cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2022-04-13 · 1513d

Clouded Judgement: Q4 '21 Public Cloud Software Earnings Analysis

A comprehensive analysis of Q4 2021 earnings for 70 public cloud software companies, evaluating performance across revenue beats, guidance, growth, net revenue retention, CAC payback, and analyst estimate revisions. The article identifies elite performers (Datadog, Bill.com, GitLab) and establishes benchmarks for SaaS metrics to serve as a framework for private company management.

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Metrics in this report

CAC Payback (Best-in-Class)

12months

target

Private SaaS companies

CAC Payback (Good)

24months

target

Private SaaS companies

Free Cash Flow Margin

-4percent

median

Q4 2021 public cloud software

Free Cash Flow Margin

29percent

top-decile

Q4 2021 public cloud software

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback

19months

median

Q4 2021 public cloud software

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback (Top Decile)

12months

top-decile

Q4 2021 public cloud software

Gross Margin Adjusted CAC Payback (Top Quartile)

17months

top-quartile

Q4 2021 public cloud software

Net Revenue Retention

129percent

median

Q4 2021 public cloud software companies (70 companies)

Net Revenue Retention

133percent

top-decile

Q4 2021 public cloud software companies

Net Revenue Retention (Best-in-Class)

130percent

target

Enterprise SaaS businesses

Net Revenue Retention (Best-in-Class)

120percent

target

SMB-focused SaaS businesses

Revenue Beat vs. Consensus

4.2percent

median

Q4 2021 public cloud software