Zuora Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results

Subscription revenue grew 9% year-over-year

GAAP operating margin increased 8 percentage points year-over-year

Non-GAAP operating margin increased 13 percentage points year-over-year

Operating cash flow increased to $11.4 million compared to $5.4 million last year

Adjusted free cash flow increased to $12.2 million compared to $4.0 million last year

Zuora, Inc. (NYSE: ZUO), a leading monetization suite for modern business, today announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended July 31, 2024.

“I’m proud of our ZEOs for delivering a solid second quarter,” said Tien Tzuo, Founder and CEO at Zuora. “From our install base to the analyst community, we continue to be recognized for our market leadership. When enterprise organizations want to win with a Total Monetization strategy, they come to us for our mission-critical technology.”

“In the second quarter, we reached our goal to operate at a Rule of 30 two quarters ahead of plan,” said Todd McElhatton, Chief Financial Officer at Zuora. “We remain committed to margin expansion and profitability as we navigate this challenging market.”

Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Results:

• Revenue: Subscription revenue was $104.1 million, an increase of 9% year-over-year. Total revenue was $115.4 million, an increase of 7% year-over-year.
• GAAP Loss from Operations: GAAP loss from operations was $9.7 million, compared to a loss from operations of $18.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP Income from Operations: Non-GAAP income from operations was $25.6 million, compared to non-GAAP income from operations of $9.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• GAAP Net Loss: GAAP net loss was $7.2 million, or 6% of revenue, compared to a net loss of $22.6 million, or 21% of revenue, in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. GAAP net loss per share was $0.05 based on 149.4 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to a net loss per share of $0.16 based on 138.6 million weighted-average shares outstanding in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Non-GAAP Net Income: Non-GAAP net income was $29.1 million, compared to non-GAAP net income of $10.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Non-GAAP net income per share was $0.19 based on 149.4 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to non-GAAP net income per share of $0.07 based on 138.6 million weighted-average shares outstanding in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Cash Flow: Net cash provided by operating activities was $11.4 million, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $5.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow: Adjusted free cash flow was $12.2 million compared to $4.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024.
• Cash and Investments: Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $543.5 million as of July 31, 2024.

Descriptions of our non-GAAP financial measures are contained in the section titled "Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below and reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are contained in the tables below.

Key Metrics and Business Highlights:

• Customers with annual contract value (ACV) equal to or greater than $250,000 were 445, up from 444 as of July 31, 2023.
• Dollar-based retention rate (DBRR) was 104%, compared to 107% as of July 31, 2023.
• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) was $412.3 million compared to $384.2 million as of July 31, 2023, representing ARR growth of 7%.
• Gartner recognized Zuora as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Recurring Billing Applications, placing Zuora furthest in Completeness of Vision.
• ISG Software Research (formerly Ventana Research) named Zuora a Leader with the highest rating in all four of its Subscription Management Buyers Guides.
• Zuora ranked no. 1 in Product and Strategy in the latest MGI Research Automated Revenue Management (ARM) Buyer's Guide.
• Announced the planned acquisition of Sub(x), an AI solution for digital publishing and media companies that will transform Zuora’s existing paywall offering into an AI-powered paywall solution, which closed in August.
• Released Zuora's latest Global Impact Report. In the latest report, Zuora continues to be a carbon-neutral company and committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set both near-term and long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals, including reaching net-zero.
• New customers and go-lives included Canva, The Economist and Dark Matter Technologies.

Financial Outlook:

As of August 21, 2024, we are providing guidance for the third quarter and full fiscal year 2025 based on current market conditions and expectations. For the full fiscal year 2025, we are raising both our revenue outlook and our non-GAAP operating income ranges, as well as increasing our target for adjusted free cash flow, while absorbing the operating expense impact of our recent Togai and Sub(x) acquisitions. We emphasize that the guidance is subject to various important cautionary factors referenced in the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” below.

For the third quarter and full fiscal year 2025, Zuora currently expects the following results:

These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the “Forward-Looking Statements” safe harbor section below for information on the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

Explanation of Key Operational and Financial Metrics:

Annual Contract Value (ACV). We define ACV as the subscription revenue we would contractually expect to recognize from a customer over the next twelve months, assuming no increases or reductions in their subscriptions. We define the number of customers at the end of any particular period as the number of parties or organizations that have entered into a distinct subscription contract with us and for which the term has not ended. Each party with whom we have entered into a distinct subscription contract is considered a unique customer, and in some cases, there may be more than one customer within a single organization.

Dollar-based Retention Rate (DBRR). We calculate DBRR as of a period end by starting with the sum of the ACV from all customers as of twelve months prior to such period end, or prior period ACV. We then calculate the sum of the ACV from these same customers as of the current period end, or current period ACV. Current period ACV includes any upsells and also reflects contraction or attrition over the trailing twelve months but excludes revenue from new customers added in the current period. We then divide the current period ACV by the prior period ACV to arrive at our dollar-based retention rate.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). ARR represents the annualized recurring value at the time of initial booking or contract modification for all active subscription contracts at the end of a reporting period. ARR excludes the value of non-recurring revenue such as professional services revenue as well as contracts with new customers with a term of less than one year. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue, and is not intended to be a substitute for, or combined with, any of these items. ARR growth is calculated by dividing the ARR as of a period end by the ARR for the corresponding period end of the prior fiscal year.

Webcast and Conference Call Information:

Zuora will host a conference call for investors on August 21, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the company’s financial results and business highlights. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting https://investor.zuora.com. A replay of the webcast will be available through August 21, 2025. The call can also be accessed live via phone by the toll-free dial-in number: 1-888-596-4144 or toll dial-in number: 1-646-968-2525 with conference ID 8022374. An audio replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-800-770-2030 or 1-609-800-9909 with conference ID 8022374 available from August 21, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. PT to August 28, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables contain non-GAAP financial measures including: non-GAAP cost of subscription revenue; non-GAAP subscription gross margin; non-GAAP cost of professional services revenue; non-GAAP professional services gross margin; non-GAAP gross profit; non-GAAP gross margin; non-GAAP income from operations; non-GAAP operating margin; non-GAAP net income; non-GAAP net income per share; and adjusted free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We use non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our Board of Directors concerning our financial performance. We believe these non-GAAP measures provide investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitate period-to-period comparisons of our operating results. We also believe these non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry, as they generally eliminate the effects of certain items that may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

We exclude the following items from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures:

• Stock-based compensation expense. We exclude stock-based compensation expense, which is a non-cash expense, because we believe that excluding this item provides meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance. In particular, stock-based compensation expense is not comparable across companies given it is calculated using a variety of valuation methodologies and subjective assumptions.
• Amortization of acquired intangible assets. We exclude amortization of acquired intangible assets, which is a non-cash expense, because we do not believe it has a direct correlation to the operation of our business.
• Charitable contributions. We exclude expenses associated with charitable donations of our common stock. We believe that excluding these non-cash expenses allows investors to make more meaningful comparisons between our operating results and those of other companies.
• Shareholder matters. We exclude non-recurring charges and benefits, net of insurance recoveries, including litigation expenses, settlements and other legal, consulting and advisory fees, related to shareholder matters that are outside of the ordinary course of our business, including expenses related to a cooperation agreement. We believe these charges and benefits do not have a direct correlation to the operations of our business and may vary in size depending on the timing, results and resolution of such litigation, settlements, agreements or other shareholder matters.
• Asset impairment. We exclude non-cash charges for impairment of assets, including impairments related to internal-use software, office leases, and acquired intangible assets. Impairment charges can vary significantly in terms of amount and timing and we do not consider these charges indicative of our current or past operating performance. Moreover, we believe that excluding the effects of these charges allows investors to make more meaningful comparisons between our operating results and those of other companies.
• Change in fair value of debt conversion and warrant liabilities. We exclude fair value adjustments related to the debt conversion and warrant liabilities, which are non-cash gains or losses, as they can fluctuate significantly with changes in Zuora's stock price and market volatility, and do not reflect the underlying cash flows or operational results of the business.
• Acquisition-related expenses. We exclude acquisition-related expenses (including integration-related charges) that are not related to our ongoing operations, including expenses we incurred and gains or losses recognized on contingent consideration, related to acquisitions. We do not consider these transaction expenses as reflective of our core business or ongoing operating performance.
• Workforce reductions. We exclude charges related to workforce reduction plans, including severance, health care and related expenses. We believe these charges are not indicative of our continuing operations.

