Introduction

Xero Limited is a New Zealand-founded cloud accounting and financial-software company. It was established in Wellington in July 2006 by Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards. As of September 2026, Xero says it serves around five million customers in more than 180 countries, while Sukhinder Singh Cassidy leads the company as CEO.

That is the short answer.

Now let us look at how Xero got there.

Xero at a Glance

Quick Fact	Verified Detail
Company name	Xero Limited
Founded	July 2006
Founded in	Wellington, New Zealand
Founders	Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards
Industry	Accounting and financial software
Current CEO	Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
Board Chair	David Thodey AO
New Zealand Country Manager	Bridget Snelling
Stock exchange	Australian Securities Exchange
Ticker	XRO
Legal domicile	New Zealand
Global customers	About 5 million
Countries served	More than 180
FY26 paying customers	4.92 million
New Zealand customers	650,000
FY26 operating revenue	NZ$2.753 billion
FY26 net profit	NZ$167.4 million
FY26 adjusted EBITDA	NZ$757.4 million
FY26 free cash flow	NZ$554 million
Employees at 31 March 2026	5,114 FTE
Major recent acquisition	Melio
Melio upfront consideration	US$2.5 billion
Main AI product	JAX

What Is Xero?

Xero is a cloud-based accounting and financial-software company built mainly for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers.

Its software can handle common financial jobs such as invoicing, bank reconciliation, expenses, reporting and payroll.

Xero has also moved deeper into payments.

That part is getting bigger.

The company now wants accounting, payments and payroll to work closely together inside one business platform.

AI is part of that plan too.

Xero has been building JAX, or Just Ask Xero, as an AI-powered financial assistant.

The idea is basic.

Help users handle financial work faster.

Is Xero a New Zealand Company?

Yes. Xero is a New Zealand company.

It was founded in Wellington in 2006 and remains incorporated and domiciled in New Zealand.

Its shares now trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.

That sometimes causes confusion.

Being listed in Australia does not make Xero an Australian company.

Its legal home remains New Zealand.

Who Founded Xero?

Xero was founded by Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards in Wellington, New Zealand.

The company was established in July 2006.

Rod Drury served as CEO.

Hamish Edwards served as CFO.

Their early product focused on online accounting for small and medium-sized businesses.

At the time, desktop accounting software was still common.

Xero took another route.

Businesses could access their accounts online.

Accountants could work with the same financial information without passing files back and forth.

Simple idea.

Big outcome.

How Did Xero Start?

Xero started as a small Wellington software company with only a few dozen employees and just over 100 paying customers.

By 2007, Xero had 27 employees.

It had more than 100 paying customers.

That same year, the company prepared for its first public share offering in New Zealand.

Xero aimed to raise NZ$15 million.

Shares were offered at NZ$1 each.

The company was still tiny.

But it was already looking outside New Zealand.

When Did Xero Go Public?

Xero entered New Zealand’s public market in 2007 and later began trading in Australia in 2012.

Its original New Zealand IPO raised NZ$15 million.

Then came the next step.

In November 2012, Xero shares started trading on the Australian Securities Exchange.

For several years, Xero was listed in both New Zealand and Australia.

That changed in 2018.

Xero ended its New Zealand listing and kept the ASX as its only stock exchange.

Today, the company trades under the ticker XRO.

Is Xero Australian or New Zealand?

Xero is New Zealand-incorporated but ASX-listed.

That is the cleanest way to put it.

The company was founded in Wellington.

Its legal domicile remains New Zealand.

Its shares trade in Australia.

So both countries matter to Xero’s story, but the company itself remains New Zealand-based in legal terms.

Who Is the CEO of Xero?

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is the CEO of Xero as of September 2026.

She became chief executive on 1 February 2023.

Before Xero, she held senior roles across major technology businesses.

Her earlier career included work at Google and Yodlee.

She also founded Joyus and later led StubHub.

At Xero, her leadership has focused on growth, financial discipline, product expansion and the US market.

What Happened to Rod Drury?

Rod Drury stepped down as Xero CEO in 2018 after leading the company for more than 11 years.

He announced his departure from the chief executive role in March 2018.

Steve Vamos became CEO on 1 April 2018.

Vamos then led Xero through another period of international growth.

According to Xero, customer numbers moved from about 1.4 million to 3.5 million during his nearly five years as chief executive.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy followed him in 2023.

Xero Leadership in 2026

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy — Chief Executive Officer

Singh Cassidy leads Xero globally.

She became CEO in February 2023.

Her current work covers company growth, product direction, financial performance and international expansion.

Claire Bramley — Chief Financial Officer

Claire Bramley leads Xero’s finance operation.

Her work includes financial performance, planning, capital management and investor reporting.

Diya Jolly — Chief Product & Technology Officer

Diya Jolly leads product and technology.

Her responsibilities include engineering, product development, data, security and design.

Maninder Sawhney — Chief Business Officer

Maninder Sawhney leads major parts of Xero’s global commercial work.

His role covers areas such as sales, marketing, customer growth and business development.

Angad Soin — Australia and New Zealand Leadership

Angad Soin serves as Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand while also holding a global strategy role.

Bridget Snelling — New Zealand Country Manager

Bridget Snelling leads Xero’s New Zealand business.

New Zealand still matters a lot.

It is Xero’s original market and remains one of its strongest customer bases.

How Many Customers Does Xero Have?

Xero says it has reached about five million customers worldwide.

Its FY26 annual report recorded 4.92 million paying customers at 31 March 2026.

The company later reached the five-million mark.

Its customer base now spans more than 180 countries.

Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom remain especially important markets.

How Many Xero Customers Are in New Zealand?

Xero had 650,000 New Zealand customers at 31 March 2026.

A year earlier, the figure was 629,000.

That means Xero added about 21,000 net New Zealand customers during FY26.

Growth is naturally slower in its home market now.

Xero already has strong cloud-accounting use across New Zealand.

Still, customer numbers continue to rise.

How Much Revenue Does Xero Make?

Xero reported NZ$2.753 billion in operating revenue for FY26.

That covered the financial year ending 31 March 2026.

Headline revenue growth was 31%.

The company also reported:

• NZ$757.4 million adjusted EBITDA
• NZ$554 million free cash flow
• NZ$167.4 million net profit

Those figures show how far Xero has moved from its early startup years.

Is Xero Profitable?

Yes. Xero reported a net profit of NZ$167.4 million for FY26.

That figure was lower than the prior year.

FY25 net profit was NZ$227.8 million.

Melio had a clear effect on the reported result.

Xero recorded a NZ$111.7 million net loss linked to Melio during the FY26 reporting period.

Without Melio’s result, Xero reported underlying net profit of NZ$279.1 million.

How Many Employees Does Xero Have?

Xero reported 5,114 full-time-equivalent employees at 31 March 2026.

That was up from 4,610 a year earlier.

Part of that increase came from Melio.

Xero said 578 FTE positions were added through the acquisition.

Without Melio, employee numbers had fallen slightly.

What Happened During Xero’s 2023 Job Cuts?

Xero announced plans in March 2023 to remove roughly 700 to 800 jobs.

That represented about 15% of its workforce at the time.

The company said staff numbers and spending had grown faster than revenue.

Xero also chose to leave some business areas.

One of them was Waddle.

Xero had acquired Waddle in 2020.

The 2023 reset was aimed at cutting costs and putting more resources behind the parts of the business expected to grow.

What Companies Has Xero Acquired?

Xero has bought several software businesses as it widened its product range.

Hubdoc

Hubdoc helps businesses collect and manage financial documents.

It became part of Xero’s wider accounting offering.

Planday

Planday provides employee scheduling, time tracking and workforce-management tools.

Tickstar

Tickstar works in electronic invoicing infrastructure.

It gave Xero more technology around digital invoice networks.

Syft

Xero announced the purchase of Syft in 2024.

Syft provides financial reporting and analytics tools.

