Cognyte Software Q4 2026 Earnings Report

Cognyte Software EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.10
• Consensus EPS: $0.01
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.09
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Cognyte Software Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $106.24 million
• Expected Revenue: $106.20 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$42.00 thousand
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Cognyte Software Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q4 2026
• Date: 3/25/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 8:30AM ET

Cognyte Software (NASDAQ:CGNT) is a global provider of security analytics solutions that was spun off from NICE Ltd. in early 2021. Headquartered in Israel, the company delivers specialized software and services designed to help government agencies, law enforcement organizations and critical infrastructure operators process and analyze large volumes of data for intelligence and investigative purposes.

The company’s core offerings include advanced analytics platforms that aggregate and visualize structured and unstructured data from diverse sources, such as communications metadata, open-source intelligence and sensor feeds. By leveraging machine learning, pattern-matching and geospatial analytics technologies, Cognyte enables users to detect trends, uncover hidden connections and generate actionable insights in real time.

Cognyte serves a broad array of public-sector customers—ranging from federal and provincial law enforcement bodies to defense and homeland security agencies—as well as select commercial enterprises in sectors like telecommunications and utilities. Its solutions are architected to support large-scale deployments while meeting stringent security and compliance standards across multiple jurisdictions.

With research and development centers in Israel, North America and Europe, Cognyte maintains a global presence and collaborates closely with its customers to tailor deployments to regional requirements. The company’s management team combines deep domain expertise in intelligence analysis and big-data computing, positioning Cognyte as a specialized partner for organizations seeking to modernize their investigative and security operations.

Cognyte Software Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Strong FY‑26 financial performance: Revenue reached $400M (+14.1% Y/Y) with Q4 revenue of $106.2M, record non‑GAAP gross margin (74.7%), improved profitability and a net cash position with ongoing share repurchases (≈$26.7M repurchased to date).
• Positive Sentiment: Confident multi‑year guidance: Management guided FY‑27 revenue of $448M (±3%, ~12% growth) with higher non‑GAAP gross margin (~73.5%) and reiterated FY‑28 targets of ≈$500M revenue and >20% adjusted EBITDA margin.
• Positive Sentiment: Visible bookings and customer momentum: Total RPO was $557.2M (short‑term RPO $369.5M), the company added 61 new customers in FY‑26 and announced several multi‑million‑dollar wins including a ~$5M U.S. state law‑enforcement replacement deal.
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term variability and financial risks: Operating cash flow missed guidance ($40.3M vs. $45M expected) due to delayed receivable collections, and management flagged seasonality, FX headwinds (strong Israeli shekel) and subscription vs. perpetual mix as sources of quarter‑to‑quarter variability.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Cognyte fourth quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are on a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there'll be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you'll need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised today's conference may be recorded. I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host, Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

[Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. I'm Dean Ridlon, Cognyte's Head of Investor Relations. Thank you for joining us today. I'm here with Elad Sharon, Cognyte's CEO, and David Abadi, Cognyte's CFO. Before getting started, I would like to mention that accompanying our call today is a presentation. If you'd like to view these slides in real-time during the call, please visit the investor section of our website at cognyte.com, click on Upcoming Events, then the webcast link for today's conference call. I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that certain matters discussed on this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other provisions of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance.

[Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations at Cognyte Software]

Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this call and except as required by law, Cognyte assumes no obligation to update or revise them. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of how these and other risks and uncertainties could cause Cognyte's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, please see our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 being filed today and other filings we make with the SEC. The financial measures discussed today include non-GAAP measures. We believe investors focus on non-GAAP financial measures in comparing results between periods and among our peer companies that publish similar non-GAAP measures.

[Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations at Cognyte Software]

Please see today's presentation slides, our earnings release, and the investor section of our website at cognyte.com for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures. Non-GAAP financial information should not be considered in isolation from, as a substitute for, or superior to GAAP financial information, but is included because management believes it provides meaningful information about the financial performance of our business and is useful to investors for informational and comparative purposes. The non-GAAP financial measures that the company uses have limitations and may differ from those used by other companies. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Elad.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Dean. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we begin, I want to acknowledge and thank our employees, customers, partners, and investors for their continued support over the past month. Cognyte's mission is to help make the world a safer place. That mission is constant, and our teams continue to execute. We delivered strong results in the fourth quarter and closed fiscal 2026 with another year of consistent execution. Revenue grew by double digits with strong gross margin, profitability improved significantly, and we continue to generate solid cash flow. Fiscal 2026 played out largely as we expected, with strong repeat business from our installed base, continued new customer momentum, and strengthening profitability.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We expect this growth to continue into fiscal 2027 and today provided revenue guidance of $448 million at the midpoint of the revenue range, and we are on track to achieving our targets for the fiscal year ending January 2028. We'll share more details later in this call. We operate in a market environment where the underlying drivers continue to strengthen, threats are becoming more complex, adversaries more sophisticated, and the volume of data continues to grow exponentially. At the same time, decisions need to be made faster than ever.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

This is driving sustained demand for mission-critical intelligence technology, exactly where Cognyte is positioned. Our solutions operate in extremely demanding environment across national security, military intelligence, and law enforcement. In these environments, performance is not optional. Our customers are not experimenting. They are deploying systems that must work consistently in real operational conditions.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Over time, our value becomes deeply embedded in our customers' workflows and operational systems. This creates durable relationships, high switching costs, and a strong competitive position. Over the past year, we executed against our three primary growth pillars. First, install base expansion. Customers continue to expand deployments, operate functionality, and are also extending into new use cases and operational domains. For example, border intelligence.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Repeat business continue to represent a significant portion of our revenue, reflecting the trust our customer place in us and the operational value we consistently deliver. Second, new logos. We added 61 new customers this year as our solutions continue to prove themselves globally and deliver real operational value. This important new business is driven by our proven track record and customer references and is aligned with our land and expand strategy. We increased our footprint within military intelligence agencies, including in NATO countries.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Third, North America. This is a key market for us. We recently strengthened our North American leadership, bringing in a seasoned sales executive with deep experience and track record in the federal market. We also added a new channel partner, Carahsoft, who will provide access to federal, state, and local procurement channels and will support broader deployments of our solutions. Together, these steps reinforce our commitment to scaling our US presence and aligning with long-term federal modernization programs. Our growth is driven by a balanced approach, install-based expansion, new customer acquisition, and US market scaling. In Q4, we secured several significant deals across geographies and customer segments. One example is with a long-standing national security customer in EMEA, where we amended a perpetual agreement into a five-year subscription at a new annual value of $6 million.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

This reflects both a significant expansion in scope and a shift in commercial model. The transition to subscription was driven by the customer's need for continuous access to new capabilities, AI-driven functionality, and faster update cycles. While most agencies still prefer perpetual deployments, we are seeing a gradual increase in the adoption of subscription models.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We also signed several multi-million dollar deals across multiple regions, including new solution deployments, expansions, and support contracts. In addition, this morning we announced an about $5 million deal with one of the largest state law enforcement agencies in the United States. This is a new customer win replacing an incumbent provider. The deployment will support mission-critical field operations, including fugitive apprehension, missing children cases, criminal investigations, and search and rescue. It represents an important step in expanding our footprint in the US

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Security and intelligence agencies globally are accelerating efforts to address increasingly complex threat environments. Today's challenges extend beyond traditional crime and national security. Agencies must respond to hybrid threats, cross-border activity, cyber-enabled and organized crime, all of which increase the volume and complexity of data they must analyze. This is driving sustained demand for platforms that can fuse, correlate, and analyze data to deliver actionable intelligence for real-time decision-making.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Across regions, we see a consistent shift toward more integrated, proactive intelligence models with greater emphasis on cross-unit collaboration and faster time to decision. Our platform is purpose-built to support exactly this type of complex operational environment. As agencies continue to modernize and scale, our positioning is directly aligned with their immediate and long-term priorities. Today, we are seeing growing adoption and reliance on artificial intelligence.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

AI is embedded in our platform, shaped by real-world investigative use cases and years of operational experience. AI also plays a part in our customers' growing challenges. It increases the scale and the sophistication of the threat our customers address. In our market, access to AI models and GenAI is not the main constraint. Operationalizing them is. Having access to advanced AI is not enough for an analyst to process sensitive communication data, correlate it with financial and behavioral signals, or generate outputs that meet legal and evidence standards.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

