Guidewire Software Announces Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), the platform Property and Casualty (“P&C”) insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently, today announced its financial results for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2021.

“Third quarter ARR, total revenue, and profitability came in above expectations and we delivered eight cloud wins,” said Mike Rosenbaum, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. “I am particularly excited about our momentum on the Guidewire Cloud Platform with the recent Cortina release, which further empowers our cloud customers to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently.”

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights

Revenue

• Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 was $164.0 million, a decrease of 2% from the same quarter in fiscal year 2020. Subscription and support revenue was $64.8 million, an increase of 28%; license revenue was $50.9 million, a decrease of 19%; and services revenue was $48.2 million, a decrease of 11%.
• Annual recurring revenue, or ARR, was $538 million as of April 30, 2021, compared to $514 million as of July 31, 2020. ARR results for interim quarterly periods in fiscal year 2021 are based on currency exchange rates at the end of fiscal year 2020, held constant throughout the year.

Profitability

• GAAP loss from operations was $46.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with $25.6 million for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020.
• Non-GAAP loss from operations was $16.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with income of $5.8 million for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020.
• GAAP net loss was $36.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with $31.0 million for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020. GAAP net loss per share was $0.44, based on diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 83.6 million, compared with $0.37 for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020, based on diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 83.0 million.
• Non-GAAP net loss was $13.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, compared with net income of $7.7 million for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020. Non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.16, based on diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 83.6 million, compared with net income per share of $0.09 for the comparable period in fiscal year 2020, based on diluted weighted average shares outstanding of 83.5 million.

Liquidity

• The Company had $1.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments at April 30, 2021. The Company generated $3.2 million in cash from operations and had negative free cash flow of $16.8 million during the nine months ended April 30, 2021.
• During the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, the Company used $79.9 million to repurchase 0.8 million shares of its common stock. The Company has used $123.8 million to repurchase 1.1 million shares of its common stock since July 31, 2020.

Business Outlook

Guidewire is issuing the following outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 based on current expectations:

• ARR between $562 million and $569 million
• Total revenue between $218 million and $224 million
• Operating income (loss) between $(11) million and $(5) million
• Non-GAAP operating income (loss) between $20 million and $26 million

Guidewire is issuing the following updated outlook for fiscal year 2021 based on current expectations:

• ARR between $562 million and $569 million
• Total revenue between $732 million and $738 million
• Operating income (loss) between $(117) million and $(111) million
• Non-GAAP operating income (loss) between $14 million and $20 million
• Operating cash flow between $60 million and $70 million

Conference Call Information

The webcast will be archived on Guidewire’s website (www.guidewire.com) for a period of three months.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Metrics

This press release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP income tax provision (benefit), non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, and free cash flow. Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP income (loss) from operations exclude stock-based compensation, amortization of intangibles, and COVID-19 Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy benefits. Non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP income tax provision (benefit), and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share also exclude the amortization of debt discount and issuance costs from our convertible notes, changes in fair value of our strategic investments, and the related tax effects of the non-GAAP adjustments. Free cash flow consists of net cash flow provided by (used in) operating activities less cash used for purchases of property and equipment and capitalized software development costs. These Non-GAAP measures enable us to analyze our financial performance without the effects of certain non-cash items such as depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, and changes in fair value of strategic investments.

Annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) is used to identify the annualized recurring value of active customer contracts at the end of a reporting period. ARR includes the annualized recurring value of term licenses, subscription agreements, support contracts, and hosting agreements based on customer contracts, which may not be the same as the timing and amount of revenue recognized. All components of the licensing and other arrangements that are not expected to recur (primarily perpetual licenses and services) are excluded.

Guidewire believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to Guidewire’s financial condition and results of operations. The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP measures and other metrics to compare the Company’s performance to that of prior periods for trend analysis, for purposes of determining executive and senior management incentive compensation, and for budgeting and planning purposes. The Company believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing the Company’s financial measures with other software companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics to investors.

Management of the Company does not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principal limitation of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the Company’s financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which expenses and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. Guidewire urges investors to review the reconciliation of its non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which it includes in press releases announcing quarterly financial results, including the financial tables at the end of this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate the Company’s business.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire is the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. We combine digital, core, analytics, and AI to deliver our platform as a cloud service. More than 400 insurers, from new ventures to the largest and most complex in the world, run on Guidewire.

As a partner to our customers, we continually evolve to enable their success. We are proud of our unparalleled implementation track record, with 1,000+ successful projects, supported by the largest R&D team and partner ecosystem in the industry. Our marketplace provides hundreds of applications that accelerate integration, localization, and innovation.

For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.

NOTE: For information about Guidewire’s trademarks, visit https://www.guidewire.com/legal-notices.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding our financial outlook and our future business momentum related to Guidewire Cloud Platform. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “believe,” “hope,” “target,” “project,” “goals,” “estimate,” “potential,” “predict,” “may,” “will,” “might,” “could,” “intend,” variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond Guidewire’s control. Guidewire’s 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 Guidewire’s most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as other documents that may be filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate more than expected; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our employees and our business and the businesses of our customers, system integrator (“SI”) partners, and vendors; seasonal and other variations related to our customer agreements and related revenue recognition may cause significant fluctuations in our results of operations and cash flows; our reliance on sales to and renewals from a relatively small number of large customers for a substantial portion of our revenue; our ability to successfully manage any changes to our business model, including the transition of our products to cloud offerings and the costs related to cloud operations; our products or cloud-based services may experience data security breaches; we face intense competition in our market; our services revenue produces lower gross margins than our license, subscription and support revenue; our product development and sales cycles are lengthy and may be affected by factors outside of our control; changes in accounting guidance, such as revenue recognition, which have and may cause us to experience greater volatility in our quarterly and annual results; assertions by third parties that we violate their intellectual property rights could substantially harm our business; weakened global economic conditions may adversely affect the P&C insurance industry including the rate of information technology spending; general political or destabilizing events, including war, conflict or acts of terrorism; our ability to sell our products is highly dependent on the quality of our professional services and SI partners; the risk of losing key employees; the challenges of international operations, including changes in foreign exchange rates; and other risks and uncertainties. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Guidewire’s views as of the date of this press release. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. Guidewire undertakes 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 Guidewire’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

⁽¹⁾Amounts include stock-based compensation expense as follows:

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