VTEX

NYSE:VTEX

Q1-2025 Earnings Call

[Julia Fernandez, executive]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to VTEX's Earnings Conference Call for the first quarter of 2025. I'm Julia Vater Fernandez, VP of Investor Relations.

Joining me today are Geraldo Thomaz Jr., our Co-Founder and Co-CEO, and Ricardo Camatta Sodre, our Chief Financial Officer. Also joining us for the Q&A session are Mariano Gomide de Faria, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, and Andre Spolidoro, Chief Strategy Officer.

Before we begin, please note that today's remarks may include forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current assumptions and projections, and actual results might differ.

Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties is detailed in our Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, and other filings with the SEC, all of which are available on our Investor Relations website.

During this call, we may also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP figures can be found in our Q1 2025 earnings press release, also available on our Investor Relations website.

With that, let me turn the call over to Geraldo. Geraldo, the floor is yours.

[Geraldo do Carmo Thomaz, executive]

Thank you, Julia. Welcome, everyone, and thanks for joining our first quarter 2025 earnings conference call.

We delivered a solid start to the year despite the ongoing macroeconomic volatility. Subscription revenue grew 15% in FX-neutral in the first quarter.

As we look ahead, the recent go-lives of key enterprise customers combined with the continued progress in our product innovation and platform expansion initiatives reinforce our confidence in the sustainability of our profitable growth strategy.

In a seasonally softer quarter, we also delivered profitable growth and significant margin expansion. Our gross profit reached $41 million, a 22% growth in FX neutral and a 2.7 percentage points margin increase year-over-year.

Additionally, our non-GAAP operating income increased to $5.3 million, an 85% growth and a 4.3 percentage points margin increase year-over-year.

This strong operating income was supported by even stronger free cash flow generation of $6.6 million.

Finally, our non-GAAP net income reached $5.3 million in the first quarter and $34.5 million over the last 12 months. I'll let Ricardo further expand on the financials shortly.

VTEX continues to solidify its position as the platform of choice for global CIOs and CEOs, seeking operational efficiency and commercial agility. Enterprises choose VTEX for more than software, but for outcomes, accelerated time to market, increased revenue, improved margins, and reduced complexity.

Looking ahead, we're building a future for VTEX that goes even beyond that, a future where VTEX Intelligent agents evolve into digital workers, autonomously managing core workflows and core across service, demand generation, and merchandising for our customers. We're not just adapting to the future of commerce. We're building it.

Now, let me highlight a few commercial achievements of the quarter. In the first quarter, we successfully brought several new customers live, including Magazzino and LG in Argentina, Americanas, Apoio Entrega, Moda Colmeia, Oscar Calcados, and Urban Performance in Brazil, LF10 in Colombia, Orocash in Ecuador, La Sirena in Spain, Berel and Procarga in Mexico, and GS1 US and J.W. Pepper in the U.S.

We also strengthened our relationship with existing customers. Bemol launched a new vertical, Bemol Pharma, now operating two stores in Brazil. Colgate launched a new store in Germany, expanding its VTEX presence across the Americas and Europe.

Crocs launched a new store in Chile, now present in 5 Latin American markets with VTEX. Hearst launched Ultra Daily Shop in the U.S., expanding its VTEX presence to six stores.

Levi's added Colombia, now present in 6 Latin American markets. And Mondelez launched a new B2B store in Spain and in Ecuador, expanding its VTEX footprint into Europe.

Another noteworthy development this quarter, though not yet live, is that Manchester City Football Club has joined the VTEX platform. The club is currently implementing VTEX as the foundation of its official digital commerce strategy.

We're supporting Manchester City in reimagining and streamlining its digital commerce experiences to deliver a seamless and intuitive journey for fans.

This initiative will enable supporters to access and purchase City-related experiences through a unified and efficient checkout process, whether online or via mobile.

To build our own momentum in contract signatures and reinforce brand trust, we launched the EV Wall campaign, featuring cricket icon Ravindra Jadeja as the VTEX ambassador.

