Image source: The Motley Fool.
DATE
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Chief Executive Officer - Stephen L. Silvestro
- Chief Financial Strategy Officer - Edward Stelmakh
- Chief Legal and Administrative Officer - Marion Odence-Ford
- Chief Business Officer - Andrew D'Silva
TAKEAWAYS
- Revenue -- $20.5 million, representing a 30% year-over-year decrease driven by a transition away from lower-margin managed services and inactivity from one large pharmaceutical customer.
- Adjusted EBITDA -- $4.9 million, reflecting disciplined expense management and a favorable channel partner mix that offset top-line declines.
- Full-Year Revenue Guidance -- $95 million to $100 million, reiterated by management based on first-half performance and anticipated seasonal weighting toward the second half of the year.
- Full-Year Adjusted EBITDA Guidance -- $21 million to $25 million, reaffirmed as the company expects continued margin optimization strategies to yield benefits throughout the year.
- AI Software Offerings Revenue -- growing 25% year over year, driven by the company's strategic shift toward recurring subscription-based models.
- DAAP Adoption -- increased over 30% year over year, reflecting growing demand for the company's AI-enabled audience activation platform.
- Net Revenue Retention -- 90%, a decline from 121% in the prior year period resulting from spending optimization among a small number of large accounts.
- Average Revenue per Top 20 Pharmaceutical Manufacturer -- $2.7 million, representing a decrease from $3.1 million in the prior year.
- Cash and Cash Equivalents -- $24.1 million as of June 30, 2026, compared to $23.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
- Outstanding Debt -- $19.7 million at quarter end, following a $5.3 million principal payment made during the second quarter.
- Subsequent Debt Payment -- $3 million, paid after the quarter ended to further reduce the company's cost of capital.
- Gross Margin Outlook -- high 60% to low 70% range for the full year, supported by a favorable product mix and the absence of direct-to-consumer managed service revenue.
- Revenue per Full-Time Employee -- $750,000, representing a decline from $767,000 in the prior year.
- Quarterly Weighting -- 35% to 40% of full-year revenue, expected to be generated in the fourth quarter consistent with seasonal pharmaceutical purchasing patterns.
- Severance Expense -- $1.7 million in the second quarter, associated with a previously announced reduction in force.
- Total Operating Expenses -- $20.6 million, a decrease of $5.4 million year over year primarily due to lower cost of revenue and operational efficiencies.
- Term Loan Interest Rate -- SOFR plus 2.25%, following a successful debt refinancing with Fifth Third Bank.
- Stock Buyback Authorization -- $10 million, with a 10b5-1 plan in place to trigger repurchases if the stock price continues to decline.
- Top 20 Pharma Revenue Concentration -- 54% of total revenue, down from 59% in the prior year period.
- Operating Cash Flow -- $8.1 million for the first half of 2026, supporting the company's strategy of accelerated debt repayment.
Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected]
RISKS
- Stelmakh noted that the quarterly revenue reduction was partially caused by "a decrease in demand due to macroeconomic factors including MFN pricing dynamics."
- Silvestro stated that while stabilization is occurring, "portions of the pharmaceutical marketing landscape continue to experience some budget timing variability, and cautious spending behavior."
SUMMARY
Management reported that OptimizeRx Corporation (OPRX -2.67%) is currently navigating a strategic transition from low-margin managed services toward higher-margin, AI-enabled software and programmatic offerings. While total revenue declined due to specific customer inactivity and broader macroeconomic constraints, the company exceeded consensus expectations for profitability and reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Management indicated that a leadership succession plan is in place to ensure financial continuity as the organization focuses on expanding its footprint among mid-sized pharmaceutical companies and deepening its integration with programmatic media buying platforms. The company stated that its capital allocation priority remains the reduction of high-cost debt, supported by positive operating cash flow and disciplined expense management.
- The company announced that DeepIntent became the first healthcare demand-side platform to integrate directly with its authenticated electronic health record network, which is now live.
- Silvestro noted that approximately 60% of pharmaceutical media buys are now occurring through programmatic channels, expanding the company's near-term accessible market.
- Management reported a planned leadership transition where Andrew D'Silva will succeed Edward Stelmakh as Chief Financial Officer effective Jan. 1, 2027.
- The company launched CopayQ, a next-generation copay activation solution designed to deliver savings information directly within the prescribing workflow at the point of clinical decision making.
