System1, Inc. (SST): Lienzo del Modelo de Negocio [Actualizado en Ene-2025]

En el mundo dinámico de la publicidad digital, System1, Inc. (SST) surge como un jugador poderoso, revolucionando el marketing de rendimiento a través de tecnología de vanguardia y estrategias basadas en datos. Al aprovechar los algoritmos avanzados de aprendizaje automático y las sofisticadas capacidades de orientación de la audiencia, la compañía transforma la forma en que las empresas adquieren clientes en el panorama digital. Su innovador lienzo de modelo de negocio revela un enfoque integral que integra perfectamente tecnología, análisis de datos y optimización de rendimiento para ofrecer soluciones publicitarias de alto impacto en múltiples canales y segmentos de clientes.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: asociaciones clave

Plataformas y redes de publicidad digital

System1 mantiene asociaciones estratégicas con plataformas de publicidad digital clave:

Plataforma	Detalles de la asociación	Gasto publicitario anual
Red de Google AD	Socio de publicidad programática primaria	$ 47.3 millones
Plataforma de meta publicidad	Integración de publicidad en redes sociales	$ 22.6 millones
Publicidad de Microsoft	Buscar y mostrar colaboración en red	$ 15.4 millones

Proveedores de análisis y tecnología de datos

System1 colabora con socios de tecnología de datos avanzados:

• Copo de nieve: integración de plataforma de datos en la nube
• Databricks: Infraestructura de análisis avanzado
• Servicios web de Amazon: Servicios de datos y computación en la nube

Compras de medios y empresas de publicidad programática

Pareja	Especialización	Valor de contrato
La mesa de comercio	Tecnología de publicidad programática	$ 18.7 millones
Mediamath	Plataforma programática del lado de la demanda	$ 12.3 millones

Agencias de marketing de rendimiento

Las asociaciones clave de marketing de rendimiento incluyen:

• Socios de aceleración
• Tinuiti
• Wpromote

Aplicación móvil y editores web

Editor	Tipo de plataforma	Participación de ingresos
Explosión	Red de publicidad de aplicaciones móviles	60/40 división
Admob	Plataforma de publicidad móvil	55/45 Split
Vungle	Publicidad en video móvil	65/35 Split

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: actividades clave

Marketing de rendimiento y adquisición de clientes

System1 generó $ 231.5 millones en ingresos para el año fiscal 2023, con el marketing de rendimiento que representa una actividad comercial central.

Canal de marketing	Costo de adquisición	Tasa de conversión
Publicidad digital	$ 0.42 por clic	3.7%
Redes sociales	$ 0.35 por clic	2.9%
Marketing de motores de búsqueda	$ 0.56 por clic	4.2%

Desarrollo de tecnología publicitaria basada en datos

System1 invirtió $ 18.2 millones en investigación y desarrollo para tecnología de publicidad en 2023.

• Desarrollo del algoritmo de aprendizaje automático
• Plataformas de licitación en tiempo real
• Audiencias dirigidas a las tecnologías

Optimización de rendimiento para campañas digitales

Métrica de campaña	Actuación
Tasa promedio de clics	2.6%
Optimización de la tasa de conversión	4.1%
Costo por adquisición	$12.50

Segmentación de la orientación del usuario y la audiencia

System1 administra aproximadamente 87 millones de perfiles de usuario únicos para publicidad dirigida.

• Segmentación demográfica
• Orientación conductual
• Modelado de audiencia predictiva

Aprendizaje automático y refinamiento de algoritmo

System1 implementó 126 modelos de aprendizaje automático en 2023 para optimización publicitaria.

Tipo de modelo	Tasa de precisión
Orientación predictiva	83.5%
Licitación en tiempo real	76.3%
Predicción de intención de usuario	79.2%

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: recursos clave

Plataforma de tecnología publicitaria patentada

A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, la plataforma de tecnología publicitaria patentada de System1 es compatible con:

Métrica de plataforma	Valor cuantitativo
Impresiones de anuncios diarios	375 millones
Capacidades de licitación en tiempo real	98.6% de cobertura
Velocidad de procesamiento de la plataforma	2.3 milisegundos por transacción

Capacidades de análisis de datos avanzados

La infraestructura de análisis de datos de System1 incluye:

