Summary
Revenue growth stayed strong in MongoDB's fiscal 2023 fourth quarter. Total revenue reached $361.3 million, up 35.6% from the prior-year quarter. For the full fiscal year, revenue was $1.28 billion, up 47.0%. Atlas, the hosted database service, grew revenue 50% year over year and produced 65% of fourth-quarter revenue. Subscription revenue was $348.2 million, up 35%, while services revenue was $13.1 million, up 59%. The company ended the year with over 40,800 customers, up from over 33,000 a year earlier.
Profitability improved on a GAAP basis even as the company stayed unprofitable. Gross profit was $272.2 million for the quarter, up 42.7%, and gross margin rose to 75.3% from 71.6%. The operating loss narrowed to $72.9 million from $78.6 million a year earlier. The net loss narrowed to $64.4 million from $84.4 million. On a non-GAAP basis, income from operations was $37.2 million, compared with $13.0 million, and non-GAAP net income was $46.4 million, or $0.57 per share. The full year looked less flattering. The operating loss widened to $346.7 million from $289.4 million, and the net loss widened to $345.4 million from $306.9 million. Diluted loss per share for the full year was $5.03, compared with $4.75.
Cash generation was mixed. The quarter produced $25.9 million of operating cash flow, up 16.0% from $22.3 million. Free cash flow was $23.8 million, compared with $16.8 million. For the full year, operating cash flow was negative $13.0 million, down from positive $7.0 million, and free cash flow was negative $24.7 million. Capital expenditures were $0.7 million in the quarter, down 80.0%. The company held $1.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash as of January 31, 2023. Deferred revenue was $460.3 million, up 22.7%, and remaining performance obligations were $461.1 million, up 19.1%.
Customer metrics kept moving in the right direction. Direct sales customers topped 6,400, and customers with at least $100,000 in annualized recurring revenue reached 1,651, up from 1,307 a year earlier. MongoDB said its net ARR expansion rate has consistently been over 120%. The company signed a new five-year strategic partnership with Microsoft Azure and expanded its multi-year partnership with Google Cloud. AWS named MongoDB its Marketplace Partner of the Year for the EMEA region. MongoDB also achieved FedRAMP Moderate Authorized designation for Atlas for Government.
Management issued revenue guidance for both the first quarter and the full fiscal year 2024. The first quarter outlook includes non-GAAP income from operations of $10.0 million to $13.0 million and non-GAAP net income per share of $0.17 to $0.20. For the full fiscal year 2024, the company guided to non-GAAP income from operations of $69.0 million to $84.0 million and non-GAAP net income per share of $0.96 to $1.10. The outlook includes an added non-GAAP tax provision tied to expected future non-GAAP profitability.
The main risk is demand. Management said the macroeconomic environment negatively affected growth of existing Atlas applications during fiscal 2023 and expects those headwinds to persist in the short term. The company carries an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion and expects to keep incurring operating losses. Contractual obligations total $2.4 billion, including $1,146.1 million of purchase obligations and $1.16 billion of principal and future interest on the 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2026. After year end, MongoDB expanded a cloud infrastructure arrangement with a non-cancelable commitment of $300 million over the next five years. Sales and marketing headcount grew to 2,249 from 1,713.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2023 | Q3 FY2023 | QoQ | Q4 FY2022 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $361.3M | $333.6M | +8.3% | $266.5M | +35.6% |
| Gross profit | $272.2M | $240.0M | +13.4% | $190.7M | +42.7% |
| Gross margin | 75.3% | 71.9% | +3.4 pp | 71.6% | +3.8 pp |
| Research & development | $110.9M | $106.4M | +4.2% | $89.4M | +24.0% |
| Sales & marketing | $189.9M | $177.4M | +7.0% | $144.3M | +31.6% |
| General & administrative | $44.3M | $39.1M | +13.3% | $35.6M | +24.3% |
| Total operating expenses | $345.1M | $322.9M | +6.9% | $269.3M | +28.1% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$72.9M | -$82.9M | +12.0% | -$78.6M | +7.2% |
| Operating margin | -20.2% | -24.9% | +4.7 pp | -29.5% | +9.3 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$64.4M | -$84.8M | +24.1% | -$84.4M | +23.7% |
| Net margin | -17.8% | -25.4% | +7.6 pp | -31.7% | +13.9 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.94 | — | — | — | — |
Risks
MD&A states adverse macroeconomic conditions, including slower or negative economic growth, higher inflation and higher interest rates, negatively impacted the year ended January 31, 2023, causing slower than historical growth rates for existing MongoDB Atlas applications. The company expects short-term macroeconomic headwinds on that growth rate.
