Michael Latimore

Michael Latimore asked for the current baseline bot count, given the expectation of reaching 20,000 bots within a year. He also inquired about the number of new system starts in the quarter (10), specifically if any were Breakpacks, and if there was a new view on the system start run rate, which was previously guided as mid to high single digits.

Answer

CEO Rick Cohen stated that Symbotic currently has approximately 15,000 bots and expects continued growth with different bot versions. CFO Izzy Martins confirmed that the 10 deployments in Q4 included a mix, with a couple being Breakpacks. She added that the company does not typically guide to system start numbers, emphasizing that the focus is on the size and revenue contribution of deployments rather than just the count.

Michael Latimore asked for the current baseline number of bots, given the expectation of reaching 20,000 bots in a year. He also inquired if any of the 10 new system starts in the quarter included Breakpack systems, and if the mid-to-high single-digit run rate for system starts, guided last quarter, should still be expected.

Answer

Rick Cohen (CEO, Symbotic) stated that Symbotic currently has about 15,000 bots and expects continued growth, including different types and versions. Izzy Martins (CFO, Symbotic) confirmed that the 10 deployments in Q4 included a couple of Breakpack systems, clarifying that Symbotic does not typically guide to system start numbers, with the focus on deployment size and revenue contribution.

Michael Latimore of Northland Capital Markets inquired about the drivers behind the strong sequential growth in Q2, the relative importance of the Discover versus Command platforms for second-half growth, key use cases for the Scout product, and the significance of the data-as-a-service model for the Discover pipeline.

Answer

CFO Eyal Hen stated that the Q2 growth was driven by their existing pipeline, following a weather-impacted Q1, and anticipates continued sequential growth across all three business lines (Discover, Command, and Scout). CEO Robert Berman added that the Scout product's focus is on the commercial sector, including car washes and fleet management. Berman also stressed that the data-as-a-service model is 'very important' for building recurring revenue and aligning with how government agencies prefer to procure services.

Aditya Dagaonkar, on behalf of Michael Latimore, asked about the expected cash flow from operations as a percentage of EBITDA for 2025. He also inquired about the subcontracted labor expense as a percentage of total revenue.

Answer

CFO Norman Rosenberg explained that cash flow from operations is expected to be "significantly higher" in 2025 than the $70 million generated in 2024, driven by the collection of a large accounts receivable balance, particularly ~$150 million in migrant-related AR. He stated that subcontracted labor costs have dropped from over 40% at their peak to about 24% now, and he expects this to fall below 20% of revenue in Q1 2025.