Technology
Avantor® Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results
Published
2 years agoon
By
Net sales of $1.70 billion, decrease of 2.4%; organic decline of 2.0%Net income of $93 million; Adjusted EBITDA of $306 millionDiluted GAAP EPS of $0.14; adjusted EPS of $0.25Operating cash flow of $281 million; free cash flow of $235 million
RADNOR, Pa., July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technology industries, today reported financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2024.
“Our teams delivered another solid quarter with sequential improvements to all key financial metrics. Improved mix from increased bioprocessing revenue together with the accelerated impact of our cost transformation initiative drove more than 100 basis points of sequential Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, while disciplined working capital management led to free cash flow conversion above 100%,” said Michael Stubblefield, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We are reaffirming our fiscal year 2024 guidance and remain focused on executing our long-term growth strategy and delivering value to our customers and shareholders,” Stubblefield concluded.
Second Quarter 2024
For the three months ended June 30, 2024, net sales were $1,702.8 million, a decrease of 2.4% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of 0.4%, resulting in a sales decline of 2.0% on an organic basis.
Net income increased to $92.9 million from ($7.3) million in the second quarter of 2023, and adjusted net income was $168.0 million as compared to $186.4 million in the comparable prior period. Net Income margin was 5.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was $305.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.9%. Adjusted Operating Income was $277.2 million and Adjusted Operating Income margin was 16.3%.
Diluted earnings per share on a GAAP basis was $0.14, while adjusted EPS was $0.25.
Operating cash flow was $281.1 million, while free cash flow was $235.3 million. Adjusted net leverage was 3.9x as of June 30, 2024.
Second Quarter 2024 – Segment Results
Laboratory Solutions
Net sales were $1,155.7 million, a reported decrease of 3.2%, as compared to $1,193.8 million in the second quarter of 2023. Sales declined 2.7% on an organic basis.Adjusted Operating Income was $150.9 million as compared to $179.7 million in the comparable prior period. Adjusted Operating Income margin was 13.1%.
Bioscience Production
Net sales were $547.1 million, a reported decrease of 0.5%, as compared to $550.1 million in the second quarter of 2023. Sales declined 0.3% on an organic basis.Adjusted Operating Income was $144.0 million, as compared to $154.2 million in the comparable prior period. Adjusted Operating Income margin was 26.3%.
Adjusted Operating Income is Avantor’s segment reporting profitability measure under generally accepted accounting principles and is used by management to measure and evaluate the performance of our Company’s business segments.
Conference Call
We will host a conference call to discuss our results today, July 26, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The live webcast and presentation, as well as a replay, will be available on the investor section of Avantor’s website.
About Avantor
Avantor® is a leading life science tools company and global provider of mission-critical products and services to the life sciences and advanced technology industries. We work side-by-side with customers at every step of the scientific journey to enable breakthroughs in medicine, healthcare, and technology. Our portfolio is used in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities at more than 300,000 customer locations in 180 countries. For more information, visit avantorsciences.com and find us on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To evaluate our performance, we monitor a number of key indicators. As appropriate, we supplement our results of operations determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) with certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are useful to investors, creditors and others in assessing our performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for reported GAAP results because they may include or exclude certain items as compared to similar GAAP-based measures, and such measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Rather, these measures should be considered as an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that provide a more complete understanding of our business. We strongly encourage investors to review our consolidated financial statements included in reports filed with the SEC in their entirety and not rely solely on any one single financial measure or communication.
The non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are sales growth (decline) on an organic basis, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Income margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, adjusted net leverage, free cash flow, and free cash flow conversion.
