cloudedjudgement.substack.com · 2021-05-28 · 1833d

Clouded Judgement

This SaaS benchmarking report analyzes valuation multiples, quarterly earnings performance, and operating metrics across public cloud software companies as of May 2021. The median SaaS company trades at 14.7x NTM revenue with significant variation by growth rate (25.0x for high-growth vs. 5.2x for low-growth), and the article provides detailed comps data on top performers including Snowflake, UiPath, and Bill.com along with Rule of 40 analysis.

30 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

CAC Payback Period

22months

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

CAC Payback Period

22months

median

SaaS public company cohort (gross profit basis)

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

14.7x

median

Overall SaaS public company cohort

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

25.0x

median

High-growth SaaS (>30% NTM growth)

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

12.3x

median

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

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

5.2x

median

Low-growth SaaS (<15% NTM growth)

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple - High Growth

25.0x

median

SaaS companies with >30% projected NTM growth

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple - Low Growth

5.2x

median

SaaS companies with <15% projected NTM growth

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple - Mid Growth

12.3x

median

SaaS companies with 15-30% projected NTM growth

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple - Overall Median

14.7x

median

Public SaaS companies as of May 28, 2021

EV/NTM Revenue Multiple - Top 5

41.2x

median

Top 5 highest-valued SaaS companies by valuation multiple

FCF Margin

10percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

FCF Margin

10percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

G&A as % of Revenue

18percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

G&A as % of Revenue

18percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

Gross Margin

74percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

Gross Margin

74percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

High-Growth SaaS Premium vs Pre-COVID

77percent

premium

High-growth SaaS multiples relative to pre-COVID highs

LTM Revenue Growth

30percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

LTM Revenue Growth

30percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

NTM Revenue Growth

24percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

NTM Revenue Growth

24percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

Net Revenue Retention

119percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

Net Revenue Retention

119percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

Operating Margin

-14percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

Operating Margin

-14percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

R&D as % of Revenue

25percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

R&D as % of Revenue

25percent

median

SaaS public company cohort

S&M as % of Revenue

42percent

median

Public SaaS companies in analysis set

S&M as % of Revenue

42percent

median

SaaS public company cohort