Arjun Bhatia

Arjun Bhatia asked about the early customer reception of AI Decisioning Studio, key use cases, pipeline status, and its potential for growth in fiscal 2027.

Answer

Bill Magnuson (CEO, Braze) reported strong integration and pipeline generation for Decisioning Studio, with wins across diverse verticals and geographies. He highlighted its role as a critical part of the overall Braze AI roadmap, offering incremental performance for sophisticated customers. He noted it's an enterprise deal cycle requiring customer education but provides a clear progression path for customers to achieve maximum performance.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the early reception, use cases, pipeline, and growth outlook for AI Decisioning Studio, and how it might unlock growth in the next fiscal year.

Answer

Bill Magnuson (CEO, Braze) reported strong integration progress and pipeline generation for Decisioning Studio across verticals and geos. He highlighted the cross-sell thesis, where it offers incremental performance for sophisticated customers and serves as a progression point for others. He cited a case study showing significant uplift, emphasizing that it sells performance and requires customer education as a new category.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the renewal cadence for 'ZIRP era' cohorts throughout the year and asked how OfferFit is being priced and whether it will eventually merge into a single pricing model with Braze AI.

Answer

CFO Isabelle Winkels noted that Q1 was a heavy renewal quarter but clarified this was not specific to any single cohort, as 'ZIRP era' contracts have varied renewal dates. CEO Bill Magnuson stated that OfferFit will continue to be sold on a per-use-case basis for approximately $250,000-$300,000 annually, including expert services. He described this as additive to existing Braze contracts and said that while future pricing has optionality, there are no immediate plans to merge the models.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair asked for elaboration on the 'next frontier of personalization' beyond traditional targeting and how it might change customer messaging. He also inquired about expansion trends among newer customer cohorts compared to those from the pre-IPO era, referencing a previous disclosure from Analyst Day.

Answer

CEO Bill Magnuson described a spectrum of personalization, from manual A/B testing to automated experimentation with Project Catalyst and highly customized models from OfferFit, aiming to provide AI tools for all customer sizes. CFO Isabelle Winkles confirmed that the trend of post-IPO customer cohorts showing stronger expansion than pre-IPO cohorts has continued to be positive since it was highlighted at the Analyst Day.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the marketing budget environment for the upcoming year and questioned why the legacy vendor replacement cycle might not accelerate further given the focus on AI and first-party data.

Answer

CEO Bill Magnuson stated that Braze is not factoring any improvement in the demand environment into its guidance. He explained that while the replacement cycle is strong, many businesses have prioritized short-term cost savings over the value creation and switching costs associated with a platform migration, thus tempering the acceleration.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the role and monetization strategy of the Braze Data Platform and its relationship with customers' existing cloud data warehouses. He also inquired about go-to-market resource allocation, given the strength in enterprise versus other segments.

Answer

CEO Bill Magnuson explained the Braze Data Platform is designed for flexible data ingestion to drive customer engagement outcomes, not to replace data warehouses. He stated that while enterprise acquisition is efficient, Braze is making foundational investments in product-led growth, like free trials, to improve efficiency in the commercial segment and appeal to technical stakeholders in all deal cycles.

Arjun Bhatia questioned Ooma's capacity to simultaneously absorb and integrate two decent-sized acquisitions, FluentStream and Phone.com, throughout fiscal 2027, and whether Ooma plans for more acquisitions in the future. He also asked about the competitive dynamics in the business segment, specifically in hospitality hotels, inquiring about the incumbents Ooma is replacing and how the competitive landscape has evolved over the past year.

Answer

CEO Eric Stang expressed confidence in Ooma's capacity to integrate both acquisitions without derailing existing operations, noting that both FluentStream and Phone.com are performing well and do not require immediate, urgent changes. He highlighted Phone.com's e-commerce strength as a cost-effective growth channel that Ooma's marketing team can leverage. Eric Stang also stated that Ooma is open to more acquisitions if cost-effective opportunities arise. In the hospitality sector, he explained that Ooma Enterprise primarily replaces legacy on-site PBX systems as hotels transition to cloud solutions, and the competitive landscape has remained largely unchanged.

Arjun Bhatia's associate inquired about the company's capital allocation priorities now that its debt has been fully paid off. He also asked if the Net Dollar Subscription Retention Rate (NRR) is expected to rebound to 100% after the anticipated IWG churn is lapped.

Answer

CFO Shigeyuki Hamamatsu outlined capital allocation priorities, including opportunistic share buybacks, potential customer base acquisitions, and investing in inventory to support growth in AirDial and residential products. Regarding NRR, he projected it might see a slight impact in Q4 from IWG churn but expects it to stabilize in the 98-99% range in the short term, with momentum in other business areas providing an offset.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about Sprinklr's current AI capabilities, future investment plans, and the expected margin impact from increased AI use cases, as well as the qualitative outlook for fiscal year 2027 as a transition year.

Answer

Rory Read, President and CEO, highlighted Sprinklr's AI-native platform, emphasizing its ability to unify customer signals for a 360-degree view and its focus on context, intelligent collaboration, and agentic deflection. He mentioned plans to invest in more AI skills and in-region deployment. Mr. Read clarified that FY27 will still be part of the transition phase, with the goal of moving into an acceleration phase later in the year, urging patience.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the current state of Sprinklr's AI capabilities, areas requiring further investment, and the anticipated margin impact from increased AI use cases over the next year. He also sought qualitative insights on whether fiscal year 2027 would remain a transition year or move towards an acceleration phase.

