Earnings Call Transcript - GLOB Q4 2024

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

Good day, and welcome to Globant's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. I'm Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer at Globant. All participants on this call will be on listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this event is being recorded and streamed live on YouTube. By now, you should have received a copy of the earnings release. If you have not, a copy is available on our website, investors.globant.com. Our speakers today are Martin Migoya, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer; Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer; Patricia Pomies, Chief Operating Officer; and Diego Tartara, Global Chief Technology Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that some of our comments on our call today may be deemed forward-looking statements. This includes our business and financial outlook and the answers to some of your questions. Such statements are subject to the risks and uncertainties as described in the company's earnings release and other filings with the SEC. Please note that we follow IFRS accounting rules in our financial statements. During our call today, we will report non-IFRS, or adjusted measures, which is how we track performance internally and the easiest way to compare Globant to our peers in the industry. You will find a reconciliation of IFRS and non-IFRS measures at the end of the press release we published on our Investor Relations website announcing this quarter's results. I'd like to turn the call over to Martin Migoya, our CEO.

Martin Migoya, CEO

Welcome. Good afternoon, and hello, everyone. We're facing a major transformation. It is a revolution that Globant has not only anticipated, but has been shaping for many years. With advancements in AI, the lines between technology and business are fading. Today, it's not just a tool, but the core of enterprise reinvention. While many technology players are jumping on the AI revolution, branding themselves as experts without having made any real investments in the field, Globant has been investing in AI for the past 10 years. This long-term commitment means we are not merely riding the wave of the latest trends. We have developed deep proven expertise in the field. Green technology that dares to delight is not just about writing code. It is about creating meaningful value in a world powered by AI Agents, industry-specific intelligence, and a human touch. We were building software with purpose, shaping experiences, driving impact, and pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve. Many doubted, but this was not our guide. Vision was. Along the journey, we have worked on projects that redefine the user experience. From game face ID technology at the new LA Clippers Intuit Dome, to the digital ecosystem of Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia, to the next-generation passenger experience at one of the top airlines in the UK. Our momentum is undeniable. We're no longer just scaling. We are orchestrating an ecosystem of AI Agents that automate complex processes, not only in operations but across digital, front end, back end, digital branding, creativity, and enterprise functions. At the heart of this transformation are our AI studios. These studios are not just another business unit. They are the epicenter of our reinvention strategy. They are designed to embed AI deeply within industries, leveraging company-specific data insights from ERP, CRMs, and other transactional systems and generating synthetic data to train models to learn, adapt and evolve. They represent the boldest expression of what we believe the future holds, a future where AI doesn't just support business. It drives them. Powering this entire ecosystem is our Globant Enterprise AI platform, the orchestration software that seamlessly integrates and manages all these AI Agents. Enterprise AI provides LLM model independence and stability, ensuring that our clients are not locked into a single technology provider. More importantly, it delivers complete traceability of AI-driven processes offering transparency, accountability, and the ability to monitor and pivot strategies in real time. Enterprise AI is the backbone that supports our AI studios enabling us to offer robust, adaptable, and scalable AI solutions to enterprises around the world. The platform is being implemented to accelerate the software development life cycle in most of our current projects. We have seen outstanding growth in AI-related projects at Globant. In 2024, they contributed over $350 million to our revenue, up 110% from 2023. But technology alone isn't enough. Combining branding with technology creates products that are not just functional but emotionally resonant and culturally relevant. In a world where widespread access to technology led to commoditize localized products, we advocate for merging creative storytelling with tech development to build products that stand out. At Globant, we believe that brand is tech's prompt. A strong brand should be the foundation for technology, ensuring it reflects the company's core values and creates meaningful connections. This approach ensures that technology doesn't just solve problems. It tells stories evokes emotions and builds lasting loyalty. This has been the mission driving the growth of Globant GUT our creative marketing network of studios. Through many smart marketing campaigns with brands ranging from Coca-Cola to MercadoLibre to Verizon. Today, our Globant GUT Network represents close to 10% of our total revenue and is showing strong and sustained growth year-over-year. All these efforts are combined with Globant's Entrepreneurial culture. We want to inspire every Glober to feel like they own the place. I'm sure that this is what was behind our performance in 2024. While our peers reported stagnant growth we broke new records. Annual revenue reached $2.4 billion, up 15.3% over the previous year. Margin also improved. Adjusted operating profit was up by 20 basis points and adjusted diluted EPS grew 11.5% year-over-year to $6.4. As we close 2024, and looking back at our first 10 years as a listed company, Globant delivered a 28.3% compound annual growth rate from 2014. In Q4, total revenue reached $642.5 million. This represents an increase of 10.6% year-over-year and 4.5% quarter-over-quarter. This growth is not just a testament to our resilience, but a reflection of a vision and transformation that goes beyond our competitors. It is the embodiment of our strategy, our relentless pursuit of reinvention, and our ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles. Even if we build this AI powered future, we know that AI requires continuous leadership, technical talent, and a mindset that embraces reinvention as a constant state, not an occasional need. Our people define the goals, guide the agents, and pivot strategies in an environment of constant change. For over two decades, we have challenged the status quo, often seen as outliers in an industry obsessed with the next quick win. We were not building for the next quarter. We were building for the next paradigm. Today, we are creating a company that is both an established force and an agile change maker. We have proven that we are capable of reshaping industries and redefining business models. We are not here to follow the curve. We're here to bend it. Now I'll hand it over to Diego for our technology focus. Thank you very much.

