Executive Summary

Q4 revenue and adjusted operating income came in above the high end of company guidance, driven by stronger upmarket execution, accelerating Operations growth, and rapid Copilot adoption; GAAP revenue was $309.1M (-2% YoY), AOI $115.9M (37% margin) and GAAP OI margin 10% . Management attributed the beat to operational changes, improved sales and product execution, and AI-led offerings, with momentum into 2025 .
Net revenue retention improved to 87%, the first sequential increase since Q1 2022, supported by better upmarket upsell dynamics and stabilizing downmarket churn; $100k+ ACV customers rose to 1,867 (+58 q/q) .
Initial 2025 outlook guides revenue down ~1.6% at the midpoint ($1.185–$1.205B) with AOI margin ~36% and unlevered FCF $420–$440M; Q1’25 revenue guided to $294–$297M and non-GAAP EPS $0.22–$0.23, with commentary to discount downmarket in guidance and rebuild through the year .
Capital return accelerates: after repurchasing 12% of shares in 2024 for $562.3M, the Board approved an additional $500M authorization in Feb-2025; year-end shares outstanding were 342M .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Above-guidance execution: “GAAP revenue for the fourth quarter was $309M and adjusted operating income was $116M, a margin of 37%, both above the high end of guidance” .
KPI and mix improvements: NRR increased to 87% (first sequential uptick since Q1’22); $100k+ ACV customers reached 1,867; Operations grew 27% YoY, and advanced functionality reached 44% of business .
AI traction: Copilot ACV surpassed $150M with strong attach in new lands and migrations; management emphasized data + AI agents as a durable advantage upmarket .

What Went Wrong

Top-line still declining YoY: Q4 revenue -2% YoY; GAAP OI margin 10% vs 22% in Q4’23; Q4 unlevered FCF declined 26% YoY .
Downmarket remains a headwind: downmarket ACV declined 9% in 2024; company continues disqualifying higher-risk SMB deals (growth headwind until lap in mid-2025) .
2025 guide starts conservative: FY25 revenue midpoint implies -1.6% YoY; Q1 has fewer calendar days and seasonal margin headwinds; company is discounting downmarket contributions .

Financial Results

Quarterly performance (oldest → newest):

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Revenue ($M)	$291.5	$303.6	$309.1
GAAP Operating Income ($M)	$(20.0)	$43.5	$30.9
Adjusted Operating Income ($M)	$81.6	$111.7	$115.9
GAAP OI Margin (%)	(7)%	14%	10%
Adjusted OI Margin (%)	28%	37%	37%
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	$(0.07)	$0.07	$0.04
Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP)	$0.17	$0.28	$0.26
Cash Flow from Operations ($M)	$126.3	$18.2	$109.0
Unlevered Free Cash Flow ($M)	$120.0	$110.7	$93.6

Q4 YoY comparison:

Metric	Q4 2023	Q4 2024
Revenue ($M)	$316.4	$309.1
GAAP OI Margin (%)	22%	10%
Adjusted OI Margin (%)	40%	37%
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	$(0.01)	$0.04
Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP)	$0.26	$0.26
Unlevered Free Cash Flow ($M)	$126.0	$93.6

KPI trends (oldest → newest):

KPI	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Customers ≥$100k ACV (count)	1,797	1,809	1,867
Net Revenue Retention (%)	85% (stable)	85% (stable)	87%
Copilot ACV ($M)	—	>$60 (exit Q3)	>$150
Operations growth YoY (%)	—	22%	27%
Advanced functionality mix (%)	35% (Q2)	38%	44%

Upmarket vs downmarket (FY 2024 snapshot):

Metric	Upmarket	Downmarket
Share of business	>2/3	<1/3
2024 growth	+2%	-9%
Strategy	Resourcing for growth, higher LTV, higher margins	Disqualify risk, prepay, digital-first

Segment breakdown: The company does not report GAAP segments; management frames results by upmarket vs downmarket as above .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue ($M)	Q1 2025	n/a	$294–$297	New
Adjusted Operating Income ($M)	Q1 2025	n/a	$96–$99	New
Adjusted EPS	Q1 2025	n/a	$0.22–$0.23	New
Revenue ($B)	FY 2025	n/a	$1.185–$1.205	New
Adjusted Operating Income ($M)	FY 2025	n/a	$426–$436	New
Adjusted EPS	FY 2025	n/a	$0.95–$0.97	New
Unlevered Free Cash Flow ($M)	FY 2025	n/a	$420–$440	New
Weighted Avg Diluted Shares (M)	Q1/FY 2025	n/a	357 / 362	New