Answer

CEO Rory Read highlighted Sprinklr's AI-native platform, built over 9-10 years for unstructured data and 360-degree customer signals, emphasizing its embedded nature for context, intelligent collaboration, and agentic deflection. He noted continued investment in AI skills (300+ engineers), potential tuck-ins, and in-region deployment. Regarding FY27, Mr. Read stated that while specific guidance would come later, the execution/transition phase would extend into next year, with hopes for an acceleration phase at some point, but stressed the need for consistent performance over several quarters.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the timeline for the go-to-market transformation to reach its full potential and what product differentiators are driving wins in the competitive CCaaS market.

Answer

President, CEO & Director, Rory Read, explained that FY26 is a transitional year, with the new sales pod structure expected to gain momentum in the second half after comprehensive enablement programs are completed. For CCaaS, Read highlighted Sprinklr's AI-native unified platform as the key differentiator, allowing agents a more robust, single-screen experience. He noted the company must harden the CCaaS product and mature its enterprise processes before accelerating further investment.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair inquired about the go-to-market priority between new customer acquisition and the existing installed base, and asked about the prevalence and remedy for historical implementation challenges.

Answer

President and CEO Rory Read stated that the immediate tactical focus is on solidifying and expanding the existing customer base, particularly the 149 customers with over $1 million in revenue, before pursuing new logos outside their ideal enterprise profile. Regarding implementations, Read acknowledged past inconsistencies due to immature processes and stated he is now personally overseeing the effort to 'productize' implementations for consistency, a process he expects will take 2-4 quarters to fully mature.

Arjun Bhatia asked new CEO Rory Read for his perspective on Sprinklr's future direction, particularly the strategic balance between the CCaaS (Sprinklr Service) business and the core social and customer experience solutions. He also inquired which growth metric—subscription revenue, billings, or cRPO—is the best leading indicator for the business going forward.

Answer

President and CEO Rory Read outlined an "ambidextrous strategy" focused on improving the company's Rule of 40 metric. This involves reenergizing the neglected core business while simultaneously hardening and expanding the Sprinklr Service offering. CFO Manish Sarin added that RPO and cRPO are stronger leading indicators of future growth than billings, which can be skewed by varied payment cycles, and that a more detailed outlook would be provided in March.

Arjun Bhatia asked about Intuit's perspective on when customers might choose to use Intuit apps within ChatGPT versus directly within Intuit's own applications, and if this distinction matters, or if the goal is simply to drive increased engagement and service attach rates.

Answer

Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi stated that winning companies have platforms and are 'where the eyeballs are,' which is the strategy behind the ChatGPT partnership. He emphasized that it doesn't matter if a customer comes directly to Intuit's platform or uses Intuit within ChatGPT, as they receive personalized experiences, and Intuit's privacy and economics remain unchanged. Goodarzi highlighted that the goal is to be where the customer is and make experiences easy, and while only time will tell customer behaviors, Intuit is positioned to succeed regardless of the access point.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair inquired about the AI readiness of Intuit's customer base for the new agentic capabilities and the level of implementation effort required from customers.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi explained that customers are less concerned with the technology itself and more with the outcomes, such as help with growing their business or improving cash flow. He noted the AI agents provide tangible benefits, like collecting unpaid invoices, which drives adoption. CFO Sandeep Aujla added that Intuit deliberately integrated these AI experiences into the existing product lineup, making them easily accessible and driving higher-than-expected repeat usage without requiring a separate implementation.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the early customer feedback and excitement surrounding RADCOM's newly launched high-capacity user analytics solution, and inquired about overall expansion trends with existing customers, specifically regarding additions to their current service stack.

Answer

CEO Benny Eppstein stated that the high-capacity user analytics solution is currently in field trials, showing great performance, and is targeted to materialize in 2026. Regarding existing customer expansion, Mr. Eppstein noted a solid pipeline build-up, continued targeting of double-digit growth, and increasing opportunities for 2026, particularly in cloud-native and 5G-dependent solutions.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the early customer feedback and excitement surrounding RADCOM's newly launched high-capacity user analytics solution, and inquired about overall expansion trends with existing customers, specifically regarding additions to their current service stack.

Answer

CEO Benny Eppstein stated that the high-capacity user analytics solution is currently in field trials, showing great performance, and is targeted to materialize in 2026. Regarding existing customer expansion, Mr. Eppstein noted a solid pipeline build-up, continued targeting of double-digit growth, and increasing opportunities for 2026, particularly in cloud-native and 5G-dependent solutions.

Arjun Bhatia asked about RADCOM's strategy for Agentic AI, including the functionality being developed, integration with partners, and potential monetization models. He also inquired about the company's use of capital from its strong free cash flow, specifically regarding M&A plans.

Answer

Executive Benny Eppstein explained that RADCOM is investing in R&D for Agentic AI use cases in close collaboration with partners and is considering various flexible monetization models. Regarding capital allocation, Eppstein stated that M&A is the top priority, with the company actively evaluating opportunities within its ecosystem for potential action in the second half of the year.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the new seven-figure contract with a North American operator, focusing on the role of the Continual acquisition, the potential for platform expansion with this client, and the outlook for 2025 revenue growth given recent deal signings.

