      cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2021-10-22
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Clouded Judgement

Analysis of Q3 2021 cloud software earnings season, focusing on valuation multiples, revenue multiples, and operating metrics across the top 10 SaaS companies. The article benchmarks key SaaS metrics including growth rates, margins, net retention, and CAC payback, while illustrating the relationship between growth expectations and EV/NTM revenue multiples.

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Metrics in this report

CAC Payback Period

25months

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

15.28x

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

63.9x

median

Top 5 highest-valued public cloud software companies by multiple

FCF Margin

6%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

G&A Spend

19%percent of revenue

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

Gross Margin

74%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

High-Growth SaaS EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

32.8x

median

SaaS companies with >30% projected NTM growth

LTM Revenue Growth Rate

31%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

Low-Growth SaaS EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

6.4x

median

SaaS companies with <15% projected NTM growth

Mid-Growth SaaS EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

14.6x

median

SaaS companies with 15-30% projected NTM growth

NTM Revenue Growth Rate

23%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

Net Revenue Retention

120%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

Operating Margin

-16%percent

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

R&D Spend

26%percent of revenue

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)

S&M Spend

43%percent of revenue

median

Public cloud software companies (Q3 2021)