Quietly replacing the old way: customers are switching to the company from an entrenched alternative, and the switching
The model's full reasoning — Q4 2022 call → NOWe need to determine if management describes customers switching from an entrenched alternative to the company's product, and that this switching is still early with most potential switchers not yet converted. Let's analyze the transcript. The company is Adaptive Biotechnologies, with clonoSEQ for MRD testing in blood cancers. They talk about growth, penetration, etc. Key points: They mention "clonoSEQ is the gold standard for MRD and blood cancers." They talk about increasing penetration, community business growing from 8% to 15% of total, etc. They mention "our current penetration is about 5%." That suggests that most of the market is still not using clonoSEQ. But is there an entrenched alternative? They don't explicitly name a competitor. They talk about "bone marrow" vs "blood-based" testing. They say "Multiple Myeloma used to be primarily a bone marrow test. However, now 12% of all tests in multiple myeloma in blood, and this is increasing." That suggests a shift from bone marrow biopsies to blood-based testing. But is that a switch from an alternative? The alternative might be other MRD tests or methods. They don't name a specific competitor. They talk about "we have the best product in Hem-MRD" and "we are less than 10% penetrated" in multiple myeloma, "less than 5% penetrated" in CLL. So they are saying that most patients are not yet using clonoSEQ. But is there an incumbent? Possibly other MRD testing methods like flow cytometry or other PCR-based tests. They don't explicitly say "customers are switching from X to us." They talk about increasing adoption, but not necessarily displacing a specific incumbent. The question asks: "does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON — abandoning or displacing an incumbent supplier, a legacy product or technology, an older method, or an established way of doing things in order to adopt what this company sells — AND does management convey that this switching is still in its early stages, with most of the potential switchers not yet converted?" We need to see if management's own words convey this. They mention "blood-based testing" as a catalyst to drive penetration.
| Ticker | Company | Call | Date | Call grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRGO | Freightos Limited | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-20 | C+ |
| IFS | Intercorp Financial Services Inc. | Q1 2024 | 2024-05-14 | C+ |
| NICE | NICE Ltd. | Q4 2023 | 2024-02-22 | B+ |
| APPS | Digital Turbine, Inc. | Q1 2024 | 2023-08-08 | D |
| SPT | Sprout Social, Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-08-04 | B+ |
| MBLY | Mobileye Global Inc. | Q2 2023 | 2023-07-28 | B+ |
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| BLZE | Backblaze, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-11 | D |
| SIBN | SI-BONE, Inc. | Q3 2022 | 2022-11-07 | C+ |
| TMCI | Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. | Q2 2022 | 2022-08-13 | B+ |
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| BIG | Big Lots, Inc. | Q1 2022 | 2022-05-27 | F |
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| EVBN | Evans Bancorp, Inc. | Q4 2016 | 2017-02-06 | B+ |
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BLKB · Q1 2017 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES Management describes customers switching from entrenched alternatives (legacy hardware systems, older Raiser's Edge versions, standalone point solutions) to Blackbaud's cloud solutions like NXT, with examples of recent replacements and migrations already occurring. They also note that much of the potential remains, as the installed base of legacy methods is still large 25% of subscription revenue, and they describe the opportunity as "really early days" with substantial distance left to run. This fits the criteria of a present-tense substitution pattern in the market, not just future hope. The high retention on their own base (93%) combined with declining maintenance revenue shows the shift is active and ongoing, while new wins against competitors and legacy alternatives are happening now. The TAM of $7 billion with hundreds of thousands of addressable customers reinforces that switching is early-stage relative to the total opportunity. The answer is YES. The question is answered with YES. The question is answered with YES.
BLZE · Q3 2022 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES The transcript shows management describing current customer switches from entrenched alternatives (AWS for urlscan.io; Synology NAS/on-prem for Fiture; broader AWS and on-prem users), with these as real, ongoing patterns. They explicitly note that much of the potential remains ("so much of the world's data is still on-premises" and "customers that are inside of AWS and others"), confirming the substitution is early-stage relative to the large installed base. This is conveyed directly in Gleb's responses as a present-tense reality, not merely anticipated. The two examples plus the broader opportunity framing establish a coherent substitution underway, with the company being substituted in. The investor question on percentages and Gleb's reply reinforce the pattern without contradicting the current movement. No single-event or future-only framing applies here. Thus, both conditions are met.
APPS · Q1 2024 → YESThe question is: Does management describe that customers are currently SWITCHING TO THE COMPANY FROM AN ENTRENCHED ALTERNATIVE THEY PREVIOUSLY RELIED ON, and that this switching is still in its early ...YES The transcript shows management describing customers shifting from Apple/Google app stores to DT Hub and SingleTap-enabled alternative distribution as an ongoing, early-stage substitution. Bill Stone notes the company has already launched DT Hub with four U.S. operators and is generating revenue today, while highlighting "increasing pressure on the duopoly" and 5 monetization ways for SingleTap that enable publishers to direct-download apps outside traditional stores. He explicitly calls it "very early days and not yet material to our overall results" and "early innings," confirming the installed base of the old way remains large and the switch is just beginning with incremental RPD gains from devices engaging the new platform. This meets the criteria of a present-tense substitution underway, with the company positioned as the alternative being adopted.