Answer

Executive Hilik Itman explained that the Continual acquisition is a complementary technology that enhances the core RADCOM ACE platform with advanced analytics, driving new opportunities. CFO Hadar Rahav added that the multi-year contract's revenue will be recognized starting in 2025. She expressed confidence in sustained growth for 2025, supported by a strong backlog, a high percentage of recurring revenue (around 70%), and a powerful business model, suggesting the analyst's growth assumptions were reasonable.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the integration and go-to-market strategy for Buzz and Weavy, and how Figma plans to target new personas like content creators versus traditional app designers and developers.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-founder and CEO, explained that both Buzz and Weavy empower brand and creative teams, with Buzz focusing on graphics consistency and Weavy on modular production workflows for higher craft. Praveer Melwani, CFO, noted Weavy will initially operate standalone, with integration plans to be evaluated.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the integration and go-to-market strategy for Buzz and Weavy, asking if they would merge over time and how Figma plans to target new personas like content creators.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-founder and CEO of Figma, clarified that Buzz focuses on graphics and consistency for brand teams, enabling self-service, while Weavy is centered on production workflows and crafting modular AI outputs. Praveer Melwani, CFO of Figma, stated that Weavy would initially operate as a standalone entity with its team joining Figma, and integration of technology and workflows would be evaluated in the coming months, with the product continuing to be sold standalone in the immediate term.

Arjun Bhatia asked about Zeta's ROI/ROAS compared to walled gardens and the strategy for capturing larger media budgets, as well as the sequential growth in scaled customer count.

Answer

David Steinberg (Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Zeta Global) stated that Zeta's platform delivers a 6X return on investment, comparable to walled gardens, and that clients use Zeta's data to inform marketing into walled gardens. Chris Greiner (CFO, Zeta Global) clarified that while sequential scaled customer additions were five, year-over-year growth was 20%, with strong progression to super-scaled customers and an increase of 23 brands quarter-to-quarter.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about Zeta's return on investment (ROI) and return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to walled gardens, and the strategy for capturing larger media budgets. He also asked about the sequential growth in scaled customer count and visibility into agency brand additions.

Answer

CEO David Steinberg stated that Zeta's platform delivers a 6x return on revenue, comparable to walled gardens, and noted that marketers seek new methodologies post-Gemini/OpenAI. CFO Chris Greiner clarified that while scaled customer count increased by five sequentially, super scaled customers grew by 12, and brand count increased by 23, indicating strong agency expansion.

Arjun Bhatia asked what the updated full-year guidance contemplates regarding the macroeconomic environment, noting past conservatism.

Answer

CFO Chris Greiner clarified that while they typically build in a 2-5 point growth cushion, they had previously added an extra $10 million cushion for macro uncertainty. He stated this extra cushion has now been removed due to strong performance, good visibility into the second half, and a robust sales pipeline.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair asked what new strategies Zeta has to protect its growth rate during a potential macro slowdown, given its evolution since 2020/2022. He also inquired about the specific actions driving improved free cash flow conversion.

Answer

CEO David Steinberg explained that the company's expanded use cases, channels, and superior attribution capabilities provide more levers to maintain growth and prove ROI, which is critical in a downturn. He also noted strong relationships with holding companies are a buffer. CFO Chris Greiner attributed the improved cash flow conversion to greater efficiency in CapEx (both software and data capitalization) and more of the business dropping to the bottom line, despite timing headwinds from agency payments.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair & Company asked about the role of the agency business in the 2028 model, their pace of adopting direct channels, and the impact of the recent short seller report on customer conversations and behavior.

Answer

CFO Chris Greiner projected that the agency business, currently around 20% of revenue, will become an even larger part of the mix by 2028, with continued adoption of higher-margin direct channels. CEO David Steinberg addressed the short report, stating there have been no client losses or material changes. He emphasized that an Audit Committee review, involving independent forensic accounting and data privacy firms, found the allegations to be without merit and corroborated Zeta's practices.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair asked about the specific direct channels seeing early adoption from agencies and the potential impact on gross margins. He also questioned if the lower Q4 political revenue guidance was due to conservatism.

Answer

CEO David Steinberg identified CTV, online video, and mobile as key channels for agency adoption. CFO Christopher Greiner added that this positive mix shift improved gross margins by approximately 100 basis points quarter-over-quarter and that the Q4 political forecast reflects a shorter period of campaign spending compared to Q3, though some upside is possible.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair asked about the specific direct channels seeing early adoption from agencies, the impact of this mix shift on gross margins, and sought clarification on the Q4 political revenue guidance, which appeared lower than Q3.

Answer

CEO David Steinberg identified CTV, online video, and mobile as key areas for agency direct channel adoption. CFO Christopher Greiner added that the positive mix shift improved implied gross margin by approximately 100 basis points. Regarding political revenue, Greiner explained the lower Q4 forecast was due to timing (one month of peak spending vs. three in Q3) but acknowledged potential for modest upside.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the primary workflows where Now Assist sees initial interest and adoption (e.g., IT, customer, HR) and the breakdown of the expected $500 million Now Assist ACV by year-end between subscription uplift and token consumption.

