Clouded Judgement

MAY 10, 2024

And no one raised full year guide >2% The median “beat” (Q1 revenue over Q1 consensus estimates) was 1.5%, which is the lowest it’s been in the last 4 years Overall, it’s been a TOUGH quarter for software companies. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Overall Stats: Overall Median: 5.7x

Cloud 161

Cloud Software GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Azure 161

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 4, 2023

” These are two quotes about AWS on the Amazon earnings call. AWS grew 16% in Q1, but called out growth in April (first month of Q2) was 11%. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure Cost optimization & reporting AWS 130

SaaStr

APRIL 24, 2021

So many startups these days are claiming they have “ARR” from revenue that … doesn’t recur. Doesn’t ARR stand for Annual Recurring Revenue? ARR now really means revenue with 100%+ Net Revenue Retention. 50% revenue from software (recurring), 50% from payments (not-recurring). .

Merchant Services 358

Merchant Services SaaS Payments Payment Solutions Payment Services 358

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 28, 2023

AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft), and Google Cloud (Google) all reported this week. Then AWS appeared to add fuel to that hope before giving us a huge rug pull. After all, they had a lot of AI tailwinds, and benefited tremendously from consolidation (without a headwind of a larger base of smaller startups, like AWS).

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS AI Search 130

ChurnZero

JUNE 24, 2022

In our webinar, 2022 SaaS retention benchmarks , SaaS Capital Manager Director Rob Belcher shares the results from their 11th annual B2B SaaS benchmarking survey. You can download the full report for net retention and gross retention benchmarks as well as retention metrics in relation to ACV, growth, size, and more.

Benchmarks 98

Benchmarks Retention Software Review Technical Review 98

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Hyperscaler Preview Next week Amazon, Microsoft and Google report earnings and we’ll see Q3 data for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Office 365 Copilot, for example, doesn’t go live until November and we most likely won’t see meaningful revenue from it until next year. Overall Stats: Overall Median: 5.7x

Cloud 161

Cloud Azure AWS Software Review 161

Clouded Judgement

JANUARY 6, 2023

Cloud Downgrades This week UBS came out with a couple research reports citing concerns in AWS / Azure growth. This brings me back to AWS / Azure downgrades. This was the worst tone that we’ve heard in years from large AWS/Azure partners, a group that usually expresses different shades of optimism about AWS/Azure growth.”

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Underperforming Technical Team 130

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

” We saw some green shoots in AWS and a few other consumption names, and overall sentiment seemed more positive. Q2 benefited from an “easy comp” (since Q1 was so light), so we’ll see how this trend continues (or doesn’t) in Q3 Moving on to Q2 YoY revenue growth. Overall Stats: Overall Median: 6.2x

Cloud 169

Cloud Software Review AWS Trends 169

Clouded Judgement

OCTOBER 28, 2022

Hyperscalers Report Quarterly Earnings This week we saw AWS (Amazon), GCP (Google) and Azure (Microsoft) report earnings. Overall, it wasn’t pretty… AWS grew 28% when expectations were 30-31%. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Cost optimization & reporting 130

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 9, 2023

Expansion revenue is still declining (we see this in falling net retention rates), but gross retention remains strong. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue. Top 5 Median: 15.6x

Trends 130

Trends Cloud Azure AWS 130

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 21, 2023

Next week we get all 3 hyperscalers reporting (AWS from Amazon, Azure from Microsoft, and GCP from Google). On AWS, in their Q4 earnings call they said AWS was growing “mid teens” in January (down from 20% in Q4). Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Follow along to stay up to date!

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

SaaStr

AUGUST 4, 2022

And inflation is awful. Exceeding expectations again, and importantly, also raising guidance in revenues for the full year. #3. Datadog quarter: – $406M rev (+74% YoY) vs $378M consensus (7% beat) – $412M next Q guidance vs $409M consensus (1% raise) – >130% net retention – 9 months GM adj.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital AWS Cloud Scale 288

SaaStr

OCTOBER 13, 2022

You need an efficient way to keep your customers successful, reduce churn, drive adoption, and increase net revenue retention. Secureframe allows companies to get compliant within weeks, rather than months and monitors 100+ services, including AWS, GCP, and Azure.

