Peter Levine

Peter Levine asked about the structural barriers preventing AI model providers from disintermediating Zoom, the company's competitive moat, and how Zoom addresses concerns about AI potentially replacing its services. He also followed up on the net retention rate and when new products will drive its inflection.

Answer

Eric Yuan (Founder and CEO, Zoom) emphasized the mission-critical nature of Zoom's communication, highlighting reliability, security, ease of use, and the difficulty of replicating its C++ optimized code with AI tools. Michelle Chang (CFO, Zoom) stated that the net dollar expansion rate (NBE) will rebound in the long term, driven by progress in churn, mid-teens Zoom Phone growth, high double-digit Contact Center growth, and AI monetization, while acknowledging headwinds from white-label churn and new customer acquisition via Workvivo and Contact Center.

Peter Levine asked about Zoom's technological and structural barriers that prevent AI model providers from disintermediating Zoom by building AI-native collaboration suites, and how Zoom defends its market against AI potentially replacing its services. He also followed up on the net dollar expansion rate and when new products would cause an inflection.

Answer

Eric Yuan, Founder and CEO, Zoom, emphasized the difficulty of replicating Zoom's mission-critical, reliable, secure, and easy-to-use communication platform with AI coding tools, especially for its C++ codebase. Michelle Chang, CFO, Zoom, stated that the net dollar expansion rate (NBE) will rebound long-term, driven by churn progress, Phone and Contact Center growth, and AI monetization, noting that new products like Workvivo and Contact Center are bringing in new customers, which takes time to reflect in NBE.

Peter Levine asked if the BrightHire acquisition represents Zoom's entry into the HR stack, covering areas like interviewing, onboarding, and engagement, and inquired about other segments Zoom could expand into with its platform.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan explained that BrightHire aligns with Zoom's strategy to apply its core collaboration, productivity, AI, and data technologies to specific mission-critical use cases. He noted that while HR is a huge use case, Zoom focuses on remote hiring where its technology can be leveraged, similar to how it targets support with Contact Center and sales with Revenue Accelerator.

Peter Levine asked Eric Yuan if BrightHire represents Zoom's entry into the HR stack (interviewing, onboarding, engagement) and where else Zoom sees opportunities for platform expansion.

Answer

Eric Yuan, Founder and CEO, explained that BrightHire aligns with Zoom's strategy to apply its core collaboration, productivity, AI, and data technologies to mission-critical use cases across various departments and verticals. He cited Contact Center for support, Revenue Accelerator for sales, and Webinars for marketing, confirming BrightHire's fit for remote hiring in HR.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI inquired about the return on investment (ROI) customers are experiencing with Zoom's AI solutions, particularly AI Companion 2.0, and asked for an update on the macroeconomic environment regarding IT budgets for collaboration tools.

Answer

Founder & CEO Eric Yuan explained that customers are leveraging AI beyond simple meeting summaries to encompass the entire meeting lifecycle, driving significant productivity gains. He highlighted that AI Companion monthly active users have grown over four times year-over-year and noted that leveraging AI to improve products is a key focus for customers' IT budgets.

Peter Levine asked for more details on the new frontline worker product, its target market, and whether it competes with offerings like Microsoft's F1/F3 SKUs. He also inquired if revenue from the monetized custom AI Companion is expected in the current fiscal year.

Answer

CFO Michelle Chang positioned the frontline worker product for the large, underserved market of deskless workers, focusing on communication, workforce management, and AI assistance. For the custom AI Companion, she stated that while there is strong early interest, its revenue contribution is not expected to be a 'movable number' in fiscal 2026 given the company's overall scale.

Peter Levine from Evercore asked about the company's capital allocation strategy for its $7.5 billion cash balance, particularly regarding M&A, and requested a revenue target for Contact Center.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan stated that the company is now more aggressive on the M&A front, viewing it as a way to quickly add new services and features to the platform, especially in the fast-moving AI era. CFO Kelly Steckelberg noted that while Contact Center's performance is strong, it is still early in its life cycle (second year) and will not have its revenue disclosed until it reaches the 10% of total revenue threshold, similar to the precedent set by Zoom Phone.