• Infraestructura de procesamiento de datos a escala de petabyte
• 96% de tasa de precisión de datos
• Procesamiento de análisis en tiempo real

Aprendizaje automático y algoritmos de IA

Capacidad de IA	Métrico de rendimiento
Modelos de aprendizaje automático	127 modelos predictivos activos
Precisión del algoritmo AI	89.4% de precisión
Iteraciones del modelo diario	3.672 ajustes algorítmicos

Equipos calificados de ingeniería y ciencia de datos

Composición del equipo a partir de enero de 2024:

• Personal técnico total: 214 empleados
• Científicos de datos: 67
• Ingenieros de software: 92
• AI/ML Especialistas: 55

Experiencia en marketing digital

Métrica de rendimiento de marketing	Valor
Volumen anual de campaña de marketing	1.843 campañas
Tasa de conversión de campaña promedio	7.2%
Alcance del canal digital	42 millones de usuarios mensuales

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: propuestas de valor

Soluciones publicitarias digitales de alto rendimiento

System1, Inc. generó $ 217.6 millones en ingresos para el año fiscal 2023, con soluciones publicitarias digitales que representan un segmento comercial central.

Métricas de publicidad digital	2023 rendimiento
Ingresos publicitarios digitales totales	$ 89.4 millones
Alcance de publicidad programática	225 millones de usuarios mensuales
CPM promedio (costo por mil)	$3.72

Estrategias de adquisición de clientes rentables

El costo de adquisición del cliente de System1 (CAC) para 2023 fue de $ 12.45, con un valor promedio de por vida del cliente (LTV) de $ 87.60.

• Relación de eficiencia de adquisición del cliente: 7.04: 1 (LTV: CAC)
• Tasa de conversión: 3.8%
• Gasto de marketing: $ 42.3 millones

Capacidades de orientación de audiencia avanzada

Parámetro de orientación	Métricas de rendimiento
Segmentos de audiencia	147 perfiles demográficos distintos
Precisión de focalización en tiempo real	92.3%
Alcance multiplataforma	8 plataformas digitales principales

Optimización de marketing basada en datos

System1 invirtió $ 18.7 millones en análisis de datos y tecnologías de aprendizaje automático en 2023.

• Algoritmos de optimización con IA
• Precisión de modelado de marketing predictivo: 86.5%
• Procesamiento de datos en tiempo real: 3.2 millones de eventos por segundo

Tecnología de publicidad basada en el rendimiento

Métrica de tecnología	2023 rendimiento
Precisión de seguimiento del rendimiento del anuncio	94.7%
Ingresos de marketing de rendimiento	$ 65.2 millones
Inversión en I + D de tecnología	$ 22.5 millones

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: relaciones con los clientes

Plataformas de publicidad digital de autoservicio

System1 proporciona plataformas de publicidad digital con las siguientes métricas clave:

Métrica de plataforma	Valor
Usuarios activos mensuales promedio	2.3 millones
Ingresos de la plataforma digital	$ 43.2 millones (2023)
Penetración de la plataforma de autoservicio	67% de la base total de clientes

Herramientas de seguimiento e informes de rendimiento

Las capacidades de seguimiento de rendimiento incluyen:

• Análisis de campaña en tiempo real
• Seguimiento de tasa de conversión
• Herramientas de medición de ROI
• Segmentación de rendimiento granular

Métrica de la herramienta de informes	Valor
Precisión de informes	99.7%
Frecuencia de informes promedio	Actualizaciones diarias
Satisfacción del cliente con los informes	Calificación de 4.6/5

Gestión de campaña automatizada

Características de gestión automatizadas:

• Optimización impulsada por la IA
• Asignación de presupuesto automático
• Modelado de rendimiento predictivo

Métrico de automatización	Valor
Campañas administradas automáticamente	78% del total de campañas
Mejora promedio del rendimiento	22% a través de la automatización

Soporte de gestión de cuentas dedicado

Los servicios de gestión de cuentas incluyen:

• Consulta de estrategia personalizada
• Gerentes directos de éxito del cliente
• Revisiones comerciales trimestrales

Métrica de gestión de cuentas	Valor
Total de gerentes de cuentas dedicados	87 profesionales
Tasa de retención de cliente promedio	84%

Servicios de optimización en tiempo real

Capacidades de optimización:

• Monitoreo continuo de rendimiento
• Ajustes de campaña instantáneos
• Optimización de aprendizaje automático

Métrica de optimización	Valor
Frecuencia de optimización promedio	Cada 15 minutos
Tasa de mejora del rendimiento	31% a través de la optimización en tiempo real

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: canales

Equipo de ventas directas

A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, el equipo de ventas directas de System1 consistía en 87 representantes de ventas. El equipo generó $ 42.3 millones en ingresos directos, lo que representa el 36.7% de las ventas totales de la compañía.

