Q2 Holdings, Inc. (QTWO)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7372 Services-Prepackaged Software
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1410384. Latest filing source: 0001410384-26-000006.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read QTWO's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read QTWO's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 794,809,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-11 |
| Net income | 52,008,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-11 |
| Assets | 1,276,277,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-11 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-11. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001410384.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 150,224,000 | 193,978,000 | 241,100,000 | 315,484,000 | 402,751,000 | 498,720,000 | 565,673,000 | 624,624,000 | 696,464,000 | 794,809,000 |
| Net income | -36,354,000 | -26,164,000 | -35,397,000 | -70,877,000 | -137,620,000 | -112,746,000 | -108,983,000 | -65,384,000 | -38,536,000 | 52,008,000 |
| Operating income | -35,718,000 | -26,907,000 | -31,850,000 | -66,746,000 | -99,833,000 | -77,995,000 | -104,761,000 | -86,057,000 | -42,263,000 | 39,897,000 |
| Gross profit | 72,795,000 | 94,493,000 | 119,245,000 | 152,999,000 | 174,599,000 | 225,035,000 | 256,345,000 | 302,651,000 | 354,481,000 | 429,683,000 |
| Diluted EPS | -1.53 | -2.65 | -2.00 | -1.90 | -1.12 | -0.64 | 0.80 | |||
| Operating cash flow | 3,394,000 | 9,472,000 | 4,595,000 | 567,000 | -2,938,000 | 31,092,000 | 36,556,000 | 70,292,000 | 135,751,000 | 201,461,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 14,349,000 | 12,315,000 | 13,285,000 | 13,860,000 | 23,715,000 | 19,754,000 | 11,142,000 | 5,673,000 | 6,692,000 | 6,810,000 |
| Share buybacks | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5,000,000 | |||||||
| Assets | 200,980,000 | 212,815,000 | 463,720,000 | 1,009,434,000 | 1,416,702,000 | 1,385,045,000 | 1,349,726,000 | 1,201,425,000 | 1,294,795,000 | 1,276,277,000 |
| Liabilities | 100,745,000 | 106,193,000 | 304,820,000 | 630,022,000 | 773,338,000 | 814,749,000 | 930,702,000 | 752,946,000 | 776,999,000 | 614,466,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 100,235,000 | 106,622,000 | 158,900,000 | 379,412,000 | 643,364,000 | 570,296,000 | 419,024,000 | 448,479,000 | 517,796,000 | 661,811,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 54,873,000 | 57,961,000 | 108,341,000 | 100,094,000 | 407,703,000 | 322,848,000 | 199,600,000 | 229,655,000 | 358,560,000 | 367,631,000 |
| Free cash flow | -10,955,000 | -2,843,000 | -8,690,000 | -13,293,000 | -26,653,000 | 11,338,000 | 25,414,000 | 64,619,000 | 129,059,000 | 194,651,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -24.20% | -13.49% | -14.68% | -22.47% | -34.17% | -22.61% | -19.27% | -10.47% | -5.53% | 6.54% |
| Operating margin | -23.78% | -13.87% | -13.21% | -21.16% | -24.79% | -15.64% | -18.52% | -13.78% | -6.07% | 5.02% |
| Return on equity | -36.27% | -24.54% | -22.28% | -18.68% | -21.39% | -19.77% | -26.01% | -14.58% | -7.44% | 7.86% |
| Return on assets | -18.09% | -12.29% | -7.63% | -7.02% | -9.71% | -8.14% | -8.07% | -5.44% | -2.98% | 4.07% |
| Liabilities / equity | 1.01 | 1.00 | 1.92 | 1.66 | 1.20 | 1.43 | 2.22 | 1.68 | 1.50 | 0.93 |
| Current ratio | 2.12 | 1.93 | 2.96 | 1.40 | 4.23 | 3.10 | 2.77 | 2.23 | 1.40 | 1.02 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax; source concepts us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | Gross profit: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept NetIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001410384-26-000006; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001410384-26-000006; filed 2026-02-11. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-04-29. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001410384.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.44 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.48 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | -0.01 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 154,531,000 | -23,622,000 | -0.41 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 154,967,000 | -23,167,000 | -0.40 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 162,118,000 | -18,079,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 165,508,000 | -13,843,000 | -0.23 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 172,890,000 | -13,060,000 | -0.22 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 175,021,000 | -11,797,000 | -0.20 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 183,045,000 | 164,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 189,735,000 | 4,753,000 | 0.07 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 195,148,000 | 11,764,000 | 0.18 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 201,704,000 | 15,048,000 | 0.23 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 208,222,000 | 20,443,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 216,506,000 | 26,639,000 | 0.40 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001410384-26-000037; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001410384-26-000037; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001410384-26-000037; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001410384-26-000037.
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our other SEC filings, including the audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, which are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2026. In addition to historical condensed consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, particularly in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements," and the risk factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on February 11, 2026, which include a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. The following discussion and analysis also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a description and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures discussed in this section, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Overview
We are a leading provider of digital solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, and alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, seeking to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with account holders and retail and commercial End Users. Digital financial services are highly regulated, subject to extensive and evolving supervisory, consumer protection, privacy and third‑party risk management requirements, and security is paramount, as providers must protect sensitive financial data and funds and defend against continually evolving cyber threats and fraud. Providers must also manage significant technical and operational complexity to deliver consistent, compliant experiences across channels, devices and third‑party integrations while integrating with core systems, legacy infrastructure and multiple third‑party service providers, all while maintaining high availability and resiliency. We deliver these solutions through a unified, cloud-based software platform purpose-built for the complex, regulated financial services industry, enabling scalable and highly configurable digital financial experiences. Our solutions comprise a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking offerings, digital lending and relationship pricing solutions, risk and fraud solutions, Q2 Innovation Studio and Helix.
Delivering advanced digital solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry requires significant resources, personnel and expertise. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. Our platform architecture supports modular innovation and enables customers and partners to deploy new capabilities efficiently while maintaining operational resilience and compliance. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver a unified financial experience across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific offerings, workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
Founded over 21 years ago, Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to domestic regional and community financial institutions, or RCFIs. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of innovation, broad market adoption of our solutions, strategic investments and acquisitions. As customer needs and technology architectures have evolved, we have expanded our solution portfolio to address a broader set of mission-critical technology, data and operational requirements across the financial services value chain. Our expanded collection of solutions now spans digital banking, digital lending and relationship pricing, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, account switching, data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management, and also includes our open platform solutions as well as our core and BaaS offerings. We serve account holders and borrowers across retail, small to medium business, or SMBs, and commercial segments. While we continue to generate a substantial majority of our revenue from our digital banking platform, we are actively leveraging our broader product portfolio and deep domain expertise to expand our market presence. This strategy includes seeking to further penetrate the digital banking market and drive significant growth across our diverse customer base in the broader financial services sector, while opening up new and meaningful expansion opportunities for our business.
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Table of Contents
The financial services industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by the growing demand within financial institutions to digitize their operations and offerings, as well as the rise of FinTechs and Alt-FIs, which are reshaping End-User expectations for more innovative and engaging digital financial experiences. At the same time, advancements in data analytics, automation, and AI are increasing the importance of modern, fast, flexible technology platforms that can support innovation while meeting stringent regulatory, security and resiliency requirements. These shifts are leading to new roles and interdependencies among financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs, necessitating new technology, partnerships, and business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that are capable of supporting and embracing these market dynamics. We have developed a comprehensive suite of offerings to accelerate and optimize this transformation for our customers, ranging from digitizing entire banks to facilitating partnerships between financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs.
We offer our solutions to most of our customers using a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users, as defined in "Key Operating Measures" below, or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of End Users on our solutions, the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions and the excess number of users and transactions above what is included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, digital banking platform revenues generally increase as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of Registered Users and companies utilizing our solutions and as those retail users and companies increase their number of transactions on our solutions. Our risk and fraud solutions can be sold as part of, or alongside, our digital banking platform, while some solutions may be sold on a standalone basis and are generally monetized through subscription-based arrangements recognized over the term of the applicable customer agreements. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. This combination of subscription-based and usage-based revenue models aligns pricing with customer adoption and platform utilization.
We believe we have the opportunity to continue to grow our business and that the investments we are making are positioning us to continue to realize revenue growth and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of any associated benefit. If we are successful in growing our revenues by selling additional innovative solutions to existing customers and creating deeper End-User engagement, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We primarily sell our solutions through our direct sales organization. While the financial institution market is well-defined due to the regulatory classification of financial institutions, the markets for FinTechs and other financial services providers are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address opportunities in the financial institution, FinTech and Alt-FI markets and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since we introduced it in 2005. We intend to continue investing organically and to selectively pursue acquisitions of and strategic investments in technologies that will strengthen and expand the features and functionality of our solutions and provide access to new customers and markets. We have also acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs and Alt-FIs. Our portfolio of digital solutions includes a comprehensive suite of offerings for retail, SMB and commercial banking, onboarding, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, digital lending and relationship pricing, open platform solutions, BaaS, account switching and data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management solutions, among others. Q2 Innovation Studio, an application program interface, or API, and software development kit, or SDK, bas
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" above for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. The following discussion and analysis also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a description and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures discussed in this section, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Overview
We are a leading provider of digital solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, and alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, seeking to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with account holders and retail and commercial End Users. Digital financial services are highly regulated, subject to extensive and evolving supervisory, consumer protection, privacy and third‑party risk management requirements, and security is paramount, as providers must protect sensitive financial data and funds and defend against continually evolving cyber threats and fraud. Providers must also manage significant technical and operational complexity to deliver consistent, compliant experiences across channels, devices and third‑party integrations while integrating with core systems, legacy infrastructure and multiple third‑party service providers, all while maintaining high availability and resiliency. We deliver these solutions through a unified, cloud-based software platform purpose-built for the complex, regulated financial services industry, enabling scalable and highly configurable digital financial experiences. Our solutions comprise a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking offerings, digital lending and relationship pricing solutions, risk and fraud solutions, Q2 Innovation Studio and Helix.
Delivering advanced digital solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry requires significant resources, personnel and expertise. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. Our platform architecture supports modular innovation and enables customers and partners to deploy new capabilities efficiently while maintaining operational resilience and compliance. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver a unified financial experience across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific offerings, workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
Founded over 21 years ago, Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to domestic regional and community financial institutions, or RCFIs. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of innovation, broad market adoption of our solutions, strategic investments and acquisitions. As customer needs and technology architectures have evolved, we have expanded our solution portfolio to address a broader set of mission-critical technology, data and operational requirements across the financial services value chain. Our expanded collection of solutions now spans digital banking, digital lending and relationship pricing, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, account switching, data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management, and also includes our open platform solutions as well as our core and BaaS offerings. We serve account holders and borrowers across retail, SMBs and commercial segments. While we continue to generate a substantial majority of our revenue from our digital banking platform, we are actively leveraging our broader product portfolio and deep domain expertise to expand our market presence. This strategy includes seeking to further penetrate the digital banking market and drive significant growth across our diverse customer base in the broader financial services sector, while opening up new and meaningful expansion opportunities for our business.
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The financial services industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by the growing demand within financial institutions to digitize their operations and offerings, as well as the rise of FinTechs and Alt-FIs, which are reshaping End-User expectations for more innovative and engaging digital financial experiences. At the same time, advancements in data analytics, automation, and AI are increasing the importance of modern, fast, flexible technology platforms that can support innovation while meeting stringent regulatory, security and resiliency requirements. These shifts are leading to new roles and interdependencies among financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs, necessitating new technology, partnerships, and business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that are capable of supporting and embracing these market dynamics. We have developed a comprehensive suite of offerings to accelerate and optimize this transformation for our customers, ranging from digitizing entire banks to facilitating partnerships between financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs.
We offer our solutions to most of our customers using a SaaS model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users, as defined in "Key Operating Measures" below, or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of End Users on our solutions, the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions and the excess number of users and transactions above what is included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, digital banking platform revenues generally increase as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of Registered Users and companies utilizing our solutions and as those retail users and companies increase their number of transactions on our solutions. Our risk and fraud solutions can be sold as part of, or alongside, our digital banking platform, while some solutions may be sold on a standalone basis and are generally monetized through subscription-based arrangements recognized over the term of the applicable customer agreements. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. This combination of subscription-based and usage-based revenue models aligns pricing with customer adoption and platform utilization.
We believe we have the opportunity to continue to grow our business and that the investments we are making are positioning us to continue to realize revenue growth and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of any associated benefit. If we are successful in growing our revenues by selling additional innovative solutions to existing customers and creating deeper End-User engagement, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We primarily sell our solutions through our direct sales organization. While the financial institution market is well-defined due to the regulatory classification of financial institutions, the markets for FinTechs and other financial services providers are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address opportunities in the financial institution, FinTech and Alt-FI markets and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since we introduced it in 2005. We intend to continue investing organically and to selectively pursue acquisitions of and strategic investments in technologies that will strengthen and expand the features and functionality of our solutions and provide access to new customers and markets. We have also acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs and Alt-FIs. Our portfolio of digital solutions includes a comprehensive suite of offerings for retail, SMB and commercial banking, onboarding, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, digital lending and relationship pricing, open platform solutions, BaaS, account switching and data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management solutions, among others. Q2 Innovation Studio, an API and SDK-based open technology platform, allows our financial institution customers and other partners to develop unique extensions of and integrations to our digital banking platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly and easily deploy customized experiences and the latest financial services expected by End Users. We believe our portfolio, which reflects years of strategic development and innovation, affords us a distinct competitive advantage across multiple market segments.
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We believe that financial services providers are best served by a broad portfolio of digital solutions offering rapid, flexible and comprehensive integration with internal and third-party solutions enabling them to deliver modern, intuitive, advanced and regulatory-compliant digital solutions. We also believe our unique position in the market stems from the breadth and depth of our solution offerings and customer base, our open and flexible platform approach, our position as a leading provider of digital banking solutions to a large network of financial institutions, and our expertise in delivering new, advanced, innovative and regulatory-compliant digital solutions. These strengths allow us to address the evolving needs and challenges within the financial services industry, as we continually innovate and adapt our offerings to meet the changing demands of our customers and their End Users. We intend to continue to make investments in technology innovation and software development to enhance our existing solutions and platforms while expanding our product portfolio.
As our business grows, we intend to continue to invest in and grow our services and delivery organization to support our customers' needs, help them through their digital transformation, deliver our solutions in a timely and effective manner and maintain our strong reputation. We believe that delivery of consistent, high-quality customer support is a significant driver of purchasing and renewal decisions of our prospects and customers. To develop and maintain a reputation for high-quality service, we seek to build deep relationships with our customers through our customer service organization, which we staff with personnel who are motivated by our common mission of using technology to help our customers succeed and who are knowledgeable with respect to the regulated and complex nature of the financial services industry.
Share Repurchase Program
In October 2025, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program, or the Repurchase Program, that authorizes us to repurchase up to $150.0 million of our common stock. The Repurchase Program permits shares of common stock to be repurchased from time to time at management's discretion, through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including accelerated share repurchase transactions, block trades or pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. The timing and number of shares of common stock repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the market price of our common stock, general business and market conditions, alternative investment opportunities and funding considerations. The Repurchase Program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific number or dollar amount of shares and has no expiration date. The Repurchase Program may be modified, suspended or terminated by our Board of Directors at any time.
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Key Operating Measures
In addition to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, measures described below in "Components of Operating Results," we monitor the following operating measures to evaluate growth trends, plan investments and measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
Customer Accounts
We track Customer Accounts across key solutions to provide insight into the scale, breadth and mix of our contractual customer relationships across our portfolio of solutions. A Customer Account represents an organization or business entity with a contractual commitment for a specific Q2 solution, whether or not that solution is live, as of the last day of the reporting period presented. Because many customers have contractual commitments for multiple solutions, a single customer may be represented across multiple offerings, and as a result, Customer Accounts by solution overlap and do not represent unique customers when aggregated. Customer Account totals are presented as approximate figures, rounded to the nearest increment of 50, due to the complexity of multi-solution customer relationships and overlapping contractual arrangements. These figures are intended to provide directional insight into the breadth and mix of our customer relationships rather than precise customer counts. Customer Account levels may vary over time based on the timing of new customer agreements, expansion of existing customer relationships into additional solutions, customer attrition and consolidation activity among our customers. In particular, merger and acquisition activity within our customer base may result in a reduction in the number of Customer Accounts for certain solutions, including in cases where we continue to serve the combined organization and retain the underlying contractual relationships, End Users, and associated revenues. As of December 31, 2025, we had the following approximate, Customer Account totals across our key solutions (rounded to the nearest increment of 50), reflecting solution-specific contractual relationships that may include multiple Customer Accounts associated with a single customer:
•500 Digital Banking Customer Accounts, including:
▪450 utilizing Consumer Digital Banking functionality
▪300 utilizing Commercial Digital Banking functionality
▪50 utilizing SMB Digital Banking functionality
•850 Risk & Fraud Customer Accounts
•150 Relationship Pricing Customer Accounts
•100 Digital Lending Customer Accounts
•50 Helix Customer Accounts
Registered Users
We define a Registered User as an individual associated with an account holder of a customer with an active consumer digital banking solution who has registered to use one or more of our digital banking solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. Growth in Registered Users is driven by expansion within existing customer relationships, increased adoption of digital banking services by end users and the addition of new customers. Over time, we expect the number of Registered Users to grow at a faster rate than the number of related Customer Accounts as customers increase penetration across their user bases, although growth may fluctuate from period to period. Our customers had approximately 27.3 million, 24.7 million and 22.0 million Registered Users as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Net Revenue Retention Rates
We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our products and services over time is an indicator of the stability of our revenue base and the long-term value of our customer relationships. One of the ways we assess our performance in this area is through our net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate, or collectively our net revenue retention rates. We calculate our net revenue retention rate as the total revenues in a calendar year, excluding any revenues from acquired customers during such year, from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of the total revenues during the prior year from the same group of customers. Similarly, we calculate our subscription net revenue retention rate as total subscription revenues in a calendar year from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of total subscription revenues for the prior year from the same group of customers. Our net revenue retention rates provide insight into the impact on current year revenues of: the number of new customers implemented on any of our solutions during the prior year; the timing of our implementation of those new customers in the prior year; growth in the number of End Users
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on such solutions and changes in their usage of such solutions; and sales of new products and services to our existing customers during the current year, excluding any products or services resulting from businesses acquired during such year and customer attrition. The most significant drivers of changes in our net revenue retention rates each year have historically been the number of new customers in the prior year and the timing of our implementation of those new customers. The timing of our implementation of new customers in the prior year is significant because we do not start recognizing revenues from new customers until they are implemented. As an example, if implementations are weighted more heavily in the first or second half of the prior year, both our net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate will be lower or higher, respectively, in the subsequent year. Our use of net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate have limitations as analytical tools, and investors should not consider them in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate net revenue retention rates differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure. Our net revenue retention rate was 113%, 109% and 108% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and our subscription net revenue retention rate was 115%, 114% and 112% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Annualized Recurring Revenue
We believe Subscription Annual Recurring Revenue, or Subscription ARR, and Total Annual Recurring Revenue, or Total ARR, provide important information about our future revenue potential and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients. We calculate Subscription ARR as the annualized value of all recurring subscription revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Subscription ARR also includes the contracted minimum subscription amounts associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced. Subscription revenues are defined within "Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates." We calculate Total ARR as the annualized value of all recurring revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Total ARR also includes the contracted minimums associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced, and revenue generated from Integrated Services. Integrated Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them, which we deem to be recurring in nature. Total ARR does not include revenue from professional services or other sources of revenue that are not deemed to be recurring in nature. Subscription and Total ARR are not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates. Subscription and Total ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as Subscription and Total ARR are operating metrics and are not intended to be combined with or replace these items. Our use of Subscription and Total ARR has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate Subscription ARR and Total ARR differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Our Subscription ARR was $780.1 million, $681.9 million and $593.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our Total ARR was $921.4 million, $824.2 million and $734.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Revenue Churn
We utilize revenue churn to monitor the satisfaction of our customers and evaluate the effectiveness of our business solutions and strategies. We define revenue churn as the amount of any monthly recurring revenue losses due to customer cancellations and downgrades, net of upgrades and replacements of existing solutions, during a year, divided by our monthly recurring revenue at the end of the prior year. Cancellations refer to customers that have either stopped using our services completely or remained a customer but terminated a particular service. Downgrades are a result of customers taking less of a particular service or renewing their contract for identical services at a lower price. We had annual revenue churn of 5.2%, 4.4% and 6.1% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our use of revenue churn has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate revenue churn differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures to clarify and enhance our understanding, and aid in the period-to-period comparison, of our performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information that is meaningful when assessing our operating performance because they exclude the impact of certain categories that our management and board of directors do not consider part of core operating results when assessing our operational performance, allocating resources, preparing annual budgets and determining compensation. Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures may provide insight to investors into the motivation and decision-making of management in operating the business. Set forth in the tables below are the corresponding GAAP financial measures for each non-GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most comparable GAAP financial measure included below. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, their most comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in their financing and accounting methods, the book value of their assets, their capital structures, the method by which their assets were acquired and the manner in which they define non-GAAP measures. Items such as the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, lease and other restructuring charges and non-recurring legal settlements can have a material impact on our GAAP financial results. Beginning in the year ended December 31, 2024, because there was no impact of purchase accounting on revenue, our non-GAAP total revenue is now equivalent to our GAAP total revenue.
Non-GAAP Revenue
We define non-GAAP revenue as total revenue excluding the impact of purchase accounting. We monitor these measures to assess our performance because we believe our revenue growth rates would be understated without these adjustments. We believe presenting non-GAAP revenue aids in the comparability between periods and in assessing our overall operating performance. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, there was no impact of purchase accounting on revenue, and our non-GAAP total revenue is now equivalent to our GAAP total revenue. The following table presents a reconciliation of GAAP revenue to non-GAAP revenue for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| GAAP revenue | $ | 794,809 | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,624 | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | — | 344 | ||||||||
| Total Non-GAAP revenue | $ | 794,809 | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,968 |
Non-GAAP Operating Income
We provide non-GAAP operating income that excludes such items as deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, lease and other restructuring charges and non-recurring legal settlements. There was no deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting in either of twelve months ended December 31, 2025 or 2024. We believe excluding these items is useful for the following reasons:
•Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We believe that the exclusion of deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations.
•Amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to purchased technology and intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We believe that eliminating these expenses from our non-GAAP measures is useful to investors, because the amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisition transactions, which also vary in frequency from period to period. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period, both with and without such expenses.
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•Stock-based compensation. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to stock-based compensation. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense provides for a better comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies as the calculations of stock-based compensation vary from period to period and company to company due to different valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation, we exclude these expenses when analyzing the organization's business performance.
•Transaction-related costs. We exclude certain expense items resulting from our evaluation and completion of merger and acquisition and divestiture opportunities, such as related legal, accounting and consulting fees and retention expense. We consider these adjustments, to some extent, to be unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are outside of our control. Furthermore, transaction-related activities result in operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude transaction-related costs allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of less acquisitive peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Lease and other restructuring charges. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes restructuring charges related to the estimated costs of exiting and terminating facility lease commitments, partially offset by anticipated sublease income, and any related impairments of the right of use assets as they relate to corporate restructuring and exit activities. It also excludes severance cash payouts and other related compensation associated with restructuring, departure of executive officers or eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value. These charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of these events. Therefore, although we may incur these types of expenses in the future, we believe that eliminating these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
•Non-recurring legal settlements. We exclude certain legal settlement costs that we deem not to be in the ordinary course of our business operations ("non-recurring legal settlements"). In March 2025, the Company entered into a settlement agreement to settle a dispute with a former commercial real estate broker related to commissions for the lease of its current headquarters, pursuant to which the Company paid $1.8 million to settle the matter in full. We believe excluding this amount from our non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful insight and allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results to peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
The following table presents a reconciliation of GAAP operating income (loss) to non-GAAP operating income for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| GAAP operating income (loss) | $ | 39,897 | $ | (42,263) | $ | (86,057) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | — | 344 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 86,949 | 89,215 | 79,188 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 166 | — | 24 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 21,049 | 22,016 | 23,402 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 93 | 16,979 | 20,667 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 4,478 | 9,517 | 12,092 | ||||||||
| Non-recurring legal settlements | 1,750 | — | — | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP operating income | $ | 154,382 | $ | 95,464 | $ | 49,660 |
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Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, depreciation, amortization, lease and other restructuring charges, non-recurring legal settlements, provision for income taxes, gain on extinguishment of debt and interest and other (income) expense, net. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
•adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company's operating performance with and without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
•our management uses adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our operating performance, to assess the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance;
•adjusted EBITDA provides more consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of our operations and also facilitates comparisons with other companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results; and
•our investor and analyst presentations include adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our overall operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations such as:
•depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, and the assets being depreciated or amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
•adjusted EBITDA may not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest or tax payments that could reduce cash available for use; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these and other limitations, investors and others should consider adjusted EBITDA together with our GAAP financial measures including cash flow from operations and net income (loss). The following table presents a reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA: | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 52,008 | $ | (38,536) | $ | (65,384) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | — | 344 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 86,949 | 89,215 | 79,188 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 166 | — | 24 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 53,424 | 68,809 | 71,707 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 4,478 | 9,517 | 12,092 | ||||||||
| Non-recurring legal settlements | 1,750 | — | — | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2,717 | 7,676 | 3,562 | ||||||||
| Gain on extinguishment of debt | — | — | (19,869) | ||||||||
| Interest and other income, net | (14,978) | (11,343) | (4,724) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 186,514 | $ | 125,338 | $ | 76,940 |
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Components of Operating Results
Revenues
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our hosted solutions, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and remote deposit products, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees. We recognize the corresponding revenues over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term or as incurred based on the nature of the revenue. A small portion of our revenues are derived from customers which host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. For these customers, we recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term, and recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license.
Subscription fees are based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the number of End Users using the solutions and other usage fees those users generate by using our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. Subscription fees are billed monthly, quarterly or annually and are recognized monthly over the term of our customer agreements. The initial term of our digital banking platform agreements averages over five years, although it varies by customer. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. This combination of subscription-based and usage-based revenue models aligns pricing with customer adoption and platform utilization. We begin recognizing subscription fees when the control of the service transfers to the customer, generally when the solution is implemented and made available to the customer. We recognize revenue for debit card and bill-pay related transaction services when End Users utilize debit card services integrated within our Helix and other payment-service solutions in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions. The timing of our implementations varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. We typically recognize any related implementation services revenues ratably over the initial customer agreement term beginning on the date we commence recognizing subscription fees. Contract asset balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable, and in revenues or deferred revenues, depending on when control of the service transfers to the customer.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, for employees providing services to our customers. This includes the costs of our personnel performing implementations and customer support. Cost of revenues also includes third-party public cloud service providers, the direct costs of bill-pay and other third-party intellectual property included in our solutions, third-party public cloud service providers, the amortization of deferred solution and services costs, amortization of certain software development costs, debit card related pass-through fees, an allocation of general overhead costs, the amortization of acquired technology intangibles, referral fees, co-location facility costs and depreciation of our data center assets. We allocate general overhead expenses to all departments based on the number of employees in each department, which we consider to be a fair and representative means of allocation.
We capitalize certain personnel costs directly related to the implementation of our solutions to the extent those costs are recoverable from future revenues. We amortize the capitalized implementation costs once revenue recognition commences, and we amortize those implementation costs to cost of revenues over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology. Other costs not directly recoverable from future revenues are expensed in the period incurred.
We capitalize certain software development costs for those employees who are directly associated with and who devote time to developing our software solutions on an individual product basis, including those related to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams, as well as third-party development costs. Software development costs are amortized to cost of revenues when products and enhancements are released or made available over the products' estimated economic lives.
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Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consist of sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses. They also include costs related to our acquisitions and the resulting amortization of acquired intangible assets from those acquisitions. Over the long term, we intend to continue to hire new employees and make other investments to support our anticipated growth, and as a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues over the long term as we grow our business.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including commissions, employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to advertising, lead generation, promotional events, corporate communications, travel and allocated overhead.
Research and Development
We believe that continuing to improve and enhance our solutions is essential to maintaining our reputation for innovation and growing our customer base and revenues. Research and development expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, third-party contractor expenses, software development costs, allocated overhead and other related expenses incurred in developing new solutions and enhancing existing solutions.
Certain research and development costs that are related to our software development, which include salaries and other personnel-related costs, comprised of employee benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams working on our software solutions, are capitalized and included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, compliance and security, legal, human resources employees and the majority of our executive team. General and administrative expenses also include consulting and professional fees, travel and other corporate expenses to comply with regulations governing public companies and financial institutions.
Transaction-Related Costs
Transaction-related costs include various legal and professional service expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture related matters, which are recognized when incurred.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles represents the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection with our business acquisitions which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of certain facilities, any related impairment of the right of use assets and ongoing expenses of other vacated facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from the associated facilities. It also includes severance cash payouts and other related compensation associated with restructuring, departure of executive officers or eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value.
Total Other Income, Net
Total other income, net, consists primarily of interest income and expense, other non-operating income and expense, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, foreign currency translation adjustment and gain on extinguishment of debt. We earn interest income on our cash, cash equivalents and investments. Interest expense consists primarily of the interest from the amortization of debt issuance costs, coupon interest attributable to our convertible notes, commitment fees and interest associated with our Revolving Credit Agreement, as well as fees and interest associated with the letter of credit issued to our landlord for the security deposit for our corporate headquarters.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our income tax expenses and benefits consist primarily of federal, state, and international current and deferred income tax expense from global operations.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results might differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we believe that the accounting policies discussed below involve the greatest degree of complexity and exercise of significant judgments and estimates by our management. The methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations and, accordingly, we believe the policies described below are the most critical for understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services over the term of the agreement, generally when our solutions are implemented and made available to our customers. The promised consideration may include fixed amounts, variable amounts or both. Revenues are recognized net of sales credits and allowances.
