Summary
Bentley Systems closed fiscal 2025 with a strong Q4. Total revenues rose 11.9% to $391.6 million. Gross profit rose 13.8% to $320.7 million. Gross margin was 81.9%, up 1.3 percentage points. Operating income rose 27.8% to $78.5 million. Operating margin was 20.0%, up 2.5 percentage points. Net income rose 17.1% to $58.6 million. Operating cash flow rose 73.4% to $141.6 million. Capital expenditures were $5.4 million, down 2.3%. Deferred revenue was $278.2 million, up 13.2%. Remaining performance obligations were $296.7 million, up 13.1%.
The full year looked similar. Revenue rose 11.0% to $1.50 billion. Gross profit rose 11.8% to $1.22 billion. Gross margin was 81.5%, up 0.6 percentage points. Operating income rose 20.0% to $362.6 million. Operating margin was 24.1%, up 1.8 percentage points. Net income rose 18.3% to $277.9 million. Diluted EPS rose 18.1% to $0.85. Operating cash flow rose 23.7% to $538.5 million. Capital expenditures rose 30.0% to $18.3 million. These figures show a business that expanded margins while absorbing higher spending.
ARR was $1,462.1 million as of December 31, 2025, compared to $1,283.3 million as of December 31, 2024. Constant currency ARR growth was 11.5%. The recurring revenues dollar-based net retention rate was 109%, compared to 110% for the same period last year. Q4 AOI less SBC margin was 24.1%, compared to 21.5%. Full-year AOI less SBC margin was 28.6%, compared to 27.5%. Adjusted EPS was $0.27 in Q4, compared to $0.21. Full-year adjusted EPS was $1.21, compared to $1.07. Free cash flow was $136.2 million in Q4, compared to $76.1 million. Full-year free cash flow was $520.2 million, compared to $421.2 million. CFO Werner Andre said constant-currency ARR growth of 11.5% was of notably high quality, and free cash flow exceeded the raised outlook because of strong collections and effective working capital management.
For full-year 2026, Bentley guides total revenues growth of 11% to 13% in constant currency. Subscriptions revenues growth is guided to 11% to 13% in constant currency. Perpetual licenses revenues are expected to be approximately flat in constant currency. Services revenues growth is guided to 15% to 20% in constant currency. Constant currency ARR growth is guided to 10.5% to 12.5%. AOI less Operating SBC is guided to $495 million to $510 million, representing annual margin improvement of approximately 100 basis points in constant currency. The effective tax rate is guided to approximately 21%. Free cash flow is guided to $500 million to $570 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, payable March 19, 2026 to stockholders of record on March 10, 2026.
Recent moves include the December closings of Talon Aerolytics and Pointivo, announced January 5, 2026, which strengthen the Asset Analytics portfolio. Bentley repaid the $678 million principal balance and accrued interest on its 0.125% convertible senior notes due 2026 on January 15, 2026. The repayment was funded by cash on hand and $610 million drawn from revolving credit facilities. $575 million of 0.375% convertible senior notes due mid-2027 remain outstanding. Management said net debt leverage was 2.1 times, and retirement of the 2026 notes reduced the fully diluted share count by approximately 3%. Risks include foreign currency swings, tariffs and trade policies, geopolitical challenges, obstacles to cloud-deployed software in China, and the Chinese market's preference for license sales over subscriptions. The company also faces competition, integration risk from acquisitions, and the need to retain personnel. Those items matter as Bentley works toward its 2026 outlook.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2025 | Q3 FY2025 | QoQ | Q4 FY2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $391.6M | $375.5M | +4.3% | $349.8M | +11.9% |
| Gross profit | $320.7M | $303.4M | +5.7% | $281.9M | +13.8% |
| Gross margin | 81.9% | 80.8% | +1.1 pp | 80.6% | +1.3 pp |
| Research & development | $81.0M | $78.8M | +2.8% | $77.1M | +5.0% |
| Sales & marketing | $84.5M | $72.1M | +17.2% | $78.7M | +7.3% |
| General & administrative | $66.4M | $53.8M | +23.4% | $57.7M | +15.2% |
| Total operating expenses | $242.2M | $218.9M | +10.7% | $220.5M | +9.8% |
| Operating income (loss) | $78.5M | $84.5M | -7.1% | $61.4M | +27.8% |
| Operating margin | 20.1% | 22.5% | -2.4 pp | 17.6% | +2.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $58.7M | $57.3M | +2.4% | $49.7M | +17.9% |
| Net margin | 15.0% | 15.3% | -0.3 pp | 14.2% | +0.8 pp |
| Diluted EPS | $0.18 | $0.18 | ±$0.00 | $0.15 | +$0.03 |
Risks
The company is embedding AI and machine learning across its software portfolio and expects data-centric and AI-powered offerings to drive future growth, but faces slow adoption, regulatory challenges, and R&D cost burdens from an increasingly regulated AI landscape, which could expose it to lawsuits and reputational harm.
Recent and potential U.S. tariffs, particularly on imports from China, and a possible global trade war could increase the cost of products and services and raise the cost of doing business, with the company noting price increases could reduce competitiveness and adversely affect revenue and gross margins.
Approximately 59%, 58%, and 58% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 were from outside the U.S., with about 18% tied to APAC infrastructure projects including China. MD&A flags that future results in China remain uncertain due to geopolitical challenges, obstacles to cloud-deployed software, and a preference there for license rather than subscription sales.
Evolving privacy, data protection, cross-border data flow, and information security laws such as GDPR, China's PIPL, and the CCPA/CPRA impose substantial compliance obligations and penalties (e.g., GDPR up to 20 million euros or 4% of annual global revenue, PIPL up to 50 million renminbi or 5% of annual revenue), and could restrict the use and adoption of cloud offerings.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, EMEA revenue grew 12.5% as reported but only 9.2% on a constant currency basis, and total revenues grew 11.0% as reported versus 10.1% constant currency, illustrating a foreign exchange headwind. With 33% of total revenues denominated in non-U.S. dollar currencies, a strengthening dollar adversely affects results.
The Credit Facility contains restrictive covenants including a net senior secured leverage ratio cap of 3.00 to 1.00 and a fixed charge coverage ratio floor of 3.00 to 1.00, and provides that a change in ownership where the Bentley Family ceases to own at least 20% of aggregate voting power is an event of default that could make loans immediately due.
The dual class structure with Class A shares carrying 29 votes each gives the Bentley Control Group approximately 53.5% of voting power as of December 31, 2025, concentrating control and limiting other stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters; the company is also a controlled company under Nasdaq rules.
Demand is tied to infrastructure sectors with long project timelines, and the company may invest in capacity based on expected demand that takes longer to develop than expected or fails to develop, or may overestimate demand and incur expenses without corresponding revenues.
As the company digitizes and uses cloud and web-based technologies to leverage account data, it faces increased exposure to security breaches and unauthorized access to its and its accounts' information, which could result in litigation, regulatory inquiry, and loss of confidence in its offerings.
Sales through independent regional channel partners accounted for 6%, 7%, and 8% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023. Channel partners may terminate relationships at any time, fail to meet payment obligations, or misrepresent product functionality, potentially harming results and reputation.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Account Retention Rate
Last Twelve-Months Recurring Revenues
ARR
Constant Currency ARR Growth Rate
Last Twelve-Month Recurring Revenues Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate
Free Cash Flow
AOI less SBC Margin
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from BENTLEY SYSTEMS INC's SEC filings for Q4 FY2025 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 2, 2026.