Sitikantha Panigrahi

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about Synopsys's growth trends, asking for a breakdown between AI and non-AI driven design activity and the potential impact of new technologies like DeepSeek on the EDA market. He also asked if the non-AI semiconductor market has reached a trough.

Answer

CEO Sassine Ghazi described a "tale of two markets," with robust demand from AI and HPC customers contrasting with more challenged industrial, automotive, and consumer electronics sectors. He noted a recent pickup in consumer electronics (AI on PC/phone) and stated that overall semiconductor R&D spending is expected to grow, benefiting Synopsys. Ghazi confirmed an acceleration in PC and mobile chip design but said the pace in automotive and industrial remains largely unchanged.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the linearity of business during the quarter, momentum into May, and when to expect cross-sell benefits from the new transaction model.

Answer

CFO Janesh Moorjani described Q1 performance as strong and consistent throughout the quarter, with momentum continuing into May. CEO Andrew Anagnost clarified that cross-sell and upsell opportunities from the new model are a longer-term benefit that will be enabled by new systems dynamically, rather than being tied to a specific renewal cycle.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked where the company anticipates finding operating leverage in the coming year, excluding the noise from the new business model.

Answer

CEO Andrew Anagnost and Interim CFO Betsy Rafael indicated that the company expects continued underlying margin improvement on an apples-to-apples basis, consistent with historical performance. However, they declined to provide specific details or targets for the next fiscal year.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the sustainability of the Consumer Group's double-digit growth, particularly the 47% growth in TurboTax Live revenue, and the key learnings from the successful tax season.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi attributed the success to winning on experience, price, and speed to money, powered by AI agents and human experts. He noted that full-service offerings saw outsized growth and the Credit Karma integration contributed one point of growth. Goodarzi expressed confidence in future sustainability, highlighting that the company learned from areas of friction in the customer experience, which present clear opportunities for improvement.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the sustainability of the Consumer Group's double-digit growth, particularly the 47% surge in TurboTax Live revenue, and what learnings from this year support future performance in the assisted tax category.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi attributed the success to a platform strategy focused on experience, price, and speed to money, powered by data and AI. He highlighted double-digit conversion growth, outsized performance in full-service offerings, and a 1-point contribution from Credit Karma. Goodarzi expressed confidence in future growth by noting significant opportunities to reduce friction in areas that 'didn't work' this year, which will be a focus for improvement.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the drivers of Intuit's confidence in its 7-8% Consumer Group guidance, trends in the assisted tax category, and any potential risks from IRS initiatives.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi stated that confidence comes from strong traction in both DIY (with simple and complex filers) and assisted categories, driven by AI-powered monetization, revamped marketing, and a superior "done-for-you" experience. He added that his engagement with the administration indicates their focus is on reducing fraud and waste, where Intuit can help, and he sees no risk to Intuit's business from IRS actions.

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about the ramp and contribution of the new mid-market sales team to the Q1 acceleration. He also asked for clarification on the Q2 Consumer Group guidance, specifically the promotional changes affecting desktop products.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi confirmed the mid-market team's benefit is already material, contributing to the 42% growth in QBO Advanced and IES, though the largest impact is yet to come. For the Q2 Consumer guidance, he explained that promotional timing for TurboTax desktop has been shifted from Q2 to Q3 to better align with consumer buying patterns, which impacts revenue timing but not the full-year outlook.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the drivers behind the Small Business segment's growth forecast for fiscal 2025, questioning the scale of the mid-market opportunity and Intuit's strategy for gaining share.

Answer

CEO Sasan Goodarzi explained that while Intuit remains focused on newly-formed small businesses, it is doubling down on its five-year-old mid-market bet. He highlighted the company's comprehensive business suite and AI-powered expert services as key differentiators. Goodarzi noted that the mid-market is largely 'nonconsumption,' representing a significant opportunity to acquire new customers and grow with existing ones, which underpins the company's confidence in achieving 20% online ecosystem revenue growth.

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about the adoption of Zoom AI Companion, particularly regarding free-to-paid user migration in the SMB segment, and the potential revenue contribution from the new paid AI SKU.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan highlighted that AI Companion monthly active users grew nearly 40% quarter-over-quarter, citing Raymond James as a key customer example. He expressed confidence in monetizing the custom AI Companion through features like Bring Your Own Dictionary, custom summary templates, and Jira integration, noting strong interest from global 2,000 trial customers.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho asked management to rank the products they are most excited about for driving growth in the upcoming year.

