Dean Stoecker sees the global army of data analytics experts using Alteryx Inc.’s software getting younger and younger.
“We have a lot of our employees who teach their kids Alteryx,” the company’s chief executive told the Business Journal last week, days after announcing another quarter of superfast growth that topped Wall Street expectations.
“We believe that everyone K-12 should be teaching on Alteryx,” he said. To help spread the Alteryx curriculum, the company has offered its product free-of-charge to many area institutions.
“One of the most popular classes at UCI is being taught on Alteryx,” Stoecker said. “We’re confident that academia and every data worker needs to engage in this.
“The most important skill set for the 21st century is having a data science and analytics skill set,” Stoecker said.
Share Surge
Users old and new are increasingly using the company’s software, which enables them to manipulate huge amounts of data to find insights for business decisions.
The company (NYSE: AYX) recently reported its fourth-quarter revenue jumped 75% year-over-year to $156.5 million, while earnings per share were also well above estimates.
The market capitalization of Alteryx recently broke through $10 billion for the first time ever; only three Orange County-based public companies currently hold that distinction. Stoecker’s nearly 14% stake in the company means he is now firmly in the billionaire ranks.
Shares of the company, which went public in 2017, have gained more than 40% this year. Alteryx was valued at about $9.8 billion as of late last week.
Revenue Boost
It’s not just stock price that’s growing. As it expands globally among an army of so-called data engineers—a new type of corporate user that’s gaining importance in the business world, Stoecker says—the company is predicting revenue may increase as much as 35% this year.
Alteryx placed No. 1 on the Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing midsize public companies last year, which ranked local firms with between $100 million and $500 million in annual revenue.
2019 revenue was $418 million, an increase of 65% year-over-year. This year, it projects between $555 million and $565 million, growth of approximately 33% to 35%.
It’ll be moving to a new list—fast-growing large public companies—soon, the CEO said.
“I believe that we can get to a billion dollars in revenue some time in 2022,” Stoecker said.
PwC Alliance
One source of new revenue: Alteryx is collaborating with professional services giant PwC as its first global elite partner to help with the digital transformation for major companies.
“We help PwC digitally transform themselves, and now they’re ready to take that digital transformation playbook to their customers around the world,” Stoecker said.
Stoecker told analysts during the company’s latest earnings call this month that the global elite program could bring in $1 billion in bookings over a five-year period. A booking refers to the dollar value of business that the company closes in any given period.
The company already counts its share of fanatics and hardcore users: it is expecting almost 7,000 participants at its annual Analyticon conference this June in New Orleans. The event is described as an “inclusive festival experience” of analytics experts.
Stoecker sees “tremendous opportunities” ahead, with “only” about 6,100 customers globally so far after going public almost three years ago.
Notable new customers include Caesars Entertainment, Canadian Pacific Railway, Emerson Electric, Halliburton, Komatsu and Nasdaq.
Competition
There are more companies coming into the data analytics field. Wedbush Securities, for example, which follows Alteryx, said in a note to clients it sees “longer-term competition with Tableau Prep or Microsoft PowerBI.”
Alteryx in its 2019 annual report, filed this month, said that “in many cases our primary competitors are manual, spreadsheet-driven processes and custom-built approaches,” while challenges in one or more areas also come from IBM, Oracle, SAP SE and SAS Institute Inc. of North Carolina in addition to Microsoft.
Rapid Consolidation
The company has its eye on possible acquisitions, though Stoecker didn’t mention any names.
“I think what we’re beginning to see is a rapid consolidation in the space,” Stoecker told analysts.
Irvine Hub
What about the possibility of being acquired?
“I never really consider that,” Stoecker responded. “We’re now at a size where [there are] fewer and fewer people who could afford us.”
