Sign in

    Alex Zukin

    Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Wolfe Research LLC

    Alex Zukin is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Wolfe Research LLC, specializing in software equity research with an emphasis on enterprise software, cloud computing, security software, and SaaS companies. He covers major technology firms including MongoDB, Snowflake, Datadog, Informatica, CyberArk, and Anaplan, maintaining a strong performance record with a success rate of approximately 67% and average analyst returns near 27%. Zukin's career spans leadership roles at Piper Jaffray, RBC Capital Markets, and Stephens Inc., with over a decade of experience prior to joining Wolfe Research. He holds professional securities licenses and is recognized for his expertise in software sector analysis and actionable investment strategies.

    Alex Zukin's questions to Snowflake (SNOW) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Snowflake (SNOW) leadership • Q2 2026

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research, LLC sought to understand the drivers behind the consumption acceleration, asking whether it was a normalization of the demand environment or more attributable to Snowflake being included in new AI budgets and new products unlocking spend.

    Answer

    CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy clarified that while the core analytics business remains the strong foundation, there is a clear trend of AI influencing customer decisions. He noted that large customers are allocating specific budgets for AI projects on Snowflake, and that AI was involved in nearly 25% of all deployed use cases in Q2. He expects this trend to continue and accelerate, becoming an increasingly significant growth driver.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to MongoDB (MDB) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to MongoDB (MDB) leadership • Q2 2026

    Question

    Alex Zukin asked for more nuance on the AI use cases and platform differentiators driving market share gains, and when this might materially impact growth. He also questioned how the company successfully balances significant margin outperformance with simultaneous investments for growth.

    Answer

    President & CEO Dev Ittycheria reiterated that AI's contribution is not yet material but highlighted MongoDB's architectural advantages with JSON, integrated vector search, and embedded Voyage models. He noted enterprise AI adoption is still early. CFO Mike Berry explained the balance of growth and profitability is achieved because revenue growth is the primary driver of margin expansion. He credited a company-wide effort to reallocate spending to high-ROI opportunities while investing in growth.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Zoom Communications (ZM) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Zoom Communications (ZM) leadership • Q2 2026

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked how AI adoption is influencing the monetization timeline and competitive positioning, and also questioned if any headwinds in CRPO or billings metrics might contradict the strong revenue performance.

    Answer

    Founder & CEO Eric Yuan stated that AI Companion acts as a platform to empower other products, helping win deals in areas like Contact Center. CFO Michelle Chang noted a partial abatement of deal scrutiny seen in Q1. Regarding RPO, she explained that while the 5% growth is strong, it is lapping a very high comparable from the prior year, which affects the year-over-year metric.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Zoom Communications (ZM) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    Speaking for Alex Zukin, an analyst asked for more detail on the deal sizes driving Zoom Contact Center's growth to a triple-digit million ARR business and inquired about the competitive landscape, specifically regarding greenfield versus replacement deals.

    Answer

    CEO Eric Yuan reported that Contact Center customer count grew 65% year-over-year and noted that none of the top 10 deals in Q1 were replacements of existing cloud-based vendors, implying a focus on on-premise migrations and greenfield opportunities. He also highlighted that channel partners drove 6-7 of the top 10 deals. CFO Michelle Chang added there was a 10% year-over-year mix shift towards the AI-centric Elite SKU.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to INTUIT (INTU) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to INTUIT (INTU) leadership • Q4 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research LLC asked about the strategy to mix-shift customers to higher service tiers using new AI functionality, whether it's a 'push' or 'pull' dynamic, and if it can be achieved with margin expansion.

    Answer

    CEO Sasan Goodarzi described the opportunity as helping customers consolidate their disparate apps and data onto Intuit's all-in-one platform, which a Forrester study showed can yield a 300% ROI. He characterized the strategy as both a 'push' and a 'pull.' The AI agents create a 'pull' by demonstrating value and encouraging organic adoption. Concurrently, Intuit will 'push' customers by evolving its product lineup to inspire consolidation and overcome inertia, effectively creating an ERP-like system for SMBs.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to INTUIT (INTU) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Patrick, on behalf of Alex Zukin, asked for the drivers behind Credit Karma's significant outperformance and why annual guidance was not updated despite strong first-half results.

