Company: TRUE
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001327318-25-000006
Chunk: 155

Company: TrueCar, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 155
---
 vs. 2022 (dollars in thousands)Sales and marketing expenses$95,585 $99,050 $104,534 (3.5)%(5.2)%Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenues54.4 %62.4 %64.7 %  

Year ended December 31, 2024 compared to year ended December 31, 2023. Sales and marketing expenses decreased $3.5 million, or 3.5%, for 2024 as compared to 2023. The decrease primarily reflects a $4.7 million decrease in recurring employee-related expenses due to decreased headcount, a $2.2 million decrease associated with the June 2023 Restructuring Plan, a $0.8 million decrease in software costs, and a $0.4 million decrease in other marketing costs. These reductions are partially offset by a $4.2 million increase in revenue share paid to our affinity marketing partners and a $0.8 million increase in branded media spend. We expect branded media spend to continue to fluctuate as changes in the overall market environment impact conversion rates and the efficiency of branded media spend. We expect to incur incremental branded media expenses to support further rollout of TrueCar+ and other initiatives. Revenue share that we pay to our affinity marketing partners is tied to revenue and units and will fluctuate along with those results.

Year ended December 31, 2023 compared to year ended December 31, 2022. Sales and marketing expenses decreased $5.5 million, or 5.2%, for 2023 as compared to 2022. The decrease primarily reflects a $7.7 million decrease in recurring employee-related expenses due to decreased headcount, a $0.9 million decrease in branded media spend, and a $0.4 million decrease in facilities costs. The decrease was partially offset by $2.2 million in charges associated with the June 2023 Restructuring Plan, $0.4 million in charges associated with a realignment of the Company’s leadership structure in the third quarter of 2023, a $0.5 million increase in professional service fees, and a $0.4 million increase in revenue share paid to our affinity marketing partners. We expect branded media spend to continue to fluctuate as continuing elevated vehicle prices despite recent declines in the same, rising interest rates, and lingering constraints on dealer inventory impact conversion rates and the efficiency of branded media spend. We expect