ADT holds strong and achieves record RMR in Q1 2023, stumbles on solar

BOCA RATON, Fla. – It was a solid quarter for growth with ADT on this year’s 2023 Q1 earnings call, with only a small cloud blocking the sun.

To make note of some of the highlights from the report: total revenue of $1.6 billion, up 4 percent, and end-of-period recurring monthly revenue (RMR) record of $378 million, up 4 percent featuring high customer retention with gross customer revenue attrition maintaining record low of 12.5 percent. President and CEO Jim DeVries attributed the strong numbers to initiatives like its partnership with Google and State Farm, and an easing of supply chain pressure, among other factors.

“Looking forward, the resiliency of our business is evident. There are many favorable factors that have ADT well positioned to meet our 2023 guidance,” DeVries told investors during the call. “While commercial revenue grew 15 percent, our installation backlog remains steady at approximately $420 million, demonstrating the enormous strength of recent sales and reinforcing a strong pipeline for continued revenue growth,” he continued. “Equally impressive within commercial was our profitability. EBITDA margins exceeded 12 percent for the quarter. Second, overall customer retention rates are stellar and ending RMR continues to grow at a healthy rate.”

As other companies have noticed this quarter residential sales and growth have come up soft with ADT feeling the pinch in their solar division. “At an overall industry level, higher interest rates are pressuring growth as financing for residential solar has become more expensive and more sensitive, which is offsetting some growth potential from the Inflation Reduction Act,” DeVries said. “Additionally, we still have work ahead of us integrating ADT Solar. This quarter's decline in revenue is not the performance we expect and we're executing a number of strategic actions to improve operations, customer experience and financial results.”

In answering questions from call participants, Devries noted that the company still had work to do from an operations perspective in getting their feet under them when it comes to Solar, but he believes it will continue to be a significant growth market for ADT. CFO Ken Porpora listed ADT Solars performance for the quarter as generating a revenue of $145 million in the quarter with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $11 million. “Our team remains focused on delivering consistent results to meet our commitments,” Porpora said. “To close I’d like to thank our employees and dealer partners for all of their efforts and dedication to our customers this quarter. We have a great year ahead of us.”

A release covering the earnings call is available from ADT at newsroom.adt.com.