Cvent Holding Corp.

Q3 revenue was $161.3 million, up 20.3% year over year; normalized for the timing of Cvent CONNECT, revenue growth would have been 22.9%. Q3 non-GAAP gross profit was $117.4 million, or 72.7% of revenue, versus 74.7% a year ago. Q3 adjusted EBITDA was $33.7 million, or 20.9% of revenue, and beat the high end of guidance by $5.1 million and 290 basis points. Event Cloud revenue was $112.9 million, up 22.1% year over year, and Hospitality Cloud revenue was $48.4 million, up 16.5%. Net dollar retention rose to 116% from 114% in Q2. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments ended Q3 at $110.6 million. For Q4, revenue guidance is $169.3 million-$170.3 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance is $38.5 million-$39.8 million. Full-year 2022 revenue guidance was raised to $628.9 million-$629.9 million, and full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to $108.4 million-$109.7 million.

Reggie Aggarwal framed the quarter as evidence that Cvent is balancing growth and margin expansion despite an uncertain macro backdrop. He emphasized the return of in-person events, the growing importance of the “triple threat” of in-person, virtual, and hybrid, and Cvent’s ability to help customers run events more efficiently and on budget. His tone was confident and resilient, repeatedly describing Cvent as “recession resilient,” though not recession-proof.

Billy Newman focused on the math behind the quarter and the updated outlook. He said Q3 revenue beat was driven mainly by higher upsells of core event management products, while non-GAAP gross margin was 72.7% due to a higher mix of onsite solutions and merchant services; gross margin expanded 110 basis points sequentially after adjusting for the prior quarter’s Cvent CONNECT impact. He also highlighted 420 basis points of sequential adjusted EBITDA margin expansion on a normalized basis, $110.6 million of cash and investments at quarter-end, and $100 million of revolver paydown since the facility was closed. He noted adjusted free cash flow of $2.1 million in Q3 and $64.5 million year to date.

Analysts pressed on whether the Q3 beat would carry into Q4, billings/invoicing trends, and whether macro pressure was lengthening sales cycles. Management said Q3 overperformance mainly came from upsells and that they are not assuming those recur in Q4; they also said about 90% of revenue is contractually locked in, giving them good visibility. On customer budgets, Reggie said some customers are getting more cautious, deal cycles are getting a bit longer, and event format choices are shifting as buyers try to balance spend, but he said demand for in-person and the need for ROI and efficiency remain intact. Questions also focused on the American Express partnership and competitive positioning; Reggie described AmEx as a payment/control-spend and compliance tool, while arguing Cvent’s scale, in-person heritage, and integrated platform are hard for virtual-only competitors to replicate.