cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2021-02-05 · 1945d

Clouded Judgement: SaaS Valuation Multiples & Earnings Analysis (Feb 5, 2021)

Weekly SaaS earnings and valuation analysis covering quarterly results from 7 companies, valuation multiples across growth cohorts, and operating metric benchmarks. The article documents a sharp multiple expansion in SaaS valuations from 13.5x (3-month average) to 19.8x (median), with high-growth companies trading at 37.4x NTM revenue despite negative operating margins.

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Metrics in this report

CAC Payback Period

24months

median

Public SaaS companies

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

19.8x

median

Public SaaS companies, January 2021

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

37.4x

median

High-growth SaaS (>30% NTM growth), January 2021

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

20.6x

median

Mid-growth SaaS (15-30% NTM growth), January 2021

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

7.8x

median

Low-growth SaaS (<15% NTM growth), January 2021

Free Cash Flow Margin

5percent

median

Public SaaS companies

General & Administrative Expense

18percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Gross Margin

74percent

median

Public SaaS companies

LTM Revenue Growth

30percent

median

Public SaaS companies

NTM Revenue Growth

22percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Net Revenue Retention

115percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Operating Margin

-15percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Research & Development Expense

25percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Sales & Marketing Expense

44percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies