• In early January 2026, Appian said it will press ahead with its trade secret lawsuit against Pegasystems after the Virginia Supreme Court sent the case back for retrial and rejected Pegasystems’ bid to have it thrown out, with the court’s opinion describing how Pegasystems allegedly hired a “spy” to obtain Appian information.
• The continued legal battle, including unresolved trade secret claims and an unchallenged finding under the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, keeps legal risk and potential financial and operational consequences at the forefront for Appian and its shareholders.
• We’ll now examine how this renewed legal scrutiny, especially the retrial of Appian’s trade secret claims against Pegasystems, may influence its investment narrative.

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Appian Investment Narrative Recap

To own Appian, you generally need to believe its low code and AI workflow platform can keep winning enterprise adoption despite competition and high investment needs. The renewed Pegasystems trade secret retrial and existing Virginia Computer Crimes Act finding add legal and financial uncertainty, but do not obviously change the near term demand and execution catalysts that underpin the current investment narrative.

Among recent announcements, Appian’s November 2025 launch of Agent Studio and broader AI enhancements is especially relevant, because it directly addresses the risk that generative AI could commoditize traditional low code tools. These AI and data fabric upgrades support the thesis that Appian can remain a differentiated automation platform even as legal, cost and competitive pressures shape how the story unfolds.

Yet despite the product momentum, investors should be aware that the unresolved Pegasystems litigation could still...

Appian's narrative projects $883.4 million revenue and $115.6 million earnings by 2028. This requires 10.3% yearly revenue growth and a $132.8 million earnings increase from $-17.2 million today.

Uncover how Appian's forecasts yield a $41.60 fair value, a 23% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Five members of the Simply Wall St Community currently see fair value for Appian between US$23.11 and US$48, reflecting wide variation in expectations. Against this backdrop, the continued legal overhang from the Pegasystems dispute may influence how you think about Appian’s ability to convert its AI product progress into more durable performance.

Explore 5 other fair value estimates on Appian - why the stock might be worth 32% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Appian Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Appian research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Appian research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Appian's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.