Rishi Jaluria

Rishi Jaluria asked about the progression of AI search tailwinds on the Tech and Shopping segment, potential investments to capitalize on AI search opportunities, and the resilience of other business segments like healthcare and gaming against these trends.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah explained that while traffic is fungible in Gaming & Entertainment and Health & Wellness, high-intent affiliate commerce traffic in Tech and Shopping is harder to replace. He noted that affiliate commerce commissions from organic traffic were down $25 million year-over-year in 2025, with half of that decline in Q4. He outlined strategies to offset this, including app traffic, browser extensions, video licensing, events, and broader display advertising.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC Capital Markets inquired about the progression of AI search tailwinds and headwinds impacting Ziff Davis's Tech and Shopping segment, potential investments to improve its growth trajectory, and the resilience of other segments like Health & Wellness and Gaming & Entertainment to AI search.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah explained that while lost search traffic is generally fungible across most segments, high-intent affiliate commerce traffic in Tech and Shopping is particularly difficult to replace. He quantified the impact, noting a $25 million year-over-year decline in affiliate commerce commissions from organic traffic in 2025, with half of that occurring in Q4. Shah outlined strategies to offset this, including leveraging app traffic, browser extensions, video licensing, events, and broader display advertising.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Ziff Davis's M&A opportunities, specifically if the company plans to become more aggressive in acquiring smaller, dislocated properties that may be struggling with AI search impacts.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah agreed that Ziff Davis's platforms have weathered market changes better than smaller properties, presenting a buying opportunity. He noted that the company has deployed nearly $70 million for acquisitions year-to-date, and the acquisition program is not slowing down. He also emphasized that share buybacks remain a strong capital allocation option, with 3.6 million shares repurchased to date, as the company balances M&A with buybacks given its attractive stock valuation.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC inquired about Ziff Davis's M&A strategy, specifically the opportunity to aggressively acquire and consolidate smaller, dislocated properties that may be struggling with AI search changes, given Ziff Davis's resilience.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah affirmed the potential for Ziff Davis to acquire smaller properties, acknowledging that the company's platforms have successfully navigated market challenges while others have not. He noted that Ziff Davis has deployed approximately $70 million for acquisitions year-to-date, with the program continuing. However, he also emphasized that share buybacks remain a compelling capital allocation option due to the attractive valuation of Ziff Davis's own stock, balancing M&A with shareholder returns.

Rishi Jaluria asked for an assessment of potential indirect macroeconomic impacts, specifically from tariffs, on Ziff Davis's advertiser base and resulting demand.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah explained that the direct impact from tariffs is minimal. He assessed the indirect risk by vertical, noting the Health & Wellness and Gaming segments are well-insulated. While the Tech & Shopping segment has some exposure, exemptions on certain electronics are beneficial. Shah also pointed out a potential upside where higher consumer prices could increase traffic to deal-seeking properties like RetailMeNot.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the outlook for the Health & Wellness business, considering concerns around the biopharma advertising environment and potential regulatory changes. He also inquired about potential M&A opportunities to fill any gaps in that portfolio.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah expressed confidence, stating that discussions around DTC ad bans are not new and are unlikely to materialize, with much of the focus being on TV, not their digital channels. He highlighted the strong 2025 upfronts and the diversified ad business between DTC and direct-to-provider. Regarding M&A, Shah agreed there are opportunities beyond pharma, citing the success of the Lose It! acquisition and noting potential extensions into app-based consumer services, beauty, fitness, and food.

Rishi Jaluria asked for more detail on the softness in the Moz SEO business, particularly around new customer acquisition, and questioned if this could be a result of Generative AI displacing traditional SEO technology.

Answer

CEO Vivek Shah attributed the softness to multiple factors: the timing of the MozCon conference, a potential chilling effect on SMB customers from confusion around AI and search, and internal needs. He acknowledged the product's user experience needs improvement and that the company must invest more in paid marketing to drive subscriptions, rather than relying solely on its own SEO for customer acquisition.

Rishi Jaluria asked for specific engagement metrics for Dash, such as time spent, percentage of paying business users, or impact on gross retention, and explored the longer-term strategy for Dash as a workflow-integrated platform.

Answer

CFO Ross Tennenbaum noted strong early adoption and repeat use of Dash within core Dropbox, exceeding expectations and leading to an accelerated rollout. CEO Drew Houston elaborated on building a 'Context Engine' infrastructure to shift from informational queries to automating workflows, citing examples in natural language interaction and security features like Protect and Control. He highlighted the unique value proposition of this infrastructure in enabling AI tools without high setup friction.

Rishi Jaluria sought specific engagement metrics for Dash, such as time spent, percentage of paying business users, or its impact on gross retention, and followed up on the longer-term strategy for Dash as a workflow-integrated platform.

Answer

Ross Tennenbaum, CFO, highlighted positive early engagement results for the Dash and Dropbox solution launched in Q4, which exceeded expectations and allowed for accelerated rollout. Drew Houston, CEO and Co-Founder, elaborated on the underlying Context Engine infrastructure, its shift from informational to workflow automation, and its role in addressing security challenges and enabling agentic capabilities.

Rishi Jaluria inquired about early adopter feedback for Dropbox Dash, specifically why customers choose it over alternatives, and also asked about trends in the consumer business amidst a weakening macro environment.