Peter Levine asked about the primary use cases and expected adoption for the upcoming paid AI Companion, and for thoughts on the 'return to office' trend's impact on Zoom's business.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan stated that Zoom's platform is essential for collaboration regardless of a company's work model. CFO Michelle Chang noted the paid AI SKU is aimed at enterprises, with more significant revenue impact expected in FY27. Eric Yuan added that use cases include custom templates and third-party integrations.

Peter Levine asked about the risk of LLM-native platforms bypassing traditional CCaaS architecture, seeking to understand Five9's core functionalities (workflow, infrastructure, compliance, data) that provide a competitive moat. He also requested clarification on the composition of the $100 million AI revenue, specifically if it's seat-based or usage-based.

Answer

Chairman Mike Burkland emphasized Five9's competitive advantages, including its conversational data (historical and real-time) and its orchestration capabilities across all channels and backends (AI or human agents). He clarified that LLMs are foundational technology, not a complete customer service solution. CEO Amit Mathradas confirmed that the $100 million AI revenue is entirely consumption or capacity-based, charged for committed units with overage.

Peter Levine from Evercore questioned the risk of LLM-native platforms bypassing traditional CCaaS architecture, asking what core functionalities Five9 provides (e.g., workflow, infrastructure, compliance, data) that are difficult to replicate and disintermediate.

Answer

Chairman Mike Burkland highlighted Five9's competitive moat as its data advantage (conversational, historical, real-time) and its orchestration capability across all channels and backends (AI or human agents). He asserted that LLMs are foundational technology, not a complete customer service solution, and Five9's platform provides essential orchestration. CFO Bryan Lee clarified that the $100 million AI revenue is entirely consumption or capacity-based.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI inquired about the AI readiness of Five9's customer base, the main hurdles to adoption, and which AI pricing models are proving most effective in the market.

Answer

CEO & Chairman Mike Burkland identified getting data in order as the primary hurdle for customers, a process Five9 assists with. He pointed to AI comprising over 20% of new enterprise bookings as a leading indicator of future revenue mix. On pricing, he stated that AI solutions are primarily sold on a consumption or capacity basis, while traditional product pricing remains unchanged and simple, which customers appreciate.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI requested more details on the company's internal transformation, particularly its go-to-market initiatives, and asked how the full-year guidance was stress-tested against macro uncertainty.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland highlighted that top-line initiatives include increased investment in AI products and new top-of-funnel marketing pilots. President Bryan Lee added that the guidance was stress-tested by assuming a more muted seasonal uptick in the second half of the year, effectively creating a cushion by not flowing the Q1 revenue beat through to the full-year forecast.

Peter Levine asked about the future trajectory of AI revenue as a percentage of the business and, given that seat count is a less relevant metric, whether a 3-4x pricing uplift for autonomous agents is still accurate.

Answer

CEO Michael Burkland noted AI revenue growth accelerated to 46% year-over-year and that strong bookings are a positive leading indicator for its trajectory. CFO Barry Zwarenstein confirmed that a 3x pricing uplift versus a traditional seat is still a reasonable order of magnitude for the value captured, particularly for IVAs, with additional revenue potential from data streams.

Peter Levine asked about the changes in customer demand that have elevated exposure management as a priority, specifically if customers are requesting unified visibility across various domains. He also asked Roei Golan about the potential revenue contribution of this category over the next two to three years.

Answer

Nadav Zafrir (CEO, Check Point Software Technologies) confirmed increasing demand for situational awareness, especially upstream, as attackers weaponize vulnerabilities faster and autonomous agents accelerate breaches. He highlighted Check Point's unique triage approach—combining Cyberint for intelligence, Cyclops for posture/prioritization, and Veriti for automatic remediation—which provides proactive prevention and an open platform to fix vulnerabilities across vendors. Roei Golan (CFO, Check Point Software) noted that while exposure management is not a huge revenue contributor currently, it has significant potential.

Peter Levine asked Nadav Zafrir about changes in customer demand making exposure management a higher priority, specifically if customers are explicitly requesting unified visibility across network, cloud, and identity. He also asked Roei Golan about the potential revenue contribution of this category over the next two to three years.

