Low code software development platform provider Appian (Nasdaq: APPN) will be reporting results tomorrow before market open. Here’s what to look for.

Appian beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1.5% last quarter, reporting revenues of $154.1 million, up 12.4% year on year. It was a satisfactory quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Is Appian a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Appian’s revenue to grow 13.1% year on year to $164.3 million, slowing from the 15.5% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted loss is expected to come in at -$0.01 per share.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Appian has a history of exceeding Wall Street’s expectations, beating revenue estimates every single time over the past two years by 2.2% on average.

Looking at Appian’s peers in the automation software segment, some have already reported their Q4 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Microsoft delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 12.3%, beating analysts’ expectations by 1.1%, and Pegasystems reported revenues up 3.5%, topping estimates by 4.4%. Microsoft traded down 6.1% following the results while Pegasystems was also down 19.6%.

Read our full analysis of Microsoft’s results here and Pegasystems’s results here.

There has been positive sentiment among investors in the automation software segment, with share prices up 4.8% on average over the last month. Appian is down 4.2% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $40.33 (compared to the current share price of $31.95).

Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we’ve identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link.