CRNC on Nasdaq

Cerence Inc.

Logo: cerence.com⁴

AI software company

Cerence Inc. is an American multinational software company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) assistant technology primarily for automobiles.³ From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Last updated Oct 16, 2026.

Overview

$251.8MRevenue, fiscal 2025⁵

-$18.7MNet income, fiscal 2025⁵

2019Founded¹

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TickerCRNC on Nasdaq¹
Industryartificial intelligence, automotive industry¹
HeadquartersBurlington¹
Websitewww.cerence.com
Legal formDelaware corporation¹
Incorporated inDE⁶
Business address1500 District Avenue, Burlington, Ma⁶
Filer categoryAccelerated filer⁶

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Cerence Inc. is an American multinational software company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) assistant technology primarily for automobiles.³

Financials

From the company’s reports to the SEC. Every number links to the filing it came from.

Key numbers, fiscal 2025

72.7%Gross margin⁵

-0.9%Operating margin⁵

-7.4%Net margin⁵

-24.0%Revenue growth, 2025⁵

-12.4%Return on equity⁵

1.33×Debt to equity⁵

$46.8MFree cash flow⁵

What sells

Revenue by product, business segment and region, as the company reports it to the SEC.

Products and services

License brought in 56% of the revenue Cerence Inc. broke down this way in fiscal 2025.

License$140.6M⁵56%up 13% from 2024
Professional Services$57.8M⁵23%down 21% from 2024
Connected Services$53.4M⁵21%down 60% from 2024

Products and services by year

Products and services	2023	2024	2025
License	$145.2M	$124.7M	$140.6M
Professional Services	$74.2M	$73.3M	$57.8M
Connected Services	$75.1M	$133.4M	$53.4M

Regions

Germany brought in 31% of the revenue Cerence Inc. broke down this way in fiscal 2025.

Germany$79.2M⁵31%down 16% from 2024
Other Asia Pacific$68.0M⁵27%up 84% from 2024
United States$38.7M⁵15%down 72% from 2024
Japan$37.4M⁵15%down 12% from 2024
Other Europe Middle East And Africa$27.1M⁵11%up 50% from 2024
Other Americas$1.3M⁵1%up 107% from 2024

Regions by year

Regions	2023	2024	2025
Germany	$87.2M	$94.0M	$79.2M
Other Asia Pacific	$64.2M	$36.9M	$68.0M
United States	$87.1M	$139.4M	$38.7M
Japan	$40.1M	$42.5M	$37.4M
Other Europe Middle East And Africa	$15.6M	$18.0M	$27.1M
Other Americas	$244.0K	$623.0K	$1.3M

Where the money goes

Where each dollar of revenue went, fiscal 2025

Cost of revenueResearch and developmentOther costs

Cost of revenue27¢$68.6M
Research and development39¢$97.8M
Other costs30¢$75.5M
Income tax4¢$9.9M

Out of $251.8M in revenue.⁵ The company lost money this year.

Where each dollar of operating cash went, fiscal 2025

Capital spendingKept or used elsewhere

Capital spending23¢$14.4M
Share buybacks4¢$2.4M
Kept or used elsewhere73¢$44.4M

Out of $61.2M of cash from operations.⁵

Financial statements

Revenue⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$251.8M in 2025−9% since 2018

Gross profit⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$183.1M in 2025−6% since 2018

Operating income⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵-$2.3M in 2025

