Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Unidentified Analyst: Hi, this is Kevin on for Gabriela. Thanks for taking the question. From a capital allocation standpoint, Peter, can you talk about doing M&A? How are you thinking about doing M&A and realize you’re being patient there and trying to find the right asset, but — what are you seeing in the private markets from a competitive standpoint? And maybe how does that play into your R&D strategy? Thanks.

Peter Gassner: Yes, always no change in our M&A strategy. It was quite careful, right? Look for a cultural fit, look for a business fit and something that we can execute on. And those opportunities are rare. I would say we’re looking more than we have in the past. But if you compare Veeva to three years ago, we have more effort in the M&A area. So we’re scouring the market more. And we’ve always got a few things in the hopper and they most likely don’t come through for a variety of reasons. I still am bullish over the next year or two that we can have something, because I think people are getting a bit more realistic on their valuation and they’re realizing that there’s not going to be a quick turnaround. So I wish I could give you a schedule of acquisitions, but I can’t, but I’m really proud of our acquisition track record, and I think that will continue.

Unidentified Analyst: Thanks Peter.

Peter Gassner: Thanks.

Operator: Craig Hettenbach from Morgan Stanley has the next question.

Craig Hettenbach: Yes. Just a question on the operating margins in the implied 35.7% in fiscal ’25 or at least that much. Can you just talk about the hiring pace and things you’re doing this year after what was a very strong fiscal ’23? And what environment you’re seeing out there as you’re looking to hire?

Peter Gassner: And I can take that one. This is Peter. The environment is good. It’s a more favorable hiring environment than it was 12 months ago, I would say. And I expect that favorable hiring environment to continue for multiple reasons. This is a well-run company. I think people like to work at a well-run company. I think our work anywhere helps. And I think there’s less froth and speculation in the market. But we’ll be — we’ll really be measured in our hiring, and we’ve always done that. So we look at where we can grow and we can invest. We keep our teams lean. That’s an important thing we do, and we always want to run a good profitable business. So I think the way to think about it is sort of business as usual as Veeva. We don’t go crazy in the boom times, and we don’t cut back drastically in the tough times. We sort of just keep rolling right over those speed bumps.

Craig Hettenbach: Got it. And then just a follow-up on the macro backdrop. It was a little choppy at calendar year, some softness in the middle part of the year, and then it stabilized. Just curious on that on kind of the Crossix business and SMB, where it did soften a little bit. It sounds like there hasn’t been much change in recent months. But if you can provide any color there in terms of any types of influence you’re seeing in the macro today?

Peter Gassner: Yes. In terms of the macro over the last 90 days, we really haven’t seen any change over the last 90 days. Now that’s no predictor of who knows what happens 90 days from now, but we don’t see any signs — I don’t see any signs of rapid change right now. It seems like we’re — for a while now we’re in a point of consistency, which overall, that’s good for Veeva, because we’re deal in core capabilities to improve efficiency and effectiveness. And when there’s less change in the macro, either for the crazy up or the crazy down, that’s what helps us a lot. When there’s less change in the macro, people look to build these durable — our customers look to build these durable capabilities.

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