Diego Tartara, Global Chief Technology Officer

Thank you, Martin, and hello, everyone. As Martin mentioned, coupling generative AI with agentic solutions will benefit Globant both as a solutions developer and as a business consultancy. In November, Code Fixer, the AI Agent developed through Globant Enterprise AI to fix bugs and already in use by Globers globally, ranked first in the renowned SWE Benchlight evaluation, confirming its exceptional performance. AI Agents are being leveraged heavily by our industry-specific studios to enhance our value offering and are integral to our partnerships. Over the past six months, Globant has successfully implemented Salesforce Agent Force across multiple industries, driving AI-powered automation and efficiency. For example, we partnered with Spain's top-flight sports organization to enhance fan engagement, with a real estate developer to optimize transportation bookings, and with an employee benefits management company to improve real-time order tracking. With Google, days ago, we presented a new Gen AI solution for retail. AI Retail Search and Recommendations allows customers to interact with their beloved brands using semantic searches and images as references for what they are looking for. Using Vertex Retail API and Gemini, AI retail search and recommendations are designed to enhance personalization, drive conversions, and improve customer services. Also with Google, we recently signed a 3-year strategic partner agreement that has positioned us among the top 10 Google regional system integration partners. Through this collaboration, we are co-developing solutions and go-to-market strategies for key industries, including media, retail, HLS, Airlines, and finance. Now let me share some of the work we are doing for amazing companies around the world. In Mexico, Globant GUT began a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing its e-commerce business. We are integrating technology, data analytics, and creative content to enhance the online shopping experience and boost brand visibility. The 360 scope includes a dedicated data team to ensure campaign relevance, a content team to optimize product visibility on digital platforms, and a retail media strategy aimed at maximizing advertising ROI. This partnership is not just about maintaining leadership, but about innovating the retail experience through technology and creativity. In our vibrant new markets division, Globant has partnered with Red Sea Global, one of Saudi Arabia's most ambitious tourism destinations that will be home to 50 resorts, 8,000 hotel rooms, and 1,000 residential properties by 2030. We will create an advanced digital program designed to transform the connected visitor experience. It will be based on an ecosystem that integrates artificial intelligence, IoT, and data analytics. This connected visitor experience will provide intuitive real-time interactions tailored to individual preferences, ensuring a truly memorable stay. This partnership will pioneer new benchmarks in digital engagement, revolutionizing how travelers interact with destinations. In the health and life sciences sector, we are proud of our growing and transformative partnership with Hollister, a global medtech company. Globant enabled a successful go-live for Hollister's Canada business and looks forward to a continued partnership to implement a global business transformation, including a migration to SAP S/4HANA. Ultimately, this means faster database interaction, real-time insight into business operations, and advanced process automation and efficiency. In Japan, we are working with Arizona Bank Group, one of the country's largest retail banks with 16 million individual customers. They chose GeneXus to support the migration of most of the business operations currently performed through ATMs and financial terminals at brick-and-mortar branches to computers and other electronic devices, offering a better and easier experience to their customers. Arizona Bank Group was able to reduce half of its financial terminals through a lean and quick project. As shown by our work around the globe, Globant is leveraging all significant technologies while exploring new ones on the horizon. I suggest you take a look at Globant's latest tech trends report to learn about synthetic humans, quantum computing, invisible experiences, and robotics and more on our vision over AI-agentic solutions. Adding to what Martin mentioned, Globant is in a unique position to craft a new reinvention of the industry with amazingly talented people, an evolving technological offering, and an agile and disruptive culture. I leave you all with Patricia Pomies, our COO. Thank you very much.

Patricia Pomies, Chief Operating Officer

Thank you, Diego. Globant continues to envision its growth through the strong relationships we cultivate with each client, establishing a proven track record of quality delivery and consistently surpassing their expectations over time. Currently, we have 20 clients generating over $20 million in annual revenue, up from 16 clients one year ago. We have 346 clients contributing more than $1 million annually, 35 more than one year ago. Revenue from our largest client, the Walt Disney Company, increased by a sharp 23.7% year-over-year and 5.1% quarter-over-quarter. Regionally, our most significant growth this quarter came from our new markets region, encompassing our efforts in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, where revenue increased by 43.8% quarter-over-quarter and 89% year-over-year. Year-over-year, Europe showed growth of 23.3%, and North America at 6.5%, but 3.7% sequentially, pointing to some acceleration. Latin America showed a 1.3% decline, but 6.3% growth in constant currency terms. We are reinforcing our go-to-market strategy worldwide in order to maximize the potential of our AI studios, which have been critical in capturing our largest projects throughout this year. Across each region, we are hiring industry-leading talent in key growth sectors that include airlines, BFSI, travel, and hospitality among others. Our objective will be to provide more tailored solutions to our clients that meld the best from both a technology focus and industry-specific knowledge. Our global revenue sources continue to diversify. North America accounts for 55.2% of our top line, followed by Latin America at 20.4%, Europe at 17.7%, and our new markets at 6.7%. Additionally, in Q4, five out of 8 industry verticals experienced sequential growth, with BFSI up by 18.4%, travel and hospitality by 17.1%, health care by 14.6%, consumer, retail and manufacturing by 4.7%, and technology and telecommunications by 2.2%. The essence of Globant lies in our role as transformation partners, collaborating with our clients to drive meaningful change together over time. 2024 saw steps forward in that vision. Our pipeline is strong and continues to grow. Estimated at $2.6 billion in early 2024, it reached a record $3.3 billion by the end of the year. This was mainly driven by our North America division, with the pipeline reaching a record high and bookings growing 8.2% quarter-over-quarter as of Q4. Similarly, in Europe, we are now seeing a strong evolution of both pipeline and bookings activity, with bookings in this region growing by 35.7% sequentially. The strong backlog of work will drive strong momentum for this region throughout the year. We see the later factors combined as indicators that long-term demand is increasing and should eventually turn into higher bookings and revenue acceleration. In Q4, we surpassed a special milestone of 30,000 Globers throughout the world. Our total head count now stands at 31,280, a 7.3% increase over last year, with 29,198 being IT professionals. Our utilization rate is currently at 79.3%, showing a slight decrease against last quarter. Our attrition rate stands at 9.5%. On our path to becoming the world's number one AI partner, we recognize the importance of equipping our teams with the latest proficiency in AI. In December, we launched a new AI Learning Hub, an internal platform that provides essential resources for Globers to access Globant Enterprise AI, our AI accelerator platform, and each AI Agent, and maximize its use in their daily tasks and projects, optimizing operational efficiency and creating value for our clients. We firmly believe technology is a powerful force for inclusion and transformation. In 2020, we committed to providing 15,000 coding scholarships by 2025 through the program Code Your Future. Today, we are very proud to announce that we have reached this goal one year ahead of schedule, empowering people worldwide with digital skills. This milestone reflects our commitment to bridging technology gaps and fostering a more inclusive future. With that, I'll turn it over to Juan to discuss our financials. Thank you, everyone.

