Siti Panigrahi

Siti Panigrahi asked about employment levels observed in the December quarter and what is factored into the guidance. She also sought Paylocity's view on AI's potential to disrupt employment and the company's exposure to such trends.

Answer

Ryan Glenn, CFO, reported stable employment levels in Q2, modestly up year-over-year, consistent with Q1, and noted that guidance assumes flat employment levels year-over-year for the back half of the fiscal year. Toby Williams, CEO and President, stated that Paylocity lacks specific vertical concentration, minimizing exposure to potential AI-driven disruptions, and confirmed real-time stability in employee numbers across their platform, consistent with broader market observations.

Siti Panigrahi asked about the demand environment across different employee segments and the feedback on Paylocity's value proposition (HR, finance, IT) versus competitors. She also questioned whether efficiency gains from AI would be reinvested into go-to-market or contribute to margin expansion.

Answer

CFO Ryan Glenn reported a stable demand environment in Q1, balanced across the target market, with strong execution from go-to-market teams. Executive Chairman Steve Beauchamp stated a consistent approach of driving margin expansion while investing in products to fuel growth, balancing these decisions for long-term business prospects, as reflected in the new long-term guidance.

Siti Panigrahi from Mizuho asked for more detail on the "strong demand environment," specifically inquiring about demand trends across different employee segments and feedback on Paylocity's value proposition (HR, Finance, IT) compared to competitors. She also questioned whether efficiency gains from AI would be reinvested into go-to-market and sales for growth or primarily used to drive more efficient margins.

Answer

Ryan Glenn, Chief Financial Officer, reported a very stable and broad-based demand environment across all target market segments in Q1, with strong overall results. Steve Beauchamp, Executive Chairman, explained Paylocity's consistent approach of driving margin expansion across most line items while also investing significantly in R&D to fuel product growth, indicating a balanced strategy between efficiency and continued investment.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Financial Group asked for customer feedback on Airbase since the acquisition and the expected revenue uplift. He also sought clarification on whether the 8% sales rep growth figure was for the core sales team or a combined number.

Answer

President, CEO & Director Toby Williams noted that the integrated 'Paylocity for Finance' product was just launched, so go-to-market efforts are in the early stages, but feedback on the underlying Airbase product has been strong. Executive Chairman Steve Beauchamp confirmed the 8% sales force growth is for the total sales organization, with the majority of new hires joining the core HCM sales teams.

Siti Panigrahi asked about the macro trends observed in Q1, what is assumed in the guidance, and specific strengths or weaknesses across verticals.

Answer

Neil Barua (CEO, PTC) stated that despite a difficult and uncertain macro climate, PTC is delivering strong demand capture across regions and verticals. He emphasized that industrial manufacturers are increasingly prioritizing modernization and building strong product data foundations (like Windchill) to leverage AI and remain competitive. Robert Dahdah (Chief Revenue Officer, PTC) added that while some verticals or geographies might underperform, others step up, resulting in overall good performance across the top five verticals and major geographies.

Siti Panigrahi asked about the macro trends observed in Q1 and assumed in guidance, specifically inquiring about strength or weakness across different verticals.

Answer

CEO Neil Barua and CRO Robert Datta addressed macro trends, acknowledging a difficult and uncertain environment. Neil highlighted PTC's consistent results and strong demand capture across regions and verticals, driven by customers' urgent need to modernize and build product data foundations for AI. Rob added that while specific vertical or geographic performance might vary, overall, PTC's major verticals and geographies are performing well, with strengths balancing out any weaknesses.

Siti Panigrahi asked for details on early adopters of PTC's AI capabilities and what kind of ARR uplift could be expected as customers increase their uptake of AI solutions.

Answer

President and CEO Neil Barua explained that AI is a key topic in customer conversations, with PTC's differentiation lying in its ability to combine AI with contextualized product data from PLM, ALM, and SLM. While he noted positive feedback from proofs-of-concept and some customers purchasing AI modules, he cautioned that it is still early to quantify an ARR impact. Chief Revenue Officer Robert Dahdah added that the AI opportunity focuses on creating predictive insights and automating tasks.