Answer

CFO Michelle Chang prioritized strengthening the core Workplace platform first, followed by Zoom Phone as a continued significant growth driver. She identified Contact Center and Workvivo as emerging products with durable momentum that will be key contributors. She framed AI monetization and new vertical solutions as longer-term growth layers, while also highlighting international expansion and channel growth as important vectors.

Siti Panigrahi from Mizuho inquired about Zoom Contact Center's competitive advantages amid macro pressures and when the product is expected to become a material revenue contributor.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan attributed Contact Center's momentum to customer trust, rapid innovation in AI features, and a natively integrated platform that includes workforce and quality management. He noted that all top 10 wins in Q2 were displacements of major vendors. CFO Kelly Steckelberg added that Zoom remains very price-competitive, offering a compelling total cost of ownership with its modern architecture.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked if this could be an inflection year for Contact Center, similar to Zoom Phone's trajectory, and inquired about the market opportunity from legacy vendor disruption.

Answer

CEO Eric Yuan confirmed strong momentum in Contact Center, citing major Q4 deal wins driven by replacing existing cloud vendors. He believes the key is execution and overcoming a 'marketing problem' to raise awareness, expressing aspiration to mirror Zoom Phone's growth trajectory. CFO Michelle Chang clarified 7 of the top 10 deals were cloud replacements.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the key drivers for the company's long-term, high-single-digit growth target, questioning whether it relies more on internal go-to-market changes or an improving market environment. He also sought clarification on the fiscal 2026 operating cash flow guidance, which appears to contract more than operating margins.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson asserted that the growth reacceleration is based on internal execution within their 'four walls,' not on market changes. He cited the increasing number of multi-product customers, new product adoption, and improved GTM performance as the primary drivers. CFO Kevin Kraus explained the fiscal 2026 cash flow guidance reflects strategic investments in growth and a measured forecasting approach, while noting that non-GAAP net income is expected to remain stable due to lower interest expenses.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho asked about the trends observed among customers adopting AI solutions, specifically regarding changes in their number of human agents and how they are funding these new products. He also inquired about areas of strength or weakness by customer segment, given the discontinuation of small/mid-market enterprise disclosures.

Answer

CEO Samuel Wilson stated that customers are not currently reducing agent headcount when adopting AI. Instead, they are using AI tools like Agent Assist to enhance agent productivity and shorten training cycles, which is valuable given high industry attrition rates. Regarding customer segments, Wilson noted a continued focus on multiproduct enterprise sales, which is growing, while the company is less focused on micro-businesses, impacting overall customer count.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho asked about the strong international growth, inquiring about pipeline health, regional trends amid geopolitical situations, and the forward-looking growth expectations.

Answer

CEO Tom Shea credited the 40% year-over-year international revenue growth to the payoff from multi-year investments, achieving greater scale, and landing foundational, market-building deals that serve as critical references. He expressed a long-term goal for the international business to rival the U.S. market in size.

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about the current macroeconomic environment's impact on customer demand for HR and payroll projects, and whether there are notable differences between U.S. and international markets.

Answer

CEO David Ossip stated that Dayforce has not seen any negative impact from the macro environment on buying decisions. He highlighted that Q1 bookings were very strong, in line with a robust Q4, and expects first-half bookings to be up approximately 40% year-over-year. Ossip noted significant strength in add-on sales (up 30% YoY) and a high percentage of full-suite deals, especially in the major market and enterprise segments, underscoring strong customer confidence.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked for details on the Q4 Dayforce recurring revenue miss, questioning if the drivers were one-time issues, and inquired about the factors supporting the company's confidence in sustaining its current revenue growth rate.

Answer

CEO David Ossip characterized the Q4 recurring revenue drivers as one-time items, highlighting record Q4 and January sales and an increased EBITDA guide. CFO Jeremy Johnson detailed the three main factors: muted seasonal employee volumes, lower print and tax filing fees, and contract amendments that shifted revenue to professional services. Regarding future growth, David Ossip pointed to strong sales momentum, the predictability of the business, and 17.9% cloud ARR growth in 2024.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the assumptions behind the Q4 Dayforce recurring ex-float guidance, including go-live timing, and inquired about the strategy for the new Dayforce brand campaign.