Answer

CEO Bill McDermott highlighted the CRM category as rapidly changing due to AI, citing an example of a CEO interested in real-time market understanding and automated CPQ. President, CPO, and COO Amit Zavery added that autonomous IT (zero cases), security incident management, and HR are also seeing significant interest due to prepackaged flows. CFO and President Gina Mastantuono clarified that the $500 million ACV for Now Assist is primarily from the subscription piece, with consumption expected to materially impact later, noting price uplifts over 30%.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the primary workflows where Now Assist sees initial interest and adoption (e.g., IT, customer, HR) and the breakdown of the expected $500 million Now Assist ACV by year-end between subscription uplift and token consumption.

Answer

CEO Bill McDermott highlighted the CRM category as rapidly changing due to AI, citing an example of a CEO interested in real-time market understanding and automated CPQ. President, CPO, and COO Amit Zavery added that autonomous IT (zero cases), security incident management, and HR are also seeing significant interest due to prepackaged flows. CFO and President Gina Mastantuono clarified that the $500 million ACV for Now Assist is primarily from the subscription piece, with consumption expected to materially impact later, noting price uplifts over 30%.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair expressed surprise at Zoom winning Contact Center deals against other cloud providers and asked about the key drivers behind these displacements, such as AI capabilities or a superior tech stack.

Answer

Founder & CEO Eric Yuan explained that wins are driven by customer dissatisfaction with incumbent cloud vendors over issues like quality, cost, and slow innovation. He highlighted Zoom's single, organically built platform and rapid innovation. CFO Michelle Chang added that 9 of the top 10 deals were displacements and 7 of 10 involved AI, underscoring the product's strength.

Arjun Bhatia questioned how competitive dynamics with Microsoft Teams are changing for the core video solution, especially given Zoom's free AI Companion versus Teams' paid AI features, and its impact on new customer acquisition.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan emphasized Zoom's advantages in employee experience and total cost of ownership, citing a large fintech company that dropped Teams for Zoom in Q1. He stressed that Zoom is now a broad workplace platform. CFO Michelle Chang added that the Zoom Phone integration with Microsoft Teams is an increasingly successful go-to-market motion.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair asked for details on the key factors that led to the 20,000-seat Zoom Contact Center win with Spain's national revenue service and its replicability.

Answer

Founder and CEO Eric Yuan attributed the win to the customer's pre-existing trust from a large Zoom Phone deployment, Zoom's scalable back-end architecture, and a rapid pace of innovation. He emphasized that the platform was designed from day one to support very large deployments, and the comprehensive feature set, including compliance and AI capabilities, makes such large enterprise wins replicable.

Chris, on behalf of Arjun Bhatia from William Blair, asked about the key drivers behind the strong adoption of Workvivo and where customers are finding the most value.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan stated that Workvivo is crucial for employee engagement in a flexible work environment, offering a dedicated service beyond meetings or chat. He noted that large enterprises recognize its value, leading to significant new logo wins in Q2. Yuan also mentioned the partnership with Meta, which is driving customer migrations to Zoom's platform, and highlighted that Zoom itself uses Workvivo internally for announcements and news.

Arjun Bhatia asked how the pricing model might evolve with agentic AI and when the enterprise business might see a revenue inflection point given its current traction.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan stated that agentic capabilities are a natural evolution of AI and will be part of the AI Companion Studio, not a separate SKU. CFO Michelle Chang reiterated that enterprise is expected to drive growth in FY26, fueled by upmarket moves and new products, but did not provide a specific timeline for a revenue inflection.

Arjun Bhatia asked how monday.com plans to remediate the impact from Google's AI search changes on customer acquisition and what the strategic shift from a 'system of work' to a 'system of action' means for customers.

Answer

Co-CEO Roy Mann and CFO Eliran Glazer stated the Google impact is manageable and is being addressed by reallocating marketing resources. Glazer confirmed the potential impact is factored into guidance. Roy Mann then explained that the 'system of action' vision, powered by AI tools like Sidekick, involves the platform performing tasks for users, not just managing them, by leveraging the full context of their work.

Arjun Bhatia questioned whether the upmarket success of the core Work Management offering is pulling other solutions like CRM, Service, and Dev upmarket with it, or if these products are on independent enterprise trajectories.

Answer

Co-CEO Roy Mann clarified that the trajectory varies by product. While Work Management leads the upmarket push and Service targets larger customers, CRM currently sees more success in the SMB and low mid-market segments. He stated that each product has its own path, though the company aims to push all products upmarket over time by deepening their capabilities.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the drivers behind monday Service having the highest average contract value (ACV) of all products. He also asked for clarification on the apparent slowdown in net new customer additions for the CRM and Dev products in Q4.

Answer

co-CEO Eran Zinman explained that monday Service sees high ACV due to strong cross-sell momentum with mature, existing customers and a more top-down sales process. CFO Eliran Glazer clarified that the Q4 slowdown in CRM and Dev net adds was primarily due to typical seasonality in performance marketing spend, which is lower at year-end, and that the overall strategy is focused on upmarket growth over total customer count.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the long-term ambitions for monday CRM, including its potential to become a full sales and marketing suite, and questioned the reasons for the lighter sequential revenue growth from Q2 to Q3.

Answer

Co-CEO Roy Mann stated that monday CRM's foundation on the Work OS provides flexibility and connectivity across the organization, which is a key differentiator. New additions like campaign management aim to create a more holistic suite. CFO Eliran Glazer addressed the sequential growth by noting that Q2 was an exceptionally strong, outlier quarter. He attributed the lighter Q3 to continued macro choppiness, slower-than-expected growth in monday dev, and slower sales hiring, but mentioned that momentum was already strong again in October.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair inquired about the evolution of Atlassian's enterprise go-to-market strategy in fiscal 2026 and whether the transformation is a multi-year journey.

