Latest news with #AvishaiAbrahami
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wix.com Sees Strong Growth Ahead With Base44 Acquisition, Expanding AI Markets
SaaS website builder platform (NASDAQ:WIX) stock gained after it reported its fiscal second-quarter 2025 results on Wednesday. The quarterly revenue grew 12% year-over-year (Y/Y) to $489.93 million, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $487.47 million. Adjusted EPS of $2.28 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.74. Creative Subscription revenue increased 11% Y/Y to $345.5 million. Creative Subscriptions bookings climbed 11% Y/Y to $364.9 million. Creative Subscriptions Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) was $1.41 billion, up 10% Y/ revenue in the quarter was $183.3 million, up 24% Y/Y. Business Solutions' revenue rose 17% Y/Y to $144.5 million, and bookings jumped 12% Y/Y to $145.1 million. The adjusted gross margin grew by 200 bps to 70%. During the quarter, generated $150.3 million in operating cash flow and held $1.00 billion in cash and equivalents. Wix co-founder and CEO Avishai Abrahami said accelerating demand for AI-powered content creation continues to drive momentum across the platform, with users building more advanced projects at faster speeds. This growth pushed new cohort bookings to their highest levels since the pandemic peak. Abrahami noted that Wix is expanding beyond websites into new AI-driven markets like vibe coding. View more earnings on WIX He highlighted the Base44 acquisition as a key strategic move, giving Wix immediate access to the application development space. Outlook 'Our strong first-half performance reinforces our confidence in accelerating growth throughout the remainder of 2025, supported by a stable and positive macroeconomic environment. Strong momentum in the core Wix business, driven by new cohort outperformance, is further bolstered by our entry into a new rapidly-growing TAM through our recent acquisition of Base44,' the company said in a press release. revised its fiscal 2025 revenue outlook to $1.975 billion-$2.000 billion (prior $1.97 billion-$2.00 billion) versus the analyst consensus estimate of $1.987 billion and bookings of $2.040 billion-$2.075 billion (prior $2.03 billion-$2.06 billion). The company reiterated free cash flow outlook, excluding headquarters costs, of $595 million-$610 million. expects third-quarter fiscal 2025 revenue of $498.00 million-$504.00 million versus the analyst consensus estimate of $502.33 million. For the full year 2025, the company now expects an adjusted total gross margin of ~69% and adjusted operating expenses to be ~49% of revenue. This reflects higher cost of revenue and operating expenses than previously anticipated as a result of incremental ongoing AI, marketing, and headcount investments the company plans to make to operate, integrate, and grow Base44. The stock plunged over 40% year-to-date as it failed to reach the revenue analyst estimate in three out of the last four quarters. Price Action: WIX stock is trading higher by 10.9% to $142 premarket at last check Wednesday. Photo by Teo K via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Sees Strong Growth Ahead With Base44 Acquisition, Expanding AI Markets originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Top 5 Analyst Questions From Wix's Q1 Earnings Call
Wix's first quarter results for 2025 were met with a sharply negative market reaction, despite management citing robust new user bookings and notable product innovation. CEO Avishai Abrahami credited the quarter's performance to continued demand across key geographies, the successful rollout of new AI-powered tools, and a stronger-than-expected new user cohort. Management was cautious in tone, acknowledging macroeconomic uncertainty could impact the durability of recent growth. Is now the time to buy WIX? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $473.7 million vs analyst estimates of $471.9 million (12.8% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $1.55 vs analyst expectations of $1.66 (6.4% miss) Adjusted Operating Income: $99.84 million vs analyst estimates of $94.63 million (21.1% margin, 5.5% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $1.99 billion at the midpoint Operating Margin: 7.9%, up from 2.3% in the same quarter last year Billings: $510.9 million at quarter end, up 11.7% year on year Market Capitalization: $9.15 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Ygal Arounian (Citigroup) asked about the monetization potential and market reach for Wixel. CEO Avishai Abrahami explained that Wixel is a separate subscription product targeting both Wix users and a broader creative audience, but he emphasized it is early in its adoption cycle. Ken Wong (Oppenheimer) sought clarity on the conservatism in guidance despite strong April and May trends. CFO Lior Shemesh responded that macro factors outside of Wix's control prompted a cautious approach to outlook, even as core business metrics remain strong. John Byun (Jefferies) questioned the deceleration in Partners revenue growth and the distribution approach for Wixel. Shemesh cited foreign