Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) Barclays 22nd Annual Global Financial Services Conference 2024 summary

Strategic updates and market interest

• Inbound interest was received for the entire business, prompting engagement with bankers and a focus on maximizing shareholder value.

• Management sees a disconnect between current trading multiples and company fundamentals, emphasizing ongoing efforts to address valuation.

• 90% of the business is growing at about 6% annually, with two smaller segments (credibility and digital marketing) under review for potential sale or partnership.

• The credibility segment is stabilizing after regulatory challenges, expected to be flat in Q3 and improve in Q4.

• Digital marketing faced headwinds from economic uncertainty and Google’s cookie policy, but conditions are improving as these issues subside.

Business segment performance and strategy

• Sales and marketing represents 40% of revenue, with 60% from Master Data Management (MDM), a highly differentiated and globally recognized offering.

• MDM is foundational for GenAI initiatives, offering broad, accurate data and strong pricing power, with growth in both North America and Europe.

• The Hoovers sales acceleration platform has improved its contact database and is now growing low single digits, with AI-driven enhancements planned.

• Finance and risk accounts for 60% of revenue, with deeply embedded solutions and proprietary data, especially in private company and third-party risk.

• International expansion is supported by acquisitions like Bisnode and a growing data footprint, especially in Europe and Asia.

Technology and innovation

• GenAI and AI are being embedded across platforms, including Hoovers and Ask D&B, to enhance usability and differentiation.

• Proprietary data and entity resolution algorithms underpin the company’s competitive advantage in both finance and risk and sales and marketing.

• Ongoing cloud migration and data supply chain improvements have expanded the D-U-N-S database and enhanced data quality.