Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY): SWOT Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

You're looking for a clear-eyed view of Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) as we close out 2025. The direct takeaway is this: Thryv's strategic pivot to a high-margin Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model is defintely paying off, but the drag from the legacy print business and intense competition in the Small-to-Medium Business (SMB) software space are real anchors. We need to map the near-term risks and opportunities to clear actions.

Thryv's story for 2025 is a classic transition narrative: the high-margin SaaS segment is projected to deliver over $700 million in revenue, driving the core valuation, but that growth is still partially offset by the structural decline of the legacy print business, which is expected to dip below $300 million. You need to understand how the company's established SMB customer base-a major strength-can be cross-sold into the platform, and why the high Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) in a crowded market remains a critical weakness. Simply put, the company is managing a profitable, if complex, two-speed business. Let's dig into the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) to see exactly where the action is and what your next move should be.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - SWOT Analysis: Strengths

High-margin SaaS revenue is the core value driver.

The most compelling strength for Thryv Holdings, Inc. is its accelerating transition to a Software as a Service (SaaS) business model, which drives superior margins and profitability. This pivot is evident in the Q3 2025 results, where SaaS revenue hit $115.9 million, marking a strong 33% year-over-year increase. This growth trajectory means that software solutions now represent 58% of total consolidated revenue, confirming the company's shift from its legacy marketing services.

The financial quality of this revenue stream is high, too. The SaaS Adjusted Gross Margin for the third quarter of 2025 stood at a healthy 73%, an increase of 80 basis points year-over-year. This margin performance is what you look for in a durable software business, and it's why the market values SaaS companies. Here's the quick math on profitability: SaaS Adjusted EBITDA nearly doubled year-over-year to $19.6 million in Q3 2025.

Established, large base of SMB customers from the legacy business.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. benefits hugely from its history as a traditional marketing services provider, which gave it a massive, established base of small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers. This existing relationship acts as a low-cost customer acquisition channel for the higher-value SaaS platform, a defintely powerful advantage. The company serves approximately 300,000 SMB clients globally through its combined segments.

This legacy base is actively being monetized through the SaaS platform. By the end of Q3 2025, the total SaaS subscriber count reached 103,000, a 7% increase year-over-year. The company is also seeing success in upselling, with clients adopting multiple products, which is a great sign for future revenue expansion.

• Total SaaS Subscribers (End of Q3 2025): 103,000
• Clients with Two or More SaaS Products (Q3 2025): 17,000 (20% of the base)

Recurring revenue model provides strong cash flow stability.

The subscription-based nature of the SaaS business provides a predictable and stable stream of cash flow, which is crucial for managing the decline of the legacy Marketing Services segment. This stability is reflected in key metrics like Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) and cash generation. For Q3 2025, the SaaS monthly ARPU expanded by 19% year-over-year to $365, demonstrating successful efforts to increase customer spend.

The ability to generate cash is clear: the company reported $14.6 million in Free Cash Flow for Q3 2025, with year-to-date Free Cash Flow at $18.8 million. While the Seasoned Net Revenue Retention (NRR) was 94% as of September 30, 2025, this indicates a high degree of customer stickiness, even as the company manages churn in the legacy base while transitioning clients to the platform.

Successful international expansion into markets like Australia.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. has successfully proven its business model can scale beyond the US market, which significantly expands its total addressable market (TAM). The company has established a strong geographical footprint with significant operations in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. This international presence acts as a hedge against any single-market economic slowdown.

The international expansion, including the acquisition of Yellow Holdings Limited in New Zealand, shows a clear strategic path to global growth. This success means the company isn't just a US-centric play; it's a global SMB software platform, which diversifies its revenue sources and provides a playbook for future market entries.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - SWOT Analysis: Weaknesses

Continued, structural decline of the legacy print Yellow Pages segment.

