DocuSign, a company that allows users to sign PDFs electronically, replaced United Airlines in the Nasdaq 100 index this week, a move chock full of symbolism as so-called "stay-at-home stocks" have rallied amid the pandemic.
Shares of DocuSign are up about 120 percent year-to-date, though CEO Dan Springer told Cheddar that he's trying not to think about the stock price as he focuses on broadening the company's portfolio.
"We were off to a great start this year before the pandemic," Spring said. While the effects of COVID-19 recently propelled companies like Zoom and Slack, they also "accelerated" DocuSign's growth trajectory.
To wit: in Q1 of 2019, the company added 3,000 net new customers. In Q1 of 2020, it more than tripled that. DocuSign is also seeing significant growth with its existing customer base, Springer said, pointing to a metric known as "dollar net retention," similar to same-store sales in retail. DocuSign's dollar net retention is up 119 percent this quarter, he said, meaning existing customers are spending nearly 20 percent more on DocuSign products and services.
Springer sees a major growth opportunity in what he calls the "agreement cloud" -- the unsexy, but potentially lucrative business of preparing documents and forms for signature, and then managing them once they're signed.
"That really is the future for this company," Springer said. "It's the next big cloud opportunity."
With its induction into the Nasdaq 100 -- considered a tech industry benchmark -- DocuSign will take its place in the index next to heavyweights like Alphabet, Apple, and Facebook just two years after the company went public.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
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