exchange and GPV trends as reasons for slower growth, while Abrahami outlined a multi-channel marketing strategy for Wixel's launch. Elizabeth Porter (Morgan Stanley) probed what differentiates Wixel from established design software and the rationale for its pricing. Abrahami highlighted Wixel's AI-first approach and unique user interface, designed for the future of content editing rather than replicating existing tools. Brad Erickson (RBC Capital Markets) inquired about the impact of AI agents on website structure and the future mix between Partners and self-creators. Abrahami suggested current buyer behavior remains steady, with AI likely to increase complexity but not fundamentally alter the split in the near term. Looking ahead, our analysts will be closely watching (1) the pace of adoption and monetization for Wixel and Astro, (2) whether strong new user cohort trends continue through the rest of the year, and (3) the resilience of the Business Solutions segment as economic conditions evolve. Progress on AI-powered product rollouts, as well as the effectiveness of expanded marketing efforts, will also serve as key indicators of execution. Wix currently trades at $163.66, down from $182.01 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock?Find out in our full research report (it's free). Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump's presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth. While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we're leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wix Further Expands into Vibe Coding with Acquisition of Base44, a Hyper-Growth Startup that Simplifies Web and App Creation with AI
Wix Acquires Base44 Base44 delivers effortless, code-free digital creation through an intuitive, conversational AI experience, which is expected to expand Wix's reach to new audiences worldwide NEW YORK-- Today Ltd. (Nasdaq: WIX), the leading SaaS website builder platform globally1, announced its acquisition of Base44, an AI-powered platform that enables anyone to create fully-functional, custom software solutions and applications using natural language, without the need for traditional coding. The acquisition adds a powerful new arm to Wix's AI portfolio, expanding its suite of intelligent solutions that empower anyone to build and grow online. The tech landscape is undergoing a major transformation as vibe coding gains momentum, shifting creation from manual development to intent-driven software development. This new approach allows people to simply express what they want to build, while intelligent agents do the heavy lifting. As demand grows for tools that turn ideas into reality through conversation and intuition rather than code, Wix is working to make the digital world more accessible and creative than ever before. Read CEO Avishai Abrahami's blog about his vision and the way Wix is shaping this future here. Base44's unique approach offers a fully automated, chat-based interface that manages technical details behind the scenes, from databases and authentication to deployment – removing the need for third-party integrations or manual setup. This groundbreaking approach opens the door for anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to create production-ready, scalable applications quickly and effortlessly. With proven traction in the market, including B2B partnerships with leaders like eToro and SimilarWeb, Base44 is a powerful addition to the Wix AI portfolio – furthering the company's mission to make innovation accessible to creators and businesses worldwide. 'This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone in Wix's commitment to transforming creation online,' said Avishai Abrahami, CEO and Co-founder of Wix. 'Maor and his team at Base44 bring cutting-edge technology, strong market penetration, and visionary leadership that seamlessly align with Wix's dedication to enabling users at all levels of expertise to express their intent while intelligent agents manage execution. Maor's exceptional talent and innovative mindset will reinforce Wix's mission to push the boundaries of AI-driven creation and accelerate the evolution of intuitive, intelligent tools that redefine how digital experiences are built and enjoyed.' 'I honestly can't think of a better fit. Wix is probably the only company that can help Base44 achieve the scale and distribution it needs while maintaining, if not accelerating, our product velocity," said Maor Shlomo, CEO of Base44. 