Answer

CEO Drew Houston explained that beyond AI search, Dash's 'Stacks' feature for organizing content and its unique 'protect and control' capabilities for IT are key differentiators. He noted that most 'consumer' subscribers use Dropbox for mission-critical work, making them less susceptible to macro pressures, and the company has not seen major changes in user trends. CFO Tim Regan confirmed they are being prudent with guidance given macro risks and FormSwift uncertainty.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the early uptake and competitive positioning of Dropbox Dash, seeking to understand the company's confidence in it as a future growth driver and its 'right to win' against pure-play and platform competitors. He also requested clarification on the new focus on adjusted EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow metrics.

Answer

CEO Drew Houston expressed confidence in Dash, citing a large, greenfield market for universal search, Dropbox's trusted brand, and its platform-agnostic advantage over incumbents. He noted that early signals like exceeding Q4 sales targets are positive. CFO Tim Regan explained that unlevered free cash flow is being introduced to better reflect core operating performance following the recent term loan, while adjusted EBITDA is an additional metric to help investors understand the business and its debt ratios.

Rishi Jaluria asked a two-part question about Dropbox's strategic pivot to Dash: what gives Dropbox a unique right to win in this competitive space, especially at the enterprise level, and what provides the confidence for this significant bet on the company's future, including any contingency plans if demand doesn't materialize as expected.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Drew Houston responded that Dash is a natural extension of Dropbox's core mission, solving the modern-day problems of finding, organizing, and securing content. He emphasized that existing customers see this as a logical evolution and trust the Dropbox brand, a key factor when adopting AI tools. Houston stated that the company's confidence is bolstered by market validation, including significant investment and activity in the space. He framed Dash not as a radical departure but as a 'linear evolution' that builds on the company's existing strengths, suggesting that the contingency plan involves iterating on this strong foundation rather than a complete pivot.

Rishi Jaluria asked if the success with CIS, particularly with existing Akamai customers, is additive to their total ACV or if it's a reallocation of spend from other services like delivery. He also inquired about the company's assumptions regarding major live events (Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, AAA gaming releases) in their 2026 guidance.

Answer

Ed McGowan (CFO) confirmed that CIS spend is additive, not a trade-off for delivery, citing the large customer deal as an out-of-cycle, 100% additive transaction. He noted success with both existing and new customers, with new customer count picking up due to the broader CIS offering. Regarding events, he explained that smaller events like concerts or the Super Bowl generate minimal revenue. The Olympics might bring a few million dollars, and the World Cup slightly more (3-6 million), but these are generally insignificant to a billion-dollar-plus quarter. NFL seasons and new console refresh cycles have a much larger impact due to longer duration and broader updates.

Rishi Jaluria asked if the success in the CIS business with existing customers is additive to their total ACV or merely a shift in spending, and sought clarification on the assumptions for major events like the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and AAA gaming releases in the 2026 guidance.

Answer

CFO Ed McGowan stated that CIS success is additive, not a trade-off with delivery services, and noted an increase in new customer acquisition. He quantified the revenue impact of various events, indicating that while events like the Olympics and World Cup contribute a few million dollars, they are not overly material to the overall quarterly revenue, with console refresh cycles having a much larger impact.

Rishi Jaluria asked how Akamai plans to minimize disruption from its go-to-market changes and what assumptions are in the 2025 guide. He also inquired about the long-term impact of Edgio's exit on the delivery pricing environment.

Answer

CEO F. Leighton stated the key to minimizing disruption is avoiding account breakage by implementing changes over a two-year journey. CFO Ed McGowan added they are working with a consulting firm to manage the process carefully. On pricing, McGowan noted that while the market is seeing some rationalization and longer contract terms, the delivery business remains volume-driven, though having fewer players could help moderate price declines.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the dual role of generative AI in cybersecurity, for both defense and offense, and the impact of competitor consolidation in the content delivery market on Akamai's business and pricing.

Answer

CEO Tom Leighton explained that while nefarious actors are using GenAI to create more sophisticated attacks, Akamai is leveraging it to enhance its security products, such as Guardicore and WAF, by providing natural language interfaces for customers. Regarding market consolidation, Leighton stated that the shakeout of struggling competitors is long overdue and will ultimately help stabilize the delivery market, reinforcing Akamai's disciplined approach to pricing.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the market's perception of AI disrupting NICE's business versus management's view of AI as a tailwind, and opportunities for deeper partnerships with AI-native companies.

Answer

CEO Scott Russell addressed the disconnect, emphasizing NICE's embedded AI, domain expertise, unified platform, and strong backlog growth as evidence of AI being a tailwind. He also explained NICE's open platform strategy and how they leverage frontier AI models by specializing them with CX data.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the market's perception of AI disrupting NICE's business versus the company's view of AI as a tailwind, seeking clarification on the disconnect and opportunities to disprove bear cases. He also inquired about opportunities for deeper integrations and partnerships with AI-native companies, leveraging NICE's existing infrastructure.

Answer

Scott Russell, CEO, explained the disconnect by highlighting CX complexity, NICE's domain expertise, the unified platform's advantage over point solutions, and strong growth indicators like 13% AI cloud revenue and 25% backlog growth. He further elaborated on NICE's open platform strategy, leveraging frontier AI models through partnerships, and differentiating with purpose-built AI for customer engagement data, compliance, and real-time orchestration.

Rishi Jaluria asked for details on the renewed partnership with RingCentral and sought to understand the specific causes behind the underperformance of the LiveVox business.

Answer

CEO Scott Russell described the RingCentral renewal as a mature partnership that combines NICE's leading enterprise CCaaS and AI with RingCentral's UCaaS strength for significant customer value. CFO Beth Gaspich attributed the LiveVox underperformance to higher-than-expected customer churn. Mr. Russell added that LiveVox's outbound capabilities remain a crucial long-term strategic asset for the CXone platform.

Rishi Jaluria asked for details on the renewed partnership with RingCentral, the reasons for the underperformance of the LiveVox business, and any lessons learned that could be applied to the upcoming Cognigy acquisition.

Answer

CEO Scott Russell characterized the RingCentral renewal as a mature partnership that combines NICE's leading enterprise CCaaS with RingCentral's UCaaS strengths. CFO Beth Gaspich attributed LiveVox's softness to higher-than-expected churn from a few customers, which diluted organic growth. Scott Russell affirmed that LiveVox remains a strategic asset for its outbound capabilities and stressed that the Cognigy acquisition is a long-term strategic move for sustained growth.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets questioned the renewed partnership with RingCentral, asking what prompted the deal and if terms changed. He also asked about the cause of LiveVox's underperformance and any lessons applicable to the upcoming Cognigy acquisition.

Answer

CEO Scott Russell described the RingCentral renewal as a mature approach, combining NICE's leading enterprise CCaaS with RingCentral's UCaaS, acknowledging that overlaps in portfolios are manageable. CFO Beth Gaspich attributed the LiveVox softness to higher-than-anticipated customer churn. Regarding Cognigy, Scott Russell emphasized it's a long-term strategic growth play, not about short-term revenue, and highlighted LiveVox's strategic importance for its outbound capabilities despite near-term headwinds.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the renewed partnership with RingCentral, the reasons for LiveVox's underperformance, and any lessons learned that could be applied to the upcoming Cognigy acquisition.

Answer

CEO Scott Russell described the RingCentral renewal as a mature partnership combining NICE's leading enterprise CCaaS with RingCentral's UCaaS strength. Regarding LiveVox, CFO Beth Gaspich cited higher-than-expected customer churn. Scott Russell added that LiveVox remains a strategic asset for its outbound capabilities and emphasized that the Cognigy acquisition is a long-term strategic move, not focused on short-term revenue.

Rishi Jaluria asked Dylan Field about the potential for more formal partnerships with AI native companies, beyond existing MCP integrations, to enable deeper integrations or joint product development. He then asked Praveer Melwani about the expected mix between subscription and consumption in the hybrid model post-March 2026, and what tools Figma uses to maintain visibility and predictability in future revenue.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-Founder and CEO, Figma, stated that the primary focus is on the code-to-canvas and canvas-to-code round trip, ensuring Figma's product roadmap accounts for advancing model capabilities and integrates well with various model providers. He mentioned exploring apps on platforms like ChatGPT and Claude as secondary. Praveer Melwani, CFO, Figma, explained that telemetry shows a power law distribution of credit consumption. AI add-ons are structured as consumption packs (co-terming with subscriptions for predictability) or pay-as-you-go for burst activity, expecting a 'slow build' rather than an immediate surge in monetization.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the potential for Figma to build more formal partnerships or deeper integrations with AI-native companies beyond existing MCP integrations, exploring how these collaborations could enable greater customer success. He also inquired about the expected mix between subscription and consumption in Figma's hybrid monetization model post-March, and the tools Figma uses to maintain visibility and predictability into future revenue to mitigate volatility.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-Founder and CEO, Figma, stated that the primary focus is on the round-trip between code and canvas, ensuring Figma improves as models advance, and integrating well with various model providers. He mentioned exploring opportunities with Figma's apps on ChatGPT and Claude. Praveer Melwani, CFO, Figma, explained that telemetry into credit consumption shows a power law distribution, with a subset of users exceeding limits. He noted that AI add-ons are structured as additional seat/consumption packs or pay-as-you-go, with add-ons co-terming with subscriptions for predictability, while pay-as-you-go is for burst activity.

Rishi Jaluria inquired about the tangible results observed from Figma Make's adoption among 100K+ customers, such as faster design-to-deployment and increased innovation velocity, and the long-term adoption targets for Figma Make within the customer base.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-founder and CEO, highlighted high engagement with new personas like product managers and user researchers, enabling faster idea validation. Praveer Melwani, CFO, added that 30% of 100K+ customers use Make weekly, driving multi-product adoption and accelerating growth in 10K+ and 100K+ customer segments.

Rishi Jaluria asked for more details on Figma Make's impact, including tangible results for customers spending over $100,000, such as faster design and deployment, and the long-term adoption targets for Figma Make within the customer base.

Answer

Dylan Field, Co-founder and CEO of Figma, highlighted high engagement, new personas like product managers and user researchers, and faster idea validation. He noted a B2B focus on prototyping and some longer-tail users going straight to production. Praveer Melwani, CFO of Figma, added that 30% of customers spending $100,000 or more in ARR were using Figma Make weekly by the end of Q3, a number that continues to grow, and they expect continued improvement in multi-product adoption, currently at 70% using three or more products.

Rishi Jaluria asked why AI-native companies, including cutting-edge ones like Lovable, choose HubSpot as their go-to-market platform instead of leveraging vibe coding tools to build their own solutions.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan explained that while coding is easier, domain expertise and platform value remain crucial. She emphasized that HubSpot provides a platform with unified customer context, which is essential for decision-making by agents and team members, leading to value that AI-native companies seek. Co-Founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah added that even with advanced AI coding tools, the best companies focus their engineering efforts on adding value to their customers, not on rebuilding core systems like CRM, ERP, or HR platforms.

Rishi Jaluria inquired why AI-native companies, such as Lovable, choose HubSpot as their platform instead of leveraging vibe coding tools and other AI models to build their own solutions.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan explained that while coding has become easier, domain expertise and platform value remain critical. She asserted that AI-native companies choose HubSpot for its platform value and essential customer context, rather than building core systems like CRM from scratch. Co-Founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah added that leading companies focus their engineering efforts on adding value to their customers, not on replacing internal platforms with vibe coding.