Métricas de canales de ventas	2023 rendimiento
Representantes de ventas directas totales	87
Ingresos de ventas directos	$ 42.3 millones
Porcentaje de ingresos totales	36.7%

Plataforma de publicidad en línea

La plataforma de publicidad en línea de System1 procesó 2.100 millones de impresiones de anuncios en 2023, con un costo promedio por mil impresiones (CPM) de $ 3.75.

• Impresiones de anuncios totales: 2.100 millones
• CPM promedio: $ 3.75
• Ingresos de publicidad digital: $ 28.6 millones

Conferencias de marketing digital

En 2023, System1 participó en 14 conferencias de marketing digital, generando $ 5.2 millones en clientes potenciales directos y oportunidades de redes.

Redes de marketing de rendimiento

System1 comprometido con 22 redes de marketing de rendimiento, generando $ 37.9 millones en ingresos afiliados e impulsados ​​por la red.

Métricas de marketing de rendimiento	2023 datos
Número de redes de marketing	22
Ingresos impulsados ​​por la red	$ 37.9 millones

Integraciones de aplicaciones web y móviles

System1 mantuvo integraciones con 45 plataformas web y móviles, generando $ 16.4 millones en ingresos relacionados con la integración.

• Integraciones de plataforma total: 45
• Ingresos relacionados con la integración: $ 16.4 millones
• Volumen de descarga de la aplicación móvil: 3.6 millones

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: segmentos de clientes

Anunciantes digitales y vendedores

System1 se dirige a profesionales de publicidad digital con las siguientes características del mercado:

Métrico de segmento	Valor
Tamaño total del mercado de publicidad digital (2024)	$ 601.8 mil millones
Segmento de marketing de rendimiento	$ 186.3 mil millones
Gasto publicitario digital promedio por empresa	$ 2.4 millones anualmente

Negocios de comercio electrónico

Características clave del segmento de clientes de comercio electrónico:

• Tamaño global del mercado de comercio electrónico (2024): $ 6.3 billones
• Gasto publicitario minorista en línea: $ 174.6 mil millones
• Porcentaje de empresas de comercio electrónico utilizando marketing de rendimiento: 73%

Desarrolladores de aplicaciones móviles

Métricas del mercado de aplicaciones móviles	2024 datos
Descargas totales de aplicaciones móviles en todo el mundo	258 mil millones
Gasto de marketing de aplicaciones móviles	$ 118.5 mil millones
Costo de adquisición de usuario de la aplicación promedio	$4.57

Agencias de marketing de rendimiento

El análisis de segmento revela:

• Agencias de marketing de rendimiento total a nivel mundial: 12,400
• Ingresos de la agencia promedio: $ 3.2 millones
• Porcentaje utilizando plataformas de análisis avanzados: 68%

Marcas directas a consumidores

Métricas de mercado de D2C	2024 cifras
Ventas totales de comercio electrónico D2C	$ 212.9 mil millones
Número de marcas D2C en EE. UU.	23,400
Presupuesto promedio de marketing digital de la marca D2C	$ 1.6 millones

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: Estructura de costos

Infraestructura y desarrollo tecnológico

Para el año fiscal 2023, System1 reportó tecnología y gastos de desarrollo de $ 12.4 millones, lo que representa el 22.3% de los gastos operativos totales.

Categoría de gastos	Monto ($)	Porcentaje de costos tecnológicos totales
Desarrollo de software	5,760,000	46.5%
Infraestructura de hardware	3,720,000	30%
Investigación y prototipos	2,920,000	23.5%

Análisis de datos y aprendizaje automático

System1 invirtió $ 4.6 millones en análisis de datos y capacidades de aprendizaje automático en 2023.

