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what it is
It sells investing research, software tools, and education to people who manage their own money.
how it gets paid
Last year Marketwise made $328M in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 19.7% last year on about $328M total. A normal quarter is near ~$82M (roughly a fourth of the year) — not $245M, and not +201% vs. prior year next to a shrinking year.
what just happened
Latest print: about $1.54 EPS on quarter revenue near ~$82M (not $245M).
At a glance
B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely
5.3x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
7.1% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
$3.60 fy2024 eps est
n/m fy2022 rev est — $2B tick was bad feed vs ~$328M scale
xvary composite: 47/100 — below average
What they do
It sells investing research, software tools, and education to people who manage their own money.
You are buying advice, not inventory. MarketWise posted $328M in revenue and a 23.7% operating margin, so every $100 of sales kept $23.70 before taxes. That is a lean business with 439 employees behind it.
How they make money
$328M
annual revenue · revenue declined -19.7% last year
total revenue
$328M
19.7%
The products that matter
research memberships and newsletters
Subscription Services
$278M · about 85% of revenue
this is the business. it generated $278M last year, but it also fell 20%, which tells you retention and new customer demand matter more than margin theory.
85% of revenue
audience monetization and ancillary revenue
Advertising & Other
$50M · about 15% of revenue
this segment brought in $50M and fell 18%. it is smaller, but the direction matches the rest of the business, which means the weakness is broad, not isolated.
15% of revenue
Key numbers
5.3x
trailing p/e
You are paying $5.30 for each $1 of trailing earnings. That is cheap unless earnings keep sliding.
7.1%
dividend yield
You get $7.10 a year for every $100 invested at the current price.
$328M
ttm revenue
The whole company is still only $328M in annual sales. One bad year matters here.
23.7%
operating margin
Operating margin means profit on sales. At 23.7%, every $100 of revenue kept $23.70 before taxes.
Financial health
B
strength
- balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $5M (2% of capital)
B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for MKTW right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
EPS reached about $1.54 on quarter revenue near ~$82M — still on a $328M trailing year.
Drop $245M / +201% vs. prior year / +166% EPS vs. prior year — those lines do not fit a −19.7% revenue year. The real tension is shrinking subs demand on a still-profitable cost base.
~$82M
quarter revenue (approx.)
$1.54
eps (Q)
23.7%
op. margin (co.)
the number that mattered
Whether ~$1.54 EPS can hold while the top line is still sliding from $328M — quarter revenue was never credibly $245M.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is billings growth failing to turn into durable subscription revenue.
med
Billings can bounce before revenue does
Annual revenue fell 19.7% to $328M even though Q4 billings jumped 42% to $78.9M. That gap is the whole debate: was Q4 the turn, or just a better quarter inside a shrinking trend.
If the billings rebound fades, the core 85%-of-revenue subscription segment stays under pressure and the turnaround case weakens fast.
med
The dividend looks attractive until it becomes the story
A 7.1% yield is generous, and the company has $70.1M in cash against $6.1M in debt. But the payout costs about $16M annually while revenue is shrinking.
If revenue keeps sliding, cash that could support marketing, retention, or buy time goes out the door instead.
med
Optics matter when coverage is thin
The stock has a 5 / 100 price stability score, and the page data references negative shareholder equity. Small-cap names with messy optics do not get the benefit of the doubt.
You can be right on normalized earnings and still wait longer than you want for the market to care.
A miss on the $300M 2026 billings target would hit the exact part of the thesis holding up a 5.3x earnings multiple and a 7.1% yield.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
trend
does billings keep outrunning the decline
Q4 billings rose 42% to $78.9M after a year when revenue fell 19.7%. You want to see that lead indicator hold for more than one quarter.
calendar
progress toward the $300M 2026 billings target
Management put the number on the table. That gives you a clean scoreboard for every quarter from here.
metric
cash cushion versus shareholder payout
$70.1M in cash and just $6.1M of debt buy flexibility. A 7.1% dividend narrows it. Watch both at the same time, not separately.
risk
whether subscription revenue actually stabilizes
Subscription Services make up about 85% of revenue and fell 20%. If that line keeps shrinking, the rest of the story does not matter much.
Analyst rankings
risk rank
3
Risk rank 3 means the stock looks safer than roughly half the market. In human-speak: this is not the most fragile balance sheet you will see, but it is still a volatile equity story.
price stability
5 / 100
Price stability measures how steady the stock has traded. A 5 / 100 score means steady is not the word.
coverage read
thin
There is not enough analyst depth here to lean on consensus targets. With names like this, you are underwriting the operating trend more than the street narrative.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for MKTW is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$15
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
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