On the morning of February 29, Beijing time, Sina Technology News reported that the US cloud data warehouse company Snowflake today announced the company's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal year 2024. According to the report, Snowflake's total revenue for the fourth quarter was US$774.7 million, an increase of 32% compared to US$589 million in the same period last year; net loss was US$169.9 million, which is narrower than the net loss of US$207.5 million in the same period last year; basic loss per share and diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders were both $0.51, while basic loss per share and diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders during the same period last year was $0.64.
Snowflake's fourth-quarter and full-year revenue and adjusted diluted net profit per share both exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations, but the outlook for product revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 fell short of expectations. Additionally, Snowflake also announced that the company's CEO Frank Slootman (Frank Slootman) will retire and that his position will be replaced by Sridhar Ramaswamy (Sridhar Ramaswamy), the former head of Google's advertising business. After the earnings report was released, the company's after-hours stock price fell sharply by more than 20%.
Fourth quarter results summary:
In the fiscal quarter ending January 31, 2024, Snowflake's net loss was US$169.9 million, a narrowing compared to a net loss of US$207.5 million in the same period last year; the net loss attributable to Snowflake was US$169.4 million, while the net loss attributable to Snowflake for the same period last year was US$207.2 million. Snowflake's basic loss per share and diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders in the fourth quarter was $0.51, while the basic loss per share and diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders during the same period last year was $0.64.
Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), adjusted net profit attributable to Snowflake for the fourth quarter was US$128 million, with an adjusted net profit margin of 17%, compared with an adjusted net profit margin of US$48.7 million and an adjusted net profit margin of 8% for the same period of the previous year. Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), adjusted diluted net profit per share attributable to Snowflake's common shareholders in the fourth quarter was $0.35, while adjusted diluted net profit per share attributable to Snowflake common shareholders for the same period last year was $0.14. This performance exceeded analysts' expectations. According to data provided by Yahoo Finance Channel, the average of 34 analysts expected Snowflake's fourth-quarter earnings per share to reach $0.18.
Snowflake's total revenue for the fourth quarter was $774.7 million, up 32% from $589 million in the same period last year, which exceeded analysts' expectations. According to data provided by Yahoo Finance Channel, the average of 33 analysts expected Snowflake's fourth quarter revenue to reach 759.2.5 million US dollars.
Snowflake's remaining performance obligation is $5.2 billion, an increase of 41% over the same period last year. As of January 31, 2020, Snowflake's net revenue retention rate was 131%.
By business unit:
- Snowflake's fourth-quarter product revenue was $738.1 million, up 33% from $555.3 million in the same period last year; product revenue accounted for 95% of total revenue, up from 94% in the same period of the previous year.
- Snowflake's fourth quarter revenue from professional services and other businesses was $36.6 million, up from $33.7 million in the same period last year; professional services and other business revenue accounted for 5% of total revenue, down from 6% in the same period last year.
Currently, Snowflake has a 12-month track record of more than 330 customers with product revenue exceeding $1 million, and Forbes has 691 Global Top 2000 customers, an increase of 39% and 8%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.
Snowflake's fourth-quarter gross profit was $532.9 million, up from $383.4 million in the same period last year; gross margin was 69%, up from 65% in the same period last year. Among them, Snowflake's gross product profit for the fourth quarter was US$545.3 million, and gross margin was 74%, compared with gross product profit of US$396.8 million and gross margin of 71% for the same period of the previous year; the gross loss of professional services and other businesses was US$12.4 million, or gross margin of -34%. Compared with the gross loss of US$13.4 million and gross margin of -40% for professional services and other businesses in the same period last year.
Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted gross profit for the fourth quarter was US$578.6 million, up from US$417.3 million in the same period last year; adjusted gross margin was 75%, up from 71% in the same period last year. Among them, Snowflake's adjusted gross profit for the fourth quarter was US$576 million, up from US$416.4 million in the same period last year; the adjusted gross margin was 78%, up from 75% in the same period of the previous year; the adjusted gross profit of professional services and other businesses was US$2.6 million, up from US$900,000 in the same period of the previous year; and the adjusted gross margin was 7%, up from 3% in the same period last year.
Snowflake's total revenue cost for the fourth quarter was $241.8 million, accounting for 31% of total revenue, compared to $205.7 million in the same period last year, accounting for 35% of total revenue. Among them, product revenue costs were US$192.8 million, up from US$158.6 million in the same period last year; revenue costs of professional services and other businesses were US$49 million, up from US$47.1 million in the same period last year.