Answer

CEO David Ossip and CFO Jeremy Johnson clarified that the Q4 guidance for over 21% growth is based on high visibility from accounts that have already gone live and a predictable go-live schedule. David Ossip explained the new branding reflects the company's strategic simplification and focus on the Dayforce product line.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked for an update on the progress of the Cesium acquisition and the Google partnership, inquiring about the opportunities and customer traction seen in the asset analytics business.

Answer

CEO Nicholas Cumins stated that the adoption of Cesium technology is progressing well across the portfolio. He highlighted the Google partnership is expanding, leveraging Street View data and Vertex AI in the Blyncsy road network product to increase geographic reach and use cases. Executive Chair Greg Bentley added that two new deals with Departments of Transportation were signed during the quarter, with more expected later in the year.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked for a comparison of the current macroeconomic environment to the previous year, focusing on the U.S. post-election and any resulting shifts in infrastructure priorities.

Answer

CEO Nicholas Cumins described a strong global consensus on infrastructure investment, particularly in Europe, with China being the notable exception. Executive Gregory Bentley addressed the U.S., stating that engineering firms are already at full capacity and do not anticipate a decrease in federally funded projects, though the mix of projects may change.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked for more detail on the lengthening sales cycles for large enterprise deals, questioning if it was specific to certain regions and if it led to deal slippage.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland clarified that the longer sales cycles are concentrated at the large end of the enterprise market, causing some deals to slip into the following quarter. He noted this was distinct from geopolitical resistance seen in some international regions, which is a separate issue.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about customers' AI strategies regarding the replacement of human agents, referencing Klarna's recent reversal, and questioned the potential for seat reduction.

Answer

CEO Michael Burkland responded that customers are not pursuing wholesale replacement of human agents. Instead, they are focused on deflecting a small percentage of interactions (5-10%) to self-service. He explained this typically results in slower growth of human agent headcount rather than a net reduction, while still delivering significant ROI.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho asked how Five9 differentiates itself from AI point solutions and startups that are attracting investment.

Answer

Executive Michael Burkland emphasized the 'power of the platform,' stating that Five9's purpose-built AI products leverage integrated interaction data to deliver superior, personalized experiences. He noted success in competitive bake-offs and explained that Five9 can also integrate with and monetize third-party solutions via its voice stream, ensuring the platform wins regardless of the customer's choice.

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about customer conversations regarding AI adoption in the current macro environment, following PTC's recent AI product introductions.

Answer

CEO Neil Barua reported strong customer reception for new products like Windchill AI and ServiceMax AI, noting significant interest at industry events. He emphasized that PTC's core systems (PLM, CAD, ALM) provide the critical product data foundation necessary for effective generative AI, which is a key differentiator. While he sees AI as a significant mid-to-long-term growth driver, he expects customer adoption of large-scale AI projects to be methodical over the next 12 to 24 months.

Sitikantha Panigrahi requested an update on the progress of the go-to-market realignment and asked which macro indicators PTC monitors beyond the PMI.

Answer

CEO Neil Barua detailed progress on the go-to-market verticalization and the new CRO's impact, stating the changes are showing early promise. On the macro front, he said that beyond external indicators like PMI, the key internal metric for a true recovery is a sustained and predictable increase in sales close rates on their existing pipeline.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the impact of AI model efficiency advancements on design velocity and whether Cadence is seeing any effects from hyperscalers potentially pushing out data center builds.

Answer

CEO Anirudh Devgan explained that while AI models will become more efficient, this will likely make AI more prevalent, driving more design activity. He stated that from a design perspective, Cadence only sees an acceleration in AI chip development from hyperscalers and others. He also noted that increasing complexity from 3D-IC is a powerful design driver, so they see no slowdown in design activity.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho asked about the annual contract value (ACV) uplift from AI products like Cerebrus and SimAI, and for an outlook on when AI on edge devices might reach an inflection point.

Answer

CEO Anirudh Devgan explained that AI products are add-ons to base customer configurations and are seeing increased adoption. He reiterated his belief in a future "physical AI" phase for edge devices like cars and robots. While the products may be years away, he noted that significant design activity for these complex, mixed-signal chips is already beginning, similar to how data center AI chips were designed years before their release.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked management to rank its key growth opportunities and new products, and to explain what gives them confidence in sustaining accelerated double-digit revenue growth.