Rishi Jaluria asked for details on the pricing model for HubSpot's AI solutions, specifically how the credit system works and how the company ensures pricing is predictable and frictionless for customers.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan explained that HubSpot's philosophy is to deliver value before monetizing. The credit-based system for AI will provide Pro and Enterprise customers with an initial allotment of credits included in their subscription. As usage scales, customers can purchase additional credits either on a pay-as-you-go basis or in pre-set "packs" to ensure predictability. She clarified that credit consumption will be value-based; for example, Customer Agent credits will be consumed per AI-enabled conversation, while Prospecting Agent credits might be tied to meetings booked.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the long-term technological unlock from generative AI, questioning where HubSpot sees opportunities for net new use cases beyond efficiency and the resulting implications for its platform architecture.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan identified the biggest unlock as the ability to combine structured and unstructured data to provide real-time insights. She described a new architecture built on three layers: a unified data fabric (via acquisitions like Frame.ai), a context/knowledge layer, and an orchestration layer for feedback. She also predicted a shift to more composable UIs, stating HubSpot is actively reimagining its platform to lead this change.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the future of customer interaction with HubSpot in a world of copilots and generative AI, and how enabling greater customer productivity might impact the company's pricing power and model.

Answer

CEO Yamini Rangan stated that the future involves CoPilots and agents driving value, and that HubSpot will maintain its pricing philosophy of adding value before monetization. She suggested agent pricing might eventually be consumption-based. CTO Dharmesh Shah added that HubSpot's platform-based, open-model approach allows it to leverage the best large language models as the industry evolves, citing the ability to capitalize on recent OpenAI innovations.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Pega's role as enterprises deploy multi-agent systems, specifically how Pega can serve as a tailwind by integrating disparate agents and triggering workflows across various systems, including mainframes. He also followed up on Blueprint's impact on sales cycles and time to live deployment.

Answer

CEO Alan Trefler emphasized Pega's structural advantage, explaining that Pega's 'super agent' can run numerous workflows and orchestrate with third-party agents via built-in A-to-A requests, contrasting this with competitors' prompt-based approaches. COO and CFO Ken Stillwell noted early signs of Blueprint leading to faster pipeline build, progression, and close times, with more precise data expected at Investor Day. Alan Trefler also highlighted a massive improvement in training time for new staff due to Blueprint.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Pega's role as enterprises deploy hundreds or thousands of agents, specifically how Pega can serve as a tailwind by integrating agents from disparate systems and triggering workflows across various technological spans, including mainframe systems. He followed up by asking for quantifiable metrics on Blueprint's impact on sales cycles and time from ideation to live deployment, noting its contribution to accelerating ACV and improving NRR.

Answer

Alan Trefler (Founder and CEO) highlighted Pega's structural advantages, stating that customers won't need thousands of agents. He explained that Pega's 'super agent' can run numerous workflows and orchestrate with external agents via built-in MCP A2A requests, contrasting this with competitors' less reliable prompt-based agent creation. Ken Stillwell (COO and CFO) confirmed that early signs indicate Blueprint leads to faster pipeline build, progression, and close times, impacting win rates, with more precise data expected at Investor Day. Alan Trefler added that Blueprint has significantly reduced training time for new staff, enabling them to engage clients much faster.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC Capital Markets asked about Pegasystems' conceptual role in the new AI ecosystem, particularly as a neutral middleman for agent orchestration across different stacks, and how Pega's approach to agent orchestration differs from competitors. He also questioned how new logos, driven by Blueprint's lower barriers to entry, could become a more significant driver of future ACV growth.

Answer

Alan Trefler, Founder and CEO, explained that Pega's orchestration focuses on reliable workflows for control, rather than LLMs at runtime, ensuring predictability, which is a structural difference. He emphasized that orchestration is about getting things done in the right order, not just technical connectivity. Regarding new logos, Mr. Trefler and Ken Stillwell, COO and CFO, highlighted that the partner strategy, especially "Powered by Blueprint," is key to scaling new logo acquisition significantly beyond what a direct sales model could achieve, by leveraging partners' existing sales forces and IP.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Pega's potential role as a neutral orchestrator for agents across different stacks in the new AI ecosystem and how new logos could become a more meaningful driver of future ACV growth.

Answer

Alan Trefler, Founder and CEO, distinguished between technical connectivity and logic-based orchestration, emphasizing Pega's approach of using reliable, design-time workflows for orchestration over runtime LLM control for greater predictability. Mr. Trefler and Ken Stillwell, COO and CFO, agreed that new logos could become a more significant driver, particularly through the successful 'Powered by Blueprint' partner strategy, which leverages partners' existing sales forces to broaden customer reach.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the strategy behind increasing sales coverage for new logo acquisition, how Pega GenAI Blueprint changes the go-to-market motion, and the long-term durability of the company's 'Rule of 40' status.

Answer

CEO Alan Trefler explained that Pega GenAI Blueprint transforms the sales process by enabling client-specific, experiential demos in the first meeting, reducing the need for large pre-sales teams. CFO Kenneth Stillwell added that the new logo strategy is more targeted than past efforts. Regarding the 'Rule of 40,' both executives affirmed it is not the end state, with Stillwell mentioning a 'Rule of 45' goal and Trefler emphasizing a focus on re-accelerating ACV growth while maintaining financial discipline.

Rishi Jaluria asked for clarification on what differentiates Pega's agentic AI from competitors, specifically mentioning Salesforce's recent announcements. He also inquired about the potential for a Q4 budget flush from customers.

