Press Release: Semrush Holdings, Inc. To Participate In The 2025 Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference

Growth is a hallmark of all great companies, but the laws of gravity eventually take hold. Those who rode the COVID boom and ensuing tech selloff in 2022 will surely remember that the market’s punishment can be swift and severe when trajectories fall.

Luckily for you, our job at StockStory is to help you avoid short-term fads by pointing you toward high-quality businesses that can generate sustainable long-term growth. On that note, here are two growth stocks expanding their competitive advantages and one whose momentum may slow.

One Growth Stock to Sell:

MongoDB (MDB)

One-Year Revenue Growth: +19.2%

Named after "humongous database," reflecting its ability to handle massive data loads, MongoDB provides a flexible document-based database platform that helps developers build, deploy, and maintain modern applications more efficiently.

Why Does MDB Worry Us?

• Rapid expansion strategy came at the expense of operating margin profitability
• Poor free cash flow margin of 7.6% for the last year limits its freedom to invest in growth initiatives, execute share buybacks, or pay dividends

MongoDB’s stock price of $217.51 implies a valuation ratio of 7.5x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than MDB.

Two Growth Stocks to Watch:

Semrush (SEMR)

One-Year Revenue Growth: +22.2%

Born from the need to make sense of the complex digital marketing landscape, Semrush is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies improve their online visibility, analyze digital marketing efforts, and optimize content across search engines and social media.

Why Are We Positive On SEMR?

• Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 23% over the last year
• Software is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a premier gross margin of 81.4%
• Free cash flow margin is forecasted to grow by 5.9 percentage points in the coming year, potentially giving the company more chips to play with

Semrush is trading at $7.60 per share, or 2.4x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

FTAI Aviation (FTAI)

One-Year Revenue Growth: +55.9%

With a focus on the CFM56 engine that powers Boeing and Airbus’s planes, FTAI Aviation sells, leases, maintains, and repairs aircraft engines.

Why Do We Love FTAI?

• Market share has increased this cycle as its 41.4% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
• Performance over the past two years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 67% outpaced its revenue gains
• Cash-burning tendencies have improved over the last five years, showing it could become financially independent one day

At $140.33 per share, FTAI Aviation trades at 25.9x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return).

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after markets pulled back as a hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report for July dampened hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), a key measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.9% month-over-month in July, far exceeding the 0.2% increase that economists had predicted. Annually, prices at the wholesale level jumped 3.3%, also surpassing the 2.5% forecast. This hotter-than-expected data has poured cold water on widespread expectations for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month. Persistent inflation makes it less likely for the central bank to ease monetary policy. Sectors with high-growth stocks, such as SaaS, are particularly sensitive to interest rate changes, as the prospect of higher rates for longer can diminish the present value of their future earnings, leading to a decline in stock prices.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Data Infrastructure company C3.ai fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy C3.ai? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data Analytics company Health Catalyst fell 9.5%. Is now the time to buy Health Catalyst? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Lending Software company Upstart fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Upstart? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Listing Management Software company Semrush fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Semrush? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Payments Software company Flywire fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Flywire? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Health Catalyst (HCAT)

Health Catalyst’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 43 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 7.5% after the SaaS sector continued to rally as favorable inflation data bolstered hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. This optimism was largely driven by a benign July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which solidified investor expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Following the release of the inflation data, which showed a year-over-year increase of 2.7%, the probability of a rate cut in September surged to over 96%. Lower interest rates are typically beneficial for growth-oriented technology stocks, as they can reduce borrowing costs and increase the present value of future earnings. Adding to the positive sentiment was a 90-day delay in the imposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods, which reduced trade-related uncertainty for the technology sector.

Health Catalyst is down 60.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $2.92 per share, it is trading 67.6% below its 52-week high of $9.02 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Health Catalyst’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $93.20.

What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the SaaS sector continued to rally as favorable inflation data bolstered hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. This optimism was largely driven by a benign July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which solidified investor expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Following the release of the inflation data, which showed a year-over-year increase of 2.7%, the probability of a rate cut in September surged to over 96%. Lower interest rates are typically beneficial for growth-oriented technology stocks, as they can reduce borrowing costs and increase the present value of future earnings. Adding to the positive sentiment was a 90-day delay in the imposition of higher tariffs on Chinese goods, which reduced trade-related uncertainty for the technology sector.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Vulnerability Management company Rapid7 jumped 5.7%. Is now the time to buy Rapid7? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Marketing Software company Upland jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Upland? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Automation Software company Appian jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Appian? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Listing Management Software company Semrush jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Semrush? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Cloud Monitoring company PagerDuty jumped 5.7%. Is now the time to buy PagerDuty? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On PagerDuty (PD)

PagerDuty’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector rebounded following the sell-off in the previous trading session as a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report increased the probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The July Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report showed the U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs, significantly below the 110,000 forecast. This, combined with downward revisions for May and June, signaled a cooling labor market to investors. In response, market expectations for a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve surged from roughly 40% to over 80%. A potential rate cut is generally favorable for growth sectors like technology and SaaS, as lower rates can increase the present value of their future earnings, boosting stock valuations.