- The introduction of the Natural Language Audience Builder allows pharmaceutical marketers to create customized provider audiences using AI-driven prompts within media planning platforms.
- Management indicated that growth among mid-sized and emerging life science companies is accelerating, representing one of the largest untapped opportunities for the commercial business.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- DAAP (Dynamic Audience Activation Platform): An AI-enabled software platform used to identify and engage healthcare providers and patients at the point of care.
- DSP (Demand Side Platform): A system that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through one interface.
- EHR (Electronic Health Record): Digital versions of patients' paper charts, which OptimizeRx uses as a channel for financial and clinical messaging.
- HCP (Healthcare Professional): Physicians, nurses, and other practitioners targeted by pharmaceutical marketing efforts.
- MFN (Most Favored Nation): A pricing dynamic or regulation that requires manufacturers to provide the lowest price offered to any other buyer.
- NLAB (Natural Language Audience Builder): A patent-pending AI tool that uses simple language prompts to build targeted healthcare provider audiences.
- SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate): A benchmark interest rate for dollar-denominated derivatives and loans that replaced LIBOR.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Operator: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining OptimizeRx's Second Quarter Fiscal 26 Earnings Conference Call. With us today is Chief Executive Officer, Stephen L. Silvestro. He is joined by chief financial strategy officer Edward Stelmakh, chief legal and administrative officer, Marion Odence-Ford and chief business officer, Andrew D'Silva. At the conclusion of today's call, I will provide some important cautions regarding the forward-looking statements made by management during today's call. The company will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures that it believes are useful in evaluating operating performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures can be found in today's earnings release as well as in the Investor Relations on the company's website.
I would also like to remind everyone that today's call is being recorded. And will be available for replay on the Investor Relations section of the company's website. With that, I will turn the call over to OptimizeRx's chief executive officer, Stephen L. Silvestro.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our second quarter 26 earnings call. We are pleased to report second quarter revenue of $20.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $4.9 million both of which exceeded consensus expectations. Our results reflect continued margin expansion, disciplined operational execution, and the resilience of our operating model despite a health care marketing environment that remains dynamic. While revenue declined year over year and contracted revenue remains below prior year levels, these declines remain limited to a small number of large customers, including the 1 customer we discussed last quarter that again did not generate revenue this quarter.
As well as customers that have made heavier use of lower margin managed service offerings in prior year periods, services from which we have been transitioning away since the acquisition of Medicx in 2023. Outside the business with these limited customers and across the remainder of the business, we are in encouraged by improving engagement and growth. At the same time, our continued investment in platform capabilities including recent product launches and expanded programmatic initiatives, is strengthening customer engagement and our competitive position as we move into the 2027 planning cycle.
Although the timing and mix of second half revenue remains subject to some variability, our first half performance, encouraging commercial momentum and current outlook support our decision to reiterate full year 2026 revenue guidance of $95 million to $100 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $21 million to $25 million Edward will provide additional details during this during his prepared remarks. Over the past several quarters, we have remained focused on executing against the initiatives within our control, improving profitability, strengthening our balance sheet, expanding our technology platform, and creating new avenues for long term growth.
I believe our second quarter results demonstrate the progress we have made across each of these priorities, while portions of the pharmaceutical marketing landscape continue to experience some budget timing variability, and cautious spending behavior, we are encouraged by the continued stabilization we are seeing across many of our largest customers. More importantly, the long term secular trends driving our business remain firmly intact. Life science organizations continue shifting toward more measurable data driven engagement that delivers value at the point of clinical decision making. Healthcare marketers increasingly expect AI enabled planning, authenticated health care audiences, measurable outcomes, and seamless programmatic execution.
These are precisely the areas in which OptimizeRx has invested for years, and where we believe we maintain a meaningful competitive advantage. Our existing customers continue expanding their use of our platform across additional brands, therapeutic areas, and commercial use cases. During the quarter, we saw continued adoption of our AI enabled audience activation platform or DAP, which increased over 30% year-over-year. While also expanding our point-of-prescribe capabilities across both pharmaceutical and med tech customers. These solutions are powered by OptimizeRx's proprietary foundational data asset, which continues to grow as more engagement transpires across our ecosystem.
