Clouded Judgement: SaaS Valuation Multiple Compression & Growth-Adjusted Analysis (Jan 2022)
This article analyzes the sharp volatility in cloud software valuations during early January 2022, showing that overall SaaS multiples have compressed back to pre-COVID levels while high-growth software remains elevated at 22x NTM revenue. The author provides comprehensive SaaS operating metric benchmarks (median NRR 119%, CAC payback 25 months, 74% gross margin) and contextualizes multiple compression within historical interest rate cycles and investor positioning.
Metrics in this report
1.7percent
January 2022
3percent
Fall 2018
25months
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
11.1x
median
Overall SaaS public company cohort, January 2022
22.2x
median
High-growth SaaS (>30% projected NTM growth), January 2022
10.4x
median
Mid-growth SaaS (15-30% projected NTM growth), January 2022
4.8x
median
Low-growth SaaS (<15% projected NTM growth), January 2022
34.2x
median
Top 5 SaaS companies by market cap, January 2022
4percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
19percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
74percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
34percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
24percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
119percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
-19percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
26percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022
44percent
median
Public SaaS companies, January 2022