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    Ken Wong

    Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

    Ken Wong is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., specializing in SaaS and application software research. He covers key software companies and has developed a reputation for insightful equity research, drawing on over 17 years of industry experience with notable performance in identifying trends in software and 3D printing. Ken began his finance career at Bear Stearns, then advanced through research roles at Cowen Group, Citigroup—where he led small and mid-cap software and additive manufacturing coverage—and Guggenheim Securities before joining Oppenheimer, where he became Managing Director in 2022. He holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and is FINRA-registered, underscoring his professional credentials.

    Ken Wong's questions to Autodesk (ADSK) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to Autodesk (ADSK) leadership • Q2 2026

    Question

    Ken Wong from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. sought clarification that the low end of the revised guidance is still protected against severe downturns and asked about the customer appetite for adopting new AI technologies.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Janesh Moorjani confirmed the low-end guidance maintains the same cautious assumptions as the prior quarter. President and CEO Andrew Anagnost stated that customers are 'hungry' for AI-driven productivity and capacity gains, and Autodesk will monetize these new capabilities through a mix of subscription, consumption, and outcome-based models.

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    Ken Wong's questions to VEEVA SYSTEMS (VEEV) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to VEEVA SYSTEMS (VEEV) leadership • Q2 2026

    Question

    Ken Wong of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the strategic drivers behind the IQVIA lawsuit resolution and the opportunities it unlocks. He also asked for clarity on the confidence in the back-half billings guidance despite a more in-line Q2 result.

    Answer

    CEO Peter Gassner explained that after a decade, the competitive landscape with IQVIA has changed, making partnership mutually beneficial. The resolution removes a major barrier, allowing IQVIA data in Veeva products like Nitro and Network. CFO Brian Van Wagener added that annual billings guidance is a more reliable indicator than lumpy quarterly results and expressed confidence in the full-year forecast.

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    Ken Wong's questions to VEEVA SYSTEMS (VEEV) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    Ken Wong of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked for more details on Veeva's new horizontal CRM initiative, including its approach, differentiation, and timeline. He also inquired about the specific drivers behind the significant acceleration in the commercial business.

    Answer

    CEO Peter Gassner expressed excitement for the horizontal CRM market, noting the team hopes to have its first customers by year-end and will focus on product excellence and customer success, likely targeting large enterprises. EVP, Strategy, Paul Shawah attributed the commercial strength primarily to Crossix, where product investments are paying off, and noted stable performance in other areas like CRM and momentum in Data Cloud.

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    Ken Wong's questions to VEEVA SYSTEMS (VEEV) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked about the early customer interest in the newly announced MLR Bot and its potential monetization model. He also inquired about the drivers behind the strong services performance in the quarter, contrasting it with earlier pushouts.

    Answer

    EVP of Strategy Paul Shawah confirmed significant customer excitement for MLR Bot, which will be a licensed add-on to PromoMats, with pricing details still being finalized. CFO Brian Van Wagener attributed the services beat to several projects progressing faster than expected and noted that earlier challenges with subcontractor revenue have now stabilized.

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    Ken Wong's questions to GoDaddy (GDDY) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to GoDaddy (GDDY) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked about any observed changes at the top of the sales funnel due to AI coding tools and whether the strategic value of domains as a customer entry point is increasing.

    Answer

    CEO Aman Bhutani stated that GoDaddy is not seeing a negative impact at the top of the funnel, noting strong traffic and improved conversion. He affirmed that the strategic value of the domain is increasing, as the Arrow experience transforms a simple domain purchase into the starting point for a 'business in a box,' which is a tremendous advantage.

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    Ken Wong's questions to Wix.com (WIX) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to Wix.com (WIX) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong inquired about the specific financial contribution of the Base44 acquisition to the increased full-year bookings guidance and asked about the long-term integration plan for the business.

    Answer

    CFO Lior Shemesh stated that while Base44 contributes to the outlook, the guidance raise was primarily driven by stronger-than-expected new cohort growth and would have occurred even without the acquisition. Co-Founder & CEO Avishai Abrahami added that Base44 will be operated as a separate entity for the foreseeable future because it serves a different user need (applications and prototypes) compared to the core Wix platform.

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    Ken Wong's questions to SHOPIFY (SHOP) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to SHOPIFY (SHOP) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the company's AI partnerships, asking whether agentic commerce represents a new GMV opportunity or simply a shift from existing channels.

    Answer

    President Harley Finkelstein explained that while it's too early to determine if agentic commerce is a net new channel or a shift, Shopify is preparing to be at the center of it regardless. He compared this strategy to the company's early integrations with social and video platforms, emphasizing that Shopify's core DNA is to partner and ensure its merchants are present wherever commerce happens.

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    Ken Wong's questions to SHOPIFY (SHOP) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Ken Wong from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the enhanced partnership with PayPal, asking how it advances the platform and impacts monetization.

    Answer

    President Harley Finkelstein explained the partnership is about providing merchant optionality by integrating PayPal wallet transactions into the Shopify Admin. CFO Jeff Hoffmeister added that for these transactions, Shopify will move to gross revenue recognition, resulting in a revenue uplift and incremental gross profit dollars, though it will be a headwind to gross margin percentage, with the impact being more of a 2025 phenomenon.

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    Ken Wong's questions to PROCORE TECHNOLOGIES (PCOR) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to PROCORE TECHNOLOGIES (PCOR) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked about customer feedback regarding the impact of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) and requested an update on the company's product packaging and bundling pilots.

    Answer

    CEO Craig Courtemanche stated that BABA rarely comes up in customer conversations, as clients are focused on business optimization and have built-in resilience. CFO Howard Fu described the 'good, better, best' packaging pilots as very early-stage initiatives with a small customer set, aimed at streamlining sales rather than impacting current performance.