We are also continuing to make progress expanding our footprint among mid sized and emerging life science companies which we believe represent 1 of the largest untapped opportunities within our commercial business. As these organizations increasingly seek enterprise grade technology without enterprise scale or infrastructure investments, we believe our platform is uniquely positioned to meet the demand by bridging the technology gap for them and leveling the playing field for them to be able to compete with top tier companies. Just as important, we continue making progress transitioning more of our business toward recurring subscription revenue, particularly within our AI enabled software offerings, which grew 25% year-over-year.
Over time, we believe this transition will further improve revenue visibility while strengthening the durability and predictability of our financial model. Taken together, these trends reinforce our confidence that the underlying fundamentals of our business remain very strong. Meanwhile, during the second quarter, we announced 3 significant product innovations that further strengthen our competitive position while expanding our long term opportunities at OptimizeRx. First, we announced that DeepIntent became the first health care demand side platform to integrate directly with our authenticated EHR network. This represents an important milestone in our strategy of making point-of-care media easier to access through the programmatic platforms health care marketers already rely on.
As media buying continues shifting toward programmatic workflows, we are positioning OptimizeRx as the trusted infrastructure connecting premium point-of-care inventory with the industry's leading buying platforms. The implementation is now live. Second, we introduced our patent pending natural language audience builder or NLAB. This AI powered capability enables pharmaceutical marketers and agencies to build highly customized health care provider audiences using simple natural language prompts directly within DSPs and media planning platforms. By combining our proprietary health care intelligence, with an intuitive AI driven workflows, we are making it significantly easier for marketers to build targeted audiences while further embedding OptimizeRx technology into the planning tools of our customers that they are already using today.
Finally, we launched CopayQ, our next generation copay activation solution powered by real time prescribing intent. Medication affordability remains 1 of the largest barriers to patient adherence, and CopayQ delivers savings information directly within the prescribing workflow at the exact moment physicians are making treatment decisions. By combining real time intense signals with our industry leading point-of-care and point-of-prescribe capabilities, We are helping life science organizations improve patient access while delivering stronger commercial outcomes for their brands. Individually, each of these launches represents an important advancement for our platform. Collectively, they demonstrate something even more significant. That we have entered a new phase of innovation as a company.
We are evolving beyond being solely a point-of-care marketing company into being the operating system for pharmaceutical marketers. Our technology infrastructure is connecting pharmaceutical marketers media agencies, demand side platforms, health care providers, and patients at scale through authenticated clinical workflows. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into commercial planning and as health care advertising continues migrating towards privacy safe programmatic execution, we believe our combination of proprietary health care data, authenticated clinical inventory, and workflow integration creates a highly differentiated platform with significant long term growth potential. This strategic evolution not only expands our addressable market, but also creates additional recurring revenue opportunities that we believe will be increasingly meaningful over time.
Before turning the call over to Edward, I would like to share an important leadership regarding our finance organization. Over nearly 5 years as chief financial officer, including previously as our Chief Operations Officer, and most recently as our chief strategy officer, Edward Stelmakh and the board of directors have mutually agreed on a planned leadership transition effective 12/31/2026. That reflects both the depth of talent within our organization, and our commitment to prudent financial stewardship. Over the past 5 years, Edward has played an instrumental role in transforming financial foundation and positioning OptimizeRx for long term success.
Under his leadership, we have significantly expanded our gross margins, and operating margins, strengthened our operating discipline, successfully refinanced our debt to materially improve our cost of capital, completed the acquisition and integration of Medicx, executed the divestiture of noncore assets to sharpen our strategic focus, and built a deep, highly capable finance and strategy organization that positions the company well for the future. Just as importantly, Edward has helped establish the financial discipline and operational rigor that support our long term strategy and our commitment to sustainable shareholder value creation. As part of our long term succession planning process, we are pleased to announce that Andy D'Silva will succeed Edward as our chief financial officer effective 01/01/2027.
Andy has most recently served as our chief business officer and has worked closely with Edward and the board of directors, and our executive leadership team on our financial strategy, capital allocation, investor relations, corporate development, and long range planning. he is been deeply involved in many of the strategic initiatives that have helped transform the business over the past several years, making him well prepared to lead our finance organization as CFO. We are also pleased to announce that Heather Favazza will be promoted to Chief Accounting Officer effective 01/01/2027, Heather has been an outstanding leader with our financial organization and played an instrumental role as our corporate controller for the last 8 years.
