Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So to me acquisitions, from my perspective, like there has to be some go forward plan that has been consistent before and companies to be consistent going forward. So that’s the rationale for the size limitation. Now Anthony, you want to speak to financing constraints or return on investment?

Anthony Folger: Yes, sure. In terms of the hurdle rate, yes, as interest rates continue to move up. It will affect our weighted average cost of capital a little bit. And it has, but I think our whack has stayed reasonably in check, probably 8.5% somewhere in that range. And I think we’ve been able to hit deals from a return perspective, probably in double digits over the past several years. So it certainly it pushes the envelope a bit. And I think as rates go up the math will tell you that multiples are going to need to come down a little bit. And that’s the way our models work, and probably a lot of other folks as well. So yes, I think the hurdle rates or the return rates may creep up, and I think they’re going to need to creep up, as long as rates stay high. And looks like that’s where they’re staying.

Operator: One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Pinjalim Bora with JPMorgan.

Unidentified Analyst : Hi, guys, this is [inaudible] on for Pinjalim. Can you help us understand the gross retention dynamics in the quarter?

Yogesh Gupta : Oh, sorry. Were you asking about gross retention dynamics in what?

Unidentified Analyst : In the quarter in Q3.

Yogesh Gupta : Oh in the quarter, yes, the overall gross retention of our products has been strong and continue to stay strong. There was no real difference between the gross retention in Q3 versus Q2 or Q1. We continue to see strong growth retention because without that, it would be tough to have net retention about 100%, right, as I’ve said many times, on many of these calls, right, our target is to sustain 100 plus percent net retention rate. And to do that, we need really solid gross retention rates. So we’ve had solid gross retention rates this quarter as well. Nothing, no real news there to be honest.

Operator: One moment for our next question. And that will come from the line of Brent Thill with Jefferies.

Antonio Venturim : Awesome. Thank you, guys for taking the question, this is Antonio Venturim for Brent Thill. I had a quick question on headcount on both the operational side, and maybe the product development side, can you just provide us with any color on plans for headcount growth this year? And sort of where you’ve been focusing your investments in? And then on the product side, are there any particular ones you want to call out in terms of having a disproportionate amount of entering our resources?

Yogesh Gupta : Sure, so a couple of things, right. We, our headcount, this year, of course, went up when we acquired MarkLogic. Right, I mean, that’s a — that was an acquisition, they came with a bunch of employees. We didn’t, of course, bring everybody on board. But a significant number of employees joined Progress because of the MarkLogic acquisition. In general, our headcount is flat, and we are not really hiring aggressively except for replacing people that turnover, right, fundamentally, we keep our headcount approximately flat, and Anthony, if you want feel free to add to that. I don’t think that from a product investment perspective, and in the R&D side, and entering side we run a very lean organization overall. And one of the ways we sustain the retention of our customers whether it is gross retention, as well as net retention, which is really remarkable, is by investing in the products, so that the products continue to get better, continue to stay competitive and stay relevant.