Xero CFO Claire Bramley to leave January 31, 2027, its third senior exit in six months
The exit was confirmed inside half-year results that also raised FY27 guidance and announced an A$1 billion buyback, sending the stock up 12 percent. Melio's break-even test lands in H2 FY28, after Bramley is gone, so holders of Xero (ASX: XRO) must judge the plan without the finance chief who set its discipline.
Vincent Jiangthree-minute read
The finance chief leaves with the plan half-priced
Claire Bramley, chief financial officer of Xero+2.34% — Xero, up 2.34 percent today (ASX: XRO) since April 2025, will leave the cloud accounting software maker on January 31, 2027, for what chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy called "a larger CFO opportunity" at another global organization, confirmed inside the November 12 half-year results 51. A global search for her successor starts now 1. She is the third senior executive out in six months, after the chief people officer left in July and the chief technology officer followed 5.
The board put A$1 billion behind its own valuation
The A$1 billion buyback and the 12 percent opening jump in the stock were yesterday's story, covered here on November 12; the departure announced in the same release is the new fact 15. The board's argument is valuation: "current market valuations do not fully reflect Xero's long-term value and growth potential," Singh Cassidy said 5. The stock closed up 6.1 percent at A$75.17, still down about a third for 2026 67.
The raised outlook traveled with the buyback. Revenue guidance moved up to NZ$3,770–3,830 million, from NZ$3,620–3,730 million 12. Adjusted EBITDA guidance narrowed to NZ$880–920 million, and the FY28 revenue aspiration lifted to above NZ$4.6 billion, from above NZ$4.2 billion 62.
Xero lifted both ends of its FY27 revenue range and raised its FY28 aspiration
- Previous guidance
- New guidance
Data
| Previous guidance | New guidance | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY27 revenue, low end | NZ$3,620m | NZ$3,770m | +4.1% |
| FY27 revenue, high end | NZ$3,730m | NZ$3,830m | +2.7% |
| FY28 revenue aspiration | NZ$4,200m | NZ$4,600m | +9.5% |
Revenue grew 46 percent; profit did not
This was the first full half of Melio, the US bill-pay business bought for US$2.5 billion (A$3.9 billion), completed in October 2025 52. Revenue printed NZ$1,745 million, up 46 percent, or 27 percent pro-forma, as if Melio had been owned in both periods 12.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 3 percent to NZ$362 million; statutory net profit fell 86 percent to NZ$18.5 million 16. Gross margin slipped to 76.0 percent from 79.1 percent, with Melio's NZ$283 million of payments revenue now 16 percent of the group 2. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Beadle called the result a "headline net positive" while noting the NZ$100–150 million revenue upgrade is "almost entirely offset" by NZ$100–130 million of higher costs 5.
Revenue grew 46 percent while adjusted EBITDA grew 3 percent in Xero's first full Melio half
Data
| Year-on-year growth, H1 FY27 | |
|---|---|
| Revenue (reported) | 46% |
| Revenue (pro-forma) | 27% |
| Adj. EBITDA (reported) | 3% |
| Adj. EBITDA (pro-forma) | 23% |
| Net profit (statutory) | -86% |
The CEO's case, and the ledger against it
Cassidy's defense is real: pro-forma Rule of 40, growth plus margin, at about 40 percent a year early; free cash flow up 32 percent to NZ$238 million; operating costs at 68.9 percent of revenue; 5.146 million subscribers 91. She frames AI as a tailwind, to be sold as bundles in existing plans, standalone add-ons and, later, usage-based pricing 31. One proof point is small: Xero claims its AI bank reconciliation saves customers about half their monthly reconciliation time, and the evidence is a survey of 203 small businesses run between December 2025 and April 2026 14.
Shareholders are restless anyway. At the August 2026 annual meeting, 70.6 percent of votes went against the remuneration report after the board set Singh Cassidy's target pay at US$18 million (A$25.5 million) 8. The vote was advisory 8.
Three dates decide it
Bramley's successor inherits a buyback beginning Friday November 13, Melio's adjusted EBITDA break-even guided for the second half of FY28, and the full-year result on May 20, 2027 712. Before May, that person must also price the AI plan, the bundles, add-ons and usage-based charges meant to become revenue 1. The buyback shrinks the share count but leaves open who prices Melio's break-even path and the AI products from February.
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