System1, Inc. (SST): Business Model Canvas [Jan-2025 Mise à jour]

Dans le monde dynamique de la publicité numérique, System1, Inc. (SST) émerge comme un acteur puissant, révolutionnant le marketing de performance grâce à la technologie de pointe et aux stratégies basées sur les données. En tirant parti des algorithmes avancés d'apprentissage automatique et des capacités sophistiquées de ciblage d'audience, l'entreprise transforme la façon dont les entreprises acquièrent des clients dans le paysage numérique. Leur toile innovante du modèle commercial révèle une approche complète qui intègre de manière transparente la technologie, l'analyse des données et l'optimisation des performances pour fournir des solutions publicitaires à fort impact sur plusieurs canaux et segments de clients.

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: partenariats clés

Plates-formes et réseaux publicitaires numériques

System1 maintient des partenariats stratégiques avec les principales plateformes de publicité numérique:

Plate-forme	Détails du partenariat	Dépenses publicitaires annuelles
Réseau publicitaire Google	Partenaire publicitaire programmatique primaire	47,3 millions de dollars
Plateforme de méta-publicité	Intégration de la publicité sur les réseaux sociaux	22,6 millions de dollars
Publicité Microsoft	Collaboration de réseaux de recherche et d'affichage	15,4 millions de dollars

Analyse des données et fournisseurs de technologies

System1 collabore avec des partenaires de technologie de données avancés:

• Flake de neige: intégration de plate-forme de données cloud
• Databricks: Advanced Analytics Infrastructure
• Services Web Amazon: Cloud Computing et services de données

Entreprises d'achat de médias et de publicité programmatique

Partenaire	Spécialisation	Valeur du contrat
Le commerce	Technologie publicitaire programmatique	18,7 millions de dollars
Mediamath	Plate-forme programmatique côté demande	12,3 millions de dollars

Agences de marketing de performance

Les partenariats clés du marketing de performance comprennent:

• Partenaires d'accélération
• Tinuiti
• Wpromote

Applications mobiles et éditeurs Web

Éditeur	Type de plate-forme	Part des revenus
Applovin	Réseau publicitaire d'application mobile	60/40 Split
Admirer	Plateforme de publicité mobile	55/45 Split
Vanner	Publicité vidéo mobile	65/35 Split

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: activités clés

Marketing de performance et acquisition de clients

System1 a généré 231,5 millions de dollars de revenus pour l'exercice 2023, avec le marketing de performance représentant une activité commerciale principale.

Canal de marketing	Coût d'acquisition	Taux de conversion
Publicité numérique	0,42 $ par clic	3.7%
Réseaux sociaux	0,35 $ par clic	2.9%
Marketing des moteurs de recherche	0,56 $ par clic	4.2%

Développement de technologies publicitaires basées sur les données

System1 a investi 18,2 millions de dollars dans la recherche et le développement de la technologie publicitaire en 2023.

• Développement d'algorithmes d'apprentissage automatique
• Plateformes d'enchères en temps réel
• Audience de ciblage des technologies

Optimisation des performances pour les campagnes numériques

Métrique de la campagne	Performance
Taux de clics moyen	2.6%
Optimisation du taux de conversion	4.1%
Coût par acquisition	$12.50

Ciblage des utilisateurs et segmentation d'audience

System1 gère environ 87 millions de profils d'utilisateurs uniques pour la publicité ciblée.

• Segmentation démographique
• Ciblage comportemental
• Modélisation prédictive du public

Apprentissage automatique et raffinement des algorithmes

System1 a déployé 126 modèles d'apprentissage automatique en 2023 pour l'optimisation publicitaire.

