Roger Boyd

Roger Boyd asked for a deeper dive into the Kroll partnership, specifically the longer-term opportunity as CrowdStrike expands with Kroll and other MSSPs beyond the initial endpoint landing spot.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz expressed excitement about displacing another EDR vendor with Kroll, providing a better solution for their mid-market customers in incident response and insurance panels. He aims to create more such opportunities and grow the existing Kroll partnership.

Roger Boyd requested more details on the Kroll partnership, focusing on the longer-term opportunity with Kroll and other Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) beyond the initial endpoint landing spot.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz expressed enthusiasm for the Kroll partnership, which displaced another EDR vendor and provides a superior solution for Kroll and its mid-market customers, particularly in incident response and insurance panels. He sees this as a model to create more similar opportunities and further grow the existing relationship with Kroll.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group asked to compare the SIEM and identity businesses, which are at a similar scale but have very different growth rates. He questioned how much of the SIEM growth is due to M&A disruption and if there's conviction in reaccelerating the identity business.

Answer

Founder & CEO George Kurtz explained that identity is a key area and that its growth was somewhat impacted by it being a popular choice for the Customer Care Packages (CCP), which affects reported growth metrics. He expressed confidence in its future adoption. For SIEM, he stated CrowdStrike is in the perfect spot to capitalize on customer frustration with legacy vendors over cost and complexity. He highlighted the disruptive pricing model—where customers don't pay for CrowdStrike data ingest—as a key driver of its high growth.

Roger Boyd asked about the growing MSSP channel, which now represents 15% of bookings, inquiring about the drivers of this momentum and the company's competitive positioning.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz explained that significant investment in the MSSP channel over the past few years has made it easier for partners to deploy and manage CrowdStrike. He stated that the company is meeting strong underlying demand from SMB customers through these partners and is now winning competitively in a market segment where it was previously less focused, underscoring a "partner first" mentality.

Roger Boyd asked about the durability of growth in the hypergrowth modules, given the $10 billion ARR target timeline was pushed to the longer end of its range, and whether this was just a one-year speed bump.

Answer

CEO George Kurtz highlighted the company's history of durable growth and multiple growth vectors like cloud, identity, and SIEM. CFO Burt Podbere clarified that the company remains committed to reaching $10 billion in ending ARR by the end of fiscal 2031, which was within the original long-term guidance range.

Roger Boyd asked about the demand for Zscaler's Zero Trust Cloud Gateway, its connection to AI infrastructure growth, and customer preference for this approach over deploying virtual firewalls.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Jay Chaudhry explained that Zero Trust Cloud replaces traditional virtual firewalls for cloud workloads, eliminating the need for IP addresses and ACLs. He highlighted the Cloud Gateway's ease of deployment, reducing setup time from hours to under 10 minutes, and its role in moving customers away from legacy firewall architectures.

Roger Boyd asked about the demand for Zero Trust Gateway, whether it's being pulled along by increasing AI infrastructure, and customer buy-in for this approach compared to deploying virtual firewalls.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Jay Chaudhry explained that Zero Trust Cloud eliminates the need for traditional firewalls in cloud environments, replacing them with Zero Trust workload-to-workload communication. He highlighted the new Cloud Gateway, managed by Zscaler, which simplifies deployment from hours to under 10 minutes with a simple configuration change. This innovation makes it easier for customers to move away from legacy firewalls and embrace Zero Trust cloud workload communication, offering better security and operational ease.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group asked about the success of the Zero Trust for Branch solution, noting that nearly 60% of its adopters are new logos, and questioned what is driving this success and its role in winning new customers.

Answer

CEO Jay Chaudhry stated that the success of the branch solution has exceeded his expectations. He attributed it to the new plug-and-play appliance that integrates device segmentation, which dramatically simplifies branch infrastructure by replacing legacy firewalls and SD-WAN. He shared an anecdote of a customer expanding a pilot from 100 to 1,000 branches, underscoring the solution's value.

Roger Boyd asked for details on the landmark 8-figure APAC government deal, including the ROI, scale, products replaced, and the potential for similar deals with other global governments.

Answer

CEO Jay Chaudhry described the deal as a monumental win driven by the need for superior cybersecurity rather than ROI. The deal secures the entire government workforce with Zscaler's user protection platform. He confirmed that Zscaler is pursuing similar opportunities with other U.S.-friendly nations but cautioned that government deals can be lumpy and have long sales cycles.