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 190

GCP(Google Cloud Platform) Azure AWS Enterprise readiness 190

Clouded Judgement

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

” From AWS (paraphrased): They said they expect the reaccleration they saw in Q4 to continue into 2024 2024 Estimate Updates One important metric I’m tracking this quarter is the change in 2024 estimates pre / post earnings. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Overall Stats: Overall Median: 6.4x

Cloud 161

Cloud AWS Metrics Subscription 161

Clouded Judgement

JULY 28, 2023

AI = Data + Compute I’ll continue beating this drum, but we got two great quotes from Azure and AWS this week. ” Then at AWS Summit they called out “Your data is your differentiator when it comes to Generative AI.” AWS reports next week. However, revenue growth didn’t bottom until Q3 ‘09.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

SaaStr

AUGUST 15, 2020

Recently I was catching up with a good friend who used to be CEO of an enterprise-y SaaS social networking company — and the usage and engagement numbers of his business were just awful. It’s not like Zynga, where you see the latest XXXVille usage trail off in a few months after launch, and the revenue comes to a grinding halt.

AWS 265

AWS Churn Enterprise Engagement 265

ChurnZero

JUNE 24, 2022

In our webinar, 2022 SaaS retention benchmarks , SaaS Capital Manager Director Rob Belcher shares the results from their 11th annual B2B SaaS benchmarking survey. You can download the full report for net retention and gross retention benchmarks as well as retention metrics in relation to ACV, growth, size, and more.

Benchmarks 52

Benchmarks Retention Software Review Technical Review 52

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

However, even the savviest entrepreneurs might be unaware of some of the blind spots that could be costing revenue. . Says Roberge, “We’re using a sales comp plan that was invented in the 1980s, and it’s causing our customers to utilize their licenses at a lower rate, and it’s causing revenue contraction.”. When should you scale?

Sales Hiring 189

Sales Hiring Scale Compensation Sales 189

SaaStr

MAY 12, 2019

GAAP revenue in Q1 ’19) because it’s in a space filled with strong competitors. We all know this from AWS and Twilio on down, but Fastly is a visceral reminder. It’s an almost 100% enterprise play — they have 227 customers spending over $100k a year, comprising 84% of their revenues. The lesson?

Outsourced Development 210

Outsourced Development AWS Retention Enterprise 210

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

What’s evolved over the years and is driven by hyper-scalers like Google Azure, AWS, Twilio, and Stripe is the consumption-based model. In this approach, you’re paying a lot to reps for retention. It might be more competitive and secure revenue longer-term to put the commitment element on top of a compensation plan.

Compensation 173

Compensation Sales Azure AWS 173

The Angel VC

MAY 12, 2018

We generate over 90% of our revenue from self-serve channels — users who purchase a subscription through our app or website. But here you have it – it really is the King of Freemium , generating more than 90% of revenue from self-service channels. #3 Revenue for 2017 was $1.107B. 3 – It’s a Mouse Hunter! . #3 Mind blown.

AWS 187

AWS Scale Subscription Payment Features 187

Clouded Judgement

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP as companies look for cloud GPUs who aren’t building out their own data centers) Infra (Data layer, orchestration, monitoring, ops, etc) Durable Applications We’ve clearly well underway of the first 3 layers monetizing. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Bucketed by Growth.

Cloud 183

Cloud Artificial Intelligence AI GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 183

Clouded Judgement

AUGUST 11, 2023

The good news is gross retention (ie churn) stayed constant. While the overall median revenue multiple of the software universe is ~6x (which is ~25% below the long term average of ~8x), high growth software is currently trading at a premium to it’s long term average (9.4x Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework.

Cloud 130

Cloud Trends Azure GCP(Google Cloud Platform) 130

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

AWS growth seems to be re-accelerating, and qualitative feedback from a number of companies in Q2 (especially those with July quarter ends) suggested new customer bookings conversations were picking up. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Overall Stats: Overall Median: 6.0x Top 5 Median: 14.7x Bucketed by Growth.

Software Review 130

Software Review Cloud Software AWS 130

OpenView Labs

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

And allocating additional resources toward your customer’s long-term success pays huge dividends – improving retention by just 1% affects a company’s bottom line by around 7%. But what about companies where the majority of revenue is tied to a variable component of their pricing model? What is recurring revenue and why does it matter?

