1. Company Overview
Progress Software is a publicly traded software company headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, founded in 1981. It provides tools and platforms for application development, integration, data management, and infrastructure monitoring. Its portfolio includes legacy offerings like OpenEdge and modern capabilities such as Sitefinity, Telerik, Chef, Kemp, and the recently acquired ShareFile and MarkLogic platforms. The company caters to enterprise IT, developers, and digital experience teams seeking to build, secure, and manage applications. With approximately 2,100 employees, Progress combines traditional development tools with AI-driven and cloud-native solutions
2. Latest Earnings (Q1 FY2025 – quarter ended Feb 28, 2025)
On March 31, 2025, Progress reported EPS of $1.31 and revenue of $238.02 million, both exceeding expectations (consensus: ~$1.04 EPS and ~$235.6 million in revenue). Revenue rose 28.9% year-over-year, with adjusted EPS up from $1.25 y/y. Annual Recurring Revenue hit $836 million (+48%), with net retention exceeding 100%. Management raised full‑year EPS guidance to $5.25–$5.37 (up from $5.00–$5.12). For Q2, they forecast EPS of $1.28–$1.34 and revenue of $235–$241 million.
3. Founding, Funding, Products & Key Competitors
Founded in 1981 by MIT graduates (including Joseph Alsop and Clyde Kessel), Progress began as Data Language Corporation and went public in 1991. It’s funded through markets as a public company. Headquartered in Burlington, MA, operations span 16 countries. Its product suite spans OpenEdge (4GL application development), Sitefinity (CMS), DataDirect, Telerik/Kendo UI, Chef, Kemp, MarkLogic, ShareFile, MOVEit, and infrastructure tools like WhatsUp Gold and Flowmon. Major competitors include Adobe, Salesforce, Sitecore in digital experience; IBM, Oracle in database/ integration; VMware, ServiceNow, Infoblox in infrastructure management; and AppDynamics, Sophos in monitoring/security
4. Market & Industry Outlook
Progress operates in enterprise software markets—app development tools, digital experience platforms, data management, DevOps, and infrastructure performance. These industries are forecast to grow steadily: development platform market CAGR of ~6–8% to 2030, digital experience platforms estimated at ~10%+ CAGR, and DevOps/infrastructure automation above 15%. Specifically, Progress forecasts ~6.1% annual revenue growth, with 28.9% annual EPS growth over the next three years . The enterprise software market could reach $600 billion+ globally by 2030, growing in the mid-to-high single digits CAGR.
5. Competitor Analysis
● Adobe, Salesforce, Sitecore: Strong in web content and customer experience, competing with Sitefinity and NativeChat.
● Oracle, IBM: Compete in middleware, DB, and integration.
● ServiceNow, VMware, Infoblox: Rivals to infrastructure and monitoring tools like Kemp and Flowmon .
● AppDynamics, Sophos: Overlap in application performance and security analytics
6. Differentiation
Progress stands out through its integrated full-stack approach: traditional app dev (OpenEdge), modern UI (Telerik/Kendo), content/digital platforms (Sitefinity), integration/data connectivity (DataDirect), infrastructure automation (Chef/Kemp), secure file transfer (MoveIt/ShareFile), and NoSQL DB (MarkLogic). This breadth across the application lifecycle—combined with recurring revenues, >100% net retention, deep enterprise roots, and strategic AI/cloud enhancements—sets it apart .
7. Leadership Team
- Yogesh Gupta – President & CEO since 2016; former role as Chief Product Officer. Spearheaded AI/cloud expansion and major acquisitions.
- (Optional exec) CFO – While names aren’t highlighted in recent data, CFO leads financial strategy around recurring revenue and acquisition financing.
- (Optional exec) CTO/EVP Product – Oversees core innovation, including AI, dev tools, and integration offerings.
8. Financial Performance (Last 5 Years)
Revenue declined slightly in mature product lines but overall grew, driven by ARR expansion from $400‑$500 million (2020) to $836 million in Q1 2025 (+48% y/y). Revenue CAGR over five years likely 5–10%, accelerating recently. Earnings improved markedly: EPS rising from ~$2.5 in FY2020 to projected ~$5.25–$5.37 in FY2025, reflecting compound annual growth over mid-teens to high-teens CAGR . Balance sheet shows moderate leverage—Debt/Equity ~3.5—with liquidity to support growth and acquisitions. Operating margins and net income margins remain healthy (~9% net margin) with increasing efficiency.
9. Bull Case
- Robust double-digit recurring revenue growth + >100% net retention.
- Strategic expansion through high-value acquisitions (Chef, Kemp, MarkLogic, ShareFile).
- Strong execution and raised earnings guidance reflect book-to-bill and profitable scaling.
10. Bear Case
- Integration and debt risks post-acquisitions, with leverage concerns.
- Exposure to macroeconomic/geopolitical slowdowns in IT budgets.
- Competition from larger platform players (Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce) limiting share gains.
The stock is in a stage 2 bullish markup on the monthly chart, and similar on the weekly chart. The daily chart is showing signs of a stage 3 consolidation and support in the $61 – $62 range. The near term resistance is in the $65 range, which is a key area of pivot.