Sales growth (decline) on an organic basis eliminates from our reported net sales growth (decline) the impacts of revenues from any acquired businesses that have been owned for less than one year and changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We believe that this measure is useful to investors as a way to measure and evaluate our underlying commercial operating performance consistently across our segments and the periods presented. This measure is used by our management for the same reason.Adjusted Operating Income is our net income or loss adjusted for the following items: (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense, (iii) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (iv) losses on extinguishment of debt, (v) charges associated with the impairment of certain assets, (vi) and certain other adjustments. Adjusted Operating Income margin is Adjusted Operating Income divided by net sales as determined under GAAP. We believe that these measures are useful to investors as ways to analyze the underlying trends in our business consistently across the periods presented. These measures are used by our management for the same reason. Additionally, Adjusted Operating Income is our segment reporting profitability measure under GAAP.Adjusted EBITDA is our net income or loss adjusted for the following items: (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense, (iii) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (iv) depreciation expense, (v) losses on extinguishment of debt, (vi) charges associated with the impairment of certain assets, (vii) and certain other adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales as determined under GAAP. We believe that these measures are useful to investors as ways to analyze the underlying trends in our business consistently across the periods presented. These measures are used by our management for the same reason.Adjusted net income is our net income or loss first adjusted for the following items: (i) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (ii) losses on extinguishment of debt, (iii) charges associated with the impairment of certain assets, (iv) and certain other adjustments. From this amount, we then add or subtract an assumed incremental income tax impact on the above-noted pre-tax adjustments, using estimated tax rates, to arrive at Adjusted Net Income. We believe that this measure is useful to investors as a way to analyze the business consistently across the periods presented. This measure is used by our management for the same reason.Adjusted EPS is our adjusted net income divided by our diluted GAAP weighted average share count adjusted for anti-dilutive instruments. We believe that this measure is useful to investors as an additional way to analyze the underlying trends in our business consistently across the periods presented. This measure is used by our management for the same reason.Adjusted net leverage is equal to our gross debt, reduced by our cash and cash equivalents, divided by our trailing 12-month Adjusted EBITDA (excluding stock-based compensation expense and including the expected run-rate effect of cost synergies and the incremental results of completed acquisitions as if those acquisitions had occurred on the first day of the trailing 12-month period). We believe that this measure is useful to investors as a way to evaluate and measure the Company’s capital allocation strategies and the underlying trends in the business. This measure is used by our management for the same reason.Free cash flow is equal to our cash flow from operating activities, plus acquisition-related costs paid in the period, less capital expenditures. Free cash flow conversion is free cash flow divided by adjusted net income. We believe that these measures are useful to investors as they provide a view on the Company’s ability to generate cash for use in financing or investment activities. These measures are used by our management for the same reason.
Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the tables accompanying this release.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, including our cost transformation initiative, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “aim,” “anticipate,” “assumption,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “guidance,” “intend,” “likely,” “long-term,” “near-term,” “objective,” “opportunity,” “outlook,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “projection,” “prospects,” “seek,” “target,” “trend,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “should,” “would,” “will,” the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning.
Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions; they are not guarantees of performance. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Although we believe that our assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could contribute to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the factors described in “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. In addition, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise other than as required under the federal securities laws.
Investor Relations Contact
Christina Jones
Vice President, Investor Relations
Avantor
+1 805-617-5297
Christina.Jones@avantorsciences.com
Media Contact
Emily Collins
Vice President, External Communications