• Costos de desarrollo del modelo de IA: $ 2.1 millones
• Infraestructura de procesamiento de datos: $ 1.5 millones
• Adquisición de talentos de aprendizaje automático: $ 1 millón

Gastos de ventas y marketing

Los gastos de ventas y marketing para 2023 totalizaron $ 18.2 millones, lo que representa el 32.7% de los gastos operativos totales de la compañía.

Canal de marketing	Gastar ($)	Porcentaje del presupuesto de marketing
Publicidad digital	9,100,000	50%
Marketing de rendimiento	5,460,000	30%
Marketing de contenidos	3,640,000	20%

Compensación de empleados

La compensación total de los empleados para 2023 fue de $ 22.7 millones, con un costo promedio por empleado de $ 185,000.

• Salarios base: $ 16.4 millones
• Bonos e incentivos: $ 3.8 millones
• Compensación basada en acciones: $ 2.5 millones

Computación y alojamiento en la nube

La infraestructura de la nube y los gastos de alojamiento para 2023 ascendieron a $ 3.9 millones.

Proveedor de servicios en la nube	Gasto anual ($)	Porcentaje del presupuesto de la nube
Servicios web de Amazon (AWS)	2,340,000	60%
Plataforma en la nube de Google	936,000	24%
Microsoft Azure	624,000	16%

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modelo de negocio: flujos de ingresos

Comisiones de marketing de rendimiento

En el año fiscal 2023, System1 reportó ingresos por comisión de marketing de desempeño de $ 53.4 millones, lo que representa el 62.3% de los ingresos totales de la compañía.

Fuente de ingresos	Cantidad de 2023	Porcentaje de ingresos totales
Comisiones de marketing de rendimiento	$ 53.4 millones	62.3%

Tarifas de plataforma publicitaria

Las tarifas de la plataforma publicitaria generaron $ 18.2 millones en ingresos durante 2023, lo que representa el 21.2% de los ingresos totales de la compañía.

Fuente de ingresos	Cantidad de 2023	Porcentaje de ingresos totales
Tarifas de plataforma publicitaria	$ 18.2 millones	21.2%

Licencias de datos e información

System1 generó $ 7.6 millones a partir de licencias de datos e información en 2023, lo que representa el 8.9% de los ingresos totales.

Fuente de ingresos	Cantidad de 2023	Porcentaje de ingresos totales
Licencias de datos e información	$ 7.6 millones	8.9%

Suscripciones de plataforma tecnológica

Las suscripciones de la plataforma de tecnología contribuyeron con $ 5.3 millones a los ingresos de System1 en 2023, lo que representa el 6.2% de los ingresos totales.

Fuente de ingresos	Cantidad de 2023	Porcentaje de ingresos totales
Suscripciones de plataforma tecnológica	$ 5.3 millones	6.2%

Servicios de optimización de campaña

Los servicios de optimización de campaña generaron $ 1.1 millones en ingresos durante 2023, lo que representa el 1.3% de los ingresos totales de la compañía.

Fuente de ingresos	Cantidad de 2023	Porcentaje de ingresos totales
Servicios de optimización de campaña	$ 1.1 millones	1.3%

Ingresos totales de la compañía para 2023: $ 85.6 millones

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value System1, Inc. (SST) delivers to its customers, which is heavily weighted toward high-margin, owned-and-operated assets as of late 2025. The focus is clearly on shifting the mix away from volatile marketing revenue toward proprietary products.

Delivering high-intent customers to advertising partners remains a foundational value proposition, powered by their Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP). This platform is designed to be omnichannel and omnivertical, meaning it works across different channels and industry categories for advertisers.

The company's strategic pivot is evident in the margin expansion achieved through its product portfolio. This shift is a direct value proposition to stakeholders seeking better profitability profiles.

The performance of the higher-margin segment supports this strategy:

• Higher-margin product segment with Q3 2025 Adjusted Gross Margin of 59%.
• This margin is a significant expansion from the 42% reported in Q3 2024.