Customer Success 43

Customer Success Revenue AWS Retention 43

OpenView Labs

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

This is why we’re seeing more and more SaaS companies—Datadog, Twilio, AWS, Snowflake, and Stripe, to name a few—find success with product led growth paired with usage-based pricing. Though it was pioneered in the infrastructure layer (think: AWS and Azure), it’s becoming increasingly popular for API-based products and application software.

Scale 98

Scale Pricing Scaling AWS 98

Clouded Judgement

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

In the short term, enjoy the ride as the chase continues 😊 Kind of related to all of this - we now have seen the Q4’s from AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Revenue multiples are a shorthand valuation framework. Multiples shown below are calculated by taking the Enterprise Value (market cap + debt - cash) / NTM revenue.

Cloud 130

Cloud Azure AWS Generative AI 130

Clouded Judgement

MARCH 31, 2023

The majority of COGS (revenue less COGS = gross profit) fall in hosting costs (ie AWS), and some customer support. If they don’t want to pay double the price, then Notion has a decision to make - do they sell the Notion AI SKU at a price that dilutes gross margins if it ends up generating more revenue? Top 5 Median: 11.4x

Cloud 130

Cloud Sales Hiring AI Headcount 130

ChurnZero

MARCH 31, 2022

Following the webinar, we invited Dave to give his rapid-fire takes on tracking the retention of auto-renew customers, calculating customer lifetime value as a startup, comping CSMs on expansion, determining the importance of measuring time to value, and much more. tech ops, AWS, technical support). A: I love auto-renews.

Customer Success 98

Customer Success Metrics Technical Review Scale 98

SaaStr

OCTOBER 31, 2019

It was around that time about 12 years ago that Jeff Bezos launched AWS, and some of you may remember that, when he did this, Wall Street analysts were looking at him and saying, “Why would you take what’s already a very unprofitable business and drive it further into the red by investing in this AWS initiative?”

Cloud 100

Cloud Scale AWS Machine Learning 100

OPEXEngine

DECEMBER 7, 2021

The pricing model, which leads to increases or decreases in revenue based on how much customers engage with a service, has been gaining on the more traditional subscription model as the main way SaaS companies make money. It has tended to be used most in infrastructure platforms, like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.

Subscription 52

Subscription Payment Features Pricing SaaS 52

OpenView Labs

MARCH 4, 2021

The company struggled with poor churn and anemic expansion revenue. Net revenue retention was near 70%, a far cry from the 100%+ that most SaaS companies aim to achieve. By the time HubSpot went public in 2014, net revenue retention had jumped to nearly 100%—all without hurting the company’s ability to acquire new customers.

Pricing 55

Pricing Outsourced Development Marketplace as a Service AWS 55

OPEXEngine

OCTOBER 17, 2019

SaaS gross margins have been getting attention lately as investors dig into SaaS cost structures and revenue growth rates going into 2020. Gross margin is simply revenue minus cost of revenue, expressed as a percent. The average revenue for this group was $171M. Have SaaS Gross Margins Improved Over Time?

Scale 40

Scale SaaS AWS Revenue 40

ProfitWell

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

SaaS revenue is expected to reach $143.7 Running your own server to handle your customer's valuable data requires a huge investment to match the same level of security and reliability that comes baked into services like Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure cloud. Later, you'll be able to track annual recurring revenue as well.

SaaS Payments 66

SaaS Payments Trends Merchant Services Payments 66

Frontegg

MAY 27, 2021

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a consumer-centric scaling, conversion, and retention philosophy that uses the product itself as the primary growth driver. Instead you should focus on Natural Rate of Growth (NRG) to determine the percentage of recurring organic revenue. This metric is a strong future revenue indicator.

Payment Solutions 98

Payment Solutions SaaS Payments Payments Scale 98

OpenView Labs

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Over 500 software companies participated, from pre-revenue to $150M+ ARR publicly traded SaaS companies. That’s certainly true in developer tooling (AWS), sales and support (Salesforce), MarTech (Adobe), commerce (Square), HR tech (Workday) and even vertical markets (Veeva). Somehow, NPS has become synonymous with retention.

Sales Hiring 52

Sales Hiring Benchmarks AWS Scale 52

OpenView Labs

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Here’s why: PLG is an end user-focused growth model that relies on the product itself as the primary driver of customer acquisition, retention, and expansion. In fact, seven of the nine recent software IPOs with the best net dollar retention have a usage-based pricing model. Is it right for your company?

Product Marketing 58

Product Marketing Trends Scale Marketing 58