Strengthening our accounting operations, financial reporting, internal controls, and overall finance infrastructure. Her promotion reflects both the strength of our accounting organization and the deep bench of leadership that we have built over the past several years. To ensure a seamless transition, Edward will remain our chief financial and strategy officer through the end of 26. And has also agreed to remain in the role of strategic adviser in 2027 to ensure ample time for thoughtful and seamless transfer of responsibilities. While allowing Andy and Heather to continue working closely with him as they assume their expanded leadership roles. Transitions like these are strongest when they are the result of thoughtful planning rather than necessity.
And that is exactly what this represents. Have tremendous confidence in Andy and Heather, and we are equally grateful that Edward will continue supporting the company throughout the transition. On behalf of our board of directors and everyone at OptimizeRx, I want to thank Edward for his outstanding leadership and the many contributions he is made during his tenure. With that, I will turn the call over to Edward.
Edward Stelmakh: Thanks, Steve, and thank you for the kind words. While this is certainly a bittersweet moment, is also 1 I approach with clarity, confidence, and optimism for the company's future. I look forward to continuing to drive our strategic priorities through the back half of 2026 and contributing to the company's mission in an advisory role. In 2027. I want to extend my appreciation to the board, our leadership team, all our employees. and shareholders of this company. For giving me this amazing opportunity for the last 5 years. it is been a true privilege to serve as their chief financial and strategy officer and I am excited to see what the future brings.
Now let's turn to our financial results for Q2. 26. As always, we issued our earnings release this afternoon. Detailing our financial results for the second quarter ended 06/30/2026. A copy of the release is available on the Investor Relations section of our website and additional information will be included in our upcoming Form 10 q. Second quarter revenue was $20.5 million, a decrease of 30% from the $29.2 million we recognized during the same period in 2025. The revenue reduction was largely contained a limited number of large customers that utilized the lower margin managed services in 2025.
An offering from which we have been transitioning away since acquiring Medicx in 2023. and 1 of our large customers in 2025 that has not generated revenue this quarter. As well as a decrease in demand due to macroeconomic factors including MFN pricing dynamics. Our expenses for the quarter ended 06/30/2026 decreased $5.4 million year-over-year to $20.6 million primarily driven by lower cost of revenue. Despite being impacted by $1.7 million in severance expense associated with our previously announced reduction in force. The decrease in cost of revenue was primarily attributed to a favorable product mix, resulting from not having any DTC managed service revenue this quarter and a favorable channel partner mix.
We believe various margin optimization strategies we implemented over the last 18 months continue to yield meaningful benefits. As a result, we now expect gross margins to normalize into the high 60% to low 70% range for full year 2026. Meanwhile, we had a net loss of $700 thousand or $0.04 per basic and diluted share for the 3 months ended 06/30/2026. As compared to a net income of $1.5 million or $0.08 per basic and diluted share for the same 3 month period in 2025. On a non GAAP basis, our net income for the second quarter of 2026 was $3.1 million or $0.16 per diluted share.
As compared to a non GAAP net income of $3.7 million or $0.19 per diluted share in the same year ago period. Our adjusted EBITDA was $4.9 million, for the second quarter of 2026, compared to $5.8 million during the second quarter of 2025. Operating cash flow was $8.1 million for the first half of 2026, and we ended the quarter with a $24.1 million cash balance. As compared to $23.4 million on 12/31/2025. As we highlighted in May, our term loan with Blue Torch Capital was refinanced with Fifth Third Bank to which we fully drew down the $25 million term loan and have access to a $10 million revolver.
Our current interest rate on the term loan with Fifth Third Bank is SOFR plus 2.25%. With that said, we paid $5.3 million in principal during the quarter, which was $5 million ahead of our payment schedule leaving our outstanding debt at the end of June at $19.7 million. Furthermore, subsequent to the quarter end, we paid off an additional $3 million in debt. At this time, we intend to deploy at least a portion of our free cash flow to pay down the principal on our loan faster as we look to continuously lower our cost of capital. With that said, we continue to believe that our healthy balance sheet will help us execute against our operational goals.
Now let's turn to our KPIs. For the second quarter of 2026. Average revenue per top 20 pharmaceutical manufacturer now stands at $2.7 million. Net revenue retention rate dipped below prior period levels to 90%. The dip was driven primarily by a small number of large accounts optimizing spend, rather than a broad based churn. Additionally, revenue per FTE came in at $750 thousand. While our KPIs showed decline compared to previous quarters, we have made meaningful progress on margin expansion and operating expense management. Consistent with our strategy of driving profitable growth in our space.