The challenge is everything required to make AI usable in real investigative environments. That includes integrating fragmented and sensitive data, applying domain-specific intelligence methodologies, operating in strict security and compliance frameworks, and embedding AI into investigative workflows that produce actionable, auditable outcomes. As AI capabilities continue to advance, this infrastructure becomes more, not less, critical.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Customers are not buying AI features; they are buying operational outcomes powered by AI. This is what makes our advanced AI operationally useful, and it's not easy to replicate. We believe AI is a structural tailwind for our business. Earlier this month, we hosted our Intelligence Summit, bringing together senior intelligence and law enforcement leaders from across the globe. The level of participation and engagement reinforced Cognyte's strong leadership position within the investigation and intelligence communities.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

The conversations were direct and forward-looking. Leaders are now discussing theory. They are executing modernization programs now. They are confronting real operational challenges and sharing practical approaches between them and with us. Across panels and closed-door discussions, agencies emphasized three priorities, connecting fragmented data into a unified intelligence picture, reducing time from data to decision in live investigations, enabling collaboration across units, agencies, and even countries.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We were honored to host Jürgen Stock, former Secretary General of Interpol and former Vice President of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, as our keynote speaker. He spoke about the importance of sharing fragmented intelligence across domains and the need to partner with the private sector, specifically in technology, to accelerate innovation and operational effectiveness. The summit once again confirmed why customers choose to partner with Cognyte. Access to advanced proven technology and methodologies, solutions that translate directly into real-time operational outcomes, and the quality, support, and long-term trust they can rely on. In summary, we delivered strong results.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We operate in a growing high-barrier mission-critical market. We're expanding with both new and existing customers. AI is a structural tailwind. We remain focused on execution and long-term value creation and are well-positioned for continued growth. We operate where the hardest problems live. This is not a coincidence. It reflects 30+ years of connecting advanced technology to operational realities. Ultimately, we help eliminate the unknown so our customers can act with clarity, speed, and confidence. With that, I'll turn the call over to David for a deeper review of our results. David?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Elad, and hello, everyone. As Elad outlined, Q4 ends a year of continued strong execution across the business. Our results this quarter and throughout FY 2026 demonstrate our durable business proposition, the value of our differentiated solutions, and the operational discipline that all drive these strong results. Let me begin with our fourth quarter results. Revenue for Q4 FY 2026 was $106.2 million, up $11.7 million or 12.4% year-over-year, reflecting a healthy demand environment and the value of our solutions. Breaking down the revenue mix. Software revenue was $45.9 million, an increase of $8.5 million or 22.6% year-over-year. Software revenue is comprised of perpetual licenses, appliances, and some term-based subscription licenses. Software services revenue grew by $3.4 million to $49.3 million.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Software services revenue comes mainly from support contracts and, to a lesser extent, cloud-based SaaS subscriptions. Total software revenue, which includes the combination of software and software services revenue, grew by $11.9 million year-over-year or 14.2%. Professional services revenue was similar to Q4 of the prior year. Fluctuations in professional services revenue between quarters are expected and are a result of revenue recognition timing. Recurrent revenue increased by 5.6% to $50 million, representing 47.1% of total revenue. Note that recurrent revenue is calculated from GAAP revenue, driven primarily by support contracts and some term-based and SaaS subscription offerings that enhances our visibility in both the near and long term. Looking at gross margin, we continue to make significant improvements.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Q4 non-GAAP gross margin reached a record of 74.7%, an expansion of 320 basis points year-over-year. Non-GAAP gross profit grew much faster than revenue and increased by $11.8 million or 17.4% year-over-year to $79.4 million. It's important to mention that all the incremental year-over-year increase in revenue flows through to gross profit. This again demonstrates how our differentiation translates into strong gross margins. On profitability, Q4 non-GAAP operating expenses were $67.3 million. GAAP operating income was $5.2 million, up from $697,000 last year. Non-GAAP operating income reached $12.1 million, doubling year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA continues to expand significantly faster than revenue.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

