic M&A and AI investments as drivers of momentum.

Q&A:

• Question from Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division): You mentioned a $6M impact — was that inclusive of both tariffs and Las Vegas construction or just tariffs?
  Response: David: The impact includes both; construction was the primary driver and tariffs were the smaller component; construction should finish by year-end and normalize results next year.

• Question from Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division): How meaningful was the tariff impact this year and could trade normalization be a tailwind into next year?
  Response: Herve/David: Tariffs produced localized impacts (notably China and Canada) but were already factored into 2025; expanded international sales channels and year-over-year cycling should reduce the hit in 2026, though it's too early to call it a clear tailwind.

• Question from Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division): If Generis hadn't been acquired, would you be reiterating your former guidance?
  Response: David: Yes — excluding Generis the company remains within the prior guidance, tracking in the lower half of the revenue range and mid-to-upper on EBITDA.

• Question from Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division): Is the Generis contribution only for part of this year so the full-year impact will be larger next year?
  Response: David: Correct — Generis closed mid-August, had no Q3 events so no Q3 revenue; expect roughly $10M incremental revenue in next year's first half.

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): For the other 2025 acquisitions, how much revenue in 2025 was missed due to timing of the deals?
  Response: David: De minimis — essentially zero pre-close revenue for the other acquisitions (well under $0.5M).

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): Can you quantify the overall impact of the Las Vegas construction over the year?
  Response: David: Difficult to be precise, but construction was the dominant factor at the affected show and likely reduced revenue by a few million dollars; management expects recovery once construction completes.

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): Can you give an example of the AI-powered tool you mentioned and what it will do?
  Response: Herve: It's an AI event agent that answers attendee/exhibitor questions across the event lifecycle (replacing complex manuals), simplifying setup and improving satisfaction.

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): Any update on centralizing processes and platform efforts to drive scale and savings?
  Response: Herve/David: Platform strategy is progressing — best-practice sharing and centralization are delivering efficiencies; underlying SG&A is roughly flat and should yield further margin leverage as scale grows.

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): Thoughts on the M&A environment and current valuations?
  Response: Herve/David: Pipeline is strong, valuations haven't materially changed, and the company is actively pursuing selective acquisition opportunities.

• Question from Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division): Any updates on the commerce and content segments?
  Response: Herve: Content is shifting to a lead-gen model with recent progress; commerce has moved from unprofitable to breakeven and now contributes to EBITDA.

Contradiction Point 1

Las Vegas Construction Impact and Financial Results

It directly affects expectations regarding the financial impact of construction issues on a key event, potentially influencing company revenue and investor expectations.

What is the impact of Las Vegas construction on financial results? - Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division)

2025Q3: It's difficult to quantify precisely, but customer feedback indicates that the construction negatively impacted attendance and ROI. The event saw a few million dollars less in revenue due to the construction issues. - David Doft(CFO)

好的，我现在需要处理用户的问题，他们希望我将一段来自美股上市公司财报电话会议的问答环节的问题进行精简和总结。用户特别强调要保持原意，同时去掉冗长的表述，使其简洁、精准，符合美式英语的习惯。输出时只给出简化后的问题，并且必须保留问号。首先，我需要仔细阅读用户提供的原始问题：“Is the Las Vegas stuff done after this year? Do you expect it to be not a factor next year?” 这里的“Las Vegas stuff”可能指的是与拉斯维加斯相关的某个项目、事件或业务。用户的问题有两个部分，第一部分询问是否在本年之后完成，第二部分询问明年是否不再是一个因素。接下来，我需要将这两个问题合并或简化，确保不改变原意。原问题中的“stuff”比较口语化，可能需要替换为更正式的词汇，比如“project”或“initiative”，但用户可能希望保留原词，因为这是现场提问的转录。不过，考虑到是美式英语，可能需要稍微调整。但用户没有特别指出要替换，所以可能保持原样。然后，检查是否有冗余的部分。例如，“done after this year”可以简化为“completed by the end of this year”或者“done this year”，但用户的问题是问是否在本年之后完成，所以可能需要明确时间点。原问题中的“after this year”可能指的是在本年结束之后，所以可以简化为“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed by the end of this year?”第二个问题：“Do you expect it to be not a factor next year?” 这里的“not a factor”可以简化为“no longer a factor”或者“not a factor”。原问题中的结构是“expect it to be not a factor”，可以简化为“Will it no longer be a factor next year?”现在需要将两个问题合并成一个更简洁的问题，可能需要使用连接词。例如：“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed by the end of this year, and will it no longer be a factor next year?” 但用户可能希望保持两个独立的问题，但用户给出的例子中是两个问题，所以可能需要分开处理。不过用户可能希望将两个问题合并成一个，但根据用户提供的例子，原始问题有两个独立的问题，所以可能需要分开简化。不过用户可能希望将两个问题合并成一个，但需要确认。根据用户的要求，输出的内容要确保符合美式英语读写习惯，并且只输出生成的简化后的问题。原问题中的两个问题可能可以合并为一个，但需要保持原意。例如：“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed this year and not be a factor next year?” 但这样可能不够清晰，因为“completed this year”和“not be a factor next year”是两个不同的时间点。或者，可能需要保持两个问题，但用户给出的例子中原始问题有两个问题，所以可能需要将它们简化为两个问题。但用户可能希望将它们合并为一个，但需要根据具体情况判断。例如，原问题中的两个问题可能可以合并为一个复合问题，但需要保持清晰。另外，检查是否有重复的部分。例如，“done after this year”和“expect it to be not a factor next year”可以合并为一个时间线的问题。例如：“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed this year, and will it no longer be a factor next year?” 这样既简洁又保留了原意。最后，确保符合美式英语的习惯，比如使用“Las Vegas”而不是其他形式，并且问题结构正确，以问号结尾。同时，确保没有使用装饰词，比如“Do you expect it to be not a factor next year?”可以简化为“Will it no longer be a factor next year?” 或者 “Is it expected to no longer be a factor next year?” 但可能需要更直接。综合考虑，最佳简化可能是将两个问题合并为一个，使用逗号分隔两个部分，或者保持两个独立的问题。根据用户提供的例子，原始问题有两个独立的问题，所以可能需要保持两个问题，但简化每个部分。例如：1. Is the Las Vegas stuff completed this year?2. Will it no longer be a factor next year?但用户可能希望合并为一个，所以可能需要调整。例如：“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed this year and not be a factor next year?” 这样更简洁，但可能需要确认是否改变了原意。原问题中的两个问题可能指的是两个不同的情况：一个是完成，另一个是不再是一个因素。因此，合并为一个可能更合适。最终决定将两个问题合并为一个，使用“and”连接，确保简洁和准确。因此，简化后的问题可能是：“Will the Las Vegas stuff be completed this year and no longer be a factor next year?” 这样既保留了原意，又更简洁，符合 - Barton Evans Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q2: The Las Vegas Convention Center is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, and we expect it to be fully operational for 2026. - Herve Sedky(CEO)