Based on our first half performance, and the visibility we have into the remainder of the year, we are reaffirming our previously issued full year 2026 guidance. We continue to expect revenue in the range of $95 million to $100 million and adjusted EBITDA between $21 million and $25 million While portions of the health care marketing environment remain dynamic, our execution year to date continued product innovation, expanding book of business with select clients, and disciplined expense management, give us confidence in our outlook for the balance of the year. As we noted previously, continue to expect revenue to be weighted towards the second half of the year.
Consistent with the seasonal purchasing patterns of many of our customers with Q4, and it is significantly higher than Q3. And likely representing 35% to 40% of our full year revenues. With that, I will turn the call back over to Steve. Steve?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Thanks, Edward. Operator, let's now move to Q&A.
Operator: Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star and then 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star and then 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary for you to pick up your handset before pressing the star key. 1 moment, while we poll for questions. First question comes from Ryan Daniels from William Blair. Please proceed with your questions, Ryan.
Dustin: Hey, everyone. This is Dustin on the call for Ryan. Thanks for taking our question. Maybe just first wondering if there is an update on the larger client you have spoken about previously. Know you probably cannot get into too many specifics, but wondering at a high level, what is the update there, and what are the expectations that baked into the back half in relation to that client? Thank you.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Hey, Dustin. Thanks for the question. We right now do not have any expectation baked into the back half for that large client coming back, but we are starting to see some progress around it that will definitely positively impact the back half. How much? We are not really prepared to say at this point, but discussions are open, and we are, we are actively engaging there. We also just announced you may have seen the announcement of our chief marketing officer that chief marketing officer is coming from that client as well.
So I think he is prepared to kind of help us bridge the gap there and get some things right where we have had the missteps that we talked about last quarter. On the commercial front.
Dustin: Okay. Great. Understood. Thank you for that. So you have talked about the strategic importance of DSP. Just wondering if you can talk more about the progress with DeepIntent and if you are making any inroads with other DSPs that are out there. I think you have stated that also, that DSP could double your business over the next 2 years. Just what does the growth curve look like? For the DSP opportunity there over the next 24 months? Thank you.
Stephen L. Silvestro: You got it. So we have we have got great news. We have gone live. With DeepIntent as of this last week, and so that is pretty exciting for us as a business. We are now starting to see bid flow happen over the platform. I do not really think we are ready to say what the what the uptick looks like. In terms of the next couple of weeks and months, but we do think it will be very, very meaningful. And I would also say right now in terms of just the broader programmatic environment 60% of the buys out in this specific space are occurring now through these programmatic channels.
And so our comment around the ability to scale the business through that ecosystem is directly tied to the number of buys that we know are happening through these DSPs. And it is not a place. Those are not funds that we have had access to in the past. We are expanding our near term accessible market that is a little bit more color around the commentary. So more to come around that. We do have other DSPs that we are speaking with. But nothing that we are ready to announce on this call. But stay tuned.
Dustin: Okay. Got it. Thanks for that. And then just lastly for us, there is been some discussion with the FDA and HHS about eliminating the adequate provision framework for pharma advertising. And, you know, that requires more disclosures with the DTC ads. How are you thinking about that potential impact on the farmer marketing budgets and general allocation? Could that lead to some shift in TV and potentially create some incremental demand for your digital and point of care engagements? Thanks.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. No problem, Dustin. Yeah. We see those moves as favorable for our business per your last comment there. Anything that would sort of limit the ability to execute across other DTC channels where we may not be engaged at scale, we will automatically push funds into some of the ACP focused marketing channels where we are connected and that are sort of our bread and butter. So we have been waiting on that with bated breath. We are not forecasting it because it is impossible for us to predict what the FDA and HHS are or are not going to do. But we are well positioned that if they do make that decision, we will benefit.
It will not just be us; Everybody in our space that is focused on HCP will disproportionately benefit us. So, great question.
Dustin: All right. Thank you very much.
Stephen L. Silvestro: You got it.
Operator: Thank you. Thank you. The next question comes from Richard Baldry from ROTH Capital Partners. Please proceed with your questions, Richard.
Richard Baldry: Thanks. If we look at your adjusted EBITDA guidance, the implication is the second half would be somewhere between $13 million to $17 million Can you talk about under that backdrop, what is your capital allocation strategy might start to evolve to? Do you still see pretty much an exclusive focus on reducing debt? Or do you think more of a balance between that and, share buybacks at current depressed levels?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. Edward, I will let you I will let you take that 1.