Answer

CEO Alan Trefler positioned Pega's agentic AI as a "managed approach" built on defined workflows and processes, which provides the reliability and governance required by regulated industries. He contrasted this with approaches that rely solely on language models to "figure it out." Regarding Q4, both CFO Kenneth Stillwell and CEO Alan Trefler expressed skepticism about a significant budget flush, with Trefler noting that many CEOs remain focused on cost savings, making a large year-end spending spree unlikely.

Rishi Jaluria inquired about Hinge Health's potential to expand beyond reactive physical therapy to proactive, preventative solutions, and the company's mental model for stock-based compensation (SBC) and dilution going forward.

Answer

Dan Perez, Co-founder and CEO, acknowledged the value of proactive movement but emphasized Hinge's current focus on capturing the $60 billion outpatient physical therapy market and PT-adjacent conditions with clear clinical needs and reimbursable conditions, noting that prevention's ROI can be harder to attribute. James Budge, CFO, stated that dilution has decreased over the last 3-4 years, expecting it to be even lower than 3% in 2025, with quarterly SBC of $20M-$25M (as in Q4) being reflective of future expectations. Dan Perez added that Hinge is committed to GAAP profitability and increasing free cash flow per share by managing both free cash flow and total shares outstanding.

Rishi Jaluria with RBC Capital Markets asked about Hinge Health's long-term opportunity to expand beyond reactive physical therapy to more proactive, preventative solutions, and how this aligns with insurer and corporate customer incentives. He also inquired about the company's mental model for stock-based compensation (SBC) and dilution going forward, including target rates.

Answer

Daniel Perez, Co-founder and CEO, acknowledged the value of proactive movement but emphasized the current focus on capturing the $60 billion outpatient physical therapy market and PT-adjacent products, noting the challenges of ROI attribution and reimbursement for purely preventative solutions. Bianca Buck, Head of Investor Relations, stated that dilution was below 3% in 2025 and expected to be lower in 2026, with Q4 2025's $20-$25 million SBC being representative for the next 4-8 quarters. Daniel Perez added that Hinge Health views SBC as a real expense and is committed to GAAP profitability and increasing free cash flow per share.

Rishi Jaluria asked how ZoomInfo navigates customer predictability concerns while shifting towards consumption-based pricing to align with value and avoid potential sticker shock down the line.

Answer

Henry Schuck, Founder and CEO, explained that ZoomInfo has built transparency into its consumption pricing models, allowing customers visibility and controllability over their spend. The intention is to work closely with customers to prevent surprises regarding consumption and cost.

Rishi Jaluria asked how ZoomInfo ensures predictability for customers with its consumption-based pricing model, to avoid 'sticker shock' down the line, while aligning pricing with value.

Answer

Henry Schuck, Founder and CEO of ZoomInfo, explained that they have built 'a lot of transparency into how consumption pricing works' across their models. Customers have visibility into credit and dollar consumption, along with 'controllability of that spend.' The company intends to work closely with customers to prevent 'any surprises from a consumption and cost perspective.'

Rishi Jaluria asked about Zoom's M&A strategy following Zoomtopia, specifically whether future acquisitions would continue to be small, technological tuck-ins to accelerate the AI roadmap, or if there's potential for more transformational M&A.

Answer

Michelle Chang, CFO, reiterated that Zoom's M&A strategy remains consistent: thoughtful, disciplined, strategically aligned with synergies and sound financials, typically involving small to medium-sized investments like Bonsai and BrightHire.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Zoom's M&A strategy, specifically whether future acquisitions will continue to be small, technological tuck-ins accelerating the AI roadmap, or if there's potential for more transformational M&A.

Answer

CFO Michelle Chang reiterated that Zoom's M&A strategy remains consistent, focusing on thoughtful, disciplined acquisitions that are strategically aligned with synergies and sound financials. She clarified that this typically means small to medium-sized investments, similar to the Bonsai and BrightHire acquisitions.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC Capital Markets asked how Zoom balances the high cost of AI with its strong cash flow guidance and inquired about plans to leverage the vast amount of unstructured data on its platform for new use cases.

Answer

Founder & CEO Eric Yuan described the vision for an 'AI first' experience that automates workflows through conversational interfaces. CFO Michelle Chang addressed the financial question by explaining that AI compute costs are being actively offset by cost optimizations, such as migrating infrastructure to co-location facilities and using a federated approach to AI models, which has kept gross margins strong at 79.8%.

Rishi Jaluria asked for more details on the traction of Zoom Team Chat and its impact on customer metrics like churn, expansion, and adoption of other products.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan highlighted a large Q4 deal where Team Chat was a key component, stating that adoption is a 'marketing problem' as many customers are unaware of the feature's value within the integrated suite. CFO Michelle Chang added that Chat was integral to a recent competitive win against Microsoft.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the opportunity for Coursera to create AI certifications with partners like OpenAI and Anthropic, similar to existing partnerships with Google and IBM. He also inquired about early signs of success in the shift to AI search, how Coursera intends to invest, and how success will be measured.

Answer

CEO Greg Hart confirmed that AI certifications are a significant opportunity, increasingly important for demonstrating verified skills and mastery in the workforce, citing Skills Tracks with verified credentials as an example. On AI search, Mr. Hart expressed excitement about the OpenAI integration, seeing it as a chance to learn and evolve user behavior, leading to more highly qualified traffic and improved learner onboarding by mapping career goals to relevant content.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the potential for future AI certifications from partnerships like OpenAI and Anthropic, similar to existing certifications with Google or IBM, to validate mastery beyond course completion. He also inquired about early signs of success, investment plans, and measurement strategies for Coursera's shift towards AI search and integration with platforms like ChatGPT.