Answer

CEO Nadav Zafrir confirmed increasing demand for situational awareness in exposure management, especially as capabilities mature and attackers weaponize vulnerabilities faster. He described Check Point's full gamut approach, combining Cyberint's intelligence, Cyclops' posture visibility and prioritization, and Veriti's automatic remediation. He emphasized that this proactive prevention and triage capability is unique, allows Check Point to expand beyond its install base, and provides an open platform to fix vulnerabilities across various vendors. CFO Roei Golan stated that while exposure management is not huge now, it has great potential to be meaningful.

Peter Levine sought clarification on the types of usage-based AI projects customers are scaling from pilot to production, how these are monetized, and whether the company anticipates contact center seat compression in the long term. He also asked about the momentum from new partner programs and future go-to-market strategy adjustments.

Answer

Samuel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, explained that customers are scaling micro use cases such as serial number routing, FAQ answers, biometric security checks, and self-service payments, citing a healthcare deal that freed up agents. He reiterated that total contact center seats are currently increasing. Regarding future seat compression, he stated it's possible but less critical than increasing total revenue per customer and stickiness. He noted quarter-on-quarter increases in pipeline, especially for new products and the channel business, as partners become more comfortable selling AI-based solutions, with channel business now outperforming direct sales.

Peter Levine sought specific examples of AI pilot projects transitioning to larger-scale deployments and how these are monetized. He also questioned the long-term outlook for contact center seat compression given AI adoption and asked about the success factors and future changes in the new partner programs and go-to-market strategy.

Answer

Samuel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, detailed micro use cases like self-service payments, appointment booking, and biometric identification, noting that customers are adding more use cases as they see ROI. He stated that contact center seats were up quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, indicating no immediate compression, and emphasized that the company prioritizes total revenue per customer and stickiness over seat counts. Regarding partner programs, he highlighted quarter-on-quarter increases in pipeline, especially for new products, as the channel becomes more comfortable selling AI-based solutions.

Peter Levine inquired about the current macroeconomic impact on sales cycles and customer spending, as well as the remaining steps in the company's go-to-market transformation. He also requested a forecast for adjusted service revenue growth for fiscal 2026, excluding the Fuze business.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson noted that March and April saw some 'chaos' in the U.S. market due to tariff uncertainty, leading to elongated deal cycles or smaller deal sizes, but May has been calmer. He stated the go-to-market rebuild is about 60-70% complete, with the current phase focused on fine-tuning the new solution-selling processes. CFO Kevin Kraus confirmed that core 8x8 service revenue grew 4.6% year-over-year in Q4 and that growth, excluding Fuze, would be positive in fiscal 2026.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI questioned the expected ROI and top-line impact of planned FY26 investments that will lower operating margins. He also asked which specific products are driving the 3x higher MRR for customers with three or more products.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson declined to share specific ROI calculations publicly but confirmed they are monitored carefully and that the investments are targeted, not general. CFO Kevin Kraus added that the focus is also on improving investment efficiency. Regarding multi-product adoption, Wilson explained that the key add-ons to UC and CC are Engage, proactive digital messaging, and intelligent bots, which are often sold as part of a solution to a specific business problem like field service management.

Peter Levine of Evercore followed up on the AI discussion, asking for a reminder on how 8x8 monetizes AI usage and how much of the growth story is tied to AI. He also asked for the expected capture rate of the annualized Fuze revenue and what incentives are being offered to drive the transition.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson explained that AI is monetized through sell-with and sell-through partnership models, as well as by landing customers with a simple use case on a platform and then expanding usage over time. Regarding Fuze, Wilson stated the goal is to transition the maximum amount possible, though he did not provide a specific percentage. He confirmed that incentives are offered to both customers (e.g., free trials of new AI products) and the sales team to accelerate the migration.

Peter Levine asked about SailPoint's competitive moat against traditional PAM vendors as it moves towards new-gen PAM, and how customers view privilege through a legacy lens. He also inquired about the margin impact and seasonality of the new Flex licensing model.

Answer

Mark McClain, Founder and CEO, explained that traditional PAM is becoming a smaller part of the challenge, as the focus shifts to dynamic, ubiquitous privilege for all identities based on context and intent, which legacy PAM solutions struggle with. Brian Carolan, CFO, added that the Flex Navigators model is designed for optimal customer consumption, will be SaaS, recognized ratably, tied to rate cards, and is not expected to degrade overall margins. It will also accelerate platform modernizations.