Avantor
+1 332-239-3910
Emily.Collins@avantorsciences.com
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations
(in millions, except per share data)
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net sales
$ 1,702.8
$ 1,743.9
$ 3,382.6
$ 3,524.2
Cost of sales
1,121.3
1,153.9
2,230.6
2,309.4
Gross profit
581.5
590.0
1,152.0
1,214.8
Selling, general and administrative expenses
405.7
357.5
829.9
751.1
Impairment charges
—
160.8
—
160.8
Operating income
175.8
71.7
322.1
302.9
Interest expense, net
(60.9)
(73.4)
(125.2)
(147.1)
Loss on extinguishment of debt
(1.9)
(1.6)
(4.4)
(3.9)
Other income, net
1.6
2.0
2.7
2.6
Income (loss) before income taxes
114.6
(1.3)
195.2
154.5
Income tax expense
(21.7)
(6.0)
(41.9)
(40.3)
Net income (loss)
$ 92.9
$ (7.3)
153.3
114.2
Earnings (Loss) per share:
Basic
$ 0.14
$ (0.01)
$ 0.23
$ 0.17
Diluted
$ 0.14
$ (0.01)
$ 0.22
$ 0.17
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic
679.4
675.3
678.7
675.0
Diluted
682.6
675.3
681.9
677.9
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets
(in millions)
June 30, 2024
December 31, 2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 272.6
$ 262.9
Accounts receivable, net
1,129.0
1,150.2
Inventory
795.6
828.1
Other current assets
132.0
143.7
Total current assets
2,329.2
2,384.9
Property, plant and equipment, net
753.8
737.5
Other intangible assets, net
3,582.8
3,775.3
Goodwill, net
5,659.6
5,716.7
Other assets
368.1
358.3
Total assets
$ 12,693.5
$ 12,972.7
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Current portion of debt
$ 258.4
$ 259.9
Accounts payable
657.4
625.9
Employee-related liabilities
146.1
133.1
Accrued interest
49.9
50.2
Other current liabilities
352.8
411.2
Total current liabilities
1,464.6
1,480.3
Debt, net of current portion
4,856.6
5,276.7
Deferred income tax liabilities
575.4
612.8
Other liabilities
361.9
350.3
Total liabilities
7,258.5
7,720.1
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock including paid-in capital
3,897.5
3,830.1
Accumulated earnings
1,644.8
1,491.5
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(107.3)
(69.0)
Total stockholders’ equity
5,435.0
5,252.6
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$ 12,693.5
$ 12,972.7
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows
(in millions)
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)
$ 92.9
$ (7.3)
$ 153.3
$ 114.2
Reconciling adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization
102.6
102.6
202.2
203.7
Impairment charges
—
160.8
—
160.8
Stock-based compensation expense
11.1
9.2
23.8
21.9
Provision for accounts receivable and inventory
15.5
30.6
39.5
43.1
Deferred income tax benefit
(34.8)
(38.3)
(52.7)
(64.7)
Amortization of deferred financing costs
2.8
3.3
5.8
6.7
Loss on extinguishment of debt
1.9
1.6
4.4
3.9
Foreign currency remeasurement (gain) loss
(2.2)
(1.9)
3.1
(0.1)
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(2.7)
60.1
—
7.9
Inventory
(3.2)
(8.8)
(14.2)
(1.7)
Accounts payable
89.5
(75.0)
45.9
(74.4)
Accrued interest
9.2
9.9
(0.3)
(0.6)
Other assets and liabilities
(2.9)
(78.4)
6.4
(34.3)
Other
1.4
(0.2)
5.5
1.3
Net cash provided by operating activities
281.1
168.2
422.7
387.7
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures
(45.8)
(30.1)
(80.5)
(58.1)
Other
0.9
0.7
1.4
1.4
Net cash used in investing activities
(44.9)
(29.4)
(79.1)
(56.7)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Debt borrowings
(28.9)
—
12.3
—
Debt repayments
(172.7)
(190.8)
(383.0)
(460.3)
Payments of debt refinancing fees and premiums
—
(2.3)
—
(2.3)
Proceeds received from exercise of stock options
5.3
2.1
50.8
4.7
Shares repurchased to satisfy employee tax
obligations for vested stock-based awards
(0.8)
(5.2)
(7.4)
(13.3)
Net cash used in financing activities
(197.1)
(196.2)
(327.3)
(471.2)
Effect of currency rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
(1.6)
(0.7)
(7.3)
4.1
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
37.5
(58.1)
9.0
(136.1)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period
259.2
318.9
287.7
396.9
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period
$ 296.7
$ 260.8
$ 296.7
$ 260.8
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin
(dollars in millions)
Three months ended June 30,
Six months ended June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
$
%
$
%
$
%
$
%
Net income (loss)
$ 92.9
5.5 %
$ (7.3)
(0.4) %
$ 153.3
4.5 %
$ 114.2
3.2 %
Amortization
74.9
4.4 %
78.9
4.5 %
150.2
4.4 %
157.3
4.5 %
Loss on extinguishment of debt
1.9
— %
1.6
0.1 %
4.4
0.1 %
3.9
0.1 %
Integration-related expenses1
—
— %
(0.6)
— %
—
— %
8.1
0.2 %
Restructuring and severance charges2
9.7
0.6 %
7.2
0.4 %
32.9
1.0 %
11.9
0.3 %
Transformation expenses3
16.2
1.0 %
—
— %
29.5
0.9 %
—
— %
Other4
(0.3)
— %
(0.7)
— %
(0.8)
— %
(0.8)
— %
Impairment charges5
—
— %
160.8
9.2 %
—
— %
160.8
4.6 %
Income tax benefit applicable to
pretax adjustments
(27.3)
(1.6) %
(53.5)
(3.1) %
(50.9)
(1.5) %
(73.6)
(2.1) %
Adjusted net income
168.0
9.9 %
186.4
10.7 %
318.6
9.4 %
381.8
10.8 %
Interest expense, net
60.9
3.6 %
73.4
4.2 %
125.2
3.7 %
147.1
4.2 %
Depreciation
27.7
1.5 %
23.7
1.4 %
52.0
1.6 %
46.4
1.4 %
Income tax provision applicable
to Adjusted Net income
49.0
2.9 %
59.5
3.4 %
92.8
2.7 %
113.9
3.2 %
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 305.6
17.9 %
$ 343.0
19.7 %
$ 588.6
17.4 %
$ 689.2
19.6 %
━━━━━━━━━
1.