The campaign resonated strongly with CEOs and CTOs in the U.S., where approximately half have an affinity for cricket, helping us connect with an influential and professionally relevant audience.

We also hosted the second edition of VTEX Connect in New York City, our flagship event for senior commerce executives held immediately following NIS.

This year, we expanded the event scope and quality, welcoming CEOs, CIOs, and senior executives from leading retailers. Simone Biles delivered a keynote fireside chat, joined by Brazilian gymnastics champion Rebeca Andrade.

The event showcased our leadership in digital commerce and strengthened our relationship with partners and decision-makers. In addition to its increased impact, the event was executed with greater cost efficiency.

Supported by over 14 sponsors, VTEX Connect New York served as a strategic platform to deepen relationships with our partners and enhance VTEX's visibility among top industry stakeholders, and engage directly with key decision-makers within the NRF office.

By gathering the industry's most influential voices and integrating globally recognized figures, we continue to elevate VTEX's position at the forefront of digital commerce transformation.

We are also proud to share that VTEX was once again recognized as the Customer's Choice in the 2025 Gartner Voice of Customers for Digital Commerce Report for the second year in a row.

This recognition is especially meaningful because it is based entirely on our customers' reviews, underscoring our platform's impact and reliability. This recognition, based solely on real customer reviews, highlights our ability to deliver exceptional product capability, ease of use, reliable support, and measurable business impact.

In the landscape where choosing the right commerce partners is mission-critical, being named customers' choice for the second year in a row reinforces VTEX's position as the trusted, scalable, and innovation-driven platform of choice for global enterprises.

Before moving on to our customer success stories, I'd like to revisit the concept introduced earlier. VTEX is evolving from a single platform into a comprehensive suite of commerce products designed with seamless interoperability at its core.

This transformation underpins our positioning as the commerce suite of choice for both CIOs and CEOs globally. We're doubling down on our two high-impact product bets, B2B commerce and retail media.

In the first quarter of 2025, we accelerated our retail media strategy with the acquisition of Newtail, a leader in the Brazilian retail advertising space. This added over 400 advertisers and brands to our network, including Casas Bahia, Bonvel, [indiscernible], and Legoy Marin, and positioned VTEX as a leading end-to-end retail media product.

With VTEX Ads, we now offer a unified high-performance solution that combines our composable commerce infrastructure with Newtail's media innovation.

Advertisers gain access to hyper-target inventory, detailed performance insights, and intelligent placements, enabling smarter targeting and stronger returns across the full commerce journey. We're building the next generation of scalable data-driven retail media, and we're here to lead and consolidate the space.

With that said, let's go into a couple of customer stories to put in a tangible way how we are working side-by-side with our customers to get meaningful business impact.

Americanas, one of Brazil's most iconic and influential retail giants, chose VTEX to simplify operations and drive efficiency with innovative solutions, replacing some of the in-house development systems.

Through VTEX, out-of-the-box features, and collaborations with specialized partners, we delivered a comprehensive customer solution tailored to Americanas' needs. This included robust omnichannel capabilities, marketplace integrations, and advertising tools.

This solution streamlined processes, accelerated time to market, and significantly lowered the total cost of ownership.

In addition to VTEX's native capabilities, Americanas is also leveraging the strength of the VTEX ecosystem by integrating partner solutions, replacing certain legacy systems with more scalable alternatives.

Following a detailed system analysis and close collaboration, we codesigned a streamlined future-ready architecture that enhances operational efficiency, supports rapid scalability, and aligns seamlessly with Americanas' long-term strategic objectives.

The Americanas win underscored the continued depth of opportunity within Brazil, a market where VTEX already had a strong presence, yet still holds significant runway for growth.

It demonstrates that even in more developed geographies, there are remaining sizable high-impact digital transformation opportunities for us to capture over the coming years.