    Answer

    CEO Sasan Goodarzi attributed Credit Karma's growth to both macro improvement (40%) and strong execution (60%) within the "one consumer platform" strategy, which integrates TurboTax and improves the shopping experience for financial products. CFO Sandeep Aujla added that the company faces more challenging year-over-year comps for Credit Karma in the second half of the year. Both executives confirmed they will re-evaluate full-year guidance after Q3, which is their standard practice.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to monday.com (MNDY) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to monday.com (MNDY) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin inquired about the current demand environment, linearity within the quarter for large deals, the deceleration in billings, and the expected progression of Net Dollar Retention (NDR) for the remainder of the year.

    Answer

    Co-CEO Roy Mann and CFO Eliran Glazer addressed the questions. They noted strong overall demand, particularly upmarket, but acknowledged some softness in the downmarket segment due to Google algorithm changes. Glazer stated that calculated billings are an imperfect metric and the company focuses on ARR. He confirmed the NDR of 111% was expected due to lapping a price increase and is projected to remain stable through fiscal 2025.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to TWILIO (TWLO) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to TWILIO (TWLO) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin asked a two-part question about voice performance relative to expectations and its future growth contribution, and for the sequential gross margin change when adjusted for FX and A2P fees.

    Answer

    CEO Khozema Shipchandler stated that voice is performing very well, driven by AI demand, and is gross margin accretive, though its impact is moderated by the large messaging business. CFO Aidan Viggiano clarified that after adjusting for fees and FX, non-GAAP gross margin was roughly flat quarter-over-quarter.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Paycom Software (PAYC) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Paycom Software (PAYC) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked how iWant fits into the overall product strategy with Beti, what defines success for iWant, and for an update on retention trends related to Beti and the potential combined impact with iWant.

    Answer

    CEO Chad Richison explained that both products drive significant retention. He differentiated them by noting iWant is a broad, system-wide interface that touches every module and piece of data, while Beti is more focused on the payroll process. He described iWant as a new, simpler way to access all information, which in turn makes features like Beti 'sweeter' and easier to use, representing a fundamental shift in user interaction.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to HUBSPOT (HUBS) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to HUBSPOT (HUBS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research LLC asked if marketing disruption is causing customer hesitation or acting as a call to action, and how monetization evolves if LLMs become the primary user interface.

    Answer

    CEO Yamini Rangan stated that marketers are not pausing; they are actively looking to HubSpot for new playbooks to navigate the world beyond search, making it a call to action and a major opportunity. CTO Dharmesh Shah added that HubSpot is seeing an unexpected use case where customers create agents on Agent.ai as lead magnets, a new form of inbound content. These leads flow directly into their HubSpot portal, creating a powerful flywheel effect.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to HUBSPOT (HUBS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked if the disruption in marketing is causing customers to pause or if it's a call to action, and also how HubSpot's monetization strategy adapts if LLMs become the primary user interface.

    Answer

    CEO Yamini Rangan asserted that marketers are not pausing but are actively looking to HubSpot for a new playbook to grow beyond search, making it a significant opportunity. CTO Dharmesh Shah added that HubSpot is creating value by using agents as lead magnets themselves, with leads flowing directly into a customer's HubSpot account, creating a powerful new flywheel for inbound marketing.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Dayforce (DAY) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Dayforce (DAY) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research LLC questioned the dynamic between very strong bookings and a sequential slowdown in recurring revenue growth. He also asked about the wide Q3 guidance and implied Q4 acceleration, probing if go-live predictability is changing.

    Answer

    Executive VP & CFO Jeremy Johnson attributed the current revenue growth rate to a prior 'air pocket' from periods without 40% sales growth. He explained that the benefits of the recent bookings strength are now beginning to flow through, leading to the guided acceleration from ~14% constant currency growth in Q2 to a 16-19% range in Q4. He assured that the company has good visibility and confidence in this back-half ramp.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Paylocity Holding (PCTY) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Paylocity Holding (PCTY) leadership • Q4 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research LLC asked which Airbase features are driving the most cross-sell interest, about potential gross margin impacts, and for the expected revenue contribution from Airbase in fiscal 2026.