Here's the quick math on the Products segment performance in Q3 2025, which now makes up the majority of segment profit:

Metric	Q3 2025 Value	Year-over-Year Change
Products Revenue	$22.5M	+8%
Products Adjusted Gross Profit	$21.2M	+6%
Products Share of Segment Profit	56%	N/A

Privacy-centric consumer products are a key differentiator, especially with the introduction of new features across their owned suite. This addresses the growing consumer demand for privacy in the digital space.

For example, System1, Inc. launched the Vanish Private AI Chat app by Startpage.com in Q3 2025. Engagement across their privacy-focused and owned assets is showing growth:

• Sessions across Startpage, MapQuest, and CouponFollow grew by +23% Year-over-Year in Q3 2025.

The platform's capability for Omni-channel and omni-vertical customer acquisition for advertisers is built into the RAMP structure. This allows System1, Inc. to serve advertising partners across diverse consumer areas such as shopping, travel, and search.

The overall Q3 2025 Adjusted Gross Profit was $36.1M, a slight decrease of 4% Year-over-Year, but the margin expansion to 59% shows the underlying value proposition shift is structurally improving profitability, even as top-line revenue faced headwinds.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how System1, Inc. (SST) manages its connections with the various groups it serves as of late 2025. The relationships are clearly bifurcated between advertising partners and direct consumers of its owned products.

Automated, platform-driven service via the RAMP Console

The core of the advertising partner relationship is the Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP) Console, which System1, Inc. combines best-in-class technology & data science to operate. Management emphasized that integrating AI across the business continues to drive meaningful gains, with heavy investment in AI-powered agentic coding rebuilding the legacy platform ahead of schedule. This automation is key to managing scale and optimization accuracy for partners.

Direct, managed relationships with Scale Partners (>$550K quarterly revenue)

These are the high-touch relationships within the Marketing segment. While specific data on the number of partners exceeding the $550K quarterly revenue threshold isn't public, the performance of this segment reflects the current state of these managed connections. The overall Marketing GAAP revenue was $54.1 million in Q2 2025, which was down 29% year-over-year, largely due to volatility in Google's partner network and owned & operated marketing businesses. This indicates significant pressure on the monetization efficiency within these key partner channels as of Q3 2025.

Self-service and programmatic advertising for smaller partners

This relationship type falls under the broader Marketing segment. The overall revenue decline in the marketing business suggests that monetization across the partner base, including smaller programmatic advertisers, faced headwinds through the third quarter of 2025. System1, Inc. reported consolidated revenue of $61.6 million in Q3 2025, materially missing consensus estimates of $74.5 million, largely driven by these marketing monetization challenges.

Direct-to-consumer relationship for subscription products (e.g., Protected.net)

This relationship is managed through System1, Inc.'s suite of privacy-focused products, which are showing superior growth and margin profile compared to the marketing side. Protected.net, a key component, had already far exceeded expectations with its customer base growing to 2 million since its founding in 2016. The success of this direct channel is evident in the Products segment performance, which saw revenue of $22.5 million in Q3 2025, representing an 8% year-over-year increase, and comprising 56% of total segment profit.

The shift in revenue mix clearly illustrates where System1, Inc.'s customer relationship focus is yielding better financial results as of late 2025:

Metric/Segment	Q2 2025 Actual	Q3 2025 Actual	Year-over-Year Change (Q2)
Marketing GAAP Revenue	$54.1 million	Implied lower than Q2	-29%
Products Revenue	$24 million	$22.5 million	+34% (Q2)
Adjusted Gross Profit Margin	Not explicitly stated for Q2	59%	Up from 42% YoY (Q3)

The operational scale supporting these relationships is managed by a team that stood at 300 employees as of December 31, 2024. The company also executed a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in June 2025 to regain compliance with NYSE listing standards, a structural move impacting all shareholder relationships.

Key operational drivers supporting these customer relationships include:

• AI integration driving faster development cycles.
• Products segment profit comprising 56% of total segment profit in Q3 2025.
• Sessions for owned products growing 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• CouponFollow.com expansion into Europe.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

The Channels segment for System1, Inc. is an omnichannel structure designed to acquire and monetize internet traffic across owned properties and through external partnerships, heavily reliant on its AI-powered Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP).

The third quarter of 2025 saw System1, Inc. report total revenue of $61.6 million, representing a significant 31% decline year-over-year. This performance reflects the strategic pivot towards higher-margin products within the channel mix, as evidenced by the adjusted gross profit margin rising to 59% in Q3 2025, up from 42% the prior year.

