February 13, 2025 04:14 PM Eastern Standard Time

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bright Horizons Family Solutions^® Inc. (NYSE: BFAM) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 and provided guidance for 2025. Bright Horizons is a leading provider of high-quality early education and child care, family care solutions, and workforce education services designed to support working families and client employees across life and career stages.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights (compared to Fourth Quarter 2023):

• Revenue of $674 million (increase of 10%)
• Income from operations of $48 million (increase of 71%)
• Net income of $29 million and diluted earnings per common share of $0.50 (increases of 427% and 456%, respectively)

Non-GAAP financial measures:

• Adjusted EBITDA* of $111 million (increase of 12%)
• Adjusted income from operations* of $79 million (increase of 25%)
• Adjusted net income* of $57 million and diluted adjusted earnings per common share* of $0.98 (increases of 19% and 18%, respectively)

Year Ended December 31, 2024 Highlights (compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023):

• Revenue of $2.7 billion (increase of 11%)
• Income from operations of $247 million (increase of 44%)
• Net income of $140 million and diluted earnings per common share of $2.40 (increases of 89% and 88%, respectively)

Non-GAAP financial measures:

• Adjusted EBITDA* of $409 million (increase of 16%)
• Adjusted income from operations* of $278 million (increase of 31%)
• Adjusted net income* of $203 million and diluted adjusted earnings per common share* of $3.47 (increases of 24% and 22%, respectively)

“I am pleased to report strong financial results for the fourth quarter,” said Stephen Kramer, Chief Executive Officer. “The positive results for the quarter and the full year underscore the power of our diversified client base, unique operating model, the breadth of services we deliver to our clients and customers, and the incredible commitment of our team. Our Full-Service segment continued to expand overall enrollment levels and margins, while our Back-Up Care segment delivered another exceptional year, with more than $600 million in revenue and operating income of $170 million,” said Kramer. “As we move into 2025, we remain dedicated to expanding our reach, enhancing the services we offer and delivering the highest-quality care and education to the families and learners we serve.”

Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

Revenue increased $58.5 million, or 10%, in the fourth quarter of 2024 from the fourth quarter of 2023, due to enrollment gains and tuition price increases at our centers, as well as expanded sales and increased utilization of back-up care services.

Income from operations was $48.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $28.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 71%. The increase in income from operations is primarily related to incremental gross profit contributions resulting from higher utilization of back-up care services, as well as contributions from our full service center-based child care centers from enrollment growth, tuition price increases, improving operating leverage and lower impairment losses. Net income was $29.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 427%, due to the increase in income from operations noted above, lower interest expense and a lower effective tax rate. Diluted earnings per common share was $0.50 for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $0.09 for the fourth quarter of 2023.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, adjusted EBITDA* increased by $11.5 million, or 12%, to $110.7 million, and adjusted income from operations* increased by $15.8 million, or 25%, to $79.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2023, due to increased contributions from both the back-up care and full service center-based child care segments. Adjusted net income* increased by $9.3 million, or 19%, to $57.4 million, as a result of the increase in adjusted income from operations and lower interest expense. Diluted adjusted earnings per common share* was $0.98 for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $0.83 for the fourth quarter of 2023.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company operated 1,019 early education and child care centers with the capacity to serve approximately 115,000 children and their families.

*Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted income from operations, adjusted net income and diluted adjusted earnings per common share are financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), which are commonly referred to as “non-GAAP financial measures.” Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA (which is net income, as determined in accordance with GAAP, before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization) adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense and non-recurring costs, such as impairment losses, value-added tax expense related to prior periods, debt refinance costs, and at times, other non-recurring costs, such as transaction costs. Adjusted income from operations represents income from operations, as determined in accordance with GAAP, adjusted to exclude non-recurring costs, such as impairment losses, value-added tax expense related to prior periods, debt refinance costs, and at times, other non-recurring costs, such as transaction costs. Adjusted net income represents net income, as determined in accordance with GAAP, adjusted to exclude amortization, stock-based compensation expense, and non-recurring costs, such as impairment losses, value-added tax expense related to prior periods, debt refinance costs, interest on deferred consideration and the income tax provision (benefit) thereon, and at times, other non-recurring costs, such as transaction costs. Diluted adjusted earnings per common share is calculated using adjusted net income. These non-GAAP financial measures are more fully described and are reconciled from the respective measures determined under GAAP in “Presentation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the attached table “Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. Non-GAAP Reconciliations.”