Siti Panigrahi asked for more color on the adoption of voice AI, specifically regarding the 200% year-over-year growth in voice AI interactions and its current representation of 80% of all AI interactions. She also inquired about any foreign exchange (FX) impact on revenue for the quarter and the expected revenue contribution from the Maven Lab acquisition.

Answer

Samuel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, explained that AI products are moving from prototyping to production, with voice AI use cases like triage and biometric identification becoming run-of-the-mill. He highlighted the effectiveness of the usage-based model for these technologies and the positive ROI from AI. Kevin Kraus, Chief Financial Officer, noted a small FX headwind (under $1 million) relative to guidance and a small tailwind (million-ish plus) year-over-year, but emphasized a natural hedge neutralizing the net profit impact. He clarified that Maven Lab, a small technology tuck-in, closed in January and its contribution is too small to move the needle.

Siti Panigrahi asked for more details on the accelerating adoption of voice AI, specifically how customers are utilizing these solutions given the reported 200% growth in voice AI interactions, and also inquired about any foreign exchange impact on revenue and the contribution from the Maven Lab acquisition.

Answer

Samuel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, highlighted that AI products are moving from prototyping to production, with customers implementing voice bots for triage, simple FAQs, biometric identification, and self-service. He noted that total contact center seats increased quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. Kevin Kraus, Chief Financial Officer, stated that Maven Lab had zero revenue contribution for the quarter as it closed in January and was too small to impact the guidance. He also mentioned a minor FX headwind for the quarter relative to guidance, but a slight tailwind year-over-year, noting the company's natural FX hedge.

Chad on behalf of Siti Panigrahi from Mizuho Securities asked about customer appetite for AI products across different market segments and whether AI is being used to complement or replace human agents.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson explained that the target market of upper small business to low-end enterprise shows strong interest in best-in-breed, natively integrated AI like voice bots for self-service payments and digital messaging. While he believes AI will replace some agent functions over time, he doesn't see a major trend today. He noted that even if seat counts decline, the average revenue per customer increases substantially with the adoption of AI and other next-gen technologies.

Siti Panigrahi asked about Navan's investment plans for the PLG motion and Navan Edge, inquiring about expected revenue contribution, margin impact, and the guidance philosophy for incorporating large deals.

Answer

CEO Ariel Cohen described Navan Edge as an AI-powered platform for frequent travelers, unlocking more of the total addressable market. CFO Amy Butte stated investments began in H2 FY26, continue in FY27, with top-line contribution expected in FY28. She explained guidance incorporates active, existing, and ramping customers using machine learning, with a prudent approach.

Siti Panigrahi asked about Navan's investment plans for its PLG motion, specifically Navan Edge, including expected revenue contribution and potential margin impact. She also sought clarification on Navan's guidance philosophy regarding large customer deals.

Answer

Ariel Cohen (CEO) explained Navan Edge is built on Navan Cognition, an AI platform designed for complex travel, aiming to hyper-service frequent travelers. Amy Butte (CFO) stated investments began in the second half of fiscal year 2026, will continue in 2027, with top-line contribution anticipated in fiscal year 2028. She detailed that guidance incorporates existing, ramping, and new customers based on machine learning models and expected go-to-market returns.

Siti Panigrahi from Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. asked about the double-digit growth forecast for Ansys in the next fiscal year, including what factors are driving it and if there's an expectation for Ansys' business model to convert to subscription, with potential uplift. She also sought an update on the integration progress of Ansys and inquired about the expected uplift from combined Synopsys EDA and Ansys products, as well as an update on the IP royalty model.