Peter Levine questioned SailPoint's competitive moat against traditional PAM vendors, how customers perceive privilege through a legacy lens, and SailPoint's pitch for new-gen PAM. He also asked about the margin impact, unit economics, and potential seasonality of the new Flex licensing model.

Answer

Mark McClain (Founder and CEO, SailPoint) explained that traditional PAM is becoming a smaller part of the challenge as the market shifts to dynamic, ubiquitous privilege for all identities. SailPoint's broad and deep understanding of entitlements allows for context-based, real-time, just-in-time privilege, which legacy PAM vendors struggle to replicate. Brian Carolan (CFO, SailPoint) clarified that the Flex Navigators model will be SaaS, recognized ratably over typical three-year contracts, tied to rate cards, and is not expected to degrade overall margins, also accelerating platform modernizations.

Questioned why Identity Governance (IGA) is better positioned to capitalize on AI compared to PAM or IAM vendors, and whether any macro-related headwinds were factored into the full-year guidance.

Answer

IGA is better positioned for AI because it answers fundamental authorization questions (who has access to what, should they have it), which is core to governing AI agents, unlike access/authentication tools. Regarding guidance, the company is not building in any major change or headwind from the macro environment but remains mindful and is scrutinizing deals, noting that underlying demand remains strong.

Peter Levine from Evercore ISI asked why SailPoint, with its IGA focus, is best positioned to monetize the rise of AI agent identities compared to other identity segments.

Answer

CEO Mark McClain argued that AI agents possess characteristics of both machines and humans, requiring sophisticated governance beyond simple authentication. He stated that SailPoint's 20-year expertise in understanding identity context, defining access, and enforcing least privilege is uniquely suited to manage the complexity of autonomous AI agents, a view he says is being validated in discussions with hyperscalers.

Peter Levine from Evercore ISI asked why Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) is better positioned to capitalize on AI compared to PAM or IAM vendors, and whether any macro uncertainty was factored into the full-year guidance.

Answer

CEO & Founder Mark McClain explained that IGA's core function of answering "who has access to what" is fundamental for governing AI agents, a capability access-focused tools lack. CFO Brian Carolan added that while they are mindful of the macro environment, no specific headwind was built into the guidance.

Peter Levine from Evercore asked about the go-to-market strategy to differentiate RingCX from the NICE offering and questioned the long-term sustainability of mid-single-digit growth with increasing profitability.

Answer

CEO Vlad Shmunis delineated the products by target audience: the NICE partnership serves high-end enterprises with complex needs, while RingCX is an AI-native solution for smaller, simpler use cases. CFO Vaibhav Agarwal addressed the growth and profitability balance, stating the company has durable growth drivers and will continue to expand margins and free cash flow through operating leverage and cost discipline, with a primary goal of maximizing free cash flow per share.

Peter Levine questioned why full-year guidance was maintained despite a strong Q1 and asked about any adjustments to the go-to-market strategy to leverage the full product suite.

Answer

CEO Vlad Shmunis explained that guidance was reiterated out of prudence due to general macro uncertainty, not because of any observed weakness. Regarding go-to-market, he highlighted that GSP partners are eagerly reselling the new AI products, providing a tremendous and efficient channel to market for the expanded portfolio.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI asked about the company's confidence in its second-half ARR ramp, requested specific metrics like net retention for AI ARR, and inquired about the current macroeconomic environment's impact on customer spending.

Answer

CFO Grant Highlander expressed confidence in the ARR ramp, citing a 30%+ year-over-year increase in the rolling four-quarter SaaS pipeline. While not providing a specific net retention number, he stated that achieving 8% ARR growth implies a Net Retention Rate 'well above' 100%. CEO Dan Bodner added that the macro environment has intensified customer focus on projects with a clear, short-term ROI (less than six months), which aligns with Verint's value-selling approach and hybrid cloud model that allows for small initial deployments.

Peter Levine sought to understand the confidence level in closing the unbundled deals that were pushed into fiscal '26 and the specific reasons for the delay, such as macro or budgeting issues. He also asked for clarification on whether these deals were renewals or expansions with net new customers.