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Pato, and good afternoon, everyone. This has been another quarter of strong revenue growth and margin improvement. This strong quarter marks another year of Globant's outstanding performance. Let me go through some of the highlights. Our revenues reached a record level of $642.5 million, up 10.6% year-over-year and 4.5% sequentially within the guidance range. In constant currency, revenue growth stood at 12.6% year-over-year and 5.8% sequentially. We estimate an 8.5% year-on-year revenue growth in organic constant currency terms for Q4. Revenue for the full year was $2,415.7 million, within the guidance range, or 15.3% over the prior year. In constant currency, revenues for the year grew 16.2%, while the organic constant currency growth for 2024 was 9.8%. This strong growth was driven by the expansion of our service offerings and global footprint with important growth contributions from our AI Industry Reinvention Studio Network and our GUT Studio Network, which both posted growth above the company average. We delivered a quarter of improving margins. We closed Q4 with an adjusted gross profit margin of 38.3%, up 30 basis points year-over-year. Our adjusted operating margin at 15.7%, the highest recorded in the past 8 quarters reflected an increase of 40 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted SG&A stood at 18.5%, and our effective tax rate stood at 15.1% for the quarter, resulting in an adjusted net income of $78.7 million, with a 12.2% adjusted net profit margin, up 40 basis points sequentially. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.75, up 8% year-over-year, ending at the higher end of our previous guidance. Regarding our 2024 full year performance, the adjusted gross profit margin was 38.2%, up 10 basis points relative to 2023. Adjusted operating margin closed at 15.4%, up 20 basis points versus the previous year. Adjusted SG&A for the year stood at 18.4%, and our effective tax rate stood at 19.7%, resulting in an adjusted net income of $285.4 million, with an 11.8% adjusted net profit margin. Adjusted diluted EPS was $6.40, up 11.5% year-over-year. Our balance sheet remains healthy, ending the quarter with $156.1 million in cash and short-term investments, or $136.5 million in net debt. As of the end of the year, we had $290.7 million drawn from our $725 million revolving credit facility, and we have ample liquidity to support our growth initiatives. During the fourth quarter, we generated $101.2 million of free cash flow, achieving a free cash flow to adjusted net income ratio of 128.6% for the fourth quarter. On a full year basis, free cash flow was $138.1 million, resulting in a ratio to adjusted net income of 48.4%. Now let's discuss guidance. We will start guiding constant currency, both for the next immediate quarter and the full year, aiming to provide more color into our underlying growth given the current volatility in FX. Regarding Q1, we had already been expecting a more muted start to the year due to lower billable days, negative seasonality, and holidays in the Southern Cone, alongside important project roll-offs in our sports vertical. Additionally, we are now embedding two factors that we were previously not expecting. First, the recent volatility in political and macroeconomic conditions is impacting the demand in Latin America, specifically in Mexico and Brazil. Second, we expect revenues at our top client to be slightly down in Q1, following a very strong investment phase in H2 2024. We are forecasting this account to grow in the mid- to high single-digit range for the year. For Q1, we expect revenues in the range of $618 million to $628 million, which represents an 8.2% to 10% year-over-year increase, or a 10.2% to 12% increase in constant currency, accounting for approximately 200 basis points of FX headwind. For Q1 2025, we expect our adjusted operating margins to be between 15.5% and 16.5%. The IFRS effective income tax rate is expected to be in the 20% to 22% range, and adjusted EPS for the first quarter is now expected to be between $1.55 to $1.63, assuming an average of 45.3 million diluted shares. Moving to the full year guidance and despite the incremental headwinds in Q1, we continue to forecast double-digit growth in constant currency terms for 2025. We see a strong backlog of work ramping up in new markets in Europe, and we are seeing an encouraging expansion of our pipeline in the U.S. This should lead to a recovery of Q2, and revenues to similar levels to Q4. Then we expect a stronger second half as usual in our business. On a reported basis, we are estimating $2.635 billion to $2.75 billion in revenue which represents a 9.1% to 12% year-over-year increase, or a 10.6% to 13.5% increase in constant currency, including approximately 150 basis points of FX headwind. We anticipate adjusted operating margins in the range of 15.5% to 16.5%. The 2025 IFRS effective income tax rate is expected to be in the 20% to 22% range. Finally, our adjusted EPS is expected to be between $6.80 to $7.20, assuming an average of 45.5 million diluted shares outstanding for the year. To conclude, we are very pleased with our 2024 financial performance, which reflects another year of our unique position in the industry. We are excited about 2025, which will be another year of strong growth with improving margins.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

I will take the first question from the line of Jim Schneider from Goldman Sachs.

James Schneider, Analyst

I was wondering if you could maybe comment on the overall demand environment you're seeing on a regional basis. It sounds like things are a little bit stronger in the U.S. and in the Middle East and maybe a little bit weaker or more cautious in Latin America. Maybe talk about the outlook in Europe? And maybe with respect to Latin America, can you maybe talk about some of the factors that would actually cause customer demand to start to get a little bit stronger and for them to release some of the discretionary spending?

Martin Migoya, CEO

Our outlook looks quite promising, with strong demand in the U.S. and a robust pipeline. In Europe, the business is developing well, highlighted by large customers such as a major airline in the U.K. and a significant bank in Ireland, and things are progressing quickly. In new markets, there is much to explore, but we have recently secured substantial contracts with amusement parks and large companies. I'm optimistic about our status in three of our four primary markets. In Latin America, the situation has stabilized; after some political turmoil and challenges in Brazil and Colombia throughout 2024, the pipeline and conversion appear healthier now. Overall, the pipeline remains very strong. Our work related to AI is growing rapidly at 110%. AI significantly impacts nearly everything we do with our developers in front of customers. This shift is creating transformative experiences that necessitate strategic and creative thinking, alongside deep technical expertise. Our technology development is evolving towards AI Agents orchestration, and we have invested more than anyone else in this area over the past decade. Globant is rapidly growing in these sectors. While the conversion rate of our extensive pipeline slowed in the last quarter, we are currently seeing some acceleration. I hope this gives you a clearer understanding of the situation.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

Our next question comes from the line of Puneet Jain from JPMorgan, please go ahead. Your line is open.

Puneet Jain, Analyst

Hey, thanks for taking my question. I wanted to ask about your new clients, specifically in the Middle East, like how should we think about ramp timing on some of those accounts?

Martin Migoya, CEO

We are ramping up, Puneet, as we speak. So the idea now is that those parks and resorts. Some of them are being built, some of them are ready. So technology will start to roll out as we produce it. And it will be like a stronger growth during this year and I think much stronger in 2026. These two years will be very strong coming from Middle East.

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

What is interesting about the Middle East, Puneet is that initially, we were working on parks, amusement parks. Then we got into hospitality, some hotel chains, and other things like that. We're also working on some financial companies and in conversations with some airlines. So little by little, we are being able to tap into different industries in the region, which has a lot of potential.

Puneet Jain, Analyst

No, got it. And can you also talk about pricing trends you are seeing? I'm assuming like the wages perhaps are continuing to increase, are you able to get price increases from your customers to be able to...

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

The pricing market is still challenging. We are being able to get some price increases in those projects, which are extremely focused on selling more or creating incremental income, or incremental revenues from our customers in the type of cost-saving type of project. That's a little bit more complicated and there is more competition there. So on average, I would say that's going to be another year of neutral to low single-digit type of price increases right now.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Maggie Nolan from William Blair, please go ahead.

Maggie Nolan, Analyst

Hi, thank you. I'm curious what you see as the organic growth drivers over the course of 2025? And can you share expectations for what's embedded in the guidance from an organic perspective as well?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

I'll start with the numbers and then the team can provide additional insights. The overall growth for the year is estimated at 10.5% in dollars, or 12% when adjusted for constant currency, accounting for approximately 150 basis points of foreign exchange impact. We anticipate the organic constant currency growth to be around 9.5%, which aligns well with our projections for 2024. This growth will primarily come from new markets that continue to show strong performance, along with good growth levels from Europe. We are also expanding some existing client relationships. We expect to see improvements in conversion rates in the U.S., while Latin America is likely to be the slowest-growing region. With the creative work from our GUT network in combination with our AI studios, we believe this is where significant growth will be generated. We are enthusiastic about the developments in our AI studios, as they are creating solutions influenced by AI that could revolutionize many processes for our clients. This area seems to be where a lot of our future opportunities are emerging. This summarizes where we see potential growth opportunities.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Jamie Friedman from Susquehanna. Jamie, please go ahead.