    Answer

    Executive Chairman Steve Beauchamp identified expense management as the module with the highest adoption, often serving as the entry point. CFO Ryan Glenn stated that Airbase's margin profile is not materially different from the core business and that its revenue contribution, while growing, remains a small portion of the total.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Paylocity Holding (PCTY) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    An analyst on for Alex Zukin asked about the pricing strategy for new CFO products and the latest trends in sales hiring and productivity.

    Answer

    Executive Chairman Steven Beauchamp explained that pricing for products like Airbase will align with models common to the CFO suite, separate from the HCM PEPY model, and that this has been received well. President and CEO Toby Williams reiterated the focus on driving productivity from the existing sales force with modest headcount growth, a strategy that has proven effective and will likely inform the FY26 plan.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to ZoomInfo Technologies (GTM) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to ZoomInfo Technologies (GTM) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked about the company's confidence in sustaining the recent improvement in Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and requested more detail on the trajectory of operating margin leverage.

    Answer

    CFO Graham O'Brien expressed confidence in returning NRR to the 90s, driven by improving upmarket retention, a favorable business mix shift, and expansion opportunities with Copilot and Go-to-Market Studio. He reiterated that margin improvement is a matter of timing and will occur in step functions rather than being linear.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to ZI leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to ZI leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked about the company's confidence in sustaining the recent improvement in Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and requested more detail on the trajectory of operating margin leverage.

    Answer

    CFO Graham O'Brien expressed confidence in returning NRR to the 90s, driven by strong upmarket retention, favorable mix shift, and expansion opportunities with Copilot and Go-to-Market Studio. He reiterated that margin improvement is expected to materialize over time as a 'step function' rather than being linear, viewing it as a timing progression, not a conflict with growth.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to TYLER TECHNOLOGIES (TYL) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to TYLER TECHNOLOGIES (TYL) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research LLC asked about the level of conservatism in the outlook regarding macro impacts and questioned why the free cash flow margin was raised by 100 bps when the tax bill provided a 200 bps benefit.

    Answer

    President & CEO Lynn Moore stated there is not significant conservatism in the 2025 outlook related to macro factors. EVP & CFO Brian Miller explained the free cash flow guidance also reflects the positive impact of higher earnings, particularly from strong-performing transaction revenues. He advised against assuming a simple doubling of the tax benefit for next year's modeling.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Freshworks (FRSH) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Freshworks (FRSH) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin followed up on AI, asking when it might become a significant growth catalyst to inflect the business trajectory. He also asked about Q2 billings performance, specifically regarding any pull-ins, and the confidence in the second-half guide.

    Answer

    CEO Dennis Woodside positioned AI as one of several key growth levers, alongside ESM, Device 42, and market share gains. COO & CFO Tyler Sloat addressed billings, noting a minor, non-significant pull-in and stated that the strong H2 guide reflects confidence from a solid Q2 performance and healthy pipeline.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to ServiceNow (NOW) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to ServiceNow (NOW) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research LLC inquired about the drivers behind ServiceNow's strong execution amid a tough macro environment and sought clarity on the conservatism baked into the guidance for the U.S. federal sector.

    Answer

    Chairman & CEO Bill McDermott credited the outperformance to the company's culture and the transformative impact of its Agentic AI platform, which is driving customer consolidation. President & CFO Gina Mastantuono added that the federal sector performed as expected and that the forward guidance prudently accounts for ongoing budget tightening in that vertical.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to ADOBE (ADBE) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to ADOBE (ADBE) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research LLC posed a two-part question about competition: first, regarding the down-market environment with Adobe Express's growth, and second, on the 'coopetition' with vendors like Meta and how GenStudio partners with their ad tools.

    Answer

    David Wadhwani, President of Digital Media, addressed the first part by highlighting Express's integration into the broader enterprise content supply chain, which drives adoption. On the second part, CEO Shantanu Narayen and Anil Chakravarthy, President of Digital Experience, explained that ad platforms like Meta seek partnerships with Adobe. They stated GenStudio helps advertisers optimize creative and ROI, making Adobe a key partner for creating and deploying content across all major ad channels.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Samsara (IOT) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Samsara (IOT) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research LLC inquired about the nature of elongated sales cycles, asking if deals that closed in May retained their original size and scope, and about the current state of pipeline construction. He also asked about the expanded opportunities and competitive positioning resulting from new OEM partnerships.