Answer

CEO Greg Hart confirmed the significant opportunity for AI certifications, emphasizing their importance for verified skills in both consumer and enterprise segments, citing SkillsTrax as an example. He discussed the evolving nature of search with LLMs, expressing excitement about the OpenAI integration for learning user behavior, improving contextual awareness, and driving highly qualified traffic, with investments in evolving course detail pages and onboarding to guide learners based on career goals.

Rishi Jaluria questioned the logic behind combining the Consumer and Degrees segments, asking if it was a move to obscure weakness, and also asked about the assumptions behind the raised full-year guidance.

Answer

CFO Ken Hahn clarified the segment change aligns reporting with how the new CEO manages the business, viewing Degrees as a consumer product. He stressed transparency, noting they explicitly guided for the Degrees product to decline. For the outlook, Hahn explained it reflects observed improvements in consumer metrics and includes investments for growth, while prudently acknowledging macro caution impacting the enterprise spending environment.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked for CEO Jeff Maggioncalda's reflections on his tenure, comparing the impact of the COVID-driven virtual learning boom with the current generative AI wave and the expected timeline for AI's disruption.

Answer

CEO Jeff Maggioncalda contrasted the immediate, universal adoption during COVID with the slower, more uncertain rollout of generative AI. He stated that early growth was fueled by professional certificates and believes AI adoption will accelerate as companies see clear productivity gains. Chairman and Co-Founder Andrew Ng added that while AI applications are still developing, Coursera's brand, user base, and innovations like Coursera Coach position it to capitalize on the transformation in learning.

Rishi Jaluria asked why Coursera isn't seeing higher growth rates despite strong secular tailwinds like GenAI, and what is needed for growth to re-accelerate. He also followed up on capital deployment, questioning the lack of share buybacks given the cash balance and low stock multiple.

Answer

CEO Jeff Maggioncalda opined that while Coursera is positioned to be an 'AI winner,' institutional readiness in business, government, and campus segments is lagging the technology's potential, delaying adoption. CFO Ken Hahn addressed capital allocation by stating that while buybacks are a consideration, the company is currently prioritizing financial stability and strategic optionality for potential M&A during this period of market flux.

Rishi Jaluria asked about Docusign's continued right to win and differentiation in the IAM space, especially given other AI vendors are also focusing on contract analysis and information synthesis using LLMs.

Answer

CEO Allan Thygesen positioned AI as a massive tailwind for Docusign, emphasizing their deep knowledge of agreement structure, embedded workflows, exceptional scale (approaching 100 million proprietary customer agreements), and seamless integration with major enterprise systems as key differentiators against competitors.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked for clarification on how the IAM contribution to subscription revenue is defined, particularly in relation to existing CLM revenue, and questioned why the international core eSignature business was decelerating.

Answer

CFO Blake Grayson clarified that the IAM book of business metric does not include CLM. CEO Allan Thygesen added that CLM remains a key product and will be integrated with IAM platform capabilities. Regarding international business, Thygesen noted that while it's still growing faster than domestic, it decelerated due to a historical focus on customer acquisition over upsell, a motion they are now pivoting. He also cited the recent IAM launch and partner channel evolution as key future growth levers.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked about the architecture of Veeva's AI agents for interoperability with external systems like SAP or Workday. He also inquired if AI could be leveraged to simplify the migration of customizations to Vault CRM.

Answer

CEO Peter Gassner confirmed that Veeva AI is being architected for agent-to-agent communication across different vendor systems, which he believes is a significant, underappreciated benefit. He stated that AI would not directly ease migrations, as Veeva already has refined tooling for that. However, he suggested the pull of new AI features on Vault CRM could incentivize customers to migrate sooner.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked about early customer feedback on new marketing and service applications for Vault CRM and their potential timeline to gain market share. He also inquired about Veeva's evolving view on AI adoption in life sciences and its long-term potential.

Answer

EVP, Strategy, Paul Shawah stated that while early, new marketing and service applications are resonating with customers, but adoption requires being on Vault CRM first. CEO Peter Gassner expressed bullishness on Veeva.ai, predicting it could increase life sciences efficiency by 15% by 2030 by embedding deep, application-specific AI agents, which he believes is where 'the magic will happen.'

Rishi Jaluria asked about the evolution of Veeva's AI strategy and early customer feedback, and requested an update on the planned expansion into horizontal applications.

Answer

CEO Peter Gassner stated that Veeva's AI strategy is playing out as expected, focusing on specific use cases like CRM Bot and MLR Bot now that the underlying technology is more stable. Regarding horizontal apps, he said the focus is on building a 'version 2' application platform with a dedicated team, but there is nothing to announce on specific application areas yet.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the early use cases for Veeva's AI partner program and whether new products like Service Center are typically greenfield opportunities or displacements of existing solutions.

Answer

CEO Peter Gassner described early AI use cases like next best action and document generation, emphasizing that Veeva aims to enable partners rather than compete with them. EVP of Strategy Paul Shawah clarified that new products like Service Center will likely be adopted first by net new or smaller customers and are significant add-ons to Vault CRM, not standalone displacements.

Rishi Jaluria asked for a long-term view, 5-10 years out, on MongoDB's role in a potential multi-agentic world where user interaction shifts to natural language, and what investments are being made to prepare for that future.

Answer

President & CEO Dev Ittycheria explained that agents require perceiving, planning, and acting, for which MongoDB is well-suited. He highlighted the JSON document model's ability to represent the real world, the power of integrated hybrid search, and the critical role of memory for agents to connect events over time. He concluded that while more work is needed, MongoDB's underlying architecture is positioned to be a winner as enterprises deploy more agents.

