Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• CCC Intelligent Solutions (CCCS) is at the forefront of the insurance economy's digital transformation, leveraging its cloud-based SaaS platform, extensive multi-sided network, and advanced AI to streamline mission-critical workflows for insurers, repairers, and automotive partners.
• The company delivered strong financial results in Q3 2025, with revenue growing 12% year-over-year to $267.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA reaching $110 million, reflecting the scalability of its model and increasing adoption of its AI-driven solutions.
• Strategic acquisitions, notably EvolutionIQ, are expanding CCC's addressable market into casualty, disability, and workers' compensation, with new product integrations like Medhub already gaining traction among top insurers.
• Despite macroeconomic headwinds impacting auto physical damage (APD) claim volumes, CCC's largely subscription-based revenue model and focus on increasing solution attachment rates per claim are driving durable growth, reinforced by strong Software Gross Dollar Retention (GDR) of 99%.
• Ongoing investments in go-to-market strategies, organizational alignment, and continuous technological innovation are positioning CCCS for sustained long-term growth and margin expansion, with management projecting 12% revenue growth and 40-41% Adjusted EBITDA margin for full-year 2025.

The Architectural Backbone of the Insurance Economy

Founded in 1980, CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. has evolved from a pioneer in automotive insurance claims and collision repair to a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for the multi-trillion-dollar insurance economy. The company's foundational strength lies in its cloud-based SaaS platform, which connects over 35,000 businesses, including insurers, repairers, automakers, and parts suppliers, digitizing mission-critical workflows, commerce, and customer experiences. This extensive network, built upon initiatives like the Direct Repair Programs (DRP) first introduced in 1992, creates a powerful network effect where all participants benefit from joining the largest ecosystem.

CCC's overarching strategy is to be the partner of choice for the insurance economy's generational digital upgrade cycle. This involves continuously investing in innovation to help customers manage increasing complexity driven by technological advancements, supply-chain disruption, social inflation, and medical inflation. The company's solutions are designed to deliver "intelligent experiences" – using rich data and state-of-the-art AI to identify and execute the best outcome for a given claim or repair, connecting disparate participants across the ecosystem in real-time. This approach is critical as industry professionals face higher demands and rising complexity, making AI-guided "next best actions" a defining feature of vertical software.

Technological Edge: AI-Powered Workflows and Network Connectivity

At the heart of CCC's differentiation is its proprietary AI technology, deeply integrated into its platform to deliver tangible, quantifiable benefits across the claims and repair lifecycle. The company's AI solutions are actively used by over 100 U.S. auto insurers and more than 10,000 U.S. collision repairers.

Key technological differentiators and their impact include:

• Computer Vision AI: This core capability underpins solutions like Estimate-STP and Mobile Jumpstart, which cut estimate preparation time from an average of 30 minutes to under 2 minutes. This significantly frees up technicians and accelerates cycle times.
• Intelligent Reinspection: A workflow AI solution that reviews supplement requests (which occur in approximately two-thirds of repair claims), auto-approving roughly 40% of them. This dramatically shortens cycle times for repairs and reduces manual effort.
• Early Total Loss Identification: AI-enabled capabilities help insurers identify potential total losses much earlier, regardless of vehicle location. One national insurer achieved a 30% lift in early total loss identifications, reducing cycle time by 3 to 7 days. This eliminates hundreds of dollars in avoidable rental and storage charges.
• Build Sheets: This accuracy-enhancing parts selection tool leverages as-manufactured vehicle data to identify the exact part needed for a repair, often filtering choices from dozens down to one. For customers using this solution, part returns are 25% lower by quantity and over 50% lower by dollar value.
• AI-Enabled Subrogation: This solution has enabled some carriers to settle over 40% of demands on the same day they receive them, compared to days or weeks traditionally. A top 20 insurer reported a 6:1 ROI from using these tools.
• Medhub: Acquired through EvolutionIQ, Medhub is an AI-powered medical record synthesis technology. In the past 12 months, it processed 6 million documents, 5.5 million full summaries, and 82 million pages. It targets a 5:1 ROI and can impact combined ratios in the low single-digit points for casualty claims.
• IX Cloud: Introduced in 2024, this event-based architecture acts as an overlay on CCC's existing cloud applications, enabling faster and easier deployment of new solutions and increasing the synergistic use of multiple CCC solutions together.

These technological advancements create a widening gap in operating efficiency and consumer experience between businesses on the CCC platform and those that are not. This technological leadership, combined with the deep workflows CCC is involved in and its extensive ecosystem, forms a robust competitive moat.

Competitive Landscape and Strategic Positioning

The insurance technology market is dynamic, with numerous internally and externally developed solutions. CCCS operates in a competitive environment, facing both direct and indirect rivals. Direct competitors include established players like Verisk Analytics (VRSK), Guidewire Software (GWRE), and Sapiens International (SPNS), which offer data analytics, core insurance systems, and digital platforms, respectively.

CCCS differentiates itself through its specialized focus on AI-driven connectivity across the entire insurance economy, solving the "many-to-many problem" by bridging insurers with external partners like repairers, OEMs, and parts suppliers. This ecosystem approach fosters stronger network effects and customer retention. While larger competitors like Verisk may possess broader data repositories and Guidewire offers comprehensive back-end systems, CCCS's strength lies in its vertical depth and agility in AI-specific advancements. For instance, CCCS's AI-driven workflows can deliver materially greater efficiency in handling complex tasks compared to some rivals. The company's competitive positioning continues to strengthen due to its innovation, robust network, and proven ROI for customers, leading to consistent new logo wins and a 99% GDR.