    Answer

    Chief Financial Officer Dominic Phillips confirmed that the deals that closed in May did not change in construction, describing the Q1 slip as a multi-million dollar impact. He also noted record pipeline generation in Q1, signaling strong customer demand despite macro uncertainty. Co-Founder and CEO Sanjit Biswas added that the OEM partnership strategy is focused on reducing customer friction by making it easier to connect new assets to Samsara's cloud platform.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to UiPath (PATH) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to UiPath (PATH) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    Alex Zukin sought to understand the primary drivers of the strong license revenue outperformance in the quarter. He also asked if the Net Retention Rate is expected to trend down further before troughing and about any potential for further go-to-market efficiencies.

    Answer

    CFO & COO Ashim Gupta attributed the license revenue performance to a favorable mix of deals in terms of duration and deployment method, stating there was nothing unusual to report. On NRR, he reiterated that the trend is embedded in the guidance and the company is bullish on agentic activity but expects no material impact this year. He confirmed the go-to-market restructuring is complete but the company will continue to seek efficiencies.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to OneStream (OS) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to OneStream (OS) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    An analyst on behalf of Alex Zukin from Wolfe Research asked for more calibration on the current buying environment and the degree of conservatism embedded in the 2025 guidance.

    Answer

    Co-Founder and CEO Tom Shea described the Q4 environment not as one of abrupt deal halts, but of a 'lack of urgency' from large multinational and government customers, noting that CFOs are sensitive buyers who react early to uncertainty. He characterized the guidance as prudent in light of factors outside their control, while reaffirming confidence in the company's product strategy and ability to execute.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Informatica (INFA) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Informatica (INFA) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    On behalf of Alex Zukin, Patrick inquired about trends in customer budgets for data initiatives throughout the year and the outlook for spending in Q4 and into the next year.

    Answer

    CEO Amit Walia explained that customer spending has shifted from purely defensive, cost-saving projects to include offensive, transformational initiatives. He emphasized that GenAI is embedded in every conversation, driving pilots and new use cases. Walia identified data, AI, and cybersecurity as the primary areas where customers are consistently allocating their budgets.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Informatica (INFA) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Patrick from Wolfe Research asked for clarification on the dynamics of self-managed subscription renewals, where rates are high but duration is decreasing, and inquired about plans to further accelerate the on-premise to cloud migration story.

    Answer

    CFO Mike McLaughlin explained that shorter renewal terms are specific to self-managed on-prem subscriptions, not maintenance. This impacts upfront GAAP revenue recognition under ASC 606 but does not affect ARR or cash flow. He views this trend as a positive signal that customers are preparing to migrate, and expects migration growth to outpace overall cloud subscription ARR growth.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to Asana (ASAN) leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to Asana (ASAN) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Speaking on behalf of Alex Zukin, Rich Magnus asked about the evolution of the competitive landscape over the past year and requested color on billings trends for the next two quarters.

    Answer

    CEO Dustin Moskovitz stated that the competitive landscape has not seen significant changes, noting that customers are often hesitating on large consolidation deals. COO Anne Raimondi expressed confidence in future billings, citing improved revenue operations, better sales rep enablement, and strong performance in international regions like EMEA and Japan, which act as leading indicators.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to SMAR leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to SMAR leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Asked about booking linearity, the source of SMB headwinds (churn vs. expansion), and modeling net new ARR. Also inquired about the target for converting free users to paid and the expected impact on NRR.

    Answer

    Bookings started slow but finished strong. SMB trends were consistent with the past, while enterprise was strong. Net new ARR growth is expected to improve through the year. The new model simplifies licensing (internal contributors are paid), which is expected to significantly increase the paid user base and potentially drive premium capability sales.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Alex Zukin's questions to HCP leadership

    Alex Zukin's questions to HCP leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Asked about changes in the demand environment, the impact of generative AI on spending priorities, and the financial impact of the recent BSL license change.

    Answer

    The demand environment is consistent and has not materially changed. Generative AI is seen as a tailwind as it drives multi-cloud adoption, which benefits HashiCorp's portfolio. No revenue impact is expected from the BSL license change, as its purpose is to enable long-term investment in open innovation.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI