Vivek Palani's questions to BigBear.ai Holdings (BBAI) leadership • Q2 2023
Question
Vivek Palani from Northland Capital Markets inquired about BigBear.ai's current headcount and year-end hiring plans, the expected timing for the large phase of the GFIM contract award, and the anticipated trend for gross margins in the second half of the year.
Answer
CFO Julie Peffer stated that specific headcount numbers are not disclosed but noted that headcount is currently decreasing due to the ramp-down of certain labor-heavy contracts, though hiring will grow in key investment areas. CEO Mandy Long confirmed the current expectation is for the GFIM award in Q4. Regarding margins, Peffer expects improvement in the second half of 2023 as lower-margin contracts phase out and higher-margin ones ramp up. Long added that the company is deliberately shifting its contract mix toward businesses with greater margin expansion opportunities, evidenced by a growing fixed-price contract mix.