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    Ken Wong's questions to TYLER TECHNOLOGIES (TYL) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to TYLER TECHNOLOGIES (TYL) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about the potential impact of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' (OBVA), questioning if the increased responsibility pushed down to states could negatively influence their buying behavior in the near term.

    Answer

    President & CEO Lynn Moore responded that they are not hearing such concerns from clients. He noted that state budgets are relatively stable after being elevated for several years. Furthermore, he clarified that less than 15% of their state-level business is funded by state expenditures, with the majority being transaction-based, thus limiting the potential impact from this act.

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    Ken Wong's questions to PTC (PTC) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to PTC (PTC) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked management to address the recent M&A headlines suggesting a potential acquisition by a competitor and advise how investors should think about PTC's position.

    Answer

    President and CEO Neil Barua adhered to company policy by not commenting on market speculation. However, he stated that as a strategic leader in its space, it is not surprising for PTC to be part of industry consolidation discussions. He affirmed that the company's primary focus remains on execution and creating strategic value for its customers and shareholders.

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    Ken Wong's questions to PTC (PTC) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Ken Wong of Jefferies asked about the expected timing of peak disruption from PTC's go-to-market changes and whether the adjusted Q1 growth rate is an appropriate baseline for future performance.

    Answer

    CEO Neil Barua responded that the company is not expecting disruption and has taken significant measures to prevent it. However, he clarified that the guidance was set conservatively to provide room in case any short-term friction arises from the transition, emphasizing it was not an attempt to artificially engineer a beat-and-raise cadence.

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    Ken Wong's questions to ROPER TECHNOLOGIES (ROP) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to ROPER TECHNOLOGIES (ROP) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked about the potential impact of the 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Roper's other segments beyond Deltek, such as healthcare and education. He also inquired about the specific drivers behind Aderant's record-setting bookings quarter.

    Answer

    President and CEO Neil Hunn assessed the bill's impact on healthcare and K-12/higher education as 'neutral' to 'neutral-ish,' noting offsetting factors and the resilience of their products. EVP & CFO Jason Conley added specifics on Central Reach. Regarding Aderant, Hunn attributed its outperformance to its clear market share leadership in the 'business of law,' a strong technology halo from its AI-enabled products, and the ongoing move to the cloud by large law firms.

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    Ken Wong's questions to ROPER TECHNOLOGIES (ROP) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong asked if sales cycles were lengthening in other parts of the portfolio beyond Deltek and what countermeasures the company would implement if demand eroded.

    Answer

    President and CEO Neil Hunn responded that after intense review, they have not seen clear evidence of sales cycles pushing to the right elsewhere, citing strong bookings at Aderant and Strata. EVP and CFO Jason Conley added that the company has natural countermeasures, as decentralized business leaders are incentivized to manage investment pacing prudently and variable compensation is tied to growth, which helps preserve margins.

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    Ken Wong's questions to Skillsoft (SKIL) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to Skillsoft (SKIL) leadership • Q1 2026

    Question

    Ken Wong of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked for the basis of management's confidence in reiterating full-year guidance despite macro headwinds, the next phase of the company's transformation strategy, the specific drivers of the strong Q1 free cash flow, details on the softness in the government sector, and new CFO John Frederick's primary focus areas.

    Answer

    CFO John Frederick stated that confidence in the full-year outlook is supported by three consecutive quarters of growth in the Talent Development Solutions (TDS) segment and a strong deal pipeline in the Global Knowledge (GK) segment, assuming market stabilization. CEO Ronald Hovsepian added that while discretionary live learning spend was soft in Q1, it showed signs of recovery late in the quarter. Hovsepian outlined the next strategic phase as focusing on go-to-market execution and product plans to drive growth, funded by prior cost-saving initiatives. Frederick explained that the strong Q1 free cash flow was driven by seasonal collections from a large Q4, strong collections performance, and timing of disbursements, noting a reversal is expected in Q2. Hovsepian clarified the government softness was specific to U.S. federal discretionary live learning, while international public sector demand was strong. Finally, Frederick described his focus as deeply integrating the finance function to support go-to-market and product-led growth.

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    Ken Wong's questions to Guidewire Software (GWRE) leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to Guidewire Software (GWRE) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. inquired about the factors behind record low attrition and high ARR ramp activity, and questioned the future pace of operating investments.

    Answer

    CEO Mike Rosenbaum attributed low attrition to a deep focus on customer success, while President John Mullen highlighted the maturity of cloud operations. CFO Jeff Cooper noted that while investment will continue, the company is well-resourced and confident in its ability to meet long-term targets within its current investment framework.

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    Ken Wong's questions to Guidewire Software (GWRE) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Ken Wong from Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. asked about the drivers behind record low attrition and the future pace of company investments.

    Answer

    CEO Mike Rosenbaum attributed low attrition to a core focus on customer success, while President & CRO John Mullen credited the maturing cloud operations team. On investments, CFO Jeff Cooper stated that the company is appropriately resourced and can address market opportunities while maintaining its long-term financial targets without a major shift in investment posture.

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    Ken Wong's questions to ALTR leadership

    Ken Wong's questions to ALTR leadership • Q1 2024

    Question

    Asked about the company's current hiring plans for sales and marketing and whether the M&A environment for smaller tuck-in acquisitions has become more competitive.

    Answer

    The company is hiring carefully and strategically as it gains efficiencies from its reorganization. The M&A market for their typical tuck-in deals has not become significantly more competitive, as larger peers are focused on bigger transactions.

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