PagerDuty is down 10.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $16.10 per share, it is trading 25.6% below its 52-week high of $21.65 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of PagerDuty’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $545.76.

Wall Street has set ambitious price targets for the stocks in this article. While this suggests attractive upside potential, it’s important to remain skeptical because analysts face institutional pressures that can sometimes lead to overly optimistic forecasts.

Luckily for you, we at StockStory have no conflicts of interest - our sole job is to help you find genuinely promising companies. Keeping that in mind, here is one stock where Wall Street’s positive outlook is supported by strong fundamentals and two where analysts may be overlooking some important risks.

Two Stocks to Sell:

Vail Resorts (MTN)

Consensus Price Target: $181.09 (20.1% implied return)

Founded by two Aspen, Colorado ski patrol guides, Vail Resorts is a mountain resort company offering luxury experiences in over 30 locations across the globe.

Why Is MTN Not Exciting?

• Lackluster 1.2% annual revenue growth over the last two years indicates the company is losing ground to competitors
• Performance surrounding its skier visits has lagged its peers
• Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 3.4%

Vail Resorts’s stock price of $150.81 implies a valuation ratio of 18.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including MTN in your portfolio.

Dover (DOV)

Consensus Price Target: $212.26 (18.2% implied return)

A company that manufactured critical equipment for the United States military during World War II, Dover manufactures engineered components and specialized equipment for numerous industries.

Why Is DOV Risky?

• Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
• Earnings growth over the last two years fell short of the peer group average as its EPS only increased by 3.2% annually
• Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up

Dover is trading at $179.54 per share, or 18.2x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than DOV.

One Stock to Watch:

Semrush (SEMR)

Consensus Price Target: $10.83 (45.6% implied return)

Started by Oleg Shchegolev while still in university, Semrush is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies optimize their search engine and content marketing efforts.

Why Are We Fans of SEMR?

• Winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its billings growth has averaged 23% over the last year
• Software is difficult to replicate at scale and leads to a stellar gross margin of 81.4%
• Free cash flow margin is forecasted to grow by 5.9 percentage points in the coming year, potentially giving the company more chips to play with

At $7.44 per share, Semrush trades at 2.3x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return).

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

Marketing analytics software Semrush met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2025, with sales up 19.7% year on year to $108.9 million. On the other hand, next quarter’s revenue guidance of $111.6 million was less impressive, coming in 2.9% below analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.07 per share was 17.9% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy SEMR? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).

Semrush (SEMR) Q2 CY2025 Highlights:

• Revenue: $108.9 million vs analyst estimates of $108.8 million (19.7% year-on-year growth, in line)
• Adjusted EPS: $0.07 vs analyst expectations of $0.08 (17.9% miss)
• Adjusted Operating Income: $11.96 million vs analyst estimates of $12.01 million (11% margin, in line)
• The company dropped its revenue guidance for the full year to $444.5 million at the midpoint from $450.5 million, a 1.3% decrease
• Operating Margin: -4%, down from 3.7% in the same quarter last year
• Customers: 116,000, down from 118,000 in the previous quarter
• Net Revenue Retention Rate: 105%, down from 106% in the previous quarter
• Annual Recurring Revenue: $435.3 million vs analyst estimates of $439.3 million (15.3% year-on-year growth, 0.9% miss)
• Billings: $110.7 million at quarter end, up 18.4% year on year
• Market Capitalization: $1.10 billion

StockStory’s Take

Semrush’s second quarter was met with a sharply negative market response as investors digested mixed signals from its business segments. Management cited persistent weakness in the lower end of its customer base, particularly among freelancers and less sophisticated users, as a key factor, with CEO William Wagner highlighting, “This customer segment includes freelancers and less sophisticated users who have historically had the highest churn rate of our customer cohorts.” The company’s shift in resource allocation away from these lower-value segments, prompted by rising paid search costs and declining unit economics, further shaped quarterly performance.

