Shares in Appian Corp. closed regular trading up over 12% today after the business automation software provider reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its most recent quarter.

For its fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, Appian reported adjusted earnings per share of six cents, up from a loss of 28 cents per share in the same quarter of last year, on revenue of 145.3 million, up 16% year-over-year. Analysts had expected a loss of 21 cents per share on revenue of $140.75 million.

Appian’s strong numbers were driven by growth, with the company’s cloud subscription revenue increasing 26% year-over-year, to $83.1 million. Total subscription revenue, including cloud, on-premises term licenses and maintenance and support, grew 24%, to $115.8 million. The one outlier was Appian’s professional services revenue, which fell 9%, to $29.5 million.

The company also reported a record gross margin of 78% and subscription margins improved to 91%. Appian’s net retention rate, which indicates whether customers are sticking around, came in at 119% in the quarter.

For the full fiscal year 2023, Appian reported an adjusted per-share loss of 81 cents, down from a loss of $1.23 in 2022, on revenue of $545.4 million, up 17% year-over-year. As of the end of December, Appian had $150.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments on hand.

“Appian delivered our plan in 2023 and reached two milestones,” founder and Chief Executive Matt Calkins said in the company’s earnings release. “Full-year revenue exceeded half a billion dollars, and we achieved the highest quarterly gross margin in our public history.” Appian went public in 2017.

For its first quarter of 2024, Appian said it expects an adjusted earnings per share loss of between 16 and 21 cents on total revenue of $148 million and $150 million. For the full year, the company expects an adjusted loss of 66 to 73 cents per share on revenue of $614 million to $617 million.

The first-quarter outlook figures both missed at the midpoint, as analysts were expecting a per-share loss of 17 cents on revenue of $149.7 million. But investors didn’t care as Appian’s strong beats, impressive growth and margins in the quarter outweighed the small misses in the outlook.

Photo: Appian