Xero planned to keep Syft available as its own product while bringing parts of its technology into Xero.

Melio

Melio became Xero’s biggest recent acquisition.

And it changed the scale of Xero’s US plan.

Why Did Xero Buy Melio?

Xero bought Melio to build a stronger payments business, especially in the United States.

In June 2025, Xero announced an agreement to acquire the US small-business payments company.

The announced upfront consideration was US$2.5 billion.

The deal included cash and Xero shares.

There were also possible extra payments and employee-related arrangements.

Xero completed the acquisition on 15 October 2025.

The reason was clear.

Xero was already strong in accounting.

Melio gave it a much bigger route into business payments.

What Is Xero Doing in the United States?

Xero is building a larger US business around accounting, payments and payroll.

The Melio deal gave Xero more payment capability.

Then Xero announced Xero Payroll powered by Gusto in 2026.

Expense-management tools also became part of the US product mix.

The company has described accounting, payments and payroll as three major parts of its US push.

That gives Xero more ways to work with the same small-business customer.

What Is JAX by Xero?

JAX stands for Just Ask Xero and is Xero’s AI-powered financial assistant.

The product is meant to help users ask questions and handle financial tasks inside Xero.

The company sees AI as a growing part of its product direction.

The plan goes beyond simple answers.

Xero wants its software to help users act on financial information more quickly.

JAX is one of the clearest signs of where the product is heading.

What Products Does Xero Offer?

Xero offers accounting and financial software for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers.

Its main product areas include:

• Cloud accounting
• Online invoicing
• Bank reconciliation
• Payroll
• Business payments
• Expense tracking
• Financial reporting
• Business analytics
• Accountant and bookkeeping tools
• Connected business apps
• AI-based financial assistance

Xero also owns brands such as Planday, Hubdoc, Syft, Melio, TaxCycle and Tickstar.

What Is Xero Small Business Insights?

Xero Small Business Insights is Xero’s own economic-data programme based on anonymised and aggregated customer information.

It tracks areas such as:

• Small-business sales
• Employment
• Wages
• Payment times
• Late payments
• Productivity

The data can be useful.

But the label matters.

These are Xero’s own measures.

They are not official New Zealand government statistics.

For the June 2026 quarter, Xero reported New Zealand small-business sales up 8.6% year on year.

Jobs rose 0.7%.

Wages increased 1.5%.

Xero also introduced a New Zealand SME labour-productivity measure in 2026.

The March-quarter figure was NZ$74 per hour worked for the typical small-business worker represented in its dataset.

What Is Xero For Good?

Xero For Good is the company’s social-impact programme.

In FY26, Xero reported more than NZ$11.4 million in global community contributions.

That included areas such as:

• Cash support
• Nonprofit discounts
• Employee volunteering

Xero also launched Know Your Numbers in New Zealand in April 2025.

The programme gives small-business owners access to financial education and support from accountants and bookkeepers.

The purpose is practical.

Help business owners understand their finances better.

What Is the Maria Dew KC Review?

As of September 2026, Xero has an external review being carried out by Maria Dew KC.

According to Xero, the review concerns its handling of matters raised in a 2017 complaint and related decision-making processes.

Xero has said it wants to learn from the review and improve its processes.

The review should not be treated as proof of any underlying allegation.

The confirmed point is narrower.

An external review exists and is examining how those historic matters were handled.

Who Owns Xero?

Xero is a publicly traded company, so its ownership is held through shareholders rather than one private owner.

Its shares trade on the Australian Securities Exchange under XRO.

Xero was originally listed in New Zealand.

It later added the ASX.

Since 2018, the ASX has been its only public stock exchange.

What Is Xero Worth?

There is no fixed company “net worth” figure that stays accurate for Xero.

Xero is publicly traded.

Its market value moves with its share price.

That number can change every trading day.

For that reason, audited revenue, profit, cash flow and a date-stamped market capitalisation are better ways to discuss Xero’s financial size.

For FY26, Xero reported:

• NZ$2.753 billion operating revenue
• NZ$167.4 million net profit
• NZ$554 million free cash flow

Those are verified company figures.

