cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2021-06-22 · 1808d

Clouded Judgement: A Look Back at Q1 '21 Public Cloud Earnings

This analysis examines Q1 2021 earnings performance across 62 public cloud/SaaS companies, evaluating key metrics including revenue consensus beats, net revenue retention, CAC payback, and FCF margins. The article provides a framework for private SaaS founders to understand how elite public companies perform, using benchmarks and multiples analysis to contextualize results against valuation multiples and macro factors like interest rate expectations.

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Metrics in this report

Consensus Revenue Beat

4.5percent

median

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Free Cash Flow Margin

11percent

median

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Free Cash Flow Margin

46percent

top-decile

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback

12months

best-in-class

Private SaaS companies

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback

24months

maximum

Good performance for private SaaS before subpar classification

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback

15months

top-quartile

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback

8months

top-decile

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Net Revenue Retention

120percent

best-in-class

SMB-focused SaaS companies

Net Revenue Retention

130percent

best-in-class

Enterprise SaaS companies

Net Revenue Retention

115percent

minimum

Good performance for enterprise SaaS

Revenue Multiple (EV/NTM Revenue)

26x

median

High-growth (>30%) public cloud software, May 2021

Revenue Multiple (EV/NTM Revenue)

15.5x

median

Mid-growth (15%-30%) public cloud software, May 2021

Revenue Multiple (EV/NTM Revenue)

5.5x

median

Low-growth (<15%) public cloud software, May 2021

Year-over-Year Revenue Growth Rate

31percent

median

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021

Year-over-Year Revenue Growth Rate

43percent

top-quartile

Public cloud/SaaS companies Q1 2021