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our hosted solutions, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and remote deposit products, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees.
Subscription Revenues
Our software solutions are available for use as hosted application arrangements under subscription fee agreements without licensing rights to the software. Subscription fees from these applications, including contractual periodic price increases, are recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term beginning on the date our solution is made available to the customer. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and deferred revenues or revenues, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Periodic price increases are estimated at contract inception where appropriate and result in contract assets as revenue recognition may exceed the amount billed early in the contract. Additional fees for monthly usage above the levels included in the standard subscription fee are recognized as revenue in the month when the usage amounts are determined and reported.
A small portion of our customers host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. Term licenses sold with maintenance entitle the customer to technical support, upgrades and updates to the software on a when-and-if-available basis. For these customers, we recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term, and recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license. Revenues from term licenses and maintenance agreements were not significant in the periods presented.
Transactional Revenues
We generate a majority of our transactional revenues based on the number of bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform, from third-party fees related to End Users utilizing remote deposit products and from fees generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Helix products. We recognize revenue for transaction services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions.
Services and Other Revenues
Implementation services are required for new digital solutions and other standalone contracts, and there is a significant level of integration and configuration for each customer. Our revenue for implementation services is billed upfront and generally recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer's term for our hosted application agreements. Implementation services for on-premises agreements are recognized at commencement date. Under certain circumstances, we have determined that these implementation services qualify as a separate performance obligation in certain markets and geographies, and the implementation services for these agreements are recognized over time as services are performed.
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Professional services revenues consist primarily of Integrated Services. Integrated Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services, resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them. Professional services revenues also consist of custom services, core conversion services and other general professional services. These revenues are generally billed and recognized when delivered. Other Revenues also include certain third-party related pass-through fees primarily in our Helix business that are not transactional in nature.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses billed to customers are recorded as revenues rather than an offset to the related expense.
Significant Judgments
Performance Obligations and Standalone Selling Price
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a good or service to the customer and is the unit of accounting. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment. We have contracts with customers that often include multiple performance obligations, usually including multiple subscription and implementation services. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations that are separately identifiable by allocating the contract's total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the relative standalone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct good or service in the contract. In determining whether implementation services are distinct from subscription services, we considered various factors including the significant level of integration, interdependency, and interrelation between the implementation and subscription service, as well as the inability of the customer's personnel or other service providers to perform significant portions of the services. We have concluded that the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations across the majority of our markets and product offerings are not distinct and, as a result, we defer any arrangement fees for implementation services and recognize such amounts over time on a ratable basis as one performance obligation with the underlying subscription revenue for the initial agreement term of the hosted application agreements. We have concluded that for some of our products in certain markets the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct and, as a result, we recognize implementation fees on such arrangements over time as services are performed.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a particular point in time is for usage revenue, on-premise software licenses and certain professional services. These services are recognized as the customer obtains control of the asset, as services are performed, or the point the customer obtains control of the software.
Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We determine SSP based on overall pricing objectives and strategies, taking into consideration entity-specific factors, including the value of our contracts, historical standalone sales, customer demographics and the numbers and types of users within our contracts.
Variable Consideration
We recognize usage revenue related to End Users accessing our products in excess of contracted amounts and from fees that End Users generate using our solutions. Judgment is required to determine the accounting for these types of revenue. We consider various factors including the degree to which usage is interdependent or interrelated to past services and contractual price per user and their relationship to market terms. We have concluded that our usage revenue relates specifically to the transfer of the service to the customer and is consistent with the allocation objective of Topic 606 when considering all of the performance obligations and payment terms in the contract. Therefore, we recognize usage revenue on a monthly or quarterly basis in accordance with the agreement, as determined and reported. This allocation reflects the amount we expect to receive for the services for the given period.
We sometimes provide credits or incentives to our customers. Known and estimable credits and incentives represent a form of variable consideration, which are estimated at contract inception and generally result in reductions to revenues recognized for a particular contract. These estimates are updated at the end of each reporting period as additional information becomes available. We believe that there will not be significant changes to our estimates of variable consideration as of December 31, 2025.
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Other Considerations
We evaluate whether we are the principal (i.e., report revenues on a gross basis) or agent (i.e., report revenues on a net basis) with respect to the vendor reseller agreements pursuant to which we resell certain third-party solutions along with our solutions. Generally, we report revenues from these types of contracts on a gross basis, meaning the amounts billed to customers are recorded as revenues, and expenses incurred are recorded as cost of revenues. Where we are the principal, we first obtain control of the inputs to the specific good or service and direct their use to create the combined output. Our control is evidenced by our involvement in the integration of the good or service on our platform before it is transferred to our customers and is further supported by us being primarily responsible to our customers and having a level of discretion in establishing pricing. Revenues provided from agreements in which we are an agent are not significant but may increase over time as we expand our relationships with additional third-party solutions.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation consists of restricted stock units, or RSUs, performance-based restricted stock units, and purchase rights under our employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, and is used to compensate employees, directors and consultants. All awards are measured at fair value on grant date and forfeitures are recognized as they occur.
We value RSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. RSUs typically vest in equal installments over a four-year period and compensation expense is recognized straight-line over the requisite service period.
We value purchase rights under the ESPP using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs including the risk-free interest rate, expected term and expected volatility and we assume no dividend yield. Our ESPP has two six-month offering periods which commence on each June 1 and December 1. We recognize compensation expense straight-line over the withholding period for the ESPP.
We grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our total stockholder return, or TSR, performance relative to the TSR performance of specified stock indexes, or TSR PSUs, and previously referred to as Market Stock Units, or MSUs. We value TSR PSUs and MSUs on grant date using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The determination of fair value is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions including the expected volatility and the risk-free interest rate. Our expected volatility at the date of grant is based on the historical volatilities of our stock and peer firms' stocks and the Index over the performance period. We assume no dividend yield and recognize compensation expense ratably over the performance period of the award, as applicable. The number of TSR PSUs and MSUs that vest is based on actual TSR relative to the TSR benchmark as set forth in the award agreement. The minimum percentage that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. TSR PSUs will vest over a three-year performance period. We recognize compensation expense using the graded attribution method on a straight-line basis over the performance period for each award, as applicable.
We also grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our attainment of Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of non-GAAP Revenue relative to a target specified in the applicable agreement, or EBITDA PSUs. We value EBITDA PSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. The minimum percentage of EBITDA PSUs that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. The vesting of EBITDA PSUs is conditioned upon the achievement of certain internal targets and will vest over a two-year and three-year performance period. We recognize compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method over the performance period, if it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. Adjustments to compensation expense are made each reporting period based on changes in our estimate of the number of EBITDA PSUs that are probable of vesting.
Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
The purchase price allocation for business combinations and asset acquisitions requires extensive use of accounting estimates and judgments to allocate the purchase price to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. We determine whether substantially all the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If this threshold is met, the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, is not a business. If it is not met, we determine whether the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, meets the definition of a business.
In connection with our business combinations, we recorded certain intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Amounts allocated to the acquired intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives. We periodically review the estimated useful lives and fair values of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances which might result in a diminished fair value or revised useful life.
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The excess purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. We test goodwill for impairment annually in October, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Because we operate as a single reporting unit, the impairment test is performed at the consolidated entity level by comparing our estimated fair value to our carrying value. We estimate the fair value of the reporting unit using a "step one" analysis using a fair-value-based approach based on market capitalization to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Determining the fair value of goodwill is subjective in nature and often involves the use of estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, use of estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast. If actual results, or the plans and estimates used in future impairment analyses are lower than the original estimates used to assess the recoverability of these assets, we could incur impairment charges in a future period.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets such as property and equipment, acquired intangible assets, capitalized software development costs and right of use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of our long-lived assets by comparing the carrying amount of the asset group to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the carrying value is not recoverable, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our results of operations data for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Revenues (1) | $ | 794,809 | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,624 | |||||
| Cost of revenues (2) | 365,126 | 341,983 | 321,973 | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 429,683 | 354,481 | 302,651 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 105,858 | 105,951 | 109,522 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 154,330 | 143,244 | 137,334 | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 125,513 | 122,942 | 110,186 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 166 | — | 24 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 93 | 16,979 | 20,667 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 3,826 | 7,628 | 10,975 | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 389,786 | 396,744 | 388,708 | ||||||||
| Income (loss) from operations | 39,897 | (42,263) | (86,057) | ||||||||
| Total other income, net(3) | 14,828 | 11,403 | 24,235 | ||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 54,725 | (30,860) | (61,822) | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (2,717) | (7,676) | (3,562) | ||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 52,008 | $ | (38,536) | $ | (65,384) |
______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of zero, zero and $0.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of $21.0 million, $22.0 million and $23.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of $19.9 million related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the year ended December 31, 2023.
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The following table sets forth our results of operations data as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Revenues (1) | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
| Cost of revenues (2) | 45.9 | % | 49.1 | % | 51.5 | % | |||
| Gross margin | 54.1 | % | 50.9 | % | 48.5 | % | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 13.3 | % | 15.2 | % | 17.5 | % | |||
| Research and development | 19.4 | % | 20.6 | % | 22.0 | % | |||
| General and administrative | 15.8 | % | 17.7 | % | 17.6 | % | |||
| Transaction-related costs | — | % | — | % | — | % | |||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | — | % | 2.4 | % | 3.3 | % | |||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 0.5 | % | 1.1 | % | 1.8 | % | |||
| Total operating expenses | 49.0 | % | 57.0 | % | 62.2 | % | |||
| Income (loss) from operations | 5.0 | % | (6.1) | % | (13.8) | % | |||
| Total other income, net(3) | 1.9 | % | 1.6 | % | 3.9 | % | |||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 6.9 | % | (4.4) | % | (9.9) | % | |||
| Provision for income taxes | (0.3) | % | (1.1) | % | (0.6) | % | |||
| Net income (loss) | 6.5 | % | (5.5) | % | (10.5) | % |
_______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of 0.0%, 0.0% and 0.1% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of 2.6%, 3.2% and 3.7% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of 3.2% related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of the line items in the tables above.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 is presented below. A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 can be found under Item 7 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Revenues
The following table presents our revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 794,809 | $ | 696,464 | $ | 98,345 | 14.1 | % |
Revenues increased by $98.3 million, or 14.1%, from $696.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $794.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. This increase in revenue was primarily attributable to a $95.0 million increase in subscription revenue from the sale of additional solutions to new and existing customers and growth in expansions with existing customers, a $2.1 million increase in transactional revenue from usage of our solutions and a $1.2 million increase in services and other revenue.
We have observed improved subscription bookings and associated revenue primarily from our digital banking solutions from both new customers and expansions with existing customers. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, our subscription revenue growth was 17% and 16%, respectively, as compared to the prior year periods, and we expect subscription revenue will continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue.
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Cost of Revenues
The following table presents our cost of revenue for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 365,126 | $ | 341,983 | $ | 23,143 | 6.8 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 45.9 | % | 49.1 | % |
Cost of revenues increased by $23.1 million, or 6.8%, from $342.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $365.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. This increase was primarily attributable to a $13.4 million net increase in third-party public cloud service provider costs and software costs resulting from the increased infrastructure necessary to support growing customer activity and migration to third-party public cloud service providers, a $6.7 million increase from the amortization of capitalized software development and capitalized implementation services, a $2.1 million net increase in personnel costs, a $2.0 million increase in overhead costs and other discretionary expenses and a $1.2 million net increase in third-party costs related to intellectual property included in our solutions and transaction processing costs, partially offset by a $1.3 million decrease as a result of higher capitalized implementation costs and a $1.0 million decrease in amortization of acquired technology that was fully amortized during the year.
We intend to continue to invest in our implementation and customer support teams and third-party partners for intellectual property and transactional processing in our solutions and technology infrastructure to standardize our business processes and drive future efficiency in our implementations, serve our customers and support our growth. We recently completed migration of the computing, storage and processing of our digital banking platform solutions from our third-party data centers to third-party public cloud service providers. As a result, we expect third-party public cloud service provider costs and other similar investments over the long term to increase cost of revenues in absolute dollars as we grow our business, and we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue, based on cost efficiencies realized in the business, the level and timing of implementation support activities, timing of capitalized software development costs, debit card related pass-through fees and other related costs.
Operating Expenses
The following tables present our operating expenses for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 105,858 | $ | 105,951 | $ | (93) | (0.1) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 13.3 | % | 15.2 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $0.1 million, or 0.1%, from $106.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $105.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. This decrease was primarily attributable to a reduction in personnel costs, largely from stock-based compensation.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues may change in any given period based on factors such as the addition of newly hired sales professionals, the timing of significant marketing events such as our annual in-person client conference, which we typically hold during the second quarter of each year, and the amount of sales commissions expense amortized. Commissions are generally capitalized and then amortized over the expected period of customer benefit. We anticipate that sales and marketing expenses will increase in absolute dollars in the long term as we continue to support our revenue growth and increase marketing spend to attract new customers, retain and grow business with existing customers, build brand awareness, and as we continue to hold various experiences for our current and prospective customers. While sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
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Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 154,330 | $ | 143,244 | $ | 11,086 | 7.7 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 19.4 | % | 20.6 | % |
Research and development expenses increased by $11.1 million, or 7.7%, from $143.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $154.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. This increase was primarily attributable to a $5.6 million increase in personnel costs as a result of the growth in our research and development organization to support continued enhancements to our solutions, a $3.1 million increase in travel-related and other discretionary expenses, a $2.0 million increase from lower capitalization of software development and implementation services costs and a $0.4 million increase due to an impairment loss related to capitalized software development costs from certain software assets that are no longer expected to be recoverable.
We intend to continue our investments in our software development teams and the associated technology in order to serve our customers and support our growth. We anticipate that research and development expenses will increase in absolute dollars in the future as we continue to support and expand our platform and enhance our existing solutions, as we believe existing customers will have an increased focus on maintaining and improving their digital offerings. While research and development expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 125,513 | $ | 122,942 | $ | 2,571 | 2.1 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 15.8 | % | 17.7 | % |
General and administrative expenses increased by $2.6 million, or 2.1%, from $122.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $125.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to a $1.8 million non-recurring legal settlement charge related to certain litigation as discussed in Note 8 - Commitments and Contingencies and a $0.8 million net increase in software and other discretionary expenses.
We expect to continue to incur incremental expenses associated with the growth of our business and compliance requirements associated with operating as a regulated, public company. Over the long term, we anticipate that general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars as we continue to incur both increased external audit fees as well as additional spending to ensure continued regulatory and SOX compliance. We expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the longer term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
Transaction-Related Costs
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | |||||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | $ | 166 | $ | — | $ | 166 | N/A | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | — | % | — | % |
Transaction-related costs were $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 and zero for the year ended December 31, 2024. Transaction-related costs are related to various legal and professional expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture activities.
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Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | $ | 93 | $ | 16,979 | $ | (16,886) | (99.5) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | — | % | 2.4 | % |
Amortization of acquired intangibles decreased by $16.9 million, or 99.5%, from $17.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The decrease in amortization is related to acquired intangible assets that have been fully amortized.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | $ | 3,826 | $ | 7,628 | $ | (3,802) | (49.8) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 0.5 | % | 1.1 | % |
Lease and other restructuring charges decreased by $3.8 million, or 49.8%, from $7.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The net decrease in lease and other restructuring charges was primarily from a $2.5 million decrease related to updated assessments and ongoing expenses of previously vacated facilities, including a $1.4 million reversal of a previously accrued lease restructuring liability which was recorded in the year-ended December 31, 2025. The reversal was made in conjunction with the Company's decision during the year to reoccupy a part of a facility lease which it previously vacated for sublease. Additionally, there was a $1.2 million decrease in severance charges associated with restructuring or eliminating certain positions.
Total Other Income, Net
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Total other income, net | $ | 14,828 | $ | 11,403 | $ | 3,425 | 30.0 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 1.9 | % | 1.6 | % |
Total other income, net increased by $3.4 million or 30.0% from $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $14.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The increase was primarily driven by interest income earned from increased balances in our cash, cash equivalents and investments during the current period, partially offset by expenses associated with the Company's Revolving Credit Agreement.
Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (2,717) | $ | (7,676) | $ | 4,959 | (64.6) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | (0.3) | % | (1.1) | % |
Total provision for income taxes decreased by $5.0 million from $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 to $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The decrease in expense was primarily driven by a $2.5 million decrease in state income taxes, a $1.5 million decrease in foreign income taxes and a $1.0 million decrease in federal income taxes.
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Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our overall operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of investments to grow our business. The timing of our implementation activities and corresponding revenues from new customers are subject to fluctuations based on the timing of our sales, which has historically tended to be lower in the first half of the year. The timing of our implementations also varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. General economic conditions and other global events may impact our business and our customers' spending patterns and budget cycles, and these conditions may disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results. Our quarterly results of operations may vary significantly in the future and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future results.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
As of December 31, 2025, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and investments of $432.7 million. Based upon our current levels of operations, we believe that our cash flow from operations along with our other sources of liquidity, including our ability to access capital markets and available borrowings under our $125.0 million Revolving Credit Agreement, are adequate to meet our cash requirements for the next twelve months, including the repayment of our 2026 Notes upon maturity. We also believe that our longer-term working capital, planned capital expenditures, Repurchase Program and other general corporate funding requirements will be satisfied through cash flows from operations and, to the extent necessary, from our borrowing facilities. However, if we determine a need for additional short-term or long-term liquidity, there is no assurance that such financing, if pursued, would be adequate or available on terms acceptable to us.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | |||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 201,461 | $ | 135,751 | $ | 70,292 | |||||
| Investing activities | (4,028) | (21,080) | 113,268 | ||||||||
| Financing activities | (188,972) | 13,317 | (152,012) | ||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 49 | (827) | 182 | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 8,510 | $ | 127,161 | $ | 31,730 |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Our cash flows from operating activities are primarily influenced by net income (loss) less non-cash items, the amount and timing of customer receipts and vendor payments and by the amount of cash we invest in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth of our business and customer base.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, our net cash provided by operating activities was $201.5 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $173.4 million and net income of $52.0 million, partially offset by cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $23.9 million. The primary drivers of cash outflows in operating assets and liabilities were a $27.9 million cash outflow resulting from a gross increase in deferred solution costs primarily from annual commission payments and deferred implementation costs from both new customers and existing customer expansions and a $9.9 million increase in accounts receivable due to the timing of annual billings, partially offset by a $16.8 million cash inflow resulting from an increase in deferred revenue due to the timing of annual billings and deposits received from customers prior to the recognition of revenue from those related payments. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, amortization of debt issuance costs and deferred income taxes, partially offset by amortization of premiums and discounts on investments.
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Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Our investing activities have consisted primarily of purchases and maturities of investments, costs incurred for the development of capitalized software and purchases of property and equipment to support our growth.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, net cash used in investing activities was $4.0 million, consisting of $94.1 million for the purchase of investments, $21.3 million in capitalized software development costs and $6.8 million for the purchase of property and equipment, partially offset by $118.2 million received from the maturities of investments.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Our recent financing activities have consisted primarily of activity related to our convertible notes, share repurchases under the Repurchase Program, as well as net proceeds from exercises of stock options, contributions to our ESPP to purchase our common stock and payments for debt issuance costs related to the Revolving Credit Agreement.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, net cash used in financing activities was $189.0 million, consisting of $191.0 million repayment of the 2025 Notes and $5.0 million of share repurchases under the Repurchase Program authorized by the Board of Directors in October 2025, partially offset by $7.0 million of cash received from exercises of stock options and contributions to our ESPP for the purchase of our common stock.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Our principal commitments consist of the 2026 Notes, non-cancelable operating leases primarily related to our facilities, minimum purchase commitments for third-party products, stadium sponsorship costs, commitment fees associated with our Revolving Credit agreement, third-party public cloud service provider fees and other product costs. Our obligations under the 2026 Notes and Revolving Credit Agreement are described in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Information regarding our non-cancellable lease and other purchase commitments as of December 31, 2025 can be found in Notes 10 and 11 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report, regarding the impact of certain recent accounting pronouncements.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001410384-25-000010.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" above for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. The following discussion and analysis also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a description and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures discussed in this section, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Overview
We are a leading provider of digital solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, and alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, seeking to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with End Users. Our solutions comprise a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking solutions, digital lending and relationship pricing solutions, Q2 Innovation Studio, and Helix. Q2 Innovation Studio leverages Q2's open technology platform to enable a partnership ecosystem, allowing the design, development, and distribution of innovative products, services, features, and integrations on Q2's digital banking platform. Helix serves as a cloud-native core and banking as a service, or BaaS, solution. We purpose-build our platforms and solutions to enable success for our customers and partners by allowing them to digitize their operations and offerings, differentiate their digital brands, integrate traditional and emerging financial services, and ultimately, enhance their End-User acquisition, engagement and retention and improve their operational efficiencies and profitability.
Significant resources, personnel and expertise are required to effectively deliver and manage advanced digital solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver unified and robust financial experiences across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific offerings, workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions and our data center and cloud-based hosting infrastructure and resources are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
Founded over 20 years ago, Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to domestic regional and community financial institutions, or RCFIs. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of innovation, broad market acceptance of our solutions, strategic investments and acquisitions. Our expanded collection of solutions now spans digital banking, digital lending and relationship pricing, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, account switching, data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management, and also includes our open platform solutions as well as our core and BaaS offerings. We serve account holders and borrowers across retail, SMBs, and commercial segments. While we continue to generate a substantial majority of our revenue from our digital banking platform, we are actively leveraging our broader product portfolio and deep domain expertise to expand our market presence. This strategy includes seeking to further penetrate the digital banking market and drive significant growth across our diverse customer base in the broader financial services sector, while opening up new and meaningful expansion opportunities for our business.
The financial services industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by the growing demand within financial institutions to digitize their operations and offerings, as well as the rise of FinTechs and Alt-FIs, which are reshaping End-User expectations for more innovative and engaging digital financial experiences. These shifts are leading to new roles and interdependencies among financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs, necessitating new technology, partnerships, and business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that are capable of supporting and embracing these market dynamics. We have developed a comprehensive suite of offerings to accelerate and optimize this transformation for our customers, ranging from digitizing entire banks to facilitating partnerships between financial institutions, FinTechs, and Alt-FIs.
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We offer our solutions to most of our customers using a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users, as defined in "Key Operating Measures" below, or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of End Users on our solutions, the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions, and the excess number of users and transactions above what is included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, our revenues from digital banking platform customers grow as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of End Users utilizing our solutions and as those users increase their number of transactions on our solutions. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred.
We believe we have the opportunity to continue to grow our business and that the investments we are making are positioning us to continue to realize revenue growth and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of any associated benefit. If we are successful in growing our revenues by selling additional innovative solutions to existing customers and creating deeper End-User engagement, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We primarily sell our solutions through our direct sales organization. While the financial institutions market is well-defined due to the regulatory classifications of those financial institutions, markets for FinTechs and Alt-FIs are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address opportunities in the financial institution, FinTech and Alt-FI markets across the U.S. and internationally and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since we introduced it in 2005. We intend to continue investing organically and to selectively pursue acquisitions of and strategic investments in technologies that will strengthen and expand the features and functionality of our solutions and provide access to new customers and markets. We have also acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs and Alt-FIs. Our portfolio of digital solutions includes a comprehensive suite of offerings for retail, SMB and commercial banking, onboarding, regulatory and compliance, risk and fraud, digital lending and relationship pricing, open platform solutions, BaaS, account switching and data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management solutions, among others. We believe our portfolio, which reflects years of strategic development and innovation, affords us a distinct competitive advantage across multiple market segments. Additionally, Q2 Innovation Studio, an API-based and SDK-based open technology platform, allows our financial institution customers and other partners to develop unique extensions of and integrations to our digital banking platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly and easily deploy customized experiences and the latest financial services expected by End Users.
We believe that financial services providers are best served by a broad portfolio of digital solutions offering rapid, flexible and comprehensive integration with internal and third-party solutions enabling them to deliver modern, intuitive, advanced and regulatory-compliant digital solutions. We also believe our unique position in the market stems from the breadth and depth of our solution offerings and customer base, our open and flexible platform approach, our position as a leading provider of digital banking solutions to a large network of financial institutions, and our expertise in delivering new, advanced, innovative and regulatory-compliant digital solutions. These strengths allow us to address the evolving needs and challenges within the financial services industry, as we continually innovate and adapt our offerings to meet the changing demands of our customers and their End Users. We intend to continue to make investments in technology innovation and software development to enhance our existing solutions and platforms while expanding our product portfolio.
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As our business grows, we intend to continue to invest in and grow our services and delivery organization to support our customers' needs, help them through their digital transformation, deliver our solutions in a timely and effective manner and maintain our strong reputation. We believe that delivery of consistent, high-quality customer support is a significant driver of purchasing and renewal decisions of our prospects and customers. To develop and maintain a reputation for high-quality service, we seek to build deep relationships with our customers through our customer service organization, which we staff with personnel who are motivated by our common mission of using technology to help our customers succeed and who are knowledgeable with respect to the regulated and complex nature of the financial services industry.
Key Operating Measures
In addition to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, measures described below in "Components of Operating Results," we monitor the following operating measures to evaluate growth trends, plan investments and measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
Installed Customers
We define Installed Customers as the number of customers live on our digital banking platform. The average size of our Installed Customers, measured in both Registered Users per Installed Customer and revenues per Installed Customer, has increased over time as our existing Installed Customers continue to add Registered Users and commercial account holders, buy more solutions from us, and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. The net rate at which we add Installed Customers varies based on our implementation capacity, the size and unique needs of our customers, the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions and customer attrition, including as a result of merger and acquisition activity among financial institutions. We had 460, 450 and 444 Installed Customers on our digital banking platform as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Registered Users
We define a Registered User as an individual related to an account holder of an Installed Customer on our consumer digital banking platform who has registered to use one or more of our digital banking solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. Our average number of Registered Users per Installed Customer grows as our existing digital banking platform customers add more Registered Users and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. We anticipate that the number of Registered Users will grow at a faster rate than our number of Installed Customers. We add new Registered Users through both organic and inorganic growth from existing customers and from the addition of End Users from new Installed Customers. Our Installed Customers had approximately 24.7 million, 22.0 million and 21.1 million Registered Users as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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Net Revenue Retention Rates
We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our products and services over time is an indicator of the stability of our revenue base and the long-term value of our customer relationships. One of the ways we assess our performance in this area is through our net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate, or collectively our net revenue retention rates. We calculate our net revenue retention rate as the total revenues in a calendar year, excluding any revenues from acquired customers during such year, from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of the total revenues during the prior year from the same group of customers. Similarly, we calculate our subscription net revenue retention rate as total subscription revenues in a calendar year from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of total subscription revenues for the prior year from the same group of customers. Our net revenue retention rates provide insight into the impact on current year revenues of: the number of new customers implemented on any of our solutions during the prior year; the timing of our implementation of those new customers in the prior year; growth in the number of End Users on such solutions and changes in their usage of such solutions; and sales of new products and services to our existing customers during the current year, excluding any products or services resulting from businesses acquired during such year and customer attrition. The most significant drivers of changes in our net revenue retention rates each year have historically been the number of new customers in the prior year and the timing of our implementation of those new customers. The timing of our implementation of new customers in the prior year is significant because we do not start recognizing revenues from new customers until they are implemented. As an example, if implementations are weighted more heavily in the first or second half of the prior year, both our net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate will be lower or higher, respectively, in the subsequent year. Our use of net revenue retention rate and subscription net revenue retention rate have limitations as analytical tools, and investors should not consider them in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate net revenue retention rates differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure. Our net revenue retention rate was 109%, 108% and 110% for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and our subscription net revenue retention rate was 114%, 112% and 115% for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Annualized Recurring Revenue
We believe Subscription Annual Recurring Revenue, or Subscription ARR, and Total Annual Recurring Revenue, or Total ARR, provide important information about our future revenue potential and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients. We calculate Subscription ARR as the annualized value of all recurring subscription revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Subscription ARR also includes the contracted minimum subscription amounts associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced. Subscription revenues are defined within "Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgements and Estimates." We calculate Total ARR as the annualized value of all recurring revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Total ARR also includes the contracted minimums associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced, and revenue generated from Integrated Services, which we previously referred to as Premier Services. Integrated Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them, which we deem to be recurring in nature. Total ARR does not include revenue from professional services or other sources of revenue that are not deemed to be recurring in nature. Subscription and Total ARR are not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates. Subscription and Total ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as Subscription and Total ARR are operating metrics and are not intended to be combined with or replace these items. Our use of Subscription and Total ARR has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate Subscription ARR and Total ARR differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Our Subscription ARR was $681.9 million, $593.9 million and $500.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our Total ARR was $824.2 million, $734.8 million and $655.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Revenue Churn
We utilize revenue churn to monitor the satisfaction of our customers and evaluate the effectiveness of our business solutions and strategies. We define revenue churn as the amount of any monthly recurring revenue losses due to customer cancellations and downgrades, net of upgrades and replacements of existing solutions, during a year, divided by our monthly recurring revenue at the end of the prior year. Cancellations refer to customers that have either stopped using our services
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completely or remained a customer but terminated a particular service. Downgrades are a result of customers taking less of a particular service or renewing their contract for identical services at a lower price. We had annual revenue churn of 4.4%, 6.1% and 6.3% for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our use of revenue churn has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate revenue churn differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures to clarify and enhance our understanding, and aid in the period-to-period comparison, of our performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information that is meaningful when assessing our operating performance because they exclude the impact of certain categories that our management and board of directors do not consider part of core operating results when assessing our operational performance, allocating resources, preparing annual budgets and determining compensation. Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures may provide insight to investors into the motivation and decision-making of management in operating the business. Set forth in the tables below are the corresponding GAAP financial measures for each non-GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most comparable GAAP financial measure included below. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, their most comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in their financing and accounting methods, the book value of their assets, their capital structures, the method by which their assets were acquired and the manner in which they define non-GAAP measures. Items such as the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets and lease and other restructuring charges can have a material impact on our GAAP financial results.
Non-GAAP Revenue
We define non-GAAP revenue as total revenue excluding the impact of purchase accounting. We monitor these measures to assess our performance because we believe our revenue growth rates would be understated without these adjustments. We believe presenting non-GAAP revenue aids in the comparability between periods and in assessing our overall operating performance. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, there was no impact of purchase accounting on revenue, and our non-GAAP total revenue is now equivalent to our GAAP total revenue.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| GAAP revenue | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,624 | $ | 565,673 | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | 344 | 644 | ||||||||
| Total Non-GAAP revenue | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,968 | $ | 566,317 |
Non-GAAP Operating Income
We provide non-GAAP operating income that excludes such items as deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets and lease and other restructuring charges. We believe excluding these items is useful for the following reasons:
•Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We believe that the exclusion of deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations.
•Amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to purchased technology and intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We believe that eliminating these expenses from our non-GAAP measures is useful to investors, because the amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisition transactions, which also vary in frequency from period to period. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period, both with and without such expenses.
•Stock-based compensation. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to stock-based compensation. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense provides for a better comparison of
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our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies as the calculations of stock-based compensation vary from period to period and company to company due to different valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation, we exclude these expenses when analyzing the organization's business performance.
•Transaction-related costs. We exclude certain expense items resulting from our evaluation and completion of merger and acquisition and divestiture opportunities, such as related legal, accounting and consulting fees and retention expense. We consider these adjustments, to some extent, to be unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are outside of our control. Furthermore, transaction-related activities result in operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude transaction-related costs allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of less acquisitive peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Lease and other restructuring charges. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes restructuring charges related to the estimated costs of exiting and terminating facility lease commitments, partially offset by anticipated sublease income, and any related impairments of the right of use assets as they relate to corporate restructuring and exit activities. It also excludes severance cash payouts and other related compensation associated with restructuring, departure of executive officers or eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value. These charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of these events. Therefore, although we may incur these types of expenses in the future, we believe that eliminating these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| GAAP operating loss | $ | (42,263) | $ | (86,057) | $ | (104,761) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | 344 | 644 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 89,215 | 79,188 | 65,157 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | — | 24 | 1,194 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 22,016 | 23,402 | 22,690 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 16,979 | 20,667 | 18,248 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 9,517 | 12,092 | 13,225 | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP operating income | $ | 95,464 | $ | 49,660 | $ | 16,397 |
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss before deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, depreciation, amortization, lease and other restructuring charges, provision for income taxes, gain on extinguishment of debt and interest and other (income) expense, net. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
•adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company's operating performance with and without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
•our management uses adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our operating performance, to assess the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance;
•adjusted EBITDA provides more consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of our operations and also facilitates comparisons with other companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results; and
•our investor and analyst presentations include adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our overall operating performance.
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Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations such as:
•depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, and the assets being depreciated or amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
•adjusted EBITDA may not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest or tax payments that could reduce cash available for use; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these and other limitations, investors and others should consider adjusted EBITDA together with our GAAP financial measures including cash flow from operations and net loss. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA: | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (38,536) | $ | (65,384) | $ | (108,983) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | — | 344 | 644 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 89,215 | 79,188 | 65,157 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | — | 24 | 1,194 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 68,809 | 71,707 | 61,659 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 9,517 | 12,092 | 13,225 | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 7,676 | 3,562 | 2,908 | ||||||||
| Gain on extinguishment of debt | — | (19,869) | — | ||||||||
| Interest and other (income) expense, net | (11,343) | (4,724) | 1,087 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 125,338 | $ | 76,940 | $ | 36,891 |
Components of Operating Results
Revenues
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our third-party data centers or with third-party public cloud service providers, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and remote deposit products, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees. We recognize the corresponding revenues over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term or as incurred based on the nature of the revenue. A small portion of our revenues are derived from customers which host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. For these customers, we recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term, and recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license.
Subscription fees are based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the number of End Users using the solutions and other usage fees those users generate by using our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. Subscription fees are billed monthly, quarterly or annually and are recognized monthly over the term of our customer agreements. The initial term of our digital banking platform agreements averages over five years, although it varies by customer. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. We begin recognizing subscription fees when the control of the service transfers to the customer, generally when the solution is implemented and made available to the customer. We recognize revenue for debit card and bill-pay related transaction services when End Users utilize debit card services integrated within our Helix and other payment-service solutions
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in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions. The timing of our implementations varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. We typically recognize any related implementation services revenues ratably over the initial customer agreement term beginning on the date we commence recognizing subscription fees. Contract asset balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable, and in revenues or deferred revenues, depending on when control of the service transfers to the customer.
We believe that elevated interest rates have increased the importance for financial institutions to attract and retain depository relationships, which we believe has increased demand for our digital banking solutions. We have observed improved subscription bookings and associated revenue primarily from our digital banking solutions, which we believe is a result of banking conditions placing an importance on attracting and retaining deposits. As of December 31, 2024, our subscription revenue growth was 16% year over year, and we expect subscription revenue will continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue. We continue to observe declines in customer demand for certain discretionary aspects of our solutions, namely professional services, which we believe may be related to customer spending patterns and budget cycles, and this may continue until the general economic outlook improves.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, for employees providing services to our customers. This includes the costs of our personnel performing implementation, customer support, third-party data centers and customer training activities. Cost of revenues also includes the direct costs of bill-pay and other third-party intellectual property included in our solutions, the amortization of deferred solution and services costs, amortization of certain software development costs, co-location facility costs and depreciation of our data center assets, debit card related pass-through fees, third-party public cloud service providers, an allocation of general overhead costs, the amortization of acquired technology intangibles and referral fees. We allocate general overhead expenses to all departments based on the number of employees in each department, which we consider to be a fair and representative means of allocation.
We capitalize certain personnel costs directly related to the implementation of our solutions to the extent those costs are recoverable from future revenues. We amortize the costs for an implementation once revenue recognition commences, and we amortize those implementation costs to cost of revenues over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology. Other costs not directly recoverable from future revenues are expensed in the period incurred.
We capitalize certain software development costs for those employees who are directly associated with and who devote time to developing our software solutions on an individual product basis, including those related to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams, as well as third-party development costs. Software development costs are amortized to cost of revenues when products and enhancements are released or made available over the products' estimated economic lives.
We intend to continue to increase our investments in our implementation and customer support teams and technology infrastructure to serve our customers and support our growth as we continue the migration of a significant portion of the computing, storage and processing of our digital banking platform solutions from our third-party data centers to third-party public cloud service providers. Over the long term, we expect cost of revenues to continue to grow in absolute dollars as we grow our business but to fluctuate as a percentage of revenues based principally on cost efficiencies realized in the business, the level and timing of implementation support activities, timing of capitalized software development costs, debit card related pass-through fees, and other related costs.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consist of sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses. They also include costs related to our acquisitions and the resulting amortization of acquired intangible assets from those acquisitions. In an effort to reduce certain of our personnel related expenditures and improve the scaling of expenses relative to revenue growth, we have taken measures intended to increase the cost efficiency of our global workforce structure. Over the long term, we intend to continue to hire new employees and make other investments to support our anticipated growth. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues over the long term as we grow our business.
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Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including commissions, employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to advertising, lead generation, promotional events, corporate communications, travel and allocated overhead.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues will change in any given period based on factors including the addition of newly hired sales professionals, the timing of significant marketing events such as our annual in-person client conference, which we typically hold during the second quarter of each year, and the amount of sales commissions expense amortized. Commissions are generally capitalized and then amortized over the expected period of customer benefit.
Research and Development
We believe that continuing to improve and enhance our solutions is essential to maintaining our reputation for innovation and growing our customer base and revenues. Research and development expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, third-party contractor expenses, software development costs, allocated overhead and other related expenses incurred in developing new solutions and enhancing existing solutions.
Certain research and development costs that are related to our software development, which include salaries and other personnel-related costs, comprised of employee benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams working on our software solutions, are capitalized and included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets. We intend to continue our investments in our software development teams and the associated technology in order to serve our customers and support our growth.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, compliance and security, legal, human resources employees and certain members of our executive team. General and administrative expenses also include consulting and professional fees, travel and other corporate expenses. We expect to continue to incur incremental expenses associated with the growth of our business and compliance requirements associated with operating as a regulated, public company.
Transaction-Related Costs
Transaction-related costs include compensation expenses related to milestone provisions and retention agreements with certain former shareholders and employees of acquired businesses, which are recognized as earned, and various legal and professional service expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture related matters, which are recognized when incurred.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles represents the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection with our business acquisitions which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of certain facilities, any related impairment of the right of use assets and ongoing expenses of other vacated facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from the associated facilities. It also includes severance cash payouts and other related compensation associated with restructuring, departure of executive officers or eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value.
Total Other Income (Expense), Net
Total other income (expense), net, consists primarily of interest income and expense, other non-operating income and expense, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, foreign currency translation adjustment and gain on extinguishment of debt. We earn interest income on our cash, cash equivalents and investments. Interest expense consists primarily of the interest from the amortization of debt issuance costs, coupon interest attributable to our convertible notes, commitment fees and interest associated with our Revolving Credit Agreement, as well as fees and interest associated with the letter of credit issued to our landlord for the security deposit for our corporate headquarters.
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Provision for Income Taxes
As a result of our current net operating loss utilization, our income tax expenses and benefits consist primarily of federal, state, and international current and deferred income tax expense from global operations.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results might differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we believe that the accounting policies discussed below involve the greatest degree of complexity and exercise of significant judgments and estimates by our management. The methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations and, accordingly, we believe the policies described below are the most critical for understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services over the term of the agreement, generally when our solutions are implemented and made available to our customers. The promised consideration may include fixed amounts, variable amounts or both. Revenues are recognized net of sales credits and allowances.
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our third-party data centers or with third-party public cloud service providers, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and remote deposit products, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees.
Subscription Revenues
Our software solutions are available for use as hosted application arrangements under subscription fee agreements without licensing rights to the software. Subscription fees from these applications, including contractual periodic price increases, are recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term beginning on the date our solution is made available to the customer. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and deferred revenues or revenues, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Periodic price increases are estimated at contract inception where appropriate and result in contract assets as revenue recognition may exceed the amount billed early in the contract. Additional fees for monthly usage above the levels included in the standard subscription fee are recognized as revenue in the month when the usage amounts are determined and reported.
A small portion of our customers host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. Term licenses sold with maintenance entitle the customer to technical support, upgrades and updates to the software on a when-and-if-available basis. For these customers, we recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term, and recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license. Revenues from term licenses and maintenance agreements were not significant in the periods presented.
Transactional Revenues
We generate a majority of our transactional revenues based on the number of bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform. We also generate a portion of our transactional revenues from third-party fees related to End Users utilizing remote deposit products and from fees generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Helix products. We recognize revenue for transaction services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions.
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Services and Other Revenues
Implementation services are required for new digital solutions and other standalone contracts, and there is a significant level of integration and configuration for each customer. Our revenue for implementation services is billed upfront and generally recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer's term for our hosted application agreements. Implementation services for on-premises agreements are recognized at commencement date. Under certain circumstances, we have determined that these implementation services qualify as a separate performance obligation in certain markets and geographies, and the implementation services for these agreements are recognized over time as services are performed.
Professional services revenues consist primarily of Integrated Services. Integrated Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services, resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them. Professional services revenues also consist of custom services, core conversion services and other general professional services. These revenues are generally billed and recognized when delivered. Other Revenues also include certain third-party related pass-through fees primarily in our Helix business that are not transactional in nature.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses billed to customers are recorded as revenues rather than an offset to the related expense.
Significant Judgments
Performance Obligations and Standalone Selling Price
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a good or service to the customer and is the unit of accounting. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment. We have contracts with customers that often include multiple performance obligations, usually including multiple subscription and implementation services. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations that are separately identifiable by allocating the contract's total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the relative standalone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct good or service in the contract. In determining whether implementation services are distinct from subscription services, we considered various factors including the significant level of integration, interdependency, and interrelation between the implementation and subscription service, as well as the inability of the customer's personnel or other service providers to perform significant portions of the services. We have concluded that the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations across the majority of our markets and product offerings are not distinct and, as a result, we defer any arrangement fees for implementation services and recognize such amounts over time on a ratable basis as one performance obligation with the underlying subscription revenue for the initial agreement term of the hosted application agreements. We have concluded that for some of our products in certain markets the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct and, as a result, we recognize implementation fees on such arrangements over time as services are performed.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a particular point in time is for usage revenue, on-premise software licenses and certain professional services. These services are recognized as the customer obtains control of the asset, as services are performed, or the point the customer obtains control of the software.
Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We determine SSP based on overall pricing objectives and strategies, taking into consideration entity-specific factors, including the value of our contracts, historical standalone sales, customer demographics and the numbers and types of users within our contracts.
Variable Consideration
We recognize usage revenue related to End Users accessing our products in excess of contracted amounts and from fees that End Users generate using our solutions. Judgment is required to determine the accounting for these types of revenue. We consider various factors including the degree to which usage is interdependent or interrelated to past services and contractual price per user and their relationship to market terms. We have concluded that our usage revenue relates specifically to the transfer of the service to the customer and is consistent with the allocation objective of Topic 606 when considering all of the performance obligations and payment terms in the contract. Therefore, we recognize usage revenue on a monthly or quarterly basis in accordance with the agreement, as determined and reported. This allocation reflects the amount we expect to receive for the services for the given period.
We sometimes provide credits or incentives to our customers. Known and estimable credits and incentives represent a form of variable consideration, which are estimated at contract inception and generally result in reductions to revenues
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recognized for a particular contract. These estimates are updated at the end of each reporting period as additional information becomes available. We believe that there will not be significant changes to our estimates of variable consideration as of December 31, 2024.
Other Considerations
We evaluate whether we are the principal (i.e., report revenues on a gross basis) or agent (i.e., report revenues on a net basis) with respect to the vendor reseller agreements pursuant to which we resell certain third-party solutions along with our solutions. Generally, we report revenues from these types of contracts on a gross basis, meaning the amounts billed to customers are recorded as revenues, and expenses incurred are recorded as cost of revenues. Where we are the principal, we first obtain control of the inputs to the specific good or service and direct their use to create the combined output. Our control is evidenced by our involvement in the integration of the good or service on our platform before it is transferred to our customers and is further supported by us being primarily responsible to our customers and having a level of discretion in establishing pricing. Revenues provided from agreements in which we are an agent are insignificant.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation consists of restricted stock units, or RSUs, performance-based restricted stock units, and purchase rights under our employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, and is used to compensate employees, directors and consultants. All awards are measured at fair value on grant date and forfeitures are recognized as they occur.
We value RSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. RSUs typically vest in equal installments over a four-year period and compensation expense is recognized straight-line over the requisite service period.
We value purchase rights under the ESPP using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs including the risk-free interest rate, expected term and expected volatility and we assume no dividend yield. Our ESPP has two six-month offering periods which commence on each June 1 and December 1. We recognize compensation expense straight-line over the withholding period for the ESPP.
We grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our total stockholder return, or TSR, performance relative to the TSR performance of specified stock indexes, or TSR PSUs, and previously referred to as Market Stock Units, or MSUs. We value TSR PSUs and MSUs on grant date using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The determination of fair value is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions including the expected volatility and the risk-free interest rate. Our expected volatility at the date of grant is based on the historical volatilities of our stock and peer firms' stocks and the Index over the performance period. We assume no dividend yield and recognize compensation expense ratably over the performance period of the award, as applicable. The number of TSR PSUs and MSUs that vest is based on actual TSR relative to the TSR benchmark as set forth in the award agreement. The minimum percentage that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. TSR PSUs and MSUs will vest over two-year and three-year performance periods. We recognize compensation expense using the graded attribution method on a straight-line basis over the performance period for each award, as applicable.
We also grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our attainment of Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of non-GAAP Revenue relative to a target specified in the applicable agreement, or EBITDA PSUs. We value EBITDA PSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. The minimum percentage of EBITDA PSUs that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. The vesting of EBITDA PSUs is conditioned upon the achievement of certain internal targets and will vest over a two-year and three-year performance period. We recognize compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method over the performance period, if it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. Adjustments to compensation expense are made each reporting period based on changes in our estimate of the number of EBITDA PSUs that are probable of vesting.
Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
The purchase price allocation for business combinations and asset acquisitions requires extensive use of accounting estimates and judgments to allocate the purchase price to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. We determine whether substantially all the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If this threshold is met, the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, is not a business. If it is not met, we determine whether the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, meets the definition of a business.
In connection with our business combinations, we recorded certain intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Amounts allocated to the acquired intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives. We periodically review the estimated useful lives and fair
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values of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances which might result in a diminished fair value or revised useful life.
The excess purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. We test goodwill for impairment annually in October, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Because we operate as a single reporting unit, the impairment test is performed at the consolidated entity level by comparing our estimated fair value to our carrying value. We estimate the fair value of the reporting unit using a "step one" analysis using a fair-value-based approach based on market capitalization to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Determining the fair value of goodwill is subjective in nature and often involves the use of estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, use of estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast. If actual results, or the plans and estimates used in future impairment analyses are lower than the original estimates used to assess the recoverability of these assets, we could incur impairment charges in a future period.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Impairment of long-lived assets such as property and equipment, acquired intangible assets, capitalized software development costs and right of use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of our long-lived assets by comparing the carrying amount of the asset group to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the carrying value is not recoverable, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our results of operations data for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Revenues(1) | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,624 | $ | 565,673 | |||||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 341,983 | 321,973 | 309,328 | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 354,481 | 302,651 | 256,345 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 105,951 | 109,522 | 108,214 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 143,244 | 137,334 | 130,103 | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 122,942 | 110,186 | 90,163 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | — | 24 | 1,176 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 16,979 | 20,667 | 18,248 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 7,628 | 10,975 | 13,202 | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 396,744 | 388,708 | 361,106 | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | (42,263) | (86,057) | (104,761) | ||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net(3) | 11,403 | 24,235 | (1,314) | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (30,860) | (61,822) | (106,075) | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (7,676) | (3,562) | (2,908) | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (38,536) | $ | (65,384) | $ | (108,983) |
______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of zero, $0.3 million and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of $22.0 million, $23.4 million and $22.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of $19.9 million related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the year ended December 31, 2023.
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The following table sets forth our results of operations data as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Revenues(1) | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 49.1 | % | 51.5 | % | 54.7 | % | |||
| Gross margin | 50.9 | % | 48.5 | % | 45.3 | % | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 15.2 | % | 17.5 | % | 19.1 | % | |||
| Research and development | 20.6 | % | 22.0 | % | 23.0 | % | |||
| General and administrative | 17.7 | % | 17.6 | % | 15.9 | % | |||
| Transaction-related costs | — | % | — | % | 0.2 | % | |||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 2.4 | % | 3.3 | % | 3.2 | % | |||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 1.1 | % | 1.8 | % | 2.3 | % | |||
| Total operating expenses | 57.0 | % | 62.2 | % | 63.8 | % | |||
| Loss from operations | (6.1) | % | (13.8) | % | (18.5) | % | |||
| Total other income (expense), net(3) | 1.6 | % | 3.9 | % | (0.2) | % | |||
| Loss before income taxes | (4.4) | % | (9.9) | % | (18.8) | % | |||
| Provision for income taxes | (1.1) | % | (0.6) | % | (0.5) | % | |||
| Net loss | (5.5) | % | (10.5) | % | (19.3) | % |
_______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of 0.0%, 0.1% and 0.1% for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of 3.2%, 3.7% and 4.0% for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of 3.2% related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of the line items in the tables above.
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Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 is presented below. A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 can be found under Item 7 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Revenues
The following table presents our revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 696,464 | $ | 624,624 | $ | 71,840 | 11.5 | % |
Revenues increased by $71.8 million, or 11.5%, from $624.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $696.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase in revenue was primarily attributable to a $77.7 million increase in subscription revenue from the sale of additional solutions to new and existing customers and growth in usage from new and existing customers and a $3.1 million increase in transactional revenue from usage of our solutions, partially offset by a decrease of $8.9 million in services and other revenue from declines in professional and discretionary services and Helix related pass-through revenue.
Cost of Revenues
The following table presents our cost of revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 341,983 | $ | 321,973 | $ | 20,010 | 6.2 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 49.1 | % | 51.5 | % |
Cost of revenues increased by $20.0 million, or 6.2%, from $322.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $342.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to a $9.2 million increase in personnel costs, including an increase in the number of personnel who provide implementation and customer support services and maintain our third-party data centers and other technical infrastructure, an $8.8 million net increase in co-location facility, hardware and software costs, third-party public cloud service provider costs and depreciation of our data center assets resulting from the increased infrastructure necessary to support growing customer activity, a $6.1 million increase from the amortization of capitalized software development and capitalized implementation services, a $3.5 million increase in third-party costs related to intellectual property included in our solutions and transaction processing costs and a $2.0 million increase in overhead costs and other discretionary expenses, partially offset by a $4.8 million decrease as a result of higher capitalized implementation costs, a $3.4 million decrease in services, primarily in pass-through fees and a $1.4 million decrease in amortization of acquired customer technology resulting from assets that became fully amortized.
We continue to invest in personnel, business process improvement, third-party partners for intellectual property and transactional processing in our solutions and systems infrastructure to standardize our business processes and drive future efficiency in our implementations, customer support and the migration of a significant portion of the computing, storage and processing of our digital banking platform solutions from our third-party data centers to third-party public cloud service providers. As we continue to make these investments, we expect they will increase cost of revenues in absolute dollars, and we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue as our operations continue to scale and revenues grow.
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Operating Expenses
The following tables present our operating expenses for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 105,951 | $ | 109,522 | $ | (3,571) | (3.3) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 15.2 | % | 17.5 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $3.6 million, or 3.3%, from $109.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $106.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This decrease was primarily attributable to a reduction in personnel costs due to measures taken to drive operational effectiveness in our go-to-market strategy.
We anticipate that sales and marketing expenses will increase in absolute dollars over the long-term as we continue to support our revenue growth and increase marketing spend to attract new customers, retain and grow existing customers, build brand awareness, and as we continue to hold various experiences for our current and prospective customers, including our annual client conference typically held during the second quarter. While sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long-term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 143,244 | $ | 137,334 | $ | 5,910 | 4.3 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 20.6 | % | 22.0 | % |
Research and development expenses increased by $5.9 million, or 4.3%, from $137.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $143.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to a $2.4 million increase from lower capitalization of software development costs, a $2.3 million increase in personnel costs as a result of the growth in our research and development organization to support continued enhancements to our solutions and a $1.0 million increase in travel-related and other discretionary expenses.
We anticipate that research and development expenses will increase in absolute dollars in the future as we continue to support and expand our platform and enhance our existing solutions, as we believe existing customers will have an increased focus on maintaining and improving their digital offerings. While we anticipate research and development expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long-term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 122,942 | $ | 110,186 | $ | 12,756 | 11.6 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 17.7 | % | 17.6 | % |
General and administrative expenses increased by $12.8 million, or 11.6%, from $110.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $122.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to a $16.1 million increase in personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, to support the growth of our business and a $1.6 million increase in travel-related, overhead and other discretionary expenses, partially offset by a $4.0 million decrease in professional services, including third-party legal fees and a $1.0 million decrease in charitable contributions from the prior year.
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General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation and other personnel-related costs of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, compliance and security, legal, human resources employees and certain members of our executive team. General and administrative expenses also include costs to comply with regulations governing public companies and financial institutions, third-party legal fees, investor relations activities and costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX. Over the long term, we anticipate that general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars as we continue to incur both increased external audit fees as well as additional spending to ensure continued regulatory and SOX compliance. We expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the longer term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
Transaction-Related Costs
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | $ | — | $ | 24 | $ | (24) | (100.0) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | — | % | — | % |
Transaction-related costs decreased by $24.0 thousand, or 100.0%, from $24.0 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2023 to zero for the year ended December 31, 2024. Transaction-related costs are related to various legal and professional expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture activities.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | $ | 16,979 | $ | 20,667 | $ | (3,688) | (17.8) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 2.4 | % | 3.3 | % |
Amortization of acquired intangibles decreased by $3.7 million, or 17.8%, from $20.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $17.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The acquired intangible assets are related to previously disclosed business combinations, and the decrease in amortization is related to intangible assets that became fully amortized.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | $ | 7,628 | $ | 10,975 | $ | (3,347) | (30.5) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 1.1 | % | 1.8 | % |
Lease and other restructuring charges decreased by $3.3 million, or 30.5%, from $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $7.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The decrease in lease and other restructuring charges was primarily attributable to a net $3.0 million decrease related to updated assessments and ongoing expenses of previously vacated facilities, including the associated impairment of the right of use asset and a $0.2 million decrease related to lower severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value.
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Total Other Income (Expense), Net
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | 11,403 | $ | 24,235 | $ | (12,832) | (52.9) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 1.6 | % | 3.9 | % |
Total other income (expense), net decreased by $12.8 million or 52.9% from $24.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a $19.9 million gain from the partial repurchase of the 2026 Notes and the 2025 Notes during the three months ended March 31, 2023, partially offset by a $5.7 million increase in income from cash, cash equivalents and investments in the current period, a $0.5 million loss realized on investments recognized, a $0.4 million increase from lower losses on foreign currency translation and a $0.4 million increase from lower interest expense in the current period compared to the prior year period.
Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (7,676) | $ | (3,562) | $ | (4,114) | 115.5 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | (1.1) | % | (0.6) | % |
Total provision for income taxes increased by $4.1 million from $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 to $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in the tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2024 related to the operations of the business and an increase in uncertain tax positions related to various states.
Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our overall operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of investments to grow our business. The timing of our implementation activities and corresponding revenues from new customers are subject to fluctuations based on the timing of our sales, which has historically tended to be lower in the first half of the year. The timing of our implementations also varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. General economic conditions may continue to impact our business and our customers' spending patterns and budget cycles, and these conditions may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results. Our quarterly results of operations may vary significantly in the future and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future results.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have financed our operations primarily through the proceeds from the issuance of common stock from our initial public offering in March 2014, additional registered common stock offerings, convertible note offerings, and cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2024, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and investments of $446.6 million. Based upon our current levels of operations, we believe that our cash flow from operations along with our other sources of liquidity, including our ability to access capital markets and available borrowings under our $125.0 million Revolving Credit Agreement, are adequate to meet our cash requirements for the next twelve months. However, if we determine the need for additional short-term liquidity, there is no assurance that such financing, if pursued, would be adequate or available on terms acceptable to us.
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Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | |||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 135,751 | $ | 70,292 | $ | 36,556 | |||||
| Investing activities | (21,080) | 113,268 | (165,555) | ||||||||
| Financing activities | 13,317 | (152,012) | 5,882 | ||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (827) | 182 | (802) | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 127,161 | $ | 31,730 | $ | (123,919) |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Our cash flows from operating activities are primarily influenced by net loss less non-cash items, the amount and timing of customer receipts and vendor payments and by the amount of cash we invest in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth of our business and customer base.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, our net cash provided by operating activities was $135.8 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $189.1 million, partially offset by a net loss of $38.5 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $14.8 million. The primary drivers of cash outflows in operating assets and liabilities were a $31.9 million increase in deferred solution costs primarily from annual commission payments and deferred implementation costs from both new customers and existing customer expansions and a $12.0 million increase in prepaid and other current assets related to timing of various prepaid expenses, most notably a payroll date occurring at the very end of the quarter, partially offset by a $28.9 million increase in deferred revenue due to the timing of annual billings and deposits received from customers prior to the recognition of revenue from those related payments. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, amortization of debt issuance costs, deferred income taxes and lease impairments, partially offset by amortization of premiums and discounts on investments.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Our investing activities have consisted primarily of purchases and maturities of investments, acquisitions of businesses, costs incurred for the development of capitalized software and purchases of property and equipment to support our growth.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in investing activities was $21.1 million, consisting of $95.8 million for the purchase of investments, $22.3 million in capitalized software development costs and $6.7 million for the purchase of property and equipment, partially offset by $103.7 million received from the maturities of investments.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Our recent financing activities have consisted primarily of activity related to our convertible notes as well as net proceeds from exercises of stock options, contributions to our ESPP to purchase our common stock and payments for debt issuance costs related to the Revolving Credit Agreement.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities was $13.3 million, consisting of $14.3 million of cash received from exercises of stock options and contributions to our ESPP for the purchase of our common stock, partially offset by $0.9 million from payments for debt issuance costs related to the Revolving Credit Agreement.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Our principal commitments consist of the 2026 Notes, 2025 Notes, non-cancelable operating leases primarily related to our facilities, minimum purchase commitments for sponsorship obligations, third-party products, co-location fees and other product costs. Our obligations under our convertible senior notes and Revolving Credit Agreement are described in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Information regarding our non-cancellable lease and other purchase commitments as of December 31, 2024 can be found in Notes 10 and 11 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report, regarding the impact of certain recent accounting pronouncements.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001410384-24-000015.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" above for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. The following discussion and analysis also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a description and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures discussed in this section, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Overview
We are a leading provider of digital banking and lending solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, and alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, wanting to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with account holders and end users, or End Users. Our solutions include a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking solutions; digital lending and relationship pricing solutions; an open technology platform, the Q2 Innovation Studio, which is a portfolio of technologies and programs which can be leveraged to design, develop, and distribute innovative products, services, features, and integrations by enabling a partnership ecosystem on Q2's digital banking platform; and Helix, a comprehensive banking as a service, or BaaS, solution which also serves as a cloud-native core, both of which enable innovative companies and financial institutions to integrate unique banking products and services into their offerings. We purpose-build our platforms and solutions to enable success for our customers and technology partners by allowing them to digitize their operations and offerings, differentiate their digital brands, integrate traditional and emerging financial services, and ultimately, enhance their End-User acquisition, engagement and retention and improve their operational efficiencies and profitability.
Significant resources, personnel and expertise are required to effectively deliver and manage advanced digital banking and lending solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver unified and robust financial experiences across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific offerings, workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions and our data center infrastructure and resources are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
We have deep domain expertise in developing and delivering advanced digital banking and lending solutions designed to help our customers and technology partners compete in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry. Over 19 years ago, Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to RCFIs. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of broad market acceptance of our award-winning solutions and relentless innovation, investment and acquisitions. Our collection of solutions now spans digital banking, digital lending and relationship pricing, digital account opening, regulatory and compliance, account switching, data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management, and we serve account holders and borrowers across retail, SMB, and commercial segments, in addition to our open platform solutions and BaaS offerings. While we remain focused on our founding mission of building stronger and more diverse communities by strengthening their financial institutions, we intend to draw on our broad product portfolio and deep domain expertise to both further penetrate the digital banking market and drive meaningful expansion activity within our robust customer base across financial services.
The financial services industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by the growing demand within financial institutions to digitize their operations and offerings, as well as the rise of FinTechs and Alt-FIs, which are reshaping End User expectations for more innovative and engaging digital financial experiences. These shifts are leading to new roles and interdependencies among financial institutions, FinTechs and Alt-FIs, necessitating new technology, partnerships, and business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that are capable of supporting and enhancing this convergence. We have developed a comprehensive suite of solutions to accelerate and optimize this convergence, ranging from digitizing entire banks to facilitating partnerships between financial institutions, FinTechs, and Alt-FIs.
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We deliver our solutions to most of our customers using a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users (as defined below) or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of End Users on our solutions, the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions, and the excess number of users and transactions above what is included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, our revenues from digital banking platform customers grow as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of End Users utilizing our solutions and as those users increase their number of transactions on our solutions. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred.
We have achieved high growth since our inception. During each of the past 11 years, our average number of Registered Users per installed customer on our digital banking platform, or Installed Customer, has grown, and in many instances we have been able to sell additional solutions to existing customers. Our revenues per Installed Customer and per Registered User vary period-to-period based on the length and timing of customer implementations, changes in the average number of Registered Users per customer, sales of additional solutions to existing customers, changes in the number of transactions on our solutions by Registered Users and variations among existing customers and new customers with respect to the mix of purchased solutions and related pricing. Please see "Key Operating Measures" for additional detail on how we define "Installed Customers" and "Registered Users."
We believe we have the opportunity to continue to grow our business and that the investments we are making are positioning us to continue to realize revenue growth and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of any associated benefit. If we are successful in growing our revenues by selling additional innovative solutions to existing customers and creating deeper End User engagement, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We primarily sell our solutions through our direct sales organization. While the financial institutions market is well-defined due to the regulatory classifications of those financial institutions, markets for FinTechs and Alt-FIs are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address opportunities in the financial institution, FinTech and Alt-FI markets across the U.S. and internationally and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since we introduced it in 2005, and we intend to continue investing organically and to selectively pursue acquisitions of and strategic investments in technologies that will strengthen and expand the features and functionality of our solutions and provide access to new customers and new markets. Additionally, over the past several years we have acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs and Alt-FIs. Our integrated, end-to-end collection of solutions includes retail, SMB and commercial banking, regulatory and compliance, digital lending and relationship pricing, open platform solutions, BaaS, digital account opening, account switching and data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management solutions among others. We believe our solutions afford us a distinct competitive advantage, servicing retail, SMB and commercial needs and reflect the culmination of years of strategic development and innovation which in turn has solidified our competitive market position. We have also introduced the Q2 Innovation Studio, an API-based and SDK-based open technology platform that allows our financial institution customers and other technology partners to develop unique extensions of and integrations to our digital banking platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly and easily deploy customized experiences and the latest financial services expected by End Users.
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We believe that financial services providers are best served by a broad integrated portfolio of digital solutions that provide rapid, flexible and comprehensive integration with internal and third-party solutions allowing them to provide modern, intuitive, advanced and regulatory-compliant digital banking and lending services. We also believe that the breadth and depth of our solution offerings and customer base, our open and flexible platform approach, our position as a leading provider of digital banking solutions to a large network of financial institutions, and our expertise in delivering new, advanced, innovative and regulatory-compliant digital banking and lending solutions uniquely position us to capitalize on the evolving needs and challenges within the financial services industry, enabling us to effectively innovate and adapt our offerings to meet the ever-changing demands of our customers and their End Users. We intend to increase investments in technology innovation and software development as we enhance our solutions and platforms and increase or expand the number of solutions that we offer.
As our business grows, we intend to continue to invest in and grow our services and delivery organization to support our customers' needs, help them through their digital transformation, deliver our solutions in a timely and effective manner and maintain our strong reputation. We believe that delivery of consistent, high-quality customer support is a significant driver of purchasing and renewal decisions of our prospects and customers. To develop and maintain a reputation for high-quality service, we seek to build deep relationships with our customers through our customer service organization, which we staff with personnel who are motivated by our common mission of using technology to help our customers succeed and who are knowledgeable with respect to the regulated and complex nature of the financial services industry.
Recent Events
Global economic and business activities continue to face widespread macroeconomic uncertainties. We believe the combination of higher interest rates and inflation, tight labor markets, wage inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and other macroeconomic conditions continues to put pressure on corporate growth initiatives. Higher interest rates and recession fears, or an actual recession, also can reduce account holder demand for loans and can reduce the creditworthiness of existing borrowers, resulting in higher credit losses for financial institutions. However, we believe that higher interest rates also have increased the importance for financial institutions to attract and retain depository relationships, which we believe has increased demand for our digital banking solutions. In recent periods we have observed improved subscription bookings and associated revenue primarily from our digital banking solutions as a result of macroeconomic conditions placing an importance on attracting and retaining deposits. Additionally, recent bank failures have created market disruption and uncertainty for the financial services industry, in particular among RCFIs. To date, a substantial majority of our revenues continue to result from sales of our digital banking platform to U.S. based RCFIs. The actions taken by such institutions to address potential liquidity concerns have resulted in certain institutions incurring substantial costs that have negatively impacted, and may continue to negatively impact, their profitability and could lead to further market instability or bank failures. The current market conditions, including deteriorating performance of loan portfolios, capital constraints due to more stringent reserve requirements, and elevated levels of direct losses and charge-offs for some financial institutions, have also caused and may continue to cause financial institutions to reduce lending activity as they seek to increase their reserves to maintain better liquidity. While the U.S. government has taken measures to strengthen public confidence in the banking system and protect depositors, such steps may be insufficient to resolve the volatility in the financial markets and reduce the risk of additional bank failures.
We have a diversified customer base with no individual customer representing more than 3.5% of total revenue and our top 20 customers collectively accounting for less than 23% of total revenue, each for the year ended December 31, 2023. In recent periods, we have observed a decline in customer demand relative to our expectations for certain discretionary aspects of our solutions, namely professional services, which we believe may be related to challenging macroeconomic conditions. We have also observed a decline in transactional and other revenue from our Helix and payment solutions, resulting from decreased usage. We expect these trends to continue in 2024, or until the macroeconomic conditions and the health of the financial services industry improves. Further, as a result of continued macroeconomic uncertainty, starting in the second half of 2022, we began implementing certain measures to drive efficiencies in the organization and improve the scaling of expenses relative to revenue growth. In 2023, we increased the efficiency of our global workforce structure in order to reduce certain of our personnel related expenditures. We expect to continue to have lower expense growth relative to revenue growth into 2024 and beyond. The duration and severity of these general economic conditions and their long-term effects on us and our customers remain uncertain and difficult to predict. Refer to "Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" above for further discussion of the impact and possible future impacts of general macroeconomic uncertainty and the current challenges facing the financial services industry on our business.
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Key Operating Measures
In addition to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, measures described below in "Components of Operating Results," we monitor the following operating measures to evaluate growth trends, plan investments and measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
Installed Customers
We define Installed Customers as the number of customers on live implementations (or installations) of our digital banking platforms. The average size of our Installed Customers, measured in both Registered Users per Installed Customer and revenues per Installed Customer, has increased over time as our existing Installed Customers continue to add Registered Users and commercial account holders, buy more solutions from us, and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. The net rate at which we add Installed Customers varies based on our implementation capacity, the size and unique needs of our customers, the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions and customer attrition, including as a result of merger and acquisition activity among financial institutions. We had 450, 444 and 448 Installed Customers on our digital banking platform as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Registered Users
We define a Registered User as an individual related to an account holder of an Installed Customer on our consumer digital banking platform who has registered to use one or more of our digital banking solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. We generally price our consumer digital banking platform solutions based on the number of Registered Users, while our commercial digital banking platform solutions are priced using various methodologies. As the number of Registered Users of our solutions increases, our revenues generally tend to grow. Our average number of Registered Users per Installed Customer grows as our existing digital banking platform customers add more Registered Users and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. We anticipate that the number of Registered Users will grow at a faster rate than our number of Installed Customers, however this will be offset as our commercial digital banking platform represents a greater proportion of our Installed Customers solutions without the associated Registered User impact. The rate at which our customers add Registered Users varies significantly from period-to-period based on the timing of our implementations of new customers, the timing of registration of new End Users and customers performing inactive account clean-up. We add new Registered Users through both organic and inorganic growth from existing customers and from the addition of End Users from new Installed Customers. Our aggregate number of Registered Users is negatively impacted to the extent Installed Customers terminate all or a portion of their arrangements with us. Our Installed Customers had approximately 22.0 million, 21.1 million and 19.2 million Registered Users as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Net Revenue Retention Rate
We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our products and services over time is an indicator of the stability of our revenue base and the long-term value of our customer relationships. One of the ways we assess our performance in this area is by using a metric we refer to as our net revenue retention rate, which we previously referred to as our revenue retention rate. We calculate our net revenue retention rate as the total revenues in a calendar year, excluding any revenues from acquired customers during such year, from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of the total revenues during the prior year from the same group of customers. Our net revenue retention rate provides insight into the impact on current year revenues of: the number of new customers implemented on any of our solutions during the prior year; the timing of our implementation of those new customers in the prior year; growth in the number of End Users on such solutions and changes in their usage of such solutions; and sales of new products and services to our existing customers during the current year, excluding any products or services resulting from businesses acquired during such year and customer attrition. The most significant drivers of changes in our net revenue retention rate each year have historically been the number of new customers in the prior year and the timing of our implementation of those new customers. The timing of our implementation of new customers in the prior year is significant because we do not start recognizing revenues from new customers until they are implemented. If implementations are weighted more heavily in the first or second half of the prior year, our net revenue retention rate will be lower or higher, respectively. In the first half of 2021, our implementations were weighted more heavily, and we experienced a lower net revenue retention rate in 2022 as a result. The continued strength observed in subscription revenue derived from our existing customers, offset by the expected decline in discretionary services revenue with some of our existing customers was reflected in the decline in net revenue retention rate in 2023. Our use of net revenue retention rate has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate net revenue retention rate differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Our net revenue retention rate was 108%, 110% and 119% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Annualized Recurring Revenue
In addition to Total Annual Recurring Revenue, which we previously referred to as ARR, in the third quarter of 2023, we began reporting Subscription Annual Recurring Revenue, or Subscription ARR. We believe Subscription ARR, and Total Annual Recurring Revenue, or Total ARR, provide important information about our future revenue potential, our ability to acquire new clients, and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients. We calculate Subscription ARR as the annualized value of all recurring subscription revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Subscription ARR also includes the contracted minimum subscription amounts associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced. Subscription revenues are defined within "Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgements and Estimates." We calculate Total ARR as the annualized value of all recurring revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our Total ARR also includes the contracted minimums associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter for which revenue recognition has not yet commenced, and revenue generated from Premier Services. Premier Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them, which we deem to be recurring in nature. Total ARR does not include revenue from professional services or other sources of revenue that are not deemed to be recurring in nature. Subscription and Total ARR are not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates. Subscription and Total ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as Subscription and Total ARR are operating metrics and are not intended to be combined with or replace these items. Our use of Subscription and Total ARR has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate Subscription ARR and Total ARR differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Our Subscription ARR was $593.9 million, $500.9 million and $426.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our Total ARR was $734.8 million, $655.2 million and $574.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Revenue Churn
We utilize revenue churn to monitor the satisfaction of our customers and evaluate the effectiveness of our business solutions and strategies. We define revenue churn as the amount of any monthly recurring revenue losses due to customer cancellations and downgrades, net of upgrades and replacements of existing solutions, during a year, divided by our monthly recurring revenue at the end of the prior year. Cancellations refer to customers that have either stopped using our services completely or remained a customer but terminated a particular service. Downgrades are a result of customers taking less of a particular service or renewing their contract for identical services at a lower price. We had annual revenue churn of 6.1%, 6.3% and 5.4% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our use of revenue churn has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate revenue churn differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures to clarify and enhance our understanding, and aid in the period-to-period comparison, of our performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information that is meaningful when assessing our operating performance because they exclude the impact of certain categories that our management and board of directors do not consider part of core operating results when assessing our operational performance, allocating resources, preparing annual budgets and determining compensation. Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures may provide insight to investors into the motivation and decision-making of management in operating the business. Set forth in the tables below are the corresponding GAAP financial measures for each non-GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most comparable GAAP financial measure included below. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, their most comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in their financing and accounting methods, the book value of their assets, their capital structures, the method by which their assets were acquired and the manner in which they define non-GAAP measures. Items such as the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets and lease and other restructuring charges can have a material impact on our GAAP financial results.
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Non-GAAP Revenue
We define non-GAAP revenue as total revenue excluding the impact of purchase accounting. We monitor these measures to assess our performance because we believe our revenue growth rates would be understated without these adjustments. We believe presenting non-GAAP revenue aids in the comparability between periods and in assessing our overall operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| GAAP revenue | $ | 624,624 | $ | 565,673 | $ | 498,720 | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 344 | 644 | 2,129 | ||||||||
| Total Non-GAAP revenue | $ | 624,968 | $ | 566,317 | $ | 500,849 |
Non-GAAP Operating Income
We provide non-GAAP operating income that excludes such items as deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets and lease and other restructuring charges. We believe excluding these items is useful for the following reasons:
•Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We believe that the exclusion of deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations.
•Amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to purchased technology and intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We believe that eliminating these expenses from our non-GAAP measures is useful to investors, because the amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisition transactions, which also vary in frequency from period to period. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period, both with and without such expenses.
•Stock-based compensation. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to stock-based compensation. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense provides for a better comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies as the calculations of stock-based compensation vary from period to period and company to company due to different valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation, we exclude these expenses when analyzing the organization's business performance.
•Transaction-related costs. We exclude certain expense items resulting from our evaluation and completion of merger and acquisition and divestiture opportunities, such as related legal, accounting and consulting fees and retention expense. We consider these adjustments, to some extent, to be unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are outside of our control. Furthermore, transaction-related activities result in operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude transaction-related costs allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of less acquisitive peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Lease and other restructuring charges. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes restructuring charges related to the estimated costs of exiting and terminating facility lease commitments, partially offset by anticipated sublease income, any related impairments of the right of use assets as they relate to corporate restructuring and exit activities, as well as severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value. These charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of these events. Therefore, although we may incur these types of expenses in the future, we believe that eliminating these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
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| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| GAAP operating loss | $ | (86,057) | $ | (104,761) | $ | (77,995) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 344 | 644 | 2,129 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 79,188 | 65,157 | 54,334 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 24 | 1,194 | 3,099 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 23,402 | 22,690 | 21,969 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 20,667 | 18,248 | 17,901 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 12,092 | 13,225 | 2,008 | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP operating income | $ | 49,660 | $ | 16,397 | $ | 23,445 |
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss before depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, transaction-related costs, provision for income taxes, interest and other (income) expense, net, deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, (gain) loss on extinguishment of debt, and lease and other restructuring charges. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
•adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company's operating performance with and without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
•our management uses adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our operating performance, to assess the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance;
•adjusted EBITDA provides more consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of our operations and also facilitates comparisons with other companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results; and
•our investor and analyst presentations include adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our overall operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations such as:
•depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, and the assets being depreciated or amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
•adjusted EBITDA may not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest or tax payments that could reduce cash available for use; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
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Because of these and other limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA together with our GAAP financial measures including cash flow from operations and net loss. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA: | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (65,384) | $ | (108,983) | $ | (112,746) | |||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 71,707 | 61,659 | 54,833 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 79,188 | 65,157 | 54,334 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 24 | 1,194 | 3,099 | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 3,562 | 2,908 | 1,643 | ||||||||
| Interest and other (income) expense, net | (4,724) | 1,087 | 31,063 | ||||||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 344 | 644 | 2,129 | ||||||||
| (Gain) loss on extinguishment of debt | (19,869) | — | 1,513 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 12,092 | 13,225 | 2,008 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 76,940 | $ | 36,891 | $ | 37,876 |
Components of Operating Results
Revenues
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or with cloud-based service providers, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees. We recognize the corresponding revenues over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term or as incurred based on the nature of the revenue. A small portion of our revenues are derived from customers which host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. We recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term. We recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license.
Subscription fees are based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the number of End Users using the solutions and other usage fees those users generate using our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. Subscription fees are billed monthly, quarterly or annually and are recognized monthly over the term of our customer agreements. The initial term of our digital banking platform agreements averages over five years, although it varies by customer. The structure and terms of our digital lending and relationship pricing arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. We begin recognizing subscription fees when the control of the service transfers to the customer, generally when the solution is implemented and made available to the customer. We recognize revenue for debit card and bill-pay related transaction services generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Helix products and other payment services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions. The timing of our implementations varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. We typically recognize any related implementation services revenues ratably over the initial customer agreement term beginning on the date we commence recognizing subscription fees. Contract asset balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable, and in revenues or deferred revenues, depending on when control of the service transfers to the customer.
We continue to monitor the impacts that higher interest rates, the current inflationary environment, challenges in the financial services industry, and global macroeconomic uncertainty may have on our business. In recent periods, we have observed a decline in customer demand relative to our expectations for certain discretionary aspects of our solutions, namely professional services, which we believe may be related to challenging macroeconomic conditions. We have also observed a decline in transactional and other revenue from our Helix and payment solutions, resulting from decreased usage. We expect these trends to continue in 2024, or until the macroeconomic conditions and the health of the financial services industry improves. In recent periods we have observed improved subscription bookings and associated revenue primarily from our digital banking solutions as a result of macroeconomic conditions placing an importance on attracting and retaining deposits. As
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of December 31, 2023, our subscription revenue growth was 16% year over year, and we expect subscription revenue will continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue contribution. The recent challenging macroeconomic conditions and uncertainties in the financial services industry continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, for employees providing services to our customers. This includes the costs of our personnel performing implementation, customer support, data center and customer training activities. Cost of revenues also includes the direct costs of bill-pay and other third-party intellectual property included in our solutions, the amortization of deferred solution and services costs, amortization of certain software development costs, co-location facility costs and depreciation of our data center assets, debit card related pass-through fees, cloud-based hosting services, an allocation of general overhead costs, the amortization of acquired technology intangibles and referral fees. We allocate general overhead expenses to all departments based on the number of employees in each department, which we consider to be a fair and representative means of allocation.
We capitalize certain personnel costs directly related to the implementation of our solutions to the extent those costs are recoverable from future revenues. We amortize the costs for an implementation once revenue recognition commences, and we amortize those implementation costs to cost of revenues over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology. Other costs not directly recoverable from future revenues are expensed in the period incurred.
We capitalize certain software development costs for those employees who are directly associated with and who devote time to developing our software solutions on an individual product basis, including those related to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams, as well as third-party development costs. Software development costs are amortized to cost of revenues when products and enhancements are released or made available over the products' estimated economic lives.
We intend to continue to increase our investments in our implementation and customer support teams and technology infrastructure to serve our customers and support our growth. Over the long term, we expect cost of revenues to continue to grow in absolute dollars as we grow our business but to fluctuate as a percentage of revenues based principally on cost efficiencies realized in the business, the level and timing of implementation support activities, timing of capitalized software development costs, debit card related pass-through fees, and other related costs.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consist of sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses. They also include costs related to our acquisitions and the resulting amortization of acquired intangible assets from those acquisitions. Over the long term, we intend to continue to hire new employees and make other investments to support our anticipated growth. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues over the long term as we grow our business.
We have from time-to-time experienced difficulty in hiring, training and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications, resulting in difficulty managing personnel costs due to competition for talent and the related pressure to improve employee benefits and compensation to remain competitive. Further, as a result of continued macroeconomic uncertainty, starting in the second half of 2022, we began implementing certain measures to drive efficiencies in the organization and improve the scaling of expenses relative to revenue growth. In 2023, we increased the efficiency of our global workforce structure in order to reduce certain of our personnel related expenditures. We expect to continue to have lower expense growth relative to revenue growth into 2024 and beyond.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including commissions, employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to advertising, lead generation, promotional events, corporate communications, travel and allocated overhead.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues will change in any given period based on several factors including the addition of newly hired sales professionals, the number and timing of newly installed customers and the amount of sales commissions expense amortized related to those customers. Commissions are generally capitalized and then amortized over the expected period of customer benefit. Sales and marketing expenses are impacted by the timing of significant marketing programs such as our annual in-person client conference, which we typically hold during the second quarter of each year.
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Research and Development
We believe that continuing to improve and enhance our solutions is essential to maintaining our reputation for innovation and growing our customer base and revenues. Research and development expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, third-party contractor expenses, software development costs, allocated overhead and other related expenses incurred in developing new solutions and enhancing existing solutions.
Certain research and development costs that are related to our software development, which include salaries and other personnel-related costs, comprised of employee benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams working on our software solutions, are capitalized and included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets. We intend to continue our investments in our software development teams and the associated technology in order to serve our customers and support our growth.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, legal, human resources employees and certain members of our executive team. General and administrative expenses also include consulting and professional fees, insurance, travel and other corporate expenses. We expect to continue to incur incremental expenses associated with the growth of our business and to meet increased compliance requirements associated with operating as a regulated, public company. These expenses include costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations governing public companies, increased costs of directors' and officers' liability insurance and investor relations activities.
Transaction-Related Costs
Transaction-related costs include compensation expenses related to milestone provisions and retention agreements with certain former shareholders and employees of acquired businesses, which are recognized as earned, and various legal and professional service expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture related matters, which are recognized when incurred.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles represents the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection with our business acquisitions which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of certain facilities, any related impairment of the right of use assets and ongoing expenses of other vacated facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from the associated facilities, as well as severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value.
Total Other Income (Expense), Net
Total other income (expense), net, consists primarily of interest income and expense, other non-operating income and expense, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, foreign currency translation adjustment and gain (loss) on extinguishment of debt. We earn interest income on our cash, cash equivalents and investments. Interest expense consists primarily of the interest from the amortization of debt issuance costs and coupon interest attributable to our convertible notes issued in February 2018, or 2023 Notes, our convertible notes issued in June 2019, or 2026 Notes and our convertible notes issued in November 2020, or 2025 Notes, as well as fees and interest associated with the letter of credit issued to our landlord for the security deposit for our corporate headquarters.
Provision for Income Taxes
As a result of our current net operating loss position, our income tax expenses and benefits consist primarily of state current income tax expense, deferred income tax expense relating to the tax amortization of recently acquired goodwill and current income tax expense from foreign operations.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results might differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we believe that the accounting policies discussed below involve the greatest degree of complexity and exercise of significant judgments and estimates by our management. The methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations and, accordingly, we believe the policies described below are the most critical for understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services over the term of the agreement, generally when our solutions are implemented and made available to our customers. The promised consideration may include fixed amounts, variable amounts or both. Revenues are recognized net of sales credits and allowances.
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or with cloud-based service providers, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions, revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions and certain third-party related pass-through fees.
Subscription Revenues
Our software solutions are available for use as hosted application arrangements under subscription fee agreements without licensing rights to the software. Subscription fees from these applications, including contractual periodic price increases, are recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term beginning on the date our solution is made available to the customer. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and deferred revenues or revenues, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Periodic price increases are estimated at contract inception where appropriate and result in contract assets as revenue recognition may exceed the amount billed early in the contract. Additional fees for monthly usage above the levels included in the standard subscription fee are recognized as revenue in the month when the usage amounts are determined and reported.
A small portion of our customers host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. Term licenses sold with maintenance entitle the customer to technical support, upgrades and updates to the software on a when-and-if-available basis. We recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term. We recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license. Revenues from term licenses and maintenance agreements were not significant in the periods presented.
Transactional Revenues
We generate a majority of our transactional revenues based on the number of bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform. We also generate a portion of our transactional revenues from third-party fees related to End Users utilizing remote deposit products and from fees generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Helix products. We recognize revenue for transaction services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions.
Services and Other Revenues
Implementation services are required for new digital banking and lending and other standalone contracts, and there is a significant level of integration and configuration for each customer. Our revenue for implementation services is billed upfront and generally recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer's term for our hosted application agreements. Implementation services for on-premises agreements are recognized at commencement date. Under certain circumstances, we have determined that these implementation services qualify as a separate performance obligation in certain markets and geographies, and the implementation services for these agreements are recognized over time as services are performed.
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Professional services revenues consist primarily of Premier Services. Premier Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services, resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them. Professional services revenues also consist of custom services, core conversion services and other general professional services. These revenues are generally billed and recognized when delivered. Other Revenues also include certain third-party related pass-through fees primarily in our Helix business that are not transactional in nature.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses billed to customers are recorded as revenues rather than an offset to the related expense.
Significant Judgments
Performance Obligations and Standalone Selling Price
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of accounting. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment. We have contracts with customers that often include multiple performance obligations, usually including multiple subscription and implementation services. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations that are separately identifiable by allocating the contract's total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the relative standalone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct good or service in the contract. In determining whether implementation services are distinct from subscription services, we considered various factors including the significant level of integration, interdependency, and interrelation between the implementation and subscription service, as well as the inability of the customer's personnel or other service providers to perform significant portions of the services. We have concluded that the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations across the majority of our markets and product offerings are not distinct and, as a result, we defer any arrangement fees for implementation services and recognize such amounts over time on a ratable basis as one performance obligation with the underlying subscription revenue for the initial agreement term of the hosted application agreements. We have concluded that for some of our products in certain markets the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct and, as a result, we recognize implementation fees on such arrangements over time as services are performed.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a particular point in time is for usage revenue, on-premise software licenses and certain professional services. These services are recognized as the customer obtains control of the asset, as services are performed, or the point the customer obtains control of the software.
Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We determine SSP based on overall pricing objectives and strategies, taking into consideration entity-specific factors, including the value of our contracts, historical standalone sales, customer demographics and the numbers and types of users within our contracts.
Variable Consideration
We recognize usage revenue related to End Users accessing our products in excess of contracted amounts and from fees that End Users generate using our solutions. Judgment is required to determine the accounting for these types of revenue. We consider various factors including the degree to which usage is interdependent or interrelated to past services, costs to us per user over the contract, and contractual price per user changes and their relationship to market terms, forecasted data, and our cost to fulfill the obligation. We have concluded that our usage revenue relates specifically to the transfer of the service to the customer and is consistent with the allocation objective of Topic 606 when considering all of the performance obligations and payment terms in the contract. Therefore, we recognize usage revenue on a monthly or quarterly basis in accordance with the agreement, as determined and reported. This allocation reflects the amount we expect to receive for the services for the given period.
We sometimes provide credits or incentives to our customers. Known and estimable credits and incentives represent a form of variable consideration, which are estimated at contract inception and generally result in reductions to revenues recognized for a particular contract. These estimates are updated at the end of each reporting period as additional information becomes available. We believe that there will not be significant changes to our estimates of variable consideration as of December 31, 2023.
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Other Considerations
We evaluate whether we are the principal (i.e., report revenues on a gross basis) or agent (i.e., report revenues on a net basis) with respect to the vendor reseller agreements pursuant to which we resell certain third-party solutions along with our solutions. Generally, we report revenues from these types of contracts on a gross basis, meaning the amounts billed to customers are recorded as revenues, and expenses incurred are recorded as cost of revenues. Where we are the principal, we first obtain control of the inputs to the specific good or service and direct their use to create the combined output. Our control is evidenced by our involvement in the integration of the good or service on our platform before it is transferred to our customers and is further supported by us being primarily responsible to our customers and having a level of discretion in establishing pricing. Revenues provided from agreements in which we are an agent are insignificant.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation includes grants of stock options, restricted stock units, or RSUs, performance-based restricted stock units, and purchase rights under our employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, and is used to compensate employees, directors and consultants. All awards are measured at fair value on grant date and forfeitures are recognized as they occur.
We value RSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. RSUs typically vest in equal installments over a four-year period and compensation expense is recognized straight-line over the requisite service period.
We value stock options and purchase rights under the ESPP using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs including the risk-free interest rate, expected term and expected volatility and we assume no dividend yield. Generally, options vest 25% on the one-year anniversary of the grant date with the balance vesting monthly over the following 36 months. Our ESPP has two six-month offering periods which commence on each June 1 and December 1. We recognize compensation expense straight-line over the requisite service period for stock options and over the withholding period for the ESPP.
We grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our total stockholder return, or TSR, performance relative to the TSR performance of specified stock indexes, or TSR PSUs, and previously referred to as Market Stock Units, or MSUs. We value TSR PSUs and MSUs on grant date using the Monte Carlo simulation model. The determination of fair value is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions including the expected volatility and the risk-free interest rate. Our expected volatility at the date of grant is based on the historical volatilities of our stock and peer firms' stocks and the Index over the performance period. We assume no dividend yield and recognize compensation expense ratably over the performance period of the award, as applicable. TSR PSUs and MSUs vest based on TSR relative to the TSR as set forth in the award agreement. The minimum percentage that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. TSR PSUs and MSUs will vest over two-year and three-year performance periods. We recognize compensation expense using the graded attribution method on a straight-line basis over the performance period for each award, as applicable.
We also grant performance-based restricted stock units which provide for shares of common stock to be earned based on our attainment of Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of non-GAAP Revenue relative to a target specified in the applicable agreement, or EBITDA PSUs. We value EBITDA PSUs at the closing market price on the date of grant. The minimum percentage of EBITDA PSUs that can vest is 0%, with a maximum percentage of 200%. The vesting of EBITDA PSUs is conditioned upon the achievement of certain internal targets and will vest over a two-year and three-year performance period. We recognize compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method over the performance period, if it is probable that the performance condition will be achieved. Adjustments to compensation expense are made each reporting period based on changes in our estimate of the number of EBITDA PSUs that are probable of vesting.
Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
The purchase price allocation for business combinations and asset acquisitions requires extensive use of accounting estimates and judgments to allocate the purchase price to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. We determine whether substantially all the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If this threshold is met, the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, is not a business. If it is not met, we determine whether the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, meets the definition of a business.
In connection with our business combinations, we recorded certain intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Amounts allocated to the acquired intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives. We periodically review the estimated useful lives and fair values of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances which might result in a diminished fair value or revised useful life.
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The excess purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. We test goodwill for impairment annually in October, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Because we operate as a single reporting unit, the impairment test is performed at the consolidated entity level by comparing our estimated fair value to our carrying value. We estimate the fair value of the reporting unit using a "step one" analysis using a fair-value-based approach based on market capitalization to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Determining the fair value of goodwill is subjective in nature and often involves the use of estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, use of estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast. If actual results, or the plans and estimates used in future impairment analyses are lower than the original estimates used to assess the recoverability of these assets, we could incur impairment charges in a future period.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Impairment of long-lived assets such as property and equipment, acquired intangible assets, capitalized software development costs and right of use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of our long-lived assets by comparing the carrying amount of the asset group to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the carrying value is not recoverable, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our results of operations data for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Revenues(1) | $ | 624,624 | $ | 565,673 | $ | 498,720 | |||||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 321,973 | 309,328 | 273,685 | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 302,651 | 256,345 | 225,035 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 109,522 | 108,214 | 85,564 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 137,334 | 130,103 | 116,952 | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 110,186 | 90,163 | 77,915 | ||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | 24 | 1,176 | 2,690 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 20,667 | 18,248 | 17,901 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 10,975 | 13,202 | 2,008 | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 388,708 | 361,106 | 303,030 | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | (86,057) | (104,761) | (77,995) | ||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net(3) | 24,235 | (1,314) | (33,108) | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (61,822) | (106,075) | (111,103) | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (3,562) | (2,908) | (1,643) | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (65,384) | $ | (108,983) | $ | (112,746) |
______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of $0.3 million, $0.6 million and $2.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of $23.4 million, $22.7 million and $22.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of $19.9 million, a reduction of zero and a $1.5 million expense related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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The following table sets forth our results of operations data as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Revenues(1) | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 51.5 | % | 54.7 | % | 54.9 | % | |||
| Gross margin | 48.5 | % | 45.3 | % | 45.1 | % | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 17.5 | % | 19.1 | % | 17.2 | % | |||
| Research and development | 22.0 | % | 23.0 | % | 23.5 | % | |||
| General and administrative | 17.6 | % | 15.9 | % | 15.6 | % | |||
| Transaction-related costs | — | % | 0.2 | % | 0.5 | % | |||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 3.3 | % | 3.2 | % | 3.6 | % | |||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 1.8 | % | 2.3 | % | 0.4 | % | |||
| Total operating expenses | 62.2 | % | 63.8 | % | 60.8 | % | |||
| Loss from operations | (13.8) | % | (18.5) | % | (15.6) | % | |||
| Total other income (expense), net(3) | 3.9 | % | (0.2) | % | (6.6) | % | |||
| Loss before income taxes | (9.9) | % | (18.8) | % | (22.3) | % | |||
| Provision for income taxes | (0.6) | % | (0.5) | % | (0.3) | % | |||
| Net loss | (10.5) | % | (19.3) | % | (22.6) | % |
_______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.4% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of 3.7%, 4.0% and 4.4% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(3) Includes a gain of 3.2%, a reduction of 0.0% and a 0.3% expense related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of the line items in the tables above.
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Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 is presented below. A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 can be found under Item 7 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Revenues
The following table presents our revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 624,624 | $ | 565,673 | $ | 58,951 | 10.4 | % |
Revenues increased by $59.0 million, or 10.4%, from $565.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $624.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase in revenue was primarily attributable to a $63.9 million increase in subscription revenue from the sale of additional solutions to new and existing customers and growth in Registered Users from new and existing customers, partially offset by a $2.0 million decrease in transactional revenue and a $3.0 million decrease in services and other revenue from declines in professional and discretionary services and pass-through revenue related to our Helix solutions.
Cost of Revenues
The following table presents our cost of revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 321,973 | $ | 309,328 | $ | 12,645 | 4.1 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 51.5 | % | 54.7 | % |
Cost of revenues increased by $12.6 million, or 4.1%, from $309.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $322.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to a $7.8 million increase in co-location facility costs and depreciation for our data center assets resulting from the increased infrastructure necessary to support our growing customer base, a $6.6 million increase from the amortization of capitalized software development and capitalized implementation services, a $2.4 million increase in personnel costs, including an increase in the number of personnel who provide implementation and customer support services and maintain our data centers and other technical infrastructure and a $0.7 million increase from amortization of acquired customer technology resulting from the Sensibill business acquired in the fourth quarter of 2022, partially offset by a $2.3 million decrease in pass-through fees, a $2.0 million decrease in third-party costs related to intellectual property included in our solutions and transaction processing costs incurred and a $0.6 million decrease in overhead costs and other discretionary expenses.
We continue to invest in personnel, business process improvement, third-party partners for intellectual property and transactional processing in our solutions and systems infrastructure to standardize our business processes and drive future efficiency in our implementations, cloud-based hosting services, customer support and data center operations. As we continue to make these investments, we expect they will increase cost of revenues in absolute dollars, and we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue as our operations continue to scale and revenues grow.
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Operating Expenses
The following tables present our operating expenses for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 109,522 | $ | 108,214 | $ | 1,308 | 1.2 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 17.5 | % | 19.1 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $1.3 million, or 1.2%, from $108.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $109.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to a $0.9 million increase in personnel costs related to our sales and marketing organizations supporting current and projected bookings, expansion of our customer base, and revenue growth and a $0.5 million increase in travel-related expenses.
We anticipate that sales and marketing expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars in the long-term as we continue to support our revenue growth and increase marketing spend to attract new customers, retain and grow existing customers, build brand awareness, and as we continue to hold in-person sales formats and experiences for future user conferences, including our annual client conference typically held during the second quarter. While we anticipate sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long-term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 137,334 | $ | 130,103 | $ | 7,231 | 5.6 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 22.0 | % | 23.0 | % |
Research and development expenses increased by $7.2 million, or 5.6%, from $130.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $137.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This increase was primarily attributable to a $14.3 million increase in personnel costs as a result of the growth in our research and development organization to support continued enhancements to our solutions and a $0.7 million increase in travel-related expenses, partially offset by a $7.9 million decrease as a result of increased capitalized software development costs.
We anticipate that research and development expenses will increase in absolute dollars in the future as we continue to support and expand our platform and enhance our existing solutions, as we believe existing customers will have an increased focus on maintaining and improving their digital offerings. While we anticipate research and development expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a near-term basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long-term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 110,186 | $ | 90,163 | $ | 20,023 | 22.2 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 17.6 | % | 15.9 | % |
General and administrative expenses increased by $20.0 million, or 22.2%, from $90.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $110.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to a $13.2 million increase in personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, to support the growth of our business, a $6.6 million increase in professional services, including third-party legal fees and a $1.2 million increase in charitable contributions, partially offset by a $0.9 million decrease in bad debt expense.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation and other personnel-related costs of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, legal, human resources employees and certain members of our executive team. General and administrative expenses also include costs to comply with regulations governing public companies and financial institutions, costs of directors' and officers' liability insurance, third-party legal fees, investor
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relations activities and costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX. Over the long term, we anticipate that general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars as we continue to incur both increased external audit fees as well as additional spending to ensure continued regulatory and SOX compliance. We expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the longer term as our revenues grow and we realize cost efficiencies in the business.
Transaction-Related Costs
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Transaction-related costs | $ | 24 | $ | 1,176 | $ | (1,152) | (98.0) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | — | % | 0.2 | % |
Transaction-related costs decreased by $1.2 million, or 98.0%, from $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $0.02 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Transaction-related costs are related to various legal and professional expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition and divestiture activities.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | $ | 20,667 | $ | 18,248 | $ | 2,419 | 13.3 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 3.3 | % | 3.2 | % |
Amortization of acquired intangibles increased by $2.4 million, or 13.3%, from $18.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $20.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The acquired intangible assets are related to previously disclosed business combinations.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | $ | 10,975 | $ | 13,202 | $ | (2,227) | (16.9) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 1.8 | % | 2.3 | % |
Lease and other restructuring charges decreased by $2.2 million, or 16.9%, from $13.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the decrease in lease and other restructuring charges was primarily attributable to a net $4.2 million decrease related to the vacating of various facilities primarily during the year ended December 31, 2022, including the associated impairment of the right of use asset, updated assessments and ongoing expenses of these facilities, partially offset by sublease income, partially offset by a $2.0 million increase related to severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives intended to align our resources to the portions of our business that we believe will drive the most long-term value.
Total Other Income (Expense), Net
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | 24,235 | $ | (1,314) | $ | 25,549 | (1,944.4) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 3.9 | % | (0.2) | % |
Total other income (expense), net represented a net income of $24.2 million for the for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to a net expense of $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The change was primarily due to a $19.9 million gain on the extinguishment of debt from the partial repurchase of the 2026 Notes and the 2025 Notes and a $6.0 million
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increase in income from cash and investments, partially offset by a $0.7 million decrease in other income related to a favorable settlement of an ordinary course dispute recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022.
Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (3,562) | $ | (2,908) | $ | (654) | 22.5 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | (0.6) | % | (0.5) | % |
Total provision for income taxes increased by $0.7 million from $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in the tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 related to the operations of the business and an increase in net tax benefits from uncertain tax position releases related to Texas.
Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our overall operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of investments to grow our business. The timing of our implementation activities and corresponding revenues from new customers are subject to fluctuations based on the timing of our sales. Historically, sales have tended to be lower in the first half of the year, but any resulting impact on our results of operation has been difficult to measure due to the timing of our implementations and overall growth in our business. The timing of our implementations also varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions.
We continue to monitor the impacts that higher interest rates, the current inflationary environment, challenges in the financial services industry, and global macroeconomic uncertainty may have on our business. The recent challenging macroeconomic conditions and uncertainties in the financial services industry continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
Our quarterly results of operations may vary significantly in the future and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future results.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have financed our operations primarily through the proceeds from the issuance of common stock from our initial public offering in March 2014, additional registered common stock offerings, including our June 2019 and May 2020 common stock offerings, our February 2018 convertible note offering, our June 2019 convertible note offering, our November 2020 convertible note offering, and cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2023, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and investments of $324.0 million. Based upon our current levels of operations, we believe that our cash flow from operations along with our other sources of liquidity, which include our ability to access capital markets, are adequate to meet our cash requirements for the next twelve months. However, if we determine the need for additional short-term liquidity, there is no assurance that such financing, if pursued, would be adequate or available on terms acceptable to us.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | |||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 70,292 | $ | 36,556 | $ | 31,092 | |||||
| Investing activities | 113,268 | (165,555) | (65,129) | ||||||||
| Financing activities | (152,012) | 5,882 | (51,160) | ||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 182 | (802) | (167) | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 31,730 | $ | (123,919) | $ | (85,364) |
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Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Our cash flows from operating activities are primarily influenced by net loss less non-cash items, the amount and timing of customer receipts and vendor payments and by the amount of cash we invest in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth of our business and increase in the number of installed customers.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, our net cash provided by operating activities was $70.3 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $161.4 million, partially offset by a net loss of $65.4 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $25.7 million. The primary drivers of cash outflows in operating assets and liabilities were a $32.4 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs from both new customers and existing customer expansions, partially offset by a $8.9 million increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities due to timing of payments in support of our expanding customer base and related growth in our technical infrastructure and accrual of annual bonuses to be paid during the first quarter of 2024. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, amortization of debt issuance costs and lease impairments, partially offset by a gain on extinguishment of debt.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash provided by operating activities was $36.6 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $166.0 million, partially offset by a net loss of $109.0 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $20.5 million. The primary driver of the changes in operating assets and liabilities related to a $19.8 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs due to our increased customer growth and new and existing customers undergoing implementations during the period and a $10.4 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities due to timing of payments in support of our expanding customer base and related growth in our technical infrastructure and payment of annual bonuses during the first quarter. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, lease and other restructuring charges and amortization of debt issuance costs.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, our net cash provided by operating activities was $31.1 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $168.3 million, partially offset by a net loss of $112.7 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $24.5 million. The primary driver of the changes in operating assets and liabilities related to a $25.6 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs due to our increased customer growth and new and existing customers undergoing implementations during the period. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs and loss on the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Our investing activities have consisted primarily of purchases and maturities of investments, acquisitions of businesses, purchases of property and equipment to support our growth and costs incurred for the development of capitalized software.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by investing activities was $113.3 million, consisting of $220.8 million received from the maturities of investments, partially offset by $76.9 million for the purchase of investments, $25.0 million in capitalized software development costs and $5.7 million for the purchase of property and equipment.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in investing activities was $165.6 million, consisting of $293.0 million for the purchase of investments, $18.9 million in capitalized software development costs, $11.1 million for the purchase of property and equipment and $5.0 million for the acquisition of Sensibill, net of cash acquired. These outflows were partially offset by $162.5 million received from the maturities of investments.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $65.1 million, consisting of $124.0 million for the purchase of investments, $64.7 million for the acquisition of ClickSWITCH, net of cash acquired, $19.8 million for the purchase of property and equipment, and $5.9 million in capitalized software development costs. These outflows were partially offset by $149.2 million received from the maturities of investments.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Our recent financing activities have consisted primarily of activity related to our convertible notes as well as net proceeds from exercises of options and contributions to our ESPP to purchase our common stock.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in financing activities was $152.0 million, consisting of $149.6 million for the partial repurchase of the 2025 Notes and the 2026 Notes as well as $10.9 million in payment for maturity of the 2023 Notes, partially offset by $8.4 million of cash received from exercises of stock options and contributions to our ESPP for the purchase of our common stock.
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For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash provided by financing activities was $5.9 million, consisting of cash received from exercises of stock options and contributions to our ESPP for the purchase of our common stock.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in financing activities was $51.2 million, consisting of $63.7 million for the partial repurchase of 2023 Notes, partially offset by $6.6 million of net proceeds received in connection with the early termination of bond hedges and warrants related to the 2023 Notes, and $5.9 million of cash received from the exercise of stock options.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Our principal commitments consist of the 2026 Notes, 2025 Notes, non-cancelable operating leases related to our facilities, minimum purchase commitments for sponsorship obligations, third-party products, co-location fees and other product costs. Our obligations under our convertible senior notes are described in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Information regarding our non-cancellable lease and other purchase commitments as of December 31, 2023 can be found in Notes 10 and 11 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report, regarding the impact of certain recent accounting pronouncements.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001410384-23-000015.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the sections titled "Risk Factors" and “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” above for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. The following discussion and analysis also includes a discussion of certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a description and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures discussed in this section, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Overview
We are a leading provider of secure, cloud-based digital solutions that transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with account holders and end users, or End Users. We offer our solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, and other innovative companies, or Brands, wishing to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions include a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking solutions; lending solutions; an open technology platform, the Q2 Innovation Studio, which is a portfolio of technologies and programs which can be leveraged to design, develop, and distribute innovative products, services, features, and integrations by enabling a partnership ecosystem on Q2's digital banking platform; and Helix, a comprehensive banking as a service, or BaaS, solution, which enables innovative companies to integrate banking products and services into their offerings. We purpose-build our platforms and solutions to enable success for our customers and technology partners by allowing them to digitize their operations and offerings, differentiate their digital brands, integrate traditional and emerging financial services, and ultimately, enhance their End-User acquisition, engagement and retention and improve their operational efficiencies and profitability.
The effective delivery and management of secure and advanced digital solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry requires significant resources, personnel and expertise. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver unified and robust financial experiences across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific offerings, workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions and our data center infrastructure and resources are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
We have deep domain expertise in developing and delivering secure, advanced digital solutions designed to help our customers and technology partners compete in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry. Over 18 years ago, Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to regional and community financial institutions. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of broad market acceptance of our award-winning solutions and relentless innovation, investment and acquisitions, while expanding our solutions to larger financial institutions. Our portfolio of solutions now spans digital banking, lending, profitability, onboarding, security, and we now serve account holders and borrowers across retail, small business and commercial segments, in addition to our open technology platform and BaaS offerings. While we remain focused on our founding mission of building stronger and more diverse communities by strengthening their financial institutions, we intend to draw on our broad solution portfolio, deep domain expertise and robust customer base to lead the transformation into a new frontier of financial services.
The financial services industry is undergoing tremendous change, influenced by three major factors. First, financial institutions demand now, more than ever, to digitize their operations and offerings. Second, FinTechs and the innovation they bring to the market are increasing End-User demand and expectations for new, more engaging and meaningful digital financial experiences. And third, major innovative Brands recognize that incorporating banking into their strategy is an opportunity to leverage the trust that their End Users place in them, driving deeper engagement with those End Users. These three forces continue to converge, creating what we believe is a new frontier in financial services in which financial institutions, FinTechs and Brands will have new roles and interdependencies, and which will require new technology, new partners, and new business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that can support and enhance the convergence of these forces. In addition, we have built a broad set of solutions that we believe equips us to accelerate and optimize this convergence – from digitizing the entire bank, to facilitating partnerships among financial institutions and FinTechs, to enabling Brands to incorporate banking into their products and customer relationships.
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We deliver our solutions to most of our customers using a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, our revenues from digital banking platform customers grow as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of End Users utilizing our solutions and as those users increase their number of transactions on our solutions. The structure and terms of our newer lending arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs and Brands vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred.
We have achieved significant growth since our inception. During each of the past 10 years, our average number of Registered Users (as defined below) per installed customer on our digital banking platform, or Installed Customer, has grown, and in many instances we have been able to sell additional solutions to existing customers. Our revenues per Installed Customer and per Registered User vary period-to-period based on the length and timing of customer implementations, changes in the average number of Registered Users per customer, sales of additional solutions to existing customers, changes in the number of transactions on our solutions by Registered Users and variations among existing customers and new customers with respect to the mix of purchased solutions and related pricing. Please see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Operating Measures" for additional detail on how we define "Installed Customers" and "Registered Users."
We believe we have a significant opportunity to continue to grow our business and that the investments we are making are positioning us to continue to realize revenue growth and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of any associated benefit which at times may make it difficult to determine if we are effectively allocating our resources. If we are successful in growing our revenues by selling additional innovative solutions to existing customers and creating deeper End User engagement, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We sell our solutions primarily through our professional sales organization. While the financial institutions market is well-defined due to the regulatory classifications of those financial institutions, markets for FinTechs, Alt-FIs and brands are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address opportunities in the financial institution, FinTech, Alt-FI and Brand markets across the U.S. and internationally and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since its introduction in 2005, and we intend to continue investing both organically and inorganically through acquisitions to expand our portfolio of solutions. Additionally, over the past several years we have acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs, Alt-FIs and Brands. Our integrated, end-to-end collection of solutions includes retail, small business and commercial banking, regulatory and compliance, digital lending, relationship pricing, open platform solutions, BaaS, digital account opening, account switching and data-driven sales enablement, spending insights and portfolio management solutions among others. We have also introduced the Q2 Innovation Studio, an API-based and SDK-based open technology platform that allows our financial institution customers and other technology partners to develop unique extensions of and integrations to our digital banking platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly and easily deploy customized experiences and the latest financial services expected by End Users.
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We believe that financial services providers are best served by a broad integrated portfolio of digital solutions that provide rapid, flexible and comprehensive integration with internal and third-party solutions allowing them to provide modern, intuitive digital financial services in a secure, regulatory-compliant manner. We also believe that the breadth and depth of our solution offerings and customer base, our open and flexible platform approach, our position as a leading provider of digital banking solutions to a large network of financial institutions, and our expertise in delivering new, innovative, secure and regulatory-compliant digital solutions uniquely position us to capitalize on the new frontier in financial services. We currently intend to increase investments in technology innovation and software development as we enhance our solutions and platforms and increase or expand the number of solutions that we offer.
As our business grows, we intend to continue to invest in and grow our services and delivery organization to support our customers' needs, help them through their digital transformation, deliver our solutions in a timely and effective manner and maintain our strong reputation. We believe that delivery of consistent, high-quality customer support is a significant driver of purchasing and renewal decisions of our prospects and customers. To develop and maintain a reputation for high-quality service, we seek to build deep relationships with our customers through our customer service organization, which we staff with personnel who are motivated by our common mission of using technology to help our customers succeed and who are knowledgeable with respect to the regulated and complex nature of the financial services industry.
Recent Events
Macroeconomic conditions and the residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to change globally. We believe the combination of product inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, tight labor markets and wage inflation, pricing volatility for certain goods and services, developments related to the U.S. federal debt ceiling, geopolitical uncertainty, and other macroeconomic conditions puts pressure on corporate growth initiatives. Rising interest rates and recession fears, or an actual recession, also can reduce account holder demand for loans and can reduce the creditworthiness of existing borrowers, resulting in higher credit losses for financial institutions. Financial institutions may respond to this challenging operating environment by reducing or delaying purchases of digital solutions and associated services. During the second half of 2022, we observed a decline in customer demand relative to our expectations earlier in the year for certain discretionary aspects of our solutions, namely professional services, which we believe may be related to the current challenging macroeconomic environment. During the second half of 2022, we also observed a decline in transactional revenue from our Helix and payment solutions, resulting from decreased usage. We expect continued negative impacts on our professional services and transactional revenue into 2023 and until the macroeconomic environment stabilizes or improves. As a result of the macroeconomic impacts on our discretionary services and transactional revenue in the second half of 2022, we are anticipating a continued impact on those services in 2023. Further, as a result of the continued macroeconomic uncertainty, during the second half of 2022, we implemented certain measures to manage our expenses, which we expect to and will continue to have an emphasis on cost growth mitigation and profitable growth into 2023. The duration and severity of these events, general economic conditions and their long-term effects on us and our customers remain uncertain and difficult to predict. Refer to "Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" above and in our other SEC filings for further discussion of the impact and possible future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and general macroeconomic uncertainty on our business.
Key Operating Measures
In addition to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, measures described below in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Components of Operating Results," we monitor the following operating measures to evaluate growth trends, plan investments and measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
Installed Customers
We define Installed Customers as the number of customers on live implementations (or installations) of our digital banking platforms. The average size of our Installed Customers, measured in both Registered Users per Installed Customer and revenues per Installed Customer, has increased over time as our existing Installed Customers continue to add Registered Users and commercial account holders, buy more solutions from us, and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. The net rate at which we add Installed Customers varies based on our implementation capacity, the size and unique needs of our customers, the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions and customer attrition, including as a result of merger and acquisition activity among financial institutions. We had 444, 448 and 450 Installed Customers on our digital banking platform as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The year-over-year change in our Installed Customer count for 2022 was associated with an uptick in customer go-lives, offset by customer merger and acquisition activity and customer terminations.
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Registered Users
We define a Registered User as an individual related to an account holder of an Installed Customer on our consumer digital banking platform who has registered to use one or more of our digital banking solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. We generally price our consumer digital banking platform solutions based on the number of Registered Users, while our commercial digital banking platform solutions are priced using various methodologies, some of which have minimal impact on Registered Users. As the number of Registered Users of our solutions increases, our revenues generally tend to grow. Our average number of Registered Users per Installed Customer grows as our existing digital banking platform customers add more Registered Users and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. We anticipate that the number of Registered Users will grow at a faster rate than our number of Installed Customers, however this will be offset as our commercial digital banking platform represents a greater proportion of our Installed Customers solutions without the associated Registered User impact. The rate at which our customers add Registered Users vary significantly period-to-period based on the timing of our implementations of new customers, the timing of registration of new End Users and customers performing inactive account clean-up. We add new Registered Users through both organic and inorganic growth from existing customers and from the addition of End Users from new Installed Customers. Our aggregate number of Registered Users is negatively impacted to the extent Installed Customers terminate all or a portion of their arrangements with us. Our Installed Customers had approximately 21.1 million, 19.2 million and 17.8 million Registered Users as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Net Revenue Retention Rate
We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our products and services over time is an indicator of the stability of our revenue base and the long-term value of our customer relationships. We assess our performance in this area using a metric we refer to as our net revenue retention rate, which we previously referred to as our revenue retention rate. We calculate our net revenue retention rate as the total revenues in a calendar year, excluding any revenues from acquired customers during such year, from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of the total revenues during the prior year from the same group of customers. Our net revenue retention rate provides insight into the impact on current year revenues of: the number of new customers implemented on any of our solutions during the prior year; the timing of our implementation of those new customers in the prior year; growth in the number of End Users on such solutions and changes in their usage of such solutions; and sales of new products and services to our existing customers during the current year, excluding any products or services resulting from businesses acquired during such year and customer attrition. The most significant drivers of changes in our net revenue retention rate each year have historically been the number of new customers in the prior year and the timing of our implementation of those new customers. The timing of our implementation of new customers in the prior year is significant because we do not start recognizing revenues from new customers until they are implemented. If implementations are weighted more heavily in the first or second half of the prior year, our net revenue retention rate will be lower or higher, respectively. In the first half of 2021, our implementations were weighted more heavily, and we experienced a lower net revenue retention rate in 2022 as a result. Our use of net revenue retention rate has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate net revenue retention rate differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Our net revenue retention rate was 110%, 119% and 122% for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Annualized Recurring Revenue
We believe Annualized Recurring Revenue, or ARR, provides important information about our future revenue potential, our ability to acquire new clients, and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients. We calculate ARR as the annualized value of all recurring revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our ARR also includes the contracted minimums associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter that have not yet commenced, and revenue generated from Premier Services. Premier Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them, which we deem to be recurring in nature. ARR does not include revenue from professional services or other sources of revenue that are not deemed to be recurring in nature. ARR is not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as ARR is an operating metric and is not intended to be combined with or replace these items. Our use of ARR has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate ARR differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Our ARR was $655.2 million, $574.2 million and $464.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
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Revenue Churn
We utilize revenue churn, which we previously have referred to simply as churn, to monitor the satisfaction of our customers and evaluate the effectiveness of our business solutions and strategies. We define revenue churn as the amount of any monthly recurring revenue losses due to customer cancellations and downgrades, net of upgrades and replacements of existing solutions, during a year, divided by our monthly recurring revenue at the end of the prior year. Cancellations refer to customers that have either stopped using our services completely or remained a customer but terminated a particular service. Downgrades are a result of customers taking less of a particular service or renewing their contract for identical services at a lower price. We had annual revenue churn of 6.3%, 5.4% and 5.9% for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. Our use of revenue churn has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate revenue churn differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures to clarify and enhance our understanding, and aid in the period-to-period comparison, of our performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information that is meaningful when assessing our operating performance because they exclude the impact of certain categories that our management and board of directors do not consider part of core operating results when assessing our operational performance, allocating resources, preparing annual budgets and determining compensation. Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures may provide insight to investors into the motivation and decision-making of management in operating the business. Set forth in the tables below are the corresponding GAAP financial measures for each non-GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most comparable GAAP financial measure included below. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, their most comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in their financing and accounting methods, the book value of their assets, their capital structures, the method by which their assets were acquired and the manner in which they define non-GAAP measures. Items such as the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, acquisition related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, partnership termination charges and lease and other restructuring charges can have a material impact on our GAAP financial results.
Non-GAAP Revenue
We define non-GAAP revenue as total revenue excluding the impact of purchase accounting. We monitor these measures to assess our performance because we believe our revenue growth rates would be understated without these adjustments. We believe presenting non-GAAP revenue aids in the comparability between periods and in assessing our overall operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| GAAP revenue | $ | 565,673 | $ | 498,720 | $ | 402,751 | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 644 | 2,129 | 4,404 | ||||||||
| Total Non-GAAP revenue | $ | 566,317 | $ | 500,849 | $ | 407,155 |
Non-GAAP Operating Income
We provide non-GAAP operating income excluding such items as deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, acquisition related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, partnership termination charges and lease and other restructuring charges. We believe excluding these items is useful for the following reasons:
•Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We believe that the exclusion of deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations.
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•Amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to purchased technology and intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We believe that eliminating these expenses from our non-GAAP measures is useful to investors, because the amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisition transactions, which also vary in frequency from period to period. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period, both with and without such expenses.
•Stock-based compensation. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to stock-based compensation. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense provides for a better comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies as the calculations of stock-based compensation vary from period to period and company to company due to different valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation, we exclude these expenses when analyzing the organization's business performance.
•Acquisition related costs. We exclude certain expense items resulting from our evaluation and completion of merger and acquisition opportunities, such as related legal, accounting and consulting fees, as well as changes in fair value of contingent consideration and retention expense. We consider these adjustments, to some extent, to be unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are outside of our control. Furthermore, merger and acquisition activities result in operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude acquisition related costs, allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of less acquisitive peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Partnership termination charges. In the quarter ended June 30, 2020, in connection with the termination of a strategic partnership, we agreed to pay a termination fee of $5.6 million in May 2020 and $7.6 million in the third quarter of 2021. We are excluding the charges associated with this partnership termination as they are non-recurring in nature and would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude partnership termination charges allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Lease and other restructuring charges. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes restructuring charges related to the estimated costs of exiting and terminating facility lease commitments, partially offset by anticipated sublease income, any related impairments of the right of use assets as they relate to corporate restructuring and exit activities, as well as severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives to optimally align our resources to the businesses that will drive the most long-term value. These charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of these events. Therefore, although we may incur these types of expenses in the future, we believe that eliminating these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| GAAP operating loss | $ | (104,761) | $ | (77,995) | $ | (99,833) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 644 | 2,129 | 4,404 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 65,157 | 54,334 | 49,235 | ||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | 1,194 | 3,099 | 1,408 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 22,690 | 21,969 | 21,341 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 18,248 | 17,901 | 17,888 | ||||||||
| Partnership termination charges | — | — | 13,244 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 13,225 | 2,008 | 2,181 | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP operating income | $ | 16,397 | $ | 23,445 | $ | 9,868 |
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Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss before depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, acquisition related costs, provision for income taxes, interest and other (income) expense, net, deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, partnership termination charges, loss on extinguishment of debt, and lease and other restructuring charges. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
•adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company's operating performance with and without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
•our management uses adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our operating performance, to assess the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance;
•adjusted EBITDA provides more consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of our operations and also facilitates comparisons with other companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results; and
•our investor and analyst presentations include adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our overall operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations such as:
•depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, and the assets being depreciated or amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
•adjusted EBITDA may not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest or tax payments that could reduce cash available for use; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these and other limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA together with our GAAP financial measures including cash flow from operations and net loss. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA: | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (108,983) | $ | (112,746) | $ | (137,620) | |||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 61,659 | 54,833 | 51,840 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 65,157 | 54,334 | 49,235 | ||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | 1,194 | 3,099 | 1,408 | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2,908 | 1,643 | 1,416 | ||||||||
| Interest and other (income) expense, net | 1,087 | 31,063 | 27,180 | ||||||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 644 | 2,129 | 4,404 | ||||||||
| Partnership termination charges | — | — | 13,244 | ||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | — | 1,513 | 8,932 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | 13,225 | 2,008 | 2,181 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 36,891 | $ | 37,876 | $ | 22,220 |
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Components of Operating Results
Revenues
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or with cloud-based service providers, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions, and revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions. We recognize the corresponding revenues over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term. A small portion of our revenues are derived from customers which host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. We recognize the software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license and the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license.
Subscription fees are based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the number of End Users using the solutions and other usage fees those users generate using our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. Subscription fees are billed monthly, quarterly or annually and are recognized monthly over the term of our customer agreements. The initial term of our digital banking platform agreements averages over five years, although it varies by customer. The structure and terms of our newer lending arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs and Brands vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. We begin recognizing subscription fees when the control of the service transfers to the customer, generally when the solution is implemented and made available to the customer. We recognize revenue for bill-pay transaction services generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with its Helix products in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions. The timing of our implementations varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. We recognize any related implementation services revenues ratably over the initial customer agreement term beginning on the date we commence recognizing subscription fees. Contract asset balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable, and in revenues or deferred revenues, depending on when control of the service transfers to the customer.
We continue to monitor the impacts the current inflationary environment and a potential global macroeconomic slowdown may have on our business into 2023. During the second half of 2022, we observed a decline in customer demand relative to our expectations earlier in the year for certain discretionary aspects of our solutions, namely professional services, which we believe may be related to the current challenging macroeconomic environment. During the second half of 2022, we also observed a decline in transactional revenue from our Helix and payment solutions, resulting from decreased usage. We expect continued negative impacts on our professional services and transactional revenue into 2023 and until the macroeconomic environment stabilizes or improves. However, we believe that our subscription revenue growth will accelerate in 2023 and continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue contribution. The recent challenging macroeconomic conditions and the residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, for employees providing services to our customers. This includes the costs of our personnel performing implementation, customer support, data center and customer training activities. Cost of revenues also includes the direct costs of bill-pay and other third-party intellectual property included in our solutions, the amortization of deferred solution and services costs, amortization of certain software development costs, co-location facility costs and depreciation of our data center assets, debit card related pass-through fees, cloud-based hosting services, an allocation of general overhead costs, the amortization of acquired technology intangibles, and referral fees. We allocate general overhead expenses to all departments based on the number of employees in each department, which we consider to be a fair and representative means of allocation.
We capitalize certain personnel costs directly related to the implementation of our solutions to the extent those costs are recoverable from future revenues. We amortize the costs for an implementation once revenue recognition commences, and we amortize those implementation costs to cost of revenues over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology. Other costs not directly recoverable from future revenues are expensed in the period incurred.
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We capitalize certain software development costs for those employees who are directly associated with and who devote time to developing our software solutions on an individual product basis, including those related to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams, as well as third-party development costs. Software development costs are amortized to cost of revenues when products and enhancements are released or made available over the products' estimated economic lives.
We intend to continue to increase our investments in our implementation and customer support teams and technology infrastructure to serve our customers and support our growth. Over the long term, we expect cost of revenues to continue to grow in absolute dollars as we grow our business but to fluctuate as a percentage of revenues based principally on the level and timing of implementation support activities, timing of capitalized software development costs, debit card related pass-through fees, and other related costs.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consist of sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses. They also include costs related to our acquisitions and the resulting amortization of acquired intangible assets from those acquisitions. Over the long term, we intend to continue to hire new employees and make other investments to support our anticipated growth. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues over the long term as we grow our business.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, we experienced an exceptionally challenging hiring environment and intense competition for technical talent, resulting in incremental expenses related to the hiring process, including increased utilization of paid third parties to identify and hire talent. The hiring environment may continue to have the potential to drive increased inflation in the wages we have to pay to hire and retain qualified employees in future periods. Additionally, while throughout 2021 most of our employees continued to work remotely from home and we suspended most non-essential business travel and conference participation, during 2022 many of these activities, including costs associated with onsite attendance, resumed. As a result, we anticipate that we will continue to see a gradual increase in certain costs associated with operating physical locations and facilitating employee travel in future periods. Additionally, we believe employee preferences between remote, hybrid and onsite attendance are likely to change over time, and we will continue to adapt our physical facilities and IT infrastructure to accommodate a safe and successful work experience for our onsite, hybrid and remote employees. As a result of the macroeconomic impacts on our discretionary services and transactional revenue in the second half of 2022, we are anticipating a continued impact on those services in 2023.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including commissions, employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to advertising, lead generation, promotional events, corporate communications, travel and allocated overhead.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues will change in any given period based on several factors including the addition of newly hired sales professionals, the number and timing of newly-installed customers and the amount of sales commissions expense amortized related to those customers. Commissions are generally capitalized and then amortized over the expected period of customer benefit. Sales and marketing expenses will also be impacted by the timing of significant marketing programs such as our return to hosting our annual client conference in person in the Spring of 2023, which we typically hold during the second quarter.
Research and Development
We believe that continuing to improve and enhance our solutions is essential to maintaining our reputation for innovation and growing our customer base and revenues. Research and development expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, third-party contractor expenses, software development costs, allocated overhead and other related expenses incurred in developing new solutions and enhancing existing solutions.
Certain research and development costs that are related to our software development, which include salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams working on our software solutions, are capitalized and are included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets. We intend to continue our investments in our software development teams and the associated technology in order to serve our customers and support our growth.
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General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, legal and human resources employees. General and administrative expenses also include consulting and professional fees, insurance, travel and other corporate expenses. We expect to continue to incur incremental expenses associated with the growth of our business and to meet increased compliance requirements associated with operating as a regulated, public company. These expenses include costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations governing public companies, increased costs of directors' and officers' liability insurance and investor relations activities.
Acquisition Related Costs
Acquisition related costs include compensation expenses related to milestone provisions and retention agreements with certain former shareholders and employees of acquired businesses, which are recognized as earned, changes in fair value of the contingent consideration related to potential acquisition earnout payments and various legal and professional service expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition related matters, which are recognized when incurred.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles represents the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection with our business acquisitions which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Partnership Termination Charges
Partnership termination charges represent the fees paid related to termination of a strategic partnership during the quarter ended June 30, 2020. These charges are non-recurring in nature and would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations.
Lease and other restructuring charges
Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of certain facilities, any related impairment of the right of use assets and ongoing expenses of other vacated facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from the associated facilities, as well as severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives to optimally align our resources to the businesses that will drive the most long-term value.
Total Other Income (Expense), Net
Total other income (expense), net, consists primarily of interest income and expense, other non-operating income and expense, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, foreign currency translation adjustment and loss on extinguishment of debt. We earn interest income on our cash, cash equivalents and investments. Interest expense consists primarily of the interest from the amortization of debt discount prior to the adoption of ASU 2020-06, issuance costs, and coupon interest attributable to our convertible notes issued in February 2018, or 2023 Notes, our convertible notes issued in June 2019, or 2026 Notes, and our convertible notes issued in November 2020, or 2025 Notes, as well as fees and interest associated with the letter of credit issued to our landlord for the security deposit for our corporate headquarters.
Provision for Income Taxes
As a result of our current net operating loss position, current income tax expenses and benefits consist primarily of state income tax expense, deferred income tax expense relating to the tax amortization of recently acquired goodwill and income tax expense from foreign operations.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results might differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
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Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we believe that the accounting policies discussed below involve the greatest degree of complexity and exercise of significant judgments and estimates by our management. The methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations and, accordingly, we believe the policies described below are the most critical for understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services over the term of the agreement, generally when our solutions are implemented and made available to our customers. The promised consideration may include fixed amounts, variable amounts or both. Revenues are recognized net of sales credits and allowances.
Revenue-generating activities are directly related to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or cloud-based hosting services, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and revenues for professional services and implementation services related to our solutions.
Subscription Revenues
Our software solutions are available for use as hosted application arrangements under subscription fee agreements without licensing rights to the software. Subscription fees from these applications, including contractual periodic price increases, are recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term beginning on the date our solution is made available to the customer. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and deferred revenues or revenues, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Periodic price increases are estimated at contract inception where appropriate and result in contract assets as revenue recognition may exceed the amount billed early in the contract. Additional fees for monthly usage above the levels included in the standard subscription fee are recognized as revenue in the month when the usage amounts are determined and reported.
A small portion of our customers host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. Term licenses sold with maintenance entitle the customer to technical support, upgrades and updates to the software on a when-and-if-available basis. We recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term. We recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license. Revenues from term licenses and maintenance agreements were not significant in the periods presented.
Transactional Revenues
We generate the majority of our transactional revenues based on the number of bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform. We also generate a smaller portion of our transactional revenues from fees generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Helix products. We recognize revenue for bill-pay transaction services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions.
Services and Other Revenues
Implementation services are required for new digital banking and lending platform and other standalone contracts, and there is a significant level of integration and configuration for each customer. Our revenue for implementation services is billed upfront and generally recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term for our hosted application agreements. Implementation services for on-premises agreements are recognized at commencement date. Under certain circumstances, we have determined that these implementation services qualify as a separate performance obligation in certain markets and geographies, and the implementation services for these agreements are recognized over time as services are performed.
Professional services revenues consist primarily of Premier Services. Premier Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services, resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them. Professional services revenues also consist of custom services, core conversion services and other general professional services. These revenues are generally billed and recognized when delivered. Other Revenues also include certain debit card related pass-through fees that are not directly tied to card utilization.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses billed to customers are recorded as revenues rather than an offset to the related expense.
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Significant Judgments
Performance Obligations and Standalone Selling Price
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of accounting. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment. We have contracts with customers that often include multiple performance obligations, usually including multiple subscription and implementation services. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations that are separately identifiable by allocating the contract's total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the relative standalone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct good or service in the contract. In determining whether implementation services are distinct from subscription services, we considered various factors including the significant level of integration, interdependency, and interrelation between the implementation and subscription service, as well as the inability of the customer's personnel or other service providers to perform significant portions of the services. We have concluded that the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations across the majority of our markets and product offerings are not distinct and, as a result, we defer any arrangement fees for implementation services and recognize such amounts over time on a ratable basis as one performance obligation with the underlying subscription revenue for the initial agreement term of the hosted application agreements. We have concluded that for some of our products in certain markets the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct and, as a result, we recognize implementation fees on such arrangements over time as services are performed.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a particular point in time is for usage revenue, on-premise software licenses and certain professional services. These services are recognized as the customer obtains control of the asset, as services are performed, or the point the customer obtains control of the software.
Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The primary method used to estimate SSP is the adjusted market assessment approach, which considers its overall pricing objectives, market conditions and other factors, including the value of our contracts, our discounting practices, the size and volume of our transactions, customer characteristics, price lists, go-to-market strategy, historical standalone sales and agreement prices, and the number and types of users within our contracts.
Variable Consideration
We recognize usage revenue related to a number of different interactions with our products including bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform, interchange fees that End Users generate using our solutions, instances of remote deposit capture utilization and End User text messaging events. Judgment is required to determine the accounting for these types of revenue. We consider various factors including the degree to which usage is interdependent or interrelated to past services, costs to us per user over the contract, and contractual price per user changes and their relationship to market terms, forecasted data, and our cost to fulfill the obligation. We have concluded that our usage revenue relates specifically to the transfer of the service to the customer and is consistent with the allocation objective of Topic 606 when considering all of the performance obligations and payment terms in the contract. Therefore, we recognize usage revenue on a monthly or quarterly basis in accordance with the agreement, as determined and reported. This allocation reflects the amount we expect to receive for the services for the given period.
We sometimes provide credits or incentives to our customers. Known and estimable credits and incentives represent a form of variable consideration, which are estimated at contract inception and generally result in reductions to revenues recognized for a particular contract. These estimates are updated at the end of each reporting period as additional information becomes available. We believe that there will not be significant changes to our estimates of variable consideration as of December 31, 2022.
Other Considerations
We evaluate whether we are the principal (i.e., report revenues on a gross basis) or agent (i.e., report revenues on a net basis) with respect to the vendor reseller agreements pursuant to which we resell certain third-party solutions along with our solutions. Generally, we report revenues from these types of contracts on a gross basis, meaning the amounts billed to customers are recorded as revenues, and expenses incurred are recorded as cost of revenues. Where we are the principal, we first obtain control of the inputs to the specific good or service and direct their use to create the combined output. Our control is evidenced by our involvement in the integration of the good or service on our platform before it is transferred to our customers and is further supported by us being primarily responsible to our customers and having a level of discretion in establishing pricing. Revenues provided from agreements in which we are an agent are insignificant.
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Stock-Based Compensation
Stock options, restricted stock units, and market stock units awarded to employees, directors, and consultants are measured at fair value at each grant date. We do not use a forfeiture rate to recognize compensation expense. Generally, options vest 25% on the one-year anniversary of the grant date with the balance vesting monthly over the following 36 months, and restricted stock unit awards vest in four annual installments of 25% each. Market stock units are performance-based awards that vest based on our stockholder return relative to the total stockholder return of the Russell 2000 Index, or Index. Market stock units granted prior to fiscal 2021 vest over a three-year period on the anniversary of the date of grant, generally with anywhere from zero to up to one-third of the target shares of our common stock subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the first and second years and anywhere from zero to up to 200% of the full target number of shares subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the completion of the three-year performance period (less any shares earned for years one and two) based on the average price of our common stock relative to the Index during the performance period. Beginning in March 2021, newly granted market stock units vest over a two-year and three-year period, each running from approximately the date of grant, with anywhere from zero to up to one-third of the target shares of our common stock subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after completion of the two-year performance period and anywhere from zero to up to 200% of the full target number of shares subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the completion of the three-year performance period (less any shares earned for the two-year performance period) based on the average price of our common stock relative to the Index during the performance period. From time to time, we may make grants of restricted stock units or market stock units with vesting formulas that vary from those described above.
We value stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the risk-free interest rate, expected life, expected stock price volatility and dividend yield. The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates for constant maturity U.S. Treasury securities consistent with the expected term of our employee stock options. The expected life represents the time the stock options are expected to be outstanding and is based on the simplified method. Under the simplified method, the expected life of an option is presumed to be the mid-point between the vesting date and end of the contractual term. We use the simplified method due to the lack of sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to otherwise estimate the expected life of the stock options. Expected volatility is based on historical volatilities for publicly traded stock of comparable companies over the estimated expected life of the stock options. We assume no dividend yield because we do not expect to pay dividends in the near future, which is consistent with our history of not paying dividends. We recognize compensation expense ratably over the requisite service period of the stock option award.
We value restricted stock units at the closing market price on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense ratably over the requisite service period of the restricted stock unit award.
We estimate the fair value of market stock units on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The determination of fair value of the market stock units is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions including the expected volatility and the risk-free interest rate. Our expected volatility at the date of grant was based on the historical volatilities of our stock and peer firms' stocks and the Index over the performance period. We assume no dividend yield and recognize compensation expense ratably over the performance period of the market stock unit award. We recognize compensation expense using the graded attribution method on a straight-line basis over the performance period for each market stock unit award.
Effective January 3, 2022, we implemented our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP, previously approved by our board of directors and stockholders in March 2014. The ESPP generally permits our domestic employees who meet certain criteria to purchase our common stock through payroll deductions during six month offering periods. As is permitted under the ESPP, the initial offering period in fiscal 2022 extended for four months from February 1, 2022 through May 31, 2022, with the subsequent offering period extending from June 1, 2022 through November 30, 2022. For all subsequent years, unless otherwise determined by the compensation committee of the board of directors, there will be additional six-month offering periods commencing on each of June 1 and December 1. The ability to purchase shares of our common stock for 85% of the lower of the price on the first day of the offering period or the last day of the offering period represents an option and, therefore, the ESPP is a compensatory plan. Accordingly, stock-based compensation expense is determined based on the grant date fair value as estimated by applying the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and is recognized straight-line over the withholding period. We recognize compensation expense ratably over the requisite service period.
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Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
The purchase price allocation for business combinations and asset acquisitions requires extensive use of accounting estimates and judgments to allocate the purchase price to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. We determine whether substantially all the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If this threshold is met, the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, is not a business. If it is not met, we determine whether the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, meets the definition of a business.
In connection with our business combinations, we recorded certain intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Amounts allocated to the acquired intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives. We periodically review the estimated useful lives and fair values of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances which might result in a diminished fair value or revised useful life.
The excess purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. We test goodwill for impairment annually in October, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Because we operate as a single reporting unit, the impairment test is performed at the consolidated entity level by comparing the estimated fair value of the company to the carrying value of the company. We estimate the fair value of the reporting unit using a "step one" analysis using a fair-value-based approach based on the market capitalization or a discounted cash flow analysis of projected future results to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Determining the fair value of goodwill is subjective in nature and often involves the use of estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, use of estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast. If actual results, or the plans and estimates used in future impairment analyses are lower than the original estimates used to assess the recoverability of these assets, we could incur impairment charges in a future period. The annual impairment test was performed as of October 31, 2022. No impairment of goodwill was identified during 2022.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Impairment of long-lived assets such as property and equipment, acquired intangible assets, capitalized software development costs and right of use assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. We evaluate the recoverability of our long-lived assets by comparing the carrying amount of the asset group to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows. If the carrying value is not recoverable, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its fair value.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our results of operations data for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Revenues(1) | $ | 565,673 | $ | 498,720 | $ | 402,751 | |||||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 309,328 | 273,685 | 228,152 | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 256,345 | 225,035 | 174,599 | ||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 108,214 | 85,564 | 72,323 | ||||||||
| Research and development | 130,103 | 116,952 | 97,381 | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 90,163 | 77,915 | 70,937 | ||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | 1,176 | 2,690 | 478 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 18,248 | 17,901 | 17,888 | ||||||||
| Partnership termination charges | — | — | 13,244 | ||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges(3) | 13,202 | 2,008 | 2,181 | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 361,106 | 303,030 | 274,432 | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | (104,761) | (77,995) | (99,833) | ||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net(4) | (1,314) | (33,108) | (36,371) | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (106,075) | (111,103) | (136,204) | ||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (2,908) | (1,643) | (1,416) | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (108,983) | $ | (112,746) | $ | (137,620) |
______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of $0.6 million, $2.1 million and $4.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of $22.7 million, $22.0 million and $21.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(3) Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of various facilities and any related impairment of the right of use assets, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from these facilities and severance and other related compensation charges.
(4) Includes a reduction of zero, $1.5 million and $8.9 million related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our 2023 Notes for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
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The following table sets forth our results of operations data as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods indicated:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Revenues(1) | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
| Cost of revenues(2) | 54.7 | % | 54.9 | % | 56.6 | % | |||
| Gross margin | 45.3 | % | 45.1 | % | 43.4 | % | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 19.1 | % | 17.2 | % | 18.0 | % | |||
| Research and development | 23.0 | % | 23.5 | % | 24.2 | % | |||
| General and administrative | 15.9 | % | 15.6 | % | 17.6 | % | |||
| Acquisition related costs | 0.2 | % | 0.5 | % | 0.1 | % | |||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 3.2 | % | 3.6 | % | 4.4 | % | |||
| Partnership termination charges | — | % | — | % | 3.3 | % | |||
| Lease and other restructuring charges(3) | 2.3 | % | 0.4 | % | 0.5 | % | |||
| Total operating expenses | 63.8 | % | 60.8 | % | 68.1 | % | |||
| Loss from operations | (18.5) | % | (15.6) | % | (24.8) | % | |||
| Total other income (expense), net(4) | (0.2) | % | (6.6) | % | (9.0) | % | |||
| Loss before income taxes | (18.8) | % | (22.3) | % | (33.8) | % | |||
| Provision for income taxes | (0.5) | % | (0.3) | % | (0.4) | % | |||
| Net loss | (19.3) | % | (22.6) | % | (34.2) | % |
_______________________________________________________________________________
(1) Includes deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting of 0.1%, 0.4% and 1.1% for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(2) Includes amortization of acquired technology of 4.0%, 4.4% and 5.3% for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(3) Lease and other restructuring charges include costs related to the early vacating of various facilities and any related impairment of the right of use assets, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from these facilities and severance and other related compensation charges.
(4) Includes a reduction of 0.0%, 0.3% and 2.2% related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our 2023 Notes for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of the line items in the tables above.
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 is presented below. A discussion regarding year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 can be found under Item 7 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Revenues
The following table presents our revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 565,673 | $ | 498,720 | $ | 66,953 | 13.4 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Revenues increased by $67.0 million, or 13.4%, from $498.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $565.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase in revenue was primarily attributable to a $50.9 million increase from the sale of additional solutions to new and existing customers and growth in Registered Users from new and existing customers. In addition, $17.5 million of the increase was generated from the sale of additional professional services and pass-through fees.
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Cost of Revenues
The following table presents our cost of revenues for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 309,328 | $ | 273,685 | $ | 35,643 | 13.0 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 54.7 | % | 54.9 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Cost of revenues increased by $35.6 million, or 13.0%, from $273.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $309.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to an $14.4 million increase in third-party costs related to intellectual property included in our solutions, transaction processing costs incurred as a result of the increase in End Users from new and existing customers, as well as an increase in pass-through fees, a $10.7 million increase in personnel costs due to an increase in the number of personnel who provide implementation and customer support services and maintain our data centers and other technical infrastructure, a $6.2 million increase in co-location facility costs and depreciation for our data center assets resulting from the increased infrastructure necessary to support our growing customer base, a $2.0 million increase in overhead costs and other discretionary and travel-related expenses, a $1.3 million increase from amortization of capitalized implementation services and a $0.7 million increase from amortization of acquired customer technology resulting from our recently acquired businesses.
We continue to invest in personnel, business processes, third-party partners for intellectual property and transactional processing in our solutions and systems infrastructure to standardize our business processes and drive future efficiency in our implementations, customer support and data center operations. We expect these investments will increase cost of revenues in absolute dollars as we continue to make investments in capacity, process improvement and systems infrastructure, and we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of revenue as our operations continue to scale and revenues grow.
Operating Expenses
The following tables present our operating expenses for each of the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):
Sales and Marketing
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 108,214 | $ | 85,564 | $ | 22,650 | 26.5 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 19.1 | % | 17.2 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Sales and marketing expenses increased by $22.7 million, or 26.5%, from $85.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $108.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to a $15.0 million increase in personnel costs due to the growth of our sales and marketing organizations to support current and projected bookings and revenue growth, a $4.2 million increase in other discretionary expenses, including stadium sponsorship expenses, a $1.6 million increase in travel-related expenses and a $1.6 million increase in overhead costs.
We anticipate that sales and marketing expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars in the future as we add personnel to support our revenue growth and as we increase marketing spend to attract new customers, retain and grow existing customers, build brand awareness, and as we continue to return to in-person sales formats and experiences for future user conferences, including our annual client conference to be held in 2023. While we anticipate sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue may fluctuate on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the long-term as our revenues grow.
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Research and Development
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 130,103 | $ | 116,952 | $ | 13,151 | 11.2 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 23.0 | % | 23.5 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Research and development expenses increased by $13.2 million, or 11.2%, from $117.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $130.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to a $22.6 million increase in personnel costs as a result of the growth in our research and development organization to support continued enhancements to our solutions and a $2.6 million increase in overhead and other discretionary and travel-related expenses. These increases were partially offset by a $12.5 million decrease as a result of increased capitalized software development costs.
We anticipate that research and development expenses will increase in absolute dollars in the future as we continue to support and expand our platform and enhance our existing solutions, as we believe existing customers will have an increased focus on maintaining and improving their digital banking offerings, including functionality such as digital account opening and online lending.
General and Administrative
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 90,163 | $ | 77,915 | $ | 12,248 | 15.7 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 15.9 | % | 15.6 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. General and administrative expenses increased by $12.2 million, or 15.7%, from $77.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $90.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to a $9.2 million increase in personnel costs to support the growth of our business, a $1.9 million increase in overhead and other discretionary and travel-related expenses and a $0.7 million increase in bad debt expense.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, legal and human resources employees. General and administrative expenses also include costs to comply with regulations governing public companies and financial institutions, costs of directors' and officers' liability insurance, investor relations activities and costs to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX. Over the long term, we anticipate that general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in absolute dollars as we continue to incur both increased external audit fees as well as additional spending to ensure continued regulatory and SOX compliance. We expect such expenses to decline as a percentage of our revenues over the longer term as our revenues grow.
Acquisition Related Costs
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | $ | 1,176 | $ | 2,690 | $ | (1,514) | (56.3) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 0.2 | % | 0.5 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Acquisition related costs decreased by $1.5 million, or 56.3%, from $2.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Acquisition related costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 consisted of various legal and professional expenses incurred in connection with merger and acquisition activities. Acquisition related costs for the year ended December 31, 2021 included $1.5 million of compensation expense related to the retention bonuses for employees of previous acquisitions and $1.1 million of legal, professional services and other costs related to our acquisition of ClickSWITCH on April 1, 2021.
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Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | $ | 18,248 | $ | 17,901 | $ | 347 | 1.9 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 3.2 | % | 3.6 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Amortization of acquired intangibles increased by $0.3 million, or 1.9%, from $17.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $18.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The acquired intangible assets are related to previously disclosed business combinations.
Lease and Other Restructuring Charges
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Lease and other restructuring charges | $ | 13,202 | $ | 2,008 | $ | 11,194 | 557.5 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | 2.3 | % | 0.4 | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Lease and other restructuring charges increased by $11.2 million, or 557.5%, from $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $13.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the charges included $10.6 million primarily related to the vacating of a facility in Texas including the associated impairment of the right of use asset, updated assessments and ongoing expenses of other vacated facilities, as well as $2.6 million related to severance and other related compensation charges associated with eliminating certain positions in connection with initiatives to optimally align our resources to the businesses that will drive the most long-term value. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the charges included costs related to an updated assessment and vacating of facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from these facilities.
Total Other Income (Expense), Net
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | (1,314) | $ | (33,108) | $ | 31,794 | (96.0) | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | (0.2) | % | (6.6) | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Total other income (expense), net increased by $31.8 million, or 96.0%, from $33.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in total other income (expense), net was primarily due to a $25.7 million decrease in non-cash interest expense related to our convertible notes as a result of the aforementioned adoption of ASU No. 2020-06 on January 1, 2022 and a $4.1 million increase in income from cash and investments. Additional increases resulted from expenses incurred during the comparable period ended December 31, 2021, including a $1.5 million loss from the early extinguishment of a portion of our 2023 Notes and a $0.3 million decrease in loss on disposal of long-lived assets.
Provision for Income Taxes
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | (%) | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (2,908) | $ | (1,643) | $ | (1,265) | 77.0 | % | |||||||
| Percentage of revenues | (0.5) | % | (0.3) | % |
Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2021. Total provision for income taxes increased by $1.3 million from $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in the tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 related to the operations of the business and uncertain tax positions relating to Texas state tax expense.
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Seasonality and Quarterly Results
Our overall operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of a variety of factors, including the timing of investments to grow our business. The timing of our implementation activities and corresponding revenues from new customers are subject to fluctuations based on the timing of our sales. Historically, sales have tended to be lower in the first half of the year, but any resulting impact on our results of operation has been difficult to measure due to the timing of our implementations and overall growth in our business. The timing of our implementations also varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions.
We continue to monitor the impacts the current inflationary environment and a potential global macroeconomic slowdown may have on our business in 2023. The recent macroeconomic conditions and the residual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
Our quarterly results of operations may vary significantly in the future and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future results.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have financed our operations primarily through the proceeds from the issuance of common stock from our initial public offering in March 2014, additional registered common stock offerings, including our June 2019 and May 2020 common stock offerings, our February 2018 convertible note offering, our June 2019 convertible note offering, our November 2020 convertible note offering, and cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2022, our principal sources of liquidity were cash, cash equivalents and investments of $433.4 million. Based upon our current levels of operations, we believe that our cash flow from operations along with our other sources of liquidity are adequate to meet our cash requirements for the next twelve months. However, if we determine the need for additional short-term liquidity, there is no assurance that such financing, if pursued, would be adequate or available on terms acceptable to us.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in): | |||||||||||
| Operating activities | $ | 36,556 | $ | 31,092 | $ | (2,938) | |||||
| Investing activities | (165,555) | (65,129) | (124,163) | ||||||||
| Financing activities | 5,882 | (51,160) | 434,676 | ||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (802) | (167) | 48 | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | (123,919) | $ | (85,364) | $ | 307,623 |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Our operating activities are primarily influenced by net loss less non-cash items, the amount and timing of customer receipts and vendor payments and by the amount of cash we invest in personnel and infrastructure to support the anticipated growth of our business and increase in the number of installed customers.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, our net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities was $36.6 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $166.0 million, partially offset by a net loss of $109.0 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $20.5 million. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of stock-based compensation, depreciation and amortization, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, lease and other restructuring charges and amortization of debt issuance costs. The primary driver of the changes in operating assets and liabilities related to a $19.8 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs due to our increased customer growth and new and existing customers undergoing implementations during the period and a $10.4 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities due to timing of payments in support of our expanding customer base and related growth in our technical infrastructure and payment of annual bonuses during the first quarter.
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For the year ended December 31, 2021, our net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities was $31.1 million, which consisted of non-cash adjustments of $168.3 million, partially offset by a net loss of $112.7 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $24.5 million. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs and loss on the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes. The primary driver of the changes in operating assets and liabilities related to a $25.6 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs due to our increased customer growth and new and existing customers undergoing implementations during the period.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, our net cash and cash equivalents used in operating activities was $2.9 million, which consisted of a net loss of $137.6 million and cash outflows from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $26.9 million, partially offset by non-cash adjustments of $161.6 million. The primary drivers of the changes in operating assets and liabilities related to a $32.2 million increase in deferred solution and implementation costs due to our increased customer growth and new and existing customers undergoing implementations during the period and a $14.6 million increase in accounts receivable due to the timing of payments received, partially offset by a $20.4 million increase in deferred revenue due to increased payments and deposits received from customers prior to the recognition of revenue from those related payments. Non-cash adjustments primarily consisted of depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, amortization of deferred implementation and deferred solution and other costs, loss on the early extinguishment of a portion of our convertible notes, and lease and other restructuring charges.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Our investing activities have consisted primarily of purchases and maturities of investments, acquisitions of businesses, purchases of property and equipment to support our growth and costs incurred for the development of capitalized software. Purchases of property and equipment may vary period-to-period due to the timing of the expansion of our operations, data center and other technical infrastructure.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in investing activities was $165.6 million, consisting of $293.0 million for the purchase of investments, $18.9 million in capitalized software development costs, $11.1 million for the purchase of property and equipment and $5.0 million for the acquisition of Sensibill, net of cash acquired. These outflows were partially offset by $162.5 million received from the maturities of investments.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $65.1 million, consisting of $124.0 million for the purchase of investments, $64.7 million for the acquisition of ClickSWITCH, net of cash acquired, $19.8 million for the purchase of property and equipment, and $5.9 million in capitalized software development costs. These outflows were partially offset by $149.2 million received from the maturities of investments.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, net cash used in investing activities was $124.2 million, consisting of $131.3 million for the purchase of investments, $23.7 million for the purchase of property and equipment, and $1.0 million in capitalized software development costs. These outflows were partially offset by $31.8 million received from the maturities of investments.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Our recent financing activities have consisted primarily of our May 2020 common stock offering, our November 2020 offering of the 2025 Notes, our partial repurchase of the 2023 Notes, the payment of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Cloud Lending, as well as net proceeds from exercises of options and contributions to our ESPP to purchase our common stock.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in financing activities was $5.9 million, consisting solely of cash received from exercises of stock options and contributions to our ESPP to purchase our common stock.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in financing activities was $51.2 million, consisting of $63.7 million for the partial repurchase of 2023 Notes, partially offset by $6.6 million of net proceeds received in connection with the early termination of bond hedges and warrants related to the 2023 Notes, and $5.9 million of cash received from the exercise of stock options.
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For the year ended December 31, 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $434.7 million, consisting of proceeds from the issuance of common stock of $311.3 million, net of issuance costs, from the May 2020 common stock offering, issuance of $132.6 million principal amount of the 2025 Notes, net of issuance costs, from the November 2020 offering of the 2025 Notes, $34.1 million in net proceeds received in connection with the early termination of bond hedges and warrants related to the 2023 Notes, and $13.3 million of cash received from the exercise of stock options, partially offset by the Capped Call transactions of $39.8 million and payment of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Cloud Lending, of which $16.9 million of the payment was estimated at acquisition date fair value and included in financing activities.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Our principal commitments consist of the 2023 Notes, 2025 Notes, 2026 Notes, non-cancelable operating leases related to our facilities, minimum purchase commitments for sponsorship obligations, third-party products, co-location fees and other product costs. Our obligations under our convertible senior notes are described in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Information regarding our non-cancellable lease and other purchase commitments as of December 31, 2022 can be found in Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report, regarding the impact of certain recent accounting pronouncements.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001410384-22-000013.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the section titled "Risk Factors."
Overview
We are a leading provider of secure, cloud-based digital solutions that transform the ways in which financial institutions and other financial services providers engage with account holders and end users, or End Users. We offer our solutions to financial institutions, financial technology companies, or FinTechs, alternative finance companies, or Alt-FIs, and other innovative companies, or Brands, wishing to incorporate banking into their customer engagement and servicing strategies. Our solutions include a broad and deep portfolio of digital banking, lending solutions; an open technology platform, the Q2 Innovation Studio, that accelerates innovation by enabling a partnership ecosystem on the Q2 platform in which FinTechs and other digital solution providers can embed their offerings and customers can develop their own applications; and a comprehensive banking as a service, or BaaS, solution, which we re-branded as Helix in 2022, that enables innovative companies to incorporate banking directly into their products. We purpose-build our platforms and solutions to enable success for our customers and technology partners by allowing them to digitize their operations and offerings, differentiate their brands, and integrate traditional and emerging financial services, ultimately enhancing End-User acquisition, engagement and retention and improving operational efficiencies and profitability.
The effective delivery and management of secure and advanced digital solutions in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry requires significant resources, personnel and expertise. We provide digital solutions that are designed to be highly configurable, scalable and adaptable to the specific needs of our customers. We design and develop our solutions with an open platform approach intended to provide comprehensive integration among our solution offerings and our customers' internal and third-party systems. This integrated approach allows our customers to deliver unified and robust financial experiences across digital channels. Our solutions provide our customers the flexibility to configure their digital services in a manner that is consistent with each customer's specific workflows, processes and controls. Our solutions also allow our customers to personalize the digital experiences they deliver to their End Users by extending their individual services and brand requirements across digital channels. Our solutions and our data center infrastructure and resources are designed to comply with the stringent security and technical regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial services providers and to safeguard our customers' data and that of their End Users.
We have deep domain expertise in developing and delivering secure, advanced digital solutions designed to help our customers and technology partners compete in the complex and heavily regulated financial services industry. Over 17 years ago Q2 began by providing digital banking solutions to regional and community financial institutions. We have rapidly grown since then through a combination of broad market acceptance of our award-winning solutions and relentless innovation, investment and acquisitions. Our portfolio of solutions now spans digital banking, lending, profitability, onboarding, security, and we now serve account holders and borrowers across retail, small business and commercial segments, in addition to our open technology platform and BaaS offerings. While we remain focused on our founding mission of building stronger and more diverse communities by strengthening their financial institutions, we intend to draw on our broad solution portfolio, deep domain expertise and robust customer base to lead the transformation into a new frontier of financial services.
The financial services industry is undergoing tremendous change, influenced by three major factors. First, financial institutions demand now, more than ever, to digitize their operations and offerings, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this digital transformation. Second, the continued growth in the number of FinTechs and the innovation they bring to the market is increasing End-User demand and expectations for new, more engaging and meaningful digital financial experiences. And third, major innovative Brands recognize that incorporating banking into their strategy is an opportunity to leverage the trust that their End Users place in them, driving deeper engagement with those End Users. These three forces are converging to create what we believe is a new frontier in financial services in which financial institutions, FinTechs and Brands will have new roles and interdependencies, and which will require new technology, new partners, and new business models. We believe that lasting value creation in financial services will be achieved by those companies that can support and enhance the convergence of these forces. In addition, we have built a broad set of solutions that we believe equips us to accelerate and optimize this convergence – from digitizing the entire bank, to facilitating partnerships among financial institutions and FinTechs, to enabling Brands to incorporate banking into their products and customer relationships.
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We deliver our solutions to most of our customers using a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model under which our customers pay subscription fees for the use of our solutions. Our digital banking platform customers have numerous End Users, and those End Users can represent one or more account holders registered to use one or more of our solutions on our digital banking platform. We generally price our digital banking platform solutions based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers and the number of Registered Users or commercial account holders utilizing our solutions. We generally earn additional revenues from our digital banking platform customers based on the number of transactions that End Users perform on our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. As a result, our revenues from digital banking platform customers grow as our customers buy more solutions from us and increase the number of End Users utilizing our solutions and as those users increase their number of transactions on our solutions. The structure and terms of our newer lending arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs and Brands vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred.
We have achieved significant growth since our inception. During each of the past nine years, our average number of Registered Users (as defined below) per installed customer on our digital banking platform, or Installed Customer, has grown, and in many instances we have been able to sell additional solutions to existing customers. Our revenues per Installed Customer and per Registered User vary period-to-period based on the length and timing of customer implementations, changes in the average number of Registered Users per customer, sales of additional solutions to existing customers, changes in the number of transactions on our solutions by Registered Users and variations among existing customers and new customers with respect to the mix of purchased solutions and related pricing. Please see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Operating Measures" for additional detail on how we define "Installed Customers" and "Registered Users."
We believe we have a significant opportunity to continue to grow our business, and we continue to invest across our organization to increase our revenues and improve our operating efficiencies. These investments will increase our costs on an absolute dollar basis, but the timing and amount of these investments will vary based on the rate at which we expect to add new customers, the implementation and support needs of our customers, our software development plans, our technology and physical infrastructure requirements and the internal needs of our organization. Many of these investments will occur in advance of our realizing any resultant benefit which may make it difficult to determine if we are effectively allocating our resources. If we are successful in growing our revenues by increasing the number of customers and scope of our customer relationships, we anticipate that greater economies of scale and increased operating leverage will improve our margins over the long term.
We sell our solutions primarily through our professional sales organization. While the financial institutions market is well-defined due to the regulatory classifications of those financial institutions, markets for FinTech, Alt-FIs and brands are broader and more difficult to define due to the changing number of providers in each market. Over the long term, we intend to continue to invest in additional sales representatives to identify and address the financial institution, FinTech, Alt-FI and Brand markets across the U.S. and internationally and to increase our number of sales support and marketing personnel, as well as our investment in marketing initiatives designed to increase awareness of our solutions and generate new customer opportunities.
We have continuously invested in expanding and improving our digital banking platform since its introduction in 2005, and we intend to continue investing both organically and inorganically through acquisitions to expand our portfolio of solutions. Additionally, over the past several years we have acquired or developed new solutions and additional functionality that serve a broader range of needs of financial institutions as well as the needs of FinTechs, Alt-FIs and Brands. Our integrated, end-to-end collection of solutions includes retail, small business and commercial banking, regulatory and compliance, digital lending, relationship pricing, BaaS, digital account opening, account switching and data-driven sales enablement and portfolio management solutions among others. We have also introduced the Q2 Innovation Studio, an API-based and SDK-based open technology platform that allows our financial institution customers and other technology partners to develop unique extensions of and integrations to our digital banking platform, allowing financial institutions to quickly and easily deploy customized experiences and the latest financial services expected by End Users.
We believe that financial services providers are best served by a broad integrated portfolio of digital solutions that provide rapid, flexible and comprehensive integration with internal and third-party solutions allowing them to provide modern, intuitive digital financial services in a secure, regulatory-compliant manner. We also believe that the breadth and depth of our solution offerings and customer base, our open and flexible platform approach, our position as a leading provider of digital banking solutions to a large network of financial institutions, and our expertise in delivering new, innovative, secure and regulatory-compliant digital solutions uniquely position us to capitalize on the new frontier in financial services. We currently intend to increase investments in technology innovation and software development as we enhance our solutions and platforms and increase or expand the number of solutions that we offer.
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We believe that delivery of consistent, high-quality customer support is a significant driver of purchasing and renewal decisions of our prospects and customers. To develop and maintain a reputation for high-quality service, we seek to build deep relationships with our customers through our customer service organization, which we staff with personnel who are motivated by our common mission of using technology to help our customers succeed and who are knowledgeable with respect to the regulated and complex nature of the financial services industry. As our business grows, we currently intend to continue to invest in and grow our services and delivery organization to support our customers' needs and maintain our reputation.
COVID-19 Pandemic
Global health concerns with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and related government actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus have caused disruption to the macroeconomic environment, and the pandemic has significantly increased economic uncertainty and reduced economic activity, including consumer and business spending. While there has been significant economic recovery in certain markets due to broad vaccination availability, loosening of lock-down measures and business re-openings, the recovery is characterized by additional uncertainty as a result of the disruption caused by the pandemic, including supply chain constraints in many industries, significant price increases for certain goods and services, rapid increases in demand as economies re-open, increased employee attrition, skilled labor shortages, wage inflation and businesses and labor markets navigating how they will operate post-pandemic. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments unknown and unpredictable at this time, including the continued duration, severity and spread of the pandemic, including new variants, related restrictions on travel and transportation and other actions that may be taken by governmental authorities, the predictability and success of any re-opening efforts, the impacts of the pandemic on labor markets, the impact to our customers, their End Users, our suppliers and partners, and other items identified under "Risk Factors" above. Based on the information available to us to date, we believe we have taken an informed, proactive and effective approach to addressing the direct known effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on us, our customers and other third parties on which we rely and that we have been able to effectively deliver and support our solutions for our customers utilizing numerous remote capabilities and channels.
Beginning mid-March 2020, almost all of our employees transitioned to working remotely from home. Through mid-2021, we continued to operate with the vast majority of our employees working remotely. However, during the quarter ended June 30, 2021, we began allowing employees to return to onsite work on a limited, voluntary basis, subject to health and safety protocols. Effective November 1, 2021, we re-opened all of our U.S. facilities, and have provided each of our U.S. employees with the choice of either continuing to work remotely, working in a hybrid capacity (one or two days per week onsite) or fully returning to onsite attendance, with any onsite attendance subject to health and safety protocols. With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in early 2022, we have instituted additional safety protocols for employees choosing to work onsite, and have strongly encouraged our employees to work remotely when possible until the Omicron surge has passed. As we navigate the reopening of our onsite facilities, we believe employee preferences between remote, hybrid and onsite attendance are likely to change over time, and we will continue to adapt our physical facilities and IT infrastructure to accommodate a safe and successful work experience for our onsite, hybrid and remote employees. Throughout the pandemic we believe our corporate culture, business model, customer relations, and technology and information technology infrastructure have effectively allowed our employees to substantially perform their roles whether remote, hybrid or onsite.
We also have performed additional due diligence with critical vendors and other third parties on which we rely to assess their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and impacts on their operations and services. To date, we have not experienced any material adverse impacts from any of our vendors or other third parties on which we rely. We intend to continue to conduct enhanced due diligence on such vendors and third parties for the foreseeable future as the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist.
We also are continuing to conduct outreach to our customers and many prospective customers to assess their needs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and their own re-opening efforts and to seek to identify ways that we may assist them with our solutions and services. We believe the impacts of COVID-19 and related re-opening efforts on our existing and prospective customers present both challenges and opportunities. While we believe the pandemic and related re-opening efforts have increased the importance and prominence of digital financial solutions, the increased economic uncertainty, reduced economic activity, including consumer and business spending, and challenges associated with re-opening have resulted in delays in certain purchasing decisions and implementations during 2020 and 2021. During the second half of 2021, we observed an improved sales environment relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021, and we believe that for 2022 the sales environment and the timing of purchasing decisions and implementations by customers will similarly reflect an improvement relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021. However, the duration and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
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Despite these challenges among customers, the usage by End Users of digital financial solutions has never been higher and we are making additional investments to enhance our technology infrastructure to support this heightened usage. We have seen increased online banking activity as a result of shelter-in-place and similar orders as well as spikes in logins as End Users check accounts for items such as government stimulus funds. We believe the challenges and opportunities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have and will continue to cause financial institutions to increase their focus on maintaining and improving their digital financial services offerings.
Key Operating Measures
In addition to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, measures described below in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Components of Operating Results," we monitor the following operating measures to evaluate growth trends, plan investments and measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
While we believe the pandemic and related re-opening efforts have increased the importance and prominence of digital financial solutions, the increased economic uncertainty, reduced economic activity, including consumer and business spending, and challenges associated with re-opening resulted in delays in certain purchasing decisions and implementations and contract terminations during 2020 and 2021. During the second half of 2021, we observed an improved sales environment relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021, and we believe that for 2022 the sales environment and the predictability of purchasing decisions and implementations by customers will similarly reflect an improvement relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021, and thus we will see positive impacts on the rate at which we add new Installed Customers, and with them new Registered Users and annualized recurring revenue, in each case as compared to these prior periods.
Installed Customers
We define Installed Customers as the number of customers on live implementations (or installations) of our digital banking platforms. The average size of our Installed Customers, measured in both Registered Users per Installed Customer and revenues per Installed Customer, has increased over time as our existing Installed Customers continue to add Registered Users and commercial account holders, buy more solutions from us, and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. The net rate at which we add Installed Customers varies based on our implementation capacity, the size and unique needs of our customers, the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions and customer attrition, including as a result of merger and acquisition activity among financial institutions. We had 448, 450 and 414 Installed Customers on our digital banking platform as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Registered Users
We define a Registered User as an individual related to an account holder of an Installed Customer on our consumer digital banking platform who has registered to use one or more of our solutions and has current access to use those solutions as of the last day of the reporting period presented. We generally price our consumer digital banking platform solutions based on the number of Registered Users, while our commercial digital banking platform solutions are based on the number of commercial account holders. As the number of Registered Users of our solutions increases, our revenues generally tend to grow. Our average number of Registered Users per Installed Customer grows as our existing digital banking platform customers add more Registered Users and as we add larger financial institutions to our Installed Customer base. We anticipate that the number of Registered Users will grow at a faster rate than our number of Installed Customers. The rate at which our customers add Registered Users vary significantly period-to-period based on the timing of our implementations of new customers, the timing of registration of new End Users and customers performing inactive account clean-up. We add new Registered Users through both organic growth from existing customers and from the addition of End Users from new Installed Customers. Our aggregate number of Registered Users is negatively impacted to the extent Installed Customers terminate all or a portion of their arrangements with us. Our Installed Customers had approximately 19.2 million, 17.8 million and 14.6 million Registered Users as of December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
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Net Revenue Retention Rate
We believe that our ability to retain our customers and expand their use of our products and services over time is an indicator of the stability of our revenue base and the long-term value of our customer relationships. We assess our performance in this area using a metric we refer to as our net revenue retention rate, which we previously referred to as our revenue retention rate. We calculate our net revenue retention rate as the total revenues in a calendar year, excluding any revenues from acquired customers during such year, from customers who were implemented on any of our solutions as of December 31 of the prior year, expressed as a percentage of the total revenues during the prior year from the same group of customers. Our net revenue retention rate provides insight into the impact on current year revenues of: the number of new customers implemented on any of our solutions during the prior year; the timing of our implementation of those new customers in the prior year; growth in the number of End Users on such solutions and changes in their usage of such solutions; sales of new products and services to our existing customers during the current year, excluding any products or services resulting from businesses acquired during such year and customer attrition. The most significant drivers of changes in our net revenue retention rate each year have historically been the number of new customers in the prior year and the timing of our implementation of those new customers. The timing of our implementation of new customers in the prior year is significant because we do not start recognizing revenues from new customers until they are implemented. If implementations are weighted more heavily in the first or second half of the prior year, our net revenue retention rate will be lower or higher, respectively. In the first half of 2021, our implementations were weighted more heavily, and we expect to see a lower net revenue retention rate in 2022 as a result. Our use of net revenue retention rate has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate net revenue retention rate differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Our net revenue retention rate was 119%, 122%, and 120% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Annualized Recurring Revenue
We believe Annualized Recurring Revenue, or ARR, provides important information about our future revenue potential, our ability to acquire new clients, and our ability to maintain and expand our relationship with existing clients. We calculate ARR as the annualized value of all recurring revenue recognized in the last month of the reporting period, with the exception of variable revenue in excess of contracted amounts for which we instead take the average monthly run rate of the trailing three months within that reporting period. Our ARR also includes the contracted minimums associated with all contracts in place at the end of the quarter that have not yet commenced, and revenue generated from Premier Services. Premier Services revenue is generated from select established customer relationships where we have engaged with the customer for more tailored, premium professional services resulting in a deeper and ongoing level of engagement with them, which we deem to be recurring in nature. ARR does not include revenue from professional services or other sources of revenue that are not deemed to be recurring in nature. ARR is not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as ARR is an operating metric and is not intended to be combined with or replace these items. Our use of ARR has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate ARR differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Our ARR was $574.2 million, $464.2 million and $400.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Revenue Churn
We utilize revenue churn, which we previously have referred to simply as churn, to monitor the satisfaction of our customers and evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies. We define revenue churn as the amount of any monthly recurring revenue losses due to customer cancellations and downgrades, net of upgrades and additions of new solutions, during a year, divided by our monthly recurring revenue at the beginning of the year. Cancellations refer to customers that have either stopped using our services completely or remained a customer but terminated a particular service. Downgrades are a result of customers taking less of a particular service or renewing their contract for identical services at a lower price. We had annual revenue churn of 5.4%, 5.9%, and 5.1% for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Our use of revenue churn has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider it in isolation. Other companies in our industry may calculate revenue churn differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use certain non-GAAP financial measures to clarify and enhance our understanding, and aid in the period-to-period comparison, of our performance. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information that is meaningful when assessing our operating performance because they exclude the impact of certain categories that our management and board of directors do not consider part of core operating results when assessing our operational performance, allocating resources, preparing annual budgets and determining compensation. Accordingly, these non-GAAP financial measures may provide insight to investors into the motivation and decision-making of management in operating the business. Set forth in the tables below are the corresponding GAAP financial measures for each non-GAAP financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to its most comparable GAAP financial measure included below. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures have limitations and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, their most comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in their financing and accounting methods, the book value of their assets, their capital structures, the method by which their assets were acquired and the manner in which they define non-GAAP measures. Items such as the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, acquisition related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, partnership termination charges and unoccupied lease charges can have a material impact on our GAAP financial results.
Non-GAAP Revenue
We define non-GAAP revenue as total revenue excluding the impact of purchase accounting. We monitor these measures to assess our performance because we believe our revenue growth rates would be understated without these adjustments. We believe presenting non-GAAP revenue aids in the comparability between periods and in assessing our overall operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Revenue: | |||||||||||
| GAAP revenue | $ | 498,720 | $ | 402,751 | $ | 315,484 | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 2,129 | 4,404 | 1,829 | ||||||||
| Total Non-GAAP revenue | $ | 500,849 | $ | 407,155 | $ | 317,313 |
Non-GAAP Operating Income
We provide non-GAAP operating income using non-GAAP revenue as discussed above and excluding such items as deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, stock-based compensation, acquisition related costs, amortization of acquired technology, amortization of acquired intangible assets, partnership termination charges and unoccupied lease charges. We believe excluding these items is useful for the following reasons:
•Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes the deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting. We believe that the exclusion of deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations.
•Amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to purchased technology and intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. We believe that eliminating these expenses from our non-GAAP measures is useful to investors, because the amortization of acquired technology and intangible assets can be inconsistent in amount and frequency and significantly impacted by the timing and magnitude of our acquisition transactions, which also vary in frequency from period to period. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period without regard to such expenses.
•Stock-based compensation. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes expenses related to stock-based compensation. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense provides for a better comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies as the calculations of stock-based compensation vary from period to period and company to company due to different valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types. Because of these unique characteristics of stock-based compensation, we exclude these expenses when analyzing the organization's business performance.
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•Acquisition related costs. We exclude certain expense items resulting from our acquisitions, such as legal, accounting and consulting fees, changes in fair value of contingent consideration and retention expense. We consider these adjustments, to some extent, to be unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are outside of our control. Furthermore, acquisitions result in operating expenses that would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude acquisition related costs, allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of less acquisitive peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Partnership termination charges. In the quarter ended June 30, 2020, in connection with the termination of a strategic partnership, we agreed to pay a termination fee of $5.6 million in May 2020 and $7.6 million in the third quarter of 2021. We are excluding the charges associated with this partnership termination as they are non-recurring in nature and would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations. We believe that providing these non-GAAP measures that exclude partnership termination charges allows users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historical and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to our historical results and results of peer companies, both with and without such adjustments.
•Unoccupied lease charges. We provide non-GAAP information that excludes restructuring charges related to the estimated costs of exiting and terminating facility lease commitments, as they relate to our corporate restructuring and exit activities. These charges are inconsistent in amount and are significantly impacted by the timing and nature of these events. Therefore, although we may incur these types of expenses in the future, we believe that eliminating these charges for purposes of calculating the non-GAAP financial measures facilitates a more meaningful evaluation of our operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| GAAP operating loss | $ | (77,995) | $ | (99,833) | $ | (66,746) | |||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 2,129 | 4,404 | 1,829 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 54,334 | 49,235 | 39,378 | ||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | 3,099 | 1,408 | 16,316 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired technology | 21,969 | 21,341 | 9,871 | ||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangibles | 17,901 | 17,888 | 6,339 | ||||||||
| Partnership termination charges | — | 13,244 | — | ||||||||
| Unoccupied lease charges | 2,008 | 2,181 | 420 | ||||||||
| Non-GAAP operating income | $ | 23,445 | $ | 9,868 | $ | 7,407 |
Adjusted EBITDA
We define adjusted EBITDA as net loss before depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, certain costs related to our recent acquisitions, (benefit from) provision for income taxes, interest and other (income) expense, net, deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting, partnership termination charges, loss on extinguishment of debt, and unoccupied lease charges. We believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results for the following reasons:
•adjusted EBITDA is widely used by investors and securities analysts to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items that can vary substantially from company to company depending upon their financing, capital structures and the method by which assets were acquired;
•our management uses adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with GAAP financial measures for planning purposes, in the preparation of our annual operating budget, as a measure of our operating performance, to assess the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance;
•adjusted EBITDA provides more consistency and comparability with our past financial performance, facilitates period-to-period comparisons of our operations and also facilitates comparisons with other companies, many of which use similar non-GAAP financial measures to supplement their GAAP results; and
•our investor and analyst presentations include adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our overall operating performance.
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Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss or any other measure of financial performance calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The use of adjusted EBITDA as an analytical tool has limitations such as:
•depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, and the assets being depreciated or amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash requirements for such replacements;
•adjusted EBITDA may not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs or contractual commitments;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of stock-based compensation;
•adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest or tax payments that could reduce cash available for use; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, might calculate adjusted EBITDA or similarly titled measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these and other limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA together with our GAAP financial measures including cash flow from operations and net loss. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| Reconciliation of net loss to adjusted EBITDA: | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (112,746) | $ | (137,620) | $ | (70,877) | |||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 54,833 | 51,840 | 28,457 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 54,334 | 49,235 | 39,378 | ||||||||
| Acquisition related costs | 3,099 | 1,408 | 16,316 | ||||||||
| (Benefit from) provision for income taxes | 1,643 | 1,416 | (12,487) | ||||||||
| Interest and other (income) expense, net | 31,063 | 27,180 | 16,572 | ||||||||
| Deferred revenue reduction from purchase accounting | 2,129 | 4,404 | 1,829 | ||||||||
| Partnership termination charges | — | 13,244 | — | ||||||||
| Loss on extinguishment of debt | 1,513 | 8,932 | — | ||||||||
| Unoccupied lease charges | 2,008 | 2,181 | 420 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 37,876 | $ | 22,220 | $ | 19,608 |
Components of Operating Results
Revenues
Revenue-generating activities directly relate to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or with cloud-based services, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions, and revenues for customer support and implementation services related to our solutions. We recognize the corresponding revenues over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term. A small portion of our revenues are derived from customers which host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. We recognize the software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license and the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license.
Subscription fees are based on the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the number of End Users using the solutions and the number of bill-pay and certain other transactions those users conduct using our solutions in excess of the levels included in our standard subscription fee. Subscription fees are billed monthly, quarterly or annually and are recognized monthly over the term of our customer agreements. The initial term of our digital banking platform agreements averages over five years, although it varies by customer. The structure and terms of our newer lending arrangements vary, but generally are also sold on a subscription basis through our direct sales organization, and the related revenues are recognized over the terms of the customer agreements. The structure and terms of our Helix arrangements with FinTechs and Brands vary, but typically involve relatively lower contracted minimum revenues and instead emphasize usage-based revenue, with such revenue recognized as it is incurred. We begin recognizing subscription fees when the control of the service transfers to the customer, generally when the solution is implemented and made available to the customer. We recognize revenue for bill-pay transaction services generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with its Q2 CorePro API or Q2 Biller Direct products in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions. The timing of our implementations varies period-to-period based on our implementation capacity, the number of solutions purchased by our customers, the size and unique needs of our customers
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and the readiness of our customers to implement our solutions. We recognize any related implementation services revenues ratably over the initial customer agreement term beginning on the date we commence recognizing subscription fees. Contract asset balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Amounts that have been invoiced but not paid are recorded in accounts receivable or other long-term assets, depending on the timing of expected billing, and in revenues or deferred revenues, depending on when control of the service transfers to the customer.
As a result of the economic and operational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our customers, in 2020 and 2021 our bookings, in particular with respect to new customer agreements, were adversely impacted relative to pre-pandemic levels. Specifically, we experienced delays and unpredictability in the purchasing decisions of our customers and prospective customers and a slowing of net new customer deals, relative to pre-pandemic levels, partially offset by an increase in cross sales of additional features and functionality to our existing customer base due to the increased utilization and demand for digital banking solutions caused by the decreased in-branch operations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the second half of 2021, we observed an improved sales environment relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021. We believe that for 2022 the sales environment and the predictability of purchasing decisions and implementations by customers will similarly reflect an improvement relative to 2020 and the first half of 2021. However, our revenues for 2022 will continue to reflect the negative impacts from these prior periods and the duration and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be highly unpredictable and may continue to disrupt any seasonality trends that may otherwise typically be inherent in our historical operating results.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues is comprised primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, for employees providing services to our customers. This includes the costs of our personnel performing implementation, certain software development, customer support, data center and customer training activities. Cost of revenues also includes the direct costs of bill-pay and other third-party intellectual property included in our solutions, the amortization of deferred solution and services costs, co-location facility costs and depreciation of our data center assets, debit card related pass-through fees, cloud-based hosting services, an allocation of general overhead costs, the amortization of acquired technology, and referral fees. We allocate general overhead expenses to all departments based on the number of employees in each department, which we consider to be a fair and representative means of allocation.
We capitalize certain personnel costs directly related to the implementation of our solutions to the extent those costs are recoverable from future revenues. We amortize the costs for an implementation once revenue recognition commences, and we amortize those implementation costs to cost of revenues over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology. Other costs not directly recoverable from future revenues are expensed in the period incurred.
We capitalize certain software development costs related to programmers, software engineers, quality control teams and third-party development costs for those who are directly associated with and who devote time to our software solutions on an individual product basis. Software development costs are amortized to cost of revenues when products, upgrades and enhancements are released or made available over the products' estimated economic lives.
We intend to continue to increase our investments in our implementation and customer support teams and technology infrastructure to serve our customers and support our growth. Over the long-term, we expect cost of revenues to continue to grow in absolute dollars as we grow our business, but to fluctuate as a percentage of revenues based principally on the level and timing of implementation support activities, debit card related pass-through fees, and other related costs, including during periods where revenues are lower or implementations are delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development and general and administrative expenses. They also include costs related to our acquisitions and the resulting amortization of acquired intangible assets from those acquisitions. Over the long term, we intend to continue to hire new employees and make other investments to support our anticipated growth. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues over the long term as we grow our business.
The uncertainties and risks posed by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic were considered while preparing our 2022 budget and hiring plans. Beginning in 2021, our hiring began to return to more normal levels, and we anticipate this trend to continue in 2022, with our hiring plans more closely resembling pre-pandemic levels. However, during the second half of 2021, we experienced an exceptionally challenging hiring environment and we expect to see continued intense competition for technical talent in 2022, which has the potential to drive increased inflation in the wages we have to pay to hire and retain qualified employees. Additionally, while throughout 2021 most of our employees continued to work remotely from home and we suspended most non-essential business travel and conference participation, we expect that in 2022 some of these activities,
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including costs associated with onsite attendance, will return. As a result, we anticipate that we will continue to see a gradual increase in certain costs associated with operating physical locations and facilitating employee travel during 2022. As we navigate the reopening of our onsite facilities, we believe employee preferences between remote, hybrid and onsite attendance are likely to change over time, and we will continue to adapt our physical facilities and IT infrastructure to accommodate a safe and successful work experience for our onsite, hybrid and remote employees.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including commissions, employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation. Sales and marketing expenses also include expenses related to advertising, lead generation, promotional event programs, corporate communications, travel and allocated overhead.
Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues will change in any given period based on several factors including the addition of newly hired sales professionals, the number and timing of newly-installed customers and the amount of sales commissions expense amortized related to those customers, including during periods where revenues are lower or implementations are delayed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissions are generally capitalized and then amortized over the expected period of customer benefit.
Research and Development
We believe that continuing to improve and enhance our solutions is essential to maintaining our reputation for innovation and growing our customer base and revenues. Research and development expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, third-party contractor expenses, software development costs, allocated overhead and other related expenses incurred in developing new solutions and enhancing existing solutions.
Certain research and development costs that are related to our software development, which include salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers and quality control teams working on our software solutions, are capitalized and are included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation, of our administrative, finance and accounting, information systems, legal and human resources employees. General and administrative expenses also include consulting and professional fees, insurance and travel. We expect to continue to incur incremental expenses associated with the growth of our business and to meet increased compliance requirements associated with operating as a regulated, public company.
Acquisition Related Costs
Acquisition related costs include compensation expenses related to milestone provisions and retention agreements with certain former shareholders and employees of acquired businesses, which are recognized as earned, changes in fair value of the contingent consideration related to potential acquisition earnout payments and various legal and professional service expenses incurred in connection with the acquisitions, which are recognized when incurred.
Amortization of Acquired Intangibles
Amortization of acquired intangibles represents the amortization of intangibles recorded in connection with our business acquisitions which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Partnership Termination Charges
Partnership termination charges represent the fees paid related to termination of a strategic partnership during the quarter ended June 30, 2020. These charges are non-recurring in nature and would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our organic business operations.
Unoccupied Lease Charges
Unoccupied lease charges include costs related to the early vacating of certain facilities, partially offset by anticipated sublease income from the associated facilities.
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Total Other Income (Expense), Net
Total other income (expense), net, consists primarily of interest income and expense, other non-operating income and expense, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, foreign currency translation adjustment and loss on extinguishment of debt. We earn interest income on our cash, cash equivalents and investments. Interest expense consists primarily of the interest from the amortization of debt discount, issuance costs, and coupon interest attributable to our convertible notes issued in February 2018, or 2023 Notes, our convertible notes issued in June 2019, or 2026 Notes, and our convertible notes issued in November 2020, or 2025 Notes, as well as fees and interest associated with the letter of credit issued to our landlord for the security deposit for our corporate headquarters.
Benefit from (Provision for) Income Taxes
As a result of our current net operating loss position, current income tax expenses and benefits consist primarily of state income tax expense, deferred income tax expense relating to the tax amortization of recently acquired goodwill, and income tax expense from foreign operations. We incurred state and foreign income taxes for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Our net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes were $633.8 million and $536.5 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which $201.2 million will expire at various dates beginning in 2026, if not utilized, and $432.6 million have an indefinite carryforward period. Federal net operating losses generated during and after the year ended December 31, 2018 will have an indefinite carryforward period. We also held state tax credit carry overs of $3.0 million and $2.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and federal R&D tax credit carry overs of $8.9 million and $8.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The state tax credits will begin to expire 2033 if not utilized and the federal R&D tax credits will begin to expire in 2036, if not utilized.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. In accordance with GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results might differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we believe that the accounting policies discussed below involve the greatest degree of complexity and exercise of significant judgments and estimates by our management. The methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies have a significant impact on our results of operations and, accordingly, we believe the policies described below are the most critical for understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.
Revenue Recognition
Revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services over the term of the agreement, generally when our solutions are implemented and made available to our customers. The promised consideration may include fixed amounts, variable amounts or both. Revenues are recognized net of sales credits and allowances.
Revenue-generating activities are directly related to the sale, implementation and support of our solutions within a single operating segment. We derive the majority of our revenues from subscription fees for the use of our solutions hosted in either our data centers or cloud-based hosting services, transactional revenue from bill-pay solutions and revenues for customer support and implementation services related to our solutions.
Subscription Revenues
Our software solutions are available for use as hosted application arrangements under subscription fee agreements without licensing perpetual rights to the software. Subscription fees from these applications, including contractual periodic price increases, are recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term beginning on the date our solution is made available to the customer. Amounts that have been invoiced are recorded in accounts receivable and deferred revenues or revenues, depending on whether the revenue recognition criteria have been met. Periodic price increases are estimated at contract inception and result in contract assets as revenue recognition may exceed the amount billed early in the contract. Additional fees for monthly usage above the levels included in the standard subscription fee are recognized as revenue in the month when the usage amounts are determined and reported.
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A small portion of our customers host and manage our solutions on-premises or in third-party data centers under term license and maintenance agreements. Term licenses sold with maintenance entitle the customer to technical support, upgrades and updates to the software on a when-and-if-available basis. We recognize software license revenue once the customer obtains control of the license, which generally occurs at the start of each license term. We recognize the remaining arrangement consideration for maintenance revenue over time on a ratable basis over the term of the software license. If the expected length of time between when we transfer the software license to the customer and when the customer pays for it results in a significant financing component, we adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of the time value of money, which reflects the price the customer would have paid when the license was transferred. Revenues from term licenses and maintenance agreements and the related financing component were not significant in the periods presented.
Transactional Revenues
We generate the majority of our transactional revenues based on the number of bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform. We also generate a smaller portion of our transactional revenues from interchange fees generated when End Users utilize debit cards integrated with our Q2 CorePro API or Q2 Biller Direct products. We recognize revenue for bill-pay transaction services in the month incurred based on actual or estimated transactions.
Services and Other Revenues
Implementation services are required for each new digital banking and lending platform and Centrix standalone contract, and there is a significant level of integration and configuration for each customer. Our revenue for upfront implementation services is billed upfront and generally recognized over time on a ratable basis over the customer agreement term for our hosted application agreements. Upfront implementation services for on-premises agreements are recognized at commencement date. Under certain circumstances, we partner with third-party professional system integrators to support the installation and configuration process for certain products, and therefore, we have determined that these services qualify as a separate performance obligation in certain markets and geographies, and the implementation services for these agreements are recognized over time as services are performed.
Professional services revenues, which primarily consist of training, advisory services, core conversion services, web design, and other general professional services, are generally billed and recognized when delivered.
Certain out-of-pocket expenses billed to customers are recorded as revenues rather than an offset to the related expense.
Significant Judgments
Performance Obligations and Standalone Selling Price
A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of accounting. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment. We have contracts with customers that often include multiple performance obligations, usually including multiple subscription and implementation services. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations that are separately identifiable by allocating the contract's total transaction price to each performance obligation in an amount based on the relative standalone selling price, or SSP, of each distinct good or service in the contract. In determining whether implementation services are distinct from subscription services, we considered various factors including the significant level of integration, interdependency, and interrelation between the implementation and subscription service, as well as the inability of the customer's personnel or other service providers to perform significant portions of the services. We have concluded that the implementation services included in contracts with multiple performance obligations in the North American banking market are not distinct and, as a result, we defer any arrangement fees for implementation services and recognize such amounts over time on a ratable basis as one performance obligation with the underlying subscription revenue for the initial agreement term of the hosted application agreements. We have concluded that outside the North American banking market, the implementation services for our lending platform included in contracts with multiple performance obligations are distinct and, as a result, we recognize implementation fees on such arrangements over time as services are performed.
The majority of our revenue recognized at a particular point in time is for usage revenue and on-premise software licenses. These services are recognized at the point in time in which the customer obtains control of the asset, which is generally upon completion of the service or the point the customer obtained control of the software.
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Judgment is required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. A contract's transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The primary method used to estimate SSP is the adjusted market assessment approach, which considers its overall pricing objectives, market conditions and other factors, including the value of our contracts, our discounting practices, the size and volume of our transactions, customer characteristics, price lists, go-to-market strategy, historical standalone sales and agreement prices, and the number and types of users within our contracts.
Variable Consideration
We recognize usage revenue related to bill-pay transactions that End Users initiate on our digital banking platform and interchange fees that End Users generate using our solutions. Judgment is required to determine the accounting for these types of revenue. We consider various factors including the degree to which usage is interdependent or interrelated to past services, costs to us per user over the contract, and contractual price per user changes and their relationship to market terms, forecasted data, and our cost to fulfill the obligation. We have concluded that our usage revenue relates specifically to the transfer of the service to the customer and is consistent with the allocation objective of Topic 606 when considering all of the performance obligations and payment terms in the contract. Therefore, we recognize usage revenue on a monthly or quarterly basis in accordance with the agreement, as determined and reported. This allocation reflects the amount we expect to receive for the services for the given period.
We sometimes provide credits or incentives to our customers. Known and estimable credits and incentives represent a form of variable consideration, which are estimated at contract inception and generally result in reductions to revenues recognized for a particular contract. These estimates are updated at the end of each reporting period as additional information becomes available. We believe that there will not be significant changes to our estimates of variable consideration as of December 31, 2021.
Other Considerations
We evaluate whether we are the principal (i.e., report revenues on a gross basis) or agent (i.e., report revenues on a net basis) with respect to the vendor reseller agreements pursuant to which we resell certain third-party solutions along with our solutions. Generally, we report revenues from these types of contracts on a gross basis, meaning the amounts billed to customers are recorded as revenues, and expenses incurred are recorded as cost of revenues. Where we are the principal, we first obtain control of the inputs to the specific good or service and direct their use to create the combined output. Our control is evidenced by our involvement in the integration of the good or service on our platform before it is transferred to our customers and is further supported by us being primarily responsible to our customers and having a level of discretion in establishing pricing. Revenues provided from agreements in which we are an agent are insignificant.
Deferred Revenues
Deferred revenues primarily consist of amounts that have been billed to or received from customers in advance of revenue recognition and prepayments received from customers in advance for implementation, maintenance and other services, as well as initial subscription fees. We recognize deferred revenues as revenues when the services are performed and the corresponding revenue recognition criteria are met. Customer prepayments are generally applied against invoices issued to customers when services are performed and billed.
Our payment terms vary by the type and location of our customer and the products or services offered. The period of time between invoicing and when payment is due is not significant. For certain products or services and customer types, we require payment before the products or services are delivered to the customer.
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Deferred Implementation Costs
We capitalize certain personnel and other costs, such as employee salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and the associated payroll taxes that are direct and incremental to the implementation of our solutions. We analyze implementation costs that may be capitalized to assess their recoverability, and only capitalize costs that we anticipate to be recoverable through the terms of the associated contract. We begin amortizing the deferred implementation costs for an implementation to cost of revenues once the revenue recognition criteria have been met, and we amortize those deferred implementation costs ratably over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology, which we estimate to be five to seven years. We determined the period of benefit by considering factors such as historically high renewal rates with similar customers and contracts, initial contract length, an expectation that there will still be a demand for the product at the end of its term, and the significant costs to switch to a competitor's product, all of which are governed by the estimated useful life of the technology. We monitor deferred implementation costs for impairment and record impairment when customers terminate or allow services to lapse, due to contract modifications, and/or from other assessments as needed. Any impairment losses identified are recognized in the form of an expense acceleration with the applicable amount recorded to deferred implementation costs, current portion and/or deferred implementation costs, net of current portion on the consolidated balance sheet and in cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
The portion of deferred implementation costs expected to be amortized during the succeeding twelve-month period is recorded in current assets as deferred implementation costs, current portion, and the remainder is recorded in long-term assets as deferred implementation costs, net of current portion on the consolidated balance sheets.
Deferred Solution and Other Costs
We capitalize sales commissions and other third-party costs such as third-party licenses and maintenance related to our customer agreements. We capitalize sales commissions because the commission expenses are considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a contract with a customer. We capitalize commissions and bonuses for those involved in the sale, including direct employees and indirect supervisors, as these are incremental to the sale. Historically, we typically paid commissions in two increments. The initial payment was made after the contract had been executed and the initial deposit had been received from the customer, and the final payment was made upon commencement date. We required that an individual remain employed to collect a commission when it was due. The service period between the first and second payment was considered to be a substantive service period and as a result, we expensed the final payment when made. Beginning in 2020, substantially all commissions were paid in a single payment once the contract had been executed and the initial deposit had been received from the customer. We begin amortizing deferred solution and other costs for a particular customer agreement once the revenue recognition criteria are met and amortize those deferred costs over the expected period of customer benefit, which has been determined to be the estimated life of the technology, which we estimate to be five to seven years. We determined the period of benefit by considering factors such as historically high renewal rates with similar customers and contracts, initial contract length, an expectation that there will still be a demand for the product at the end of its term, and the significant costs to switch to a competitor's product, all of which are governed by the estimated useful life of the technology.
We analyze capitalized solution and other costs to assess their recoverability. The portion of capitalized costs expected to be amortized during the succeeding twelve-month period is recorded in current assets as deferred solution and other costs, current portion, and the remainder is recorded in long-term assets as deferred solution and other costs, net of current portion.
Contract Balances
The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections can result in billed accounts receivable, unbilled receivables or contract assets, and deferred revenues, or contract liabilities. Billings scheduled to occur after the performance obligation has been satisfied and revenue recognition has occurred result in contract assets. Contract assets that are expected to be billed during the succeeding twelve-month period are recorded in contract assets, current portion, and the remaining portion is recorded in contract assets, net of current portion on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at the end of each reporting period. A contract liability results when we receive prepayments or deposits from customers in advance for implementation, maintenance and other services, as well as initial subscription fees. Customer prepayments are generally applied against invoices issued to customers when services are performed and billed. We recognize contract liabilities as revenues when the services are performed, and the corresponding revenue recognition criteria are met. Contract liabilities that are expected to be recognized as revenues during the succeeding twelve-month period are recorded in deferred revenues, current portion, and the remaining portion is recorded in deferred revenues, net of current portion, on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at the end of each reporting period.
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We are exposed to credit losses primarily through sales of products and services. We assess the collectability of outstanding contract assets on an ongoing basis and maintain a reserve which is included in the allowance for credit losses for contract assets deemed uncollectible. We analyze the contract asset portfolio for significant risks by considering historical collection experience and forecasting future collectability to determine the amount of revenues that will ultimately be collected from our customers. Customer type has been identified as the primary specific risk affecting the company's contract assets, and the estimate for losses is analyzed quarterly and adjusted as necessary. Future collectability is contingent upon current and anticipated macroeconomic conditions that could impact our customers such as unemployment, inflation and regulatory matters. Additionally, specific allowance amounts may be established to record the appropriate provision for customers that have a higher probability of default.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable are stated at net realizable value, including both billed and unbilled receivables to customers. Unbilled receivable balances arise primarily when we provide services in advance of billing for those services. Generally, billing for revenues related to the number of End Users and the number of transactions processed by our End Users that are included in our minimum subscription fee occurs in the month the revenue is recognized, resulting in accounts receivable. Billing for revenues relating to the number of End Users and the number of transactions processed by our End Users that are in excess of our minimum subscription fees are, generally, billed in the month following the month the revenues were earned, resulting in an unbilled receivable.
We assess the collectability of outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis and maintain an allowance for credit losses for accounts receivable deemed uncollectible. We analyze the accounts receivable portfolio for significant risks and consider prior periods and forecast future collectability to determine the amount of revenues that will ultimately be collected from our customers. This estimate is analyzed quarterly and adjusted as necessary. Identified risks pertaining to our accounts receivable include the delinquency level and customer type. Future collectability is contingent upon current and anticipated macroeconomic conditions that could impact our customers such as unemployment, inflation and regulation matters. Due to the short-term nature of such receivables, the estimate of the amount of accounts receivable that may not be collected is based on aging of the accounts receivable balances and the financial condition of customers. Historically, our collection experience has not varied significantly, and bad debt expenses have been insignificant.
We maintain a reserve for estimated sales credits issued to customers for billing disputes or other service-related reasons. This allowance is recorded as a reduction against current period revenues and accounts receivable. In estimating this allowance, we analyze prior periods to determine the amounts of sales credits issued to customers compared to the revenues in the period that related to the original customer invoice. This estimate is analyzed semi-annually and adjusted as necessary.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock options, restricted stock units, and market stock units awarded to employees, directors, and consultants are measured at fair value at each grant date. We do not use a forfeiture rate to recognize compensation expense. Generally, options vest 25% on the one-year anniversary of the grant date with the balance vesting monthly over the following 36 months, and restricted stock unit awards vest in four annual installments of 25% each. Market stock units are performance-based awards that vest based on our stockholder return relative to the total stockholder return of the Russell 2000 Index, or Index. Market stock units granted prior to fiscal 2021 vest over a three-year period on the anniversary of the date of grant, generally with up to one-third of the target shares of our common stock subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the first and second years and up to 200% of the full target number of shares subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the completion of the three-year performance period (less any shares earned for years one and two) based on the average price of our common stock relative to the Index during the performance period. Beginning in March 2021, newly granted market stock units vest over a two-year and three-year period, each running from approximately the date of grant, with up to one-third of the target shares of our common stock subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after completion of the two-year performance period and up to 200% of the full target number of shares subject to each market stock unit award eligible to be earned after the completion of the three-year performance period (less any shares earned for the two-year performance period) based on the average price of our common stock relative to the Index during the performance period. From time to time, we may make grants of restricted stock units or market stock units with vesting formulas that vary from those described above.
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We value stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the risk-free interest rate, expected life, expected stock price volatility and dividend yield. The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates for constant maturity U.S. Treasury securities consistent with the expected term of our employee stock options. The expected life represents the time the stock options are expected to be outstanding and is based on the simplified method. Under the simplified method, the expected life of an option is presumed to be the mid-point between the vesting date and end of the contractual term. We use the simplified method due to the lack of sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to otherwise estimate the expected life of the stock options. Expected volatility is based on historical volatilities for publicly traded stock of comparable companies over the estimated expected life of the stock options. We assume no dividend yield because we do not expect to pay dividends in the near future, which is consistent with our history of not paying dividends. We recognize compensation expense ratably over the requisite service period of the stock option award.
We value restricted stock units at the closing market price on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense ratably over the requisite service period of the restricted stock unit award.
We estimate the fair value of market stock units on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The determination of fair value of the market stock units is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions including the expected volatility and the risk-free interest rate. Our expected volatility at the date of grant was based on the historical volatilities of our stock and peer firms' stocks and the Index over the performance period. We assume no dividend yield and recognize compensation expense ratably over the performance period of the market stock unit award. We recognize compensation expense using the graded attribution method on a straight-line basis over the performance period for each market stock unit award.
Convertible Senior Notes
In February 2018, we issued $230.0 million principal amount of convertible senior notes due in February 2023, or the 2023 Notes. In June 2019, we issued $316.3 million principal amount of convertible senior notes due in June 2026, or the 2026 Notes. In November 2020, we issued $350.0 million principal amount of convertible senior notes due in November 2025, or the 2025 Notes. This was achieved by exchanging $181.9 million principal amount of the 2023 Notes for $210.7 million principal amount of the 2025 Notes and issuing an additional $139.3 million of new notes. In May 2021, the Company repurchased $37.1 million principal amount of the 2023 Notes. As of December 31, 2021, the aggregate principal amount outstanding related to the 2023 Notes was $10.9 million.
When accounting for the issuance of convertible notes, we separate each of the convertible notes into liability and equity components. The carrying amount of the liability component is calculated by measuring the fair value, as of the date of issuance, of a similar debt without the conversion feature. The carrying amount of the equity component representing the conversion feature is determined by deducting the fair value of the liability components from the total initial proceeds. The difference between the par amount of the convertible notes and the carrying amount of the liability component represents debt discounts that are amortized to interest expense over the respective terms of the convertible notes using the effective interest rate method. The equity components are not remeasured as long as they continue to meet the conditions for equity classification. In accounting for the issuance costs related to its convertible notes, we allocate the total amount of issuance costs incurred to liability and equity components based on their relative values. Issuance costs attributable to the liability components are amortized to interest expense over the respective terms of the convertible notes using the effective interest rate method. The issuance costs attributable to the equity components were netted against the respective equity components in additional paid-in capital.
When accounting for an exchange of convertible notes, we evaluate whether the transaction should be evaluated as a modification or extinguishment transaction. The partial exchange of the 2023 Notes and issuance of the 2025 Notes in November 2020 were deemed to have substantially different terms due to the significant difference between the value of the conversion option immediately prior to and after the exchange, and consequently, the 2023 Notes partial exchange was accounted for as a debt extinguishment. In an exchange or repurchase transaction, we will allocate a portion of the settlement consideration to the reacquisition of the liability component, which is equal to the fair value of that component immediately prior to the extinguishment, and allocate the remaining settlement consideration to the reacquisition of the equity component and recognize that amount as a reduction of additional paid in capital. The difference between the consideration attributed to the liability component and the sum of the net carrying amount of the liability component and any unamortized debt issuance costs is recognized as a gain or loss on debt extinguishment in our consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
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Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
The purchase price allocation for business combinations and asset acquisitions requires extensive use of accounting estimates and judgments to allocate the purchase price to the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values. We determine whether substantially all the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If this threshold is met, the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, is not a business. If it is not met, we determine whether the single asset or group of assets, as applicable, meets the definition of a business.
In connection with our business combinations, we recorded certain intangible assets, including acquired technology, customer relationships, trademarks and non-compete agreements. Amounts allocated to the acquired intangible assets are being amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives. We periodically review the estimated useful lives and fair values of our identifiable intangible assets, taking into consideration any events or circumstances which might result in a diminished fair value or revised useful life.
The excess purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. We test goodwill for impairment annually in October, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Because we operate as a single reporting unit, the impairment test is performed at the consolidated entity level by comparing the estimated fair value of the company to the carrying value of the company. We estimate the fair value of the reporting unit using a "step one" analysis using a fair-value-based approach based on the market capitalization or a discounted cash flow analysis of projected future results to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Determining the fair value of goodwill is subjective in nature and often involves the use of estimates and assumptions including, without limitation, use of estimates of future prices and volumes for our products, capital needs, economic trends and other factors which are inherently difficult to forecast. If actual results, or the plans and estimates used in future impairment analyses are lower than the original estimates used to assess the recoverability of these assets, we could incur impairment charges in a future period. The annual impairment test was performed as of October 31, 2021. No impairment of goodwill was identified during 2021.
Software Development Costs
We capitalize certain software development costs under accounting frameworks that differ based on the nature of the software. Software development costs include salaries and other personnel-related costs, including employee benefits, stock-based compensation and bonuses attributed to programmers, software engineers, quality control teams and third-party development costs for those who are directly associated with and who devote time to our software solutions. Costs incurred in the preliminary stages of development and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized software development costs are computed on an individual product basis. We also capitalize certain costs related to specific upgrades and enhancements when it is probable the expenditures will result in significant additional functionality. Capitalization ceases for products, upgrades and enhancements when released or made available. Internal-use software is amortized to cost of revenues over the products' estimated economic lives, which are expected to be three to five years. The costs related to software development are included in intangible assets, net on the consolidated balance sheets.
We capitalize certain development costs associated with software that is to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed that are incurred between reaching technological feasibility of a solution and the point at which the solution is ready for general release.
We capitalize certain development costs associated with internal use software and our SaaS platform, incurred during the application development stage. We expense costs associated with preliminary project phase activities, training, maintenance and any post-implementation costs as incurred.
Income Taxes
Deferred income taxes are provided for the tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and their respective tax bases and operating loss carryforwards and credits using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. We assess the likelihood that deferred tax assets will be realized and recognize a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. This assessment requires judgment as to the likelihood and amounts of future taxable income by tax jurisdiction. To date, we have provided a valuation allowance against most of our deferred tax assets as we believe the objective and verifiable evidence of our historical pretax net losses outweighs any positive evidence of our forecasted future results. We will continue to monitor the positive and negative evidence, and we will adjust the valuation allowance as sufficient objective positive evidence becomes available.
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We evaluate our uncertain tax positions based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit taken by us in our tax filings or positions is more likely than not to be realized. We believe we have accrued adequate reserves related to our uncertain tax positions; however, ultimate determination of our liability is subject to audit by taxing authorities in the ordinary course of business. We record interest and penalties associated with any uncertain tax positions as a component of income tax expense.
Results of Operations