Rishi Jaluria asked what is needed for companies to re-architect new generative AI applications on platforms like MongoDB instead of just lifting and shifting. He also inquired about the momentum of the company's relational migrator tool.

Answer

CEO Dev Ittycheria argued that the rapid pace of AI innovation makes flexible data foundations like MongoDB essential, rendering rigid relational databases non-viable long-term. He expressed high confidence in the relational modernization effort, citing strong customer interest. The initiative is scaling in FY26 and expected to contribute more meaningfully to revenue in FY27.

Rishi Jaluria asked for MongoDB's view on why its architecture is better suited for generative AI applications than Postgres. He also questioned if increased developer productivity from AI tools is yet translating into higher Atlas consumption.

Answer

CEO Dev Ittycheria argued that MongoDB's document model is architecturally superior for complex AI data structures, avoiding the performance overhead that relational databases like Postgres face. On developer productivity, he said customer feedback is mixed and it's too early to see a direct impact on consumption, though he expects it to be a long-term tailwind.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets inquired about the key drivers behind the recent success of the InsuranceNow product and the strategy for managing customers who might grow large enough for InsuranceSuite.

Answer

CEO Mike Rosenbaum credited the success to strong execution, product maturity, and successful customer references, noting that customers can use both InsuranceNow and InsuranceSuite simultaneously for different needs. President John Mullen added that the dynamism of this market segment pushes Guidewire to innovate.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC Capital Markets asked about the drivers of success for the InsuranceNow product and how Guidewire manages customers who may grow to need the full InsuranceSuite.

Answer

CEO Mike Rosenbaum credited strong team execution, product maturity, and customer referenceability for InsuranceNow's success. He noted that a "handoff" is not always necessary, as some customers use both platforms for different lines of business. President & CRO John Mullen added that this market segment drives innovation at Guidewire.

Rishi Jaluria inquired about opportunities to consolidate budget within Guidewire's existing customer base and the tools used to drive these platform deals. He also asked about the glide path for improving services gross margins and the potential role of GenAI.

Answer

CEO Mike Rosenbaum explained that consolidation opportunities often align with a customer's compelling business event, like a new line of business, which creates a logical time for a cloud upgrade. CFO Jeff Cooper stated that the services organization is highly strategic, focused on customer success over profitability, but they are exploring lower-cost delivery options in India and using AI to improve developer productivity, which could help margins long-term. Mike Rosenbaum reiterated the strategic importance of the services team over its profitability.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the spending behavior and expansion propensity of customers who are fully ramped on the cloud platform. He also inquired about the drivers of InsuranceNow's momentum and its potential upgrade path to InsuranceSuite.

Answer

CFO Jeff Cooper noted that while it's early, they see healthy expansion from fully ramped customers via platform spend, data/analytics attach rates, and premium growth. CEO Mike Rosenbaum explained that InsuranceNow's momentum stems from a clear commitment to the product for its target market. He clarified there is no formal 'on-ramp' strategy to InsuranceSuite, as the goal is to place customers on the correct platform from the start.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked if there were any notable macro trend changes in April and how Workday is adapting its go-to-market messaging to emphasize ROI in the current environment.

Answer

CEO Carl Eschenbach stated there was no material impact or change in trends during or after the quarter, but the company remains watchful of the SLED and international markets. He reiterated that the go-to-market message consistently focuses on ROI and TCO. He emphasized that in a tough environment, customers look to consolidate on trusted platforms like Workday and view it as a safe bet for their AI strategy.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets asked if there were any different business trends observed in April and how Workday is adapting its go-to-market messaging to emphasize ROI in the current macro environment.

Answer

CEO Carl Eschenbach stated there was no material impact or change in trends during or after the quarter, but the company remains watchful of the SLED and international markets. An executive, Justin Furby, affirmed that the go-to-market narrative consistently focuses on ROI and TCO, which resonates strongly as customers look to consolidate platforms and invest in a trusted AI strategy with Workday.

Questioned the assumptions behind the Q2 revenue guidance, which implies a sequential decline despite positive momentum from upmarket, easier comps, and Copilot success.

Answer

The company explained that the same 'incremental caution' applied to the full-year forecast was also baked into the Q2 guide. They also noted that Q1 benefited from strong Q4 sales performance and collections, suggesting some seasonality, and that the caution was layered on top of that.

Rishi Jaluria questioned the geopolitical risk to Fastly's non-U.S. TikTok business and the ability to offset potential U.S. traffic loss. He also asked about the current pricing environment following recent market consolidation.

Answer

CEO Todd Nightingale expressed confidence in the strong global partnership with TikTok, aiming to grow the account across the entire product portfolio. Regarding pricing, CFO Ron Kisling noted an improvement, with price-per-gigabit declines stabilizing back to the historical high-teens percentage range after a period of accelerated declines in the low-20s.

Represented by Chris Fountain, Rishi Jaluria's team asked for more details on the decision to evolve sales incentives and whether this change impacted the company's 2025 guidance philosophy.

Answer

CEO Todd Nightingale explained the new incentives are designed to drive a more diversified business by encouraging cross-selling of security, compute, and observability products, which builds stickier customer relationships. CFO Ron Kisling stated that the guidance philosophy has not changed, but visibility has improved due to better engagement with large customers and the prudent exclusion of uncertain TikTok revenue, reducing some of the volatility seen last year.

Rishi Jaluria asked for an update on efforts to diversify revenue within the top 10 customer cohort by selling more security services, and inquired about the expected increase in the security revenue mix.