It was $15 million, up 62.5% from the $9.3 million generated in Q4 last year. GAAP net income was $5.1 million compared to a net loss of $0.2 million in the same period last year. The improvement is largely due to the significant increase in operating income. Our Q4 performance again highlights the scalability of our model as software revenue grows and the leverage in our model generates significantly higher profitability. While most of our government customers buy through perpetual licenses, we offer both models and have seen some recent wins in subscription. Subscription agreements support greater visibility over time and align with broader software market trends. RPO or remaining performance obligations represents contracted revenue to be recognized in future periods, influenced by factors such as sales cycles, subscription deals, deployment timelines, contract lengths, renewal timing, and seasonality.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

The strength of our RPO remains an important pillar of our near and long-term visibility. While fluctuations are expected in RPO, current levels support our growth expectations. At the end of Q4, total RPO was $557.2 million. Total RPO is a sum of contract liabilities of $123.7 million and backlog of $433.4 million. Short-term RPO rose to $369.5 million, providing solid visibility into revenue over the next twelve months. It's worth noting that had we included cancelable periods of subscription deals in total RPO, it would have increased by approximately $42 million. Q4 billings grew 15.6% year-over-year to $109.9 million. Turning to our full year FY 2026 results.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Revenue for FY 2026 was $400 million, up 14.1% year-over-year. Full year non-GAAP gross margin increased to 73%, up 200 basis points year-over-year, primarily driven by scale and operational efficiencies. We achieved our FY 2028 gross margin target two years ahead of our plan. Profitability continued to improve significantly, reflecting the leverage we have in our business model. GAAP operating income reached $13.3 million, a significant turnaround from a $5.1 million GAAP operating loss last year. Non-GAAP operating income was $36.7 million, more than double year-over-year. Out of the $49.4 million year-over-year increase in revenue, $21 million flowed through to non-GAAP operating income. Adjusted EBITDA was $48.2 million, up from $29.1 million, a 65.7% year-over-year increase.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

GAAP net income was $4.6 million compared to net loss of $7.2 million last year. Across the board, FY 2026 showcases a disciplined operating model that scales effectively with our strategy. Turning to cash performance. In Q4, net cash from operating activities was $20 million, slightly above the same quarter last year, benefiting from both increased profitability and strong collections. For the full year, operating cash flow totaled $40.3 million, reflecting consistent execution and disciplined working capital management. Cash flow from operations came in below our expectation of $45 million due to delays in collecting certain receivables in the quarter. These receivables were collected early in Q1. We ended the year with $116.9 million in cash and no debt, providing significant strategic flexibility. Our capital allocation is consistent and return-focused.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

We maintain the liquidity and working capital necessary to run the business. Above this operating baseline, we allocate excess cash to areas that can generate the highest long-term return, such as acquisitions and share repurchase programs. Earlier this month, the board of directors approved an additional $20 million to our existing share repurchase program. This increase brings the total authorized for share repurchases to $40 million and reflects the board's ongoing commitment to long-term shareholder value creation and confidence in our growth prospects. During Q4, we bought approximately 592,000 ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $5.5 million. For the full year, we repurchased approximately 2.3 million ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $21.4 million.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Since the initiation of our first repurchase program in November 2024 until the end of Q4, we have repurchased a total of approximately $26.7 million worth of shares out of the total programs authorized for $60 million. Throughout the year, we remained focused on balancing investment in innovation and market expansion while improving operating efficiency. Our financial model is scaling, and we believe there is an opportunity for additional leverage as revenue continues to grow. Now looking ahead. For fiscal 2027, we expect full-year revenue of about $448 million ±3%. This represents approximately 12% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of the revenue range. We believe the mix between total software revenue and professional services revenue to remain similar to last year.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

We believe that our strong short-term RPO of $369.5 million and the continuing favorable demand environment support this outlook. We expect Q1 revenue to be slightly below the Q4 levels we are reporting today, with sequential growth each quarter throughout the year aligned with the seasonality in previous years. We expect non-GAAP gross margin to increase year-over-year to approximately 73.5% above our target for FY 2028. This reflects improvement of 50 basis points. Gross margin may fluctuate between quarters based on our revenue mix. This improved gross margin allow us to partially offset the foreign exchange headwinds related to the recent strength of the Israeli shekel versus the US dollar. As a result of the improved gross margin, we expect gross profit to increase at a faster rate than revenue growth.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

