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TTEC Holdings, Inc. (TTEC)·Q3 2025 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Q3 revenue of $519.1M rose sequentially and beat consensus ($497.9M*) while non-GAAP EPS of $0.12 missed ($0.225*) as lower Engage profitability and Digital mix shift weighed on margins .
- Adjusted EBITDA was $43.4M (8.4% margin) vs $50.3M (9.5%) YoY; GAAP diluted EPS was $(0.23) vs $(0.40) YoY; guidance was reiterated for FY25 across consolidated and segment metrics .
- Engage margin was pressured by up-front Q4 healthcare ramp costs and strategic investments; management expects sequential and YoY bottom-line growth in Q4 and for 2H25 in Engage .
- Strategic positives: Digital revenue +5.4% YoY (20 new clients signed), expanding AI deployments (110+ programs across 65+ clients), stronger backlogs (Engage $1.66B; Digital $444M), and credit facility extended to Nov 23, 2027 .
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Digital topline growth and client momentum: Digital revenue +5.4% YoY to $121.9M; 20 new meaningful clients signed; expanding partnerships and higher-margin AI-led offerings .
“The TTEC Digital team signed 20 new meaningful clients… optimizing current technology infrastructure and design[ing] their roadmap for the future.” - AI execution and wins: Deployed AI in 110+ programs across 65+ clients; nearly all new pitches include AI augmentation; multiple outcome-based engagements advancing .
- Strengthened liquidity and visibility: Credit facility term extended to Nov 23, 2027; Engage backlog $1.66B (102% of FY25 rev midpoint), Digital backlog $444M (95% of FY25 midpoint) .
What Went Wrong
- Margin compression: Adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 8.4% (from 9.5% YoY) on Engage investments ahead of Q4 healthcare seasonality and Digital mix (low-margin product resales up ~$15M YoY) .
- EPS miss and tax rate: Non-GAAP EPS $0.12 missed $0.225*; normalized tax rate remained elevated (53.7%), driven by jurisdictional mix and U.S. valuation allowance .
- Free cash flow negative in-quarter: FCF $(9.6)M on $13.8M capex; mgmt noted higher in-quarter real estate/IT spend for healthcare ramps; sequential margin recovery guided for Q4 .
Financial Results
Consolidated trends (USD)
YoY snapshot (Q3)
Segment breakdown
KPIs and balance sheet (Q3 2025)
Guidance Changes
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “As expected, our Engage third quarter profitability was down… expenses ahead of our fourth quarter healthcare seasonal ramps and planned investments for future growth.” – Ken Tuchman, CEO .
- “We expect Engage to deliver solid bottom-line growth sequentially and year-over-year in the fourth quarter and overall for the second half of the year.” – Kenny Wagers, CFO .
- “We’ve deployed AI in over 110 programs with more than 65 clients… almost 100% of our new client pitches include our core AI associate augmentation tools.” – Ken Tuchman .
- “Digital’s revenue benefited from a $15M YoY increase in product resales… delivering lower margins… Excluding resales, revenue was $103M, down 7.9% YoY.” – Kenny Wagers .
- “Our net leverage ratio… 3.46x vs 4.49x last year; we extended the term of our credit facility to November 23, 2027.” – Kenny Wagers .
Q&A Highlights
- Healthcare ramp ROI: Q3 investments target double-digit Q4 seasonal growth and more recurring, year-round healthcare work into 2026; emphasis on sustaining client relationships post-peak .
- AI economics: Moving toward outcome-based and per-transaction pricing; coupling AI with human agents to improve margins and client value; AI also expected to reduce internal delivery costs over time .
- Capacity and talent: ~1,700 full-time engineers with AI backgrounds; ~125 paid AI projects in Digital; deep CCaaS and subsystem integration capabilities cited as differentiation .
- Digital resales: One-off, chunky, hard to forecast; some clients delay cloud migrations or consider multi/hybrid models following outages; near-term revenue noise but strategic focus on AI/cloud persists .
- TAM expansion: Evidence of first-time outsourcers (e.g., healthcare testing), with sizable captive internal spend (~$300B) seen as multi-year outsourcing opportunity .
Estimates Context
- Q3 2025 vs consensus: Revenue $519.1M vs $497.9M* (beat); non-GAAP EPS $0.12 vs $0.225* (miss) .
- FY 2025 context: Company guidance midpoint revenue $2.089B aligns with consensus $2.086B*; EBITDA midpoint $225M above consensus $217.3M*; non-GAAP EPS midpoint $1.08 aligns with $1.09* .
Values with asterisk (*) retrieved from S&P Global.
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Mix and timing drove the quarter: Strong revenue and Digital growth offset by lower-margin resales and Engage investments; watch for a Q4 profitability inflection as healthcare ramps complete and volumes convert .
- Near-term setup: Management explicitly guides to sequential and YoY bottom-line growth in Q4/2H for Engage—delivery against this should be a key stock driver into print and early 2026 .
- Medium-term thesis: AI commercialization, outcome-based contracting, and a growing multi-partner Digital practice should expand margins as resales fade and utilization rises; backlog/retention improvements bolster durability .
- Balance sheet trend improving: Net leverage down to 3.46x and facility extended to 2027; continued FCF conversion and deleveraging remain key to multiple expansion .
- Estimates recalibration: Street EPS likely drifts modestly lower near term on Q3 miss and margin mix, but consolidated FY guide implies intact EBITDA trajectory; upside if Q4 margin rebound outperforms .
- Watch variables: FX translation on margins, Digital resale volatility, healthcare seasonality/retention into Q1, and execution on outcome-based pricing to drive structural margin lift .
- Strategic optionality: Expanding hyperscaler ties and onramp to hybrid/multi-cloud transformations position TTEC as a beneficiary of multi-year AI modernization cycles across verticals .