Edward Stelmakh: Yep. No problem. Richard. How are you? Yeah. I think our strategy, as we said in the prepared remarks, will be first pay down the debt. We are down to $16.7 million of outstanding principal. And then secondly, if the price of the stock continues to drop, we have a 10b5-1 in place to trigger buying. With a $10 million approved stock buyback. Thanks.
Richard Baldry: Then in terms of the second half rebound to revenues, that is implied in guidance, how much of that is visible contracted? Or how much of that is really just assuming seasonal patterns that you have seen in the past sort of repeat themselves?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. I mean, I think, Richard, first of all, it is good to hear your voice. We, right now, are seeing as we shared in the previous calls, still trending more towards 24 contracted revenue seasonality versus 25. Just in our progress. And that is why we are reiterating the guide that we have got out there right now. Versus increasing the guide. We do think the seasonality that we have experienced in previous years is pretty much what we should anticipate for the back half of this year. We are starting to already see that But sort of the visibility that we have given is what we have is what we have put out there.
What we have got visibility to. And anything that is incremental above and beyond that, you know, obviously, on the next earnings call, if we have more visibility with contracted revenue, we will happy to provide an update around that. But no changes right now to that. We have got a sort of iron out the 1 major client disruption that we have got and sort of take a look at what Q3, Q4 is going to put out before we do any updates. But good I would I would say good solid progress as we approach the back half now.
Richard Baldry: Maybe looking at, to call it top of the funnel, you talk a little bit about non top 20 opportunities, whether that is new logos or existing, you know, how are they acting sort of by contrast to the top 20 who have seen, you know, obvious issues with MFN, etcetera?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. They are growing they are growing in an accelerated rate. Is what I think we would tell you. The outside of the top 20 are some of our fastest 10 list just this last couple of months. And so we are really excited to see that. We will have more to announce around that in the future, but that their mid tier long tail strategy is really proving out, and we are really excited with the progress we are seeing there. So got a gap to fill on that 1 of those top accounts that, where the disruption was, and that is gonna take a little bit of time.
But with the comeback of that plus the mid tier, we think we are entering the back half of this year and then setting ourselves up for 2027 really, really nicely.
Richard Baldry: And last for me then, back to the top 20, excluding the, you know, the 1 challenging customer. Can you talk about just activity levels within there, whether it is discussions, pipeline, new opportunities. You know, how is that activity level, I mean, non-quantifiably, you know, versus what had been sort of at the depth of MFN?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. Activity level has definitely increased. I would say the strategic discussions are starting to flow a lot more than they were previously. Beginning of the year, particularly, I would say, Q4 coming into Q1 and to a degree, a little bit of Q2. And we talked about this already. There was a lot of consternation around MFN. I think just we talked about it. Everybody in our space talked about it. Just because they people were not sure what to expect I think for the most part, manufacturers are in a place where they sort of know what the new normal looks like, and they are prepared for that.
So we are starting to see engagement happen across the board. Mid tier, long tail, engaging faster because they have not really been the targets of the administration, and they have been able to kind of skate by and just business as usual and accelerate and viewed it almost as a time to kind of skip ahead and compete more effectively with the top 20. So that is been good for them. But we are starting to see specifically, people within our top 10, 20, really reengage in meaningful ways. I am not ready to say yet that Q4 is going to be, you know, lightning in a bottle, you know, buy-ups like we talk about.
From time to time that happens. But we are getting some really positive buying signals going into the back half of the year that look very good.
Richard Baldry: Thanks for your answers.
Stephen L. Silvestro: You got it. Great to talk to you, Richard. Look forward to catching up soon. Thank you.
Operator: Next question comes from Eric Martinuzzi from Lake Street. Please proceed with your questions, Eric.
Eric Martinuzzi: Yes. Your comments on most favored nation, it sounds like we have worked through the disruption. The other issues that you talked about, at least last quarter, were macro issues weighing on budgets, and that was everything from inflation to oil, geopolitical uncertainty. Is that still an overhang on spending by the top 20?
Stephen L. Silvestro: Hey, Eric. Thank you for the question. it is still a little bit of an overhang. I think there is still some consternation around macro. And pharma has been 1 of the largest targets of the administration, not just for MFN, but a whole myriad of reasons. So they have been a little bit conservative with budgets. But, again, per my response to Richard, we are starting to see a lot of that normalize now in the back half. And they are starting to spend more just sort of across the board to drive patient capture for the back half of the year. And I think we will benefit from that.