Net income⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵-$18.7M in 2025

Every line of the income statement in the latest annual report, as filed.⁵

Period ending	2025-09-30	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Total revenues	$251.8M	$331.5M	$294.5M
Amortization of intangible assets	$0	$103.0K	$414.0K
Total cost of revenues	$68.6M	$87.2M	$95.2M
Gross profit	$183.1M	$244.3M	$199.3M
Research and development	$97.8M	$121.6M	$123.3M
Sales and marketing	$21.8M	$21.7M	$27.5M
General and administrative	$48.8M	$52.5M	$57.9M
Amortization of intangible assets	$1.7M	$2.2M	$5.9M
Restructuring and other costs, net	$15.4M	$17.1M	$11.9M
Goodwill impairment	$0	$609.2M	$0
Total operating expenses	$185.4M	$824.2M	$226.5M
Loss from operations	-$2.3M	-$579.9M	-$27.2M
Interest income	$3.9M	$5.4M	$4.5M
Interest expense	-$10.2M	-$12.6M	-$14.8M
Other (expense) income, net	-$160.0K	$2.5M	$1.1M
Loss before income taxes	-$8.8M	-$584.6M	-$36.4M
Provision for income taxes	$9.9M	$3.5M	$19.9M
Net loss	-$18.7M	-$588.1M	-$56.3M
Basic (in dollars per share)	-$0.43	-$14.12	-$1.40
Diluted (in dollars per share)	-$0.43	-$14.12	-$1.40
Basic (in shares)	43.2M shares	41.6M shares	40.2M shares
Diluted (in shares)	43.2M shares	41.6M shares	40.2M shares

Total assets⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$630.6M in 2025−58% since 2019

Total liabilities⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$479.9M in 2025+15% since 2019

Shareholders’ equity⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$150.7M in 2025−85% since 2018

Long-term debt⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$199.7M in 2025−25% since 2020

Every line of the balance sheet in the latest annual report, as filed.⁵

Period ending	2025-09-30	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Cash and cash equivalents	$84.0M	$121.5M
Marketable securities	$3.4M	$5.5M
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $68 and $1,614 at September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2024, respectively	$58.9M	$62.8M	$61.3M
Deferred costs	$4.5M	$5.3M
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	$39.9M	$70.5M
Total current assets	$190.8M	$265.5M
Long-term marketable securities	$0	$3.5M
Property and equipment, net	$35.8M	$30.1M
Deferred costs	$15.5M	$18.1M
Operating lease right of use assets	$16.8M	$12.9M
Goodwill	$299.0M	$296.9M	$900.3M
Intangible assets, net	$0	$1.7M
Deferred tax assets	$54.2M	$51.4M
Other assets	$18.6M	$22.4M
Total assets	$630.6M	$702.4M
Accounts payable	$901.0K	$4.0M
Deferred revenue	$51.9M	$52.8M
Short-term operating lease liabilities	$4.3M	$4.5M
Short-term debt	$0	$87.1M
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	$44.1M	$68.4M
Total current liabilities	$101.2M	$216.8M
Long-term debt, net of discounts and issuance costs	$199.7M	$194.8M
Deferred revenue, net of current portion	$140.0M	$114.4M
Long-term operating lease liabilities	$13.1M	$8.8M
Other liabilities	$25.9M	$26.5M
Total liabilities	$479.9M	$561.3M
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 560,000 shares authorized as of September 30, 2025; 43,374 and 41,924 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2024, respectively	$434.0K	$419.0K
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	-$25.5M	-$25.9M
Additional paid-in capital	$1.1B	$1.1B
Accumulated deficit	-$940.5M	-$921.7M
Total stockholders' equity	$150.7M	$141.1M	$694.9M
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$630.6M	$702.4M
Accounts receivable allowances	$68.0K	$1.6M
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$0.01	$0.01
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	560.0M shares	560.0M shares
Common stock, issued (in shares)	43.4M shares	41.9M shares
Common stock, outstanding (in shares)	43.4M shares	41.9M shares

Cash from operations⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$61.2M in 2025−47% since 2018

Capital spending⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$14.4M in 2025+121% since 2018

Free cash flow⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$46.8M in 2025−57% since 2018

Share buybacks¹⁰¹¹¹²⁵$2.4M in 2025−75% since 2020

Every line of the cash flow in the latest annual report, as filed.⁵

Period ending	2025-09-30	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Net loss	-$18.7M	-$588.1M	-$56.3M
Depreciation and amortization	$10.5M	$10.6M	$16.0M
Provision for credit loss reserve	$220.0K	$3.5M	$3.6M
Stock-based compensation	$27.4M	$23.7M	$40.8M
Non-cash interest expense	$5.5M	$6.1M	$2.9M
(Gain) loss on debt extinguishment	-$327.0K	$0	$1.3M
Deferred tax provision (benefit)	$241.0K	-$4.7M	$7.6M
Goodwill impairment	$0	$609.2M	$0
Unrealized foreign currency transaction gain	-$2.6M	-$1.5M	-$3.4M
Other, net	$2.4M	-$68.0K	-$3.4M
Accounts receivable	-$1.4M	$11.8M	-$17.0M
Prepaid expenses and other assets	$32.1M	-$12.5M	$28.2M
Deferred costs	$3.9M	$4.8M	$3.2M
Accounts payable	-$3.1M	-$12.6M	$5.8M
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	-$18.2M	$27.9M	-$408.0K
Deferred revenue	$23.3M	-$61.0M	-$21.5M
Net cash provided by operating activities	$61.2M	$17.2M	$7.5M
Capital expenditures	-$14.4M	-$5.0M	-$5.1M
Purchases of marketable securities	$0	$0	-$18.0M
Sale and maturities of marketable securities	$5.5M	$11.1M	$30.3M
Other investing activities	-$1.7M	-$1.7M	-$1.4M
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities	-$10.6M	$4.4M	$5.8M
Principal payments of short-term debt	-$87.1M	$0	$0
Proceeds from revolving credit facility	$0	$0	$24.7M
Payments of revolver credit facility	$0	$0	-$24.7M
Proceeds from long-term debt, net of discount	$0	$0	$210.0M
Payments for long-term debt issuance costs	$0	-$419.0K	-$17.2M
Principal payments of long-term debt	$0	$0	-$198.4M
Common stock repurchases for tax withholdings for net settlement of equity awards	-$2.4M	-$9.9M	-$4.9M
Principal payment of lease liabilities arising from a finance lease	-$411.0K	-$392.0K	-$451.0K
Proceeds from the issuance of common stock	$2.9M	$10.9M	$5.6M
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	-$87.0M	$225.0K	-$5.3M
Effect of foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	-$1.1M	-$1.5M	-$1.7M
Net change in cash and cash equivalents	-$37.5M	$20.3M	$6.3M
Cash paid for income taxes	$6.7M	$10.2M	$11.2M
Cash paid for interest	$5.6M	$6.0M	$11.6M

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The story

Cerence was founded in October 2019, after Nuance Communications decided to turn its automotive division into an independent company. Nuance had provided voice recognition technology to car manufacturers for twenty years prior to the spin-off, and its technology was built into half of the new cars shipped globally in the first six months of 2019. Cerence's first official trading day on the Nasdaq exchange was October 2, 2019. The company assumed control of previously Nuance-held contracts with approximately 60 automakers including BMW, Ford, and Toyota. Since becoming its own entity, Cerence signed new deals to install voice recognition and assistance technology in Fiat Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. In January 2020, LG announced that it would start integrating Cerence's voice assistant into its in-car infotainment systems. On 30 September 2021, VinFast reported that Cerence software will be used for its electric vehicles as an intelligence voice assistant.

As of August 2021, Cerence's AI assistant technology had been installed on over 400 million cars worldwide.

Cerence received an Automotive News PACE Award in September 2021 for Cerence Pay, a technology that allows drivers to pay for fuel via voice commands.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cerence, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁷

Leadership

Who has led Cerence Inc., and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chief executive

20202025

Chief executive officerBrian Krzanich Oct 7, 2024 to now¹
Chief executive officerStefan Ortmanns Dec 25, 2021 to Oct 7, 2024¹

Products and brands

Cerence develops automotive AI products, primarily focusing on voice assistant technology. Its voice assistant technology is not device-specific, and is white-labeled for auto manufacturers. The company's products integrate into a car's operating system and allow drivers to use speech for a variety of actions, for example to control their GPS, entertainment system, and climate settings rather than using manual controls. Cerence's technology also incorporates facial recognition and customized responses to individual drivers. As of 2021, Cerence's speech recognition software recognizes 70 different languages and dialects. The technology can work with other voice assistant and AI devices such as those developed by Apple Inc. and Google. Drivers using the voice technology in their car can make a request and the Cerence software would help route it appropriately to the right system or virtual assistant that can best respond, essentially acting as a "switchboard" to access information from other AI and voice assistants.

The company is also developing technology that provides drivers with the ability to control some in-car systems with brief glances or gestures.