Noah Herman

Noah Herman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. asked for an update on the sales reorganization, questioning which changes are beginning to take hold and where further adjustments might be needed.

Answer

CEO Hugo Sarrazin stated that the core strategy of focusing on large enterprises and key verticals remains intact and is showing early signs of productivity gains. He said near-term execution will be refined through better packaging and merchandising. The most significant incremental change is the hiring of a new Chief Customer Experience Officer to accelerate the 'land-and-expand' motion and drive customer success more rapidly.

Noah Herman from JPMorgan Chase & Co. requested more color on geographical performance, contrasting the noted weakness in EMEA with other regions, and asked for an explanation of the dynamics driving the net dollar retention rate for large customers.

Answer

CFO Sarah Blanchard confirmed that EMEA is the most muted region, while APAC and LATAM are showing higher growth, which is where the company is adding key hires. Regarding net dollar retention, she explained it's impacted by continued long sales cycles for upsells and smaller initial deal sizes. The focus remains on driving adoption and usage to support customers and eventually increase retention.

Noah Herman asked for an overview of the marketing budget environment, specifically the 'green shoots' in the technology vertical. He also questioned the 2025 guidance, which implies a contraction in non-GAAP operating margins, and sought clarity on the outlook for operating expense line items.

Answer

Executive Sharat Sharan acknowledged that 2024 was a difficult year for marketing budgets but stated that based on customer conversations and winbacks, ON24 is seeing 'green shoots' and customer reinvestment in 2025, particularly from the technology vertical. CFO Steve Vattuone explained the margin guidance reflects a balanced approach, prioritizing a return to growth via selective investments in product innovation (AI) and go-to-market, while still expecting to maintain adjusted EBITDA profitability for the full year.

Noah Herman asked for details on the go-to-market changes being implemented with new sales leadership in North America and inquired about any notable seasonality patterns to consider for 2025.

Answer

CEO Sharat Sharan explained the focus is on improving new business execution by making the sales approach more business-outcome oriented, tailored to specific verticals and use cases. CFO Steve Vattuone addressed seasonality, stating that Q1 is typically a seasonally softer quarter for revenue due to fewer days and lower services demand. He expects Q1 to be the revenue trough for 2025, with increases thereafter, while maintaining adjusted EBITDA and EPS profitability for the full year.

Noah Herman, on behalf of Pinjalim Bora, requested more detail on the growth assumptions for the CX and Freshservice (EX) businesses embedded within the full-year 2025 guidance.

Answer

COO & CFO Tyler Sloat declined to break out guidance by product line but reiterated that the EX business continues to perform well with a large market opportunity, while the CX business has stabilized at around 7% constant currency growth. He noted that the full-year guidance reflects tougher revenue comps in the second half of the year due to the anniversary of the Device42 acquisition and includes nuances around the Q2 merit cycle impacting operating margin.

Inquired about the progress of the new go-to-market organization rolled out in January and asked for details on where Q1 cost savings would be reinvested.

Answer

The company is pleased with the early progress of the go-to-market changes, seeing increased collaboration and pipeline build, though it's still 'early innings'. The Q1 savings resulted from shifting program and technology infrastructure spending to the second half of the year, where they expect a higher return on investment.

Inquired about the largest international growth opportunities and the company's guidance philosophy for 2024.

Answer

The biggest international growth driver is expected to be the channel in markets like Japan, India, and Latin America, supplemented by direct investments in parts of Europe and Southeast Asia. The 2024 guidance philosophy is consistent with previous years, with the midpoint of the range representing the company's expectation.