Jamie Friedman, Analyst

Hi, thank you for the opportunity. I was just wondering how you're thinking about the benefits of automation? How it might be related to the linearity that you're expecting like head count versus revenue? Any inputs on that would be helpful.

Martin Migoya, CEO

Thank you for your question, Jamie. As we advance in AI, productivity, and tools, and as our software development lifecycle agents improve, we are gaining a much clearer understanding of how this enhances our team's productivity. This integration is widespread. We are actively utilizing our AI studios, particularly our AI enterprise platform, which functions as an orchestrating software offering independence from LLMs and traceability of operations. This allows us to break down larger processes into smaller tasks. We are discovering methods to align the performance of these agents with the work we do, moving beyond mere effort. This approach will enable us to evolve, further separating our operations from just our personnel while leveraging AI tools more effectively. As LLMs become increasingly commoditized, the customizations that are readily available and connect with our clients' backend systems will continue to provide significant value. This is how we envision the future. For years, it has been challenging to separate these elements due to licensing and measurement complexities. Now, the tools and technology at our disposal are broadening our capabilities to explore an endless array of opportunities that were previously unattainable. The projects we undertake now differ significantly from those in the past, and the tasks our engineers are performing are also evolving and expanding. It's an incredible time to serve our clients in a new capacity, focusing on our performance rather than merely the effort expended for individual clients. I hope that adds more clarity, and perhaps Diego can...

Diego Tartara, Global Chief Technology Officer

I think that pretty much covers it all, but I just want to add a small comment with regards to that. I think there's kind of a disconnect because the raw technology in this specific case is amazing. Super eye candy, catchy, and super powerful as well. But getting enterprise-ready software means a lot of things. It means security, means stability, means improvements over time operation means connecting to the right system, means building the right experience on top. So even though you may see an LLM performing amazing stuff, building a solution for companies that are enterprise-ready that work on a regulated environment, that's a totally different story, and that's our value. That's where we play.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Jonathan Lee from Guggenheim. Jonathan, please go ahead.

Jonathan Lee, Analyst

Great, thanks for taking my question. Can you talk us through the level of visibility you have in your full year outlook at this point in the year versus that of prior years? And how much of your growth is predicated on hunting for new clients versus farming of existing clients?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

Sure. Thank you, Jonathan. Visibility is similar to last year. I think that the size of the pipeline has improved and has grown quite a lot. Now we need the conversion to accelerate. And eventually, whenever that happens, visibility will get a little bit better. As always, the guidance that we provide has something in the middle, which is the most expected outcome. And then there are some scenarios. I would say that on the low end, that typically, at this point, the main concern is whatever happens in the Latin American business. And if there is any kind of deterioration in any other market that we are not seeing right now. The upper part of the guidance implies clearly an acceleration in the U.S. market, which is the main market for us, implies an acceleration in the deals related to AI, which the pipeline is very, very big. There is a lot of small deals, but we still need to see the conversion to see more or larger deals converting. And that's what we have at the upper part of the guidance. But in general, I would say that visibility is similar to what we had last year at the beginning of the year.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Zachary Ajzenman from TD Cowen. Zach, please go ahead.