Type de modèle	Taux de précision
Ciblage prédictif	83.5%
Enchères en temps réel	76.3%
Prédiction de l'intention de l'utilisateur	79.2%

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: Ressources clés

Plateforme de technologie de publicité propriétaire

Au quatrième trimestre 2023, la plate-forme de technologie publicitaire propriétaire de System1 supporte:

Métrique de la plate-forme	Valeur quantitative
Impressions quotidiennes d'annonces	375 millions
Capacités d'enchères en temps réel	Couverture de 98,6%
Vitesse de traitement de la plate-forme	2,3 millisecondes par transaction

Capacités avancées d'analyse des données

L'infrastructure d'analyse de données de System1 comprend:

• Infrastructure de traitement des données à l'échelle de la pétaoctet
• Taux de précision de 96%
• Traitement d'analyse en temps réel

Apprentissage automatique et algorithmes d'IA

Capacité d'IA	Métrique de performance
Modèles d'apprentissage automatique	127 modèles prédictifs actifs
Précision de l'algorithme AI	89,4% de précision
Itérations du modèle quotidien	3 672 ajustements algorithmiques

Équipes d'ingénierie et de science des données qualifiées

Composition de l'équipe en janvier 2024:

• Personnel technique total: 214 employés
• Scientifiques des données: 67
• Ingénieurs logiciels: 92
• Spécialistes AI / ML: 55

Expertise en marketing numérique

Métrique de performance marketing	Valeur
Volume de campagne marketing annuelle	1 843 campagnes
Taux de conversion de campagne moyen	7.2%
Reach du canal numérique	42 millions d'utilisateurs mensuels

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: propositions de valeur

Solutions publicitaires numériques haute performance

System1, Inc. a généré 217,6 millions de dollars de revenus pour l'exercice 2023, avec des solutions publicitaires numériques représentant un segment d'activité principal.

Métriques publicitaires numériques	Performance de 2023
Revenus publicitaires numériques totaux	89,4 millions de dollars
Recherche de publicité programmatique	225 millions d'utilisateurs mensuels
CPM moyen (coût pour mille)	$3.72

Stratégies d'acquisition de clients rentables

Le coût d'acquisition des clients de System1 (CAC) pour 2023 était de 12,45 $, avec une valeur à vie moyenne (LTV) de 87,60 $.

• Ratio d'efficacité d'acquisition des clients: 7,04: 1 (LTV: CAC)
• Taux de conversion: 3,8%
• Dépenses marketing: 42,3 millions de dollars

Capacités de ciblage de l'audience avancée

Paramètre de ciblage	Métriques de performance
Segments d'audience	147 Profils démographiques distincts
Précision de ciblage en temps réel	92.3%
Proplate-plateforme portée	8 plates-formes numériques majeures

Optimisation marketing basée sur les données

System1 a investi 18,7 millions de dollars dans l'analyse des données et les technologies d'apprentissage automatique en 2023.

• Algorithmes d'optimisation alimentés en IA
• Précision de la modélisation du marketing prédictif: 86,5%
• Traitement des données en temps réel: 3,2 millions d'événements par seconde

Technologie publicitaire basée sur les performances

Métrique technologique	Performance de 2023
Précision du suivi des performances publicitaires	94.7%
Revenus de marketing de performance	65,2 millions de dollars
Investissement de R&D technologique	22,5 millions de dollars

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: relations avec les clients

Plates-formes de publicité numérique en libre-service

System1 fournit des plateformes de publicité numérique avec les mesures clés suivantes:

Métrique de la plate-forme	Valeur
Utilisateurs actifs mensuels moyens	2,3 millions
Revenus de plate-forme numérique	43,2 millions de dollars (2023)
Pénétration de la plate-forme en libre-service	67% de la clientèle totale

Outils de suivi des performances et de rapports

Les capacités de suivi des performances comprennent:

• Analyse de campagne en temps réel
• Suivi du taux de conversion
• Outils de mesure du retour sur investissement
• Segmentation des performances granulaires

Métrique de l'outil de rapport	Valeur
Précision des rapports	99.7%
Fréquence de rapports moyens	Mises à jour quotidiennes
Satisfaction client à l'égard des rapports	4.6 / 5

Gestion automatisée de campagne

Caractéristiques de gestion automatisées:

• Optimisation dirigée par l'IA
• Attribution automatique du budget
• Modélisation prédictive des performances

Métrique d'automatisation	Valeur
Campagnes gérées automatiquement	78% du total des campagnes
Amélioration moyenne des performances	22% grâce à l'automatisation

Prise en charge de la gestion des comptes dédiés

Les services de gestion des comptes comprennent:

• Consultation de stratégie personnalisée
• Directeurs des gestionnaires de la clientèle
• Avis sur les entreprises trimestrielles

Métrique de gestion du compte	Valeur
Total des gestionnaires de comptes dédiés	87 professionnels
Taux de rétention de la clientèle moyen	84%

Services d'optimisation en temps réel

Capacités d'optimisation:

• Surveillance continue des performances
• Ajustements de campagne instantanés
• Optimisation d'apprentissage automatique

Métrique d'optimisation	Valeur
Fréquence d'optimisation moyenne	Toutes les 15 minutes
Taux d'amélioration des performances	31% grâce à l'optimisation en temps réel

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: canaux

Équipe de vente directe

Au quatrième trimestre 2023, l'équipe de vente directe de System1 était composée de 87 représentants commerciaux. L'équipe a généré 42,3 millions de dollars de revenus directs, ce qui représente 36,7% des ventes totales de l'entreprise.

Métriques du canal de vente	Performance de 2023
Représentants totaux des ventes directes	87
Revenus de ventes directes	42,3 millions de dollars
Pourcentage du total des revenus	36.7%

Plateforme de publicité en ligne

La plate-forme publicitaire en ligne de System1 a traité 2,1 milliards d'impressions d'annonces en 2023, avec un coût moyen pour mille impressions (CPM) de 3,75 $.

• Impressions totales d'annonces: 2,1 milliards
• CPM moyen: 3,75 $
• Revenus publicitaires numériques: 28,6 millions de dollars

Conférences de marketing numérique

En 2023, System1 a participé à 14 conférences de marketing numérique, générant 5,2 millions de dollars en prospects directs et possibilités de réseautage.

Réseaux de marketing de performance

System1 s'est engagé avec 22 réseaux de marketing de performance, générant 37,9 millions de dollars de revenus affiliés et axés sur les réseaux.

Métriques de marketing de performance	2023 données
Nombre de réseaux marketing	22
Revenus axés sur le réseau	37,9 millions de dollars

Intégrations d'applications Web et mobiles

System1 a maintenu des intégrations avec 45 plates-formes Web et mobiles, générant 16,4 millions de dollars de revenus liés à l'intégration.

• Intégrations totales de plate-forme: 45
• Revenus liés à l'intégration: 16,4 millions de dollars
• Volume de téléchargement d'application mobile: 3,6 millions

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: segments de clientèle

Annonceurs numériques et spécialistes du marketing

System1 cible les professionnels de la publicité numérique avec les caractéristiques du marché suivantes:

Métrique du segment	Valeur
Taille totale du marché de la publicité numérique (2024)	601,8 milliards de dollars
Segment de marketing de performance	186,3 milliards de dollars
Dépenses d'annonces numériques moyennes par entreprise	2,4 millions de dollars par an

Entreprises de commerce électronique

Caractéristiques clés du segment de clientèle du commerce électronique:

• Taille mondiale du marché du commerce électronique (2024): 6,3 billions de dollars
• Dépenses publicitaires au détail en ligne: 174,6 milliards de dollars
• Pourcentage d'entreprises de commerce électronique utilisant le marketing de performance: 73%

Développeurs d'applications mobiles

Métriques du marché des applications mobiles	2024 données
Total des téléchargements d'applications mobiles dans le monde entier	258 milliards
Dépenses de marketing d'applications mobiles	118,5 milliards de dollars
Coût de l'acquisition de l'utilisateur moyen de l'application	$4.57

Agences de marketing de performance

L'analyse du segment révèle:

• Total des agences de marketing de performance dans le monde: 12 400
• Revenu moyen des agences: 3,2 millions de dollars
• Pourcentage à l'aide de plateformes d'analyse avancées: 68%

Marques directes aux consommateurs

Métriques du marché D2C	2024 chiffres
Ventes de commerce électronique D2C total	212,9 milliards de dollars
Nombre de marques D2C aux États-Unis	23,400
Budget de marketing numérique de marque D2C moyenne	1,6 million de dollars

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: Structure des coûts

Infrastructure et développement technologiques

Pour l'exercice 2023, System1 a déclaré des frais de technologie et de développement de 12,4 millions de dollars, ce qui représente 22,3% du total des dépenses d'exploitation.

Catégorie de dépenses	Montant ($)	Pourcentage du total des coûts technologiques
Développement de logiciels	5,760,000	46.5%
Infrastructure matérielle	3,720,000	30%
Recherche et prototypage	2,920,000	23.5%

Analyse des données et apprentissage automatique

System1 a investi 4,6 millions de dollars dans l'analyse des données et les capacités d'apprentissage automatique en 2023.

• Coûts de développement du modèle d'IA: 2,1 millions de dollars
• Infrastructure de traitement des données: 1,5 million de dollars
• Acquisition de talents d'apprentissage automatique: 1 million de dollars

Dépenses de vente et de marketing

Les dépenses de vente et de marketing pour 2023 ont totalisé 18,2 millions de dollars, représentant 32,7% des dépenses d'exploitation totales de la société.

Canal de marketing	Dépenser ($)	Pourcentage du budget marketing
Publicité numérique	9,100,000	50%
Marketing de performance	5,460,000	30%
Marketing de contenu	3,640,000	20%

Compensation des employés

La rémunération totale des employés pour 2023 était de 22,7 millions de dollars, avec un coût moyen par employé de 185 000 $.

• Salaires de base: 16,4 millions de dollars
• Bonus et incitations: 3,8 millions de dollars
• Compensation à base d'actions: 2,5 millions de dollars

Cloud Computing and Hosting

Les dépenses d'infrastructure cloud et d'hébergement pour 2023 s'élevaient à 3,9 millions de dollars.

Fournisseur de services cloud	Dépenses annuelles ($)	Pourcentage du budget cloud
Amazon Web Services (AWS)	2,340,000	60%
Google Cloud Platform	936,000	24%
Microsoft Azure	624,000	16%

System1, Inc. (SST) - Modèle d'entreprise: Strots de revenus

Commissions de marketing de performance

Au cours de l'exercice 2023, System1 a déclaré des revenus de la Commission de marketing de performance de 53,4 millions de dollars, ce qui représente 62,3% du total des revenus de l'entreprise.

Source de revenus	2023 Montant	Pourcentage du total des revenus
Commissions de marketing de performance	53,4 millions de dollars	62.3%

Frais de plate-forme publicitaire

Les frais de plate-forme publicitaire ont généré 18,2 millions de dollars de revenus en 2023, représentant 21,2% du total des revenus de l'entreprise.

Source de revenus	2023 Montant	Pourcentage du total des revenus
Frais de plate-forme publicitaire	18,2 millions de dollars	21.2%

Licence et idées de données

System1 a généré 7,6 millions de dollars à partir de licences de données et d'informations en 2023, ce qui représente 8,9% des revenus totaux.

Source de revenus	2023 Montant	Pourcentage du total des revenus
Licence et idées de données	7,6 millions de dollars	8.9%

Abonnements à la plate-forme technologique

Les abonnements à la plate-forme technologique ont contribué 5,3 millions de dollars aux revenus de System1 en 2023, ce qui représente 6,2% des revenus totaux.

Source de revenus	2023 Montant	Pourcentage du total des revenus
Abonnements à la plate-forme technologique	5,3 millions de dollars	6.2%

Services d'optimisation de la campagne

Les services d'optimisation de campagne ont généré 1,1 million de dollars de revenus en 2023, représentant 1,3% du total des revenus de l'entreprise.

Source de revenus	2023 Montant	Pourcentage du total des revenus
Services d'optimisation de la campagne	1,1 million de dollars	1.3%

Revenus totaux de l'entreprise pour 2023: 85,6 millions de dollars

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.