Answer

CEO & Co-Founder Mike Cannon-Brookes affirmed that improving the enterprise motion is a continuous journey, not a one-year project. He highlighted the significant opportunity within the existing customer base, where 80% of the Fortune 500 are customers but represent only 10% of revenue. He noted that the new CRO is driving ongoing improvements in customer success, sales operations, and the partner ecosystem to capture this opportunity.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair inquired about the evolution of the enterprise go-to-market strategy in fiscal 2026 and whether this transformation is a multi-year journey.

Answer

CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes emphasized that Atlassian already has a strong enterprise business, with a significant opportunity to expand within its existing customer base, as 80% of the Fortune 500 are customers but represent only 10% of revenue. He described the enterprise evolution as a continuous journey of improvement under the new CRO, focusing on customer-centricity, partnerships with GSIs, and sales operations, rather than a project with a defined endpoint.

Arjun Bhatia followed up on the delayed enterprise deals, asking if the cause was idiosyncratic or related to migrations. He also inquired about the remaining obstacles for customers migrating from Data Center to Cloud, given the progress on platform parity.

Answer

CFO Joe Binz attributed the deal timing to the increasing size and complexity of enterprise deals, which naturally elongates sales cycles, rather than macro factors. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes added that cloud platform parity is strong, citing FedRAMP authorization, the new Government and Isolated Clouds, and ongoing compliance achievements as key enablers removing migration blockers for even the most complex customers.

Arjun Bhatia asked for details on where incremental R&D investments are being allocated and how customers are responding to the integration of Segment customer profiles with the Communications business.

Answer

CEO Khozema Shipchandler stated the investment is predominantly for engineering talent to accelerate AI product development, driven by strong customer demand. He highlighted significant customer interest in integrated products like Conversation Relay, which combine data and communications to drive ROI. CRO Thomas Wyatt provided a supporting customer example.

Arjun Bhatia asked for a breakdown of Twilio's business between sticky, strategic use cases versus those more susceptible to macro volatility. He also inquired about the sales team's adaptation to the cross-sell motion and its impact on target customer size.

Answer

CEO Khozema Shipchandler acknowledged that while a major economic downturn would have an impact, Twilio's role in digital engagement provides balance, and so far, no negative effects have materialized. Chief Revenue Officer Thomas Wyatt described the cross-sell motion as a multiyear journey of incremental improvement, driven by strong inbound customer demand for multiple channels and add-on features, which makes it easier for AEs.

Arjun Bhatia asked for a breakdown of the drivers for the strong 108% Communications net retention rate, questioning its sustainability. He also asked how Twilio categorizes its cross-sell opportunities between easier 'layups' and larger 'home runs'.

Answer

CFO Aidan Viggiano explained the Communications DBNRR improvement was driven by increased expansion and a modest reduction in contraction, with churn remaining low. CEO Khozema Shipchandler categorized 'easier' cross-sells as combining existing channels like SMS with email or voice. He described the more significant, longer-cycle opportunity as integrating data with communications, which R&D is actively working to simplify for customers.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the specifics of the OpenAI partnership, including its application across voice and messaging, and the timing of its impact. He also sought clarification on the 'neutral macro' assumption behind the fiscal 2025 growth guidance.

Answer

CEO Khozema Shipchandler explained that the OpenAI partnership is initially voice-based, allowing customers to use OpenAI's models via a Twilio API, with its true value unlocked by combining it with contextual customer data. He noted that a material revenue impact is not expected for some time. CFO Aidan Viggiano clarified that the fiscal 2025 guidance assumes a macro environment similar to the current one, not a significant improvement.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair asked for an assessment of Sprout Social's core business performance and for details on the financial impact of the NewsWhip acquisition included in the updated guidance.

Answer

CEO Ryan Barretto reported that the core business is performing well and tracking to the annual plan, highlighting strong enterprise wins, growth in the >$50k ARR customer cohort, and improved gross revenue retention. CFO Joe DelPretto specified that the guidance incorporates approximately $2.5 million in revenue from NewsWhip for the final five months of the year, reflecting a prudent approach given the recent acquisition.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the strategy for cross-selling the full platform, asking about penetration rates and whether growth will be driven more by existing customer expansion or new enterprise deals.

Answer

CEO Ryan Barretto confirmed that multi-product cross-selling is a core strategy, supported by sales training and compensation plans. He noted that penetration rates are still very early, and growth is expected from both expanding existing accounts, like a recent $600,000 restaurant chain deal, and landing new logos that require multiple solutions.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the target customer profile for the Care and Influencer products under the new platform selling approach and asked about the outlook for the net retention rate's recovery.

Answer

CEO Ryan Barretto stated that while all customers are potential targets, adoption depends on social sophistication, with upmarket clients often needing Care and Influencer Marketing having broad appeal. CFO Joe Del Preto addressed net retention, noting that while expansion was pressured in 2024, he expects the metric to improve going forward due to the shift toward higher-quality, larger enterprise customers.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the product evolution needed to support Sprout's expansion into multiple departments beyond marketing, such as care and product organizations. He also asked for clarification on the recent R&D restructuring, specifically whether it would drive operating leverage or if the resources would be reinvested.