Zachary Ajzenman, Analyst

Hey, thanks. This Zack on for Bryan Bergin. Just wanted to dig into the headwinds that recently emerged that were called out, Disney and Latin America. The magnitude? Or are these an equal size? And do you think at this point, they're relatively derisked? And on Disney specifically, on pipeline of bookings. It sounds like once you slows, what's giving you the confidence there?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, I believe I understood your question despite the interruption. Essentially, we were not anticipating two significant factors back in November. First, Disney has performed much better than we expected. Rather than experiencing a flat quarter, Disney saw growth in Q4 compared to Q3 and also year-over-year, achieving a 23% increase in Q4. This growth has impacted our Q1 deals, and we estimate this will affect us by about $5 million to $10 million, leaning closer to the $5 million mark. The second factor is our business in Latin America, which has also contributed to the unexpected outcomes. Overall, these are the two main surprises we faced. However, we feel comfortable with our outlook for Disney this year and project it will reach mid- to high single digits in 2025. Regarding Latin America, there was considerable political activity in Q4, and while some of those issues are starting to settle, we still need to monitor how things develop throughout the year.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Sean Kennedy from Mizuho. Sean, please go ahead.

Sean Kennedy, Analyst

Good evening. Thank you for taking my question. So I was wondering about the top five customer cohort ex-Disney and what was driving some of the underperformance there? And there also seems like there's been a bifurcation between some of the larger customers and smaller customer growth over the past few quarters. So are there any underlying trends like sensitivity to the macro? Or are they more company-specific?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

No. I believe there is a clear link between the performance of the two to five customer segment and our professional services business. Within this group, we have two accounts that are professional services companies. This sector has not shown growth this year, and there is a direct relationship between the two. It is focused on a specific industry. In response to the second part of your question, when we examine our top 20 accounts, the growth rate is quite similar to that seen among our accounts ranked 11 to 20. Therefore, it's important to note that it's not only the top 10, including Disney; accounts ranked 11 to 20, which are also significant customers for us, have been growing well over the past few years and into 2024. For instance, the number of accounts generating over $20 million increased from 16 last year to 20 this year. The number of accounts exceeding $10 million rose from 34 to 44 within a single year, and accounts over $1 million grew from 311 to 346. Overall, we are successfully attracting larger customers across all these segments, which is a key component of our 100-Square strategy. This strategy emphasizes high-potential accounts that can generate multimillion-dollar revenues for us, as these companies require the services we offer.

Patricia Pomies, Chief Operating Officer

This year, we are strengthening the 100-square strategy. We are currently defining and refining this approach with our teams, focusing our best talent and efforts on the biggest accounts that are truly strategic for us. We have been identifying the 100 accounts where we will concentrate our efforts to continue growing and aim for even greater growth than we currently see in our 21 accounts.

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

Just I was looking at just on the numbers that I wanted to share with you, Sean. When you look at top one, we have very strong growth in the quarter, 23%. As you pointed out, the top 10 is impacted by 2% to 5%. When you go, for example, to 11 to 20, the growth was 17%. So there is a lot of big accounts that are also performing very, very well. The issue that we're having in the two to five is very much concentrated in a few names.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Surinder Thind from Jefferies. Thank you.

Surinder Thind, Analyst

Just following up on the prior question. You guys have had a lot of success over the last couple of years in terms of the outperformance where you've won some important clients and those clients really scaled. When I think about the growth rate as we look at '25 versus '24 versus '23, is there some sort of an impact that we should be thinking about as some of these larger project wins from the years past start to scale down that creates headwinds that we should be aware of? It just seems there's a bit more volatility in the P&L the last couple of years towards year-end? Or you're starting to feel like call out more clients where a client maybe starts to wind down or something like that. How should we think about that relative to how it's been in the past?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

If I can begin, Martin, the last three years have been quite different from the previous 15 years. In those earlier years, nearly every industry in every region was seeing growth and most companies were expanding. However, after COVID, we observed that some companies or industries have been performing better than others. For a period, travel and hospitality thrived post-COVID, while technology and telecommunications, alongside professional services, have lagged over the past three years. On a positive note, there has been a significant recovery in banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), and healthcare has shown strong performance recently. The point I want to make is that we are now witnessing varied behaviors across different industries and regions. For instance, new markets are experiencing growth, whereas in Europe and the U.S., some areas are flourishing while others are not. This indicates we are in a more volatile market, which can affect some of our larger customers. However, our company remains very diversified. Our top accounts span various sectors including media, banking, professional services, travel, manufacturing, and retail. It's true that one sector may perform better in one year and then shift, but generally, most of our major accounts have been longstanding, multimillion-dollar partnerships. They may fluctuate slightly quarter to quarter, but those are precisely the kinds of customers we aim to work with.