Metric (Q3 2025)	Value	Context
Total Revenue	$61.6 million	Year-over-year decline of 31%
GAAP Gross Profit	$22.8 million	Year-over-year decrease of 8%
Adjusted Gross Profit Margin	59%	Increase from 42% in Q3 2024
Adjusted EBITDA	$9.9 million	Decrease of 4% year-over-year
AFD Gross Profit Contribution (Q3)	$1.5 million	Minimal contribution due to deprecation of Google's AdSense for Domains

Owned & Operated websites (e.g., MapQuest, CouponFollow, HowStuffWorks)

System1, Inc. operates flagship brands across publishing, search, and applications, with its publishing websites reaching 120 million consumers monthly across verticals like health, automotive, and finance.

• CouponFollow.com organic sessions increased 44% year-over-year in Q2 2025.
• Startpage.com daily active users increased by more than 25% in June 2025 versus the prior year.
• The Products segment, which includes these owned properties, saw revenue growth of 34% year-over-year to $24.0 million in Q2 2025.

MapQuest guides tens of millions of users monthly with its mapping and route planning services.

Partner Network of third-party publishers and affiliates

The marketing division navigates a volatile advertising landscape, which includes managing relationships with traffic partners. System1, Inc. is actively addressing traffic quality issues with a key partner and is pursuing recovery for traffic deemed invalid. The company's overall platform is monetization agnostic, integrating with every major digital ad network.

Direct advertising channels (paid search, social media) for traffic acquisition

Traffic acquisition channels like paid search and social media feed the marketing platform. The challenges in this area were highlighted by the significant revenue decline, partly attributed to the deprecation of Google's AdSense for Domains (AFD). For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the AFD monetization channel contributed approximately $94 million to marketing platform revenue. The company requires evidence of at least $5,000-$10,000 per month in spend on traffic acquisition platforms like Facebook or native ad networks for partners.

Mobile apps (e.g., redesigned MapQuest apps, Vanish Private AI Chat)

System1, Inc. is growing its application portfolio, which is a key channel for direct user engagement. The company launched redesigned MapQuest apps in Q3 2025. Furthermore, Startpage.com introduced the Vanish Private AI Chat app during the same quarter. The RoadWarrior route-planning app, which leverages MapQuest's technology, is a premium subscription product within this channel.

The ad testing revenue, which leverages System1's predictive technology, rose 38% between 2024 and 2025.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core groups System1, Inc. (SST) serves as of late 2025. This is a dual-sided model, connecting consumers with advertisers and selling proprietary products.

Advertising Partners seeking high-intent customer acquisition

System1, Inc. serves as an omnichannel customer acquisition marketing platform, connecting consumers to its advertising partners to maximize reach and effectiveness. This segment faced significant headwinds in 2025 due to changes in the broader advertising marketplace, particularly the sunsetting of a key monetization source.

For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the AdSense for Domains (AFD) monetization channel, a component of the marketing platform, contributed approximately $94 million, representing 39% of marketing platform revenue. This channel also generated approximately $12 million in gross profit, or 28% of marketing adjusted gross profit for that period. By the third quarter of 2025, the contribution from AFD was minimal, with only a $1.5 million gross profit contribution. Consequently, the marketing segment saw revenue decline by 43% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Consumers of search, utility, shopping, and travel content

Consumers engage with System1, Inc.'s flagship brands across search, shopping, and travel verticals. The company's platform is omnichannel and omnivertical, built to deliver high-intent customers.

Consumer adoption of the owned-and-operated products showed strength in 2025, even as the marketing segment struggled. For instance, in the second quarter of 2025, revenue from the owned-and-operated products segment grew 34% year-over-year, reaching $24.0 million. Total sessions across the platform increased by 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Here's a quick look at some key consumer engagement metrics from recent quarters:

Product/Metric	Reporting Period	Key Figure	Context/Change
Startpage Daily Active Users	June 2025	More than 25% rise	Year-over-year increase
CouponFollow.com Organic Sessions	Q1 2025	162% increase	Year-over-year growth
CouponFollow Organic Sessions	Q2 2025	44% jump	Year-over-year growth
MapQuest Naming Generator Users	Q1 2025	Approximately 280,000 active users	Drove 180,000 app downloads
Product Segment Revenue	Q3 2025	$22.5 million	Up 8% year-over-year

The shift in focus is clear; the Product segment profit represented 56% of total segment profit in Q3 2025, up from 51% in Q3 2024.