A leading frozen food retailer in Spain partnered with VTEX to modernize its digital commerce and bridge the gap between its physical stores and online presence, seeking greater flexibility, and the brand chose VTEX for its ability to manage complex catalogues and store-level logistics with ease.

VTEX also enabled smooth integration with the customers' new loyalty program, creating a more intuitive and personalized customer journey.

With marketplace capabilities and omnichannel features now fully implemented, they are delivering a seamless connected shopping experience across every touch point.

Cencosud, one of Latin America's largest retail groups, transformed its post-purchase experience in Brazil by implementing Weni by VTEX to automate out-of-stock products to institutions via WhatsApp.

Initially launched with Prezunic and quickly scaled to [indiscernible], the solution enables real-time customer approval and delivers a 9% increase in the average order value of impacted orders.

By streamlining communication and driving operational efficiency, Cencosud is delivering a smarter, more scalable digital experience across its brands.

I'm also pleased to highlight a significant customer success that demonstrates the versatility and power of our platform. J.W. Pepper, one of the leading sheet music retailers in the U.S., has successfully transformed its digital commerce operation with VTEX.

Facing industry-specific challenges such as complex product discovery and event-driven shopping, the company leveraged VTEX's composable architecture and native headless CMS to build tailored experiences for educators and worship leaders.

This empowered their business teams to accelerate content updates and reduce reliance on development resources. Rather than a full rebuild, we adopted a strategic approach, retaining critical legacy workflows while modernizing the core commerce journey through targeted integrations and specialized tools for digital licensing, personalization, and complex checkout flows.

Today, J.W. Pepper operates on a flexible, scalable platform that supports a diverse customer base and adapts easily to seasonal demand patterns.

This case underscores our ability to deliver impactful digital transformation and specialized high complexity industry while preserving business continuity and maximizing ROI.

Nestlé, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, drove strong results with VTEX ads to power retail media campaigns across key partner channels.

Confronted with limited visibility into retail sales performance, Nestlé turned to VTEX ads for real-time insights directly from retailer platforms.

This data-driven approach enabled rapid campaign optimization and stronger performance across categories. In its latest major campaign, Nestlé achieved a 16.3% return on ad spend in the chocolate category. Beyond immediate impact, the initiatives unlock valuable strategic insights for future activations.

With VTEX Ad, Nestlé streamlined collaboration with retail partners and showcased how real-time data can drive smarter decisions and stronger outcomes in a highly competitive market.

Procarga, a leading distributor and manufacturer of lifting solutions in Mexico, selected VTEX to accelerate its digital transformation. Aiming to enhance the buying experience for B2B distributors and expand into B2C, the company is adopting a dual-channel strategy powered by VTEX.

The new solution built on VTEX's composable architecture delivers a modern self-service commerce experience focused on efficiency and scalability.

It features custom UX/UI, ERP integrations, and mobile-ready access, ensuring a seamless journey across all channels.

These initiatives marked a strategic move for Procarga, strengthening customer engagement and driving growth across Mexico's industrial retail markets.

Now I'd like to take a moment to express my gratitude to our 1,320 VTEX team members, whose extraordinary contributions propel us forward as the backbone for connected commerce. I'd also like to thank our valued customers, partners, and investors.

I will now hand the call to Ricardo.

[Ricardo Sodre, executive]

Thank you, Geraldo. Hi, everyone. I'm pleased to share VTEX's Q1 2025 financial results. Before diving into the numbers, as a reminder, this is our first quarter reporting under U.S. GAAP.

We published a reconciliation presentation in a Form 6-K on April 15, and a comparison of 2023 and 2024 financials under U.S. GAAP is available on our Investor Relations website.

With that said, let's go to our quarterly numbers. GMV for the quarter reached $4.3 billion, growing 8% year-over-year in U.S. dollars and 17% on an FX-neutral basis.

This led to subscription revenue reaching $52.6 million compared to $50.4 million in Q1 of last year, a 4% increase in U.S. dollars and 15% on an FX-neutral basis.

