Adam Borg

Adam Borg asked about the opportunity presented by new ASIC chips expected this year, the typical customer adoption timeline after an announcement, and their ability to drive innovation and additional attached services. He also inquired if refresh opportunities typically result in one-for-one box refreshes and the sales motion for cross-selling/upselling SASE and SecOps during these refreshes.

Answer

Ken Xie, Fortinet's Founder, Chairman, and CEO, stated that new ASIC chips will be released this year but are announced with the product after delivery, not ahead of time, and are expected to improve performance and add functions. Regarding refreshes, Ken Xie noted that increased attack surfaces and convergence lead to more deployment areas (segmentation, OT security, WFH), with FortiSwitch/FortiAP acting as hardware agents for local SASE. John Whittle, Fortinet's COO, added that any refresh is an opportunity to expand beyond the firewall to SASE and SecOps. Christiane Ohlgart, Fortinet's CFO, confirmed that firewall upgrades at the edge are combined with FortiSASE discussions.

Adam Borg asked about the opportunity presented by Fortinet's new ASIC chips expected this year, inquiring about the typical customer adoption timeline post-announcement and the chips' potential to drive innovation and additional product attached. He also questioned whether refresh opportunities typically result in one-for-one box replacements and the sales strategy for cross-selling and upselling SASE and SecOps during these refreshes.

Answer

Ken Xie, Fortinet's Founder, Chairman, and CEO, confirmed that new ASIC chips are coming this year, but Fortinet's policy is to announce products after delivery, with the next Accelerate conference focusing more on FortiOS. He noted the new ASICs will enhance performance and add functions. Regarding refreshes, Ken explained that the market is broader with more attack surfaces, leading to network security deployments for internal segmentation and growth in FortiSwitch/FortiAP (acting as hardware agents for SASE). John Whittle, Fortinet's COO, added that refresh opportunities are leveraged to expand beyond just firewall sales, given the maturity of current solutions. Christiane Ohlgart, Fortinet's CFO, confirmed that firewall upgrade discussions at the edge are often combined with FortiSASE discussions due to its compelling value proposition.

Adam Borg asked about the assumptions behind the upcoming refresh cycle, including the volume of firewalls being replaced and any expected shift from physical appliances to virtual or SASE. He also asked for feedback on the Next DLP acquisition.

Answer

CAO and incoming CFO Christiane Ohlgart noted smaller customers are buying more devices, while enterprise strategies vary. On data security, Founder, Chairman, and CEO Ken Xie called the Next DLP acquisition a great addition for enhancing SASE and providing standalone data protection, with COO John Whittle adding it's being deployed at scale in large enterprises.

Adam Borg asked for initial customer and partner feedback on the Lacework (FortiCNAPP) acquisition and followed up on the performance of the government vertical.

Answer

COO John Whittle reported 'very, very positive feedback' on the Lacework acquisition, highlighting the quality of the product and its organically developed, integrated nature compared to competitors' piecemeal solutions. CEO Ken Xie added that it opens a new $20 billion market. Regarding the government vertical, CFO Keith Jensen noted that Fortinet is not heavily aligned with the U.S. federal cycle, focusing more on state, local, and international governments, so it doesn't see a typical Q3 federal budget flush.

Adam Borg inquired about the growth mix for Creo and Windchill, specifically parsing out expansion versus competitive displacement, and the opportunity for increased competitive displacement given new go-to-market motions.

Answer

Neil Barua (CEO, PTC) noted strong traction for Windchill and Creo, including Onshape's competitive takeaways. Robert Dahdah (Chief Revenue Officer, PTC) confirmed that while expansion remains the majority, competitive displacements are showing accelerated growth, particularly as customers consolidate disparate PLM systems onto Windchill for AI benefits.

Adam Borg inquired about the growth mix for Creo and Windchill, specifically asking to parse out expansion versus competitive displacement, and the potential for increased competitive displacement driven by new go-to-market strategies.

Answer

CEO Neil Barua and CRO Robert Datta confirmed strong growth for Windchill and Creo, with Onshape also contributing to competitive wins. They clarified that while expansion remains the primary growth driver, often involving consolidation onto Windchill, competitive displacements are showing accelerated growth and are expected to increase further due to new go-to-market initiatives.

Adam Borg requested a deeper dive into the demand environment within the federal aerospace and defense (FA&D) vertical, as well as commentary on the U.S. public sector outlook heading into September.

Answer

President and CEO Neil Barua expressed a 'very bullish' view on the FA&D sector globally, citing increased spending commitments and strong customer engagement. For the U.S. public sector, he noted that while some agency introspection continues, the passage of the defense bill and the criticality of programs at agencies like NASA position PTC well. He concluded that the U.S. is the geography they are watching most closely for further clarity.