Answer

Sassine Ghazi, CEO of Synopsys, attributed Ansys' double-digit growth to opportunities in the semiconductor market (with joint solutions uplift) and broader industrial/automotive sectors driven by increased R&D. He noted Ansys' continued mix of subscription and perpetual models. Ghazi reported that R&D teams are integrated and working on joint solutions, with semiconductor go-to-market integrated while other Ansys channels remain separate. Shelagh Glaser, CFO, confirmed the Ansys portion aligned with EDA is moving to a ratable model. Ghazi added that joint solutions solving new problems would yield greater than 'one plus one equals two' monetization, with the first wave in H1 FY26. For IP, he discussed disciplined pricing and a shift to NRE plus use fee plus royalty for customization, with discussions underway in FY26.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho asked about the initial experience with the Ansys acquisition, including any surprises, and the drivers for Ansys to grow above the 10% market growth, particularly regarding revenue synergies. She also inquired about Ansys's revenue contribution to Q4 guidance and its historical seasonality.

Answer

President and CEO Sassine Ghazi expressed enthusiasm for the Ansys acquisition, highlighting immediate opportunities in 3D-IC for thermal, structural, and fluid simulation, and the lack of negative surprises. He noted that the full integration is pending final regulatory approval for divestitures. CFO Shelagh Glaser confirmed that Ansys revenue is fully included in the Q4 guidance for all weeks, but clarified that Ansys's typical strong Q4 seasonality (November-December) will largely fall into Synopsys's Q1 due to fiscal calendar alignment.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities inquired about the level of design activity in non-AI customer segments like automotive and industrial. He also asked about the opportunity presented by emerging AI companies beginning to design their own custom chips.

Answer

CEO Sassine Ghazi noted seeing stabilization and 'new energy' in the industrial and automotive sectors, with early positive signals appearing in the IP portfolio. He confirmed that the trend of new companies pursuing custom silicon, whether through ASIC models or full in-house design, is a 'fantastic opportunity' for Synopsys across its EDA, IP, and hardware verification products.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities inquired about the level of design activity in non-AI customer segments like industrial and automotive. He also asked about the opportunity presented by emerging AI companies building their own custom chips and when they might reach the scale of hyperscalers.

Answer

CEO Sassine Ghazi observed that after a period of being muted, the industrial and automotive sectors are showing signs of stabilization and new design activity, which is first visible in the IP portfolio. He affirmed that the trend of new companies pursuing custom silicon, whether via ASIC models or full in-house design, is a significant growth opportunity for Synopsys's entire product portfolio.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about the progress and productivity of Intuit's mid-market Intuit Enterprise Suite (IES) sales team over the past year, plans for increasing headcount, and the expected timeline for revenue contributions from recently announced accountant partnerships.

Answer

Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi highlighted three key areas: increasing awareness for IES through conferences and webinars, accelerating platform innovation with vertical-specific KPIs, and the growing impact of accountant partnerships. He noted that productivity is significantly improving, with plans to add more sales headcount in coming quarters. Goodarzi expects large partnerships to contribute to revenue in the back half of the current fiscal year and into the next, emphasizing the network effect and strong reception from accounting firms.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about the progress in the mid-market segment, specifically the productivity of Intuit Enterprise Suite (IES) sales representatives, plans for headcount expansion, and the expected timeline for revenue contribution from new accountant partnerships.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi highlighted increasing awareness efforts and accelerating platform innovation driving customer referrals. He noted that the accountant partnership flywheel is just starting, with expected acceleration in the back half of the year and into next year. Productivity is significantly improving, and Intuit plans to add more sales headcounts in coming quarters.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked about the most exciting growth areas for the Global Business Group in fiscal 2026, learnings from fiscal 2025, and the potential impact of slowing SEO search on QuickBooks lead generation.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi highlighted three key areas of confidence for the business group: strong customer growth in U.S. QBO (8%) and mid-market (23%), the new all-in-one platform with AI agents driving service penetration, and the significant momentum in the mid-market. Regarding AI search, Goodarzi stated it is not a concern, as overall traffic is up, AI search constitutes only 1% of traffic, and Intuit's strong brands like QuickBooks have a visibility advantage.