Answer

CEO Ryan Barretto stated that the product already serves multiple use cases across departments and that the company is focused on deepening those capabilities. CFO Joe Del Preto clarified that the R&D restructuring involves reallocating resources to other areas within the R&D organization, and therefore, it should not be viewed as a driver of significant operating leverage in 2025. Ryan Barretto added that the decision was difficult but necessary to capture future growth opportunities.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair inquired about the progress of the consumption model for agentic AI, specifically whether customers are beginning to purchase additional credits beyond their initial allocation.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan reiterated HubSpot's philosophy of demonstrating value before monetization. She confirmed that Customer Agent is now delivering predictable value, which prompted its addition to the credit-based model in June. Rangan noted that the rollout to the installed base was happening this week, making it too early for clear monetization patterns. However, she expressed confidence that the usage and value delivered will translate into monetization, with a more significant impact expected in 2026.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair & Company inquired about the consumption model for agentic AI, asking if customers are moving beyond initial free credits to purchase more, and when this might become a meaningful revenue driver.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan explained that HubSpot's philosophy is to demonstrate predictable value before monetization. With Customer Agent now showing consistent value, it was added to the credit-based model in June and is just beginning to roll out to the install base. She stated it is too early for clear monetization patterns but expressed confidence that usage will translate to revenue, with a more noticeable impact expected in 2026.

Arjun Bhatia asked a two-part question: one on whether third-party agents on Agent.AI would have a different experience than HubSpot's native agents, and another on whether the heightened customer focus on value was concentrated in specific verticals or end markets.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan addressed both points. Regarding the macro environment, she stated that demand patterns remain consistent across all industries, segments, and geographies, emphasizing that HubSpot is viewed as a resilient, "must-have" platform. On the agent strategy, she clarified that the core focus is on building first-party agents (like Customer Agent) that are deeply embedded in the platform. She positioned Agent.AI as a longer-term "innovation bet" to build a developer ecosystem, distinct from the core product strategy.

Arjun Bhatia requested elaboration on how partner behavior has adjusted following the changes to the compensation model and the resulting impact on margins and revenue.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan explained that the commission changes, which tie payments to active customer engagement, will take full effect in April 2025 for existing deals. In parallel, she highlighted that HubSpot's investments in growth-focused partners through funds and enablement have significantly improved engagement, evidenced by a 68% year-over-year increase in co-selling with partners.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair asked about the progress of product localization in international markets and the remaining growth opportunities outside North America.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein confirmed significant progress, citing the expansion of Shopify Payments to 16 new countries this year and Capital to Germany and the Netherlands. He attributed the 42% international GMV growth to both product enhancements and a stronger go-to-market engine, stating there is still substantial room to grow. CFO Jeff Hoffmeister added that the Asia Pacific region is also performing very well.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair inquired about the traction with incumbent displacements, asking where Klaviyo is in the replacement cycle and whether the opportunity is concentrated in the enterprise or also exists in the SMB segment.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Bialecki stated there is significant room in both segments. For SMBs, the opportunity is expanding into new verticals beyond e-commerce, while for enterprise, he feels they are 'just getting into' the segment. CFO Amanda Whalen added a specific example of a customer replacing four legacy products, which saved them over 50 developer hours per month and empowered their marketing team.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair asked if Klaviyo's new service solution requires replacing incumbents like Zendesk and whether the go-to-market strategy will be high-touch or self-serve.

Answer

CEO Andrew Bialecki detailed that the new Customer Hub is a novel feature that can sit alongside existing tools, but the AI-powered agent could be a replacement over time as customers look to consolidate. He stated the GTM will be self-serve for SMBs, reflecting the product's ease of use, but will also have a higher-touch motion for mid-market and enterprise clients with more complex needs.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about Klaviyo's product evolution priorities beyond marketing and the expected timeline for platform expansion.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Bialecki outlined three key product priorities: embedding AI across the stack for predictive and generative capabilities, solidifying the platform as the central source of truth for consumer data, and expanding applications beyond marketing. He framed the vision as building the complete CRM and data platform for consumer businesses, hinting at new releases at an upcoming event.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair asked about the competitive landscape as Klaviyo moves upmarket, including which vendors are being displaced and the potential for future expansion within these larger customers.

Answer

CEO Andrew Bialecki stated that Klaviyo is primarily displacing legacy marketing solutions that lack an integrated, database-first architecture. He noted that while initial deals are larger, significant future expansion opportunity exists by growing into new business units and geographies within these enterprise accounts.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair questioned what the successful Samsung arbitration outcome and its 67% uplift imply for the value of InterDigital's patent portfolio, its impact on future negotiations, and the effect on the company's cost structure.

Answer

CEO Liren Chen stated the outcome properly reflects the value of their foundational research and IP portfolio, including 5G and video innovations not covered in the prior deal, and expects it to have a positive impact on the overall program. CFO Richard J. Brezski added that there is no significant incremental cost from the agreement, as the R&D investment was made over decades, making the new revenue nearly 100% gross margin.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair & Company, L.L.C. questioned how the recent Nokia-Amazon deal might impact InterDigital's video streaming opportunity and asked for a breakdown of the strategy to achieve the $500 million smartphone recurring revenue goal.

Answer

President and CEO Liren Chen described the Nokia-Amazon deal as a positive industry development but stressed that InterDigital's licensing program succeeds on the merits of its own patent portfolio. He clarified that the primary driver for reaching the $500 million smartphone recurring revenue target by 2027 is signing new customers who are not yet licensed, rather than relying solely on uplifts from existing contract renewals.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair & Company asked about the economic model for monetizing the video streaming opportunity, such as with Disney, and sought details on the potential uplift to 2025 recurring revenue from the pending Samsung arbitration.