Additionally, we disclose "adjusted free cash flow", which is a non-GAAP measure that includes adjustments to operating cash flows for cash impacts related to Shareholder matters and Acquisition-related expenses described above, and net purchases of property and equipment. We include the impact of net purchases of property and equipment in our adjusted free cash flow calculation because we consider these capital expenditures to be a necessary component of our ongoing operations. We believe this measure is meaningful to investors because management reviews cash flows generated from operations excluding such expenditures that are not related to our ongoing operations.

Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. The non-GAAP measures we use may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP items excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Zuora’s Financial Outlook and other statements in this release that refer to future plans and expectations are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as “believes,” “may,” “will,” “determine,” “estimates,” “potential,” “continues,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “could,” “would,” “projects,” “plans,” “targets,” “strategy,” “likely,” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include our financial outlook for the third quarter and full year fiscal 2025. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations as of the date of this filing and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in our Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2024 as well as other documents that may be filed by us from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2024. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: our ability to attract new customers and retain and expand sales to existing customers; our ability to manage our future revenue and profitability plans effectively; adoption of monetization platform software and related solutions, as well as consumer adoption of products and services that are provided through such solutions; our ability to develop and release new products and services, or successful enhancements, new features and modifications; challenges related to growing our relationships with strategic partners; loss of key employees; our ability to compete in our markets; adverse impacts on our business and financial condition due to macroeconomic or market conditions; the impact of actions to improve operational efficiencies and operating costs; our history of net losses and ability to achieve or sustain profitability; market acceptance of our products; the success of our product development efforts; risks associated with currency exchange rate fluctuations; risks associated with our debt obligations; successful deployment of our solutions by customers after entering into a subscription agreement with us; the success of our sales and product initiatives; our security measures; our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property; interruptions or performance problems; litigation and other shareholder related costs; the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and ability to integrate operations and technology of any acquired company; geopolitical conflicts or destabilizing events; other business effects, including those related to industry, market, economic, political, regulatory and global health conditions and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. We undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

About Zuora, Inc.

Zuora provides a leading monetization suite to build, run and grow a modern business through a dynamic mix of usage-based models, subscription bundles and everything in between. From pricing and packaging, to billing, payments and revenue accounting, Zuora’s flexible, modular software platform is designed to help companies evolve monetization strategies with customer demand. More than 1,000 customers around the world, including BMC Software, Box, Caterpillar, General Motors, Penske Media Corporation, Schneider Electric and Zoom use Zuora’s leading combination of technology and expertise to turn recurring relationships and recurring revenue into recurring growth. Zuora is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in the Americas, EMEA and APAC. To learn more, please visit zuora.com.

© 2024 Zuora, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zuora, Subscribed, Subscription Economy, Powering the Subscription Economy, Subscription Economy Index, Zephr, and Subscription Experience Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zuora, Inc. Third party trademarks mentioned above are owned by their respective companies. Nothing in this press release should be construed to the contrary, or as an approval, endorsement or sponsorship by any third parties of Zuora, Inc. or any aspect of this press release.

SOURCE: ZUORA, INC.

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