Represents direct costs incurred with third parties and the accrual of a long-term retention incentive to integrate acquired companies. These expenses represent incremental costs and are unrelated to normal operations of our business. Integration expenses are incurred over a pre-defined integration period specific to each acquisition.
2.
Reflects the incremental expenses incurred in the period related to restructuring initiatives to increase profitability and productivity. Costs included in this caption are specific to employee severance, site-related exit costs, and contract termination costs. The expenses recognized in 2024 represent costs incurred to achieve the Company’s publicly-announced cost transformation initiative.
3.
Represents incremental expenses directly associated with the Company’s publicly-announced cost transformation initiative, primarily related to the cost of external advisors.
4.
Represents net foreign currency (gain) loss from financing activities, other stock-based compensation expense (benefit) and charges and legal costs in connection with certain litigation and other contingencies that are unrelated to our core operations and not reflective of on-going business and operating results.
5.
Related to impairment of the Ritter asset group.
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Income Margin
(dollars in millions)
Three months ended June 30,
Six months ended June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
$
%
$
%
$
%
$
%
Net income (loss)
$ 92.9
5.5 %
$ (7.3)
(0.4) %
$ 153.3
4.5 %
$ 114.2
3.2 %
Interest expense, net
60.9
3.6 %
73.4
4.2 %
125.2
3.7 %
147.1
4.2 %
Income tax expense
21.7
1.3 %
6.0
0.3 %
41.9
1.2 %
40.3
1.1 %
Loss on extinguishment of debt
1.9
— %
1.6
0.1 %
4.4
0.1 %
3.9
0.1 %
Other income, net
(1.6)
(0.1) %
(2.0)
(0.1) %
(2.7)
— %
(2.6)
— %
Operating income
175.8
10.3 %
71.7
4.1 %
322.1
9.5 %
302.9
8.6 %
Amortization
74.9
4.4 %
78.9
4.5 %
150.2
4.4 %
157.3
4.5 %
Integration-related expenses1
—
— %
(0.6)
— %
—
— %
8.1
0.2 %
Restructuring and severance charges2
9.7
0.6 %
7.2
0.4 %
32.9
1.0 %
11.9
0.3 %
Transformation expenses3
16.2
1.0 %
—
— %
29.5
0.9 %
—
— %
Other4
0.6
— %
0.9
0.1 %
0.9
— %
1.0
— %
Impairment charges5
—
— %
160.8
9.2 %
—
— %
160.8
4.6 %
Adjusted Operating Income
$ 277.2
16.3 %
$ 318.9
18.3 %
$ 535.6
15.8 %
$ 642.0
18.2 %
━━━━━━━━━
1.
Represents direct costs incurred with third parties and the accrual of a long-term retention incentive to integrate acquired companies. These expenses represent incremental costs and are unrelated to normal operations of our business. Integration expenses are incurred over a pre-defined integration period specific to each acquisition.
2.
Reflects the incremental expenses incurred in the period related to restructuring initiatives to increase profitability and productivity. Costs included in this caption are specific to employee severance, site-related exit costs, and contract termination costs. The expenses recognized in 2024 represent costs incurred to achieve the Company’s publicly-announced cost transformation initiative.
3.
Represents incremental expenses directly associated with the Company’s publicly-announced cost transformation initiative, primarily related to the cost of external advisors.
4.
Represents other stock-based compensation expense (benefit) and charges and legal costs in connection with certain litigation and other contingencies that are unrelated to our core operations and not reflective of on-going business and operating results.
5.
Related to impairment of the Ritter asset group.