For the full year, we expect our non-GAAP operating expenses to grow slower than revenue, reaching approximately $273 million, an increase of about 7%. A significant portion of the increase is due to strengthening of the Israeli shekel against the US dollar. Operating expense seasonality should be similar to last year, with slight fluctuations throughout the year. We expect non-GAAP operating income to be about $56 million, more than 50% year-over-year growth. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be about $68 million, representing about 40% year-over-year growth, all at the midpoint of the revenue range. We expect our non-GAAP taxes to be about 27% or $15 million and non-controlling minority interest of about $5 million.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

As a result, we expect annual non-GAAP EPS to come in at $0.47 at the midpoint of the revenue range, based on weighted average of approximately 75 million fully diluted shares in FY 2027. We expect to generate GAAP net income again this year. Turning to cash flow. We expect to generate $45 million of cash flow from operations in fiscal 2027. For the full year, we expect total CapEx of approximately $11 million. Regarding our FY 2028 targets. Given the business momentum, expanding profitability and visibility, we believe we are on track to meet our targets for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2028. Revenue of approximately $500 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of over 20%. To conclude, Q4 capped a year of strong performance. We delivered strong growth, expanding margins, and strong cash generation.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Our AI-driven investigative analytics solutions are built on decades of domain expertise and designed for mission-critical environments. Our balance sheet is strong, our backlog provide visibility, and our execution remains focused and consistent. We are well-positioned to deliver sustained, profitable growth and long-term value creation. Thank you again for joining us today and for your continued support of Cognyte. Operator, we are ready to take questions.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a question or a comment at this time, please press star one one on your telephone. If your question has been answered and you wish to remove yourself from the queue, please press star one one again. We'll pause for a moment while we compile our Q&A roster. Our first question comes from Imtiaz Koujalgi with Roth Capital. Your line is open.

[Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners]

Hey guys, thanks for taking my question. Couple of questions from my side. As I look at, if I'm doing my math right, very strong bookings growth this year based on RPO, the RPO number that you disclosed. Can you just give us some puts and takes on the booking number being so strong? How's the duration? Were there some large contracts that closed early in this quarter?

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Yeah. Hi, Taz. Good morning. If you look at the market, one way to think about this is actually to see firsthand what our customers told us during the Intelligence Summit we had two weeks ago. Actually, we do see that across geographies and customer segments, the demand drivers are very consistent. Actually we give answers to all of those, which is increasing sophistication for the bad actors, growing volume and fragmented data, AI, and also the need to move much, much faster. Given the demand drivers are significant and growing and healthy across domains and across territories, we do see that actually the demand is very healthy. In terms of the large deals that you've mentioned, we had a few of them. I gave an example earlier this call.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We had a few more multimillion-dollar deals. One example is a $10+ million deal with one of the security customers in EMEA, which is an expansion and upgrade with functionality. We have these customers with us for over a decade. We had another $5 million order from top NATO member military organization. You can see that one national security, the other one is military intelligence. We had another one in APAC of $5+ million subscription deal. Another customer that is with us for two decades. Actually what you see is that the need is there. Customers are going to the same direction globally and across segments, law enforcement, national security, national intelligence. Actually, this what drives the demand. As you mentioned, the RPO is strong. The cRPO is newly $370 million. The total RPO is over half a billion dollars. This gives us the visibility into fiscal 2027.

[Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners]

All right. Very helpful. You mentioned about the strong addition of new partners in the US market. As you think about your goals going forward from $400 million this year to $448 million and then $500 million in fiscal 2028, maybe some more color on what is the mix of the US business today, either from a revenue or bookings perspective? What are you expecting, I guess, for the next two years for the US mix to be to reach that $500 million target in the next two years? What is assumed in the guide for the $500 million? How much should the US be, broadly speaking, of that $500 million in the next two years? What is assumed in the guide for US?

