ZoomInfo Technologies: Apps Canary in AI Coal Mine?

Research evidence excerpt

ZoomInfo Technologies: Apps Canary in AI Coal Mine?

Deutsche Bank

Research

Rating Company Date

Hold ZoomInfo Technologies 12 May 2026

North America Reuters Bloomberg Rating Hold

United States GTM.OQ GTM US Price target (USD) 6.00 Price at 11 May 26 6.04

52-week range 12.20 – 5.23

TMT

Software Valuation & Risks

Apps Canary in AI Coal Mine?

Brad Zelnick

ZoomInfo reported disappointing results and FY guidance due to several factors, Research Analyst

+1-212-250-8563 most prominently of which is a change in customer behavior stemming from AI

and the company's reaction—using it as an opportunity to shift more to Bhavin Shah, CFA

consumption vs. seat-based monetization. Customers in March and into April, Research Analyst

particularly in the software vertical, paused purchasing decisions amidst +1-212-250-6775

confusion around vendor capabilities and the DIY power of LLMs; this was only

Chris Fountain compounded further by a confusing purchasing environment in their own Research Associate

businesses. While we stop short of extrapolating this disappointment to the +1-212-250-1575

entirety of App Software, we believe it is worth contemplating and perhaps

questions the distinction between systems of record (i.e. CRM, NOW, WDAY) vs. Nick Giovacchini

systems of engagement. We have long seen a lot of value in ZoomInfo and the Research Associate

+1-212-250-9075

broader GTM category, though we expect the stock to remain range-bound for

the foreseeable future as management works through yet another transition, even

at 6.1x EV/uFCF (DBe '27) in AH trading.

Key changes

Given increasing customer desire to consume ZoomInfo data directly within Price target (USD) 10 6 -40%

native AI surfaces and workflows (i.e. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, etc.) the