Contradiction Point 2

AI-Powered Tool Impact on Event Experience

It involves differing expectations regarding the impact of an AI-powered tool on event experience and processes, which could influence customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Can you provide an example of an AI-powered tool and its expected impact? - Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division)

2025Q3: The AI-powered tool serves as an agent simplifying the event experience by providing quick answers to customer queries, reducing complexity, and improving service. It enhances the customer experience by automating processes and simplifying setup. - Herve Sedky(CEO), David Doft(CFO)

Any updates or comments on your use of AI internally since last quarter? - Allen Klee (Maxim Group LLC, Research Division)

2025Q2: We're leveraging AI to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and streamline workflows. We have early pilots in finance, marketing, customer service, and content production, and we're confident in the potential for efficiency. - Herve Sedky(CEO)

Contradiction Point 3

Macro Environment Impact on Financial Performance

It pertains to the impact of macroeconomic factors on the company's performance, which could influence financial forecasts and investor expectations.

Does the $6 million tariff impact include the Las Vegas construction costs, or is it only the tariff impact? - Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q3: The $6 million impact includes both tariffs and construction issues. The construction at the Las Vegas Convention Center has significantly affected customer experience and ROI. - David Doft(CFO)

How significant is the macro headwind currently? Is it a minor impact or a major challenge you're overcoming? - Barton Evans Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q2: The impact is small, given international revenue's proportion. We're seeing some headwinds in China and Canada, but strong performance in other countries offsets this. - Herve Sedky(CEO)

Contradiction Point 4

Impact of Tariffs on International Attendance

It involves the company's assessment of the impact of tariffs on international attendance and the long-term benefits of efforts to address this issue, which are crucial for strategic planning and investor expectations.

How has the trade environment this year impacted international attendance, and do you see it as a tailwind for next year? - Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q3: Tariffs have impacted certain markets like China and Canada, but other markets are showing interest in expanding into the U.S. The international sales team has successfully driven business from these new markets. - Herve Sedky(CEO)

How should we view free cash flow conversion this year compared to past years? - Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities)

2024Q4: While we're unclear on what all of that [tariffs] looks like yet, it's not going to be significantly material to us. - Herve Sedky(CEO)

Contradiction Point 5

Generis Acquisition Impact on 2025 Revenue

It involves differing explanations regarding the financial contribution of the Generis acquisition to 2025 revenue, which could impact financial projections and investor expectations.

Regarding Generis' impact, is this limited to 6 months, with a larger impact expected next year? - Barton Crockett (Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q3: Generis' events are split between the first and second halves of the year, with no revenue in the third quarter. Closing the deal in August means 4.5 months of Generis in 2025, with events in the fourth quarter contributing to 2025 but a full year of revenue in 2026. - David Doft(CFO)

Did InsureTech contribute to Q1 EBITDA, and what are the details of their upcoming events? - Allen Klee (Maxim Group)

2025Q1: Our expectation is that we will have roughly 42% of the revenue in 2024, and 58% of the revenue in 2025. - David Doft(CFO)