Richard Tse

Richard Tse asked about why AI cannot disrupt OpenText's content management business and inquired about the confidence in maintaining the 'one divestiture per quarter' cadence and the consistency of valuations relative to initial expectations.

Answer

Executive Chair and Chief Strategy Officer Tom Jenkins explained that OpenText feeds content into applications and Agentic AI, rather than making applications, thus AI relies on their managed content. Regarding divestitures, Mr. Jenkins confirmed confidence in the cadence and valuations, citing a strong pipeline of interested financial buyers whose valuations align with OpenText's discounted cash flow analysis.

Richard Tse from National Bank Financial asked about the visibility of the fiscal 2026 growth target within the current RPO and inquired about the conditions and target asset types for restarting M&A activities.

Answer

CEO Mark J. Barrenechea confirmed that roughly 60% of the fiscal 2026 cloud revenue is already secured in the current cloud RPO (CRPO), providing strong confidence in the growth outlook. Regarding M&A, he stated the balance sheet is ready for the right cloud-focused acquisition that is both a strategic and financial fit, while also noting that divestitures remain an option to accelerate overall growth.

Richard Tse requested specific metrics to track the adoption of OpenText's AI platform, Aviator, and asked if the company is considering a shift to a usage-based pricing model for its AI offerings.

Answer

CEO Mark Barrenechea did not provide specific adoption numbers but listed the key indicators he tracks: rising internal adoption and frequency of use, expense reduction via AI-led optimization, increasing win rates on AI-led deals, and expanding partnerships like with Microsoft. He stated that OpenText is not planning a disruptive change to its pricing model but will evaluate monetization for upcoming products like 'My Aviator' and 'Aviator Studio'.

Richard Tse of National Bank Financial asked for performance metrics on the Aviator AI platform and inquired if the company would consider disclosing metrics like net expansion rate in the future.

Answer

CEO and CTO Mark Barrenechea stated that while specific revenue numbers for Aviator are not being disclosed, it is an integral part of the platform and a key factor in recent major SaaS wins. He acknowledged the feedback on disclosing net expansion rates, noting that the company will consider it after focusing this quarter on launching its comprehensive new RPO and CRPO metrics.

Richard Tse asked new President of Worldwide Sales, Todd Cione, for his outsider's perspective on the primary challenges to accelerating organic growth and which parts of the new plan would deliver the most significant impact.

Answer

President, Worldwide Sales Todd Cione framed the challenges as 'big opportunities,' citing the company's strong product foundation and installed base. He identified the unification of the worldwide sales force to drive consistency as a key lever. He stated the biggest driver for growth will be a focus on 'People, people, people'—empowering the right talent to consistently demonstrate value. CEO Mark J. Barrenechea added that the company's scale had reached an inflection point that necessitated this new, unified sales leadership structure.

Richard Tse asked about whether the volatility and uncertainty around AI has changed CGI's evaluation criteria for acquisitions, and if there are structural resets happening in the U.S. federal government business, inquiring about CGI's restructuring capabilities.

Answer

François Boulanger, CEO, stated that AI is viewed as an enabler and has not changed CGI's M&A philosophy, which focuses on improving footprints and relationships. Regarding the U.S. federal government, Mr. Boulanger affirmed it remains a good market for IT services despite short-term geopolitical dynamics like shutdowns, maintaining a long-term positive outlook.

Richard Tse asked about how the volatility and uncertainty around AI has impacted CGI's evaluation of acquisition targets, and whether there are structural changes resetting the U.S. federal government business, and how quickly CGI could restructure if needed.

Answer

François Boulanger, CEO of CGI Inc., explained that AI is viewed as an enabler and has not changed their M&A philosophy, which focuses on improving footprint and growth. Regarding the U.S. federal government, Mr. Boulanger stated it remains a good market despite short-term geopolitical dynamics like shutdowns, maintaining a long-term positive outlook.

Richard Tse inquired about CGI's M&A priorities, specifically how it ranks transformational versus metro-market deals, and asked how the company is applying AI internally and its potential impact on headcount and margins.

