Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA represents our net loss before interest and investment income, net and interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, loss on extinguishment of convertible notes and stock-based compensation expense. We do not consider these items to be indicative of our core operating performance. The items that are non-cash include depreciation and amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense.
Adjusted EBITDA is a measure used by management to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends and to generate future operating plans, make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital and invest in initiatives that are focused on cultivating new markets for our solutions. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating adjusted EBITDA facilitates comparisons of our operating performance on a period-to-period basis.
Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. Nevertheless, use of adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP.
Some of these limitations are: (1) although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the capitalized software that is amortized will need to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements; (2) adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
(3) adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation; (4) adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments or receipts that may represent a reduction or increase in cash
available to us; and (5) other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures
differently, which reduces the usefulness of the metric as a comparative measure.
Because of these and other limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA alongside our other GAAP-based financial performance measures, net loss and our other GAAP financial results. The following table presents a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
Table:
 |  | Year Ended December 31, | 
 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017
Net loss | $(52,250) | $(47,515) | $(19,634)
Interest and investment (income) expense, net | 2,979 | 4,504 | 216
Provision for income taxes | 425 | 796 | 47
Depreciation and amortization | 19,671 | 13,693 | 10,207
Loss on extinguishment of convertible notes | 1,406 | — | —
Stock-based compensation | 33,489 | 25,825 | 9,299
Adjusted EBITDA | $5,720 | $(2,697) | $135


Question: What does the Adjusted EBITDA represent?
Answer: Adjusted EBITDA represents our net loss before interest and investment income, net and interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, loss on extinguishment of convertible notes and stock-based compensation expense