Adam Borg requested more details on PTC's go-to-market transformation, asking about the internal indicators management is using to gauge its success.

Answer

Chief Revenue Officer Robert Dahdah stated he was pleased with the progress over the last 90 days. He highlighted that the pivot to a vertical-focused field organization was executed with low customer churn and the retention of top talent. Dahdah noted that this new structure is already leading to more outcome-focused customer discussions and is showing early positive signs in pipeline development, setting the company up for future growth.

Adam Borg of Stifel asked for commentary on trends in the other key verticals besides automotive and requested a breakdown of the current ARR mix for each of the top five verticals.

Answer

CEO Neil Barua identified Federal, Aerospace & Defense as a strong vertical with significant demand and backlog. He also pointed to Med Tech & Life Sciences as an area with growing PLM needs as large companies seek to accelerate product development. CFO Kristian Talvitie provided the ARR mix: Industrial (high 20s%), FA&D (around 15%), Electronics & High Tech (mid-teens), Automotive (low teens), and Med Tech (low teens).

Adam Borg inquired about the identity business, specifically the PAM (Privileged Access Management) product, its current maturity, and the company's future development plans for it in the coming quarters.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz noted the importance of identity in the AI era and the success of PAM technology. He stated that customers seek modern identity solutions, including just-in-time access, moving away from legacy vaulting, and CrowdStrike will continue to build out its identity stack to meet this demand.

Adam Borg inquired about the identity business, specifically the maturity and future development of the Privileged Access Management (PAM) product, given its increasing importance in the AI era.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz underscored the critical role of identity in the AI era, noting successful PAM wins and the ongoing evolution to meet customer demand for modern identity solutions, such as just-in-time access and moving away from legacy vaulting. He confirmed continued focus on building out the identity stack to capitalize on growing market opportunities for agentic identity solutions.

Adam Borg from Stifel Financial Corp asked about the traction of the exposure management business, which crossed the $300 million ARR threshold, and whether it is displacing traditional vulnerability management vendors or coexisting with them.

Answer

Founder & CEO George Kurtz called it an exciting business, noting his personal history in the space. He highlighted the strength of CrowdStrike's assets, including agent-based vulnerability management and the recently added network vulnerability management, which can be deployed from existing agents. He stated that customers want to consolidate, leading to big wins, and pointed to CrowdStrike's recognition as a leader in the inaugural IDC MarketScape for exposure management as proof of its success in this rapidly growing business.

Adam Borg inquired about the penetration of Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) within existing customer install bases and the potential for selling broader ACC portfolio components like payments or pre-construction. He also asked about Autodesk's strategy for the PLM market in the context of convergence in design and manufacturing with Fusion.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost highlighted ACC's unique design-to-pre-construction-to-execution solution built on a modern, AI-ready SaaS platform. He noted significant expansion opportunities within existing accounts as new projects emerge and through the value proposition. Regarding PLM, Andrew Anagnost clarified Autodesk's focus on the mid-market, where most customers lack PLM solutions, and how Fusion provides advanced cloud-based data management and lifecycle capabilities previously reserved for larger enterprises.

Adam Borg inquired about the penetration of Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) within existing customer accounts, specifically regarding the proportion of projects brought onto the platform, and the potential for cross-selling the broader ACC portfolio. He also asked about Autodesk's strategy for the PLM market, particularly with Fusion, in the context of design and manufacturing convergence.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost highlighted ACC's unique, modern platform for design-to-execution workflows, noting significant opportunity for increased penetration within existing accounts as new projects emerge and through the value proposition. For PLM, he stated Autodesk targets the mid-market, where customers often lack robust solutions, and Fusion aims to provide cloud-based, end-to-end digital productivity previously exclusive to larger enterprises.

Adam Borg from Stifel Financial Corp asked for details on the continued momentum in the construction business, including the remaining runway for Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), and for an update on the EBA renewal opportunity in the second half of the year.

Answer

President and CEO Andrew Anagnost confirmed that momentum in the construction business is unchanged and strong, with good performance both domestically and internationally, and highlighted the success of the payments business. EVP & CFO Janesh Moorjani added that the company is well-positioned for the second half, with a large pool of both EBA and product subscription renewals to close.

Adam Borg inquired about the progress of the new transaction model, asking if initial channel disruptions have eased and could become a tailwind, and sought clarification on the Net Revenue Retention (NRR) rate.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost stated that channel disruptions have significantly eased and expects partner productivity to increase throughout the year. CFO Janesh Moorjani confirmed the NRR rate was mechanically boosted by the new transaction model and would have otherwise been within the historical 100-110% range. He also noted the first renewals under the new model are approaching in June for the Americas.

