cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2021-03-12 · 1910d

Clouded Judgement

Weekly SaaS market analysis tracking valuation multiples, earnings reports, and share price movements across 8 companies with detailed benchmarking of operating metrics including growth rates, margins, and unit economics. The article presents evidence of significant multiple expansion in the SaaS sector, with median EV/NTM revenue multiples reaching 15.4x (vs. 13.8x trailing 1-year average), and highlights the wide dispersion in valuations across growth cohorts.

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Metrics in this report

CAC Payback Period

21months

median

Gross margin-adjusted, public SaaS companies

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

15.4multiple

median

Public SaaS market as of January 2021

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

30.7multiple

median

High-growth SaaS (>30% NTM growth)

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

17.0multiple

median

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

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

6.9multiple

median

Low-growth SaaS (<15% NTM growth)

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

58.1multiple

top-quartile

Snowflake (highest in cohort)

Free Cash Flow Margin

9percent

median

Public SaaS companies

G&A Spend

18percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Gross Margin

74percent

median

Public SaaS companies

NTM Revenue Growth Rate

23percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Net Revenue Retention

116percent

median

Public SaaS companies

Operating Margin

-13percent

median

Public SaaS companies

R&D Spend

25percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies

Sales & Marketing Spend

44percent of revenue

median

Public SaaS companies