Answer

CEO Todd Nightingale stated that while delivery will remain the primary spend for top 10 customers, there is a significant opportunity to increase stickiness with security and compute offerings. He noted the full impact of recent security launches is not yet in the results. CFO Ron Kisling added that a more significant impact from security initiatives on the revenue mix will likely be seen in 2025.

Rishi Jaluria of RBC Capital Markets sought clarification on which products are included in 'AI revenue' to counter bear arguments and asked if rising AI usage could become a headwind to gross margin.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland stated definitively that AI revenue excludes simple automation and includes only modern AI products like AI agents and agent assist. He asserted that AI is a tailwind to gross margin, not a headwind, because the cost per interaction for AI models has decreased dramatically and the company's software development is highly efficient.

Rishi Jaluria requested a more specific breakdown of the inorganic revenue contribution to aid in modeling and asked about the long-term roadmap for using Enfusion to expand into the equities market.

Answer

CFO Jim Cox suggested extrapolating from the Q2 guidance, while CEO Sandeep Sahai reiterated using the 2024 revenue bases with stated growth assumptions (20% for CWAN/Beacon, 13% for Enfusion). On strategy, Sahai described the vision of creating a single security master as the 'holy grail' of investment tech. He outlined a three-phase approach: focusing on stand-alone growth first, then aggressive cross-selling, followed by long-term platform integration.

Rishi Jaluria asked about early customer feedback on the Enfusion acquisition and the potential for integrated front-office solutions. He also inquired about the long-term margin glide path, potential headwinds from generative AI, and for an example of a project that was de-emphasized for not showing ROI.

Answer

CEO Sandeep Sahai responded that customers are very excited about the Enfusion deal, as it accelerates the company's '1 to 4 bps' journey by offering a combined pre-trade and post-trade solution from a single vendor. Regarding margins, he stated that generative AI investments pay back quickly and present no headwind, reiterating a long-term gross margin target of north of 80%. He explained that R&D projects that are adjacent to the core business have performed well, while those 'two steps removed' have been unfunded if they don't show customer traction within 6-9 months.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the sensitivity of ARR to interest rate cuts under the 'Subscription Plus' model and inquired about the company's broader partnership strategy following the recent Snowflake announcement.

Answer

CFO Jim Cox explained the model moderates AUM impact compared to the past, but the effect depends on asset duration. CEO Sandeep Sahai emphasized a commitment to an open architecture, and CCO Subi Sethi detailed how the Snowflake partnership enables clients to access Clearwater data in a single pane of glass, addressing a key pain point.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the dynamic driving longer contract durations, evidenced by strong long-term RPO growth, and requested any internal benchmarks on efficiency gains from using Box AI.

Answer

CFO Dylan Smith attributed longer durations to customers making larger, multi-year commitments with Enterprise Advanced and the mechanics of early renewals. CEO Aaron Levie shared that Box is using its own AI tools extensively for tasks like HR inquiries and product development, resulting in significant time savings, and plans to share more quantitative case studies at the upcoming Analyst Day.

Rishi Jaluria asked for a specific quantification of the margin benefit from data center sales and whether this was incremental to prior guidance. He also inquired about the drivers behind the uptick in bookings from Japan.

Answer

CFO Dylan Smith quantified the benefit from data center sales as a 60 basis point tailwind to gross and operating margin in both Q2 and Q3, which was incremental upside not included in prior guidance. CEO Aaron Levie attributed the strong performance in Japan to continued penetration in key industries like finance and pharmaceuticals, as well as strong early adoption of Box AI in a market that is very interested in automation.

Rishi Jaluria asked about early customer wins for the Intuit Enterprise Suite (IES), whether they are greenfield or competitive displacements, and what customer feedback is informing the product roadmap.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi explained that the initial focus has been on Intuit's existing base of 800,000 mid-market customers, where IES displaces point solutions by offering significant cost and time savings on a single platform. He noted that customers are motivated to switch to consolidate their data and leverage Intuit's AI for growth insights. The company is now beginning to see wins from competitive solutions and is targeting the broader "non-consumption" greenfield market, which represents the largest long-term opportunity.

Rishi Jaluria from RBC Capital Markets inquired about the momentum of Microsoft 365 Copilot and the company's broader AI strategy, particularly the distinction between its consumer and enterprise approaches.

Answer

CEO Satya Nadella affirmed strong momentum for M365 Copilot, calling it the fastest-growing new suite in M365 history. For the consumer side, he highlighted using the same core AI investment to drive growth in Search, LinkedIn, Gaming, and Windows Copilot+ PCs. CFO Amy Hood added that Copilot's ARPU uplift is already present in M365 commercial results but is partially masked by strong seat growth in lower-ARPU frontline and SMB segments.

Inquired about the strategy to mitigate disruption from the new pricing model and asked for an explanation of the significant delta between billings and ARR growth.

Answer

Disruption will be minimized by a phased rollout (new customers first, existing customers in 2025) and clear communication. The delta between billings and ARR was due to the timing of prorated bookings, reinforcing that ARR is the more accurate performance metric.

Rishi Jaluria asked about the company's future M&A strategy, specifically regarding API partners versus competitors, and requested details on the sales motion for converting lower-priced Booker customers to higher tiers.

Answer

CEO Rick Stollmeyer outlined two M&A categories: technology partners integrated via API and strategic competitors where cultural fit is paramount. To upgrade Booker customers, he described a 'soft sell' approach using a dedicated 'expand' team, predictive metrics, and case studies to demonstrate the value of higher tiers before asking for a commitment.