Roger Boyd inquired to what extent Zscaler's holistic data security portfolio is influencing new logo deals for ZIA and ZPA, rather than just upsells, and how significant of a competitive differentiator it has become.

Answer

CEO Jay Chaudhry clarified that data protection is predominantly an upsell opportunity within the large existing ZIA and ZPA customer base. While some new prospects do show initial interest in data protection, he stated these instances are relatively small. He noted that other emerging products, such as Zero Trust device segmentation or Avalor, are more common drivers for landing new logos outside of the core platform.

Roger Boyd asked about the level of conservatism in the fiscal 2025 billings guidance, noting that sales productivity seemed better than expected in recent quarters.

Answer

CFO Remo Canessa explained the guidance reflects the time needed for new sales hires to reach full productivity, which is expected in the second half of the year. He highlighted strong visibility into a second-half acceleration, with contracted billings from prior deals scheduled to grow 7% in H1 but 23% in H2. He also cited a strong pipeline and innovation in emerging products as key drivers, while acknowledging a challenging macro environment.

Roger Boyd inquired about the trajectory of partner revenue, which showed strong organic acceleration, and asked for insights on seasonality, particularly for MoneyLion Engine and the employee benefits channel. He also asked for an update on free cash flow trajectory and Gen Digital's capital allocation strategy between debt paydown and share repurchases.

Answer

Vincent Pilette (CEO) stated that partner revenue is structurally expected to outgrow direct revenue as services are embedded into partner views and the marketplace expands, without predicting specific quarterly seasonality. Natalie Derse (CFO) affirmed strong free cash flow generation, disciplined capital allocation, and a commitment to balancing accelerated debt paydown with share repurchases, especially in the second half of the fiscal year.

Roger Boyd asked about the trajectory of partner revenue, specifically MoneyLion Engine and employee benefits, and any seasonality to be mindful of. He also inquired about the free cash flow trajectory and the company's capital allocation strategy between debt paydown and share repurchases.

Answer

Vincent Pilette, CEO, stated that partner revenue is expected to continue outgrowing direct revenue in the long term, with no specific seasonality. Natalie Derse, CFO, affirmed strong free cash flow generation, noting Q2's seasonal highs and specific tax/interest payments. She committed to a disciplined and balanced capital allocation, planning for more share repurchases in the second half of the fiscal year.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group AG inquired about the fundamental trends driving MoneyLion's accelerated growth and Gen's strategy for using pricing as a monetization lever as more features are added to its product suite.

Answer

CEO Vincent Pilette attributed MoneyLion's 45% pro forma growth to acceleration in both its Personal Financial Management (PFM) and its marketplace (NGIN) segments, driven by new customer acquisition and increased product usage. CFO Natalie Derse explained that Gen's pricing strategy focuses on delivering value through innovation and upselling customers to higher-tier memberships, rather than implementing broad list price increases, which drives ARPU growth.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group inquired about the key drivers behind MoneyLion's accelerated pro forma growth and Gen Digital's strategy on pricing as a lever for monetization given recent product enhancements.

Answer

CEO Vincent Pilette attributed MoneyLion's growth acceleration to strong performance in both its Personal Financial Management (PFM) and its 'NGIN' marketplace segments. CFO Natalie Derse explained that Gen's pricing strategy is value-based, focusing on innovation and upselling customers to higher-tier memberships with enhanced features rather than implementing broad list price increases.

Roger Boyd asked about the potential impact of Google's AI Overviews on Gen's SEO lead generation strategy and requested guidance on indirect revenue growth for fiscal 2026, particularly concerning the employee benefits channel.

Answer

CEO Vincent Pilette stated that Gen's diversified marketing strategy has not seen an immediate impact from AI in search and that the company is prepared to adapt. CFO Natalie Derse highlighted the 15% growth in indirect revenue, driven by employee benefits, and reiterated the forward-looking goal of sustainable, high single-digit growth for the overall partner channel.

Roger Boyd from Scotiabank inquired about the directional trends in Gen's retention rates, particularly how the overall rate reconciles with improving cohort-level retention and rising ARPU, given the mix shift towards mobile and international customers.

