Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY): 5 FORCES Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

You're looking at Thryv Holdings, Inc. right at a critical inflection point, trying to shed its old skin before the 2028 print exit deadline. Honestly, the story here isn't just about the $323M-$325M legacy revenue expected for FY2025; it's about whether the new SaaS engine, despite a solid 103% Net Revenue Retention, can outrun the intense rivalry from players like HubSpot and the low-cost substitutes like Zoho. We need to see if their high switching costs for suppliers-estimated between $1.2 million and $1.8 million-can buy them enough time against price-sensitive SMB customers and low barriers for new entrants. This is where the rubber meets the road. Dive into the five forces analysis below to see the precise competitive landscape.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of suppliers

You're looking at Thryv Holdings, Inc.'s supplier landscape, and honestly, the picture is dominated by a few massive players in the cloud space. For a company that saw its SaaS revenue hit $115.9 million in the third quarter of 2025, the underlying infrastructure providers hold significant leverage. The global cloud infrastructure market is heavily concentrated, with the top three providers-AWS at approximately 29% market share, Microsoft Azure at 22%, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) at 12% as of Q1 2025-controlling over 63% of the market. This concentration means Thryv Holdings, Inc. has limited alternatives for core compute and storage, especially as public cloud spending is projected to reach $723.4 billion globally in 2025.

The reliance on these hyperscalers translates directly into substantial switching costs, which is the main lever suppliers use to exert power over Thryv Holdings, Inc. Moving core systems isn't like changing office stationery; it's a massive undertaking. We estimate that the switching costs for Thryv Holdings, Inc. are substantial, ranging from $1.2 million to $1.8 million per major system transition. This figure reflects the complexity of data egress, application refactoring, and retraining staff on a new platform's native services.

Here's a quick look at how those supplier dynamics play out:

Specialized software development tools and infrastructure vendors have moderate power. Think about the proprietary APIs or niche development environments Thryv Holdings, Inc. uses to build out its platform. While these aren't the primary infrastructure providers, they control critical components of the software stack. The fact that Thryv Holdings, Inc. is aggressively growing its SaaS segment-evidenced by a 33% year-over-year SaaS revenue increase in Q3 2025-means the dependency on these specialized tool vendors is sticky, but not as absolute as the underlying cloud platform itself.

On the other end, legacy print suppliers definitely have low power right now. Thryv Holdings, Inc. has made a clear strategic choice to wind down its Marketing Services segment by 2028, with Q3 2025 revenue from that segment sitting at $85.7 million. This planned obsolescence removes any long-term negotiating leverage these suppliers might have had. Still, the print business is projected to provide robust unlevered Free Cash Flow of approximately $250-$300 million from 2025 to 2030, so managing those short-term supplier relationships until the 2028 exit remains a tactical necessity, but the strategic threat is minimal.

You should definitely watch the cloud provider contracts closely. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of customers

You're analyzing Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) from the customer's perspective, and honestly, the power dynamic has a few moving parts. On one hand, Thryv Holdings, Inc. targets Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) generally defined as having between 2 and 99 employees. These are often highly cost-conscious entities, so price sensitivity is definitely a factor that can empower them to shop around.

Furthermore, the market is full of point solutions-specialized software for just one function-and competing platforms. If Thryv Holdings, Inc.'s all-in-one platform doesn't deliver clear, measurable ROI, the cost to switch to a competitor or a collection of niche tools might seem low enough to warrant the move. That's the risk inherent in serving a broad, price-sensitive market.

Still, Thryv Holdings, Inc. has built significant friction against customer power through its platform design and customer success. The mitigation comes from the value proposition of having marketing, sales, and payment processing integrated. This 'all-in-one' approach, when adopted, creates stickiness that goes beyond a simple feature comparison.

The numbers strongly suggest that existing customers are finding value and expanding their use, which directly counters buyer power. Look at the seasoned Net Revenue Retention (NRR), which hit a record 103% in the first quarter of 2025 and remained at 103% in the second quarter of 2025. That means, on average, the revenue from the existing customer base grew by 3% year-over-year, even accounting for any churn.

