The CEO of Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says that uncertain economic conditions have led consumers and businesses alike to tighten their purse strings, which is clouding the point-of-sale software company’s revenue outlook.
“Several macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated… through February and March to date,” Dax Dasilva told BNN Bloomberg in a Monday interview.
“We’ve seen heightened inflationary pressures, more job insecurity, and there’s just been weakened consumer confidence that’s been impacting discretionary spending amongst consumers.”
The Montreal-based company said on Monday that it now expects year-over-year revenue growth of about 18 per cent for its 2025 financial year, down from previous expectations of 20 per cent.
Dasilva said that Lightspeed is particularly vulnerable to drops in consumer confidence and spending, as more than 60 per cent of the firm’s revenue is transaction based.
He said that the spending slowdown isn’t just contained to Lightspeed’s North American markets, noting that there has also been weakness in the European hospitality segment recently.
“So, that does affect our overall revenue picture,” Dasilva said, adding that Lightspeed will focus on “controlling costs” in order to offset the expected decline in revenue.
“We’ve maintained our EBITDA guidance of more than $53 million in adjusted EBITDA for the year, so we’re (keeping) very, very tight control of costs. And ultimately our solutions help businesses navigate these periods.”
For Canadian businesses of all kinds to weather the storm of the ongoing trade war with the U.S., Dasilva said increasing certainty should be the first priority for lawmakers.
“I think business flourishes with certainty… the more certainty a business has the more that business can invest,” he said.
“And consumer sentiment, that affects how much people spend at businesses and how much business owners invest for the future, so I think creating an environment of certainty is of the utmost importance for us to get passed some of these macroeconomic conditions.”
With files from The Canadian Press
