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CRNC · Cerence Inc.

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$8.99 +0.38 (+4.41%) At close · Aug 14
Market Cap
$406.62M
Shares
45.23M
All earnings calls

Earnings call · FY2026 Q2

Cerence Inc. Q2 FY2026 Earnings Call

Cerence Inc. Q2 FY2026 Earnings Call

Concluded May 7, 2026 Audio replay
May 7, 2026 49:10 35 turns
Period
FY2026 Q2
Runtime
49:10
Sources
4 artifacts

Executive readout · one minute

What matters this quarter

Cerence Inc. delivered Q2 FY26 revenue of $64.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $7.2 million, both above the high end of guidance, and raised the midpoints of its full-year revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow guidance.

Quarterly financial results 66 XUI platform wins and pipeline 41 Production launches 17 Cost discipline and profitability 15 AI differentiation and partnerships 8 Audio AI and broader portfolio wins 8

Management tone

Confident

Net tone +78 · low hedging

Grounding quotes
  • “we delivered another strong quarter with revenue of $64.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $7.2 million, both above the high end of our guidance”
  • “These wins speak volumes of our technology and team, and we are encouraged by the strong economics”
  • “we really are positive about our future”
  • “We also have additional opportunities in late-stage discussions and strong pipeline of RFUs and POCs with the strong win rate we've seen thus far for XUI deals, we believe will continue to see success in these pending opportunities”

Research coverage

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Revenue $64.19M -17.7% YoY
Diluted EPS $0.04 -91.3% YoY
Gross margin 73.7% -3.4 pp YoY
Net income $1.67M -92.3% YoY

Research materials

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Key takeaways

What improved, and what deserves a closer read.

Constructive signals

  • Revenue of $64.2 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $7.2 million both above the high end of guidance; free cash flow of $13.6 million and operating cash flow of $14.1 million.
  • Net income of $1.7 million and the press release states the company raised the midpoints of full-year revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow guidance.
  • BYD named as a new Cerence XUI customer and the first to start production with cars rolling off lines.
  • New Audio AI wins with BMW, Ferrari, and Suzuki India, plus a new Toyota Europe program adding generative AI capabilities to an existing Cerence Assistant-based platform.
  • Connected services described as the leading growth engine, driven by ChatPro LLM capabilities in the vehicle.
  • Multiple starts of production this quarter including Toyota, Renault, Changan Mazda, Audi, HKMC, Great Wall Motor, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, and Geely.

Risks & pressure points

  • Non-automotive revenue expected to contribute at most a couple of million dollars this year and initial financial contribution is not expected to begin until exiting fiscal year 2026.
  • Patent infringement action filed against Amazon adds litigation activity, with active matters also against Apple, Sony, and TCL.
  • The company shifted to paying legal fees as it goes on IP matters rather than the prior profit-sharing model used with Samsung.
  • R&D non-GAAP OpEx stepped up sequentially to a new baseline of about $27.5 million for the remainder of the year driven by less capitalization.
  • XUI win pace has moderated versus an aspirational target, with Q3 ambitions framed as bringing the year-to-date tally to 'six out of seven' rather than a higher reference.

Key moments

Jump directly to management's words in the synchronized transcript.

“For the full year, we are raising the midpoint for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. We now expect revenue to be in the range of $305 to $320 million and adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $60 to $70 million, and we are raising our free cash flow guidance by $10 million, a 16% increase at the midpoint.” Brian Krzanich, CEO
“This is a multiyear, multiplatform contract with a Japanese automaker with significant volume and, importantly, a win-back from a hyperscaler. These wins speak volumes about our technology and team.” Brian Krzanich, CEO

Quarter detail

How the reported period landed and where the business moved.

Revenue · products & services

License$37.58M -27% YoY
Connected Services$15.31M +21% YoY
Professional Services$11.30M -18.7% YoY
IP Licenses$0

Capital returned

Buybacks · derived
$13,000
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