Martin Migoya, CEO

Yes. And as their needs change and evolve. I would say that it's not about thinking of a single project that never ends. I mean, projects are constantly turning over. And those projects are constantly changing also adapt to the incredible way in which new technologies are being adopted and Globant offering is following that. And in many cases, we are way ahead of what's going on. So that relationship is constantly being fitted by our capacity of expanding our offering into new areas in which we were not doing anything. So you must think about us as a company that is leveraging in full the relationships we have with our key customers, and trying to shape our offer to what's coming and to what those customers are needing. So this is the fuel that maintains our capacity of keeping on growing those accounts and those relationships.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Divya Goyal from Scotiabank. Divya, please go ahead.

Divya Goyal, Analyst

Good afternoon, everyone. So I wanted to actually build on to this theme of client discussion that we are having. Could you help us understand on the AI implementation stage, what exactly are you seeing or hearing from the clients when you speak to them? What is going on in their minds? And how are they trying to balance this macroeconomic uncertainty, tariffs, with the digital advancements that they are seeing to some challenges, some opportunities that they are facing? And how is that benefiting or impacting Globant for that matter?

Diego Tartara, Global Chief Technology Officer

I appreciate the question; it's very relevant as there's been a significant change over the past few years. We're observing that demand is increasingly leaning towards enterprise services. This shift relates more to operational efficiency than product development. The adoption of AI aligns with this, focusing on improving enterprise workflows and efficiencies rather than product innovation, which may eventually have a substantial effect. This consumption trend is a key factor hindering Globant from reaching its full potential. Globant is recognized for creating exceptional experiences and aiding clients in connecting with consumers, but we still need to achieve that fully. Interestingly, Salesforce expressed similar observations regarding market dynamics. Additionally, there has been a shift in predictability regarding budgeting and forecasting. Previously, companies focused on product evolution and long-term investments for teams dedicated to specific lines. Now, there’s a growing trend toward shorter, more flexible contracts, often on a per-mandate basis, which sometimes leads to uncertainty and increased volatility.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

The next question comes from the line of Arvind Ramnani from Piper Sandler. Arvind, please go ahead.

Arvind Ramnani, Analyst

Thanks for taking my question. I guess kind of what I was trying to figure out is like when you think about your commentary, it sounds a lot better than what it was 12 months back, but the growth rates are not necessarily a lot better than what it was like 12 months ago. So it just feels like the your kind of targets don't reflect like how positive you seem to be about the overall business?

Juan Urthiague, Chief Financial Officer

I believe there are a couple of important points to consider. First, when we examine our guidance for the year in organic constant currency terms, it closely aligns with the figures we reported for '24. We anticipate total growth of 12% in constant currency, which we view positively based on our organic results. The excitement surrounding our industry right now is evident, particularly in the opportunities arising from new technologies and how they enable Globant to engage with clients on their transitions. Additionally, we’ve seen the U.S. expanding its pipeline. While we need to enhance our conversion rates, the presence of these deals and opportunities boosts our optimism. Ultimately, these efforts must translate into revenue growth. The developments in the new market are encouraging as well, albeit from a smaller base, offering various opportunities in the projects we are securing. For instance, the recent large-scale project with the Clippers has been a standout experience that has garnered significant attention, leading to discussions with other potential clients. Overall, technological advancements tend to benefit companies like ours, fueling our excitement. While our numbers remain similar to those in organic terms compared to '24, I’m not sure if Martin would like to add anything further.

Martin Migoya, CEO

No. Thank you, Juan. I believe that is an excellent performance for the industry. There are many changes occurring, and given our size and various types of engagements, I think we are achieving organic growth at the same level as last year, which was a record. This has led to record EPS growth and record revenue growth. It clearly demonstrates our preparedness for future developments in the industry. That's the additional insight I wanted to share.

Arturo Langa, Investor Relations Officer

So that will be all for the Q&A session of today. Thank you all. And now I will ask Martin to provide some closing remarks. Martin, please go ahead.

Martin Migoya, CEO

Thank you so much. Really looking forward to seeing you next quarter, and thank you very much for your coverage. Bye-bye.