ZoomInfo CEO says he is buying more stock as shares explode more than 20% higher

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An earnings-driven stock surge for ZoomInfo (ZI) isn't stopping its founder and CEO from signing off on more aggressive share repurchases.

"We think that over the last year and today ... the stock price is below the intrinsic value that we think it deserves," ZoomInfo founder and CEO Henry Schuck said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast. "And as long as it's below that value, we're going to be buyers of the stock."

ZoomInfo stock rose more than 22% to $11.65 in early trading on Wednesday following better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings late Tuesday.

ZoomInfo has bought back a good chunk of stock somewhat under the radar, with shares down 44% over the past year prior to today's rip higher.

The company repurchased 46 million shares last year, or 12% of the outstanding shares, for $562.3 million. And its board has authorized an additional $500 million share repurchase plan.

Schuck, who founded the data intelligence company in 2007, pointed out he has been a buyer of the stock recently.

Yahoo Finance data shows two large purchases by Schuck in August and November of 2024.

"Over the last 18 or so months, we've retired about 18% of the company's shares," Schuck added. "We continue to think that there's a buying opportunity for us to continue to retire shares and drive shareholder value by doing that."

ZoomInfo is beyond an "inflection point," Schuck said, as it has invested aggressively in the past two years to bolster its artificial intelligence bona fides with customers. To that end, ZoomInfo's new CoPilot tool has seen $150 million in annual contract value to date.

In the fourth quarter, customers spending more than $100,000 annually on the platform rose 3% year over year — the first quarter of positive year-on-year growth since the third quarter of 2023.

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Despite the early AI success, ZoomInfo did take a pragmatic approach to its initial 2025 guidance as its small and medium-size business customers remain mindful of spending in an uncertain economic outlook.

The company sees full-year sales and operating income relatively unchanged year over year in 2025.

"While 4Q24 results indicated a positive inflection point for net recurring revenue, we remain on the sidelines given macro headwinds," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria wrote in a note.

Luria maintained a Neutral rating on the stock with a $13 price target.