Siti Panigrahi asked about Cognigy's expected Q4 revenue contribution, its go-to-market strategy, and any changes to existing partnerships with other CCAS vendors. Panigrahi also inquired if Cognigy could accelerate cloud migration for customers not yet on cloud or CCAS.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich stated Cognigy contributed 50 basis points to Q3 cloud revenue growth and is expected to add 150 basis points in Q4. CEO Scott Russell explained Cognigy will target the entire CX market, including non-NICE CCAS platforms, leveraging NICE's backing. Russell highlighted three growth vectors: existing cloud customers seeking AI transformation, NICE's enterprise install base, and offering a unified platform for customers starting with either AI transformation or cloud migration.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about the expected Q4 revenue contribution from Cognigy, its go-to-market positioning, and potential changes to existing CCAS vendor partnerships. She also asked if Cognigy could accelerate cloud migration for non-cloud customers.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich stated Cognigy contributed 50 basis points to Q3 cloud revenue growth and is expected to contribute 150 basis points in Q4. CEO Scott Russell explained Cognigy will target the entire CX market, including non-NICE CCAS platforms, and highlighted three growth vectors: existing cloud customers seeking AI transformation, NICE's install base, and leveraging Cognigy to offer an end-to-end journey for on-premise customers considering cloud migration.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about the recent dip in cloud gross margin below 70%, its expected future trend, and the primary drivers for the guided 50 basis point operating margin expansion for the year.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich explained that the lower cloud gross margin was an intentional, planned investment to accelerate growth, particularly in international markets and go-live timeframes. She anticipates the cloud gross margin will be relatively flat in the near term but expects operating leverage in the second half of the year from reduced marketing spend and the company's proven ability to drive efficiency, which will support margin expansion over time.

Siti Panigrahi asked for clarification on the cloud gross margin dipping below 70% and questioned where the primary leverage for the guided 50 basis point operating margin expansion would originate this year.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich explained that the lower cloud gross margin was a deliberate, intentional investment to accelerate growth, especially in international markets and for faster customer go-live times. She anticipates the cloud gross margin will be flattish in the near term, with operating leverage in the second half of the year coming from reduced OpEx and future margin improvements as investments mature.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked for clarification on the cloud gross margin dipping below 70%, its future trajectory, and the primary sources of leverage for the guided 50 basis point operating margin expansion for the year.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich explained the lower cloud gross margin was an intentional result of investments in international infrastructure and accelerating go-live timeframes. She expects the cloud gross margin to remain flattish in the near term before expanding over time. For the second half of the year, she anticipates operating leverage from reduced marketing spend post-conference and rebranding, alongside opportunities for gross margin elevation.

Siti Panigrahi asked for clarification on the cloud gross margin dipping below 70% and questioned where the company expects to find leverage to achieve its 50 basis point operating margin expansion for the year.

Answer

CFO Beth Gaspich clarified that the lower cloud gross margin was an intentional result of investments to accelerate growth, particularly in international markets. She anticipates the cloud gross margin will remain relatively flat in the near term but expects operating leverage in the second half from lower marketing spend and long-term margin expansion as large deals ramp up.

Siti Panigrahi asked about the success and go-to-market strategy of Shopify's enterprise business, including its expansion, displacement of incumbents, and the outlook for take rates from this segment.

Answer

Harley Finkelstein, Shopify's President, highlighted significant enterprise migration to Shopify, citing major brands like Estée Lauder and e.l.f. Cosmetics across diverse verticals and geographies. He emphasized Shopify's ability to displace both custom in-house solutions and larger incumbent platforms due to superior product, speed, agility, and value. Jeff Hoffmeister, Shopify's CFO, added that while initial engagements might start with specific components like payments, the 'land and expand' strategy leads to broader adoption of Shopify's full suite of products, indicating a positive long-term trend for product attach rates despite potential short-term headwinds.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about the success of Shopify's enterprise business, including changes to its go-to-market strategy, pipeline expansion, displacement of incumbents, and the take rate from this segment.

Answer

Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, highlighted the migration of major enterprises like Estée Lauder and e.l.f. Cosmetics to Shopify, noting an incredible pipeline across diverse verticals and international markets. He emphasized Shopify's ability to future-proof platforms, displace incumbents, and offer unmatched price-to-value. Jeff Hoffmeister, CFO of Shopify, added that while larger merchants might initially adopt specific components like payments, they increasingly expand to a full suite of Shopify products, indicating a positive long-term trend for attach rates despite short-term headwinds.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about Cadence's System Design and Analysis (SDA) strategy, specifically how recent acquisitions like BETA CAE and MSC software position the company against competitors and contribute to market growth.

Answer

President and CEO Anirudh Devgan explained that the SDA strategy is forward-looking, aligning with the 'physical AI' trend (Horizon 2) for cars, drones, and robots, where simulation is crucial for data generation. He stated that the Hexagon acquisition will create two strong SDA pillars: one driven by 3D-IC and chiplets (Allegro, Clarity, Celsius) and the other by physical AI (BETA, Hexagon solvers), positioning Cadence for significant future growth.

Siti Panigrahi inquired about Cadence's System Design and Analysis (SDA) strategy, specifically how recent acquisitions like Beta CAE and MSC software position the company against competitors in this growing market.

Answer

President and CEO Anirudh Devgan expressed satisfaction with SDA's performance, highlighting Cadence's pioneering role in silicon-systems convergence. He explained that acquisitions like Hexagon's T&E (including MSC software) are strategic for 'physical AI' (Horizon 2), where simulation is crucial for generating data. Devgan projected the SDA business run rate to exceed $1 billion in 2026, driven by two pillars: 3DIC/chiplets and physical AI/structural analysis.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked for a characterization of demand from traditional semiconductor customers versus systems and hyperscaler companies.

Answer

President & CEO Anirudh Devgan noted that while systems companies continue to expand their design efforts, there are now positive signs of recovery in the traditional semiconductor space. He pointed to strength in the memory market and highlighted a significant expansion with ADI as an example of improving demand in mixed-signal. However, he stressed that Cadence's diversified business is not dependent on the timing of a full recovery.

Siti Panigrahi from Mizuho Securities inquired about the impact of the new transaction model on channel activity one year in and asked about competitive displacement trends for Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).

Answer

President and CEO Andrew Anagnost stated the model is working as expected, with lower-tier transactional business coming direct and partners increasing new business generation. He also noted ACC's momentum is consistent and strong, driven by its modern, connected stack. EVP & CFO Janesh Moorjani added that Americas partners completed their first renewals on the new model in June, with EMEA to follow in September.

Siti Panigrahi followed up on comments about a potential AI slowdown, asking for views on when an inflection point for enterprise AI adoption might occur and when it could become a material revenue contributor for MongoDB.

Answer

President & CEO Dev Ittycheria suggested there won't be a single inflection point, but rather a gradual process. He explained that enterprises are starting with low-stakes use cases and will move to higher-stakes applications as they gain comfort with the technology's quality, security, and scalability. He believes this will take time as companies learn to build scaffolding around frontier models to address specific business needs.

Siti Panigrahi asked for a high-level perspective on the potential size and timeframe of the AI opportunity compared to the COVID-era revenue boom, and also inquired about the size of SIP trunking within the voice business.

Answer

CEO Khozema Shipchandler described the AI opportunity as 'materially TAM expansive,' positioning Twilio at the center of the value chain and expecting it to add material revenue over time. He declined to break out SIP trunking but confirmed that voice infrastructure is the primary contributor to the voice business.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Financial Group asked about the demand environment in the first half and expectations for the second half, as well as any observed changes in the competitive landscape, particularly with recent industry consolidation.