Now moving down the P&L. We are pleased to announce the positive operational leverage achieved even with the inherently softer seasonality observed in all first quarters.

Our non-GAAP subscription gross margin reached 79% this quarter, up 191 basis points year-over-year from 77% in Q1 2024. This expansion reflects our continued focus on operational efficiency, with the most notable gains coming from customer support optimization efforts.

Leveraging AI-powered automation, we were able to improve service quality while significantly reducing support-related costs.

Our total gross margin, which includes services, rose to 76%, up 371 basis points year-over-year compared to 72% in Q1 2024. Our total gross margin improvement was mostly driven by the lower mix of services revenue in our total revenue, as we are relying more on our ecosystem to provide implementation services, and by the subscription gross margin gains I just mentioned.

On the expense side, we maintained strong discipline. Non-GAAP operating expenses came in at $35.9 million, slightly up from $35.2 million in the same quarter last year, an increase of less than 2% year-over-year.

This reflects stable sales and marketing and G&A expenses, while the increase in R&D was strategic, supporting our continued investment in product development and innovation.

This disciplined approach led to a significant improvement in profitability, with non-GAAP operating income reaching $5.3 million in Q1 2025, up from $2.9 million in Q1 2024, an increase of over 80% year-over-year in U.S. dollars.

This translates into a 4 percentage point margin expansion, bringing our non-GAAP operating income margin to 10% for the quarter. These results highlight the strength of our operating model and the consistent evolution of our financial profile.

As we evolve on our profitability growth strategy, non-GAAP net income has become an increasingly relevant metric. In Q1 2025, non-GAAP net income reached $5.3 million and a 10% margin, up from $2.4 million in the same period last year, more than doubling year-over-year and a 5.2 percentage points improvement in margin.

As mentioned by Geraldo, on a trailing 12-month basis, non-GAAP net income totaled $34.5 million, reflecting the ongoing strengthening of our profitability profile as we continue executing with discipline and scaling efficiently.

Aligned with our non-GAAP operating income, as of the three months ended March 31, 2025, we had a positive $6.6 million free cash flow compared to $1.6 million free cash flow in the same quarter of the prior year, reaching a free cash flow margin of 12% and a 9 percentage point margin improvement year-over-year.

In the first quarter of 2025, regarding the 1-year share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors on December 3, 2024, VTEX repurchased a total of 2.7 million Class A common shares at an average price of $5.56 per share, representing an aggregate amount of $15 million.

Considering the current and the previous year's share repurchase programs, the total executed amounted to 15.2 million shares with an average price of $4.86 per share and a total cost of $74.3 million.

As we move forward with our business outlook, we continue to navigate a macroeconomic environment marked by volatility in the same-store sales and GMV growth, increasing the uncertainty of projections.

That said, we remain confident in VTEX's profitable growth trajectory. VTEX is well-positioned to capture an attractive market opportunity, and we remain encouraged by our leading market positioning, platform expansion, and operational leverage.

Considering these, we are currently targeting FX-neutral year-over-year subscription revenue growth of 12.5% to 15.5% for the second quarter of 2025, implying a $57.0 million to $58.5 million range.

For the full year 2025, as we continue executing our profitable growth strategy, we continue to target FX-neutral year-over-year subscription revenue growth of 14.0% to 17.0%, implying a range of $238 million to $244 million based on the average of April's FX rate.

We are targeting non-GAAP operating income and free cash flow margins of mid-teens. To wrap up, in Q1, we delivered solid subscription revenue growth.

As indicated by our guidance, we remain confident in the strength and sustainability of our profitable growth strategy in Q2 and for the full year 2025, supported by key new enterprise customers going live and our ongoing platform expansion.

We will stay focused on disciplined execution, leveraging our strong fundamentals and resilient business model as we continue to gain global traction as the backbone for Connected Commerce. We remain committed to delivering lasting value for our customers, partners, and shareholders.