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Yeah, sure. US is one of the largest and most advanced intelligence and law enforcement agency market globally. They face actually similar problems. We had some customers joining us for the Intelligence Summit. We actually do see that they suffer same problems, and they need similar technology. Actually we do believe that we have a very strong fit into their needs. In terms of between fiscal 2026 and 2028, we need incremental $100 million. We do believe that about 50% of it will come from expansions and upgrades of existing customer base. About 25% will come from new customers outside of the US We believe about 25%, the rest 25% should come from the US

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We're taking actions in order to continue and expand presence in the US, including partners, including hiring a new general manager for North America that came from Cellebrite. He was leading the federal sales in Cellebrite, including lots of sales and marketing efforts. Generally speaking, we do believe that we take the right actions and that's the assumption, that 25% incremental out of the 100 will come from the US

[Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners]

Got it. Very helpful. Just one for David. David, you've shown strong leverage in the model. Your adjusted EBITDA margin this year was 12%. You outperformed your guidance. I think there's a little bit of a. If I'm doing the math right, the free cash flow seems a little bit, I guess, lighter than the guide. Maybe just help us understand the gap between the EBITDA and the free cash flow number this year?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Yes, thank you, Taz. We had a strong year with the cash collection and the cash from operations and the free cash flow. During this year, we were able to generate $40 million of cash from operations, then $30 million of free cash flow. We came short versus our initial expectation of $45 million, mainly because of a certain collection that took place early in this quarter. But if you look at the overall picture, we were able to generate $40 million on a $36 million of non-GAAP operating income. So actually we were overachieving the operating income. Obviously you have more things underlying like taxes and things that you pay.In general, we are pleased with where we are from a cash from operations, free cash flow. Going forward, we guided for next year for $45 million.

[Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners]

Got it. Very helpful. If I look at the adjusted EBITDA guide for next year, you're guiding to 15%, and I think that jumps to 20% in fiscal 2028. Maybe just remind us what are the sources of leverage. You're guiding from 12%-15% for next year, but then the guide goes from 15%-20% in fiscal 2028. Maybe just some reminders on what the sources of leverage are for the next two years.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Actually we are very pleased with the leverage that we had with the gross margin. As you saw, we had achieved 73% gross margin two years ahead of our initial plan. This is one of the areas that we believe that will continue to create leverage. We guided for FY 2027 to 73.5%. This is an area, the gross margin itself, it's a place that we think that will continue to create for us leverage. Obviously we have also some OpEx leverage. OpEx will grow this year 7% while top line will grow 12%. That creates for us the leverage, and we believe that it will continue with us into FY 2028.

[Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners]

Very helpful. Thanks, guys.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Taz.

[Operator]

One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Matthew Calitri with Needham & Company. Your line is open.

[Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company]

Hey. Hey, guys. How are you? Matt Calitri over at Needham here. Thanks for taking our question. I'm curious on what the puts and takes are to the initial FY 2027 guide, particularly as it relates to the ramp in the US, but would also love to hear any color on why you widen that range by a point versus previous guides, and then expectations on new customers versus expansions, gross margin contribution, AI, anything of that nature.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Yeah. Hi, Matt. Good morning. Fiscal 2027 guidance actually presents double-digit top line growth, 12%, with an adjusted EBITDA growth of 40%. It means that we expect another strong year in terms of leverage and top line growth. In terms of the range, we added ±1% to each side, given the volatility and uncertainty in the market. It can go in both directions, upside and downside, but we feel comfortable with the midpoint. The reason for the ±3% is related to the market environment.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

In terms of what drives the guidance, the way we look at it is we look at the cRPO, we look at our performance, we look at the market environment. We also look at the anticipated conversion timing of the cRPO to revenues. Taking all of those together, we have a very good visibility into the year. Overall, I think that we should expect another strong year. We're also on track to meet the targets for fiscal 2028. We're on track.

[Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company]

Okay, great. Sticking there for a second, how would you categorize the size of the cohort of customers you expect to renew or expand this year compared to prior years? I know there aren't set dates with the perpetual model, but what are your assumptions based on what you're seeing for pipeline or historical customer trends?

