Definitive Healthcare Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

26 Feb 2026, 23:14 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Definitive Healthcare (NASDAQ:DH) reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that management said landed at or above the high end of its guidance ranges, while outlining continued work to improve retention and rebuild a path to sustainable revenue growth.

Q4 results and full-year performance

Total revenue in the fourth quarter was $61.5 million, down 1% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA of $18.1 million for a 29% margin. CEO Kevin Coop said the quarter reflected continued “strong profitability performance” and “ongoing expense discipline.” CFO Casey Heller added that adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by approximately 120 basis points year-over-year.

On a non-GAAP basis, Heller reported adjusted net income of $8.6 million, or $0.06 in earnings per share for the quarter. Unlevered free cash flow was $2.5 million in Q4 and $54.9 million on a trailing 12-month basis, which Coop said was approximately $55 million.

For full-year 2025, the company reported:

Total revenue: $241.5 million (down 4% year-over-year)
Adjusted EBITDA: $70.4 million (29% margin)
Unlevered free cash flow: $54.9 million

Revenue mix: subscription pressure, services strength

Subscription revenue in Q4 was $58.5 million, down 3% year-over-year, and down 7% excluding data partnership contributions, according to Heller. He said the company saw “modest improvements” in renewal rates year-over-year, “but not to the extent we had hoped.”

Professional services revenue was a bright spot, rising 49% year-over-year in the quarter. Heller attributed that to traditional analytics engagements and “a ramp-up in our digital activations activity.”

Adjusted gross profit was $50.2 million, flat year-over-year, with an adjusted gross margin of 82% (up about 100 basis points). Heller said Q4 margins benefited in part from a temporary cost tailwind after removing one data source while onboarding another source expected to come online in “the next month or two,” which reduced cost of goods sold during the period.

Strategic progress in 2025: data, integrations, customer success, innovation

Coop framed 2025 progress around four pillars: data differentiation, integrations, customer success, and innovation. He emphasized that while the foundation improved, the benefits “will take time to fully be realized,” and said that timing is reflected in the company’s 2026 guidance.

Data differentiation. Coop highlighted a “fall expansion pack” released in the second half of the year that included a new claims data source. Management said the healthcare claims market experienced a significant disruption over the past 12–18 months, and that the company has now restored claims volumes to “above historical levels.” Coop also said Definitive strengthened reference and affiliation data by adding mobile phone data for healthcare executives and providers.

Integrations. Coop said the company expanded integrations with platforms including Snowflake and Databricks, and introduced a HubSpot integration in Q4. He also described a pilot program with PhysicianView and Salesforce that is expected to be generally available in the current quarter. The company increased integration automation and shortened integration time by about 25% during 2025, which Coop said improves customer satisfaction and retention because integrated customers renew at higher rates. In Q4, the company added “over 60 integrated customers,” compared with 160 for the full year.

Customer success. Coop said retention improvement has been supported by coordination across product development, data quality, and go-to-market execution. He noted that retention improved year-over-year in each of the past three quarters, including the larger cohort of Q4 renewals. Heller also reported gross dollar retention improved about 2 points year-over-year in 2025, while net dollar retention declined due to pressure in upsell opportunities.

Innovation and digital engagement. Coop said the company signed nearly 30 agencies for digital activations during the year, and that more than a third are already generating bookings, noting a natural lag between signing and revenue generation. He also pointed to a partnership launched with Bombora to distribute “off-the-shelf and fully customizable audiences” for activation through platforms such as The Trade Desk, Yahoo DSP, Reddit, and data marketplaces like LiveRamp.

AI strategy and product roadmap

Management described AI as an enabler rather than a budget headwind for customers, arguing that Definitive’s proprietary and longitudinal data assets, domain expertise, and customer relationships position it well to apply AI to healthcare-specific workflows. Coop said the company will begin integrating GenAI into its products, starting with its flagship View platform “next quarter,” and later added that the company is launching certain beta programs in the current quarter with a focus on broader general availability in Q2.

In response to investor questions about net dollar retention, Heller said it is the company’s “full expectation” that net dollar retention will improve in 2026 and that the company views 2025 as the bottom. Later, management said the 2026 guide assumes a “modest improvement” in net dollar retention of “a couple of points.”

2026 outlook: continued declines, modest second-half improvement

For the first quarter of 2026, the company guided to revenue of $54 million to $56 million, down 5% to 9% year-over-year. Guidance includes adjusted EBITDA of $12 million to $13 million (a 22% to 23% margin) and adjusted EPS of approximately $0.03 on 143.2 million weighted average shares.

For full-year 2026, Definitive guided to revenue of $220 million to $226 million, implying a 6% to 9% decline year-over-year. Heller said total revenue dollars are expected to be “roughly flat sequentially through the year” with a modest second-half uptick. The company guided to adjusted EBITDA of $53 million to $58 million (a 24% to 26% margin) and adjusted EPS of $0.14 to $0.17 on 145.4 million weighted average shares.

Heller also said the EBITDA margin decline from 2025 reflects both revenue pressure and the absence of one-time expense credits recognized in Q2 and Q3 2025. While the company did not provide formal unlevered free cash flow guidance, Heller said management expects EBITDA-to-free-cash-flow conversion to improve by several points in 2026 due to lower planned capital expenditures.

On the demand environment, management said there was “no significant change,” though it cited “green shoots” such as condensing sales cycles and improved execution. Heller also noted that diversified and provider end markets returned to growth in Q4, and said about 60% of the business has returned to growth, while life sciences remains the primary area of focus for recovery.

About Definitive Healthcare (NASDAQ:DH)

Definitive Healthcare (NASDAQ:DH) is a leading provider of intelligence and analytics on healthcare providers, organizations and the professionals who treat patients. Through its cloud-based platform, the company aggregates data from multiple sources—including claims, government registries, commercial filings and proprietary research—to deliver a unified view of the healthcare landscape. Its solutions enable life sciences companies, healthcare providers, payers and consulting firms to identify market opportunities, optimize sales and marketing efforts, improve operational efficiency and support better patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship offering is a subscription-based data platform that features detailed profiles on physicians, hospitals, health systems and post-acute care facilities.