NYC Analyst Day; APPN Deterministic Workflows Helping Make AI Work

Research evidence excerpt

NYC Analyst Day; APPN Deterministic Workflows Helping Make AI Work

TD Cowen Appian Corporation

Global Research May 15, 2026

Financials

■APPN reiterated its prior guidance from 1Q and highlighted its steady growth and improving

profitability profile. Guide is for ~13% rev growth this year, ~31% EBITDA growth, and ~60% EPS

growth showing how it is accelerating the bottom line far faster than top line. APPN continues

to emphasize a “Rule of 40” oriented framework (with 2x weighting on cloud growth vs. FCF

margin). SBC at ~6% of revenue is a notable standout vs. peers, and new buyback (increased

from $50m to $100m) is set to drive down sharecount this year.

■On opex, mgmt highlighted room to drive leverage across S&M, R&D and G&A. Strong returns

on S&M with improving rep productivity is a reason why APPN opts to keep this line item

relatively elevated. R&D is set to gain leverage as it further adopts low cost geos for talent

(India to be 36% of headcount in '26 vs. 24% in '25). APPN plans to continue hiring as it

attacks its opportunity ahead.

■Cloud remains ~80% of ARR and mgmt expects this mix to grow, despite strong opportunities

in its on-prem business with regulated customers. Business continues to skew toward larger

customers, with $1M+ ARR customers increasing steadily (~140 in 2025) and expansion trends

remaining durable over time with the average customer continuing to expand through year 7

after signing. Mgmt highlighted a consistent land-and-expand motion, with customer spend

typically tripling over multi-year periods.

Go-To-Market

■Mgmt highlighted meaningful progress in its GTM transformation, shifting from a more

technical, low-end volume-driven motion toward enterprise, value-based selling focused

on large strategic deals.