Answer

CFO Natalie Derse explained that while the overall retention rate was stable, all individual cohorts (by brand, device, and tenure) are stable to up. She emphasized that the mix of KPIs, including positive customer growth, strong retention, and expanding ARPU, is driving revenue acceleration from 3% to 4% quarter-over-quarter, aligning with their strategy to capture global demand across all channels.

Roger Boyd of UBS asked for clarification on the 100% upsell metric for ETM, specifically if it includes cybersecurity asset management and patch, and inquired about confidence in driving better upsell with the refined ETM packaging.

Answer

CEO Sumedh Thakar clarified that ETM pricing includes cybersecurity asset management and agentic AI capabilities, with the 100% upsell metric reflecting these additions and the ability to confirm exploitation. He noted that TrueRisk Eliminate (including patch and mitigation) would be a subsequent upsell opportunity, emphasizing the focus on rapid remediation.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group AG asked for clarification on the gap between revenue and billings growth and questioned the expected impact of the new FedRAMP High authorization on the federal business in the near term.

Answer

CFO Joo Mi Kim reiterated the full-year guidance for current billings growth of 6% to 8%, noting it's a good indicator of bookings. CEO Sumedh Thakar stated that while the FedRAMP High authorization is a significant long-term advantage, he does not expect an immediate revenue impact in Q3. He emphasized it positions Qualys as a modern alternative for federal agencies over the next few quarters.

Roger Boyd asked for an expansion on the momentum seen in the channel, particularly with new offerings like mROC, and its contribution to Q3 billings growth.

Answer

President and CEO Sumedh Thakar stated that the company's partner-first strategy is showing positive momentum, with a focus on enabling partners to provide services like risk advisory and remediation through the new mROC (managed Risk Operations Center) offering. He highlighted that this strategy extends to new types of partners, including cyber insurance companies, to create a comprehensive ecosystem.

Roger Boyd inquired if there was any change in Varonis's approach to maintenance and term license renewals in Q3 compared to prior periods, and if this was influenced by the end-of-life plan or anecdotal reports of heavy encouragement for SaaS migration.

Answer

Guy Melamed (CFO & COO) reiterated that multiple factors contributed to lower on-prem renewal rates, not a single theme, and noted that Q1 and Q2 rates had increased. He confirmed that sales teams have consistently encouraged SaaS migration due to its superior value. He stated there was no change in competitive win rates and that discussions are ongoing with non-renewing customers. Q4 guidance is conservative, reflecting Q3 rates and the end-of-life impact.

Roger Boyd asked if there was any change in the approach to maintenance and term license renewals in Q3 compared to prior quarters, specifically regarding encouraging SaaS migration or limiting on-premise renewals, and if this was informed by the end-of-life plan.

Answer

CFO Guy Melamed stated there was no single big theme for the lower on-premise renewal rate, noting Q1 and Q2 rates had increased. He clarified that the sales force has consistently encouraged SaaS conversion due to its greater value. He reiterated that Q3's issues stemmed from multiple factors, including sales process problems, budgetary scrutiny, and federal underperformance, with competitive win rates remaining unchanged.

Roger Boyd inquired about the trend of customers consolidating their data security budgets with Varonis and which specific functional areas, like DSPM or DLP, are driving this consolidation.

Answer

CEO Yaki Faitelson confirmed that budget consolidation is a current trend and a future pipeline opportunity. He explained that customers are consolidating budgets for security, compliance, and insider threat because Varonis addresses the entire data lifecycle. The ease of expanding the SaaS platform to new data stores naturally encourages this consolidation.

Roger Boyd of UBS asked if Varonis could quantify how often new logos are landing with newer offerings like SaaS applications and cloud storage, and the traction from securing Copilot and other AI tools.

Answer

CEO Yaki Faitelson stated that while new logos are still roughly half of the business, the adoption of AI tools has put a 'spotlight on the data security problems,' making Varonis essential for enabling AI safely. He noted that with SaaS, the company expects customers to eventually protect every data repository, driving success for its DA Cloud offerings and validating investments in expanded coverage.

Roger Boyd from UBS inquired about the dynamic of attaching more of the platform during SaaS conversions, asking if the earlier optimism on this front has changed and if there have been any adjustments to conversion pricing.