Looking ahead, Semrush’s updated guidance and business strategy hinge on accelerating investments in enterprise and AI products while maintaining disciplined spending. CFO Brian Mulroy emphasized, “Our enterprise and AI products continue to show remarkable strength, adoption and momentum, exceeding our early expectations.” Management is prioritizing resource reallocation toward high-growth, high-retention areas, though executives cautioned that near-term revenue headwinds could persist as the company transitions away from lower-value segments. The outlook is driven by expectations of continued enterprise adoption and rapid expansion of AI-enabled offerings.

Key Insights from Management’s Remarks

Management attributed the quarter’s results to a deliberate shift in focus toward enterprise and AI segments, offsetting ongoing softness in lower-value customer cohorts and rising marketing costs.

• Enterprise segment drives growth: Semrush’s enterprise SEO solution became the leading contributor to revenue and annual recurring revenue growth, reflecting strong uptake among larger organizations seeking advanced search engine optimization tools.
• AI product momentum: The company’s AI toolkit, launched at the end of Q1, rapidly became its fastest-growing product, and the new enterprise AI optimization offering secured over 30 customers in a few weeks, reinforcing the demand for AI-powered search solutions.
• Strategic marketing pullback: Management intentionally reduced marketing spend targeting freelancers and less sophisticated customers due to rising paid search costs and weaker retention, reallocating resources to enterprise and AI where returns are stronger.
• Customer mix shift: The average annual recurring revenue per customer increased 15% year over year as Semrush focused on acquiring and upselling to higher-value, more sophisticated customers, despite a sequential decline in total customers.
• Share repurchase announcement: The company introduced a $150 million share buyback program, reflecting management’s belief in the long-term opportunity and robust balance sheet, though liquidity considerations remain under discussion with institutional shareholders.

Drivers of Future Performance

Management expects further growth to be driven by enterprise and AI product adoption, while challenges in lower-value segments and cost pressures remain key headwinds.

• Enterprise and AI expansion: Semrush aims to double annual recurring revenue from enterprise SEO, enterprise AI optimization, and AI toolkits by year-end, with management citing strong momentum and a large pipeline of both new and existing enterprise customers.
• Continued downmarket headwinds: Executives anticipate ongoing churn and weakness among freelancers and less sophisticated users, driven by post-pandemic shifts and elevated customer acquisition costs, but believe these pressures are temporary and largely contained to this cohort.
• Foreign exchange and cost discipline: Management reiterated a focus on maintaining non-GAAP operating and free cash flow margins despite currency headwinds, planning to fund investments in high-growth areas through internal resource reallocation rather than expanding overall costs.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will be closely monitoring (1) the pace at which enterprise and AI products approach targeted annual recurring revenue milestones, (2) stabilization or further declines in the lower-value customer base, and (3) management’s ability to maintain margin discipline despite ongoing currency headwinds and shifting customer mix. The effectiveness of new AI product rollouts and customer retention within the enterprise segment will also be essential signposts.

Semrush currently trades at $7.44, down from $9.25 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free).

Now Could Be The Perfect Time To Invest In These Stocks

Donald Trump’s April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariffs sent markets into a tailspin, but stocks have since rebounded strongly, proving that knee-jerk reactions often create the best buying opportunities.

The smart money is already positioning for the next leg up. Don’t miss out on the recovery - check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return).

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after cooler-than-expected inflation data ignited investor optimism for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, an important measure of inflation, came in cooler than expected, showing prices holding steady at an annual rate of 2.7%. This data has led to speculation that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates. For growth-focused sectors like SaaS, lower interest rates are particularly beneficial as they increase the present value of companies' future earnings, making their stocks more appealing.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Tax Software company BlackLine jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy BlackLine? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Listing Management Software company Semrush jumped 5.3%. Is now the time to buy Semrush? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data Storage company Commvault Systems jumped 4.3%. Is now the time to buy Commvault Systems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Hospitality & Restaurant Software company Agilysys jumped 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Agilysys? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data Storage company MongoDB jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy MongoDB? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Semrush (SEMR)

Semrush’s shares are very volatile and have had 23 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock gained 8.5% on the news that the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector rebounded following the sell-off in the previous trading session as a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report increased the probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The July Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report showed the U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs, significantly below the 110,000 forecast. This, combined with downward revisions for May and June, signaled a cooling labor market to investors. In response, market expectations for a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve surged from roughly 40% to over 80%. A potential rate cut is generally favorable for growth sectors like technology and SaaS, as lower rates can increase the present value of their future earnings, boosting stock valuations.

Semrush is down 36.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $7.42 per share, it is trading 59.6% below its 52-week high of $18.37 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Semrush’s shares at the IPO in March 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $660.87.

Today’s young investors won’t have read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next.