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Earnings per share
(shares in millions)
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (GAAP)
$ 0.14
$ (0.01)
$ 0.22
$ 0.17
Dilutive impact of convertible instruments
—
—
—
—
Fully diluted earnings (loss) per share (non-GAAP)
0.14
(0.01)
0.22
0.17
Amortization
0.11
0.12
0.22
0.23
Loss on extinguishment of debt
—
—
0.01
0.01
Integration-related expenses
—
—
—
0.01
Restructuring and severance charges
0.02
0.01
0.05
0.02
Transformation expenses
0.02
—
0.04
—
Other
—
—
—
—
Impairment charges
—
0.24
—
0.24
Income tax benefit applicable to pretax adjustments
(0.04)
(0.08)
(0.07)
(0.12)
Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP)
$ 0.25
$ 0.28
$ 0.47
$ 0.56
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Diluted (GAAP)
682.6
675.3
681.9
677.9
Incremental shares excluded for GAAP
—
2.4
—
—
Share count for Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP)
682.6
677.7
681.9
677.9
Free cash flow
(in millions)
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 281.1
$ 168.2
$ 422.7
$ 387.7
Capital expenditures
(45.8)
(30.1)
(80.5)
(58.1)
Free cash flow (non-GAAP)
$ 235.3
$ 138.1
$ 342.2
$ 329.6
Adjusted net leverage
(dollars in millions)
June 30, 2024
Total debt, gross
$ 5,148.3
Less cash and cash equivalents
(272.6)
$ 4,875.7
Trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA
$ 1,208.5
Trailing twelve months ongoing stock-based compensation expense
42.3
$ 1,250.8
Adjusted net leverage (non-GAAP)
3.9 x
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Net sales by segment
(in millions)
June 30,
Reconciliation of net sales growth
(decline) to organic net sales growth
(decline)
Net sales
growth
(decline)
Foreign
currency
impact
Organic
net sales
growth
(decline)
2024
2023
Three months ended:
Laboratory Solutions
$ 1,155.7
$ 1,193.8
$ (38.1)
$ (5.4)
$ (32.7)
Bioscience Production
547.1
550.1
(3.0)
(1.3)
(1.7)
Total
$ 1,702.8
$ 1,743.9
$ (41.1)
$ (6.7)
$ (34.4)
Six months ended:
Laboratory Solutions
$ 2,312.8
$ 2,396.8
$ (84.0)
$ 3.6
$ (87.6)
Bioscience Production
1,069.8
1,127.4
(57.6)
1.7
(59.3)
Total
$ 3,382.6
$ 3,524.2
$ (141.6)
$ 5.3
$ (146.9)
Adjusted Operating Income by segment
(in millions)
Three months ended
June 30,
Six months ended
June 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Laboratory Solutions
$ 150.9
$ 179.7
$ 299.1
$ 351.9
Bioscience Production
144.0
154.2
270.9
321.7
Corporate
(17.7)
(15.0)
(34.4)
(31.6)
Total
$ 277.2
$ 318.9
$ 535.6
$ 642.0
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SOURCE Avantor and Financial News
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NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AvePoint Inc. (NASD: AVPT) will replace LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Monday, November 2. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are acquiring LXP Industrial Trust in a deal expected to close soon, pending final closing conditions.
Following is a summary of the changes that will take place prior to the open of trading on the effective date:
Effective Date
Index Name
Action
Company Name
Ticker
GICS Sector
Nov 2, 2026
S&P SmallCap 600
Addition
AvePoint
AVPT
Information Technology
Nov 2, 2026
S&P SmallCap 600
Deletion
LXP Industrial Trust
LXP
Real Estate
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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices
Technology
Archera Surpasses $5.6 Billion in Cloud and AI Spend Under Management, Closes Series C Led by Pivot Investment Partners, and Expands Insurance-Backed Cloud Commitments
Published
33 minutes agoon
October 27, 2026By
The round will help Archera expand its guaranteed cloud commitments, bringing insurance-backed financial protection to companies navigating unpredictable AI and cloud spending. The company has delivered more than $700 million in customer savings and now manages approximately $5.6 billion in annual cloud and AI spend.
BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As artificial intelligence makes cloud spending harder to predict, companies face an increasingly expensive choice: commit to long-term cloud and AI contracts to unlock significant discounts or preserve flexibility and leave savings on the table. Archera has raised a $15 million Series C to expand its Guaranteed Commitments and change that equation.
The cloud economics company today announced it closed its Series C funding round, led by Pivot Investment Partners, with participation from existing investors including HighSage Ventures. The financing brings Archera’s total funding to $38.3 million. It will support the expansion of Archera’s Guaranteed Commitments and its suite of free cloud cost tools, including its FinOps Agent and MCP.
