By George Leong, B.Comm. Printed : February 1, 2023
EngageSmart Inc Helps Enhance Buyer Expertise
The start of this 12 months has seen know-how shares entice sturdy shopping for. This isn’t stunning, given the numerous value deterioration of tech shares in 2022.
For threat traders, there are aggressive alternatives for individuals who are affected person and are prepared to simply accept volatility. That’s the case with EngageSmart Inc (NYSE:ESMT), a supplier of cloud-based software program that permits customer-facing corporations to supply higher digital experiences. (Supply: “Company Overview,” EngageSmart Inc, final accessed January 31, 2023.)
EngageSmart’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms assist with e-commerce-related duties reminiscent of paying payments and scheduling appointments. Its shoppers embrace physician’s places of work, insurance coverage corporations, non-profit organizations, and public utilities.
The worldwide buyer engagement options market that EngageSmart Inc is a part of might increase at a compound annual development charge (CAGR) of 10.1% from $18.2 million in 2021 to $43.4 billion in 2030. (Supply: “Buyer Engagement Options Market Income Evaluation,” P&S Intelligence, final accessed January 31, 2023.)
Shortly following its preliminary public providing (IPO) in September 2021, which had a share value of $26.00, ESMT inventory jumped to $38.83. At the moment, EngageSmart Inc had a market valuation of $6.4 billion, versus its present valuation of $3.1 billion.
Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com
Stable Fundamentals Assist Bull Case for ESMT Inventory
In its three years of public disclosure, EngageSmart Inc grew its revenues by 163% from 2019 to a report $216.3 million in 2021. The corporate’s revenues for the rolling 12 months to September 2022 got here in at $281.6 million.
The consensus estimate for 2022 is that EngageSmart Inc elevated its revenues by 39.6% to $301.9 million. Analysts forecast that the corporate will develop its revenues by 25.6% to $379.2 million in 2023. (Supply: “EngageSmart, Inc (ESMT),” Yahoo! Finance, final accessed January 31, 2023.)
| Fiscal Yr | Revenues (Thousands and thousands) | Progress |
| 2019 | $82.4 | N/A |
| 2020 | $146.6 | 77.8% |
| 2021 | $216.3 | 47.6% |
(Supply: “EngageSmart Inc.” MarketWatch, final accessed January 31, 2023.)
EngageSmart managed to regulate its value facet as its revenues ramped larger. That helped the corporate’s earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) flip optimistic in 2020 and 2021.
| Fiscal Yr | EBITDA (Thousands and thousands) | Progress |
| 2019 | -$37.1 | N/A |
| 2020 | $20.2 | 154.3% |
| 2021 | $18.0 | -10.6% |
(Supply: Ibid.)
On the underside line, EngageSmart Inc has been shedding cash primarily based on typically accepted accounting rules (GAAP) diluted earnings per share (EPS).
The excellent news is that the corporate’s GAAP diluted EPS loss fell considerably in 2020 and 2021. Adjusting for non-recurring bills, EngageSmart earned $0.13 per diluted share in 2021.
For its upcoming 2022 outcomes, the corporate is on course to beat the consensus earnings estimate after reporting three straight quarters of beats. Analysts estimate that EngageSmart Inc’s earnings rose to $0.27 per share in 2022 and that they may rise to $0.26 in 2023. (Supply: Yahoo! Finance, op. cit.)
| Fiscal Yr | GAAP Diluted EPS | Progress |
| 2019 | -$0.33 | N/A |
| 2020 | -$0.04 | 87.5% |
| 2021 | -$0.06 | -34.1% |
(Supply: MarketWatch, op. cit.)
EngageSmart Inc’s free money circulation (FCF) was optimistic in 2020 and hit a report $18.8 million in 2021.
| Fiscal Yr | FCF (Thousands and thousands) | Progress |
| 2019 | -$2.8 | N/A |
| 2020 | $14.3 | 605.1% |
| 2021 | $18.8 | 31.6% |
(Supply: MarketWatch, op. cit.)
EngageSmart Inc’s steadiness sheet contains strong working capital, manageable debt of $33.0 million, and wholesome money of $293.5 million. (Supply: Yahoo! Finance, op. cit.)
Analyst Take
EngageSmart inventory has sturdy institutional possession, with 151 establishments holding a 90.9% stake within the firm. (Supply: Yahoo! Finance, op. cit.)
My bullish thesis for EngageSmart Inc relies on the sturdy tailwinds within the digital transformation market, which might drive up the worth of ESMT inventory.
