Appian(US:APPN)2025-05-08 13:32Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - In Q1 2025, Appian's cloud subscription revenue grew 15% year over year to $99.8 million, while total revenue increased 11% year over year to $166.4 million [5][31] - Adjusted EBITDA was $16.8 million, a significant improvement from an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.3 million in the same period last year [35] - Non-GAAP net income was $9.8 million or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $4.9 million or $0.07 per share for Q1 2024 [35] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Cloud subscriptions revenue represented 81% of total revenue, up from 79% in the year-ago period [32] - Professional services revenue was $32.1 million, flat compared to Q1 2024, with expectations for a long-term decline as a percentage of total revenue [32] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - International operations contributed 36% of total revenue, down from 37% in the year-ago period [33] - Federal government bookings grew 59% year over year, indicating strong performance in the public sector [21][110] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI integration within its processes, emphasizing practical applications over hype [6][10] - Appian aims to transition away from per-seat pricing models to alternative pricing mechanisms that reflect AI's value [83] - The introduction of a multi-tiered pricing model for AI features has resulted in revenue from AI-inclusive tiers more than doubling in Q1 [12] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management remains cautiously optimistic about the federal government's spending patterns and overall business momentum despite macroeconomic uncertainties [39][48] - The company has not seen material changes in its sales pipeline, indicating stability in its business operations [39] Other Important Information - Appian's weighted rule of 40 score is 27, combining growth and margin metrics [27] - The company plans to report on new internal metrics to provide better visibility into its performance [28] Q&A Session Summary Question: About government performance and potential pull forward into Q1 - Management does not believe pull forwards were a meaningful factor in Q1 and remains cautiously optimistic about Q3 [46][48] Question: Regarding cloud net retention rates and spending hesitation - Management noted that the net retention rate is a trailing metric and attributed the dip to unrelated down sells and leveling off of revenue growth from some customers [49][50] Question: On AI and the new agentic world - Management emphasized the importance of practical results from AI applications and the need for structured processes to support AI deployment [56][60] Question: Incremental monetization from AI usage - Management is pleased with customer willingness to spend on AI and sees significant value in demonstrating tangible results [65][67] Question: About the new CFO's focus areas - Management expressed excitement about the new CFO's contributions but did not disclose specific strategic details [68][69] Question: On intelligent document processing (IDP) success - Management highlighted the advancements in IDP, which now requires no training on document formats, leading to higher accuracy and customer satisfaction [102][104] Question: Federal government revenue growth compared to expectations - Management indicated that federal revenue growth exceeded expectations, with a year-over-year increase of 21% [110]