Quietly replacing the old way: customers are switching to the company from an entrenched alternative, and the switching
The model's full reasoning — Q3 2023 call → NOWe need to determine if management describes customers switching from an entrenched alternative to the company's product, and that this switching is still early with most potential switchers not yet converted. Looking at the transcript: The company is a homebuilder. They talk about strong demand, but do they describe a substitution from an incumbent? They mention that existing home inventory is low because homeowners are staying put due to low mortgage rates. That means buyers are turning to new homes instead of existing homes. That could be a substitution: buyers who would normally buy existing homes are now buying new homes because existing homes are scarce. But is that described as a switching phenomenon? They say "existing home inventory has dropped to near historical lows" and "Existing homeowners continue to stay put rather than lose the low-rate mortgages." So the supply of existing homes is constrained, so buyers are going to new homes. That is a substitution from existing homes to new homes. But is it described as early stages? They say "new homes are 30% of total home sales in Dallas" compared to 10-15% historically. That suggests that new homes are taking a larger share, but is that a substitution? They are gaining market share because existing homes are not available. But is that a permanent shift? They don't explicitly say that most potential switchers are not yet converted. They talk about demographic growth and demand, but not about the installed base of existing homes being large and still to be converted. They mention that existing homeowners are staying put, so the supply of existing homes is low, which means the substitution is happening because of a shortage, not because buyers are choosing new homes over existing ones as a preference. The transcript says "Demand has continued to grow as 3 million additional millennial and Gen Z potential homebuyers have begun to enter the market" - that's new demand, not switching. They also talk about "infill locations" and "less competition from other builders." They don't describe a clear incumbent being displaced. The only possible substitution is from existing homes to new homes, but that is due to a shortage of existing homes, not a deliberate switch. Also, they don't say that most potential switchers are still out there.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Date | Call grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRGO | Freightos Limited | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-20 | C+ |
| IFS | Intercorp Financial Services Inc. | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-14 | C+ |
| NICE | NICE Ltd. | Q4 2023 | 2024-02-22 | B+ |
| APPS | Digital Turbine, Inc. | Q1 2024 | 2023-08-08 | D |
| SPT | Sprout Social, Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-08-04 | B+ |
| MBLY | Mobileye Global Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-07-28 | B+ |
| IMAX | IMAX Corporation | Q2 2023 | 2023-07-26 | B+ |
| PFIE | Profire Energy, Inc. | Q1 2023 | 2023-05-13 | B |
| TOST | Toast, Inc. | Q4 2022 | 2023-02-16 | C+ |
| BLZE | Backblaze, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-11 | D |
| SIBN | SI-BONE, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-07 | C+ |
| TMCI | Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-13 | B+ |
| SGRY | Surgery Partners, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-02 | B+ |
| BIG | Big Lots, Inc. | Q1 2022 | 2022-05-27 | F |
| FLYW | Flywire Corporation | Q1 2022 | 2022-05-14 | B+ |
| ZVIA | Zevia PBC | Q1 2022 | 2022-05-12 | B |
| IRTC | iRhythm Technologies, Inc. | Q1 2022 | 2022-05-07 | C+ |
| RELY | Remitly Global, Inc. | Q4 2021 | 2022-03-02 | B |
| GTES | Gates Industrial Corporation plc | Q4 2021 | 2022-02-07 | C+ |
| RNW | ReNew Energy Global Plc | Q2 2022 | 2021-11-18 | C |
| ILMN | Illumina, Inc. | Q1 2018 | 2018-04-24 | A |
| INST | Instructure's | Q4 2017 | 2018-02-12 | B+ |
| HOLX | Hologic, Inc. | Q4 2017 | 2017-11-08 | D |
| BLKB | Blackbaud, Inc. | Q1 2017 | 2017-05-02 | B+ |
| EVBN | Evans Bancorp, Inc. | Q4 2016 | 2017-02-06 | B+ |
| BDC | Belden Inc. | Q4 2016 | 2017-02-02 | B |
BLKB · Q1 2017 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES Management describes customers switching from entrenched alternatives (legacy hardware systems, older Raiser's Edge versions, standalone point solutions) to Blackbaud's cloud solutions like NXT, with examples of recent replacements and migrations already occurring. They also note that much of the potential remains, as the installed base of legacy methods is still large 25% of subscription revenue, and they describe the opportunity as "really early days" with substantial distance left to run. This fits the criteria of a present-tense substitution pattern in the market, not just future hope. The high retention on their own base (93%) combined with declining maintenance revenue shows the shift is active and ongoing, while new wins against competitors and legacy alternatives are happening now. The TAM of $7 billion with hundreds of thousands of addressable customers reinforces that switching is early-stage relative to the total opportunity. The answer is YES. The question is answered with YES. The question is answered with YES.
BLZE · Q3 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES The transcript shows management describing current customer switches from entrenched alternatives (AWS for urlscan.io; Synology NAS/on-prem for Fiture; broader AWS and on-prem users), with these as real, ongoing patterns. They explicitly note that much of the potential remains ("so much of the world's data is still on-premises" and "customers that are inside of AWS and others"), confirming the substitution is early-stage relative to the large installed base. This is conveyed directly in Gleb's responses as a present-tense reality, not merely anticipated. The two examples plus the broader opportunity framing establish a coherent substitution underway, with the company being substituted in. The investor question on percentages and Gleb's reply reinforce the pattern without contradicting the current movement. No single-event or future-only framing applies here. Thus, both conditions are met.
APPS · Q1 2024 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES The transcript shows management describing customers shifting from Apple/Google app stores to DT Hub and SingleTap-enabled alternative distribution as an ongoing, early-stage substitution. Bill Stone notes the company has already launched DT Hub with four U.S. operators and is generating revenue today, while highlighting "increasing pressure on the duopoly" and 5 monetization ways for SingleTap that enable publishers to direct-download apps outside traditional stores. He explicitly calls it "very early days and not yet material to our overall results" and "early innings," confirming the installed base of the old way remains large and the switch is just beginning with incremental RPD gains from devices engaging the new platform. This meets the criteria of a present-tense substitution underway, with the company positioned as the alternative being adopted.