With that, let's open it up for questions now. Thank you.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions]

We'll take our first question from Marcelo Santos of JPMorgan.

[Marcelo Santos, analyst]

I actually have two. The first is if you could comment a bit on subscription gross profit. You almost touched the target model of 79%, close to 80% in a seasonally weak quarter.

Is this a sustainable gain going forward? And what are the main sources of the gain? And the second question is regarding headcount reduction. What are the main areas that are seeing headcount reduction at the company?

[Ricardo Sodre, executive]

Hi Marcelo, Ricardo Sodre here. Thanks for the question. So, on gross margin, we are pleased with the continued progress in our margin profile this quarter.

In Q1 2025, as you mentioned, we delivered a 190 basis point improvement in subscription gross margin and a 370 basis point improvement in the overall gross margin on a year-over-year basis.

These gains are particularly meaningful given the seasonality that's softer in nature in the first quarter, making the expansion both sequentially and year-over-year a strong validation of the scalability and the resilience of our business model.

This performance reflects disciplined execution on multiple fronts. A key driver has been the optimization of our customer support operations, as mentioned in the prepared remarks, where we are seeing tangible benefits from the strategic use of AI.

These enhancements are allowing us to both elevate service quality and materially reduce support-related costs, delivering a meaningful impact on gross margin.

Another important contributor is the continued maturity of our global ecosystem of system integrator partners. As our partner network scales and becomes more autonomous, we are increasingly shifting implementation services to these third parties.

This is a strategic priority, and we've been advancing over several quarters, and it not only supports margin expansion on a total gross margin, not on a subscription gross margin, but on a total gross margin. And it also reinforces our asset-light, highly scalable operating model.

On getting closer to the target, we just posted a 79% subscription gross margin. So, the target is 80%. So, we are going towards and approaching this target, but not yet there.

And our margin expansion reflects the successful execution of our long-term disciplined strategy. So, we remain focused on further strengthening our profitability profile while delivering value to our customers. And if you could repeat the second question, please?

[Marcelo Santos, analyst]

The second was about headcount reduction. There was a sequential headcount reduction of 3.5%, if I'm not mistaken. Just wanted to know what the main areas are that are seeing this headcount cut?

[Mariano Gomide de Faria, executive]

I can address here, Mariano here. Actually, we see stability on the headcount, very, very small changes. And the only meaningful change was in the support area, but this is not it is a trend. So, we see stability in headcount.

[Operator]

We'll move next to Lucca Brendim at Bank of America.

[Lucca Brendim, analyst]

I have 2 here on my side. The first one, in terms of the cost and expenses, we saw a significant increase in R&D.

And I wanted to understand if there are specific new projects or a reason for this increase, or if it's according to what was already expected for the company?

And also, second, if you could give us an update on the expansion for the U.S., if you're seeing any differences, or if you're continuing to see the same momentum we were having previously?

[Ricardo Sodre, executive]

I'll get the first one. If Mariano wants to get to the second one, I'll move the microphone to him.

So, about our R&D expense increase in the first quarter of 2025, our non-GAAP R&D expenses increased by 9.3% year-over-year, consistent with our stated strategy to invest in what we see as VTEX's greatest long-term differentiator, the product.

This increase reflects our deliberate commitment to deepen and broaden our commerce platform. We continue to invest in expanding the depth and completeness of our product suite, reinforcing our competitive advantage, both in B2C, but most recently, B2B as well, and supporting the scalable growth across multiple geographies that you can see in multiple customer segments.

As we shared in prior quarters, we've been helping our hiring in a measured and disciplined way aligned with our product road map and strategic priorities.



So, this quarter's growth also reflects a normalization in hiring activity following periods of slower onboarding cycles as well as the continued advancement of critical innovation initiatives.

So, R&D remains central to our ability to win and retain enterprise customers and also to unlock new cross-sell and upsell opportunities through products like the one that I mentioned, B2B, VTEX adds, and others. So, it's not only necessary, but it's strategic.

