ZoomInfo Chief Financial Officer Graham O'Brien spoke with analysts at Piper Sandler's 5th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, detailing the company's strategic pivot toward higher-value customers and evolving revenue models.
The firm has shifted significantly upmarket over recent years, with 76% of its annual contract value now coming from the upmarket segment, according to O'Brien. Management aims to bring the downmarket share closer to 20%, targeting an eventual 80/20 split between upmarket and downmarket business. Last year, the company pulled resources from the lower end of the market to transition that segment toward a product-led growth model.
ZoomInfo closed its largest annual contract value deal ever in the second quarter with a multiyear renewal from a large software customer, while also recording its best 100,000 logo acquisition quarter on record from an ACV standpoint. To support longer sales cycles and multiyear deals rather than quick land-and-expand motions, the company has altered compensation plans and talent acquisition strategies.
Revenue structure is also evolving. Historically, roughly two-thirds of ZoomInfo's revenue was seat-based with slightly more than one-third non-seat-based. O'Brien said management's longer-term goal is a 50/50 split between the two. The Operations business, which provides data-as-a-service, now accounts for about 20% of total business and is growing at approximately 20%.
Pricing models are shifting away from a pure historical per-seat structure toward a hybrid consumption model using pre-buy credits. These credits can be used across products including Copilot, Go-to-Market Studio, and Operations, both inside and outside the ZoomInfo ecosystem. Rollout begins around the end of the third quarter with broader testing into the fourth.
O'Brien addressed challenges in the software vertical, noting continued pressure from longer sales cycles, AI-related uncertainty among buyers, and build-versus-buy debates. "We started seeing weakness there at the end of Q1 in the form of longer sales cycles, AI confusion, build verse buy conversations," O'Brien said. "That continued through Q2. In addition, we just started seeing more broad pressure on software, both public companies and private companies, in our customer base. We expect that doesn't get better."
Non-software verticals are performing better with improved growth retention, according to the CFO.
On capital allocation, ZoomInfo has expanded to include bond buybacks alongside share repurchases. The company guides to a 37% adjusted operating income margin, with an 86.51% gross profit margin over the last twelve months and a 29% free cash flow yield. Market capitalization stands at $1.23 billion with approximately 35,000 customers.
ZoomInfo is scheduled to report earnings on November 2, 2026.