'Our market is massive. It has the potential to replace entire software categories by enabling people to create software instead of buying it. Wix's DNA – its customer obsession, innovation, and speed – perfectly aligns with ours, and its scale will catapult Base44 forward at exactly the right time.' Base44 will continue to operate as a distinct product and business, maintaining its unique identity and momentum while benefiting from the scale and support of Wix. Transaction Terms Under the terms of the agreement, Wix acquired Base44 for initial consideration of approximately $80 million plus additional earn-out payments paid through 2029 predicated upon certain performance metrics. We expect this transaction to have an inconsequential contribution to 2025 bookings and revenue. We expect to incur approximately $25 million in retention bonus payments paid to Base44 employees in 2025 as part of the above initial consideration paid on the transaction, which will be excluded from non-GAAP and free cash flow (FCF) Ltd. Wix is the leading SaaS website builder platform1 to create, manage and grow a digital presence. Founded in 2006, Wix is a comprehensive platform providing users - self-creators, agencies, enterprises, and more - with industry-leading performance, security, AI capabilities and a reliable infrastructure. Offering a wide range of commerce and business solutions, advanced SEO and marketing tools, the platform enables users to take full ownership of their brand, their data and their relationships with their customers. With a focus on continuous innovation and delivery of new features and products, users can seamlessly build a powerful and high-end digital presence for themselves or their clients. For more about Wix, please visit our Press RoomMedia Relations Contact: PR@ 1 Based on number of active live sites as reported by competitors' figures, independent third-party data and internal data as of Q1 Base44Base44 is an innovative AI-powered platform that enables users to build custom software applications effortlessly using natural language, eliminating the need for traditional coding. Founded with a vision to democratize software creation, Base44 combines cutting-edge AI technologies—including code generation and multi-agent orchestration—to empower self-creators, developers, and businesses to rapidly design, deploy, and scale tailored digital solutions. With a growing user base and a focus on seamless, intuitive experiences, Base44 drives the future of no-code development by unlocking new levels of creativity and efficiency for a diverse range of Statements This document contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by words like 'anticipate,' 'assume,' 'believe,' 'aim,' 'forecast,' 'indication,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'plan,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'subject,' 'project,' 'outlook,' 'future,' 'will,' 'seek' and similar terms or phrases. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on management's current expectations, which are subject to uncertainty, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, our ability to achieve the expected benefits from the acquisition of Base44, our ability to attract and retain registered users and partners, and generate new premium subscriptions and additional business solutions as we continuously adjust our marketing strategy and customer care; maintenance of our brand and reputation, and generation of revenue from sources other than premium subscriptions; risks associated with international operations and the use of platform in various countries; risks related to the macroeconomic environment and ongoing global conflicts; security risks and payment risks and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; failures of third-party hardware, software and infrastructure on which we rely, or failure to manage the operation of our infrastructure; adverse market conditions, including inflation, interest rates and other adverse developments that may adversely affect our cash balances and investment portfolio; our history of operating losses and inability to achieve sustained profitability; downturns or upturns in sales are not immediately reflected in full in our operating results; our ability to repurchase our ordinary shares and/or 0.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 pursuant to our repurchase program; our ability to raise capital when needed or on acceptable terms; risks related to acquisitions and investments, pricing decisions, pandemics, natural disasters and other catastrophic events; our ability to develop and introduce new products and services, as well as maintain third-party products and our ability to keep up with rapid changes in design and technology; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; our ability to attract a diversified customer base and increased competition; our ability to maintain compatibility of our platform and solutions with changes in third-party applications and changes to technologies used in our solutions; our ability to acquire and service small business users; risks related to security breaches and unauthorized access to data or cyberattacks; our expectation regarding the uncertain future relationship between the United States and other countries with respect to trade policies, taxes, government regulations, and tariffs; our ability to comply with the regulations applicable to our operations, including new governmental regulations regarding the internet, consumer protection, artificial intelligence ('AI'), privacy and data protection laws and regulations, as well as contractual privacy and data protection obligations; risks relating to intellectual property, including infringements, litigation and claims, and our ability to maintain and protect our intellectual