Indirect competition comes from general AI platforms and emerging insurtech startups. However, CCCS's deep vertical expertise, having trained its AI around specific automotive parts and claims, provides a significant advantage over horizontal providers. Regulatory compliance and high R&D requirements also act as substantial barriers to entry, protecting CCCS's market position.

Financial Performance and Operational Momentum

CCC Intelligent Solutions has demonstrated consistent financial performance, reflecting its durable business model. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, total revenues increased by 11.6% year-over-year to $779.1 million. Software subscription revenues, which constitute 96% of total revenue, grew by 11.8% to $749.8 million over the same period. This growth was primarily driven by a 5% contribution from existing customer upgrades and expanded solution offerings, 4% from the EvolutionIQ acquisition, and 3% from new customers.

In Q3 2025, total revenue reached $267.1 million, up 12% year-over-year, exceeding guidance. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $110 million, with a healthy margin of 41%. While the gross profit margin for Q3 2025 was 72.2%, down from 76.9% in the prior year, this was attributed to increased depreciation from new solution investments, higher IT-related costs (partially from EvolutionIQ), and product mix shifts.

Operational efficiency remains a core focus. Research and development expenses increased by $3.4 million (6.9%) in Q3 2025, primarily due to personnel costs, including stock-based compensation from EvolutionIQ, reflecting ongoing investment in innovation. Selling and marketing expenses also rose by $9.9 million (28.7%), driven by personnel and professional service costs, again partly due to EvolutionIQ.

The company's Software Net Dollar Retention (NDR) was 105% in Q3 2025, a slight decrease from 107% in Q2 2025, mainly due to the timing of deals. However, Software Gross Dollar Retention (GDR) remained strong at 99%, underscoring the stickiness of its platform and the value it provides to existing customers.

CCC maintains a solid liquidity position. As of September 30, 2025, the company held $97.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and a working capital surplus of $112.6 million.

Cash flows from operating activities were robust at $196.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025. Free cash flow in Q3 2025 was $79 million, contributing to a trailing 12-month free cash flow of $255 million, representing a 25% margin. The company actively returns capital to shareholders, having repurchased approximately 30 million shares for about $280 million year-to-date under its $300 million share repurchase program.

Strategic Initiatives and Outlook

CCC is proactively investing to accelerate value creation. The acquisition of EvolutionIQ in January 2025 for $674.3 million was a significant move to expand into disability and workers' compensation, and to deepen AI capabilities in casualty. This integration is progressing well, with the faster-than-expected launch of Medhub for auto casualty in Q3 2025, which is generating strong interest from top insurers. EvolutionIQ's core disability business continues strong momentum, and its workers' compensation solution is being cross-sold to existing CCC clients, including a top 25 APD and casualty client.

The company is also refining its go-to-market strategy, augmenting teams with new client leaders for strategic consultative platform sales, and separating the Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer roles to enhance focus and execution. These investments, including one-time consulting and recruiting fees, are being absorbed in the near term, with a clear path to resume margin progression in 2026.

For Q4 2025, CCC projects revenue between $272 million and $277 million, representing 10% to 12% year-over-year growth, and Adjusted EBITDA of $106 million to $111 million, with a 40% margin at the midpoint. The full-year 2025 guidance anticipates revenue of $1.051 billion to $1.056 billion, reflecting 12% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, and Adjusted EBITDA of $423 million to $428 million, with a 40-41% margin. This guidance includes a moderate EBITDA loss from EvolutionIQ, but excluding its impact, CCC expects approximately 100 basis points of year-over-year margin expansion. Stock-based compensation, while front-loaded in 2025, is expected to trend down to high single digits by 2027.

Risks and Challenges

Despite the strong momentum, CCC faces several risks. Macroeconomic uncertainty continues to impact auto physical damage (APD) claim volumes, which declined 6% year-over-year in Q3 2025, creating approximately a 1 percentage point headwind to growth. This is largely attributed to consumer economic sensitivity, with higher insurance premiums leading to increased deductibles and fewer non-essential claims being filed. While management views this as a cyclical phenomenon, the duration of this claims weakness, which historically can last one to two years, remains uncertain.

Additionally, macroeconomic uncertainty could lead to longer sales and implementation cycles for new business. The company also faces inherent risks associated with its reliance on third-party data, technology, and intellectual property, as well as the need to protect its data and information systems from security breaches. The successful integration and monetization of acquisitions like EvolutionIQ also present execution risks.

Conclusion

CCC Intelligent Solutions stands as a pivotal force in the ongoing digital transformation of the multi-trillion-dollar insurance economy. Its deep history, coupled with relentless innovation in AI-powered solutions and a robust multi-sided network, positions it as an indispensable partner for insurers, repairers, and automotive manufacturers. The company's recent financial performance, marked by consistent revenue growth and strong cash flow generation, underscores the resilience of its subscription-based model and the increasing adoption of its differentiated technology.

While macroeconomic headwinds and cyclical claims volume fluctuations present near-term challenges, CCC's strategic investments in expanding its solution portfolio, particularly in the high-growth casualty market through EvolutionIQ, and its commitment to operational efficiency, are expected to drive durable long-term value. The company's technological leadership, evidenced by quantifiable improvements in efficiency and customer experience, continues to widen its competitive moat. For discerning investors, CCCS represents a compelling opportunity to participate in the fundamental reshaping of a critical industry, driven by a clear vision and a proven ability to execute.