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

At December 31, 2024, the Company had $110.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $384.8 million available for borrowing under our revolving credit facility. In the year ended December 31, 2024, we generated approximately $337.5 million of cash from operations, compared to $256.1 million for the same period in 2023, and made net investments totaling $117.8 million, compared to $126.9 million for the same period in the prior year. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company paid deferred and contingent consideration related to acquisitions, including $106.5 million related to its 2022 acquisition of Only About Children, and repurchased $84.6 million of its common stock.

2025 Outlook

Based on current trends and expectations, we currently expect fiscal year 2025 revenue to be in the range of $2.85 billion to $2.9 billion and diluted adjusted earnings per common share to be in the range of $3.95 to $4.15. The Company will provide additional information on its outlook during its earnings conference call.

Conference Call

Bright Horizons Family Solutions will host an investor conference call today at 5:00 pm ET to discuss the results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024, as well as the Company’s updated business outlook and strategy. Interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-844-539-3703 or, for international callers, 1-412-652-1273, and asking for the Bright Horizons Family Solutions conference call moderated by Chief Executive Officer Stephen Kramer. Replays of the entire call will be available through February 27, 2025 at 1-844-512-2921 or, for international callers, at 1-412-317-6671, conference ID #13744698. A link to the audio webcast of the conference call and a copy of this press release are also available through the Investor Relations section of the Company’s web site, investors.brighthorizons.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company’s actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements, which can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “projects,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or “anticipates,” or, in each case, their negatives or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the Company’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, operating expectations, execution and delivery of our services and solutions, business trends, our future growth opportunities, enrollment levels, back-up care use, long-term growth strategy, estimated effective tax rate, tax expense, our future business and financial performance, and our 2025 financial guidance. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. The Company believes that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in the demand for child care, dependent care and other workplace solutions, including variations in enrollment trends and lower than expected demand from employer sponsor clients as well as variations in workforce demographics and work environments; the constrained labor market for teachers and staff and ability to hire and retain talent, including the impact of increased compensation and labor costs; the impact of government child care benefit programs; our ability to respond to changing client and customer needs; the possibility that acquisitions may disrupt our operations and expose us to additional risk; our ability to pass on our increased costs; the impact of competition in the industry; our indebtedness and the terms of such indebtedness; our ability to withstand seasonal fluctuations in the demand for our services; our ability to implement our growth strategies successfully; changes in general economic, political, business and financial market conditions, including the impact of inflationary pressures and interest rate fluctuations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; the effects of a cyber-attack, data breach or other security incident on our information technology system or software or those of our third-party vendors; changes in tax rates or policies; impacts to our brand or reputation; litigation-related risks; changes in laws and regulations; and other risks and uncertainties more fully described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 27, 2024, and other factors disclosed from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the time of this release and we do not undertake to publicly update or revise them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Presentation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the results provided in accordance with GAAP throughout this press release, the Company has provided certain non-GAAP financial measures that present operating results on a basis adjusted for certain items. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures as key performance indicators for the purpose of evaluating performance internally, and in connection with determining incentive compensation for Company management, including executive officers. Adjusted EBITDA is also used in connection with the determination of certain ratio requirements under our credit agreement. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful information with respect to our historical operations. These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to replace, and should not be considered superior to, the presentation of our financial results in accordance with GAAP. The use of the terms adjusted EBITDA, adjusted income from operations, adjusted net income and diluted adjusted earnings per common share may differ from similar measures reported by other companies and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures.

For more information regarding adjusted EBITDA, adjusted income from operations, adjusted net income and diluted adjusted earnings per common share, refer to the reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures in the attached table “Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. Non-GAAP Reconciliations.”

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.

Bright Horizons^® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and child care, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 35 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates more than 1,000 early education and child care centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia and India, and serves more than 1,450 of the world’s leading employers. Bright Horizons’ early education and child care centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. For more information, go to www.brighthorizons.com.