Summary
Snowflake's fiscal 2024 fourth quarter, ended January 31, 2024, delivered revenue of $774.7 million, up 32% from the prior-year quarter, and full-year revenue of $2.81 billion, up 35.9%. Product revenue was $738.1 million in the quarter, up 33%, and $2.67 billion for the full year, up 38%. Gross profit was $532.9 million in the quarter, up 39.0%, and gross margin improved to 68.8% from 65.1%. GAAP profitability is still a long way off. The quarter's operating loss widened to $275.5 million from $239.75 million a year earlier. Net loss attributable to Snowflake narrowed to $169.35 million from $207.17 million.
Consumption is still growing, but the retention signal keeps softening. Net revenue retention was 131% as of January 31, 2024, down from 158% a year earlier, and management expects the rate to keep falling as long-time customers grow into a larger share of the base. Snowflake ended the year with 9,437 total customers, up from 7,744, including 691 Forbes Global 2000 customers, up 8%, and 461 customers with trailing 12-month product revenue above $1 million, up 39%. Remaining performance obligations were $5.20 billion, up 40.5%, and deferred revenue was $2.20 billion, up 31.4%. Management expects roughly 50% of RPO to convert into revenue in the twelve months ending January 31, 2025, against a weighted-average capacity contract life of 2.2 years.
Cash generation was the brightest line. Operating cash flow was $344.58 million for the quarter, up 58.6%, and $848.12 million for the full year, up 55.4%. Capital expenditures were $13.07 million in the quarter, up 143.8%, a small base but a steep rise. Adjusted free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $324.3 million at a 42% margin in the quarter and $810.2 million at a 29% margin for the year. Non-GAAP operating income was $71.0 million, a 9% margin, which shows how much stock-based compensation and intangible amortization sit between the GAAP and non-GAAP pictures. Full-year GAAP diluted loss per share was $2.55, wider than the $2.50 loss a year earlier.
Guidance points to slower growth. For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, product revenue is guided to $745 million to $750 million, up 26% to 27%, with a non-GAAP operating income margin of 3%. For the full fiscal year 2025, product revenue is guided to $3,250 million, up 22%, with a non-GAAP product gross profit margin of 76%, a non-GAAP operating income margin of 6%, and an adjusted free cash flow margin of 29%. The share count assumption is 366 million diluted shares for the first quarter and 368 million for the full year. Fiscal 2024 product revenue grew 38%, so the plan assumes a clear step down in the growth rate.
Capital allocation stayed active. Snowflake repurchased 4.0 million shares for $591.7 million at a weighted-average price of $147.50, leaving $1.4 billion available under a program that expires in March 2025. Fiscal 2024 also brought four acquisitions: Samooha for $219.0 million, Neeva for $185.4 million, Mountain for $76.3 million, and LeapYear for $62.0 million. Stock-based compensation for the full year totaled $1.17 billion, and $3.0 billion of unrecognized compensation cost will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.9 years. Management lists macroeconomic pressure, customers rationalizing budgets, shortened contract durations, consumption optimization, competitive dynamics, and product features such as Iceberg Tables and tiered storage pricing as risks that can hold consumption back. Because revenue is recognized as customers consume the platform rather than ratably over contract terms, visibility into the timing of revenue stays limited.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2024 | Q3 FY2024 | QoQ | Q4 FY2023 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $774.7M | $734.2M | +5.5% | $589.0M | +31.5% |
| Gross profit | $532.9M | $505.2M | +5.5% | $383.4M | +39.0% |
| Gross margin | 68.8% | 68.8% | -0.0 pp | 65.1% | +3.7 pp |
| Research & development | $364.5M | $332.1M | +9.8% | $242.1M | +50.5% |
| Sales & marketing | $361.8M | $355.1M | +1.9% | $303.5M | +19.2% |
| General & administrative | $82.1M | $78.7M | +4.3% | $77.5M | +5.9% |
| Total operating expenses | $808.4M | $765.8M | +5.6% | $623.1M | +29.7% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$275.5M | -$260.6M | -5.7% | -$239.8M | -14.9% |
| Operating margin | -35.6% | -35.5% | -0.1 pp | -40.7% | +5.1 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$169.9M | -$214.7M | +20.9% | -$207.5M | +18.1% |
| Net margin | -21.9% | -29.2% | +7.3 pp | -35.2% | +13.3 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.52 | -$0.65 | +$0.13 | -$0.65 | +$0.13 |
Risks
Revenue is recognized on customer consumption rather than ratably, limiting visibility into future results. Net revenue retention rate decreased to 131% as of Jan 31, 2024 from 158% as of Jan 31, 2023, and management said the revenue growth rate has slowed in recent periods.
Adverse macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, higher interest rates, and market volatility, have caused customers to rationalize budgets, prioritize cash flow management, shorten contract duration, and optimize consumption by reducing storage through shorter data retention policies. MD&A flags these conditions as ongoing impacts.
Snowflake is investing significantly in AI and machine learning, but competitors may develop or adopt AI technology faster. Success depends on access to GPUs, which are in high demand, and the investments may not deliver anticipated benefits or maintain competitive advantage.
The platform runs on AWS, Azure, and GCP, which are also primary competitors. A substantial majority of the business runs on AWS, and cloud providers could bundle competing products, provide unfavorable pricing, or exclude Snowflake from opportunities. Minimum cloud commitments could require payments if not met.
In February 2024, Frank Slootman retired as CEO and Sridhar Ramaswamy was appointed, creating leadership transition risk. Competition for AI and cloud talent is intense, and equity value volatility may make it harder to attract and retain key employees.
Sales to government entities and heavily regulated industries involve long procurement cycles, certification requirements, audits, bid protests, and termination for convenience. Snowflake incurs significant upfront time and expense without assurance of contract awards, and MD&A notes investments in regulated markets and data localization needs.
Snowflake is currently subject to a securities class action lawsuit in federal court alleging federal securities law violations in connection with its IPO. This could result in substantial expenses and divert management attention.
Snowflake historically receives a higher volume of orders in the fourth fiscal quarter and has seen higher free cash flow in the first and fourth quarters. Sequential RPO growth has historically been highest in the fourth quarter, while holiday consumption declines are difficult to predict, which may lead to inaccurate guidance.
Future growth depends on growing and maintaining a network of data providers, data consumers, data application developers, global system integrators, managed service providers, and resellers. Insufficient qualified partners or ineffective enablement programs could limit customer adoption and expansion.
Stock-based compensation was $1.168 billion for fiscal 2024, up from $861.5 million for fiscal 2023. Total unrecognized compensation cost was $3.0 billion as of Jan 31, 2024, to be recognized over 2.9 years, and additional equity or cash awards to retain employees could dilute stockholders and pressure results.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Net Revenue Retention Rate
Total Customers
Remaining Performance Obligations
Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Adjusted Free Cash Flow Margin
Free Cash Flow Margin
Adjusted Free Cash Flow
Forbes Global 2000 Customers
Free Cash Flow
Non-GAAP Product Gross Margin
Customers with Trailing 12-Month Product Revenue > $1 Million
Customers with Trailing 12-Month Product Revenue > $10 Million
Customers with Trailing 12-Month Product Revenue > $5 Million
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Snowflake 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.