The sheer scale of the customer base also dilutes any single customer's leverage. As of the third quarter of 2025, Thryv Holdings, Inc. reported having over 100,000 SaaS subscribers, specifically reaching 103 thousand SaaS clients. When you're dealing with that many accounts, no single SMB can dictate terms; they are one of many.

Here's a quick look at the metrics that show how Thryv Holdings, Inc. is deepening those customer relationships, which is key to mitigating buyer power:

• Seasoned Net Revenue Retention (NRR) in Q1/Q2 2025: 103%.
• Total SaaS Subscribers (Q3 2025): 103 thousand.
• Customers using two or more paid products (Q2 2025): 17,000.
• SaaS Monthly Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) in Q3 2025: $365.

The growth in multi-product adoption is a concrete example of value realization outpacing the temptation to switch. As of September 2025, 17,000 customers, representing about 20% of total Thryv clients, were using two or more paid products. This expansion within the base, coupled with the rising ARPU, shows customers are willing to pay more for the integrated suite.

To put the scale into context against the market opportunity, Thryv Holdings, Inc. is targeting an addressable market of approximately 10 million businesses globally. This vast market size reinforces that the customer base is highly fragmented, limiting the power of any individual or small group of buyers.

The following table summarizes the key SaaS performance indicators that demonstrate the platform's stickiness, which is the primary defense against customer bargaining power:

The trend of increasing ARPU, which grew 19% year-over-year in Q3 2025 to reach $365, suggests that customers are embedding the platform deeper into their operations, making the perceived cost of leaving higher than the sticker price of the subscription. Finance: review the Q4 2025 customer cohort analysis for any material change in NRR drivers by Friday.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - Porter's Five Forces: Competitive rivalry

Competitive rivalry in the SMB SaaS market for Thryv Holdings, Inc. remains intense, driven by the need to accelerate the transition away from legacy offerings. This rivalry exists across both vertical and horizontal competitors in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) space.

Direct competition is clearly defined, positioning Thryv Holdings, Inc. in a crowded middle ground. The company competes against established mid-market players like HubSpot, while simultaneously facing pressure from lower-end, often point-solution providers such as Square and Mailchimp. This dual-front competition means Thryv Holdings, Inc. must constantly prove its integrated value proposition against both feature-rich and cost-effective alternatives.

The internal metric of multi-product adoption highlights a vulnerability that heightens external rivalry pressure. The company relies heavily on upselling and cross-selling to drive growth, yet as of September 2025, only 20% of clients were using two or more paid SaaS products. This means 17,000 customers out of the total base were utilizing multiple solutions at that time.

The financial reality of the legacy business intensifies the urgency in the SaaS competitive arena. The legacy Marketing Services segment is projected to generate revenue between $323M and $325M for the full Fiscal Year 2025. This projected revenue for the declining segment contrasts sharply with the high-growth SaaS segment, which reported $115.9M in revenue for Q3 2025 alone.

Here's a quick look at the segment dynamics as of the third quarter of 2025:

The competitive environment forces Thryv Holdings, Inc. to focus on key retention and expansion metrics:

• Seasoned Net Revenue Retention (NRR) reached a record 103% in Q1 2025.
• SaaS Monthly ARPU (Average Revenue Per Unit) increased 19% year-over-year to $365 in Q3 2025.
• SaaS client base grew 7% year-over-year to 103,000 subscribers by the end of Q3 2025.
• The company aims to grow ARPU in the base to reach $800 or $900 million in total revenue.

The pressure is on to convert the existing client base, which is still heavily reliant on the legacy segment, into higher-value, multi-product SaaS users. If onboarding takes 14+ days, churn risk rises.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of substitutes

You're looking at the competitive landscape for Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY), and the threat of substitutes is definitely a major factor for any all-in-one platform targeting small and medium businesses (SMBs). These substitutes aren't just direct competitors; they are alternative ways for an SMB to get the same job done, often at a lower perceived cost or with greater specialization.