Answer

CEO Chad Richison stated that the demand environment remains strong and that Paycom also creates its own demand given its low market share. He asserted that the competitive landscape became 'a lot less competitive' with the launch of iWant, as he believes clients will not want to use older, less intuitive HCM systems. He expects customers to gravitate toward Paycom's command-driven experience, making it difficult for competitors to keep up.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho, via Phillip Leytes, inquired whether Paycom is observing any changes in the competitive landscape regarding pricing or discounting strategies from rivals.

Answer

CEO Chad Richison gave a concise response, stating that the competitive environment regarding pricing is not different from what Paycom has seen in the past.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked about the role of agentic AI in addressing the engineer shortage, seeking details on Bentley's progress, future vision, and how it will be incorporated into products.

Answer

CEO Nicholas Cumins stated that AI is a top priority for engineering firms facing labor shortages. He highlighted strong customer engagement with Bentley's AI-powered OpenSite+ application and a strategy to expand these capabilities. He also noted that Bentley Infrastructure Cloud is positioned to help firms use their own data to build custom AI agents, which will drive new business models and value redistribution in the ecosystem.

An analyst from Mizuho, on behalf of Siti Panigrahi, asked about the potential impact of the U.S. elections on customer sentiment and the timeline for bringing large infrastructure projects to market.

Answer

Executive Chair Greg Bentley expressed that the infrastructure community is largely unconcerned about administration changes due to the visibility from the multi-year IIJA program. He noted that infrastructure is a bipartisan priority and sees potential upside from permitting reform, which could accelerate energy and grid projects, regardless of project mix changes.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Financial Group asked about the translation of strong bookings growth to revenue, initiatives for smooth go-lives, and the relative implementation speed of back-to-base sales versus new bookings.

Answer

Chairman & CEO David Ossip explained that it takes about twelve months to onboard a new client, with add-on modules for existing clients going live faster. He highlighted that SI-led sales, now 45% of new sales, are crucial for handling implementation. He attributed the 40%+ ACV growth to high full-suite attachment, strong AI and Managed services uptake, and a 50% year-over-year increase in sales to the existing client base.

Speaking on behalf of Siti Panigrahi, an analyst from Mizuho asked for a ranking of new products (help desk, conversational agents, customer hub) by medium-term revenue potential and for feedback on the MCP server's pricing strategy.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Bialecki expressed the most bullish view on the conversational agent, seeing it as a source of enormous value. He stated there are no current plans to price or package the MCP server, viewing it instead as a tool for customers and a valuable source of feedback for Klaviyo's own product development by revealing how users want to query their data.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities inquired about the enterprise deal elongation and international slowdown mentioned last quarter, and asked for the assumptions behind the second-half guidance, which implies slower growth.

Answer

President Andy Dignan reported that the previous quarter's deal elongation and international slowdown did not persist. CFO Bryan Lee explained the guidance incorporates conservatism due to minimal expected seasonality from macro uncertainty, longer revenue ramps for recent large software deals, and tough year-over-year comparisons from a major customer's ramp-up in the prior year.

Siti Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked about the cloud database business, customer migration trends from on-premise, and the expected contribution of cloud database revenue to OCI's projected 70% growth.

Answer

CEO Safra Catz described the database business as 'on fire,' with strong growth across license, support, and cloud services, noting the vast majority of the business is still on-premise. CTO Lawrence Ellison provided a powerful example, stating that migrating $10 billion of database support revenue to the cloud would generate at least $50 billion in total cloud revenue, as it includes compute and networking services.

Siti Panigrahi asked when the company expects to see a stabilization in the dollar-based net retention rate (NRR) given the new platform investments. She also sought clarification on the foreign exchange impact on net new ARR and the assumptions in the full-year guidance.

Answer

CFO & COO Ashim Gupta stated that while the new agentic platform is seeing early traction with POCs, it is not expected to have a material revenue impact this fiscal year, suggesting the NRR discussion could be revisited later. Regarding FX, Gupta reiterated that the company uses the most recent rates for its guidance and the impact was not material.