Its partnership with Microsoft a year ago demonstrates SAS is hardly standing still in research and development. And it is investing some $1 billion over several years in AI plus the cloud. SAS has emerged over the years as a highly praised, very successful global leader in data analytics. “As a private company they are not required to disclose the detailed financial one would typically use to understand how the business is doing.” “2020 was an unusual year so it is hard to know how to interpret their performance,” noted Brown. The fact that revenues were, instead, $3 billion, would be considered a disappointment.”Ĭompanies with stagnant revenue growth can remain competitive by managing personnel costs through normal attrition and by increasing operational efficiency, said Greg Brown, Kenan Institute Professor of Finance. “So, just to keep up with inflation, 2020 revenues would needed to have been $3.4 billion. “While inflation has been modest, the compound inflation rate from 2016 to 2020 was 7%, not a trivial number,” Walden tells WRAL TechWire. In real money terms, Walden points out, inflation means SAS revenues are actually down. Mike Walden doesn’t envy Goodnight and Sall – confirmed by SAS as the company’s only shareholders with Goodnight owning two-thirds – for the challenges they face, even if the firm isn’t subject to shareholder pressure. In USD, SAS revenue was $3.1 billion, reflecting accounting and pricing changes, and the impact of exchange rate changes.) 2019, $3.1 billion (context: SAS revenue in 2019 was relatively flat, growing 0.5% in constant currency.Here are company figures dating back to 2016 with some comments from the spokesperson: The numbersĪfter reviewing annual reports and other sources for information, WRAL TechWire asked SAS about revenues. SAS responded to the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic, finding ways to “push the boundaries of what is possible,” said Goodnight, noting that the company moved to assist hospitals through the analysis of data, and that the company’s native cloud program Viya will “help us return to normal, return to the office, bring us back to entertainment and sports.”Īn additional area of opportunity that Goodnight highlighted in the keynote address: how analytics can be used to aid insights into areas like mental health service delivery, including how to assess what is working or what isn’t, to evaluate policies and programs, and to analyze data from multiple sources that permit and support further innovation.Īnother good sign for the company: SAS continues to hire both at its headquarters campus where several thousand people already work and around the world, the spokesperson points out. Goodnight delivered the opening keynote of the conference, and noted that the world changed in 2020, including the acceleration of a trend which he believes the company is well-suited to address: the increased use of data and analytics to “turn insight into action.” Talk about the revenue surge broke Monday as SAS held an embargoed news briefing with reporters in advance of today’s SAS Global Forum, the largest SAS user event of the year, with attendees from around the world joining to hear about the latest products and developments. But he also noted that SAS was debt free, had built up reserves over its many years of profitability, and was ready to weather COVID. In an interview a year ago as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the global economy, Goodnight – the CEO – told Bloomberg news SAS might lose money. A recently launched marketing campaign also may add to the forward momentum.Įven the fact SAS noted it remained profitable in its new annual report with revenues of $3 billion came as a surprise to some, including Goodnight. The company also has remained profitable for 45 years, dating back to its founding in the days of Goodnight and Sall as educators at N.C. And the payoff – renewed growth – may be at hand as they have continued to invest in new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing.īuoyed in part by a growing partnership with Microsoft, SAS reportedly improved revenues by more than 7% in the first quarter. But SAS is privately held by billionaires Jim Goodnight and John Sall. CARY – Revenues have been flat or declined for five consecutive years at software giant SAS, something that would make any public company executive cringe.
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