Answer

CFO and COO Guy Melamed confirmed there has been no change in pricing strategy, stating that Varonis is seeing healthy uplifts on conversions consistent with the 25-30% higher SaaS price list. He reiterated that the company is proud to have reached 53% SaaS ARR within two years of announcing the transition. He believes the opportunity to sell more platforms to converted customers remains strong, which is a key reason for accelerating the transition to 2025.

Roger Boyd asked if Varonis could quantify the size of the MDDR business or provide color on the typical uplift to annual contract value (ACV) when MDDR is included in a customer engagement.

Answer

CFO & COO Guy Melamed explained that MDDR is sold as part of a bundle, encouraging customers to buy more of the platform to get MDDR at a reduced price, which ultimately increases average selling prices (ASPs). He noted that while MDDR adoption is strong after only two full quarters on the market, the company is not quantifying it separately yet. The goal is for every customer to eventually have MDDR, as it provides significant value and helps shorten sales cycles.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group requested an update on the partnership with Lenovo, asking about the momentum seen from the collaboration approximately a year after its inception.

Answer

CEO Tomer Weingarten described the Lenovo partnership as a contributor that is 'on track' relative to the company's expectations. He added that more go-to-market motions with Lenovo are coming online and that it is one of many contributors to the annual outlook.

Roger Boyd asked for color on customer additions, noting strong growth in large customers ($100k+ ACV) but seemingly weaker overall enterprise customer adds, and inquired about the mid-market.

Answer

Co-CEO and CFO Stephen Vintz confirmed it was a quarter of large deals, with 135 net new six-figure customers, driven by the expansive product platform. Co-CEO and COO Mark Thurmond added that alongside large enterprise displacements, Tenable saw 'outstanding' global mid-market growth, highlighting that the Tenable One message resonates well in that segment.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group followed up on the AI discussion, asking for updated adoption metrics for aiWARE and clarification on the monetization strategy, especially with the integration of Apex into Tenable One.

Answer

CFO and Co-CEO Steve Vintz reported that over 6,000 customers are using the AI-aware feature. He clarified that the capabilities acquired from Apex will not be sold as a standalone product but will be integrated into the Tenable One platform and treated as a securable asset type, similar to cloud or OT.

Roger Boyd from UBS asked what signs would indicate that the cyclical headwinds affecting the VM market are lifting.

Answer

CEO Amit Yoran explained that confidence would increase upon seeing customers resume expansion of their VM asset counts. He noted a positive current trend is that customers are willing to pay a higher ASP to procure VM through the Tenable One platform for its strategic value and enhanced analytics.

Roger Boyd of UBS asked for more detail on the trends in 'pool of funds' deals and their contribution to the significant improvement in dollar-based net retention (DNR).

Answer

CFO Thomas Seifert disclosed that pool of funds deals represented a low-double-digit percentage of bookings in Q2, a substantial increase from less than 3% a year ago. He confirmed that consumption against these deals is tracking on or ahead of target, and the resulting variable revenue was a primary driver of both the quarter's outperformance and the 3-point sequential increase in the dollar-based net retention rate, which has now bottomed out and is showing positive momentum.

Roger Boyd of UBS Group asked if the guidance adjustment for the U.S. public sector was more material than just prudent, and whether conversations with federal customers differed from those in the private sector.

Answer

CEO Todd McKinnon confirmed that federal conversations are different, with a strong focus on efficiency. He sees this as an opportunity, as Okta can provide superior and more efficient solutions than legacy systems, which is driving their success. While there is an added layer of scrutiny in federal, he remains confident in Okta's ability to win, as demonstrated by strong Q1 deal activity.

Roger Boyd inquired about Okta's go-to-market capacity plans for fiscal '26 and the potential for investment given the record sales productivity.

Answer

CFO Brett Tighe responded that they feel good about the current capacity and are focused on finding the right balance between growth and rep productivity. He indicated they are in a good spot and want to ensure the "porridge is just right" rather than over-investing in one direction.

Roger Boyd played devil's advocate on platform consolidation, noting the complexity and sunk costs of identity projects, and asked if sales cycles were lengthening or being factored into the conservative outlook.

Answer

CEO Matt Cohen responded that sales cycles have not changed and were actually slightly better in Q1. He explained that their go-to-market motion avoids 'rip and replace' complexity by building long-term roadmaps and often expanding into net-new areas like machine identity or layering controls on top of existing systems, which allows customers to adopt the platform efficiently.