Beyond that, like every other company, this software company in the world, we are investing heavily in changing the way we design software, and we build software with AI.

And this is not only changing the way we design and build software internally, but it will change and it is changing the way we interface with our customers, we interface with our partners, and it also informs the services and products that we will deliver in the near future. All of this requires a disciplined but extensive investment in R&D.

[Mariano Gomide de Faria, executive]

I can answer about the U.S. sales. The sales motion is evolving in line with our expectations and with our long-term strategy.

So, we are focusing on landing and expanding high-value enterprise customers, building durable relationships, and delivering innovation that really drives measurable business impact.

So, we have a few high-impact signed logos that will be announced throughout the year, which we believe will further enrich the VTEX narrative and strengthen market perception.

Wins like Manchester City Football Club, now under implementation, highlight the global relevance and scalability of the VTEX platform. These customers are not only large in GMV potential, ranging from the hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars, but they also demonstrate our growing ability to serve as a strategic partner in complex and high-stakes stakes.

So, not a significant change, just a growing momentum in our brand, in the deals that are being deployed.

[Operator]

We'll go next to Leonardo Olmos at UBS.

[Leonardo Olmos, analyst]

So, I've got a couple of questions. So first, the macro situation in the U.S. with the tariffs, if you could discuss a little bit what the sentiment is with the companies you discussed, how they're feeling about their IT budgets, and their willingness to prioritize front-end type of solutions, or back-end or cloud migration. So, how are you pitching to clients in this context?



I think I'll keep to this question.

[Ricardo Sodre, executive]

Leo, thanks. So, speaking about macro more broadly, and then we can talk about the U.S. and tariffs. So, we see VTEX well-positioned to drive amid the evolving global trade landscape despite the shifting trade tariffs, currency fluctuations, and supply chain realignments.

If you look at our robust performance in Q1, highlighted by the 17% growth year-over-year in FX-neutral on the GMV side and a healthy subscription revenue growth of 15%, it underscores VTEX's resilience and adaptability during this dynamic market condition.

The current macroeconomic environment has prompted many enterprises to reassess their supply chains and seek more agile, cost-effective solutions.

Although this increase creates volatility and impacts that are hard to predict and forecast, so far, Latin America has been less impacted than other regions.



Historically, challenging economic periods prompt enterprises to reassess their technology infrastructure, emphasizing cost efficiency, flexibility, and rapid time to market.

And VTEX Commerce Platform is uniquely positioned to meet these demands, offering a comprehensive solution that supports operational agility and resilience.

With this context in mind, we are pleased with Q1 performance, particularly in the context of ongoing macroeconomic volatility. Our results came in at the top of the subscription revenue guidance range with margins improving significantly, reflecting consistent execution across the business and aligning with the expectations we outlined last quarter.

When we issue our outlook, we also take a balanced view, factoring persistent consumption headwinds alongside the operational momentum we are seeing across the company. That balance perspective remains intact.



Having said that, if we look at April, since there have been more movements in this macroeconomic front in April, April has exhibited increased volatility with stronger performance in the first half, followed by a softer second half.

The shift in Easter seasonality from Q1 last year to Q2 this year has made it more difficult to extrapolate underlying trends, adding uncertainty around the timing of customer go-lives and the trajectory of consumption.

So, against this backdrop, we are maintaining our full year guidance range. While Q1 results were solid on top of the guidance, we believe it's prudent to keep our outlook unchanged given the evolving conditions observed early in Q2.



Regarding Q2 guidance, we are maintaining the same midpoint of 14% we issued for Q1 guidance. The slightly wider range of 3 percentage points for Q2 versus 2 percentage points previously for Q1 reflects increased uncertainty stemming from this heightened global market volatility and less visibility into future GMV performance.