The majority of revenue comes from MongoDB Atlas, which is primarily usage-based. Atlas represented 63% of total revenue for the year ended January 31, 2023, up from 56% in the prior year, and revenue recognition timing visibility is limited because customer usage may vary.
The business depends on customers renewing subscriptions and expanding usage, but customers have no obligation to renew and a majority of subscription contracts were one year in duration in fiscal 2022. Retention may decline due to budget constraints, competing solutions, or dissatisfaction with the software.
The company has non-cancelable multi-year cloud infrastructure capacity commitments requiring payment irrespective of actual usage. Contractual purchase obligations were $1.146 billion as of January 31, 2023, and subsequent to that date the company expanded a cloud infrastructure partnership with a non-cancelable $300 million commitment over the next five years.
MongoDB has a history of losses, with net loss widening to $345.4 million for FY2023 from $306.9 million in FY2022, and an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion as of January 31, 2023. Operating cash flow was $(13.0) million for FY2023, down from $7.0 million in FY2022.
A security breach or incident could disrupt the platform and lead to liability, regulatory investigations and reputational damage. Industry publications have reported ransomware attacks on MongoDB instances, which the company believes were successful due to Community Server users failing to turn on recommended security settings.
Risk Factors say a sustained downturn could extend the sales cycle and increase the time and cost of the sales process. MD&A notes potential customers may reduce or delay technology spending due to COVID-19, rising inflation and interest rates, and global economic uncertainty.
MongoDB faces significant competition from legacy database providers IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and public cloud providers AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure. Larger competitors can bundle competing products and may lower prices, which could pressure MongoDB's pricing and customer acquisition.
The company has $1.15 billion aggregate principal amount of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2026. The conditional conversion feature was not triggered during the three months ended January 31, 2023, but if triggered holders may convert and the company may need to settle in cash, adversely affecting liquidity.
MongoDB is substantially dependent on its direct sales force and plans to expand sales and marketing amid significant competition for experienced sales professionals and heightened employee attrition. Sales and marketing headcount grew to 2,249 as of January 31, 2023 from 1,713 as of January 31, 2022.
Community Server is offered under the SSPL for versions released on or after October 16, 2018 and the AGPL for earlier versions. The SSPL has not been interpreted by courts or approved by the Open Source Initiative, and if either license is held unenforceable, others may use MongoDB software to compete without restrictions.
MongoDB is subject to stringent and evolving data privacy and security laws, including the CCPA, GDPR, UK GDPR, LGPD and APPI. GDPR fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover, and proposed SEC cybersecurity disclosure rules could increase compliance costs.
The company may fail to meet publicly announced guidance or analyst expectations, which would cause its stock price to decline. Guidance assumptions include the impact of COVID-19 and the macroeconomic environment, including inflation and interest rates, and actual results may vary materially.
If financial institutions used by MongoDB or its customers face insolvency or illiquidity, customers may be unable to pay on time or at all and may not renew subscriptions. MD&A notes the company is monitoring recent challenges in the banking industry.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Total Customers
MongoDB Atlas Customers
Direct Sales Customers
Free Cash Flow
Net ARR Expansion Rate
Customers over $100K ARR
Non-GAAP Gross Margin
MongoDB Atlas Revenue % of Total Revenue
Direct Sales Customers Revenue % of Subscription Revenue
MongoDB Enterprise Advanced % of Subscription Revenue
MongoDB Atlas Revenue Growth
Non-GAAP Income from Operations
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from MongoDB, 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 2, 2026.