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Why This €20 French SaaS Stock Could Be Your Next 10-Bagger: The Planisware Hidden Gem

When Airbus needed to manage 47,000 suppliers across 150+ aircraft programs, they didn't turn to Microsoft Project

Picture this: You're managing the A350 aircraft program at Airbus—coordinating 1,500+ suppliers, tracking 15-year development cycles, and ensuring regulatory compliance across multiple countries. A single delay cascades through thousands of interconnected tasks, potentially costing hundreds of millions. This is where Planisware Enterprise becomes mission-critical.

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Airbus has used Planisware for over a decade to orchestrate their most complex programs, from the A380 to next-generation aircraft development. The platform manages their entire portfolio hierarchy—from strategic program selection down to individual component timelines. The stickiness is extraordinary: once Airbus embedded 15+ years of program data, supplier networks, and custom workflows into Planisware, switching becomes virtually impossible. The implementation took 18 months and cost €5M+, but now processes that once required 200+ person-hours monthly are automated.

This level of customer entrenchment explains why Planisware achieves 121% net retention rates and 2.2% annual churn—customers don't just renew, they expand usage across new divisions. For enterprises managing billion-dollar R&D portfolios, Planisware isn't software—it's business-critical infrastructure.

Trading at just €20.40, Planisware SA (Z421) represents a compelling investment opportunity in the rapidly growing Project Portfolio Management market, demonstrating exceptional financial fundamentals with €183.4M revenue (+17.4% growth) and 35.2% EBITDA margins. As a recently public French SaaS company serving 600+ enterprise clients globally, Planisware combines market leadership positioning with strong economic moats, though faces near-term headwinds from elongated sales cycles in the current macroeconomic environment.

Company overview reveals a mature SaaS transformation

Planisware SA operates as a leading B2B SaaS provider specializing in strategic project portfolio management software, serving large enterprises across R&D-intensive industries. The company has successfully transformed into a SaaS-focused business model with 89% recurring revenue, offering two primary products: Planisware Enterprise for large-cap companies requiring complex PPM capabilities, and Planisware Orchestra targeting mid-market organizations.

The company's revenue model demonstrates exceptional predictability and growth characteristics. Recurring revenue reached €162.7M (+21.0% growth) in 2024, driven primarily by SaaS & Hosting services (€82.0M, +27.1% growth) and evolutive support services. The business maintains outstanding SaaS metrics with a 121% net retention rate and remarkably low churn of just 2.2%, indicating strong customer satisfaction and expansion potential.

Geographically, Planisware maintains balanced exposure with 44% of revenue from North America (€80.3M), 48% from Europe (€87.2M), and 8% from APAC (€15.9M, +44.0% growth). The company serves four distinct industry pillars, with Product Development & Innovation representing the largest segment at 53% of revenue, followed by Project Controls & Engineering (20%, fastest growing at +35.6%), IT Governance & Digital Transformation (18%), and Project Business Automation (9%).

Financial performance demonstrates SaaS excellence with premium profitability

Planisware's financial profile exemplifies SaaS excellence with consistent profitable growth and exceptional cash generation. The company reported €183.4M revenue in 2024 (+17.4% constant currency), with adjusted EBITDA of €64.6M representing a 35.2% margin (+180bps improvement year-over-year). This performance continued into 2025 with H1 results showing €95.8M revenue (+11.0% constant currency) and 35.8% EBITDA margins.

The financial fundamentals reveal a Rule of 40 score of 52.6% (17.4% growth + 35.2% EBITDA margin), well above the 40% threshold considered excellent for SaaS companies. Free cash flow generation remains robust with €54.6M adjusted FCF in 2024 representing an 84.5% cash conversion rate, improving to 95.9% in H1 2025.

From a balance sheet perspective, Planisware maintains a fortress-like financial position with €182M net cash and virtually no debt beyond lease obligations. This provides significant strategic flexibility for investments, acquisitions, or weathering economic downturns.

DCF valuation framework components suggest fair value in the €28-34 range per share. Key assumptions include normalized revenue growth of 12-15% (reduced from historical 20%+ due to current macroeconomic headwinds), sustained EBITDA margins of 35-36%, terminal growth of 2-3%, and WACC of approximately 12-13%. At the current price of €20.40, the stock trades at a compelling 6.3x EV/Revenue, representing a 37-67% discount to intrinsic value for a profitable SaaS business with exceptional moats.

Competitive landscape presents both opportunities and challenges

The PPM software market demonstrates attractive growth dynamics with $7.8B current market size expanding to $13.7B by 2029 (11.9% CAGR). However, Planisware operates in a competitive environment dominated by larger players including Microsoft Project Portfolio Management (21.1% market share), Clarity PPM (14.2%), and Planview (15.1%), while Planisware holds 5.35% market share.

Despite smaller market share, Planisware maintains strong competitive positioning through Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader status for three consecutive years and recognition as the only vendor achieving Customers' Choice recognition for Strategic Portfolio Management twice consecutively. The company differentiates through enterprise-grade capabilities, advanced analytics, scenario planning functionality, and deep industry specialization particularly in pharmaceutical, aerospace, and automotive sectors.

Competitive advantages include: sophisticated configurability for complex organizational needs, proven track record with Fortune 500 companies, and superior capabilities in strategic portfolio management versus project management-focused competitors. However, the company faces challenges from user interface modernization needs, with customers noting "old-school" and "clunky" interfaces compared to modern competitors like Monday.com and Smartsheet.

Industry consolidation risks remain elevated with well-funded public competitors (Microsoft, Broadcom, ServiceNow) possessing greater resources for R&D and acquisitions. Microsoft's ecosystem integration advantage and Monday.com's rapid user adoption present ongoing competitive threats.

Strategic moats provide strong defensive characteristics

Planisware demonstrates several durable competitive advantages that create significant barriers to customer switching and competitive entry. Primary switching costs stem from implementation complexity (6-18 months typical deployment), extensive data migration requirements, steep learning curves, and deep integration with enterprise systems. These factors contribute directly to the company's 98% customer satisfaction rate and 121% net retention.

Implementation barriers for competitors include substantial capital requirements for R&D (Planisware invests €22M+ annually), lengthy enterprise sales cycles requiring extensive proof-of-concept work, and the necessity for deep PPM domain expertise across multiple industries. New entrants face significant challenges establishing the reference customer base and compliance certifications required for enterprise sales.

The company benefits from moderate network effects through its ecosystem of integrations, industry best practices influence, and active user community. Cost advantages emerge from operational scale (35.2% EBITDA margins), geographic diversification spreading development costs, and SaaS model predictability enabling continued investment.

Intangible assets include strong brand recognition (Gartner Leader status), deep customer relationships averaging multiple years, 25+ years of PPM domain knowledge, and proprietary algorithms and benchmarking data.

Investment thesis balances quality fundamentals with growth challenges

Investment strengths center on Planisware's transformation into a high-quality SaaS business with defensive characteristics. The company demonstrates exceptional customer loyalty (121% NRR, 2.2% churn), strong profitability (35.2% EBITDA margins), and excellent cash generation (84.5% conversion rate). Market leadership positioning through Gartner recognition and mission-critical software nature provide sustainable competitive advantages.

Growth catalysts include geographic expansion (particularly APAC showing +44% growth), AI integration through the 22-member Customer Advisory Board, defense sector expansion via new annual licensing model, and cross-selling opportunities across four industry pillars. The company's debt-free balance sheet with €182M cash provides strategic flexibility for acquisitions or increased R&D investment.

Primary risk factors include current macroeconomic sensitivity causing elongated sales cycles and reduced 2025 growth guidance to ~10% from mid-to-high teens. Competitive pressure from Microsoft's ecosystem integration and modern UI competitors like Monday.com present ongoing challenges. Technology disruption risks emerge from Gartner's prediction that AI will eliminate 80% of project management tasks by 2030, requiring continued innovation investment.

Management quality concerns include employee leadership ratings of "D+" (Comparably) and post-IPO executive transitions, though the team demonstrates strong execution through successful IPO completion and consistent financial performance.

Conclusion and investment recommendation

Planisware SA represents a compelling undervalued SaaS investment offering significant upside potential with strong defensive characteristics. The company's exceptional economic moats, outstanding financial fundamentals, and market leadership position create a rare combination of value and quality in today's expensive SaaS market.

At the current price of €20.40, the stock appears materially undervalued with 37-67% upside potential to fair value range of €28-34. The market appears to be overly pessimistic about near-term growth headwinds while ignoring the company's fortress-like customer retention and cash generation capabilities. This creates an attractive entry point for patient investors.

The investment thesis supports a STRONG BUY rating for both value and quality-focused investors. The combination of mission-critical software, extraordinary customer stickiness (121% NRR), and current valuation discount presents a compelling risk-adjusted return opportunity. Even conservative investors benefit from the predictable cash flows and minimal downside risk given the strong balance sheet and customer loyalty.

Key catalysts for multiple expansion include sales cycle normalization post-2025, AI strategy execution driving customer expansion, geographic growth acceleration (particularly APAC), and potential strategic recognition from larger SaaS acquirers seeking profitable, sticky revenue streams.

Key monitoring factors include quarterly sales cycle improvements, AI feature adoption rates, management execution post-IPO, and competitive positioning versus Microsoft's ecosystem expansion. The combination of defensive characteristics, material undervaluation, and strategic optionality makes Planisware an exceptional addition to concentrated quality portfolios seeking the next generation of SaaS compounders. Right now it sits on my watchlist, which you can access in real-time in our community.

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