The open-source world presents a significant hurdle. Consider WordPress, which powers approximately 43.3% of all websites as of early 2025. This platform, being open-source, offers a free base for website creation, and its massive ecosystem of plugins-with over 59,000 available-allows users to build out digital marketing and presence tools without the recurring subscription fees Thryv charges. This free-to-start model is a powerful substitute for a bundled solution.

SMBs frequently opt to assemble their own stack of specialized tools, which effectively substitutes the integrated offering from Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY). This bundling strategy allows for best-of-breed functionality in each area, even if it requires more management overhead. For example, in accounting, QuickBooks holds a commanding 62.23% market share in the accounting software space. For email marketing, Mailchimp commands an estimated 42.09% share in the online-marketing market.

Here's a quick look at the market penetration of some key point-solution substitutes:

The substitution threat is compounded by low-cost, integrated Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) alternatives. Zoho, for instance, offers a broad suite of integrated tools that directly compete with the all-in-one value proposition. Zoho reported a consolidated revenue of ₹8,703 crore in FY23, which translates to approximately US$1.11 billion. This scale demonstrates their ability to compete on price and feature breadth against Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY), whose Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) revenue as of late 2025 was reported at $0.77 Billion USD.

Furthermore, the historical foundation of Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY)'s business-the legacy print directory-is rapidly being substituted by digital channels. The shift is away from physical media toward:

• Search engines, which capture the vast majority of local search intent.
• Social media platforms, which offer direct engagement and advertising channels to SMBs.

The market reality for Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) shows this pressure; analysts forecast its 2025 revenue to be around $779,992,000, reflecting a challenging environment where substitutes are abundant and highly functional.

Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of new entrants

You're looking at the competitive landscape for Thryv Holdings, Inc. (THRY) as of late 2025, and the threat from new players is definitely a factor to watch.

Barriers to entry for new Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are relatively low, especially for niche or specialized applications. The rise of low-code/no-code platforms significantly lowers the barrier, allowing startups with limited technical resources to create applications quickly and cost-effectively. This enables them to launch Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) faster, facilitating quicker market entry and feedback collection. The global SaaS market is expected to have about 72,000 companies by the end of 2025.

New entrants can leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure to quickly deploy competitive products. Modern SaaS companies using AI for product intelligence deploy features 63% faster than traditional development approaches. The global AI market is expected to exceed $190 billion in 2025, with SaaS platforms accounting for a significant share of that growth. The AI-enhanced SaaS market is projected to reach a valuation of $60.36 billion by the end of 2025.

Capital requirements for a full-stack platform and a large sales force create a moderate barrier, though less so than in previous decades. Building a full-scale SaaS platform with advanced features can cost up to $300,000 or more, depending on complexity and integrations. However, a founder can launch a basic MVP to test demand for as little as $30K-$80K. This cost structure means that while a full-stack competitor requires substantial initial funding, a focused, niche player can enter with less capital. Here's the quick math on what it takes to build:

Still, Thryv Holdings, Inc. operates in a large space, which attracts established players. Thryv is positioning itself between higher-end solutions like Salesforce and HubSpot and lower-end options like Square and Mailchimp. The threat is high from established back-office SaaS vendors expanding into customer-facing functions, as they already possess large user bases and established infrastructure. Thryv Holdings, Inc. serves approximately 300,000 SMB clients globally. For a new entrant, breaking into this established base is tough, but the total serviceable addressable market (SAM) for Thryv is estimated at 10 million businesses with an annual spend potential of $40 billion. Thryv's Q3 2025 SaaS revenue was $115.9 million, and its SaaS client count was 103 thousand at the end of that quarter. Also, 20% of Thryv's total clients were using two or more paid products as of September 2025, showing an opportunity for multi-product expansion that new entrants will target.

The market is crowded, with the global SaaS market expected to reach $295B by 2025. Companies that fail to adopt AI are at risk of losing competitiveness, as 67% of top-performing companies are already leveraging Generative AI for innovation. If onboarding for a new entrant takes 14+ days, churn risk rises, which is a hurdle new players must clear quickly. The ability of new entrants to use AI to personalize experiences, which 70% of consumers expect, puts pressure on incumbents like Thryv Holdings, Inc. to match that intelligence.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.