property rights and proprietary information; our expectations regarding the outcome of any regulatory investigation or litigation, including class actions; risks related to the development and integration of AI, generative AI, agentic AI, machine learning, and similar tools into our offerings, and compliance with the regulatory environment impacting AI and AI-related activities; risks related to activities of registered users or content of their websites, and risks related to domain names and industry regulations; risks related to compliance with laws and regulations, including those related to economic sanctions, tariffs, export controls, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering, antitrust, and consumer protection, and changes in these laws and regulations; risks related to tax, including application of indirect taxes, tax laws, changes in tax laws or changes in provision for income tax and examination of income tax returns; risks related to ordinary shares, activist shareholders, and our status as a foreign private issuer; risks related to our incorporation and location in Israel, including conflicts in the area; our expectations regarding future changes in our cost of revenues and our operating expenses on an absolute basis and as a percentage of our revenues; our planned level of capital expenditures and our belief that our existing cash and cash from operations will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months and for the foreseeable future; and our ability to enter into new markets and attract new customer demographics, including our ability to successfully attract new partners and large enterprise-level users and to grow our activities, including through the adoption of our Wix Studio product, with these customer types as anticipated and other factors discussed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2025. The preceding list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of the risks that may impact our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release speaks only as of the date hereof. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or Wix Acquires Base44
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wix (NASDAQ:WIX) Posts Q1 Sales In Line With Estimates But Quarterly Revenue Guidance Slightly Misses Expectations
Website design and e-commerce platform provider (NASDAQ:WIX) met Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 12.8% year on year to $473.7 million. On the other hand, next quarter's revenue guidance of $487 million was less impressive, coming in 0.6% below analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.55 per share was 6.4% below analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Wix? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $473.7 million vs analyst estimates of $471.9 million (12.8% year-on-year growth, in line) Adjusted EPS: $1.55 vs analyst expectations of $1.66 (6.4% miss) Adjusted Operating Income: $99.84 million vs analyst estimates of $94.63 million (21.1% margin, 5.5% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $1.99 billion at the midpoint Operating Margin: 7.9%, up from 2.3% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow Margin: 30.1%, up from 28.6% in the previous quarter Market Capitalization: $10.16 billion 'This year we are setting out to reimagine and expand the online creation experience and have set the bar high with the milestone release of Wixel, which I believe will democratize digital creation,' said Avishai Abrahami, Wix Co-founder and CEO. Founded in 2006 in Tel Aviv, (NASDAQ:WIX) offers a free and easy to operate website building platform. Reviewing a company's long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Over the last three years, Wix grew its sales at a 11.5% compounded annual growth rate. Although this growth is acceptable on an absolute basis, it fell short of our standards for the software sector, which enjoys a number of secular tailwinds. This quarter, Wix's year-on-year revenue growth was 12.8%, and its $473.7 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street's estimates. Company management is currently guiding for a 11.8% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter. Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 12.7% over the next 12 months, similar to its three-year rate. This projection is above average for the sector and suggests its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance. Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we've identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link. The customer acquisition cost (CAC) payback period represents the months required to recover the cost of acquiring a new customer. Essentially, it's the break-even point for sales and marketing investments. A shorter CAC payback period is ideal, as it implies better returns on investment and business scalability. Wix is efficient at acquiring new customers, and its CAC payback period checked in at 36.6 months this quarter. The company's relatively fast recovery of its customer acquisition costs means it can attempt to spur growth by increasing its sales and marketing investments. We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missed and its full-year revenue guidance was in line with Wall Street's estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded down 2.8% to $177 immediately following the results. Wix's earnings report left more to be desired. Let's look forward to see if this quarter has created an opportunity to buy the stock. What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI21 Introduces Maestro, the World's First AI Planning and Orchestration System Built for the Enterprise