Answer

President and CEO François Boulanger stated that CGI does not rank deal types, evaluating all opportunities, large and small, based on whether it is the 'right target at the right price at the right time.' On internal AI use, he explained that AI is embedded in managed services delivery to generate client savings and improve CGI's profitability. He expects this to increase employee productivity, leading to higher revenue per headcount over time.

Richard Tse from National Bank Financial asked for details on the use case for signing a mining and drilling services company, and how that applies to other potential B2B customers.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein explained that this win demonstrates Shopify's TAM expansion into new industrial verticals. He noted these large companies are migrating from archaic tech stacks to Shopify's modern B2B platform. CFO Jeff Hoffmeister added that this diversification adds stability to the merchant base and strengthens Shopify's overall enterprise offering.

Richard Tse of National Bank Financial asked if Shopify's ambition to be a 'system of record' for commerce could extend into replacing other systems like ERP or CRM.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein stated clearly that Shopify is a commerce company focused on retail and will not pursue 'side quests' into ERP or CRM. He explained the strategy is not to replace these systems but to excel at integrating seamlessly with the best-in-class solutions that enterprise clients already use, making it easy for them to connect their existing systems to Shopify.

Richard Tse of National Bank Financial asked for a breakdown of new customer wins between newly formed businesses and established merchants, and whether the latter were primarily displacements. He also inquired if the aggressive pace of share buybacks would continue.

Answer

President JD St. Martin stated that the mix of new wins remains consistent: roughly one-third are displacements of legacy providers, one-third are from modern competitors, and one-third are new businesses. CFO Asha Bakshani noted that the Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) for the year was completed in Q1, and any future buybacks under the remaining $200 million board authorization would be opportunistic.

Richard Tse inquired about the scaling and monetization strategy for the NuORDER supplier network, including the role of B2B payments, and asked for a breakdown of new customer growth between startups and competitive displacements.

Answer

President JD Saint-Martin explained that the supplier network is monetized indirectly by driving higher sales close rates (up 40% in the pet segment) and fueling the outbound sales motion, in addition to direct platform use. He detailed new customer sources as roughly one-third from legacy providers, one-third from businesses outgrowing basic solutions, and one-third from brand-new businesses.

Richard Tse asked what operational changes, such as leveraging SI partnerships, are being made to improve large enterprise execution. He also questioned if the CPO's departure signaled a need for changes in the product portfolio.

Answer

CEO Alessio Artuffo confirmed a heavy focus on SI partnerships with firms like Accenture and Deloitte to bolster enterprise sales. On the CPO change, he explained it was a planned succession, not a reaction to product needs. The move, including bringing in a new CTO, is part of a cohesive plan to strengthen engineering depth and build an AI-first organization.

Richard Tse from National Bank Financial sought clarification that the recent restructuring was driven by AI automation rather than the macro environment and asked about capital allocation priorities, specifically share buybacks.

Answer

CEO Alessio Artuffo asserted the restructuring was a proactive move from a position of strength to align skills for an AI-first future, not a reaction to macro pressures, with plans to reinvest savings into new skills and employee upskilling. He also confirmed that capital allocation priorities include both share buybacks, which they have done in the past, and strategic M&A to accelerate their AI learning platform vision.

Richard Tse from National Bank Financial asked for clarity on how the existing base of smaller customers will be managed as the company shifts towards larger enterprises. He also requested a breakdown of the channels from which net new wins are originating.

Answer

CFO Sukaran Mehta clarified that Docebo will not abandon the SMB market, as it provides competitive insights, but incremental growth and investment are focused on mid-market, large enterprise, and government. Interim CEO Alessio Artuffo added that while most new business is sourced directly, system integrators (SIs) like Deloitte are critical for strengthening their enterprise posture.

Inquired about the company's acquisition strategy, whether the Till acquisition was purely opportunistic, and which competitors Nuvei is taking the most wallet share from.

Answer

Philip Fayer clarified that the primary capital allocation strategy is debt repayment, but they will remain opportunistic with M&A, citing Till as an example where the capabilities were too compelling to pass up. Regarding wallet share, he stated that gains are broad-based and depend on the region and merchant needs, driven by their technology stack, rather than taking share from one specific competitor.