Earnings Call Transcript - APPF Q4 2020

Operator, Operator

Thank you for joining us today for the AppFolio, Inc. Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results Conference Call. At this moment, all participants are in listen-only mode. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn it over to your speaker, Erica Abrams. Thank you, and you may proceed.

Erica Abrams, Moderator

Thank you, Kristine. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us today as we report AppFolio's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 financial results. With me on the call today are Jason Randall, AppFolio's President and CEO; and Ida Kane, AppFolio's Chief Financial Officer. This call is simultaneously being webcast on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.appfolio.com. Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that AppFolio's safe harbor policy – comments made during this conference call and webcast containing forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Any statement that refers to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events, including financial projections or future market conditions, is a forward-looking statement. AppFolio's actual future results could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements for any reason including those listed in our SEC filings. AppFolio assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements except as required by law. Please see our filings with the SEC, including our Form 10-K, which was filed earlier today for greater detail about risks and uncertainties. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ida Kane, CFO. Ida, please go ahead.

Ida Kane, CFO

Thank you, Erica. Welcome to everyone joining us for AppFolio's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 financial results. We reported total revenue of $310.1 million for fiscal year 2020. GAAP net income was $158.4 million or $4.44 per diluted share. This includes a pretax gain of $187.7 million related to the sale of MyCase offset by a net tax expense of $51.3 million. For fiscal year 2020, we recorded income tax expense of $38.4 million. Also included in GAAP net income is $9 million in non-cash charges related to stock-based compensation. Our Form 10-K was filed today and includes more details on our results. To enhance clarity and comparability, I will discuss the results of our continuing real estate business, excluding the impact of the MyCase operation. Revenue from our continuing business for fiscal year 2020 was $284.7 million, which represents an increase of 23% over revenue of $231.1 million in the year-ago period. As you know, we provide innovative software, services, and data analytics to customers in the real estate industry. Our solutions are used by property managers, whom we refer to as customers in our public filings, and also by numerous other constituencies in the property management business ecosystem. These other constituencies include property owners, rental prospects, tenants, and service providers, whom we collectively refer to as users. We generate revenue from customers and from these users as our software and services aim to serve the full business ecosystem. Core solutions revenue derived from subscriptions to our customers in our continuing business for fiscal year 2020 was $86.5 million, an increase of 19% over $72.6 million for the year-ago period. Value+ services revenue from our continuing business was $184.2 million in fiscal year 2020, an increase of 27% over $145.2 million for the year-ago period. The increase in revenue year-over-year was primarily attributable to 10% growth in the number of property manager customers using our software and 17% growth in units under management. Throughout 2020, demand for electronic payment services increased as residents, property managers, owners, and customers transacted more business online, which we attribute in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the year, we also introduced new Value+ services and expanded the functionality of others, which resulted in incremental revenue. A significant majority of our Value+ services revenue comes directly and indirectly from the use of our electronic payment services, tenant screening services, and the insurance services we make available to customers. At December 31, 2020, we had over 15,700 real estate property management customers managing an aggregate of 5.36 million units in their portfolio. We continue to focus on growing our customer and user base and expanding their adoption and utilization of Value+ services, which are designed to enhance, automate, and streamline processes and workflows that are essential to our customers' businesses. For fiscal 2020, our annual dollar-based net expansion was 112% for our property manager customers. I encourage you to read our 8-K filings today for more information on how we calculate annual dollar-based net expansion. Turning to spending, we saw an overall increase in expenses from our continuing business of 23% in fiscal year 2020 compared to the prior year. Total expenses of $277.1 million included a $4.3 million legal settlement with the FTC previously discussed, and an increase in professional service fees and other costs of $2.3 million related to the MyCase transaction offset by a benefit of $2 million for third-party service provider incentives earned related to adoption and utilization of online payment services that was recorded in the cost of sales. The increase in costs over the prior year was mainly attributable to the growth in our Value+ services revenue and the third-party costs incurred to support them, as well as growth in personnel costs with headcount increasing 16% year-over-year to over 1,300 AppFolio's dedicated to our continuing business at fiscal year-end. In addition, advertising and promotion costs increased year-over-year, offset by reductions in workplace, event, and travel-related costs as we adjusted our business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we move into 2021, we continue to operate as a remote workplace and expect to return to the office no sooner than the second quarter. We do hope to transition back to in-person work during fiscal 2021, COVID permitting. To that end, we continue to invest in our physical office locations with a build-out at Santa Barbara, the expansion of our Dallas location, and the signing of the new lease in San Diego early in 2021. We expect to continue to invest in areas of our business that enable future growth aligned with customer success. Turning to the fourth quarter performance, total revenue from our continuing business was $72.4 million, which represented growth of approximately 20% year-over-year on a comparable basis. As a reminder, we experienced limited seasonality in the fourth quarter in our Value+ services revenue, primarily with respect to certain leasing-related services as we provide to our property management customers. The fourth quarter of 2020 was no different. Core solutions revenue was $22.9 million in the fourth quarter and Value+ services was $46 million, which represented growth of approximately 18% and 25% respectively year-over-year. Other revenue in the quarter was $3.5 million from our continuing business. Total expenses from continuing business in the fourth quarter were $74.6 million, which is an increase over the year-ago period of 23%. Moving to the balance sheet, at December 31, 2020, our principal sources of liquidity were cash and cash equivalents and investment securities, which had an aggregate balance of $175.3 million. During the fiscal year, our cash and cash equivalents increased primarily as a result of the proceeds from the MyCase transaction, net repayment of amounts owed under, and termination of our credit agreement. For fiscal year 2020, we generated $48.3 million from operating activities. Our primary uses of cash were capitalized software development costs of $26 million in connection with continued investment in our technology and service offerings, and capital expenditure of $19 million to purchase property and equipment for the continued growth and expansion of our business. In addition, we spent $4.2 million for the repurchase of shares. Looking ahead, we are not providing revenue guidance for fiscal year 2021 at this time due to continued limited visibility into future business trends and financial performance in the current operating environment. We expect to reevaluate this throughout the year. We also expect our weighted average diluted share count for fiscal year 2020 to be approximately 36 million shares. With that, I'll turn the call over to Jason for additional comments.