I do think we are we did not talk about LOE at all, but we are looking at a couple different strategic things going on in the marketplace right now. Potential acquisitions, some mergers happening, few LOE events. So they will navigate those things. But by and large, I think the macro stuff that we discussed last quarter is starting to normalize. In their approach to spend.
Eric Martinuzzi: Starting Yeah. Okay. And then, Edward, certainly enjoyed working with you. I know we have got you for another 5 months. And, Andy, congratulations on the pending promotion here. Wanted to ask about the operating expense. I know you guys went through a bit of a-- some cost moves in the second quarter. Is that all behind us? In other words, is this kind of a normalized operating expense that we should use for the third quarter?
Edward Stelmakh: Yeah. I think the current run rate from a cash OpEx should stay kind of around this rate. The only variable there may be things like, you know, bonus accruals depending on what we commence. Versus budget. But generally speaking, I think we will be in that range.
Eric Martinuzzi: Got it. Thank you.
Operator: Thanks, Eric. The next question comes from Constantine Davides from Citizens. Please proceed with your questions, Constantine.
Constantine Davides: Thanks. Just a question on the margin profile of the business. Looks like you have lifted that outlook. So I guess a couple of questions on that. First, is that a sustainable level of profitability? Or is it more of a 2026 profile that you are talking about? Number 1. Number 2, what drove the upside in the second quarter? I think you said channel mix, but I just wanted to drill into that a little bit more. And then third point on this, just your latest thinking around how profitability changes as you layer in more as you tap into the DSP market. Over time and, I guess, more specifically, the economics of those arrangements. Compared to traditional engagements.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Sure. Happy to chime in. it is good to hear from you, Constantine. Appreciate the question. You know, I think we are setting the new level of profitability for the business and making sure that we are communicating that clearly. it is not episodic. That really will be the new normal You will see we will probably outperform that a little bit from time to time, but that should be sort of the baseline expectation of the business going forward. And going into the you know, macro DSP ecosystem, we do not expect that the level of profitability will drop It will sustain that same level that we are kind of guiding to and talking about now.
Most of that is being driven by favorable channel mix. As I have shared on previous calls, and Edward and Andy have done the same, we have been able to bring on additional channel partners that have helped us manage our gross margin and thus been really, I think, transformational for the business, even with the disruption in top line revenue, we have been able to continue to generate good, solid EBITDA and cash flow and pay down the debt, all the things that we have been talking about in calls.
We are feeling pretty bullish around profitability in general and our ability to continue to generate cash and pay down the debt and do the things that we would like to do. So pending we get the top line back in line, Constantine, like we talked about, and we all fervently believe we will. The, you know, the profitability of the business will continue to follow suit. So but, yeah, we think we are excited about that. Eddie, anything else you would add to that?
Edward Stelmakh: Oh, sorry. Yeah. I will add 1 quick thing to that. Yeah. So, Constantine, when we think about our business, we are really managing the business to, you know, a high 60% gross margin. You know, we are gonna have, you know, favorable quarters like you saw, last 2 quarters. But that is how we think about it internally. And that is how we are gonna manage the business. So, you know, when you are looking at your models, just keep that kind of thing in mind.
Constantine Davides: Got it. And I guess and not to sort of belabor the point, but in the past, you have talked about becoming a sustainable rule of 40 company. And Steve and, I guess, Andy had all you guys, I am just wondering what your latest view is in terms of is that still an objective? Do you think you, you know, as you look out, maybe you will prioritize growth a little bit more than you had in your prior thinking. Just any kind of comments there would be helpful. Thanks.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Yeah. No problem. I mean, look. Go ahead, Edward.
Edward Stelmakh: Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Steve. Yeah. I would say absolutely. Mainly because, I mean, this year is definitely a bit of an anomaly. For us. So profitability threshold has been set. You can see that this business can be highly profitable in a soft year. Once growth returns, which we are confident it will certainly do in 2027. it is not gonna take much to get back to Rule of 40. So my view is absolutely we are gonna be right back at it. In 2027.
Operator: Constantine, does that conclude your question?
Constantine Davides: I am all set. Thank you.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Okay. You got it. Thanks, Constantine.
Operator: Thank you. That does conclude our Q&A session. Mr. Silvestro, I would like to hand it to you, sir.