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Yeah. The history shows that, unlike, you know, commercial stuff that you buy and, you stick with it, in our domain, the challenges are much higher, and the pace is very fast. Just a few examples, customers that have a certain deployment today, they'll have to support data that is growing. They'll have to support more functionality. They'll have to catch up with technology, including AI-powered analytics and GenAI. They'll have to address new use cases that are coming, whether it's financial crime or others. We do see that in military intelligence, there are new concerns related to border control and others. Generally speaking, this is a very dynamic environment and customers have to continue and upgrade and expand.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

We expect that the upgrades and expansions are actually what we call repeat business or leverage of our customer base will continue to be strong also going forward. This is something that is a significant, I would say baseline for our business. On top of it, we have, of course, the new logos, which is primarily land and expand strategy. Usually they start small and grow over time with us. The US business, which I discussed earlier, which is a strategic and important market for us and another growth pillar. Overall, I do believe that the repeat business will continue to be very strong given that the environment is changing and customers have to adapt and run and catch up with this.

[Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company]

Awesome. Great to hear. David, on the cash flow from operations, what caused the delay in collections, and how are you thinking about that conversion rate of adjusted EBITDA to cash flow as you scale towards the 2027 and 2028 targets?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Actually, we had certain delays that took place due to, I would say, customer delays, and we collect everything in the beginning of the quarter. This is something that may happen, and then you are relying on customers when they pay. If you look ahead, you need to take into consideration that on top of the adjusted EBITDA, you need to take other items like tax payment and other expense below the line that may take place. For this year, we guided for $45 million of cash flow from operations, while the guidance for the adjusted EBITDA is $68 million. I think this is something that you can take as a going-forward view about how it will convert over time.

[Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company]

Oh, okay, great. It was also cash flows in 2026, the cash flow from operations was very heavily weighted towards the second half. Is that seasonality expected to repeat or any commentary on that?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Actually there is some seasonality in cash flow from operation. Usually Q2 cash flow from operation is negative due to actually expenses and less about collection. You may have some seasonality related to the size of the deal. Meaning that if there is a large deal that taking place in a certain quarter, you will see an impact on that quarter. It's not a given pattern. It's not seasonality on the nature of between, you know, Q1 to Q3. It's more about the specific deal and the mix of the deal in a given quarter, except for Q2, which usually is impacted by certain expenses that are taking place in Q2.

[Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company]

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks so much, guys.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Matt.

[Operator]

One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Eric Martinuzzi with Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC. Your line is open.

[Eric Martinuzzi, Senior Research Analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC]

Yeah, congrats on the good finish to FY 2026. Your comment about the seasonality of the Q1 revenue would point towards kind of the lower end of the overall full year guided growth range. Just curious to know if you expect that to reverse. Is that more of a second half reversal to get to the midpoint, or is it maybe Q2, Q3, Q4 all kinda grow to offset that slightly lower growth rate in Q1?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Usually from seasonality perspective, Q1 is slightly below Q4. It really depends on certain things that are taking place, certain dynamics that usually takes from Q4. If you look year-over-year, it may create some fluctuation between the quarters from a growth perspective. When we look at the overall a year and the pattern of the year, usually you start in Q1, slightly below Q4, and then growing over quarters. This is a typical year. It's not different versus other years.

[Eric Martinuzzi, Senior Research Analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC]

Okay. You talked about slight preference for subscription versus perpetual. Is that also part of the slightly wider guided range for FY 2027, just not being able to predict how customers are expecting to buy? Are you know, are bids being responded to with both a subscription and a perpetual, and you just don't know which the customer is going to choose?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Obviously when you convert certain deals into subscription, it do have an impact on revenue and over time. Given the fact that we have such a strong cRPO, it give us more confidence about how the year will look like. You need to remember that we have $270 million of cRPO. A big portion of our guidance is covered already. Subscription can play a role, but given the ±3% that we give, it's more about what we see in the market and these upside and downside that can play a role given the geopolitical situation and what we see in the overall environment. We saw that this is the right approach for this year.

