Summary
Semrush ended 2024 with fourth-quarter revenue of $102.6 million, up 23% from the prior-year quarter, and full-year revenue of $376.8 million, up 22%. Annual recurring revenue reached $411.6 million, also up 22%, and paying customers grew 8% to roughly 117,000. Dollar-based net revenue retention was 106%, down from 107% a year earlier, as macro pressure weighed on the lower end of the market. The fourth quarter delivered operating income of $1.7 million, down 35.1% year over year, while full-year operating income was $8.3 million, a swing to profit from a loss in 2023. Non-GAAP income from operations was $11.8 million in the fourth quarter and $45.8 million for the full year. Non-GAAP operating margin was 11.5% in the fourth quarter, up 150 basis points year over year, and 12.2% for the full year. Net income attributable to Semrush was $3.3 million in the quarter, down 51.3%, and $8.2 million for the year, up 766.9%. Full-year diluted EPS was $0.06, up 500.0%. Gross margin slipped to 81.7% in the fourth quarter, down 1.9 percentage points.
The enterprise SEO solution ended the year with over $9 million in ARR across 144 enterprise customers. Semrush closed more enterprise SEO deals in the fourth quarter than in the rest of the year combined, including over 40 deals in December alone. Customers spending more than $10,000 annually grew 40% year over year. The company ended the year with over 1.0 million registered free active customers. Product launches during the quarter included AI Social Assistant, AI Strategic Market Insights, and Video SEO Builder. ARR per paying customer rose to $3,522 from $3,125. Deferred revenue was $71.8 million, up 23.2%, while remaining performance obligations fell 29.1% to $1.01 million.
Cash generation improved. Fourth-quarter operating cash flow was $11.9 million, up 3.3% year over year, and full-year operating cash flow was $47.0 million, up 488.5%. Free cash flow was $9.5 million in the fourth quarter, with a 9.3% margin, and $35.3 million for the full year, with a 9.4% margin. Capital expenditures were $0.39 million in the fourth quarter, down 72.5%, and $3.80 million for the full year, up 52.9%. On the leadership front, Semrush named Bill Wagner chief executive officer effective March 10, 2025. Oleg Shchegolev, co-founder and CEO, will become chief technology officer. Wagner has served on the board since September 2022 and previously was president and CEO of GoTo Group. The board believes the combination of Wagner and Shchegolev will accelerate growth. Shchegolev will focus on product innovation and AI.
Guidance points to continued growth. For the first quarter of 2025, management expects revenue of $103.9 million to $104.7 million, which at the midpoint represents growth of approximately 22% year over year, and a non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 11%. For full-year 2025, the company guided revenue of $448 million to $453 million, roughly 20% growth at the midpoint, a non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 12%, and a free cash flow margin of approximately 12%. Management said reconciliations of these non-GAAP outlook measures to GAAP are not available without unreasonable efforts because of the high variability and low visibility of share-based compensation, employer taxes, and equity award tax deductions. Risks include macro pressure in the lower end of the market, which contributed to the net revenue retention decline to 106%, and the need to sustain enterprise momentum as the new CEO takes over. Remaining performance obligations fell 29.1% to $1.01 million, although deferred revenue rose 23.2% to $71.8 million. The company also flagged forward-looking risks in its SEC filings, including those under risk factors and MD&A.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2024 | Q3 FY2024 | QoQ | Q4 FY2023 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $102.6M | $97.4M | +5.4% | $83.4M | +23.1% |
| Gross profit | $83.8M | $80.3M | +4.3% | $69.7M | +20.3% |
| Gross margin | 81.7% | 82.5% | -0.8 pp | 83.6% | -1.9 pp |
| Research & development | $21.3M | $22.2M | -4.0% | $15.4M | +38.6% |
| Sales & marketing | $39.7M | $35.7M | +11.3% | $31.0M | +28.0% |
| General & administrative | $21.1M | $20.8M | +1.4% | $20.6M | +2.1% |
| Total operating expenses | $82.1M | $78.6M | +4.4% | $67.0M | +22.5% |
| Operating income (loss) | $1.7M | $1.7M | +2.1% | $2.7M | -35.1% |
| Operating margin | 1.7% | 1.8% | -0.1 pp | 3.2% | -1.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $2.5M | $718.0K | +246.0% | $6.9M | -63.9% |
| Net margin | 2.4% | 0.7% | +1.7 pp | 8.2% | -5.8 pp |
| Diluted EPS | $0.02 | $0.01 | +$0.01 | $0.05 | -$0.03 |
Risks
The filing states recent macro-economic pressures affecting some customers in the lower end of the market contributed to decreased renewal rates and/or lower spending, and MD&A reports the dollar-based net revenue retention rate decreased from 107% to 106% as of December 31, 2023 and 2024. Most paying customers are on month-to-month premium subscriptions that can be canceled at any time.