Answer

President and CEO Liren Chen explained that InterDigital is flexible on the streaming monetization model, which could be based on a percentage of subscription fees or overall revenue, noting the company conservatively targets $300 million from this market by 2030. Regarding the 2025 outlook, Chen reiterated the goal for double-digit ARR growth is based on a holistic view of all opportunities, not just a single outcome like the Samsung arbitration. He confirmed the Samsung decision is expected soon but the timing and outcome are up to the arbitrator.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the impact of the new OPPO agreement on licensing negotiations with other Chinese manufacturers. He also asked about the economics of the OPPO deal relative to other smartphone agreements and sought clarity on the timing and recognition of catch-up revenues in Q4.

Answer

President and CEO Liren Chen described the OPPO deal as very positive, noting it brings licensed global smartphone sales to approximately 70% and accelerates momentum to sign remaining vendors like Vivo and Honor. While unable to comment on specific deal economics due to confidentiality, Chen pointed to the over $80 million increase in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) as an indicator of the deals' impact. CFO Rich Brezski explained that the Q4 catch-up revenue can be calculated by subtracting the guided $118 million in recurring revenue from the total revenue implied by the updated full-year guidance.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair asked about the business impact of the new Thryv for HVAC vertical solution, including its pricing model and potential effect on growth, and inquired about the roadmap for future vertical offerings. He also questioned the implied second-half slowdown in the SaaS guidance, asking if it was overly conservative given the company's current momentum.

Answer

Chairman & CEO Joe Walsh explained that the HVAC solution is an upcharged automations package that will boost ARPU, improve client satisfaction, and aid in both customer acquisition and retention. He confirmed more vertical solutions are in development for Thryv's most successful sectors. Regarding guidance, Walsh stated the company prefers to set conservative targets it can confidently achieve, acknowledging the strong underlying momentum in the business.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the drivers behind the record 103% net retention rate, asking which products customers are adopting and how the sales force is adapting to sell them. He also asked for clarification on the source of increased traffic expenses.

Answer

CEO Joe Walsh attributed the strong net retention to improved go-to-market execution and specific sales plays encouraging customers to add more centers and growth-oriented add-ons. He explained that the increased traffic expense is a direct result of higher-than-expected demand for Marketing Center add-on tools that drive search traffic to clients' businesses, which he views as a positive indicator of customer engagement.

Linda Lee, on behalf of Arjun Bhatia, requested details on early customer feedback from the Thryv and Keap cross-sell initiatives and asked about go-to-market changes aimed at achieving overall growth by 2027.

Answer

CEO Joe Walsh shared that early feedback is positive, with Keap customers benefiting from Thryv's lead generation and Thryv customers poised to benefit from Keap's sales automation. He highlighted the plan to create vertical-specific automations. For go-to-market changes, Walsh emphasized the acquisition of Keap's significant partner channel and its role in amplifying international sales efforts, which are key contributors to the 2027 growth plan.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the evolution of the go-to-market motion combining Thryv's direct sales with Keap's partner channel, including pricing. He also questioned the drivers behind the strong Net Dollar Retention (NDR) of 101% and whether this is a new sustainable baseline.

Answer

CEO Joe Walsh described the distribution synergy as a key driver for the deal, with Keap's partners gaining Thryv's product catalog and Keap's products gaining access to Thryv's large direct sales force. Regarding NDR, he confirmed that the 100%+ level is the new baseline, driven by the rapidly growing number of multi-center customers (now 12%) and the built-in upsell path for newly migrated clients.

Arjun Bhatia from William Blair sought clarification on the 3-4x AI call revenue multiplier, asking if it's a future potential or currently being realized. He also inquired about the drivers behind the messaging business's performance and Bandwidth's competitive differentiation in that market.

Answer

CEO David Morken and CPO John Bell confirmed the multiplier effect is happening in real-time, driven by parallel services like media forking for AI agents, transcription, and fraud detection orchestrated by Maestro. On messaging, Morken noted 7% commercial growth and a focus on higher-margin deals with large enterprises needing scalability, which differentiates them from competitors.

Arjun Bhatia asked about the strength and pipeline for the Enterprise Voice business, the go-to-market strategy for that category, and the company's confidence in its back-half 2025 guidance despite macroeconomic uncertainty.

Answer

CEO David Morken confirmed a strong Enterprise Voice pipeline, highlighted by a record number of million-dollar-plus deals in Q1, driven by both a direct sales motion and an expanding channel partner program. CFO Daryl Raiford addressed the guidance, stating that confidence comes from strong performance across all three market offers and that while contingency for macro volatility is built in, the voice business is considered resilient and less exposed than the smaller programmable messaging segment.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the drivers of Q4 cloud communications revenue growth excluding political contributions, and how the full-year results and net retention rate inform the 2025 guidance. He also asked for a breakdown of growth expectations across Bandwidth's core segments and commentary on the current macroeconomic environment.