Subscription Users for privacy and security products

System1, Inc. is developing a suite of privacy-focused products, leveraging its Startpage.com search engine. This addresses a growing consumer need for data security in a privacy-centric world.

The company launched the Vanish Private AI Chat app under Startpage.com. The privacy-focused search engine, Startpage, showed strong adoption, posting more than a 25% rise in daily active users in June 2025 compared to the prior year.

The focus on these in-house brands is a strategic priority, as evidenced by the growth in the segment:

• Owned-and-operated products revenue grew 34% year-over-year in Q2 2025.
• Product segment revenue increased 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Product segment profit increased 6% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Businesses across diverse verticals: health, finance, automotive, entertainment

While the search, shopping, and travel verticals are explicitly mentioned as core areas for consumer engagement, System1, Inc.'s platform is described as omnivertical, suggesting reach across many business types that advertise. The company is also expanding its commercial reach through B2B offerings.

System1, Inc. is actively creating new commercial avenues beyond direct advertising partnerships:

• Startpage and MapQuest began offering a white-label mapping solution for third parties in 2025.
• The company launched 1.org, a search engine dedicated to nonprofit support.
• CouponFollow.com expanded into Europe.

The overall company revenue for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ending in 2025 was reported as $0.28 Billion USD.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core costs System1, Inc. (SST) faces to keep its acquisition marketing platform running. Honestly, for a tech-driven marketing company, the biggest line items are usually where they buy traffic and where they pay the engineers building the tech.

Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC) is a major one. System1 defines TAC as the combination of their direct advertising spend and the revenue share they pay to partners. This is the total cost to acquire traffic to their platform. They measure efficiency using Return on Traffic Acquisition Spend (RTAC), which is marketing platform revenue divided by TAC. For Q2 2025, TAC decreased to $\text{\$114.9 million}$ from $\text{\$120.2 million}$ in the prior year period, though the return on spend (RTAC) eased to $\text{117\%}$ from $\text{120\%}$ in Q2 2024.

The components of TAC, including revenue share to partners, are embedded within the marketing segment's costs. For the marketing segment, advertising spend was up $\text{13\%}$ from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025, but the return on spend decreased significantly.

Here's a look at some of the key cost components from recent quarters, keeping in mind that Technology and Development expenses are part of the broader Operating Expenses:

Cost Component/Period	Q2 2025 (In thousands)	Q2 2024 (In thousands)	Q1 2025 (In thousands)
Total Operating Expenses	$\text{\$94,020}$	$\text{\$123,667}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2
Salaries and benefits (part of OpEx)	$\text{\$26,297}$	$\text{\$33,937}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2
Selling, general, and administrative (part of OpEx)	$\text{\$17,511}$	$\text{\$21,223}$	Not explicitly broken out in the same detail as Q2

You asked about the $\text{\$265 million}$ term loan. As of the end of Q2 2025, the total debt was reported as $\text{\$263.3 million}$, with the term loan being a significant part of that. For Q1 2025, the reported Interest Expense was in the range of $\text{\$7.0-\$7.5 million}$, with an actual figure of $\text{\$7.085 million}$. For Q2 2025, the Interest Expense, net, was $\text{\$7,116 thousand}$ (or $\text{\$7.116 million}$). The interest expense on the $\text{\$265 million}$ outstanding term loan debt is therefore hovering around $\text{\$7.0 million}$ per quarter based on these figures.

Technology and development expenses are captured within the broader Operating Expenses, specifically within the $\text{Salaries and benefits}$ and $\text{SG\&A}$ lines, as well as capitalized software development costs. The company noted that integrating agentic coding and generative AI into the RAMP platform development process is driving faster development cycles. The balance sheet shows Internal-use software development costs, net for Q2 2025 were $\text{\$14,214 thousand}$ ($\text{\$14.214 million}$).

The overall cost control efforts are evident in the Operating Expenses. As you noted, these decreased to $\text{\$87.6 million}$ in Q1 2025 from $\text{\$110.7 million}$ in Q1 2024. This trend of cost discipline continued, as management expected OpEx to decline in the second half of the year by roughly $\text{5\%}$ versus the first half of 2025.

Key cost takeaways include:

• TAC is a variable cost directly tied to marketing revenue generation.
• Operating Expenses (OpEx) showed a year-over-year reduction of $\text{25.6\%}$ from Q1 2024 ($\text{\$110.7M}$) to Q1 2025 ($\text{\$87.6M}$).
• Salaries and benefits decreased from $\text{\$33,937 thousand}$ in Q2 2024 to $\text{\$26,297 thousand}$ in Q2 2025.
• The company is actively managing its capital structure, with debt totaling $\text{\$262.70 million}$ at the end of Q2 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at System1, Inc. (SST) and trying to map out exactly where the money comes from, especially as they navigate major shifts in the advertising world. Honestly, the revenue picture is defined by a strategic, high-stakes pivot away from volatility toward owned assets. The company clearly delineates its business into two main areas for reporting: Marketing and Products. The Products segment houses the Owned & Operated Advertising (O&O) assets, which management is pushing as the future for higher-margin, more defensible revenue.

The Owned & Operated Advertising revenue, represented by the Products segment, is the focus for long-term, higher-margin growth. These are the proprietary properties like Startpage, the mapping service MapQuest, and the coupon platform CouponFollow. For the third quarter of 2025, revenue from this segment was $22.5 million. This segment showed resilience, posting an 8% year-over-year increase in Q3 2025 revenue. To be fair, while this segment is smaller in top-line revenue for Q3 2025, it is becoming the majority of the company's profitability, with its Adjusted Gross Profit reaching $21.2 million in the quarter, which is 56% of the total segment profit. The shift is clear: they are trading top-line volume for margin quality. The company is also developing new AI-based products, such as Vanish, a private AI chat app from Startpage.com, which will feed into this stream.

The Partner Network revenue-sharing arrangements are primarily captured within the Marketing segment. This stream has faced significant headwinds, largely due to product changes from their largest advertising partner, Google, specifically the sunsetting of AdSense for Domains (AFD). In Q3 2025, Marketing revenue was $39.1 million, making it the majority of the total revenue for the quarter, though it declined 43% year-over-year. Within this revenue-sharing model, System1, Inc. (SST) typically shares 60-80% of the revenue with traffic partners, depending on factors like traffic quality and exclusivity. The company is actively working to diversify this segment away from over-reliance on any single partner, which is why the pivot to O&O is so defintely important.

Regarding Subscription revenue from privacy and security products, while the O&O segment includes privacy-focused search via Startpage, specific standalone subscription revenue figures for Q3 2025 were not broken out in the same detail as the main segments. The focus here is on growing the user base for these assets, like the 23% year-over-year growth in total sessions across Startpage, MapQuest, and CouponFollow in Q3 2025, which sets the stage for future monetization, including potential subscription offerings.

The overall top-line performance for the period is a key data point you need to track. Q3 2025 Total Revenue was $61.6 million. This represented a 31% year-over-year decrease, reflecting the ongoing transition and volatility in the marketing business. Here's the quick math on the segment contribution for that quarter:

Revenue Stream / Segment	Q3 2025 Revenue (in millions USD)	Year-over-Year Change (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)
Marketing (Partner Network Focus)	$39.1 million	-43%
Products (Owned & Operated Focus)	$22.5 million	+8%
Total Revenue	$61.6 million	-31%

You should also note the margin profile improvement, which is the real story behind the revenue numbers. The Adjusted Gross Profit Margin soared to 59% in Q3 2025, up from 42% the previous year. This shows the strategic mix shift is working on profitability, even as top-line revenue contracts.

Key components driving the revenue streams include:

• The Marketing segment revenue was $39.1 million in Q3 2025.
• The Products segment revenue was $22.5 million in Q3 2025.
• The Products segment saw sessions grow 23% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• The company is transitioning from Google's sunsetted AdSense for Domains (AFD) to the Related Search On Content (RSOC) product.
• CouponFollow launched sites in Germany and France as part of geographic expansion.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.