Insurance-backed financial protection is central to Archera’s next phase of growth. Archera purchased a policy on a surplus lines basis from Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company to back its guarantee. This model helps businesses pursue cloud commitment savings while managing the financial risk of usage changes.
The company has delivered more than $700 million in savings to over 2,200 organizations, including PubNub, Art.com, and Astronomer. The thesis behind Archera is simple: companies shouldn’t have to predict AI’s future to commit and save money on today’s infrastructure.
Why Cloud and AI Commitments Need to Change
Cloud providers reward customers who commit to spending over one- to three-year periods with substantial discounts and access to capacity. Historically, those commitments have helped businesses reduce infrastructure costs. But AI is changing the risk and economics of that decision.
A new model launch can multiply GPU spending in months. A more efficient model, a shift in architecture, or a move to a different service can reduce it just as quickly. Long-term commitments that once looked financially sound can become expensive liabilities.
Companies are left choosing between overcommitting and risking unused spend, or undercommitting and missing out on available discounts. Many choose the latter, sacrificing potential savings to preserve flexibility.
Archera believes that the trade-off is unnecessary. Its Guaranteed Commitments provide resource-level cloud and AI discounts with terms as short as 30 days. If usage declines and a covered commitment goes unused, Archera covers the cost under the terms of its guarantee.
The result is a different way to approach cloud purchasing. Businesses can pursue deeper discounts and unlock capacity otherwise gated behind a commitment, without bearing the entire financial consequence when actual usage diverges from forecasts.
Turning Cloud Optimization Into a Financial Product
Traditional cloud cost management tools provide visibility, recommendations, automation, and forecasting, but they can’t eliminate the financial risk of unused commitments. Archera combines its free FinOps platform and Agent with a financial guarantee that addresses inaccurate forecasts.
“Every tool in this market is trying to forecast your cloud usage a little better. We think that’s the wrong bet,” said Aran Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Archera. “Nobody can forecast AI demand, not the customer, not the cloud provider. So instead of predicting it, we guarantee it, and we have purchased an insurance policy to back that guarantee. If covered usage drops, we address the unused commitment cost under the terms of our guarantee. That’s a new way to purchase cloud, not another dashboard, and it’s why we’ve been able to return $700 million to our customers.”
The approach positions cloud commitments as a financial risk decision, helping finance and engineering leaders manage budgets while adapting to changing technology.
Built for CFOs, CTOs, and the Teams Managing AI Costs
The approach addresses a growing challenge across finance and engineering: how to control infrastructure costs without constraining the business.
For CFOs: Capture commitment-level discounts while reducing exposure to eligible unused spend under the guarantee.For CTOs and engineering leaders: Preserve flexibility to adopt new AI models, change architectures, and scale workloads without letting past commitments dictate future decisions.For FinOps teams: Increase commitment coverage with a financial backstop when usage changes, without more back-and-forth with engineering teams to get perfect forecasts.For cloud partners and resellers: Give customers a differentiated way to pursue cloud savings that can be reinvested in new cloud services while managing commitment risk.
Archera’s platform connects to AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud billing data in read-only mode and analyzes actual usage. It then recommends and automates the purchasing of both native commitments and Archera Guaranteed Commitments.
Customers can evaluate their potential savings before making any purchasing decision. Commitments remain in the customer’s own cloud account, preserving end-to-end control over cloud purchasing strategy.
Archera earns when customers save through its guaranteed commitments, aligning its commercial model with the outcomes customers seek.
Customers Are Rethinking the Commitment Model
For organizations accustomed to treating cloud commitments as a single, high-stakes decision, Archera offers a more flexible approach.
“Working with Archera meant rethinking commitments as a spectrum rather than a single, high-stakes decision,” said James Hamilton, VP of Operations and Controller at PubNub. “This was a big mind shift for us. We needed to think about how our commitments could be broken up into a spectrum of purchases versus a single one-time buy.”
That flexibility is particularly valuable as companies adopt AI workloads, where technology choices and resource requirements can shift faster than traditional budgeting cycles.
Instead of making one large bet on future usage, businesses can take a more measured approach while still securing meaningful discounts.
A Series C to Expand Insurance-Backed Cloud Purchasing
Archera has been operating profitably at scale. It raised a Series C to support larger guarantees, expand its reach, serve more customers, and upgrade the insurance policies backing its guarantee to serve larger global clients.