Snowflake's total operating expenses for the fourth quarter were $808.4 million, accounting for 105% of total revenue, compared to $623.1 million in the same period last year, accounting for 106% of total revenue. Among them, sales and marketing expenses were US$361.8 million, accounting for 47% of total revenue, compared with US$303.5 million in the same period last year, accounting for 52% of total revenue; R&D expenditure was US$364.5 million, accounting for 47% of total revenue, compared with US$242.1 million in the same period last year, accounting for 41% of total revenue; and US$82.1 million, accounting for 11% of total revenue, compared with 77.5 million US dollars in the same period last year, accounting for 13% of total revenue.
Snowflake's fourth-quarter operating loss was $275.5 million, compared to $239.8 million for the same period last year. Snowflake's fourth-quarter operating loss rate was 36%, down from 41% in the same period last year. Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted operating profit for the fourth quarter was $71 million, an increase compared to the adjusted operating profit of $32.8 million for the same period last year. Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted operating margin for the fourth quarter was 9%, up from the adjusted operating margin of 6% for the same period last year.
Cash flow information:
Snowflake's net cash from operating activities in the fourth quarter was $344.6 million, up from $217.3 million in the same period last year.
Without US GAAP, Snowflake's fourth quarter free cash flow was $324.5 million, accounting for 42% of revenue. Excluding US GAAP, Snowflake's adjusted free cash flow for the fourth quarter was $324.3 million, or 42% of revenue.
Annual results summary:
Throughout the 2024 fiscal year, Snowflake's revenue was $2,806 million, up from the previous fiscal year's $2,066 billion, which exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations. According to data provided by Yahoo Finance Channel, the average of 40 analysts expected Snowflake's annual revenue to reach 2.79 billion US dollars. Snowflake's annual product revenue was $2,666.9 million, up 38% from the previous fiscal year's $1,9388 million.
Snowflake's gross product profit for the year was $1,96.56 billion, and gross margin was 74%. Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted gross product profit for the full year was $2,076 billion, or 78% of the adjusted product gross margin.
Snowflake's annual operating loss was $1,094.8 million, with an operating loss rate of 39%. Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted operating profit for the full year was $229.7 million, and the adjusted operating margin was 8%.
Snowflake's net cash from operating activities for the year was $848.1 million, compared to $217.3 million in the previous fiscal year.
Snowflake's annual free cash flow was $778.9 million, accounting for 28% of revenue. Without US GAAP, Snowflake's adjusted free cash flow for the full year was $810.2 million, accounting for 29% of revenue.
Snowflake's net loss for the full year was $836 million, while net loss for the previous fiscal year was $797 million, an increase over the previous year; basic loss per share and diluted loss per share attributable to common shareholders were both $2.55, compared to $2.50 for the previous fiscal year.
Excluding certain one-time items (not in accordance with US GAAP), Snowflake's adjusted net profit for the full year was $353.3 million, compared to the previous fiscal year's adjusted net profit of $90 million; the adjusted diluted net profit per share attributable to common shareholders was $1.08, far higher than $0.28 for the previous fiscal year, which exceeded analysts' expectations. According to data provided by Yahoo Finance Channel, the average of 38 analysts expected Snowflake's adjusted earnings per diluted share for the whole year to reach 0.81 US dollars.
Performance outlook:
Snowflake expects the company's product revenue to reach between $745 million and $750 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, up 26% to 27% year over year. This performance outlook falls short of Wall Street analysts' average expectations of $759 million; operating margin is expected to reach 3%.
Snowflake also predicts that in fiscal year 2025, the company's product revenue will reach US$3.250 billion, an increase of 22%; gross margin for products that do not comply with US GAAP is expected to be 76%; operating margin that does not comply with US GAAP is expected to be 6%; and adjusted free cash flow is expected to account for 29% of revenue without US GAAP.
Stock price changes:
On the same day, Snowflake's stock price fell $4.03 in regular NASDAQ trading to close at $230.00, or 1.72%. Subsequently, in after-hours trading up to 6:05 p.m. EST on February 28 (7:09 a.m. on February 29, Beijing time), Snowflake's stock price fell sharply again by $47.04 to $182.96, or 20.45%. Over the past 52 weeks, Snowflake's highest price was $237.72 and the lowest price was $128.56.