QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: QNST
Industry Performance marketing, media online
Founded 1999
Headquarters Foster City, California, USA
Key people
 Doug Valenti, Founder & CEO
Revenue $297.7 million (FY2016)
Number of employees
 600 (2010)
Website www.quinstreet.com

QuinStreet, Inc. is a publicly traded marketing company based in Foster City, California. QuinStreet uses performance-based advertising with search engine marketing strategies to promote clients over the Internet. QuinStreet was founded in 1999, and has launched or acquired dozens of websites and other media properties.

The company was investigated in 2012 by 20 U.S. states for using deceptive marketing tactics to promote for profit schools to U.S. veterans. QuinStreet, which was not found guilty, was fined $2.5 million and made several changes to its practices.

History

QuinStreet was formed in 1999 by Doug Valenti (chairman and CEO). Bronwyn Syiek, another founding team member, is president and COO. The company was first profitable in 2002 with revenues of $13 million; by April 2009, QuinStreet reported $300 million in annual revenues and approximately 450 employees.[1][2]

In February 2015, Nielsen NetRatings named QuinStreet the eighth top advertiser, after Education Dynamics, USA & StudentsLeads, India spending $9.4 million on 1.9 billion ads viewed.[3]

QuinStreet Inc. acquired U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc, which operated the CardRatings.com website in August 2008 for an initial cash payment of $10.4 million.[4]

In the beginning of August 2009, QuinStreet Inc. used some of its cash reserves to acquire the Internet.com division of WebMediaBrands Inc. for $18 million.[5][6] Among the sites that QuinStreet Inc gaines with the acquisition of Internet.com are InternetNews.com, Datamation.com, ServerWatch, Webopedia.com, ServerWatch.com, EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet, SmallBusinessComputing.com, LinuxPlanet.com and Developer.com.

In September 2009, QuinStreet purchased Insure.com for $16 million.[7] The company's other financial-services properties include MoneyRates.com, Get Rich Slowly, ConsumerismCommentary.com and HSH.com.[8]

An initial public offering on February 11, 2010, raised $150 million, with the shares listed on Nasdaq under the symbol QNST.[9]

In India, QuinStreet operates IndiaEducation.net, IndiaEduNews.net, and ExamResults.net,[10] which it acquired in 2011 by incorporating QuinStreet India Marketing And Media Private Limited (QSIMM.)[11][12]

In September 2011, QuinStreet acquired the IT Business Edge (ITBE) network of web publications[13]

In February 2012, the company acquired the media assets of Ziff Davis "Enterprise", which included eWeek.com, CIOInsight.com, Baseline.com, ChannelInsider.com and WebBuyersGuide.com, and others.[14]

For its second quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company reported total revenue of $71.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.2 million, or 16% of revenue.[15] For its fiscal 2016, QuinStreet reported total revenue of $297.7 million[16] Quinstreet reported first quarter fiscal 2017 revenue of $73.4 million with an EPS of $0.01, missing analyst targets.[17]

Deceptive advertising investigation and settlement

In June 2012, the company was under investigation by the Attorneys General's offices of 15 separate US states, led by the Attorney General of Kentucky, Jack Conway.[18] The company was accused of targeting military veterans with deceptive recruiting practices for its for-profit school clients.[19] QuinStreet denied wrongdoing and no determination of guilt was made.[19] The company cooperated with the attorneys general and entered into a voluntary agreement to update its websites to ensure clarity around schools advertising. In addition, the company agreed to pay $2.5 million to the states involved as part of a consumer protection settlement with what had expanded to 20 state Attorneys General, and turn over the website GIBill.com to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to settle the civil investigation.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Geron, Tomio (2009-08-18). "QuinStreet Publicly Boasts About Its Earnings". WSJ Blogs. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  2. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc.". Company profile from Hoover's. Hoover's. 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  3. ↑ "QuinStreet Marketing Strategy Presentation Burns Bright at DMA06 Conference". QuinStreet. 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  4. ↑ "sv1". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  5. ↑ Ali, Rafat (2009-08-09). "Meckler Selling Internet.com Business to QuinStreet For $18M; Exiting Tech Trade". paidContent. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  6. ↑ "WebMediaBrands Sells Internet.com to QuinStreet". InternetNews.com. internet.com. 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  7. ↑ "QuinStreet buys Insure.com". San Francisco Business Times. 2009-10-12.
  8. ↑ "QuinStreet Announces Acquisition of ConsumerismCommentary.com". QuinStreet. 2011-11-28.
  9. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc (QNST)". IPO record. NASDAQ. February 11, 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  10. ↑ "IndiaEducation.com Launches Free e-Book Series for College Students and New Graduates". The Telegraph. 19 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "About Quinstreet India Marketing And Media Private Limited". Zauba. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  12. ↑ "QuinStreet is now bringing colleges and students together online in India". QuinStreet.
  13. ↑ "QuinStreet, Inc. - QuinStreet Announces Acquisition of IT Business Edge". investor.quinstreet.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  14. ↑ "QuinStreet Acquires Ziff Davis Enterprise Media Assets". QuinStreet. 2012-02-06.
  15. ↑ "QuinStreet Reports Financial Results for Its Second Quarter of Fiscal 2013". GlobeNewswire. 2013-01-29.
  16. ↑ "EDGAR Pro". yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  17. ↑ "Quinstreet, Inc (QNST) Misses Q1 EPS by 3c; Will Implement Corp. Restructuring". StreetInsider.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  18. ↑ "Fifteen State Attorneys General To Investigate Company Marketing For-Profit Colleges To Veterans". ThinkProgress. 2012-06-06.
  19. 1 2 "QuinStreet settles complaints it misled veterans". San Francisco Chronicle. 2012-06-28.
  20. ↑ "Attorney General Conway Announces Win for Veterans against Predatory Practices". Attorney General of Kentucky. 2012-06-27.
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