How Big Is Xero Today?

Xero has grown from a tiny Wellington startup into a global financial-software company serving about five million customers.

The contrast is easy to see.

In 2007:

• 27 employees
• Just over 100 paying customers
• NZ$15 million IPO target

By 2026:

• About five million customers
• More than 180 countries
• 5,114 FTE employees
• NZ$2.753 billion annual operating revenue

That is a very different business.

Why Is Xero Important to New Zealand?

Xero is one of New Zealand’s best-known home-grown software companies with a large global customer base.

It started in Wellington.

New Zealand remains its legal home.

But its business now stretches across more than 180 countries.

The company also became closely linked with the rise of cloud accounting among small businesses in New Zealand and several overseas markets.

Its next phase looks different from its first one.

Accounting is still the base.

Payments are getting bigger.

Payroll is getting more attention.

AI is now part of the product plan.

Xero in 2026 is no longer simply an online accounting company.

It is becoming a wider financial-software platform.

Verified Interesting Facts About Xero

Xero had just 27 employees in 2007.
By March 2026, that figure had grown to 5,114 FTE.

It started with just over 100 paying customers.
The company now says it has about five million customers worldwide.

Its 2007 IPO shares were offered at NZ$1.
The company aimed to raise NZ$15 million.

Xero was once listed in two countries.
It traded in both New Zealand and Australia before making the ASX its sole exchange in 2018.

New Zealand still has a huge Xero customer base.
The company reported 650,000 New Zealand customers at 31 March 2026.

Melio was a very large acquisition.
The announced upfront consideration was US$2.5 billion.

Xero remains legally tied to New Zealand.
Its Australian stock-market listing does not change its New Zealand domicile.

Final Thought

Xero’s story starts in Wellington.

Small team. Small customer base.

Then the numbers changed.

The company entered public markets, expanded overseas, changed CEOs, bought several software businesses and moved deeper into payments, payroll and AI.

The growth is easy to measure.

More than 100 paying customers in 2007.

About five million now.

Xero still carries strong New Zealand roots, but its business is global.

The next test is straightforward: keep growing beyond accounting while maintaining financial discipline, product quality and customer trust.

That is where the story sits in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions About Xero

What is Xero?

Xero is a New Zealand-founded cloud accounting and financial-software company. Its products cover accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, reporting and other small-business financial tasks.

Who founded Xero?

Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards founded Xero in Wellington in July 2006.

Who is the CEO of Xero?

As of September 2026, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is Xero’s Chief Executive Officer.

Is Xero a New Zealand company?

Yes. Xero is incorporated and domiciled in New Zealand, although its shares trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Is Xero Australian?

Xero is ASX-listed, but the company itself remains incorporated and domiciled in New Zealand.

Where was Xero founded?

Xero was founded in Wellington, New Zealand.

When was Xero founded?

Xero was established in July 2006.

How many customers does Xero have?

Xero says it has reached about five million customers across more than 180 countries.

How many Xero customers are in New Zealand?

Xero reported 650,000 New Zealand customers at 31 March 2026.

What is Xero’s stock ticker?

Xero trades on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker XRO.

How much revenue does Xero make?

Xero reported NZ$2.753 billion in operating revenue for FY26.

Is Xero profitable?

Yes. Xero reported NZ$167.4 million in net profit for FY26.

How many employees does Xero have?

Xero reported 5,114 full-time-equivalent employees at 31 March 2026.

Who owns Xero?

Xero is publicly traded, so ownership is held through shareholders rather than one private owner.

What is Melio?

Melio is a US small-business payments company acquired by Xero. Xero announced US$2.5 billion in upfront consideration for the deal and completed the acquisition in October 2025.

What is JAX?

JAX means Just Ask Xero. It is Xero’s AI-powered financial assistant.

What does Xero mainly do?

Xero provides software for accounting, invoicing, bank reconciliation, payroll, expenses, payments, reporting, analytics and related small-business financial work.

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