The company plans to use the capital in three ways:
Accelerate go-to-market efforts.Expand its global partner network across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and Latin America.Serve more teams focused on AI-driven workloads.
“Archera has built a capital-efficient and differentiated business at the intersection of cloud infrastructure and risk management,” said Dinkar Jetley, co-founder and managing partner at Pivot Investment Partners. “The team pairs a deep understanding of the cloud ecosystem with a rigorous approach to underwriting, and the result is a compelling value proposition that a fast-growing roster of customers relies on as their cloud spend scales. We are privileged to have led this Series C round and look forward to working closely with Aran and the management team in the years ahead.”
Built by People Who Understand Cloud Infrastructure
Aran and Nikhil Khanna founded Archera in 2019. Aran previously planned capacity for Azure’s core compute and database services at Microsoft and was a founding member of AWS’s deep learning team leading launches, including SageMaker, DeepLens, and the Neuron SDK, behind Amazon’s Trainium and Inferentia AI chips.
His research on deep learning model efficiency has been cited more than 1,900 times, and he serves on the FinOps Foundation governing board.
As AI transforms infrastructure economics, Archera aims to make cloud savings more accessible without forcing businesses to assume unnecessary financial risk.
To explore potential savings, request a free assessment at Archera.ai.
Free savings assessment: https://app.archera.ai/savings-estimate?utm_source=forbes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=series-c-2026
Name: Sarah
Email Address: shiara@archera.ai
Phone Number: +13018255007
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SOURCE Archera
Technology
Creative Technology Releases Creative XF1, a Hi-Res Extreme Fidelity Speaker that Elevates Every Listening Experience
Published
33 minutes agoon
October 27, 2026By
SYDNEY, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Creative Technology Ltd launches Creative XF1, a new Hi-Res speaker system designed for users who care about both sound quality and aesthetics, and want more vivid music, more cinematic movies, and more engaging listening. Creative XF1 offers sleek design, bi-amplified architecture, 72W RMS output, dual Hi-Res Audio certification, next-gen connectivity, and personalisation with the Creative Nexus app.
Creative XF1 brings out details in music that many compact 2.0 speakers in this price range do not reproduce, from the rasp in a voice to the rumbling bass under a game soundtrack. With a bespoke FEA-optimised 3-inch woofer, Creative XF1 adds extra punch and close-range clarity. The 72W RMS bi-amplified design delivers a clear, powerful sound that is easy on the ear.
“For many of us, the desktop has become the centre of work, entertainment and creation,” said Ernest Sim, CEO and Executive Chairman, Creative Technology Ltd. “Creative XF1 is built to deliver room-filling power with richer depth and clarity, so every note, voice and effect sounds closer, more vivid and more real at your desk.”
Besides advanced connectivity via Bluetooth® 6.0, USB audio, and AUX input, users can also connect a subwoofer for richer bass and an easy 2.1 upgrade.
Crafted by in-house audio specialists, the Creative Nexus app offers a 10-band parametric EQ and 120+ presets for different music genres and games. Users can personalise their sound for focused work, movie nights, gaming sessions, or unwinding, all from one intuitive interface.
Pricing and availability
Creative XF1 is priced at A$339.95, and is available at creative.com.
About Creative
Since its founding in 1981, Creative Technology has been driven by a singular mission: to reimagine the way the world experiences sound. Creative introduced the groundbreaking Sound Blaster®, the invention that gave personal computers the gift of sound — and forever changed the landscape of PC multimedia.
Guided by a legacy of bold ideas and breakthrough technologies, Creative continues to lead at the intersection of engineering and imagination.
At its core, Creative remains committed to pushing the boundaries of what audio can achieve — enriching lives, elevating experiences, and defining what’s next in sound.
This announcement relates to products launched in Australia. Availability is subject to change without notice and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements. Creative, and the Creative logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd in the United States and/or other countries. The Bluetooth® word mark and logo are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Creative Technology Ltd is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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SOURCE Creative Technology Ltd
AvePoint Set to Join S&P SmallCap 600
Archera Surpasses $5.6 Billion in Cloud and AI Spend Under Management, Closes Series C Led by Pivot Investment Partners, and Expands Insurance-Backed Cloud Commitments
Creative Technology Releases Creative XF1, a Hi-Res Extreme Fidelity Speaker that Elevates Every Listening Experience
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