Jason Randall, CEO

Thank you, Ida, and thank you all for joining us today as we share our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 results. Our financial performance in 2020 reflects our strong commitment to three key areas. First, we focused on innovating to help our customers automate essential business processes, improve interactions, and utilize data for better business predictions and workflows. Second, we prioritized delivering an outstanding customer experience, and third, we fostered a thriving company culture. Although 2020 brought many challenges, it also demonstrated our adaptability, innovation, and resilience. As we enter 2021 with over 5 million units now managed on our property management platform, we're committed to positioning our company for long-term sustainable growth. The pandemic has prompted significant changes in how our customers operate, and we believe that ongoing digital transformation is necessary in the real estate industry. Our AppFolio customers are well-prepared to navigate these changes with our software and services as foundational tools for their businesses. Our software and solutions are designed to serve as systems of record, engagement, and intelligence for our customers, resulting in exceptional experiences and improved efficiency in their operations. Throughout fiscal year 2020, we adapted alongside our customers, unlocking value and providing capabilities that allowed them to concentrate on their clients and business ecosystems, enabling them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive tasks. At the onset of the pandemic, customers expressed a need to maintain high service levels and enhance digital communication. We responded by enabling the posting of custom announcements across various client portals and enhancing the maintenance workflow to allow property managers to share important safety information. We also introduced new functionalities to streamline the leasing process. With the rollout of AppFolio Virtual Showings, our customers can now conduct live showings without needing in-person interactions. Additionally, we've supported the ability to preview units through 3D tours, provided by leading vendors, which can be integrated into our customers’ AppFolio-powered websites, allowing potential residents to engage with listings and self-qualify remotely. These improvements added significant value during times of social distancing, and we believe they will permanently reshape how our customers manage leasing activities moving forward. Furthermore, we made key advancements in automating and optimizing accounting workflows. We expanded online payment options for more flexible rent collection, and in the fourth quarter, we introduced capabilities allowing property management clients to accurately track corporate and property accounting separately, resulting in enhanced reporting accuracy. Another important focus has been the expansion of AppFolio Property Manager PLUS, a software specifically designed to address the unique needs of larger clients managing teams and properties across multiple locations. Our PLUS clients have benefited from improvements to critical business processes and enhanced visibility into their overall leasing performance and employee metrics, along with further automation of workflows. We've received positive feedback from customers regarding the value that our software and services are delivering. For instance, Josh McIntire, President of McIntire Management, which manages over 1,500 units, shared that AppFolio has allowed them to provide full transparency to clients, automate reporting, and efficiently manage communications, enabling them to double their managed units during COVID-19 while working remotely. We are also expanding our support for community association managers to increase efficiency and better serve homeowners and boards. In 2020, we introduced an end-to-end mailing service within our core platform, allowing customers to streamline manual mailing tasks and enhance operational efficiency in one solution. Recently, we unveiled new accounting capabilities for multiple funds, enabling visualization of assets, liabilities, and equity on a single balance sheet, as well as checkout integration for automated processes. Ari Shore, managing 3,800 units with AppFolio Property Manager and COO of Association Management Company, CAP Management, mentioned that consolidating their management activities within AppFolio has allowed quick access to vital data across devices, improving homeowner and board satisfaction while ensuring data visibility. Turning to AppFolio Investment Management, we launched functionalities in 2020 that assist real estate investment managers in expanding their portfolios by engaging investors and driving operational efficiencies. New features allow general partners to create and manage tasks from their dashboard, visualize complex investment structures, and enhance security on document requests. At AppFolio, we believe that engaged and satisfied employees lead to better customer experiences. Our people and culture have always been central to our success. In 2020, we swiftly transitioned to remote work and found innovative ways to collaborate while continuing to meet customer needs. Throughout 2020, AppFolio received industry recognition for our technology, culture, and business achievements. Notably, we topped Fortune's list of the 100 fastest-growing companies and were acknowledged for our strong culture, being one of Battery Ventures’ highest-rated public cloud companies based on employee reviews. Additionally, AppFolio AI Leasing Assistant, Lisa, was recognized as real estate product of the year by the Business Intelligence Group Awards for Innovation. In summary, despite numerous challenges, 2020 represented another year of strategic and operational advancements for AppFolio. Looking ahead, we remain committed to driving long-term sustainable growth through innovative technology solutions that offer exceptional experiences for our real estate customers, all powered by an engaged and happy team. Thank you for joining us today. I will now turn the call back to the operator.

Operator, Operator

Thank you for participating in today's conference call. This call will be available for replay beginning at 7:30 Eastern Standard Time today through 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on March 4, 2021. The conference ID number for replay is 8438087. Again, the conference ID number for replay is 8438087. The number to dial for the replay is 1800-585-8367. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.