Summary
Box reported fiscal first quarter 2021 revenue of $183.6 million, up 12.6% from the prior-year quarter. Gross profit rose 13.4% to $129.6 million. Gross margin reached 70.6%, up 0.5 percentage points. The company still recorded a GAAP operating loss of $24.2 million, but that loss narrowed from the prior-year quarter. GAAP net loss narrowed to $25.6 million. Diluted net loss per share narrowed to $0.17. Operating margin improved 8.5 percentage points to -13.2%. Non-GAAP operating income was $17.2 million, or 9% of revenue, compared with a non-GAAP operating loss of $3.0 million, or 2% of revenue, a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income per share, diluted, was $0.10, compared with a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.03. Revenue growth was driven by new customers, expansion within existing customers, and add-on product attach rates.
Cash generation was a clear highlight. Operating cash flow was $61.9 million, up 142.9% from the prior-year quarter. Capital expenditures were $1.4 million, down 10.6%. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $39.8 million, up from $13.4 million a year earlier. Deferred revenue rose 11.5% to $368.3 million. Remaining performance obligations rose 13.4% to $722.7 million. Billings were $128.1 million, up 8% from the prior-year quarter. Retention rate was 107%, compared with 106% a year earlier. Box ended the quarter with 72.2 million registered users, more than 98,000 paying organizations, and its solution available in 25 languages. Paying organizations increased by 4% from April 30, 2019 to April 30, 2020.
Box used the quarter to push product and partnership expansion. It introduced the All-New Box experience, which includes Collections, annotations to 100+ file types, and an enhanced Zoom integration. It launched automated malware detection and controls in Box Shield. It announced Box Device Trust, Manual Start in Box Relay, and Box File Request. It expanded partnerships with IBM, Microsoft 365, Oracle, Slack, and Okta. Customer wins and expansions included NASA, USDA, National Bank of Canada, Toyota Finance Corporation, City of Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The company also added Carl Bass, Jack Lazar, and Bethany Mayer to its board. On the cost side, sales and marketing headcount fell to 806 from 942 a year earlier due to a restructuring. Box continues to migrate primary data centers to lower cost regions, and it expects cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue to decrease slightly in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2021.
Guidance points to continued growth and better profitability. For the fiscal second quarter, Box guided revenue to $189.0 million to $190.0 million. GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share are expected to be $0.13 to $0.11. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share is expected to be $0.12 to $0.14. For full fiscal year 2021, revenue is expected to be $760.0 million to $768.0 million. GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share are expected to be $0.55 to $0.50. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share is expected to be $0.47 to $0.52. Box also raised its full-year non-GAAP operating margin outlook to 11% to 12% of revenue, up from a prior range of 9% to 10%. The revenue guidance incorporates the company's current assessment of COVID-19, including expected enterprise adoption and some softness from small business customers and professional services revenue. Risks include COVID-19 uncertainty, delays or reductions in information technology spending, competition and pricing pressure, customer renewal and expansion risk, security vulnerabilities, and the ability to realize benefits from partnerships. The MD&A also states that Box does not expect to be profitable for the near future.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2021 | Q4 FY2020 | QoQ | Q1 FY2020 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $183.6M | $183.6M | -0.0% | $163.0M | +12.6% |
| Gross profit | $129.6M | $126.9M | +2.1% | $114.3M | +13.4% |
| Gross margin | 70.6% | 69.1% | +1.5 pp | 70.1% | +0.5 pp |
| Research & development | $53.1M | $53.2M | -0.1% | $46.2M | +14.9% |
| Sales & marketing | $72.8M | $75.5M | -3.6% | $78.8M | -7.7% |
| General & administrative | $27.9M | $26.8M | +4.1% | $24.6M | +13.6% |
| Total operating expenses | $153.8M | $155.4M | -1.1% | $149.7M | +2.8% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$24.2M | -$28.6M | +15.2% | -$35.4M | +31.5% |
| Operating margin | -13.2% | -15.6% | +2.4 pp | -21.7% | +8.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$25.6M | -$30.4M | +15.9% | -$36.8M | +30.6% |
| Net margin | -13.9% | -16.6% | +2.6 pp | -22.6% | +8.7 pp |
Risks
The continuing COVID-19 pandemic is highlighted in both Risk Factors and MD&A as materially uncertain, with office closures, suspended travel, virtual-only events, and potential customer spending delays or reduced collections. MD&A states the extent and magnitude of the impact on business and operating results cannot be predicted at this time.
Risk Factors state that the focus on enterprise and highly regulated customers may lengthen and increase the cost of sales cycles, require greater customer education and professional services, and delay revenue recognition. COVID-19 is also cited as impeding sales efforts that require travel or in-person customer meetings.
Risk Factors describe the cloud content management market as intensely competitive, naming Microsoft and Open Text in cloud content management and Microsoft, Google and Dropbox in enterprise file sync and share. Pricing pressure and lower-priced or bundled competitor offerings could reduce sales and margins.
Risk Factors emphasize that Box stores large amounts of sensitive customer content, including in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare, government, life sciences, and financial services. A breach or improper user configuration could lead to indemnity claims, customer loss, reputational damage, and liability that may exceed insurance coverage.
Risk Factors and MD&A discuss the hybrid cloud infrastructure strategy and migration of primary data centers to lower cost regions. MD&A notes increased duplicative costs, temporary redundant colocation facilities, and an expectation to complete the migration in fiscal 2021, while Risk Factors warn of service disruptions, unsuccessful data transfers, or greater than expected investment.
Risk Factors identify evolving privacy and data protection obligations, including GDPR penalties up to 20 million euros or 4% of global revenue, the CCPA, Brexit-related uncertainty, and government access or data localization requirements. Compliance costs and potential fines could reduce demand or increase operating costs.
Risk Factors state activist shareholders could be costly, time-consuming, and disruptive, and may create perceived uncertainty among customers and employees. MD&A separately identifies $1.4 million of fees related to shareholder activism in the three months ended April 30, 2020, compared with no such fees in the prior-year period.
Risk Factors state competition for highly skilled personnel is intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, and that the company depends on senior management including co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie. MD&A notes sales and marketing headcount decreased from 942 as of April 30, 2019 to 806 as of April 30, 2020 due to a recent restructuring.
Risk Factors state the credit agreement requires compliance with a minimum liquidity covenant and a maximum leverage ratio and contains operating and financial restrictions. MD&A notes a $30.0 million debt drawdown in April 2020 on the November 2017 Facility and $72.8 million of total debt payments due, including $1.5 million in less than one year.
Risk Factors state customers have no obligation to renew, retention rate has decreased over time and may continue to decrease due to satisfaction, pricing, competition, or COVID-19. MD&A reports retention rate was 107% and 106% as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and expects it to remain above 100%.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Billings
Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Free Cash Flow
Paying Organizations
Remaining Performance Obligations
Retention rate (period end)
Registered Users
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from BOX INC's SEC filings for Q1 FY2021 (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.