      cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2020-11-20
      · 2022d
    

Clouded Judgement: SaaS Growth Trajectories and Valuation Multiples Analysis

This SaaS metrics newsletter analyzes growth trajectories for companies crossing $75M ARR, showing that best-in-class SaaS businesses maintain ~100% growth for 2+ years post-$75M milestone. The article provides weekly updates on SaaS valuations, earnings announcements, and benchmarks key operating metrics including NRR (116% median), gross margins (74% median), and Rule of 40 scoring across the top 10 highest-valued SaaS companies.

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Metrics in this report

CAC Payback Period

25months

median

Public SaaS companies (gross margin-adjusted)

Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue Multiple

15.5x

median

Public SaaS companies overall (November 2020)

Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue Multiple

40.5x

median

Top 5 most expensive SaaS companies by EV/NTM revenue

Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue Multiple

30.6x

median

High-growth SaaS (>30% NTM growth)

Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue Multiple

16.0x

median

Mid-growth SaaS (15-30% NTM growth)

Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue Multiple

7.3x

median

Low-growth SaaS (<15% NTM growth)

Free Cash Flow Margin

5percent

median

Public SaaS companies

G&A Spend

17percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Gross Margin

74percent

median

Public SaaS companies

LTM Growth Rate

31percent

median

Public SaaS companies

NTM Growth Rate

20percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Net Revenue Retention

116percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Operating Margin

-15percent

median

Public SaaS companies

R&D Spend

25percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Sales & Marketing Spend

43percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Snowflake EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

88.3x

top decile

Highest-valued public SaaS company in the article (November 2020)