Context: Q1’25 has fewer days and seasonal payroll tax headwinds; FY25 margins expected to build sequentially; downmarket contributions are discounted in guidance .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q-2 and Q-1)	Current Period (Q4 2024)	Trend
AI/Copilot	Q2: Launched Copilot; shift upmarket; NRR stabilization . Q3: Copilot ACV >$60M; strong ROI signals; attach in mid-market/enterprise .	Copilot ACV >$150M; expanding from SDR into AE/AM/CSM; AI agents and governance; strong new-logo attach (~90%+ of new ACV) .	Accelerating
Upmarket vs downmarket	Q2: New risk model, prepay, disqualify higher-risk SMB . Q3: Disqualifying >$2M/month SMB new sales; mix shift to upmarket .	Upmarket >2/3 of business, +2% growth in 2024; downmarket <1/3, -9%; discount downmarket in guide .	Mix improving
NRR trajectory	Q2: Stabilizing . Q3: 85% for 3 straight quarters .	NRR up to 87%, first sequential increase since Q1’22 .	Improving
Operations/DaaS	Q2: Dataset collaboration with Google Vertex AI . Q3: +22% YoY .	+27% YoY; foundation for customers’ AI initiatives .	Accelerating
Capital return	Q2: $147M buyback . Q3: $242M ASR; 17% shares retired since Mar’23 .	2024 repurchases $562.3M (12% shares); new $500M authorization .	Aggressive
Cost/Legal	Q3: $59M lease termination (>$100M savings); $30M settlement funded .	Q1 margin seasonality; conservative posture persists .	Cost discipline
Data quality/infra	—	Partnership to automate data quality at scale (Telmai) .	Strengthening

Management Commentary

“Our execution caught up to our innovation, leading to happier and more engaged customers... Copilot again exceeded expectations and now has over $150 million in ACV.” – Henry Schuck, CEO .
“Operations is the fastest-growing area of our business… up 27% year-over-year.” – Henry Schuck .
“We are discounting downmarket contributions to our guidance… we are on a path back to durable growth faster than expected.” – Michael (Graham) O’Brien, Interim CFO .
“NRR increased to 87% in the fourth quarter, the first sequential increase in NRR since Q1 of 2022.” – Henry Schuck .
“As of today, Copilot is more than $150 million in ACV… advanced functionality increased to 44% of the overall business.” – Michael (Graham) O’Brien .

Q&A Highlights

Upmarket vs downmarket outlook: Upmarket on path to mid-single-digit growth; downmarket declined 9% in 2024 and is discounted in 2025 guidance; disqualification of higher-risk SMB new sales continues .
Copilot migrations/attach: Strong double-digit uplift on migrations; majority of new ACV lands on Copilot (~90%+ attach); migrations both off-cycle and at renewal with pricing discipline .
AI agents and models: Copilot agents rely on third-party data plus first-party context; DeepSeek tested internally but not in production; expect broader LLM cost deflation to benefit unit economics .
NRR drivers: Upmarket shifting from downsell defense to upsell; downmarket stabilized; improvements driven by upsell opportunities and Copilot/Operations expansion .
Macro/tone: No material macro change exiting Q4; conservative guidance philosophy maintained; momentum cited heading into 2025 .

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus from S&P Global could not be retrieved due to a data mapping error in the tool; therefore, comparisons vs consensus are unavailable at this time. The company stated Q4 revenue and adjusted operating income came in above the high end of company guidance . If you want, I can rerun consensus once the mapping is resolved.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Mix shift upmarket is working: sequential NRR improvement (87%) and record $100k+ customer adds signal healthier unit economics and improving renewal/upsell dynamics upmarket .
AI monetization accelerating: Copilot ACV >$150M with persona expansion (AE/AM/CSM) and strong new-logo attach; Operations +27% YoY underpins enterprise AI initiatives and should sustain growth mix .
2025 starts conservative: FY25 revenue midpoint down ~1.6%, but AOI margins build sequentially; management is discounting downmarket and leaning into higher-margin upmarket opportunities—watch for upside on execution .
Cash return supportive: After $562M repurchased in 2024, a new $500M authorization provides a backstop; leverage ~2.2–2.4x, with strong FCF generation to fund buybacks .
Watch Q1 seasonality and SMB headwinds: Fewer days and payroll resets weigh on Q1; SMB disqualification continues near-term but should improve revenue quality and write-offs as the company laps Q2’24 changes .
Stock catalysts: Sustained NRR recovery, continued Copilot migration/attach uplift, and visibility to upmarket growth reacceleration; conversely, any downmarket deterioration or slower Copilot conversions could weigh on estimates and sentiment .

Appendix: Additional Relevant Q4 Press Release

Data quality partnership: ZoomInfo leverages Telmai to automate data quality across billions of records and multiple clouds—supports accuracy and scalability of the data foundation critical to AI workflows .

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (ZI)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary