Guidewire Software, Inc.
For the period ended Jul 31, 2025. Filed Sep 11, 2025.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.
FY2025 · Filed Sep 11, 2025
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-K
Period ended 2024-07-31; filed 2024-09-16.
0001528396-24-000105
Item 1A. Risk FactorsCurrent report: 10-K
Period ended 2025-07-31; filed 2025-09-11.
0001528396-25-000221
Item 1A. Risk FactorsThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
Compared 242 previous paragraphs and 256 current paragraphs.
140 unchanged; 86 reworded; 25 added; 14 removed; 2 previous and 5 current paragraphs rearranged.
Tables are not compared: 0 previous and 0 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (25)
Current report
SUMMARY OF MATERIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS
Current report
The principal risks and uncertainties affecting our business include the following:
Current report
•our quarterly and annual results may fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors, including economic conditions, customer behavior, contract provisions and changes, operational costs and reliability, seasonality, and other uncertainties, which could impact our stock price;
Current report
•our reliance on orders from a relatively small number of customers in the P&C insurance industry for a substantial portion of our revenue and Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) and the related substantial negotiating leverage of these customers, as well as our dependence on customer renewals and expansions of their contracts for our products, which may not occur;
Current report
•lengthy and variable sales and implementation cycles, with factors beyond our control, including competitive pressures, potentially causing expenditure of significant time and resources prior to revenue generation;
Current report
•competitive attributes of our applications, including the need to continuously develop and enhance our products to satisfy customer demands, maintain market acceptance, respond to competitive pressures, and meet local requirements of international markets;
Current report
•failure to grow our business and manage our expanding operations, including internationally, effectively;
Current report
•our ability to expand adoption of our cloud-based products, migrate existing term license customers to cloud-based offerings on a subscription basis, and manage long-term pricing commitments in our customer contracts that are based on available information and estimates about future costs that may change;
Current report
•exposure to risks in relation to data security incidents or breaches of our cloud-based products, unauthorized access to our customers’ or employees’ data, and the related impact on our ability to effectively operate our cloud environment for our customers;
Current report
•retaining existing and hiring new personnel, including managing a hybrid and geographically distributed workforce;
Current report
•dependence on the quality and effectiveness of our professional services, technical support, and SI partners, and successful development of our global direct sales force and the expansion of our relationships with SI partners;
Current report
•factors that could affect our gross and operating margins, including revenue mix and costs related to operating, securing, and enhancing our subscription services;
Current report
•pursuing acquisitions or partnerships may lead to management distractions, integration challenges, increased costs, and stockholder dilution, with risks including unforeseen difficulties, capital investment needs, and competitive pressures;
Current report
•exposure to market risks, including geographical and global events, supply chain disruptions, inflation, political and regional conflicts, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, tariffs, and financial markets’ volatility and their impact on our stock price and its volatility and our customers, partners, vendors, or our business operations; and
Current report
•required compliance with current and evolving local data privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations in all jurisdictions where we have customers, and our ability to maintain the security of our customers’ data and our cloud-based products, appropriately limit the use of information, and manage related costs and liabilities incurred.
Current report
Further, while use of AI tools to develop software code makes our development process more efficient, AI technologies have sometimes generated content that is “substantially similar” to proprietary or open source code on which the AI tool was trained. If the AI technologies we use generate code that is too similar to other proprietary code, or to software processes that are protected by patent, we could be subject to intellectual property infringement claims. We may also not be able to anticipate and detect security vulnerabilities in such AI generated software code. If our tools generate code that is too similar to open source code, we risk losing protection of our own proprietary code that is commingled with such code. Finally, to the extent we use third-party AI technologies to develop software code, the terms of use of these tools may state that the third-party provider retains rights in the generated code.
Current report
At present, various governments are taking an increased interest in developments in AI technologies and are responding to such developments in various ways, including by issuing action plans for risk mitigation and introducing legislation to generally oversee the use of AI. In the United States, federal and state authorities have introduced, and may continue to introduce, requirements related to AI oversight, disclosure, and accountability, and the scope and direction of such laws and policies remain uncertain. In the EU, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“EU AI Act”) establishes a comprehensive governance framework for AI and similar efforts are emerging in other jurisdictions. New or evolving regulations relating to rapidly evolving AI technologies may impose additional rules and restrictions on the use of AI in our products.
Current report
Changes in accounting standards or our accounting estimates, or variability between GAAP results and key metrics, may adversely affect our operating results and stock price.
Current report
Servicing our indebtedness requires a significant amount of cash. We may not have sufficient cash flow from our business to pay our substantial indebtedness, and we may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle for cash conversions of the 2029 Convertible Senior Notes or to repurchase the 2029 Convertible Senior Notes upon a fundamental change, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Current report
Our revolving credit facility contains restrictive and financial covenants that may limit our operational flexibility. If we fail to meet our obligations under the credit facility, our operations may be interrupted and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Current report
In December 2024, we entered into a five-year, $300.0 million senior revolving credit facility by and among us, certain of our subsidiaries, and certain lenders to fund working capital and general corporate purpose expenditures. The revolving credit facility contains customary conditions to borrowing, events of default, covenants, and consent requirements and other provisions that may limit our flexibility to take certain actions. Covenants include, but are not limited to, restrictions on our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, dispose of assets, make certain restricted payments such as distributions to holders of our capital stock or the capital stock of our subsidiaries, share repurchases, make investments, or engage in transactions with our affiliates, and require us to maintain a minimum consolidated net cash interest coverage ratio and a maximum total net leverage ratio. Our obligations are guaranteed by our material domestic subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of our assets, including intellectual property assets.
Current report
Various risks, uncertainties, and events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with these covenants in the future. Failure to comply with any of the covenants could result in a default under the credit facility. Such a default could permit lenders to accelerate the maturity of outstanding amounts under our credit facility, if any, which in turn could result in adverse consequences that negatively impact our business, the market price for our common stock, and our ability to obtain other financing in the future.
Current report
Increased scrutiny regarding climate change, human capital, and other sustainability matters, as well as our response to the same, may result in increased costs (including, but not limited to, increased costs related to compliance, stakeholder engagement and contracting), impact our reputation, or otherwise negatively affect our business performance. We engage in certain actions (including disclosures) to manage sustainability-related matters or respond to stakeholder expectations; however, such actions may be costly or be subject to numerous conditions that are outside our control, and we cannot guarantee that such actions will have the desired effect or outcome. For example, many sustainability initiatives leverage data, methodologies, technologies, and/or standards that are complex, subject to varying interpretations, and continuing to evolve. As with other companies, our approach is expected to continue to evolve as well, and we cannot guarantee that our approach will align with the expectations or interpretations of any particular stakeholder. Stakeholders (including policymakers) have varying, and at times conflicting, expectations. We may face reputational damage (including impacts to any related ratings) or additional costs in the event our sustainability procedures or standards do not meet the standards set by various constituencies, and any failure to successfully navigate competing stakeholder interests may also result in adverse impacts to our business.
Current report
In addition, we expect there will likely continue to be increasing levels of regulation, as policymakers in jurisdictions such as Europe, California, and Australia are adopting or considering adopting various requirements regarding sustainability disclosures or actions. Such regulations are not uniform, which may increase the cost and complexity of compliance, as well as associated risks. Moreover, both advocates and opponents of sustainability matters are increasingly resorting to a range of activism forms, including litigation, to advance their perspectives. Addressing stakeholder expectations and regulatory requirements may be costly and any failure to successfully navigate such expectations, as well as evolving interpretations of any existing or new governmental laws or requirements, may result in reputational harm, loss of customers or contracts, regulatory or investor engagement, or other adverse impacts to our business. Our customers and other stakeholders are also subject to many of these expectations and regulatory considerations, which may augment or result in additional risks that also could adversely impact our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
Current report
In the event the conditional conversion feature of the 2029 Convertible Senior Notes is triggered, the holders thereof will be entitled under the terms of the 2029 Indenture to convert their 2029 Convertible Senior Notes at their option. As of July 31, 2025, the conditional conversion feature of our 2029 Convertible Senior Notes was not triggered. If the conditional conversion feature of the 2029 Convertible Senior Notes is triggered and one or more holders elect to convert their 2029 Convertible Senior Notes, we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, in certain circumstances, such as conversions by holders or redemption, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or certain of the outstanding principal of such series of notes as a current rather than long-term liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.
Removed paragraphs (14)
Previous report
Furthermore, our sales and implementation cycles could be interrupted or affected by other factors outside of our control. We have had, and may in the future have, restrictions on travel, which are in accordance with recommendations by the U.S. government, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other equivalent agencies in the locations in which we operate, and our customers, SI partners, and prospects have likewise enacted their own preventative policies and travel restrictions. Widespread restrictions on travel and in-person meetings have affected and could, in the future, affect services delivery, delay implementations, and interrupt sales activity. We cannot predict the duration or the extent of adverse impacts from pandemics and other global events on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Previous report
Our large customers have substantial negotiating leverage, which may require that we agree to terms and conditions that result in increased cost of sales, decreased revenue, and lower average selling prices and gross margins, all of which could harm our results of operations.
Previous report
At present, multiple jurisdictions are taking a heightened interest in AI and machine learning. There has been a recent wave of policy and regulatory responses from various governments rolling out action plans for risk mitigation to legislation being introduced to generally oversee the use of AI. For example, in 2023, the President of the United States issued an executive order, promulgating guidelines to executive departments, and various states have enacted legislation relating to disclosure requirements for the use of AI, and in the EU, the EU AI Act, adopted in 2024, establishes a comprehensive, risk-based governance framework and applies to, amongst other entities, providers, importers, and distributors of AI systems or general-purpose AI models that are placed on the EU market or put into service or used in the EU. There is a risk that our current or future products may be subject to heightened obligations under the EU AI Act, which may impose additional costs on us, increase our risk of liability, or adversely affect our business. New or evolving regulations relating to rapidly evolving generative AI and machine learning technologies may impose additional rules and restrictions on the use of the AI in our products.
Previous report
We and our customers rely on technology and intellectual property of third parties, the loss of which could limit the functionality of our products and disrupt our business.
Previous report
In addition, our Guidewire cloud offerings rely on third-party hosting and infrastructure services provided by AWS and other service providers, for the continuous, reliable, and secure operation of servers, related hardware and software, and network infrastructure. A prolonged AWS service disruption or slowdown for any reason could damage our reputation with current and potential customers, expose us to liability, cause us to lose customers, or otherwise harm our business.
Previous report
The nature of our business requires the application of accounting guidance that requires management to make estimates and assumptions. Reported results under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) may vary from key metrics used to measure our business. Additionally, changes in accounting guidance may cause us to experience greater volatility in our quarterly and annual results. If we are unsuccessful in adapting to and interpreting the requirements of new guidance, or in clearly explaining to stockholders how new guidance affects reporting of our results of operations, our stock price may decline.
Previous report
Our indebtedness related to our Convertible Senior Notes is due within twelve months. Servicing our indebtedness requires a significant amount of cash. We may have to use significant cash to pay our indebtedness, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Previous report
Increased investor, governmental, and societal attention to and expectations around the wide range of issues generally referred to as ESG matters and our response to the same, may result in increased costs (including, but not limited to, increased costs related to compliance, stakeholder engagement and contracting), impact our reputation, or otherwise negatively affect our business performance. In addition, organizations that provide information to investors on corporate governance and related matters have developed ratings processes for evaluating companies on ESG matters, while other organizations are pushing corporations not to focus on ESG matters in decision making. Both unfavorable ESG ratings and engaging in activities designed to improve such ratings could lead to negative investor sentiment toward us and/or our industry, which could have a negative impact on our access to and costs of capital. To the extent ESG matters negatively impact our reputation, we may also not be able to compete as effectively to recruit or retain employees. We may take certain actions in relation to ESG matters in response to stakeholder demand; however, such actions may be costly or be subject to numerous conditions that are outside our control, and we cannot guarantee that such actions will have the desired effect or outcome. Moreover, while we may create and publish voluntary disclosures regarding ESG matters (in particular, information related to sustainability, environmental and human capital matters) from time to time, many of the statements in such voluntary disclosures are based on certain expectations and assumptions that may or may not be representative of current or actual risks or events or forecasts of expected risks or events, including the costs associated therewith. Such expectations and assumptions are necessarily uncertain and may be prone to error or subject to misinterpretation given the long timelines involved and the lack of an established single approach to identifying, measuring and reporting on many sustainability, environmental and human capital matters. Such disclosures may also be at least partially reliant on third-party information that we have not independently verified or that otherwise cannot be independently verified.
Previous report
Statements about our sustainability, environmental and human capital initiatives and goals, and progress against those goals, may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future. If our related data, processing and reporting are incomplete or otherwise inaccurate, or if we fail to achieve progress on certain metrics on a timely basis, our reputation, business, financial performance, and growth could be adversely affected.
Previous report
In addition, we expect there will likely continue to be increasing levels of regulation and disclosure-related requirements with respect to sustainability, environmental and human capital matters, and increased regulation will likely lead to increased compliance costs as well as scrutiny that could heighten all of the associated risks identified in this risk factor. Such compliance matters may also impact our customers, which could adversely impact our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
Previous report
In addition, our information technology systems are vulnerable to computer viruses, break-ins, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering, such as the recent CrowdStrike incident. To the extent that such disruptions result in delays or cancellations of customer orders or collections, or the deployment or availability of our products, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Previous report
In the event the conditional conversion feature of the notes is triggered, holders of our Convertible Senior Notes will be entitled to convert the Convertible Senior Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their Convertible Senior Notes, unless we elect to satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering solely shares of our common stock (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we would be required to settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation through the payment of cash, which could adversely affect our liquidity.
Previous report
The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the Convertible Senior Notes, could have a material effect on our reported financial results.
Previous report
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), which we adopted on August 1, 2022. The ASU simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments, and among other things, eliminates the treasury stock method to calculate diluted earnings per share for convertible instruments and requires the use of the if-converted method. When calculating diluted EPS, the if-converted method requires us to assume that convertible debt instruments (and any applicable conversion premium) are converted to common stock as of the beginning of the period presented regardless of the price of our stock in periods that we have net income. Additionally, the if-converted method does not allow us to offset the impact of our capped call transactions on the calculation. We expect that such calculations will negatively affect our reported diluted EPS in the periods that we have net income irrespective of actual conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes.
Reworded paragraphs (86)
Previous wording
A description of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business is set forth below. You should carefully consider such risks and uncertainties, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our other public filings. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. If any of such risks and uncertainties actually occurs, our business, results of operations, or financial condition could differ materially from the plans, projections and other forward-looking statements included in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings. In addition, if any of the following risks and uncertainties, or if any other risks and uncertainties, actually occurs, our business, results of operations, or financial condition could be harmed substantially, which could cause the market price of our stock to decline, perhaps significantly.
Current wording
A description of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business is set forth below. You should carefully consider such risks and uncertainties, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our other public filings. If any of such risks and uncertainties actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could differ materially from the plans, projections and other forward-looking statements included in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings. In addition, if any of the following risks and uncertainties, or if any other risks and uncertainties, actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed substantially, which could cause the market price of our stock to decline, perhaps significantly.
Previous wording
Service interruptions or failures of our third-party service providers may impair the availability of our products, which may expose us to liability, damage our reputation, and harm our future financial results.
Current wording
•errors or failures in our products or services, as well as failures, security vulnerabilities, or service interruptions of third-party technologies and service providers we utilize, could impair the availability of our products, harm our reputation, lead to customer loss, increase liability claims, or harm our future financial results;
Previous wording
•the impact of economic downturns and related market volatility caused by economic volatility, inflation, bank failures and associated financial instability and crises, or other national and worldwide events on our business and the businesses of our customers, partners, and vendors;
Current wording
•the impact of economic downturns and related market volatility caused by economic volatility, inflation, bank failures and associated financial instability and crises, political uncertainties, or other national and worldwide events on our business and the businesses of our customers, partners, and vendors;
Previous wording
•our ability to develop and achieve market adoption of cloud-based services, including the impact of our customers transitioning from term software licenses to subscription services;
Current wording
•our ability to expand market adoption of cloud-based services, including the impact of our customers transitioning from term software licenses to subscription services;
Previous wording
•erosion in services margins or significant fluctuations in services revenue caused by changing customer demand, negotiated professional services billing rates, investments in customer implementation and migration projects, or fixed fee contracts;
Current wording
•erosion in services margins or significant fluctuations in services revenue caused by changing customer demand, negotiated professional services billing rates, investments in customer implementation and migration projects, utilization rates, or fixed fee contracts;
Previous wording
•the impact of a recession or any other adverse global economic condition on our business, including public health crises, such as epidemics and pandemics, geographic and political conflicts, trade tariffs, trade agreements, and other uncertainties that may cause a delay in entering into, a failure to enter into, or cancel significant customer agreements or the fulfillment of professional service arrangements;
Current wording
•the impact of a recession or any other adverse global economic condition on our business, including public health crises, such as epidemics and pandemics, changes in political climate, geographic and political conflicts, and uncertainties with respect to trade tariffs, trade agreements, and other trade issues that may cause a delay in entering into, a failure to enter into, or cancellation of significant customer agreements or the fulfillment of professional service arrangements;
Previous wording
The foregoing factors are difficult to forecast, and these, as well as other factors, could materially adversely affect our quarterly and annual results of operations. Further, due to multi-year term licenses and multi-year term license renewals, increased cloud-based subscription services, timing of and billing rates for professional services engagements, and other ongoing changes to our business, it is challenging to forecast our quarterly and annual results.
Current wording
The foregoing factors are difficult to forecast, and these, as well as other factors, could materially adversely affect our quarterly and annual results of operations. Further, due to multi-year term licenses and multi-year term license renewals, increased cloud-based subscription services, timing of and billing rates for professional services engagements, and other ongoing aspects of our business, it is challenging to forecast our quarterly and annual results.
Previous wording
We have relied and expect to continue to rely on orders from a relatively small number of customers in the P&C insurance industry for a substantial portion of our revenue and ARR, and the loss of any of these customers would significantly harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Current wording
Our reliance on a relatively small number of P&C insurance customers for a significant portion of our revenue and ARR and the substantial negotiating leverage of these customers could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Previous wording
Our revenue and ARR are dependent on orders from customers in the P&C insurance industry, which may be adversely affected by worldwide economic, environmental, public health, and political conditions. A relatively small number of customers have historically accounted for a significant portion of our revenue. The composition of our individual top customers has and will vary from year to year. In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, our ten largest customers accounted for 23% and 22% of our revenue, respectively. Additionally, our ten largest customers based on ARR accounted for 22% of total ARR at July 31, 2024. Customers for these metrics are calculated at the parent corporation level, while our total customer count is based on entities that have placed orders for our services or products. While we expect this reliance to decrease over time as our revenue, customer base, and subscription services as a percentage of revenue grows, we expect that we will continue to depend upon a relatively small number of customers for a significant portion of our revenue and ARR for the foreseeable future. As a result, if we fail to successfully sell our products to one or more of these anticipated customers in any particular period or fail to identify additional potential customers or such customers purchase fewer of our products or professional services, defer or cancel orders, fail to renew their license or subscription agreements or otherwise terminate or reduce their relationship with us, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be harmed. Additionally, if one or more of these anticipated customers enters into or transitions to a subscription agreement in any particular period, or if we fail to achieve the required performance or acceptance criteria for one or more of this relatively small number of customers, our quarterly and annual results of operations may fluctuate significantly.
Current wording
Our revenue and ARR are dependent on orders from customers in the P&C insurance industry, which may be adversely affected by worldwide economic, environmental, public health, and political conditions. A relatively small number of customers have historically accounted for a significant portion of our revenue. The composition of our individual top customers has varied and will continue to vary from year to year. Our ten largest customers accounted for 20% and 22% of our revenue in fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively. Additionally, our ten largest customers based on ARR accounted for 20% of total ARR at July 31, 2025. Customers for these metrics are calculated at the parent corporation level, while our total customer count is based on entities that have placed orders for our services or products. While we expect this reliance to decrease over time as our revenue, customer base, and subscription services as a percentage of revenue grow, we expect that we will continue to depend upon a relatively small number of customers for a significant portion of our revenue and ARR for the foreseeable future. As a result, if we fail to successfully sell our products to one or more of these anticipated customers in any particular period or fail to identify additional potential customers, or if such customers purchase fewer of our products or professional services, defer or cancel orders, fail to renew their license or subscription agreements, or otherwise terminate or reduce their relationship with us, our business, results of operations, and financial condition would be harmed. Additionally, if one or more of these anticipated customers enters into or transitions to a subscription agreement in any particular period, or if we fail to achieve the required performance or acceptance criteria for one or more of this relatively small number of customers, our quarterly and annual results of operations may fluctuate significantly.
Previous wording
Some of our customers include the world’s largest P&C insurers. These customers have significant bargaining power when negotiating new licenses or subscriptions or renewals of existing agreements, and have the ability to buy similar products from other vendors or develop such systems internally. These customers have and may continue to seek advantageous pricing and other commercial and performance terms that may require us to develop additional features in the products we sell to them or add complexity to our customer agreements. These customers may also delay making payments under existing agreements, or at renewal, in an attempt to obtain more favorable terms from us. We have been required to, and may again be required to, reduce the average selling price and ARR of our products, along with agreeing to steeper ramps that delay reaching fully ramped ARR, in response to these pressures. If we are unable to avoid reducing our average selling prices or ARR, our results of operations could be harmed.
Current wording
Furthermore, some of our customers include the world’s largest P&C insurers. These customers have significant bargaining power when negotiating new licenses or subscriptions or renewals of existing agreements, and have the ability to buy similar products from other vendors or develop such systems internally. These customers have and may continue to seek advantageous pricing and other commercial and performance terms that may require us to develop additional features in the products we sell to them or add complexity to our customer agreements. We have been required to, and may again be required to, reduce the average selling price and ARR of our products, along with agreeing to ramps that delay reaching fully ramped ARR, in response to these pressures. If we are unable to avoid reducing our average selling prices or ARR, our results of operations could be harmed. In addition, consolidation among P&C insurers may further concentrate our customer base and increase the negotiating leverage of our large customers, which could heighten pricing and margin pressures.
Previous wording
The typical sales cycle for our products is lengthy and unpredictable, requires pre-purchase evaluation by a significant number of employees in our customers’ organizations, often involves a significant operational decision by our customers, and could be affected by factors outside of our control. Our sales efforts involve educating our customers about the use and benefits of our products, including the technical capabilities of our products, the potential cost savings achievable by organizations deploying our products, and the benefits and risks associated with cloud-based services. Customers typically undertake a significant evaluation process, which frequently involves not only our products, but also those of our competitors. We spend substantial time, effort, and money in our sales efforts without any assurance that our efforts will produce sales, and our customers have significant negotiating power during the sales process which may result in a lengthy sales cycle and significant contractual complexity. Additionally, we may be unable to predict the size and terms of the initial contract until very late in the sales cycle, which affects our ability to accurately forecast revenue and ARR. In addition, if we commit to include specific features in our base product offering at the request of a customer or group of customers, we may be unable to recognize revenue until the specific features have been delivered with our products. Providing this additional functionality may be time consuming and may involve factors that are outside of our control. Customers may also insist that we commit to certain time frames in which systems built around our products will be operational or that once implemented our products will be able to meet certain operational requirements. Our ability to meet such timeframes and requirements may involve factors that are outside of our control, and failure to meet such timeframes and requirements could result in us incurring penalties and costs and/or making additional resource commitments, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Current wording
The typical sales cycle for our products is lengthy and unpredictable, requires pre-purchase evaluation by a significant number of employees in our customers’ organizations, often involves a significant operational decision by our customers, and could be affected by factors outside of our control. Our sales efforts involve educating our customers about the use and benefits of our products, including the technical capabilities of our products, the potential cost savings achievable by organizations deploying our products, and the benefits and risks associated with cloud-based services. Customers typically undertake a significant evaluation process, which frequently involves not only our products, but also those of our competitors. We spend substantial time, effort, and money in our sales efforts without any assurance that our efforts will produce sales, and our customers have significant negotiating power during the sales process which may result in a lengthy sales cycle and significant contractual complexity. Additionally, we may be unable to predict the size and terms of the initial contract until very late in the sales cycle, which affects our ability to accurately forecast revenue and ARR. In addition, if we commit to include specific features in our base product offering at the request of a customer or group of customers, we may be unable to recognize revenue until the specific features have been delivered with our products or be subject to penalties or costs. Providing this additional functionality may be time consuming and may involve factors that are outside of our control. Customers may also insist that we commit to certain time frames in which systems built around our products will be operational or that once implemented our products will be able to meet certain operational requirements. Our ability to meet such timeframes and requirements may involve factors that are outside of our control, and failure to meet such timeframes and requirements could result in us incurring penalties and costs and/or making additional resource commitments, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Previous wording
Additionally, many of our prospective customers operate firmly entrenched legacy systems, some of which have been in operation for decades. Our implementation cycles may be lengthy, variable, and require the investment of significant time and expense by our customers. These expenses and associated operating risks attendant on any significant process re-engineering and new technology implementation, may cause customers to prefer maintaining legacy systems. Also, maintaining these legacy systems may be so time consuming and costly for our potential customers that they do not have adequate resources to devote to the purchase and implementation of our products. We also compete against technology consulting firms that either helped create such legacy systems or may own, in full or in part, subsidiaries that develop software and systems for the P&C insurance industry.
Current wording
Additionally, many of our prospective customers operate firmly entrenched legacy systems, some of which have been in operation for decades. Our implementation cycles may be lengthy, variable, and require the investment of significant time and expense by our customers. These expenses and associated operating risks attendant on any significant process re-engineering and new technology implementation, may cause customers to prefer maintaining legacy systems. Also, maintaining these legacy systems may be so time consuming and costly for our potential customers that they do not have adequate resources to devote to the purchase and implementation of our products. We also compete against technology consulting firms that either helped create such legacy systems or may own, in full or in part, subsidiaries that develop software and systems for the P&C insurance industry. Further, as machine learning, AI technologies, including generative AI technologies, and automated decision-making technologies (collectively, “AI technologies”) continue to evolve, our existing and potential customers may leverage evolving AI technologies to develop their own solutions that could reduce or eliminate the need for our solutions.
Previous wording
If our competitors’ products, services, or technologies become more accepted than our solutions, if they are successful in bringing their products or services to market earlier than we are, if their products or services are more technologically capable than ours (including, without limitation, as a result of new or better use of evolving AI technologies, such as generative AI), or if customers replace our solutions with custom-built software, then our revenue could be adversely affected.
Current wording
If our competitors’ products, services, or technologies become more accepted than our solutions, if they are successful in bringing their products or services to market earlier than we are, if their products or services are more technologically capable than ours (including, without limitation, as a result of new or better use of evolving AI technologies, such as generative AI), or if our customers or potential customers replace our solutions with custom-built software, then our revenue could be adversely affected.
Previous wording
Further, our ability to expand geographically depends, in large part, on our ability to attract, retain, and integrate managers with the appropriate skills to lead the local business and employees. Similarly, our profitability depends on our ability to effectively utilize personnel with the right mix of skills and experience to perform services for our customers, including our ability to transition employees to new assignments on a timely basis. If we are unable to effectively deploy our employees globally on a timely basis to fulfill the needs of our customers, our reputation could suffer and our ability to attract new customers may be harmed.
Current wording
We have experienced consistent growth and expect to continue expanding our operations, including increasing the number of employees and broadening the locations and scope of our international operations. In particular, we have been expanding and plan to continue to expand our operations in India. Additionally, we operate a hybrid work environment in which a large portion of our workforce works either in-person on a part-time basis or remotely on a permanent basis, which brings challenges to managing our business and workforce. This expansion, combined with the complexity of managing a hybrid and geographically distributed workforce, has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, financial and other resources. Further, our ability to expand geographically depends, in large part, on our ability to attract, retain, and integrate managers with the appropriate skills to lead the local business and employees. Similarly, our profitability depends on our ability to effectively utilize personnel with the right mix of skills and experience to perform services for our customers, including our ability to transition employees to new assignments on a timely basis. If we are unable to effectively deploy our employees globally on a timely basis to fulfill the needs of our customers, our reputation could suffer and our ability to attract new customers may be harmed.
Previous wording
We have experienced consistent growth and expect to continue to expand our operations, including the number of employees and the locations and scope of our international operations. In particular, we have been expanding and plan to continue to expand our operations in India. Additionally, we operate a hybrid work environment in which a large portion of our workforce works either in-person on a part-time basis or remotely on a permanent basis, which brings challenges to managing our business and workforce. This expansion and hybrid work environment has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our operational and financial resources and our personnel. To manage our anticipated future operational expansion effectively, we must continue to maintain and may need to enhance our information technology and cybersecurity infrastructure and financial and accounting systems and controls, and manage expanded operations and employees in geographically distributed locations. Our growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of new, enhanced, or more secure products or investments in cloud operations. If we increase the size of our organization without experiencing an increase in sales of our products, we will experience reductions in our gross and operating margins and net income. If we are unable to effectively manage our expanding operations or hybrid work environment, our expenses may increase more than expected, our revenue could decline or grow more slowly than expected, and we may be unable to implement our business strategy.
Current wording
To manage our anticipated future operational expansion effectively, we must continue to maintain and may need to enhance our information technology and cybersecurity infrastructure and financial and accounting systems and controls, and manage expanded operations and employees in geographically distributed locations. Our growth could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of new, enhanced, or more secure products or investments in cloud operations. If we increase the size of our organization without experiencing an increase in sales of our products, we will experience reductions in our gross and operating margins and net income. If we are unable to effectively manage our expanding operations or hybrid work environment, our expenses may increase more than expected, our revenue could decline or grow more slowly than expected, and we may be unable to implement our business strategy.
Previous wording
We use, and are continuously incorporating, machine learning and AI technologies in our offerings and business, and we are making investments in expanding our AI capabilities in our products, professional services, and tools, including the ongoing deployment and improvement of existing machine learning and AI technologies, as well as developing new product features using generative and other AI technologies. AI technologies are complex, and generative AI technologies, in particular, are rapidly evolving. We face significant competition from other companies as well as an evolving regulatory landscape in relation to these technologies. The introduction of AI technologies, including generative AI, into new or existing products may result in new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, confidentiality or security risks, privacy concerns, ethical challenges, or other complications that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results.
Current wording
We use AI technologies in our offerings and business, and we are continuing to make investments in expanding our AI capabilities in our products, professional services, and tools, including by enhancing existing or developing new product features and functionality that use or incorporate AI technologies. AI technologies are complex and are rapidly evolving. We expect that increased investment will be required to continuously improve our use of AI technologies. As with many technological innovations, there are significant risks involved in developing, maintaining and deploying these technologies and there can be no assurance that the usage of or our investments in such technologies will always enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability. The use of AI technologies in new or existing offerings may result in new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, confidentiality or cybersecurity risks, privacy concerns, ethical challenges, or other complications that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results.
Previous wording
The complexity of our products that incorporate machine learning and AI technologies could result in unforeseen delays or expenses, or undetected defects, bugs, or security vulnerabilities, which may harm the market acceptance of new products, damage our reputation with current or prospective customers, cause significant remediation expenses, and may harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our products may contain defects when they are first introduced or as new versions or enhancements are released, or their release may be delayed due to unforeseen difficulties during development. Additionally, our products may have undiscovered vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers or other malicious actors, potentially exposing our customers to adverse consequences.
Current wording
The complexity of our products that incorporate machine learning and AI technologies could result in unforeseen delays or expenses, or undetected defects, bugs, or new or unknown cybersecurity risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges, which may harm the market acceptance of new products, damage our reputation with current or prospective customers, cause significant remediation expenses, and may harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Previous wording
The uncertainty around new and emerging AI technologies, such as generative AI, may require additional investment in the development and maintenance of proprietary datasets and machine learning models, development of new approaches and processes to provide attribution or remuneration to creators of training data, and development of appropriate protections and safeguards for handling the use of customer data with such technologies, which may be costly and could impact our expenses if we decide to expand AI technologies, including generative AI, into our product offerings. AI technologies, including without limitation generative AI, may create content that appears facially correct but is factually inaccurate or flawed. Our customers, employees, or others may rely on or use such factually incorrect or flawed content to their detriment, which may expose us to brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, and/or legal liability. In all events, the development, marketing and use of AI technologies, including, in particular, generative AI, presents emerging ethical and social issues, and if we enable or offer solutions that draw scrutiny or controversy due to their perceived or actual impact on customers or on society as a whole, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, additional costs, and/or legal liability. If our AI development, deployment, content labeling or governance is ineffective or inadequate, it may result in incidents that impair the public acceptance of AI solutions or cause harm to individuals, customers or society, or result in our offerings not working as intended or producing unexpected outcomes.
Current wording
AI technologies may create content that appears facially correct but is factually inaccurate or flawed. Our customers, employees, or others may rely on or use such factually incorrect or flawed content to their detriment, which may expose us to brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, and/or legal liability. In all events, the development, marketing and use of AI technologies presents emerging ethical and social issues, and if we enable or offer solutions that draw scrutiny or controversy due to their perceived or actual impact on customers or on society as a whole, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, additional costs, and/or legal liability. If our AI technologies development, deployment or governance is ineffective or inadequate, it may result in incidents that impair the public acceptance of AI solutions or cause harm to individuals, customers or society, or result in our offerings not working as intended or producing unexpected outcomes.
Previous wording
Further, the development of next-generation solutions that utilize new and advanced features, including AI and machine learning, involves making predictions regarding the willingness of the market to adopt such technologies over legacy solutions. We may be required to commit significant resources to developing new products before knowing whether such investment will result in products that the market will accept.
Current wording
Further, the development of next-generation solutions that utilize new and advanced features using or incorporating AI technologies involves making predictions regarding the willingness of the market to adopt such technologies over legacy solutions. We may be required to commit significant resources to developing new products before knowing whether such investment will result in products that the market will accept.
Previous wording
The market for our products is constantly evolving, and our pricing and packaging decisions are made based on the best information available at the time, but may change significantly in the future from our expectations. We are continually analyzing and refining our pricing and packaging models to adapt to this dynamic environment. For example, we may need to change our pricing in future periods in response to market demands, the inflation and interest rate environment or increased costs. Our contracts are often multi-year in duration and our inability to foresee changing events could impact the profitability of certain contracts. Further, as competitors introduce new products that compete with ours or reduce their prices, we may be unable to attract new customers or retain existing customers based on our historical pricing. As we expand internationally, we also must determine the appropriate price to enable us to compete effectively in each market. In addition, if our mix or bundle of products sold changes, then we may need to, or choose to, revise our pricing. As a result, we may be required or choose to reduce our prices or change our pricing model, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, we cannot predict whether our current or prospective customers, or the market in general, will accept these changes. If these adjustments do not gain acceptance, our business and operational results could be adversely affected. Failure to identify an optimal pricing and packaging strategy may harm our business and operational outcomes. Should customers reject our new or modified pricing plans, we may face increasing challenges in attracting new customers and retaining existing ones, particularly if we apply new pricing models to current customer subscriptions.
Current wording
The market for our products is constantly evolving, and our pricing and packaging decisions are made based on the best information available at the time, but may change significantly in the future from our expectations. We are continually analyzing and refining our pricing and packaging models to adapt to this dynamic environment. For example, we may need to change our pricing in future periods in response to market demands, the inflation, tariffs, and interest rate environment, or increased costs. Our contracts are often multi-year in duration and our inability to foresee changing events could impact the profitability of certain contracts. Further, as competitors introduce new products that compete with ours or reduce their prices, we may be unable to attract new customers or retain existing customers based on our historical pricing. As we expand internationally, we also must determine the appropriate price to enable us to compete effectively in each market. In addition, if our mix or bundle of products sold changes, then we may need to, or choose to, revise our pricing. As a result, we may be required or choose to reduce our prices or change our pricing model, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, we cannot predict whether our current or prospective customers, or the market in general, will accept these changes. If these adjustments do not gain acceptance, our business and operational results could be adversely affected. Failure to identify an optimal pricing and packaging strategy may harm our business and operational outcomes. Should customers reject our new or modified pricing plans, we may face increasing challenges in attracting new customers and retaining existing ones, particularly if we apply new pricing models to current customer subscriptions.
Previous wording
If we do not receive customer or market acceptance of our business model focused on delivering cloud-based offerings on a subscription basis, or if we fail to meet stipulated service levels with our subscription services, our results of operations could be harmed.
Current wording
If we are unable to expand adoption of our cloud-based subscription offerings, or if we fail to meet stipulated service levels, our results of operations could be harmed.
Previous wording
To address demand trends in the P&C insurance industry, we offer customers the use of our software products through a cloud-based offering sold on a subscription basis in addition to our self-managed offering. Our subscription business model has required a considerable investment of technical, operational, financial, legal, and sales resources. Our software and cloud services involve the storage and transmission of customer data, including in some cases, personal data, and security breaches could result in the loss of this information, which in turn could result in litigation, breach of contract claims, indemnity obligations, harm to our reputation, and other liabilities for us. Our cloud offerings will continue to be the focus of existing resources, require us to hire additional resources, and increase costs, especially in cost of subscription and support revenue, cost of services revenue, and research and development, in any given period. We may not be able to efficiently scale such investments to meet customer demand and expectations, which may impact our long-term growth and results of operations. Further, the increase in some costs associated with our cloud services, such as the cost of third-party infrastructure in which we rely to host our subscription services, may be difficult to predict over time. Furthermore, we may assume greater responsibilities for implementation of subscription services due to our operating and maintaining the cloud environment for our customers. As a result, we may face risks associated with new and complex implementations or migrations, the cost of which may differ from original estimates. Our subscription contracts also contain penalty clauses, for matters such as failing to meet stipulated service levels or other contractual provisions. Should these penalties be triggered, our results of operations may be adversely affected. These penalties and costs could take the form of monetary credits for current or future service engagements, reduced fees for additional services or products or upon renewal of existing agreements, and a customer’s renegotiation or refusal to pay its contractually obligated subscription or service fees.
Current wording
To address demand trends in the P&C insurance industry, we offer customers the use of our software products primarily through a cloud-based offering sold on a subscription basis. Our subscription business model has required, and will continue to require, a considerable investment of technical, operational, financial, legal, and sales resources. Our software and cloud services involve the storage and transmission of customer data, including in some cases, personal data, and security incidents or breaches could result in the loss of this information, which in turn could result in litigation, breach of contract claims, indemnity obligations, harm to our reputation, and other liabilities for us. Our cloud offerings will continue to be the focus of existing resources, require us to hire additional resources, and increase costs, especially in cost of subscription and support revenue, cost of services revenue, and research and development, in any given period. We may not be able to efficiently scale such investments to meet customer demand and expectations, which may impact our long-term growth and results of operations. Further, the increase in some costs associated with our cloud services, such as the cost of third-party infrastructure in which we rely to host our subscription services, may be difficult to predict over time. Furthermore, we may assume greater responsibilities for implementation of subscription services due to our operating and maintaining the cloud environment for our customers. As a result, we may face risks associated with new and complex implementations or migrations, the cost of which may differ from original estimates. Our subscription contracts also contain penalty clauses, for matters such as failing to meet stipulated service levels or other contractual provisions. Should these penalties be triggered, our results of operations may be adversely affected. These penalties and costs could take the form of monetary credits for current or future service engagements, reduced fees for additional services or products or upon renewal of existing agreements, and a customer’s renegotiation or refusal to pay its contractually obligated subscription or service fees.
Previous wording
Revenue under our cloud-based subscription model is generally recognized ratably over the term of the contract. Ratable revenue recognition results in lower revenue than we otherwise would have recognized in the initial period of the customer agreement under term license agreements. This effect on recognized revenue may be magnified in any fiscal year due to the concentration of our orders in the fourth fiscal quarter. Additionally, the timing of our customers’ decision to transition from self-managed licenses to cloud-based subscription services could negatively affect our ability to forecast the timing and amount of our revenue in any period.
Current wording
Revenue under our cloud-based subscription model is generally recognized ratably over the term of the contract. Ratable revenue recognition results in lower revenue in the initial period of the customer agreement. This effect on recognized revenue may be magnified due to the concentration of our orders in the fourth fiscal quarter. Additionally, the timing of our customers’ decision to transition from self-managed licenses to cloud-based subscription services could negatively affect our ability to forecast the timing and amount of our revenue in any period.
Previous wording
Acceptance of our cloud-based solutions may not develop as anticipated and could be affected by a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, cost, security, reliability, performance, customer preference, perceived value associated with such offerings, public concerns regarding privacy, and the enactment of restrictive laws or regulations. If the market for our cloud-based solutions generally does not evolve as expected, it could result in reduced customer purchases, reduced renewal rates, and decreased revenue, any of which will adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition. Further, for any of our existing customers that have not yet transitioned to our cloud-based offering, any perceived negative impacts or incremental costs associated with the transition, or an accelerated transition schedule, may lead to customer dissatisfaction and provide our competitors with an opportunity to acquire these customers.
Current wording
While market acceptance of our cloud-based solutions has increased, our future growth depends on our ability to further expand adoption among existing and new customers. Factors such as cost, security, reliability, performance, customer preference, perceived value associated with such offerings, public concerns regarding privacy, and the enactment of restrictive laws or regulations could continue to affect the pace and extent of this expansion. If adoption or renewal of our cloud-based solutions does not grow as expected, we could experience reduced customer purchases, reduced renewal rates, lower ARR, and decreased revenue, any of which will adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
Previous wording
In addition, the metrics we and our investors use to evaluate our business model may evolve over the course of time as significant trends emerge. It may be difficult, therefore, to accurately determine the impact on our business on a contemporaneous basis, or to clearly communicate the appropriate metrics to our investors. If we are unable to sell our cloud offerings in light of the foregoing risks and uncertainties, our reputation could suffer and our results of operations could be harmed, which may cause our stock price to decline.
Current wording
In addition, the metrics we and our investors use to evaluate our business model may evolve over the course of time as significant trends emerge. It may be difficult, therefore, to accurately determine the impact on our business on a contemporaneous basis, or to clearly communicate the appropriate metrics to our investors. If we are unable to expand adoption of our cloud offerings in light of the foregoing risks and uncertainties, our reputation could suffer and our results of operations could be harmed, which may cause our stock price to decline.
Previous wording
Our customers have no obligation to renew their term licenses or subscriptions after their contract period expires, and these licenses and subscriptions, if renewed, may be done so on less favorable terms. Moreover, under certain circumstances, our customers have the right to cancel their licenses or subscriptions before they expire. We may not accurately predict future trends in customer renewals. Our customers’ renewal rates may fluctuate or decline because of several factors, including their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products, the prices of our products, the prices of products offered by our competitors, reduction in our customers’ business including their DWP, reductions in our customers’ spending levels due to the macroeconomic environment or other factors, or the sale of their operations to a buyer that is not a current customer.
Current wording
Our customers have no obligation to renew their term licenses or subscriptions after their contract period expires, and these licenses and subscriptions, if renewed, may be done so on less favorable terms. Moreover, under certain circumstances, our customers have the right to cancel their licenses or subscriptions before they expire. We may not accurately predict future trends in customer renewals. Our customers’ renewal rates may fluctuate or decline because of several factors, including their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products, the prices of our products, the prices of products offered by our competitors, reduction in our customers’ business including their DWP, reductions in our customers’ spending levels due to the macroeconomic environment or other factors, or the sale of their operations to a buyer that is not a current customer. Additionally, customers may delay making payments under existing agreements, or at renewal, in an attempt to obtain more favorable terms from us.
Previous wording
Also, in some cases, our customers have a right to exercise a perpetual buyout of their term licenses at the end of the initial contract term, which if exercised would eliminate future term license revenue. If our customers do not renew their term licenses or subscriptions for our solutions or renew on less favorable terms, our revenue may decline or grow more slowly than expected and our profitability may be harmed.
Current wording
Also, in certain limited cases, our customers have a right to exercise a perpetual buyout of their term licenses at the end of the initial contract term, which, if exercised, would eliminate future term license revenue. If our customers do not renew their term licenses or subscriptions for our solutions or renew on less favorable terms, our revenue may decline or grow more slowly than expected and our profitability may be harmed.
Previous wording
We currently anticipate that sales of, and revenue from, subscription services will continue to increase in the future. Subscriptions are recognized ratably over the term of the agreement after provisioning of the service. Over time, this may reduce the impact of our historic revenue seasonality, but in the near term the introduction of proportionally more subscription services into our revenue stream, together with their delayed and ratable recognition, will likely impact quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year revenue growth comparisons. Cash flow expectations and comparisons will most likely remain concentrated in the fourth fiscal quarter and could also be impacted because of the ramped nature of the annual installments of these multi-year subscription services arrangements. Additionally, ARR, which reflects the annualized recurring value of active customer contracts at the end of a reporting period, will be impacted by the seasonality of new sales orders, even if the revenue is recognized ratably.
Current wording
We currently anticipate that sales of, and revenue from, subscription services will continue to increase in the future. Subscriptions are recognized ratably over the term of the agreement after provisioning of the service. Over time, this may reduce the impact of our historic revenue seasonality, but in the near term the introduction of proportionally more subscription services into our revenue stream, together with their delayed and ratable recognition, will likely impact quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year revenue growth comparisons. Cash flow expectations and comparisons will most likely remain concentrated in the fourth fiscal quarter and could also be impacted because of the ramped nature of the annual installments of these multi-year subscription services arrangements. Additionally, ARR, which reflects the annualized recurring value of active customer contracts at the end of a reporting period, will be impacted by the seasonality of new sales orders and ramped nature of annual installments over the initial term, even if the revenue is recognized ratably.
Previous wording
•our term license agreements and multi-year term license renewals generally have annual billing arrangements even though revenue is recognized upfront for the entire committed term;
Current wording
•our term license agreements and multi-year term license renewals have annual billing arrangements even though revenue is recognized upfront for the entire committed term;
Previous wording
We operate a hybrid work environment in which a significant portion of our workforce works either in-person on a part-time basis or remotely on a permanent basis. As a result, we are subject to the challenges and risks of having a remote and hybrid workforce. For example, certain security systems in homes or other remote workplaces may be less secure than those used in our offices, which may subject us to increased security risks, including cybersecurity-related events, and expose us to risks of data or financial loss and associated disruptions to our business operations. Members of our workforce who work remotely may not have access to technology that is as robust as that in our offices, which could cause the networks, information systems, applications, and other tools available to those remote workers to be more limited or less reliable than in our offices. We may also be exposed to risks associated with the locations of remote workers, including compliance with local laws and regulations or exposure to compromised internet infrastructure. Allowing members of our workforce to work remotely may create intellectual property risk if employees create intellectual property on our behalf while residing in a jurisdiction with unenforced or uncertain intellectual property laws. Further, if employees fail to inform us of changes in their work location, we may be exposed to additional risks without our knowledge. Hybrid in-person as well as remote working may also subject us to other operational challenges and risks. For example, hybrid working arrangements may adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain personnel who prefer a fully remote or fully in-person work environment. Operating our business with both remote and in-person workers, or workers who work in flexible locations and on flexible schedules, could have a negative impact on our corporate culture, decrease the ability of our workforce to collaborate and communicate effectively, decrease innovation and productivity, or negatively affect workforce morale and retention rates. In addition, we expect to incur costs related to a hybrid workforce including, among other things, facilitating permanent remote work for a portion of our workforce and updating our offices to offer more collaborative workspaces. If we are unable to effectively operate a hybrid workforce, manage the cybersecurity and other risks of remote work, and maintain our corporate culture and workforce morale, our business could be harmed or otherwise negatively impacted.
Current wording
We, and many of our third-party providers, operate a hybrid work environment in which a significant portion of our workforce works either in-person on a part-time basis or remotely on a permanent basis. As a result, we are subject to the challenges and risks of having a remote and hybrid workforce. For example, certain security systems in homes or other remote workplaces may be less secure than those used in our offices, which may subject us to increased security risks, including cybersecurity-related events or incidents, and expose us to risks of data or financial loss and associated disruptions to our business operations. Members of our workforce who work remotely may not have access to technology that is as robust as that in our offices, which could cause the networks, information systems, applications, and other tools available to those remote workers to be more limited or less reliable than in our offices. We may also be exposed to risks associated with the locations of remote workers, including compliance with local laws and regulations or exposure to compromised internet infrastructure. Allowing members of our workforce to work remotely may create intellectual property risk if employees create intellectual property on our behalf while residing in a jurisdiction with unenforced or uncertain intellectual property laws. Further, if employees fail to inform us of changes in their work location, we may be exposed to additional risks without our knowledge. Hybrid in-person as well as remote working may also subject us to other operational challenges and risks. For example, hybrid working arrangements may adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain personnel who prefer a fully remote or fully in-person work environment. Operating our business with both remote and in-person workers, or workers who work in flexible locations and on flexible schedules, could have a negative impact on our corporate culture, decrease the ability of our workforce to collaborate and communicate effectively, decrease innovation and productivity, or negatively affect workforce morale and retention rates. In addition, we expect to incur costs related to a hybrid workforce including, among other things, facilitating permanent remote work for a portion of our workforce and updating our offices to offer more collaborative workspaces. If we are unable to effectively operate a hybrid workforce, manage the cybersecurity and other risks of remote work, and maintain our corporate culture and workforce morale, our business could be harmed or otherwise negatively impacted.
Previous wording
Because we offer complex products, undetected errors or failures may exist or occur, especially when products are first introduced or when new versions or updates are released. Our products are often installed and used in large-scale computing environments with different operating systems, system management software, and equipment and networking configurations, which may cause errors or failures in our products or may expose undetected errors, failures, or bugs in our products. Despite testing by us, we may not identify all errors, failures, or bugs in new products or releases until after commencement of commercial sales or installation. In the past, we have discovered software errors, failures, and bugs in some of our offerings after their introduction. While we have implemented, and continually improve, a breadth of industry standard technology controls designed to ensure system stability and availability, we may introduce errors, design flaws, software bugs, and other issues into the environment, and fail to remediate them in a timely manner, which may cause serious or prolonged service interruptions to our customers. Additionally, our Guidewire cloud offerings rely on third-party services including, but not limited to, AWS and Okta. Any material disruption, failure or slowdown in these services or the systems of third parties who we depend upon could cause outages or delays in our products, which could harm our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations.
Current wording
Because we offer complex products, undetected errors or failures may exist or occur, especially when products are first introduced or when new versions or updates are released. Our products are often used in large-scale computing environments with different operating systems, system management software, and equipment and networking configurations, which may result in errors or failures or expose undetected errors, failures, or bugs in our products. Despite extensive testing by us, we may not identify all errors, failures, or bugs in new products or releases until after commencement of commercial sales or installation. As is common with complex software, errors, failures, or bugs may be discovered in our offerings after their introduction. While we have implemented, and continually improve, a breadth of industry standard technology controls designed to ensure system stability and availability, we may introduce errors, design flaws, software bugs, and other issues into the environment, and fail to remediate them in a timely manner, which may cause serious or prolonged service interruptions to our customers.
Previous wording
If we or our SI partners do not effectively assist our customers in deploying our products, successfully help our customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues, assist our customers in migrating from self-managed licenses to subscription services, and provide effective ongoing support, our ability to renew existing agreements and sell additional products to existing customers would be adversely affected and our reputation with potential customers could be damaged. Once our products are deployed and integrated with our customers’ existing information technology environment, our customers may depend on our technical support services and/or the support of SI partners or internal resources to resolve any issues relating to our products. High-quality support is critical for the continued successful marketing and sale of our products. In addition, as we continue to expand our operations internationally, our support organization will face additional challenges, including those associated with delivering support, training, and documentation in multiple languages. Many enterprise customers require higher levels of support than smaller customers. If we fail to meet the requirements of our larger customers, it may be more difficult to sell additional products to these customers or to transition existing license customers to subscription services, a key strategy for the growth of our revenue and profitability. In addition, as we further expand our cloud-based products, our professional services, cloud operations and support organizations will face new challenges, including hiring, training, and integrating a large number of new personnel with experience in delivering high-quality services and support for cloud-based offerings. Further, as we continue to rely on SIs to provide deployment, migration, and on-going services, our ability to ensure a high level of quality in addressing customer issues and providing a maintainable and efficient cloud environment could be diminished as we may be unable to control the quality or timeliness of the implementation of our products by our SI partners. Our failure to maintain high-quality implementation and support services, or to ensure that SIs provide the same, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.
Current wording
If we or our SI partners do not effectively assist our customers in deploying our products, successfully help our customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues, assist our customers in migrating from self-managed licenses to subscription services, and provide effective ongoing support, our ability to renew existing agreements and sell additional products to existing customers would be adversely affected and our reputation with potential customers could be damaged. Once our products are deployed and integrated with our customers’ existing information technology environment, our customers may depend on our technical support services and/or the support of SI partners or internal resources to resolve any issues relating to our products. High-quality support is critical for the continued successful marketing and sale of our products. In addition, as we continue to expand our operations internationally, our support organization will face additional challenges, including those associated with delivering support, training, and documentation in multiple languages. Many enterprise customers require higher levels of support than smaller customers. If we fail to meet the requirements of our larger customers, it may be more difficult to sell additional products to these customers or to transition existing license customers to subscription services, a key strategy for the growth of our revenue and profitability. In addition, as we further expand our cloud-based products, our professional services, cloud operations and support organizations will face new challenges, including hiring, training, and integrating a large number of new personnel with experience in delivering high-quality services and support for cloud-based offerings. Further, as we continue to rely on SI partners to provide deployment, migration, and on-going services, our ability to ensure a high level of quality in addressing customer issues and providing a maintainable and efficient cloud environment could be diminished as we may be unable to control the quality or timeliness of the implementation and support of our products by our SI partners. Our failure to maintain high-quality implementation and support services, or to ensure that SIs provide the same, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.
Previous wording
Our workforce is exposed to and uses AI technologies for certain tasks related to our business. We have guidelines and policies specifically directed at the use of AI tools in the workplace. Nevertheless, the use of these AI tools, whether authorized or unauthorized, by our workforce, poses potential risks relating to the protection of data, including cybersecurity risk, exposure of our proprietary confidential information to unauthorized recipients, and the misuse of our or third-party intellectual property. Use of AI technology by our workforce, even when used consistently with our guidelines, may result in allegations or claims against us related to violation of third-party intellectual property rights, unauthorized access to or use of proprietary information, or failure to comply with open source software requirements. In addition, our employees may use AI tools for various design and engineering tasks, such as writing code and building content, and these AI technology tools may produce facially correct but factually inaccurate or flawed responses that could lead to errors in our decision-making, solution development, or other business activities, which could have a negative impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Our ability to mitigate these risks will depend on our continued effective training, monitoring and enforcement of appropriate policies, guidelines and procedures governing the use of AI technology, and compliance by our workforce.
Current wording
Our workforce is exposed to and is encouraged to use AI technologies for certain tasks related to our business. We have guidelines and policies specifically directed at the use of AI tools in the workplace. Nevertheless, the use of these AI tools, whether authorized or unauthorized, by our workforce, poses potential risks relating to the protection of data, including cybersecurity risk, exposure of our proprietary confidential information to unauthorized recipients, and the misuse of our or third-party intellectual property. Use of AI technologies by our workforce, even when used consistently with our guidelines, may result in allegations or claims against us related to violation of third-party intellectual property rights, unauthorized access to or use of proprietary information, or failure to comply with open source software requirements. In addition, our employees may use AI tools for various tasks, such as writing code and building content, and these AI technology tools may produce responses that appear facially correct but that are factually inaccurate or flawed, which could lead to errors in our decision-making, solution development, or other business activities and have a negative impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Our ability to mitigate these risks will depend on our continued effective training, monitoring and enforcement of appropriate policies, guidelines and procedures governing the use of AI technology, and compliance by our workforce.
Previous wording
Our subscription and support revenue was 56% and 48% of total revenue for fiscal years 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our subscription and support revenue produces lower gross margins than our license revenue. The gross margin of our subscription and support revenue was 63% and 51% for fiscal years 2024 and 2023, respectively, while the gross margin for license revenue was 98% and 98% for fiscal years 2024 and 2023, respectively. We expect that subscription revenue will continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue as we contract with new cloud customers and existing customers migrate from term licenses to subscription services. Additionally, we are incurring expenses to operate our cloud services and manage our cloud operations which may not result in an improvement of our subscription and support gross margin. These trends, along with other factors, some of which may be beyond our control, may adversely affect our overall gross and operating margins. These other factors include the percentage of new customers that enter into subscription services agreements as compared to term license agreements, the revenue impact of allocating total contract consideration between license revenue and subscription and support revenue when existing customers transition from term license to subscription services agreements, investments in certain cloud implementations to assist our customers with their migration to our cloud services, continued growth and efficiency of our cloud operations and technical support teams, and the impact on the global economy as a result of economic volatility, inflation, or other global events and disasters.
Current wording
Our subscription and support revenue was 61% and 56% of total revenue for fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our subscription and support revenue produces lower gross margins than our license revenue. The gross margin of our subscription and support revenue was 68% and 63% for fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively, while the gross margin for license revenue was 99% and 98% for fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively. We expect that subscription revenue will continue to increase as a percentage of total revenue as we contract with new cloud customers and existing customers migrate from term licenses to subscription services. Additionally, we are incurring expenses to operate our cloud services and manage our cloud operations which may not result in an improvement of our subscription and support gross margin. These trends, along with other factors, some of which may be beyond our control, may adversely affect our overall gross and operating margins. These other factors include the percentage of new customers that enter into subscription services agreements as compared to term license agreements, the revenue impact of allocating total contract consideration between license revenue and subscription and support revenue when existing customers transition from term license to subscription services agreements, investments in certain cloud implementations to assist our customers with their migration to our cloud services, continued growth and efficiency of our cloud operations and technical support teams, and the impact on the global economy as a result of economic volatility, inflation, tariffs, or other global events and disasters.
Previous wording
Further, our services revenue was 18% and 23% of total revenue for fiscal years 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our services revenue produces lower gross margin than either our license revenue or our subscription and support revenue. The gross margin of our services revenue was negative in both fiscal years 2024 and 2023. If we experience an increase in the percentage of total revenue represented by services revenue, due to acquisitions or other factors, such increase could reduce our overall gross and operating margins. Fluctuation in our services revenue can result from several factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including change in customer demand for our services team’s involvement in the implementation of and migration to new products, the rates we charge or discounts we offer for our services, our ability to bill our customers for all time incurred to complete a project, the extent and quality of implementations and migrations provided by our SI partners, the extent to which we subcontract services to those SI partners, and the impact on the global economy as a result of economic volatility, inflation, or other global events and disasters. Additionally, the failure to improve, or the erosion of, our services margin, whether due to discounts related to encouraging customers to enter into cloud agreements or otherwise, particularly in combination with any increase in services revenue, could adversely affect our overall gross and operating margins. Our services margin may erode if we hire and train additional services personnel to support cloud-based services or markets prior to having customer engagements, if we make investments in customer migrations from self-managed term licenses to subscription services, if we enter into fixed fee services arrangements, if our services personnel are underutilized, if we subcontract out services without an adequate markup, or if we require additional personnel on unexpectedly difficult projects to ensure customer success, perhaps without receiving commensurate compensation.
Current wording
Further, our services revenue was 18% and 18% of total revenue for fiscal years 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our services revenue produces significantly lower gross margin than either our license revenue or our subscription and support revenue and has at times been negative. If we experience an increase in the percentage of total revenue represented by services revenue, due to acquisitions or other factors, such increase could reduce our overall gross and operating margins. Fluctuation in our services revenue can result from several factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including change in customer demand for our services team’s involvement in the implementation of and migration to new products, the rates we charge or discounts we offer for our services, our ability to bill our customers for all time incurred to complete a project, the extent and quality of implementations and migrations provided by our SI partners, the extent to which we subcontract services to those SI partners, and the impact on the global economy as a result of economic volatility, inflation, tariffs, or other global events and disasters. Additionally, the failure to improve, or the erosion of, our services margin, whether due to discounts related to encouraging customers to enter into cloud agreements or otherwise, particularly in combination with any increase in services revenue, could adversely affect our overall gross and operating margins. Our services margin may erode if we hire and train additional services personnel to support cloud-based services or markets prior to having customer engagements, if we make investments in customer migrations from self-managed term licenses to subscription services, if we enter into fixed fee services arrangements, if our services personnel are underutilized, if we subcontract out services without an adequate markup, or if we require additional personnel on unexpectedly difficult projects to ensure customer success, perhaps without receiving commensurate compensation.
Previous wording
We derive a significant majority of our revenue and cash flows from our established product offerings, including Guidewire InsuranceSuite Cloud, Guidewire InsuranceNow, Guidewire InsuranceSuite for self-managed installations, and our digital and data products. We expect to continue to derive a substantial portion of our revenue from these sources. As such, continued market acceptance of these products is critical to our growth and success. Demand for our products is affected by a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the successful implementation of our products, the timing of development and release of product upgrades, enhancements, and new products by us and our competitors, the cost and effort to migrate from self-managed products to subscription services, the ease of integrating our software to third-party software and services, technological advances that reduce the appeal of our products, changes in the regulations that our customers must comply with in the jurisdictions in which they operate, and the growth or contraction in the worldwide market for technological solutions for the P&C insurance industry. If we are unable to continue to meet customer demands, to achieve and maintain a technological advantage over competitors, or to maintain market acceptance of our products, our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects may be adversely affected.
Current wording
We derive a significant majority of our revenue and cash flows from our established product offerings, including Guidewire InsuranceSuite, Guidewire InsuranceNow, and our digital and data products. We expect to continue to derive a substantial portion of our revenue from these sources. As such, continued market acceptance of these products is critical to our growth and success. Demand for our products is affected by a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the successful implementation of our products, the timing of development and release of product upgrades, enhancements, and new products by us and our competitors, the cost and effort to migrate from self-managed products to subscription services, the ease of integrating our software to third-party software and services, technological advances that reduce the appeal of our products, changes in the regulations that our customers must comply with in the jurisdictions in which they operate, and the growth or contraction in the worldwide market for technological solutions for the P&C insurance industry. If we are unable to continue to meet customer demands, to achieve and maintain a technological advantage over competitors, or to maintain market acceptance of our products, our business, results of operations, financial condition and growth prospects may be adversely affected.
Previous wording
We sell our products to customers located outside the United States, and we are continuing to expand our international operations as part of our growth strategy. In fiscal years 2024, 2023, and 2022, $347.9 million, $331.5 million, and $296.2 million of our revenue, respectively, was from customers outside of the United States. Our current international operations and our plans to expand our international operations subject us to a variety of risks, including:
Current wording
We sell our products to customers located outside the United States, and we are continuing to expand our international operations as part of our growth strategy. In fiscal years 2025 and 2024, $431.6 million and $347.9 million of our revenue, respectively, was from customers outside of the United States. Our current international operations and our plans to expand our international operations subject us to a variety of risks, including:
Previous wording
•lack of familiarity with and unexpected changes in foreign regulatory requirements;
Current wording
•lack of familiarity with and unexpected changes in foreign regulatory requirements, including requirements around employee compensation and benefits;
Previous wording
•geographic and political conflicts, such as the wars between Israel and Hamas and between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating tensions in the South China Sea;
Current wording
•geographic and political conflicts, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, continued geopolitical instability in the Middle East, and the escalating tensions in the South China Sea;
Previous wording
•the burdens and costs of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and legal standards, including without limitation any new or evolving laws and regulations relating to the use of data in AI, generative AI, machine learning technologies, climate-related disclosures, and the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union (“EU”) and the U.K.;
Current wording
•the burdens and costs of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and legal standards, including without limitation any new or evolving laws and regulations relating to the use of data in AI, generative AI, machine learning technologies, climate-related disclosures, operational resilience, data protection and privacy, particularly in the European Union (“EU”) and the United Kingdom (“U.K.”);
Showing the first 40 of 86 pairs. Open the source sections for the rest.
Rearranged current paragraphs (5)
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
•issues in the development and use of AI, as well as the use of AI by our workforce, combined with an uncertain regulatory environment, may result in reputational harm, liability, or other adverse consequences to our business operations;
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
The uncertainty around new and emerging AI technologies may require additional investment in the development and maintenance of proprietary datasets and machine learning models, development of new approaches and processes to provide attribution or remuneration to creators of training data, and development of appropriate protections and safeguards for handling the use of customer data with such technologies, which may be costly and could impact our expenses.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
In addition, we cannot ensure that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in all instances, and even if fully implemented, they may not fully protect our information technology systems or confidential information. Furthermore, given the nature of complex systems, software and services like ours, as well as the scanning tools we deploy across our networks and products, even if we regularly identify and track security vulnerabilities, we may be unable to comprehensively apply patches, confirm that measures are in place to mitigate all such vulnerabilities, or ensure that patches are applied before vulnerabilities are exploited by a threat actor. Individuals, including our employees and contractors, who circumvent our security measures may misappropriate proprietary, confidential, or personal data held by or on behalf of us, disrupt our operations, damage our systems, or otherwise damage our business. While to date no incidents have had a material impact on our operations or financial results, we cannot guarantee that material incidents will not occur in the future. In addition, we may need to expend significant resources to protect against cybersecurity incidents or breaches or mitigate the impact of any such incidents or breaches. Any or all of these issues that adversely impact the availability, integrity or confidentiality of our information technology systems or confidential information could negatively impact our ability to attract new customers or to increase engagement with existing customers, could cause existing customers to elect not to renew their term licenses or subscription agreements, or could subject us to third-party lawsuits (including class actions), regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, fines and penalties, other action or liability, and/or significant incident response, system restoration or remediation and future compliance costs, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, or reputation. We cannot guarantee that any costs and liabilities incurred in relation to an attack or incident will be covered by our existing insurance policies or that applicable insurance will be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms or at all.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
Service interruptions or failures of our third-party service providers or technology could disrupt our products and harm our business.
Current report — wording carried from elsewhere
provided, however, that stockholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Rearranged previous paragraphs (2)
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
We cannot predict the impact of future changes to accounting principles or our related accounting policies on our financial statements going forward. In addition, were we to change our accounting estimates, including those related to the timing of revenue recognition and those used to allocate revenue between various performance obligations, our reported revenue and results of operations could be significantly impacted. If we are unsuccessful in adapting to the requirements of any new standard, or if changes to our go-to-market strategy create new risks, then we may experience greater volatility in our quarterly and annual results, which may cause our stock price to decline.
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
The Delaware Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Further, our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the