Summary
Amplitude opened fiscal 2023 with first quarter revenue of $66.5 million, up 25.3% from $53.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit rose 27.8% to $47.3 million, and gross margin was 71.1%, up 1.4 percentage points from 69.7%. The bottom line went the other way. The net loss for the quarter was $26.3 million, a loss that widened from $22.2 million a year earlier, and diluted loss per share was $0.23 compared with $0.20. Non-GAAP results look very different: the non-GAAP loss from operations was $7.9 million, narrowly wider than the $7.7 million reported in the prior-year quarter, with the gap to GAAP driven by stock-based compensation and related payroll taxes, amortization of acquired intangible assets and other non-recurring items.
Cash flow improved even as the loss widened. Net cash used in operating activities was $5.1 million for the quarter, better than the $8.3 million used a year earlier. Free cash flow, which the company defines as net cash used in operating activities less purchases of property and equipment and capitalized internal-use software costs, was negative $5.8 million against negative $9.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Capital expenditures were $0.3 million, down 53.9%. The balance sheet carries the backlog story. Deferred revenue was $89.3 million, up 18.9%, total remaining performance obligations were $240.4 million, up 23.7%, and current remaining performance obligations were $191.5 million, up 28%.
The customer metrics are the softest part of the release. Paying customers grew 28% year over year to 2,175, and annual recurring revenue reached $262 million, up 25% from a year earlier and up $7 million from the fourth quarter of 2022. Retention keeps sliding, though. The dollar-based net retention rate for the trailing twelve months was 114% as of March 31, 2023, compared with 126% as of March 31, 2022, and the quarter-end rate was 106% against 127%. That points to less expansion and more churn inside the installed base, which matters because Amplitude relies on expansion spending to grow. The company also hired Nathaniel Crook as chief revenue officer and is working through a restructuring plan that includes severance and termination benefits. The plan carries its own risk: the filing warns it may not deliver the anticipated savings or efficiencies and could result in costs greater than expected.
Guidance covers both the next quarter and the full fiscal year. For the second quarter of 2023, the company expects a non-GAAP operating loss of $1.1 million to $0.6 million and non-GAAP net income per share of $0.01 to $0.02. For the full year 2023, it guides to a non-GAAP operating loss of $8.4 million to $6.0 million and non-GAAP net income per share of $0.02 to $0.04. Weighted average shares outstanding are expected to be 116.5 million for the second quarter and 117.5 million for the full year. Restructuring charges, which include employee severance and termination benefits, are excluded from the non-GAAP outlook, and no reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measures is provided for the forward figures. The company attributes that to items such as stock-based compensation that it says cannot be reasonably predicted.
The risk list is the familiar one for a loss-making software vendor. Amplitude points to a limited operating history and a history of losses, to results that fluctuate and are hard to forecast, and to a focus on larger organizations that lengthens sales cycles and adds variability. Unfavorable economic conditions or reductions in information technology spending could slow new sales, and the company notes that downturns in new bookings may not be reflected in reported results right away. International exposure adds another layer: 39% of revenue for the quarter came from outside the United States, and the filing flags disruptions tied to the Russia-Ukraine war along with evolving privacy and data laws. Research and development and sales and marketing costs are both expected to increase as a percentage of revenue in the short term, so the path to profitability stays stretched.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2023 | Q4 FY2022 | QoQ | Q1 FY2022 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $66.5M | $65.3M | +1.9% | $53.1M | +25.3% |
| Gross profit | $47.3M | $46.0M | +2.8% | $37.0M | +27.8% |
| Gross margin | 71.1% | 70.5% | +0.6 pp | 69.7% | +1.4 pp |
| Research & development | $23.7M | $22.2M | +6.8% | $16.5M | +43.7% |
| Sales & marketing | $39.1M | $35.2M | +11.3% | $28.1M | +39.1% |
| General & administrative | $13.6M | $14.5M | -5.7% | $14.4M | -5.2% |
| Total operating expenses | $76.5M | $71.8M | +6.5% | $59.0M | +29.6% |
| Net income (loss) | -$26.3M | -$24.0M | -9.4% | -$22.2M | -18.4% |
| Net margin | -39.6% | -36.9% | -2.7 pp | -41.9% | +2.3 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.23 | -$0.22 | -$0.01 | — | — |
| Net retention rate | 114.0% | 119.0% | -5.0 pp | 126.0% | -12.0 pp |
Risks
Unfavorable global economic conditions, including historically high inflation, rising interest rates, recent and potential bank failures, and diminished liquidity, are constraining customer and prospective customer software budgets and lengthening deal closure. The filing states these pressures drove layoffs in the sector and were a factor in the company's own restructuring plan announced April 3, 2023.
Dollar-based net retention rate for paying customers on a trailing twelve month basis was 114% as of March 31, 2023 compared with 126% as of March 31, 2022, and the ending dollar-based net retention rate was 106% compared with 127% a year earlier. Slower expansion and higher contraction or attrition would reduce future revenue growth given revenue is recognized ratably over contract terms.
On April 3, 2023 the company authorized a restructuring plan to reduce its global workforce by approximately 13%, expecting non-recurring charges of approximately $7 million to $9 million with the majority incurred in the quarter ending June 30, 2023. The filing warns the plan may not achieve anticipated savings or operational efficiencies and could cause loss of institutional knowledge, decreased morale, and unplanned additional hiring costs.
The company has incurred net losses in each period since inception, with a net loss of $26.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared with $22.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, and an accumulated deficit of $299.5 million as of March 31, 2023. Operating expenses rose 30% for the three months ended March 31, 2023, outpacing revenue growth of 25%, and the company plans to continue significant investment in research and development, infrastructure, sales and marketing, and international expansion.
The company expects to become more dependent on larger organizations, and during the quarter ended March 31, 2023 the average sales cycle to enterprise customers was four to six months compared with one to two months for non-enterprise customers. A single delayed or lost large transaction would adversely affect results for that period and future periods in which the revenue would have been recognized.
The company derives, and expects to continue for some time to derive, substantially all of its revenue from its Amplitude Analytics product, despite recent releases of Amplitude CDP and Amplitude Experiment. Demand for that single core product is affected by factors largely beyond the company's control, including pricing pressure from lower-cost alternatives.
The company announced on February 15, 2023 that Hoang Vuong would cease serving as Chief Financial Officer effective February 22, 2023, with Christopher Harms appointed as successor, and noted that failure to manage this transition could disrupt the business and harm retention. The April 2023 workforce reduction and any further streamlining could also adversely affect corporate culture and employee morale.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Free Cash Flow Margin
Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Paying Customers
Free Cash Flow
Remaining Performance Obligations
Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate
Current Remaining Performance Obligations
Annual Recurring Revenue
Non-GAAP Loss from Operations
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Amplitude, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2023 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 2, 2026.