E2open Parent Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ETWO) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Operator: The next question is from Fred Lee with Credit Suisse.

Fred Lee: Just one more macro question. I was just wondering if the selling environment deteriorated incrementally this quarter versus Q2?

Michael Farlekas: Yes. I wouldn’t say it’s incrementally better or worse. I think I understood the question of, is it incrementally better or worse, Fred? You took that a little bit. I wouldn’t say it’s incrementally better or worse. I just think it continues to be uncertainty and how companies deal with that uncertainty. Certainly in the tech environment, you see it, but you really see it real time every day. And companies certainly starting to taper and starting to say, okay, I’m not going to invest in everything all at once. I think that’s the only thing that I would say has kind of more firm up. The rest of it is the same chop we’ve seen for really three quarters now.

Fred Lee: Got it. And then — and just another question on how competition has been behaving, especially some of the venture backed start-ups that might not have as strong a balance sheet. Are they acting any less rational than they have historically?

Michael Farlekas: Well, when you don’t have to generate a profit, you can do a lot of irrational things in the venture — stays close to kind of — are able to essentially subsidize their business. So, that’s not new, though. This has been the case for a long time, and that’s the market we participate in. So, we don’t see them acting any more or less normally than the way they do. And that’s just part of the market. And we believe we have obviously a more sustainable business model because we generate

Michael Farlekas: I’m sorry. Fred, you broke up.

Fred Lee: Sorry about that. Just one final question for Marje. Can you hear me? Just one final question for Marje on RPO. I know there’s some acquisition always in there, but the $795 million apples-to-apples, what was that growth year-over-year?

Marje Armstrong: So, the number is — obviously, it’s pro forma for acquisitions. So, when you look at the year-ago number, I think — I don’t know it from the top of my head, but I think it was around $731 million versus the $795 million this quarter, so around 8% growth rate.

Operator: We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. This concludes today’s conference, and you may disconnect your phone lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.