Dive Brief:

• Enterprise software company OneStream will continue to build and refine AI solutions that help CFOs solve “deterministic,” rather than “subjective” problems, as it looks to execute on the strong performance it logged for its second quarter — where it reported a 26% increase in revenue year-over-year and a 281% jump in free cash flow, CEO and President Tom Shea told CFO Dive.
• The Birmingham, Mich.-based company’s Q2 results show “customers like that we have this platform that can deliver not only on the core financial capabilities that CFOs need, but also operational and AI [capabilities], and that journey is really resonating with CFOs,” Shea said in an interview. The business remains focused on developing AI solutions that will provide finance leaders with the transparent, trusted data they need from such technologies — rather than generating summaries or theories that require interpretation.
• “We understand that in order for AI to be meaningful for CFOs, when CFOs are looking for deterministic solutions that have to be fact-based, we have to provide both the trust and the transparency, or there will be no adoption,” he said.

Dive Insight:

For the quarter ended June 30, OneStream reported total revenues of $147.6 million, while free cash flow hit $29.4 million compared to $7.7 million for the prior year period, according to its earnings results released Thursday. Net income reached $1.6 million, compared to an operating loss of $8.7 million for the prior year period.

OneStream’s bid to build out ‘deterministic” AI tools comes as the finance chief’s role has continued to evolve, Shea highlighted during the software provider’s Q2 earnings call Friday. As CFOs take on more strategic and operational responsibilities, they are also examining how AI and similar technologies can be best used in the finance function.

“Having utilized outdated legacy financial systems for decades, CFOs are recognizing the crucial need for a platform to provide a single view into financial and operational data across the enterprise to effectively steer the business,” Shea said Friday according to a transcript, pointing to key business drivers for OneStream.

The company is seeking to continue the growth shown in Q2 throughout the rest of the year, with an eye towards further strengthening profitability and cash flow, Shea told CFO Dive. For the fiscal year 2025, OneStream is targeting revenue between $586 million to $590 million, as well as net income per share of between $0.07 - $0.15, according to its earnings report. 

As it works towards that guidance, the company has continued to add new AI solutions to its “SensibleAI” product suite, where it offers tools such as SensibleAI Forecast, which can aid financial leaders in scenario modeling and in identifying risk. In May, the company announced it would introduce agentic AI tools, including a “deep analysis agent,” into the SensibleAI suite to help financial leaders address complex questions, CFO Dive previously reported. The agents remain in private preview and will be released in the next half year, Shea said.

“We’re in the process right now validating that customers are getting that transparent response, that they can trust it,” Shea said of OneStream’s agentic AI solutions.

OneStream is one of several software providers which has moved to develop agentic AI solutions as finance leaders mull the potential benefits of such tools. A recent study by Salesforce found that on average, finance chiefs allocate 25% of their current AI budgets to agents, CFO Dive previously reported, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff previously announced plans to deploy one billion such agents by the end of the year.

As OneStream continues to move forward with its agentic AI plans, the business is also weighing how current macroeconomic trends could impact its future strategy. OneStream is optimistic about its future growth, but the business is “balancing” that positivity with “some near-term prudence, just simply around the federal government,” Shea said, noting the company has a significant presence in the federal government. 

OneStream achieved Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High authorization status in March, a designation that enables it to be used by federal agencies “that require the highest level of security for the government’s most sensitive, unclassified data in cloud computing environments,” according to a press release at the time.

During its Q2 earnings call, “we indicated that there's some uncertainty around the federal buying pattern in the near term, but we feel great about our long-term opportunity,” Shea said.