Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $203.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.38 million. Appian had a net margin of 0.12% and a negative return on equity of 26.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. Appian updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.040-1.120 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 0.310-0.350 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Appian’s conference call:

• Q2 results exceeded guidance: Cloud subscription revenue rose 21% year over year to $106.9 million, total revenue increased 17% to $170.6 million, and adjusted EBITDA reached $8.1 million versus guidance for a loss.
• Appian cited strong momentum from its upmarket strategy and AI offerings, with most seven-figure software deals including AI license tiers and a 25% AI upcharge. Management said AI is improving pipeline, bookings, pricing, and the value proposition across new and existing industries.
• The company raised its full-year 2025 outlook to $429–$433 million in cloud subscription revenue, $695–$703 million in total revenue, and $49–$55 million in adjusted EBITDA, supported by sales productivity gains and disciplined expense management.
• Appian reported strong first-half federal-sector performance and sees a significant opportunity in AI-enabled legacy application modernization. Management highlighted several large customer wins and expansions, including a healthcare agency expected to save $38 million annually.
• Cloud subscription net retention declined to 111% from 118% a year ago, which management attributed partly to prior downsells; subscription gross margin also fell to 87% from 89% in the prior quarter. The company is gradually shifting away from seat-based pricing toward consumption models as AI may reduce application user counts.

Appian Trading Up 1.5%

Appian stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,731,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 836,234. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,044.04 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.27. Appian has a 52 week low of $18.63 and a 52 week high of $46.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on APPN shares. UBS Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Appian in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Appian from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Appian from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Appian from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $41.00) on shares of Appian in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Matthew W. Calkins sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.72, for a total value of $1,236,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,719,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,497,239.68. This represents a 2.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Mark Dorsey purchased 5,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $99,992.51. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive directly owned 13,993 shares in the company, valued at $267,686.09. This trade represents a 59.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 42.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Appian

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APPN. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Appian by 18.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 302,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,721,000 after purchasing an additional 48,014 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Appian by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 385,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,113,000 after buying an additional 8,319 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Appian by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 90,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after buying an additional 2,244 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Appian by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 208,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Appian by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.70% of the company’s stock.

Appian Company Profile

Appian Corporation is a global technology company specializing in low-code automation platforms designed to streamline business processes. Founded in 1999 by Matt Calkins, the company provides an integrated suite of tools that enables organizations to build enterprise applications and workflows rapidly with minimal hand coding. The platform combines process management, robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and data integration into a single environment, allowing businesses to accelerate digital transformation initiatives.

The core offering, the Appian Low-Code Platform, empowers users—ranging from professional developers to business analysts—to visually model, design and deploy applications that can automate complex operations, orchestrate tasks across systems, and deliver real-time analytics.