Pega Delivers Double-Digit ACV Growth and Record Cash Flow in Q4 2023

• Cash flow from operations and free cash flow both exceed $200 million for first time in company history
• Annual contract value (ACV) grows 11% year over year
• Pega Cloud gross margin jumps to 74% for 2023

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — February 14, 2024 — Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the leading enterprise AI decisioning and workflow automation platform provider, released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2023.

“It’s awesome to see how well our team performed in 2023,” said Alan Trefler, founder and CEO. “We delivered transformative innovation to change the way the world builds software while deepening and expanding our client relationships. I couldn’t be more excited about the incredible opportunity ahead to leverage GenAI and revolutionize the way clients use our technology to drive success in 2024 and beyond.”

“Our team did an excellent job balancing growth and profitability last year,” said Ken Stillwell, Pega COO and CFO. “We delivered double-digit ACV growth and record free cash flow by focusing on client success and by transforming our go-to-market model. As we exited 2023, we hit our Rule of 30 target, a big transformation for how we run the business. And, we’re on track to achieve the Rule of 40 as we exit 2024.”

 

 

Note: Starting in the third quarter of 2023, the Company calculated free cash flow as cash provided by operating activities less investments in property and equipment. To ensure comparability, previously disclosed amounts have been updated. For more information, please refer to the schedules included at the end of this release.

 

¹ Refer to the schedules at the end of this release for additional information, including a reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP measures.

 

See full press release with financials

Quarterly conference call

A conference call and audio-only webcast will be conducted at 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Members of the public and investors are invited to join the call and participate in the question-and-answer session by dialing 1 (888) 415-4305 (domestic), 1 (646) 960-0336 (international), or via https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/543203270 by logging onto www.pega.com at least five minutes prior to the event's broadcast and clicking on the webcast icon in the Investors section.

Discussion of non-GAAP financial measures

Our non-GAAP financial measures should only be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. We believe that these measures help investors understand our core operating results and prospects, which is consistent with how management measures and forecasts our performance without the effect of often one-time charges and other items outside our normal operations. They are not a substitute for financial measures prepared under U.S. GAAP. Refer to the schedules at the end of this release for additional information, including a reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP measures.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, will, could, should, estimates, may, targets, strategies, intends to, projects, forecasts, guidance, likely, and usually or variations of such words and other similar expressions, identify forward-looking statements, which represent our views only as of the date the statement was made and are based on current expectations and assumptions.

Forward-looking statements deal with future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to:

• our future financial performance and business plans;
• the adequacy of our liquidity and capital resources;
• the continued payment of our quarterly dividends;
• the timing of revenue recognition;
• variation in demand for our products and services, including among clients in the public sector;
• reliance on key personnel;
• reliance on third-party service providers, including hosting providers;
• compliance with our debt obligations and covenants;
• the potential impact of our convertible senior notes and capped call transactions;
• foreign currency exchange rates;
• the potential legal and financial liabilities and damage to our reputation due to cyber-attacks;
• security breaches and security flaws;
• our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, costs associated with defending such rights, intellectual property rights claims, and other related claims by third parties against us, including related costs, damages, and other relief that may be granted against us;
• our ongoing litigation with Appian Corp.;
• our client retention rate; and
• management of our growth.

These risks and others that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements are described further in Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other filings we make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, and there are no assurances that the results included in such statements will be achieved. Although subsequent events may cause our view to change, except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake and expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Any forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of February 14, 2024.

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