Substantially all revenue and cash flows come from paying customers with premium subscriptions, and agreements predominantly use monthly terms that allow termination or adjustment with little notice. Failure to renew or renew on same terms would adversely affect operating results.
The risk factors highlight increased adoption of artificial intelligence for internet search responses and rapid growth of chatbot platforms such as ChatGPT, which could result in lower demand for traditional search engine technologies and require Semrush to develop costly integrations or new products.
Search engines and social networking sites can change algorithms, technologies, or policies, including anti-spam rules. The filing gives the example that if a search engine stopped using backlinks, customer perception of the backlink analytics tool may be adversely impacted, and changes could render products obsolete.
The platform relies on publicly available, internally developed, and paid third-party data, including social media APIs and clickstream/search engine data. If data providers stop making data available, change terms, or restrict use, Semrush may need expensive alternatives and its platform functionality could be harmed.
The market is intensely competitive and price sensitive, and some competitors may offer lower-priced or free products or bundle solutions. This could force Semrush to engage in price-cutting initiatives, offer discounts, limit price increases, or increase sales and marketing expenses.
On February 26, 2025, Semrush announced Bill Wagner as new CEO effective March 10, 2025, Oleg Shchegolev moving to CTO, and Vitalii Obischenko transitioning from COO to CPO. The filing states it cannot provide assurances that it will effectively manage this transition, and role changes could delay business objectives.
Semrush is subject to evolving privacy, cookie, and cybersecurity laws, including the EU e-Privacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and mandatory breach notification rules. The filing states it has received inquiries from and corresponded with European data protection authorities regarding cookies used on its websites, and compliance may require costly changes or restrict marketing.
Approximately 55% of FY2024 revenue was generated from sales to paying customers located outside the United States, and approximately 30% of expenses are denominated in Euros. The filing cites risks from geopolitical and economic instability, military conflicts, sanctions and export controls, tariffs, and foreign exchange fluctuations in its international operations.
The filing says Semrush and its third-party vendors have experienced and expect to continue to experience threats and cybersecurity incidents, including attempts to exploit system vulnerabilities. A breach could damage customer relationships, trigger annual subscription termination rights, and expose the company to regulatory fines and liability.
As the paying customer base expands to include more large enterprise customers, sales expenses may increase, sales cycles may lengthen and become less predictable, and longer terms and extended payment terms may increase acquisition costs and credit risk. The filing also notes the 2024 Enterprise SEO solution is typically sold at a significantly higher subscription fee and usually with at least an annual term.
The filing describes the EU AI Act, which entered into force in August 2024 with most provisions effective August 2, 2026, and a pending GPAI Code of Practice. Compliance may require higher data quality, transparency, and human oversight and impose burdensome obligations on AI providers and deployers.
The filing states it has incurred net losses in the past and may not consistently maintain profitability. Although FY2024 net income attributable to Semrush increased to $8.2M from $0.95M, Q4 net income decreased 51.3% to $3.3M and Q4 operating income decreased 35.1% to $1.7M versus prior-year quarter.
As of December 31, 2024, Semrush was no longer an emerging growth company and is now required to comply with Section 404(b) of SOX, including auditor attestation of internal controls. Undetected material weaknesses could lead to financial restatements, remediation expense, or SEC and listing consequences.
The filing states 54 countries have enacted aspects of the OECD BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two global minimum tax, with the GMT effective beginning in 2024 in 35 of those countries. Although the impact on 2024 results is not expected to be material, it could change, and transfer pricing or tax examinations could increase liabilities.
Semrush acquired Brand 24 in April 2024, Ryte in July 2024, Exploding Topics in August 2024, and Third Door Media in October 2024. The filing states it may have difficulty integrating personnel, businesses, and technologies and may incur higher-than-expected costs or liabilities.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →ARR per Paying Customer
Paying Customers
ARR
Dollar-Based Net Revenue Retention
Free cash flow
Free cash flow margin
Registered Free Active Customers
Non-GAAP operating margin
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from SEMrush Holdings, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q4 FY2024 (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 6, 2026.