Answer

CFO Daryl Raiford clarified that Q4 cloud communications revenue grew 15%, or about 7% when excluding political campaign revenue, which was in line with full-year performance. For 2025, he stated the guidance midpoint of $750 million represents 9-10% normalized growth, with contributions expected from all customer categories. Raiford noted that global voice plans are expected to see accelerated growth in 2025 compared to 2024, enterprise voice remains a strong driver, and programmable messaging continues to gain market share.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair & Company asked about the sources of the exceptional messaging growth, questioning if it came from new customers, competitive takeaways, or expansion from existing clients. He also asked if AI was already a significant driver of volume in global communications.

Answer

CEO David Morken explained the messaging growth is a mix of new and existing customers, with the latter being a larger contributor. Chief Product Officer John Bell supported this by highlighting the strong non-political net retention rate of 115%. On the second question, CEO David Morken confirmed that the AI Bridge product is already launched, adopted, and growing, indicating that its impact on voice volume has begun.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the quality of recent sales hires and the metrics used to track their ramp to productivity and ROI. He also asked about early customer interest and usage of the new AI chatbot traffic data.

Answer

CEO Or Offer expressed satisfaction with the quality of new hires, noting a refined process for measuring activities and expected deliverables during onboarding. He described customer reactions to the AI chatbot data as a "wow effect," providing unique visibility into a previously opaque channel, which is driving significant interest.

Arjun Bhatia sought more detail on the AI product investments in data collection and forecasting and questioned whether the 2025 revenue guidance reflects a more conservative philosophy due to go-to-market changes.

Answer

CEO Or Offer detailed a two-pronged AI investment strategy: embedding AI agents to accelerate platform insights and developing 'Gen AI intelligence' to help brands analyze chatbot impact on consumer behavior. CFO Jason Schwartz affirmed their guidance philosophy is to set achievable targets and that the 2025 forecast, which implies back-half acceleration, is built on confidence from their backlog and macro analysis.

Arjun Bhatia asked what makes Similarweb's data unique for training large language models (LLMs), whether these deals are recurring, and if the Q4 revenue guidance contains extra conservatism given the new LLM contracts.

Answer

CEO Or Offer explained that LLMs need up-to-date "digital data" on current trends to stay relevant, which is where Similarweb provides critical, fresh data. He confirmed these deals are growing. CFO Jason Schwartz reiterated that Q4 guidance is based on their standard methodology, factoring in the timing of when deals go live and revenue is recognized, and added that the need for data freshness necessitates renewals.

Arjun Bhatia inquired about the new marketing product launches, asking what differentiates them from past efforts and how progress will be measured. He also asked for the main drivers of the significant operating leverage implied in the guidance for the second half of the year.

Answer

CEO Spenser Skates explained that the key difference for the marketing products is that customers are now willing to fully switch from legacy tools to Amplitude, a shift from prior incremental adoption. He noted they are adding out-of-the-box reports to facilitate this. CFO Andrew Casey stated that the expected operating leverage is broad-based, stemming from gross margin optimization, increasing sales and marketing efficiency as reps ramp through the year, and leverage on a relatively constant G&A spend.

Arjun Bhatia asked what product changes or integrations are necessary to support the move upmarket into the enterprise. He also inquired about CFO Andrew Casey's philosophy for the full-year 2025 guidance.

Answer

CEO Spenser Skates highlighted key enterprise features like data access controls (delivered) and role-based access controls (on the roadmap). He also mentioned data mutability and integrations with various data warehouses like Snowflake as crucial for enterprise data ecosystems. CFO Andrew Casey stated his guidance philosophy is rooted in what the company can control—execution on its strategy—not on betting on future macro improvements. He emphasized a focus on "growth with leverage."

On behalf of Arjun Bhatia, Will Miller asked about the risk posed by international companies showing resistance to U.S. vendors and how Five9 is working to reassure these customers.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland noted that international represents a smaller portion of the business at 12%. President Andy Dignan characterized the resistance as more 'emotional' than widespread, expressing confidence in Five9's global architecture and data handling policies. President Bryan Lee further de-risked the guidance by highlighting that the majority of forecasted incremental revenue comes from the existing customer base and already-booked new logos.

Arjun Bhatia asked for help reconciling the management's optimistic tone on bookings and AI with the initial 2025 guidance, questioning where the most conservatism is embedded.

Answer

Interim CFO Bryan Lee clarified that the guidance is an $11.5 million raise from the previous outlook and reflects the company's prudent philosophy. He specified that conservatism is layered into the back half of 2025 due to macro uncertainty, a stronger-than-usual seasonal downtick from Q4, and a tough comparison from a major customer ramp ending. He emphasized it is a starting point for the year.

Arjun Bhatia of William Blair & Company asked about the drivers behind the record enterprise new logo turnups in Q3 and the outlook for the implementation pipeline.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland explained that while new logo turnups hit a record, the overall implementation backlog also increased, which is a positive indicator for future growth. He credited the professional services team for building a predictable 'machine' for onboarding customers of all sizes.

Arjun Bhatia sought clarification on how the shift to PMP and programmatic direct deals impacts DV and the company's strategy to address it. He also asked for DV's view on Meta's stance on third-party fact-checking and its implications for brand safety.

Answer

CEO Mark Zagorski explained that PMP and PG deals have lower data attach rates, which has been a drag. DV's strategy is to work more on the sell-side, integrating with SSPs and curation platforms to package its data directly into these deals. On Meta, he viewed fact-checking and brand safety as somewhat separate, stating DV's role as an independent verifier is complementary to Meta's tools and that market uncertainty typically increases demand for safety solutions.