The biggest structural headwind for Thryv Holdings, Inc. remains the planned, but still painful, wind-down of the legacy Marketing Services segment, which includes the print Yellow Pages. This isn't a surprise; it's a managed decline, but it creates a massive revenue hole that the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business must outrun. For the third quarter of 2025, Marketing Services revenue was still a significant part of the business at $85.7 million. This segment's revenue declined by 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, a deceleration from the steeper 35% drop seen in Q2 2025, but the trend is clear and permanent. The company has a hard stop planned for the print business by the end of 2028, so you have to be comfortable with a shrinking overall top line for the next few years. This decline is a constant drain on consolidated revenue, masking the strong growth story of the SaaS platform.

Here's the quick math on the segment shift in Q3 2025:

The legacy business still holds a higher Adjusted EBITDA margin at 24.8% compared to the SaaS segment's 16.9% in Q3 2025, so as the high-margin print revenue runs off, it puts pressure on overall profitability, even with SaaS growth.

High customer acquisition cost (CAC) in a crowded SaaS market.

The cost to acquire a new small business customer (Customer Acquisition Cost, or CAC) in the crowded SMB SaaS space is a major headwind. Thryv Holdings, Inc. is competing against well-funded, pure-play giants like HubSpot and Square, plus a host of vertical-specific software vendors. The company's organic SaaS client growth was only 7% year-over-year to 103 thousand clients at the end of Q3 2025 (excluding the Keap acquisition). To be fair, organic SaaS revenue growth was a stronger 14% (excluding Keap), which shows they are successfully upselling existing customers. But this reliance on upselling, rather than efficient new customer acquisition, suggests that acquiring a new logo (a 'new to Thryv' customer) is expensive and challenging in this market. The industry average for SaaS CAC can range from $274 to over $1,450, depending on the sub-industry, and Thryv's need to maintain a large, expensive sales force to migrate legacy customers likely keeps their blended CAC high.

• Organic SaaS client growth was only 7% YoY in Q3 2025.
• Organic SaaS revenue growth was 14% YoY, indicating heavy reliance on upselling.
• A high CAC limits new market penetration and forces a focus on existing customer expansion.

You can't just rely on upselling forever; you defintely need a high-volume, cost-effective new customer engine.

SMB customer base is highly sensitive to economic shifts and has higher churn.

The small and medium-sized business (SMB) customer base is famously volatile, acting as a canary in the coal mine for economic downturns. Thryv's own Small Business Index in late 2024 showed that 53% of small businesses cited a deteriorating U.S. economy, which translates directly to higher churn risk. The company's total client count dropped significantly in Q1 2025, falling from 328,000 to 281,000, with Marketing Services clients dropping by 76,000. That's a huge number of lost relationships. Furthermore, the Seasoned Net Revenue Retention (NRR)-a key metric showing if existing customers are spending more or less-dropped to 94% as of September 30, 2025, a significant step down from the 103% reported in the prior quarter. An NRR below 100% means that, on average, existing customers are spending less than they were a year ago, a clear sign of economic sensitivity or competitive pressure leading to product downgrades or outright churn.

Integration challenges with past acquisitions in the software segment.

Growth through acquisition (M&A) is a double-edged sword, and Thryv Holdings, Inc. is currently navigating the integration of its late 2024 acquisition of Keap (formerly Infusion Software, Inc.). While Keap added valuable scale and contributed $16.8 million in SaaS revenue in Q3 2025, the integration process itself has been cited as a weakness. Analyst reports in late 2025 specifically pointed to a sluggish integration with Keap and disruptions within its partner channel as factors contributing to a slowdown in overall SaaS growth momentum. These challenges can distract management, consume engineering resources, and lead to customer dissatisfaction if the combined product experience is clunky or if the partner program is disrupted. The full financial and operational synergy benefits from a major acquisition like Keap take years to realize, and any delays create uncertainty for investors.

• The Keap acquisition, completed in late 2024, contributed $16.8 million to Q3 2025 SaaS revenue.
• Analyst concerns in late 2025 cited a sluggish integration and partner channel disruption.
• Integration issues slow down the organic innovation roadmap and divert key talent.

Finance: Track Keap-related integration expenses and synergy realization against the original $10 million synergy goal for 2025. [cite: 6 (from first search)]

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - SWOT Analysis: Opportunities

The biggest opportunity for Thryv Holdings, Inc. is the conversion of its massive legacy print customer base into high-value, recurring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscribers. This transition, coupled with strategic acquisitions and a strong push into AI-driven features, positions the company for a significant shift in its revenue mix and margin profile in 2025 and beyond.

Aggressive cross-selling of the Thryv software platform to existing print customers.

You have a built-in, high-potential sales funnel in your Marketing Services segment. As of December 31, 2024, Thryv served approximately 233,000 Marketing Services clients, a massive pool of small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) that already trust the brand and have a payment relationship. The company is actively working to exit the Marketing Services business by 2028, so converting these clients to the Thryv SaaS platform is a defintely critical, near-term opportunity.

The financial math here is compelling. The full-year 2025 guidance for Marketing Services Revenue is still substantial, projected between $323.0 million and $325.0 million. Each successful conversion moves a client from a declining revenue stream to one with a higher margin and a much higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). For context, the SaaS monthly ARPU reached $365 in the third quarter of 2025, a 19% increase year-over-year, far exceeding the 2024 Marketing Services ARPU of $133 per month. This is a clear path to boosting lifetime customer value.

Here's the quick math on the conversion opportunity:

Strategic, accretive acquisitions of niche, complementary SaaS tools.

Thryv has a proven acquisition playbook, demonstrated by the successful integration of Keap (formerly Infusion Software). This acquisition, which closed in late 2024, significantly enhanced the SaaS offering with marketing automation capabilities and is expected to contribute strong revenue in 2025, projected between $75 million and $78 million. The strategy is to continue this momentum with smaller, niche acquisitions that bolt-on to the core platform, immediately increasing the value proposition for the existing 103 thousand SaaS clients.

The focus should be on tools that solve specific, high-value pain points for SMBs, like payroll, which is being addressed by the upcoming Thryv Workforce Center slated for a second-half 2025 launch. This 'land-and-expand' approach is already working: clients with two or more SaaS products grew to 17,000, representing 20% of the base, in the third quarter of 2025. More tools mean more revenue per customer.

Deepen penetration in existing international markets beyond initial entry.

The company's global footprint, serving approximately 300,000 SMB clients worldwide, provides a solid foundation for regional expansion without the high cost of entering entirely new continents. Thryv has significant operations in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The Keap acquisition also brought a mature partner channel and deeper market penetration in key international markets, including Europe and Australia.

The opportunity is not just to acquire new international customers, but to replicate the successful cross-selling model in these markets. This means aggressively migrating the Marketing Services clients in Australia and New Zealand to the full Thryv SaaS platform. This deepens the revenue base and diversifies the geographic risk away from the US market alone.

Develop AI-driven features to increase platform stickiness and average revenue per user (ARPU).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a major tailwind for Thryv, specifically in making the platform easier for small business owners to use. The company is prioritizing AI integration, with management noting they are 'rolling out lots of AI within the software' to meet small business people where they are. This focus is designed to increase platform stickiness and drive the adoption of higher-tier plans, directly impacting ARPU.

Recent product launches confirm this focus:

• AI-Enabled Marketing Software: A tailored growth marketing solution launched for Home Services Businesses, a segment with over 15,000 clients.
• Thryv Workforce Center: Slated for H2 2025, this new center streamlines employee management and payroll, offering a high-value, AI-supported solution that is a prime candidate for an upcharge.
• Thryv Reporting Center: This newly launched offering gives business owners quick, data-driven decisions on sales, appointments, and marketing, increasing the platform's utility.

The goal is to keep expanding the average number of 'centers' (modules) per client, which grew to 50% at the end of the third quarter of 2025, up from 12% in the prior year. This is how you drive ARPU expansion like the 19% year-over-year growth seen in Q3 2025.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - SWOT Analysis: Threats

Intense competition from massive tech platforms like Google and Meta.

You're fighting a constant battle for the small business mindshare against companies with near-limitless resources. Thryv Holdings, Inc. competes directly with the advertising and business management tools offered by the biggest names in tech, and that competition is only getting sharper in 2025. The core threat here is that Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) offer a 'free' or low-cost entry point for many services, making it tough for Thryv to justify its all-in-one platform cost to a budget-sensitive small business owner.

The shift in advertising preference shows this pressure. In 2025, social media advertising, dominated by Meta, reached 56% of surveyed small businesses, surpassing search advertising, where Google dominates, at 45%. Plus, the cost of customer acquisition is rising across the board. Google Ads costs, for example, increased by 12.88% to an average of $5.26 per click across industries in 2025. This forces Thryv to deliver extremely high value to keep its clients from moving their entire marketing budget back to the giants.

Here's the quick math on the competitive landscape:

Economic slowdown disproportionately impacts SMB spending on marketing and software.

Honesty, economic uncertainty is the top challenge facing your small business clients. While Thryv's Software as a Service (SaaS) model provides recurring revenue, a downturn can still increase churn and slow new client acquisition. The data shows that 66% of small businesses view economic uncertainty as challenging in 2026. A global growth forecast dipping to 2.8% in 2025 means every dollar spent is scrutinized.

What this estimate hides is the reallocation risk. Only 8% of small businesses plan to decrease their marketing budgets, but 54% plan to maintain current spending. This means they aren't cutting, but they are re-evaluating where they spend. If a client sees a better return-on-investment (ROI) from a single, specialized tool versus the all-in-one Thryv platform, they'll switch. Thryv's ongoing transition from its legacy Marketing Services also compounds this risk; the Marketing Services revenue was already down 35% year-over-year to $95.5 million in Q2 2025, so any economic pressure on the remaining client base is defintely a concern.

Rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for data privacy and digital advertising.

The regulatory environment is a minefield for any company handling customer data, and Thryv is no exception. Because the platform helps its SMB clients manage customer data and run digital ads, Thryv must ensure its software is compliant with a patchwork of new, complex laws. This compliance burden is a major threat because it increases R&D costs and adds complexity for the end-user.

The U.S. landscape is getting particularly tricky in 2025, with a wave of new state-level data privacy laws taking effect. This is no longer just about the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA); you now have to contend with:

• Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (DPDPA) - Effective January 1, 2025.
• New Jersey Data Privacy Act (NJDPA) - Effective January 15, 2025.
• Tennessee Information Protection Act (TIPA) - Effective July 1, 2025.

Plus, international regulations like the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) impact the global digital advertising ecosystem, affecting Thryv's operations in Australia and New Zealand. This constant change forces Thryv to spend heavily on legal and engineering resources, which could otherwise be used for new feature development.

Technology obsolescence if the platform doesn't keep pace with new tools.

In the SaaS world, standing still means falling behind. The rapid pace of innovation, especially around Artificial Intelligence (AI), poses a direct threat of technological obsolescence. Thryv's core value proposition is simplicity and an all-in-one platform, but if a competitor launches a specialized, AI-powered tool that performs a critical task (like lead generation or scheduling) significantly better, the SMB client might defect.

Thryv's 2025 10-K report acknowledges risks related to AI, including potential cybersecurity incidents and the evolving regulatory environment, which could increase compliance costs. While Thryv is actively integrating AI-showcasing new AI-driven tools at its Grow 2025 event-the threat is that the giants like Google and Meta, or even smaller, hyper-focused startups, will out-innovate them. The company must ensure its R&D budget keeps pace to protect its accelerating SaaS segment, which is projected to generate between $460 million and $465 million in revenue for the full year 2025.