[Eric Martinuzzi, Senior Research Analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC]

Okay. Lastly, more of a macro question, but historically, you have talked about pipeline or top of funnel activity increasing with increased global conflict. Any signs with regard to the Iran war impact on pipeline?

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

Yeah. Actually, if you look at the market, generally speaking, when there are security concerns, usually it will translate into demand in certain areas, certain territories, certain use cases. It takes time because it's government agencies. It takes time for them to respond. What I can give you as an anecdote for this question today is for the example of the military intelligence. We do see demand growing in military intelligence, including in NATO countries. The reason is that they have to use this technology with their special forces and also have to improve their border security. Usually, it's military intelligence. We do see that certain areas with certain use cases have tailwinds related to the geopolitical situation today in the Middle East.

[Elad Sharon, CEO at Cognyte Software]

The answer is that usually security concerns create some more demand. Of course, it depends on the territory and depends on the use case, but generally speaking, the answer is yes.

[Eric Martinuzzi, Senior Research Analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Again, ladies and gentlemen, if you have a question or a comment at this time, please press star one one on your telephone. Our next question comes from Peter Levine with Evercore ISI. Your line is open.

[Analyst at Evercore ISI]

Hi, guys. Thank you very much for taking my question. This is Charlie for Peter, Evercore. I have two questions for you guys. Firstly, with the incremental buyback authorization now in place, how should we think about the cadence of buybacks in FY 2027? And maybe just walk through how are you you know balancing buybacks relative to ongoing investments and growth and expansion?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Charlie. So actually we are very pleased that early this March, we were able to announce additional $20 million, which gave us a total plan since November 2024 of $60 million. The remaining capacity under this plan is around the $33 million remain for us to execute. Looking in the, you know, in the overall picture, we ended the year with $170 million of cash with a very strong balance sheet and continue to generate cash. What we are trying to do is to take a balanced approach between investing in our value creation for our shareholders and creating a buyback. This is why we are placing all these plans.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Actually, the board's ongoing commitment to long-term shareholders value creation, and confidence in our growth prospects allow us to do that. Going forward, we will continue to assess on a regular basis. Now we have enough capacity for the upcoming quarters, and we'll continue to execute that. We are executing it technically. We have two ways to do it, regular purchase in the market when we are not blacked out and using a 10b5-1 plan during the blackout period. By doing this, using these two tools, we're able to execute.

[Analyst at Evercore ISI]

Got it. That makes sense. Second one maybe for you, David. Both growth and operating margins came in very nicely this quarter, and as you mentioned on the call, the incremental growth margin this quarter came in at around 100%. Based on your growth margin guide, it seems that the incremental growth margin will be around 83% for next year. Maybe can you just help us think about the key drivers of that outperformance first, and then how sustainable are those benefits as we move through, you know, FY 2027?

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

We are very pleased with the growth margin improvement. If you look at the last few years, we improve on a regular basis our growth margin, and it's a continued improvement. It's actually another indication and validation for us about the value perceived by our customers. Our customer buying premium solution and willing to pay for that, and we invest a lot on R&D.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

The way that you get a return on that is by able to sell our solution to tier one customer that appreciate this value that we provide them. Looking at the overall trend, you can see that the total software is crossing the 80% growth margin, and the professional service continue to increase above 20%. The combination of the two of them allow us to improve more margin when the scale is coming. Overall, we believe that this trend will continue. We already guided for this year to be at 73.5%, and we believe that in the long run, we leave more room for improvement on gross margin.

[Analyst at Evercore ISI]

Got it. Thank you so much.

[David Abadi, CFO at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Charlie.

[Operator]

I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Dean for any further remarks.

[Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations at Cognyte Software]

Thank you, Kevin, and thank you all for joining us today. Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me, and we look forward to speaking with you again next quarter.

[Operator]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's presentation. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

Participants

Executives

• David Abadi, CFO
• Dean Ridlon, Head of Investor Relations
• Elad Sharon, CEO

Analysts

• Eric Martinuzzi, Senior Research Analyst at Lake Street Capital Markets, LLC
• Imtiaz Koujalgi, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners
• Matthew Calitri, VP of Equity Research at Needham & Company
• Analyst at Evercore ISI