Roger Boyd asked about the maintenance ARR trend, suggesting the pace of conversions to subscription might be leveling off, and inquired about the remaining opportunity.

Answer

CFO Erica Smith acknowledged that conversion deals take time to materialize but stated there is still a significant opportunity within the $186 million organic maintenance ARR base. She expects a healthy pace of conversion activity that is likely to pick up as 2025 progresses.

Roger Boyd asked if the market is reaching an adoption phase for post-quantum security and how material this could be for Venafi. He also requested color on maintenance renewal rates and any specific assumptions for Q4.

Answer

CEO Matt Cohen noted that while post-quantum planning is a key part of Venafi conversations, focusing on crypto-agility, actual implementation is still years away. Deputy CFO Erica Smith confirmed strong maintenance renewal rates but guided for a sequential decline of $8 million to $10 million in maintenance ARR for Q4, which is typical for the large renewal cohort in that quarter.

Roger Boyd questioned the investment strategy for the Cloud Native Application Protection (CNAPP) market, noting its high cost of competition.

Answer

CEO Corey Thomas clarified that Rapid7's strategy is not to compete for new logos in the expensive CNAPP market. Instead, the focus is on a more efficient, economically leveraged approach of upgrading its large, underpenetrated installed base. The goal is to achieve a moderate uplift from this base, which would stabilize the risk management business and allow the company to capitalize on the strong growth of its D&R offerings.

Roger Boyd asked for perspective on recent M&A in the detection and response market, specifically MDR providers acquiring endpoint security tools, and how this trend influences Rapid7's opportunity.

Answer

CEO Corey Thomas characterized the MDR space as fragmented and competitive, noting that Rapid7 is also investing heavily, both directly and through partnerships. He argued that the primary customer need is to monitor 100% of their complex environment, which makes an integrated solution the most powerful. He believes Rapid7's value proposition of providing the widest visibility across the attack surface remains strong in this evolving landscape.

Roger Boyd asked for more color on the assumptions behind the potential for slipped deals in Q2 and any directional guidance for billings or RPO.

Answer

CFO Roei Golan did not provide specific guidance but noted a 2-point headwind to Q2 billings from large upfront deals in the prior year. He expects billings to grow in line with revenue. The caution in guidance is primarily for product revenue, which closes late in the quarter, but he noted a strong pipeline and expects an acceleration in the Quantum Force refresh in the second half of the year.

Roger Boyd asked for more detail on the strong performance of the CloudGuard business in the quarter and for the new CEO's vision on competitiveness in cloud security relative to other focus areas like SASE.

Answer

CEO Nadav Zafrir outlined the vision for cloud security as creating a single, unified policy across a customer's entire network estate, including on-prem, branch, and multi-cloud environments. He stated the focus will be on cloud network security and WAF, integrating them into the broader hybrid mesh architecture.

Roger Boyd of UBS inquired about Check Point's perspective on the SIEM and security analytics market, asking why the company isn't pursuing it more directly, especially given market disruption and competitor activity.

Answer

Founder and CEO Gil Shwed explained that while Check Point is looking at the SIEM market, he is not convinced it's a simple entry point or that the company currently has a clear opportunity to be a leader. Instead, he believes the Cyberint acquisition provides a more unique and valuable entry into the SOC market with a distinct value proposition that can show results quickly.

Roger Boyd inquired about the new large cloud contract, seeking details on the customer's workloads, the competitive dynamics against hyperscalers regarding price and performance, and the nature of the geo-specific build-out.

Answer

CEO F. Leighton explained that the customer, who already uses Akamai for media applications, is expanding its usage and requires a special data center build-out in Scandinavia to serve its European operations. Leighton highlighted that the customer chose Akamai for its superior performance and favorable pricing, which is enabled by Akamai's extensive and efficient European network.

Roger Boyd asked about contract durations for renewal and upsell business, questioning if the strategic nature of platform deals should lead to longer contract terms.

Answer

CFO Dipak Golechha explained that while some customers are committing to longer-term platform deals, others are opting for shorter renewals to maintain flexibility for future innovation. This creates a mixed dynamic, resulting in renewal durations trending only 'slightly up, but nothing significant' at the aggregate level.