Adam Borg inquired about current customer sentiment amid ongoing macro uncertainty and the potential puts and takes for the business from a new political administration, such as changes in regulation, tariffs, or immigration policy.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost stated that Autodesk's business is diversified and resilient enough to adapt to any policy changes. He emphasized that the primary issue for customers is not a specific policy outcome but the 'uncertainty' itself, which fuels angst. He expressed that customers, and Autodesk, want to move past the uncertainty to a stable policy environment.

Adam Borg asked about early learnings from the new transaction model regarding customer adoption and upsell opportunities, and whether there has been a change in macro sentiment ahead of a new administration.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost explained it is too early for definitive conclusions on the new model's upsell impact but cited successful EBA relationships as a positive indicator. On the macro environment, he stated that key customer drivers like infrastructure and domestic manufacturing are bipartisan issues, suggesting minimal impact from administrative changes.

Adam Borg asked for more detail on the smooth rollout of the new transaction model and what provided the confidence to accelerate its launch in Europe, and also inquired about any potential impact from the upcoming U.S. election.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost attributed the confidence to the successful, incremental rollout that started in Australia and proceeded smoothly in the U.S. with no major business disruptions. Interim CFO Betsy Rafael added that the main complexities in Europe are currency and regulations, which the company has extensive experience managing. Regarding the election, Anagnost stated that since key end markets like infrastructure and manufacturing have bipartisan support, they see little potential impact and are not hearing concern from customers.

Adam Borg asked about the top R&D and sales and marketing priorities for Red Canary in fiscal 2026, following its acquisition.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Jay Chaudhry highlighted two main priorities: integrating Red Canary's sophisticated agentic technology for detection and investigation with Zscaler's data fabric to build a strong market solution, and leveraging Red Canary's specialist sales team for security operations, supported by Zscaler's wider sales team, while continuing to serve MDR customers.

Adam Borg asked about the company's headcount growth plans for fiscal 2025 and the primary areas of investment across the organization.

Answer

CFO Remo Canessa stated that Zscaler will continue to increase headcount in fiscal 2025 across all functions, including R&D, sales and marketing, G&A, and cloud operations. However, he specified that the pace of hiring will be more moderate compared to fiscal 2024, when the company added approximately 1,400 employees.

Adam Borg from Stifel Financial Corp. asked about the current state of sales force productivity relative to historical levels and what criteria must be met to increase investment in sales hiring for the second half of the year and into fiscal 2027.

Answer

President & COO Eric Kelleher noted that after hitting a multi-year high in sales productivity last year, they saw further gains in Q2 and are on track with their model. CEO Todd McKinnon added that because the business is back-end loaded, strong performance in Q3 and Q4 is critical to build the confidence needed to accelerate go-to-market investment for next year.

Adam Borg asked if any specific geography or vertical stood out in the strong quarter and inquired about the size and quality of the sales pipeline heading into fiscal '26 compared to the prior year.

Answer

CEO Todd McKinnon identified North America as the strongest geography that particularly exceeded expectations, while noting international remains a long-term growth opportunity. CFO Brett Tighe added that EMEA and the public sector also had very strong quarters, describing the performance as strong across the board. Regarding the pipeline, he stated that management is comfortable with its current state based on the guidance provided for FY'26.

Adam Borg inquired about potential changes to product packaging and pricing in FY'26 to coincide with the new products and sales specialization.

Answer

CEO Todd McKinnon confirmed that Okta is exploring pricing and packaging changes. He noted the current model is very a la carte and they are looking to introduce more simplified, tiered editions (e.g., 'good, better, best') to make it easier for customers to purchase and consume the product suite.

Adam Borg asked about the strategy for pricing and packaging the Command platform to make the selling motion easier, and also inquired when the modest decline in total customer count might stabilize.

Answer

CEO Corey Thomas acknowledged that the company needs to improve its pricing and packaging to facilitate an easier expansion motion with 'bite-sized increments' for customers. Regarding customer count, he stated it is not a primary focus, as the company is successfully adding strategic customers while seeing some smaller, transactional customers churn. He indicated the focus is on growing ARR per customer and that the company will work on providing better metrics to reflect customer quality.

Adam Borg asked how the new Security Operations Center (SOC) in India will contribute to both innovation and operational efficiency.