Answer

CEO Dan Bodner explained that the delays were not due to macro or budget issues, but rather customers choosing to reallocate funds towards bundled AI solutions that offer more immediate ROI. He noted this customer flexibility makes the revenue mix hard to predict, necessitating a wider revenue guidance range. CFO Grant Highlander clarified that the pushed deals were expansions with existing customers, not renewals, related to changes in the timeline for rolling out software to additional business units.

Peter Levine asked about CrowdStrike's long-term vision for the identity management space, particularly following the recent announcement of a privileged access management (PAM) product.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz outlined a vision to leverage CrowdStrike's existing agent presence on critical systems to expand deeper into identity security. He noted strong customer demand for consolidation and cost savings in this area. The strategy is to continue adding capabilities to the platform to capture a larger share of the significant identity TAM, displacing expensive point solutions.

Peter Levine of Evercore ISI asked for more detail on U.S. demand drivers, such as immigration and cartel activity, and questioned what specific go-to-market investments are being made to accelerate sales cycles. He also inquired about the long-term sustainability of double-digit growth beyond fiscal 2026.

Answer

CEO Elad Sharon explained that U.S. demand drivers are similar to global ones, focusing on crime and border control, and detailed disproportional investments in the U.S. go-to-market strategy, including hiring local teams, expanding partner networks, and adding board expertise. CFO David Abadi deferred long-term targets to the upcoming Investor Day but emphasized the business's healthy fundamentals, pointing to the projected 45% EBITDA growth on 12% revenue growth for fiscal 2026 as evidence of the model's leverage.

Peter Levine asked about R&D initiatives related to mobile data traffic, the growth outlook for fiscal 2026, and progress in the U.S. go-to-market strategy.

Answer

CEO Elad Sharon addressed R&D, explaining that the growth of 5G increases data volumes, driving customer demand for expanded capacity and advanced AI analytics to uncover insights. CFO David Abadi discussed the FY26 outlook, highlighting the model's leverage where revenue and gross profit are expected to grow faster than operating expenses, leading to improved profitability. Elad Sharon added that the U.S. market continues to be a growth opportunity, with positive customer feedback and follow-on orders indicating continued expansion in FY26 and beyond.

Peter Levine asked about the observed ratio of nonhuman AI agents to employees, the pricing model for these agents, and when they might become accretive to the top line.

Answer

CEO Todd McKinnon explained that the industry currently lacks a universal definition or way to account for an 'agent,' which is an opportunity for Okta to help define. He noted that while a specific ratio is not yet clear, the volume of machine-to-machine interactions is already significantly higher than human ones and could grow by two orders of magnitude with AI. He suggested monetization could occur on both sides: for those building agents and those using them, with Okta providing a neutral, pre-integrated solution.

Peter Levine asked about the impact of the proliferation of non-human (machine, bot) identities from AI and how Okta plans to monetize this trend.

Answer

CEO Todd McKinnon highlighted a new product, 'Auth for Gen AI,' designed to provide secure authentication for AI agents, preventing insecure credential storage. He explained this is a key monetization path, likely priced per active machine, similar to their existing machine-to-machine offerings. He also noted that AI drives demand for existing products like Identity Threat Protection and core login services for new AI applications.

Peter Levine questioned the strategy for integrating Genie AI into core offerings, its monetization potential, the performance of the employee benefits channel, and the pricing structure for these corporate agreements.

Answer

CEO Vincent Pilette detailed plans to embed Genie's anti-scam technology into Norton 360 plans, with monetization coming from up-sells to higher tiers and a stand-alone 'Genie Pro' option. He added that the employee benefits channel continues to grow double-digits with a strong funnel and that pricing is an enterprise agreement on a per-seat basis, slightly below direct consumer pricing.

Peter Levine of Ameriprise inquired about the revised timeline for the completion of the psoriasis study and the anticipated start date for the Phase III trial of Namodenoson for NASH.

Answer

CEO Pnina Fishman projected that the psoriasis study would be completed within ten to twelve months, following a couple of months to finalize enrollment. Regarding the NASH trial, she explained that the company is currently in a preparatory phase with key opinion leaders and will announce the study's initiation upon completion of this strategic work.