AI21 is leading the shift from LLMs and Reasoning models to planning AI systems. Maestro increases the accuracy of GPT-4o and Claude Sonnet 3.5 by up to 50% on complex, multi-requirement tasks, transforming AI from an unpredictable tool to a trustworthy system. LAS VEGAS, March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- AI21, a pioneer in frontier models and AI systems, today unveiled Maestro, the world's first AI Planning and Orchestration System designed to deliver trustworthy AI at scale for organizations. Introduced at the HumanX 2025 conference, Maestro marks a significant advancement in enterprise AI, boosting the instruction-following accuracy of paired Large Language Models (LLMs) by up to 50% and ensuring guaranteed quality, reliability, and observability. This technology transcends the limitations of traditional LLMs and Large Reasoning Models (LRMs), setting a new benchmark for AI capabilities. Maestro delivers a substantial improvement in LLM performance on complex tasks. It elevates the accuracy of models like GPT-4o and Claude Sonnet 3.5 by up to 50% and empowers reasoning models, such as o3-mini, to surpass 95% accuracy. Notably, Maestro bridges the performance gap between non-reasoning and reasoning models, aligning the accuracy of Claude Sonnet 3.5 with advanced reasoning models like o3-mini. While enterprises are eager to integrate AI into their operations, large-scale generative AI deployments often falter. According to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) CDO Agenda 2024, only 6% of organizations have a generative AI application in deployment, highlighting the fundamental limitations of current AI solutions for mission-critical tasks. The prevailing approaches—"Prompt and Pray" and hard-coded chains—present significant challenges. The "Prompt and Pray" method, which relies on LLMs and LRMs to execute open-ended tasks, lacks control and reliability due to the probabilistic nature of these models. Hard-coded chains, while more predictable, are rigid, labor-intensive, and prone to failure under changing conditions. Reasoning models, designed to solve complex tasks through thinking tokens, have not alleviated these issues. They exhibit inconsistent performance, struggle to adhere to instructions, and fail to reliably utilize tools. Consequently, none of these approaches delivers the accuracy, reliability, and adaptability essential for widespread enterprise adoption. "Mass adoption of AI by enterprises is the key to the next industrial revolution," said Ori Goshen, Co-CEO of AI21. "AI21's Maestro is the first step toward that future – moving beyond the unpredictability of available solutions to deliver AI that is reliable at scale. Delivering complex decision-making with built-in quality control, it enables businesses to harness AI with confidence. This is how we bridge the gap between AI potential and real-world solutions." "Wix is leading the charge in LLM adoption, powering hundreds of AI applications," said Avishai Abrahami, CEO of WIX. "Maestro ushers in a new era of agentic AI – striking a necessary balance between quality, control, and trust that could be a key factor in our ability to develop trustworthy AI applications at scale." "The potential of enterprise AI lies in balancing innovation with reliability," said Elad Tsur, Chief AI Officer at Applied Systems. "AI21 Maestro is a promising step toward making AI more controllable and useful for business applications, bridging the gap between powerful AI models and real-world enterprise needs." Maestro, powered by the AI Planning and Orchestration System (AIPOS), delivers reliable, system-level AI by integrating LLMs or LRMs into a framework that analyzes actions, plans solutions, and validates results. This framework learns the enterprise environment to ensure accuracy and efficiency, allowing builders to define requirements and obtain results that meet their criteria within seconds. By eliminating the need for prompt engineering and rigid workflows, Maestro delivers on the promise of truly trustworthy AI. Request early access to Maestro API by visiting About AI21AI21 is a pioneer in Foundation Models and AI Systems designed for enterprises. AI21's mission is to create trustworthy artificial intelligence that powers humanity towards superproductivity. Founded in 2017 by AI visionaries Prof. Amnon Shashua, Prof. Yoav Shoham, and Ori Goshen, AI21 has secured $336 million in funding from industry leaders, including NVIDIA, Google, and Intel, reinforcing its commitment to advancing AI innovation. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE AI21 Labs