Answer

CEO Corey Thomas explained that the primary driver for the India SOC is to support strong customer demand and growth in EMEA and APAC. While it offers economic benefits, he stressed that the majority of cost efficiency will come from technology innovation, particularly investments in AI. CFO Tim Adams noted this is already reflected in the numbers, with international revenue at 25% of total and growing at 10% year-over-year.

Adam Borg of Stifel asked for an update on Cloudflare One's competitive position in the SASE market and for commentary on the current macroeconomic environment.

Answer

Co-Founder & CEO Matthew Prince highlighted the company's rapid innovation in the SASE space, noting that when Cloudflare is included in deals, it wins on speed, ease of deployment, and ROI, often displacing first-generation vendors. He stated that improving market awareness is a key focus. Regarding the macro environment, Prince described it as 'disjointed' but noted that customers continue to invest in Cloudflare for its clear value proposition regardless of broader economic uncertainty.

Adam Borg from Stifel asked about the 'developer speed boat' team, its involvement in the $100 million+ Workers deal, and the broader developer go-to-market motion.

Answer

CEO Matthew Prince confirmed the specialized developer sales team was critical in closing the large Workers deal. He explained that the team is now actively and successfully engaging customers, helping them build proofs-of-concept that demonstrate the platform's ROI and lead to significant contracts. He noted the timing is right for this motion, given the maturity of the developer platform.

Adam Borg of Stifel asked about the implications of the FedRAMP High authorization on Cloudflare's network architecture and requested an update on the company's government business.

Answer

CEO Matthew Prince explained that the company designed its compliance strategy to meet FedRAMP High requirements without fragmenting its unified global network, a key differentiator from hyperscalers. He noted that this allows the entire platform to be available to government clients. He also confirmed the federal business continues to grow in the U.S. and internationally, citing NATO as a key customer.

Adam Borg asked for a breakdown of the untapped customer volume between competitor-held business versus greenfield and inquired about the cause of the lower gross margin in the quarter.

Answer

CEO Craig Courtemanche asserted that most untapped volume is greenfield, with potential customers using homegrown solutions or basic office software rather than a dedicated competitor platform. CFO Howard Fu explained the gross margin dip was due to an expense reclassification from sales and marketing to cost of revenue as part of the GTM changes, which was neutral to operating margin and free cash flow. He reiterated the long-term gross margin target in the mid-80s.

Adam Borg of Stifel asked about the company's strategy for building a channel partner ecosystem and the new logo growth assumptions underlying the 2025 guidance.

Answer

CEO Tooey Courtemanche described building a channel with large SIs as a key part of the long-term plan, though not a primary focus currently. CFO Howard Fu explained that new logo count is not a key driver and that the guidance implies lower growth in this metric, pointing instead to the growth in large, six- and seven-figure deals as more indicative of business momentum.

Adam Borg from Stifel asked how the mix of growth drivers might evolve from being primarily volume-based (ACV) towards greater module adoption, given the go-to-market evolution.

Answer

Executive Craig Courtemanche confirmed that driving product adoption is a primary goal of the new strategy. He explained that as Procore sells to a wider range of personas like CFOs and safety heads, specialized sales teams are required. He stated his belief that the growth mix will 'definitely move more towards new product' once the new model matures.

Adam Borg asked for deeper insight into the R&D and go-to-market priorities related to the Vulcan Cyber acquisition.

Answer

Co-CEO Stephen Vintz detailed the R&D priorities: 1) Ingesting third-party data to expand Tenable's exposure data set for AI initiatives, and 2) Automating remediation operations. Co-CEO Mark Thurmond explained the go-to-market strategy involves mainstreaming Vulcan's capabilities into the core sales force as a key part of the Tenable One consolidation story, rather than using specialized sellers.

Adam Borg asked for an overview of the channel strategy for the upcoming year, with a specific focus on the Managed Service Provider (MSP) opportunity.

Answer

CEO Matt Cohen described the channel as a 'special differentiator' and highlighted MSPs as a major growth area. He noted that MSPs were a key driver of strong new logo performance in Q4 and throughout 2024, as they increasingly adopt more of CyberArk's solution set. He added that the company remains highly enthused by the channel's ability to generate pipeline and deliver results.

Adam Borg asked about the current level of technological integration within CyberArk's human identity portfolio and the future roadmap for creating a converged human and non-human identity platform, especially with the addition of Venafi.

Answer

CEO Matt Cohen stated the first priority for 2025 is integrating Venafi and Secrets Management into a cohesive Machine Identity Security Solution. He outlined a longer-term vision for 2026 and beyond, where shared platform services like unified dashboards, discovery, and audit would converge the human and machine identity portfolios, providing customers with a single, comprehensive view of security.