CRNC
Cerence Inc.
Next earnings Aug 4, 2026 (before open) · consensus $0.20 EPS, $71.5M rev
Last earnings +3.4% on 2026-05-07
$10.71
▼ -1.29%$10.71▲ +13.45%
over 1Y
L $5.96H $13.52
Earnings Dividend Split Congress buy Congress sellGrouped by date · hover a pin to expand
Today-1.3%
1W+8.7%
1M-18.2%
3M+47.7%
YTD-7.4%
1Y+13.5%
Buy
Conviction
Horizon
Medium (3–12mo)
12-mo target
$•••
Street · 11 analysts
Buy
Headline revenue drop masks a growing license core and inflecting free cash flow — cheap at 1.9x sales with ~10% FCF yield.
Revenue $252M · FY2025
The scary top line — revenue down 24% to $252M — is largely a mirage. Per the MD&A, the drop was driven by connected services falling 60% ($133.4M→$53.4M) almost entirely because of the '2013 Nuance Legacy Contract Termination,' which had artificially inflated FY2024 by accelerating $67.8M of deferred revenue into a single quarter. Strip that out and the real signal is that Cerence's core license (royalty) business GREW 12.7% ($124.7M→$140.6M) on higher licensing volume. This is a white-label automotive voice/agentic-AI platform embedded with 'nearly all major automobile OEMs or their tier 1 suppliers worldwide' — a genuinely defensible, sticky position in a niche the hyperscalers have largely ceded.
The financial inflection is the crux of the bull case. GAAP net loss narrowed to just -$18.7M (from -$588M in FY2024 and -$56.3M in FY2023), operating income is essentially breakeven at -$2.29M, and gross margin is a software-grade 72.7%. Most importantly, operating cash flow surged 256% to $61.2M; after $14.4M capex that's ~$47M of free cash flow against a $481M market cap — roughly a 10% FCF yield. At 1.9x sales and ~8x operating cash flow, the market is pricing continued decline, not the cash-generative, near-profitable business the filing describes.
AI-generated analysis, produced by our proprietary engine from SEC filing data.
Investment recommendation produced by TENK/calls (tenkcalls.com), Luxembourg. Completed Jul 3, 2026, 12:36 AM ET. Ratings & methodology: definitions · All recommendations to date: track record · Conflicts: disclosures. Not investment advice.
Financials · annual, by fiscal year
| Line item | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $387M | $328M | $294M | $332M | $252M |
| Gross profit | $286M | $231M | $199M | $244M | $183M |
| Operating income | $60.6M | -$184M | -$27.2M | -$580M | -$2.29M |
| Net income | $45.9M | -$311M | -$56.3M | -$588M | -$18.7M |
| Diluted EPS | $1.17 | -$7.93 | -$1.40 | -$14.12 | -$0.43 |
| Net margin | 11.9% | -94.8% | -19.1% | -177.4% | -7.4% |
Annual figures from SEC 10-K XBRL filings. Open the filing links below for full statement detail.
Key statistics
Valuation
Enterprise value$684M
EV / EBITDA82.8
EV / Sales2.7
EV / FCF14.6
P / FCF10.3
PEG (trailing)—
Earnings yield-3.9%
FCF yield9.7%
Quality & risk
ROIC (est.)-0.5%
Free cash flow$46.8M
Total debt$200M
Net cash—
Altman Z-Score-0.93 distress
Piotroski F-Score4/9
Capital returns
Buyback yield0.5%
Dividend yield (est.)—
Shareholder yield0.5%
Shares Δ YoY+4.9%
Computed from SEC XBRL annual figures + the current quote. EV and ROIC use long-term + current debt where filed; estimates, not investment advice.
Disclosure timeline
SEC · 8-Ks + reportsSome governance/structural items recently, but no outright red flags.
- 8-K Officer / director change2026-07-02
Item 5.02: change in executive officer/director; leadership transition disclosed
- 8-K Earnings results2026-05-07
Q2 FY26 10-Q (period Mar 31, 2026); ongoing auto-AI licensing recovery
- 10-Q Quarterly report2026-05-07
Q2 FY26 10-Q (period Mar 31, 2026); ongoing auto-AI licensing recovery
- 8-K Shareholder vote2026-02-18
Item 5.07: annual meeting voting results filed; routine governance outcome
- 10-Q Quarterly report2026-02-05
Q1 FY26 10-Q (period Dec 31, 2025); first quarter of the new fiscal year
- 8-K Earnings results2026-02-04
Q1 FY26 earnings release (quarter ended Dec 31, 2025) with financial exhibits
- DEF 14A Proxy statement2026-01-02
Annual proxy: director elections, exec comp and auditor ratification
- 8-K Other event2025-12-29
Item 8.01: other event disclosed outside the regular earnings cadence
- 10-K Annual report2025-11-20
FY25: revenue -24% on 2013 Nuance contract loss; loss narrowed, OCF +256%
Recent filings
all on EDGAR ↗8-KPeriod ending 2026-06-282026-07-02open ↗SCHEDULE 13G/AFiling2026-05-15open ↗SCHEDULE 13GFiling2026-05-15open ↗10-QPeriod ending 2026-03-312026-05-07open ↗8-KPeriod ending 2026-05-072026-05-07open ↗SCHEDULE 13G/AFiling2026-03-26open ↗8-KPeriod ending 2026-02-122026-02-18open ↗4Period ending 2026-02-122026-02-13open ↗4Period ending 2026-02-122026-02-13open ↗4Period ending 2026-02-122026-02-13open ↗4Period ending 2026-02-122026-02-13open ↗4Period ending 2026-02-122026-02-13open ↗
Frequently asked
- Is Cerence Inc. (CRNC) a buy?
- CRNC currently carries a Buy rating with 3/5 conviction, derived from its latest SEC filings. Headline revenue drop masks a growing license core and inflecting free cash flow — cheap at 1.9x sales with ~10% FCF yield.
- What is Cerence Inc.'s quality score?
- CRNC scores 52.320340501792124/100 (grade C-) on a SEC-grounded quality model spanning value, growth, profitability, financial health and momentum.
Sources: SEC EDGAR (CIK 0001768267, latest 10-Q filed 2026-05-07) · EODHD · Proprietary analysis · as of 7/3/2026, 4:36:18 AM.
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