Answer

CEO Anirudh Devgan responded that Cadence's confidence comes from its ability to deliver both strong revenue growth and consistently improving profitability. He cited systemic drivers like AI, the move to the edge, and strong performance in newer areas like System Design & Analysis (SDA) and IP as key growth pillars, all managed with a sharp focus on financial discipline.

Sitikantha Panigrahi from Mizuho asked for details on RingCX adoption, particularly in large deals like Genpact, its positioning against the NICE-powered offering, and the company's total CCaaS ARR at the end of Q4.

Answer

CEO Vlad Shmunis explained that RingCX is exceeding expectations across market segments due to its seamless integration, ease of use, and aggressive pricing. He noted that while RingCX is the focus, the NICE partnership remains successful with a large RPO. CFO Abhey Lamba stated that overall CCaaS ARR grew in the low double digits but directed focus to the 'new products' ARR metric, which is over $50 million and on track for its $100 million target, led by RingCX.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about CCaaS market trends between SMB and enterprise, how the new RingCX and Verint partnership will be positioned against competitors like NICE, and for an explanation of the recent downtick in gross margin.

Answer

Founder, Chairman and CEO Vlad Shmunis explained that RingCX, initially an SMB product, is now scaling to enterprise accounts, proven by RingCentral's own internal migration of over 1,000 agents. He positioned RingCX as the company's future go-forward solution, offering superior 'owner economics' compared to the legacy NICE partnership. SVP and Chief Accounting Officer Vaibhav Agarwal addressed the gross margin, stating that the slight sequential dip to 81% was due to infrastructure investments to support the scaling of new products like RingCX, which he expects to rationalize over time.

Sitikantha Panigrahi from Mizuho Securities asked about the integration plan for Airbase and the timeline for cross-selling opportunities. He also questioned the Q4 guidance, which seems to imply a deceleration in recurring revenue growth.

Answer

Executive Chairman Steven Beauchamp stated the long-term goal is a fully integrated platform, a multi-year effort likely taking 12-24 months, but cross-selling is already underway with good receptivity. CFO Ryan Glenn explained the guidance reflects their 'beat and raise' philosophy and a minor pull-forward of revenue into Q2, adding that if momentum continues, they could raise guidance again.

Sitikantha Panigrahi inquired about the traction of database migration to the cloud, particularly through the multi-cloud strategy, and its expected future revenue contribution.

Answer

CEO Safra Catz stated that cloud database services are already at a $2.2 billion annualized run rate, primarily on OCI, while multi-cloud database services with partners like AWS and Google have surpassed a $100 million run rate and are growing rapidly. Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison added that the multi-cloud initiative is in its early stages and is expected to become a multi-billion dollar business, complemented by high demand for dedicated 'Cloud at Customer' regions.

Sitikantha Panigrahi of Mizuho Securities asked for details on Shopify's go-to-market strategy for the enterprise market and whether new customers are typically doing a full platform replacement.

Answer

President Harley Finkelstein explained that while the goal is total replacement, some enterprises begin by adopting specific commerce components like Checkout. He attributed success to a strong go-to-market execution, a modern unified architecture, and innovations like rapid data migration tools. He noted that Shopify is displacing large incumbents and that new wins are creating further momentum.

Sitikantha Panigrahi asked about the opportunities and challenges for expansion within the installed base and inquired about the competitive positioning of UiPath's agentic automation, specifically whether its sweet spot is with existing customers or in new deals.

Answer

CFO & COO Ashim Gupta noted strong expansion in the $100k-$1M customer cohort and highlighted that platform deals involving products like Document Understanding are key drivers. CEO Daniel Dines stated UiPath's competitive advantages in agentic automation include its low-code platform for a large developer base, the ability to pair agents with actions, and its mature, scalable orchestration platform for managing agents securely.

Asked about trends in cross-selling new products, the outlook for effective PEPM growth in the guidance, and the progress and traction of the embedded HCM channel.

Answer

Management noted that Q4 PEPM growth saw a slight acceleration from cross-selling. Going forward, PEPM growth is expected to slow as enterprise and embedded deals ramp up, but near-term cross-sell success continues. The embedded HCM channel has strong traction, with partners tripling and the pipeline growing, and its revenue is expected to double in FY '25, though it remains a small part of the total.