Summary
GitLab closed fiscal 2023 with fourth-quarter revenue of $122.91 million, up 58.0% from the prior-year quarter. Full-year revenue reached $424.34 million, up 68.0% from the prior fiscal year. Gross profit was $108.67 million in the quarter, up 58.4%, and $372.66 million for the year, up 67.4%. Gross margin was 88.4% in the quarter, up 0.2 percentage points, and 87.8% for the year, down 0.3 percentage points. The company still posted a GAAP operating loss of $46.27 million in the quarter, wider than the prior-year quarter. Full-year GAAP operating loss was $211.41 million, wider than the prior fiscal year. Operating margin was negative 37.6% in the quarter, up 14.5 percentage points, and negative 49.8% for the year, up 1.2 percentage points.
Net loss attributable to GitLab was $38.73 million in the quarter, a narrowed loss from the prior-year quarter. For the full year, net loss attributable to GitLab was $172.31 million, wider than the prior fiscal year. Diluted EPS for the full year was negative $1.16, a narrowed loss from the prior fiscal year. Operating cash flow was negative $11.72 million in the quarter, down from the prior-year quarter. Full-year operating cash flow was negative $77.41 million, down from the prior fiscal year. Capital expenditures were $1.05 million in the quarter, down 70.3% from the prior-year quarter, and $6.07 million for the year, up 71.4% from the prior fiscal year. Deferred revenue, current portion, was $254.38 million, up 41.9% from the prior-year quarter. Remaining performance obligations were $435.90 million, up 39.5% from the prior-year quarter.
Operational metrics showed expansion. Customers with more than $5,000 of ARR increased to 7,002, up 52% from Q4 FY2022. Customers with more than $100,000 of ARR increased to 697, up 42%. Customers with more than $1 million of ARR increased to 63, up 62%. Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate was 133% in Q4 FY2023. The revenue increase was primarily due to ongoing demand for The DevSecOps Platform, including adding new customers, expansion within existing paid customers, and an increase in customers with $100,000 or greater in ARR. GitLab had 697 customers with ARR over $100,000 as of January 31, 2023, increasing from 492 as of January 31, 2022. Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate was above 130% as of January 31, 2023, and above 152% as of January 31, 2022. The company announced limited availability of GitLab Dedicated, beta availability of Value Streams Dashboard and GitLab Remote Development, and a GitLab Premium price increase from $19 to $29 per user per month effective April 3, 2023. It also expanded the GitLab for Startups program, appointed Mark Porter to its board, received a SOC 2 Type 1 report for GitLab Dedicated, expanded its SOC 2 Type 2 report for GitLab.com, and won CRN's Tech Innovator Award for GitLab 15.
Guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 includes a non-GAAP operating loss of $27.0 million to $26.0 million and a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.15 to $0.14, assuming approximately 151 million weighted average shares. For full fiscal year 2024, the company guided to a non-GAAP operating loss of $64.0 million to $59.0 million and a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.29 to $0.24, assuming approximately 153 million weighted average shares. Management said non-GAAP operating margin improved by approximately 2,400 basis points year-over-year in the quarter. Risks include intense competition, a possible decline in customer renewals and expansions, security and privacy breaches, customers staying on the open-source or free SaaS offering, rapid technological changes, the armed conflict in Ukraine, inflation, interest rates, and slow or negative market growth. The company also faces a tax examination in the Netherlands and maintains a full valuation allowance against certain deferred tax assets.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | QoQ | Q4 FY2022 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $122.9M | $113.0M | +8.8% | $77.8M | +58.0% |
| Gross profit | $108.7M | $98.4M | +10.4% | $68.6M | +58.4% |
| Gross margin | 88.4% | 87.1% | +1.3 pp | 88.2% | +0.2 pp |
| Research & development | $43.7M | $41.1M | +6.2% | $28.6M | +52.7% |
| Sales & marketing | $81.5M | $81.1M | +0.5% | $57.2M | +42.5% |
| General & administrative | $29.8M | $33.2M | -10.4% | $23.4M | +27.3% |
| Total operating expenses | $154.9M | $155.4M | -0.3% | $109.2M | +41.9% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$46.3M | -$57.0M | +18.8% | -$40.6M | -14.1% |
| Operating margin | -37.6% | -50.4% | +12.8 pp | -52.1% | +14.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$38.7M | -$48.5M | +20.1% | -$45.8M | +15.4% |
| Net margin | -31.5% | -42.9% | +11.4 pp | -58.9% | +27.3 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.26 | -$0.33 | +$0.07 | -$0.57 | +$0.31 |
| Net retention rate | 130.0% | 130.0% | ±0.0 pp | 152.0% | -22.0 pp |
Risks
GitLab has incurred net losses in each year since inception, including net loss attributable to GitLab of $172.3 million in fiscal 2023, and had an accumulated deficit of approximately $725.6 million as of January 31, 2023. Operating loss widened to $211.4 million for fiscal 2023 from $129.0 million for fiscal 2022, and the company may not achieve or sustain profitability.
Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate was above 130% as of January 31, 2023, compared with above 152% as of January 31, 2022. GitLab depends on renewals, expansions, and converting free users to paid, and customers may downtier or churn due to pricing changes and macroeconomic conditions.
The DevSecOps market is highly competitive with limited barriers to entry, and GitLab faces well-established competitors such as Atlassian and Microsoft that have greater financial, technical, and marketing resources. Pricing pressure could reduce sales, margins, or market share.
Inflation, rising interest rates, volatility in global debt and equity markets, and the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine may cause customers to modify spending priorities, delay or abandon purchases, and lengthen sales cycles. MD&A notes these conditions may pressure overall spending for GitLab's products and services.
GitLab discontinued its starter and bronze tier offerings, announced a user limit and storage and transfer limitations for its SaaS Free tier, and announced a price increase for its Premium tier in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. These changes may cause customers to switch to the free version or cease using GitLab products.
Total revenue grew 68% to $424.3 million for fiscal 2023, but GitLab states this historical growth rate should not be considered indicative of future performance. Revenue could decline or growth could slow due to competition, slowing demand, or a global economic downturn.
Net cash used in operating activities was $77.4 million for fiscal 2023, compared with $49.8 million for fiscal 2022. GitLab has generated negative cash flows from operating activities and may need additional equity or debt financing.
Stock-based compensation expense increased 308% to $122.6 million for fiscal 2023 from $30.0 million for fiscal 2022, driven by RSUs and the ESPP. This significantly increased operating expenses and contributed to the operating loss.
Base Customers grew to 7,002 as of January 31, 2023 from 4,593 as of January 31, 2022, placing significant strain on management and operational and financial resources. Failure to improve systems, processes, and controls could impair forecasting and growth management.
GitLab's commitment to transparency includes a publicly available Handbook and public use of The DevSecOps Platform, which may allow competitors to access confidential information and create Regulation FD or disclosure control risks.
The DevSecOps Platform is built using open-source technology and incorporates substantial open source code, which may increase vulnerability to supply-chain cyber-attacks, ransomware, and other security incidents. GitLab has previously been and may in the future become a target of cyber-attacks.
Changes in U.S. and international tax laws, including the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project and digital services taxes, could increase GitLab's effective tax rate. The company is under examination in the Netherlands for the 2015 and 2016 tax years.
GitLab maintains cash balances at third-party financial institutions in excess of FDIC insurance limits and similar non-U.S. limits. If a depository institution fails or is subject to adverse conditions, GitLab may not recover all deposits, impacting liquidity.
GitLab may pursue acquisitions or joint ventures, which could divert management attention, dilute stockholders, and expose it to liabilities of acquired companies. Integration may fail to strengthen competitive position.
GitLab's open source and source code-available business model makes software vulnerable to unauthorized distribution and sale, and third parties may claim intellectual property infringement. Litigation could be costly and require redesign or licensing.
The dual class structure concentrates voting control with Class B holders, including directors, executive officers, and 5% stockholders, who hold 65.8% of voting power as of January 31, 2023. This limits Class A stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate
Customers with more than $100,000 of ARR
Customers with more than $5,000 of ARR
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Gitlab Inc.'s SEC filings for Q4 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 1, 2026.