If we were to adjust for the Easter calendar shift, which fell in Q1 last year and Q2 this year, the underlying trends suggest both quarters, Q1 and Q2, would reflect a similar growth profile, reinforcing the stability of our underlying performance.

And then, more specifically on the U.S. and tariff impacts, we have a small market share in the U.S., so we are less exposed to these macroeconomic movements. It's more of a micro story than a macro story, but we remain very close in observing this shift and how we can position ourselves.



And in the end, we continue to focus on what we can control, meaning adding value to our existing customers by helping them accelerate their sales efficiency, attracting new customers, and continuing to evolve with product innovation and platform expansion initiatives while keeping a disciplined approach to cost and expenses.

[Operator]

We'll move next to Maria Clara Infantozzi in Itaú.

[Maria Infantozzi, analyst]

I was wondering if you could explore a bit about the subscription revenue buildup, especially per geography and per category. So, it came above our expectations at the top of the guidance.

I was wondering if I could get more color on how the productivity gains of clients in Brazil are evolving, and what your expectations are going forward, especially for Brazil as well?

[Geraldo do Carmo Thomaz, executive]

Maria, happy to start here, and others, feel free to chime in. So, we don't open up a breakdown by geography or by category on a quarterly basis. We do this on an annual basis, but happy to share some qualitative color.

As we mentioned when we published Q4, talking about guidance for Q1 and for the year, we are taking a more measured approach on the same-store sales given higher interest rates in many geographies and heightened macro volatility.

We are working very hard to implement the customers that we signed last year to put them live. These customers have a range of different categories. We mentioned a few customers that went live this quarter, a highlight of Americanas in Brazil.

So, Brazil is helping the growth of the company with these new customers going live, and also in the U.S. and Europe, as most of the contribution comes from adding new customers to our platform and increasing our growth. So, no relevant highlights or lowlights versus expectations, I would say, that we laid off last quarter.

[Maria Infantozzi, analyst]

And if I could ask another question related to the Retail Ads Media business. Can you please comment a bit more on the economics of this business and how it is embedded in the 2025 guidance?

[Geraldo do Carmo Thomaz, executive]

Thank you, Maria. So, the business itself is very material right now, but we're very confident that we're doing the right things to make a material business inside VTEX in the near future.

The business is like connecting our existing customers, let's call them the publishers, to advertisers so they can have a new media to advertise the media that we call retail media. Retail media is like advertising using the first-party data of the publishers, the merchants, and our customers at VTEX.

This is like a network business, and we're very strong on one side of the network. And because we're strong on one side of the network, we are ramping up very fast on the other side of the network, the advertisers.

After the acquisition of Newtail, we can say that we have almost 400 advertisers already announcing and doing advertising in our network. This, combined with our hundreds of publishers, can give us a competitive edge in a very good position to help and to monetize all the inventory that the retail can sell to the industry to manufacturers to their suppliers.

[Operator]

That concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Geraldo Thomaz for closing remarks.

[Geraldo do Carmo Thomaz, executive]

Thank you for the great questions. To close, I want to reiterate the confidence we have in the trajectory we're building at VTEX.

We started the year with solid execution, growth, profitability, and free cash flow in a seasonally soft quarter. This performance reflects not just the short-term wins but the strength of the foundations we've laid over the past year, built on discipline, resiliency, and clear strategic direction.

We're gaining meaningful traction across regions, winning and expanding with enterprise customers who choose VTEX, not just for technology, but for outcomes, faster time to market, improved margins, and simpler operations, among many other reasons.

As we continue to evolve from a platform into a comprehensive commerce suite, we lay the groundwork for a future shaped by intelligent automation. We are confident that VTEX will remain at the forefront of digital commerce transformation. We're excited by what's ahead.

We'll continue to execute with focus, scale with discipline and purpose, and deliver long-term value for our customers, partners, employees, and shareholders. We're just getting started.

Thank you again for your time and partnership. We look forward to speaking with you in our next earnings call. Have a great week.

[Operator]

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.