Stephen L. Silvestro: Thank you, operator. As we close today's call, I would like to leave you with 3 thoughts. First, we continue to execute our strategy while delivering disciplined financial performance. Our second quarter results demonstrate the strength of our operating model and our team's ability to balance profitability even in years where headwinds are present with continued investment in innovation. Second, we believe OptimizeRx is uniquely positioned at the intersection of several powerful long term trends that are reshaping the life sciences commercialization environment. Healthcare marketers are increasingly demanding AI enabled planning, authenticated health care audiences, measurable outcomes, and programmatic activation across clinical workflows. We have spent years building the infrastructure to support this moment of change in the industry.
We are best positioned to be the operating system for pharma marketers because of the data driven technology that we have built. The announcements we made this quarter from our DeepIntent partnership to the launch of NLAB, our natural language audience builder and CopayQ are all examples of how we are prioritizing a culture of innovation and expanding our platform to create additional opportunities for sustainable recurring growth. Importantly, these innovations do not represent isolated product launches. Together, they further strengthen the network effects within our platform while increasing the value we deliver to pharmaceutical manufacturers agency partners, health care providers, and ultimately to patients. Third, we remain committed to disciplined execution and long term shareholder value creation.
Our priorities remain clear. Continue expanding our AI enabled platform capabilities increase utilization of our proprietary HCP and DTC networks, accelerate adoption of our recurring software solutions, expand programmatic access through additional strategic partnerships, deliver profitable sustainable growth while maintaining disciplined capital allocation, We believe the investments we have made over the past several years have positioned OptimizeRx to capitalize on the continued digital transformation occurring across health care. While the market environment may continue to experience periods of variability, our long term opportunity has never been more compelling. it is an exciting time to be a part of the OPRX story.
Before we conclude, I would like to again recognize Edward for his tremendous leadership and contributions to OptimizeRx in the past 5 years. he is been an outstanding partner trusted adviser, and leader helping transform our financial foundation while positioning the company for its next phase of growth. On behalf of our Board, our employees, our shareholders, Edward, thank you very much for everything that you have done for OptimizeRx. Finally, I would like to thank our employees for their continued dedication and execution. Our customers for their partnership and trust and our shareholders for their ongoing support. We appreciate you joining us today. And look forward to updating you on the continued progress of the quarter.
Operator,, back to you.
Operator: Thank you, Mr. Silvestro. Before we conclude today's call, I would like to provide the company's safe harbor statement that includes important cautions regarding forward-looking statements made during today's call. Statements made by management during today's call may contain forward-looking statements within the definition of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1.93 thousand as amended, and Section 21B of the Securities Act of 1.93 thousand as amended. These forward-looking statements should not be used to make investment decisions. The words anticipate, estimate, expect, possible, and seeking, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. They speak only as of the date that such statements are made.
Forward looking statements in this call include statements regarding orderly transition of finance leader responsibilities, the company's financial and growth strategy, including continued margin expansion, disciplined operational execution, and resilience of its operating model, company's revenue decline being limited to a small number of large customers, company's product innovation strengthening customer engagement, competitive position and expansion of long term opportunities, company improving its profitability, strengthening its balance sheet, expanding its technology platforms, and creating new avenues for long term growth. Company maintaining meaningful competitive advantages, company's expansion into mid-sized and emerging life sciences companies representing 1 of the largest untapped opportunities.
Company platform being uniquely positioned to meet the demands of customers, company's ability to create highly differentiated platform with significant long term growth potential, company's strategy of driving profitable growth, company being well positioned to capitalize on significant opportunities and company's ability to create long term value for its shareholders. Forward looking statements also include the management's expectations for the rest of the year. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties some of which cannot be predicted or quantified.
Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying these forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to, the effects of government regulation, competition, dependence, on a concentrated group of customers, cybersecurity incidents that could disrupt operations, the ability to keep pace with growing and evolving technology, the ability to maintain contracts with electronic prescription platforms, and electronic health record networks and other material risks.
Risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject could affect business and financial results are included in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 12/31/2025, and in other filings that the company has made and may make with SEC in the future. These filings, when made are available on the company's website and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Before we end today's conference, I would like to remind everyone that an audio recording of this conference call will be available for replay starting later this evening, running through for a year on the Investor Relations on the company's website. Thank you very much for joining us today. This concludes today's conference call.
And you may now disconnect your lines.
