Amplitude Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results
- Fourth quarter revenue of $49.4M, up 64% year-over-year
- Fiscal 2021 revenue of $167.3M, up 63% year-over-year
- Current Remaining Performance Obligations of $137.3M, up 60% year over year
San Francisco, CA – February 16, 2022 – Amplitude, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMPL), the pioneer in digital optimization, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
“2021 was a breakthrough year for Amplitude. Digital products are becoming the central driver for how businesses operate, go to market and generate revenue,” said Spenser Skates, CEO and co-founder of Amplitude. “Strong execution combined with demand for the Amplitude Digital Optimization System drove our fiscal year 2021 results. We believe we are in the very early stages of a large market opportunity and we’re excited to help companies realize the business outcomes of digital optimization.”
Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:
(in millions, except per share and percentage amounts)
Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights:
(in millions, except per share and percentage amounts)
Non-GAAP loss from operations and non-GAAP net loss per share exclude expenses related to stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and non-recurring costs, such as direct listing costs. Stock-based compensation expense and employer related payroll taxes were $16.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $4.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, and $39.7 million for the full year 2021 compared to $16.6 million for the full year 2020. These increases were driven by an increase in the fair value of Amplitude’s common stock and increases in our employee headcount. Free cash flow is GAAP net cash used in operating activities, less cash used for purchases of property and equipment and capitalized internal-use software costs. The section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below contains a description of the non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations between historical GAAP and non-GAAP information are contained in the tables below.
Fourth Quarter and Recent Business Highlights:
- Number of paying customers grew 54% year-over-year to 1,597.
- Dollar-based net retention rate at the end of December 31, 2021, was 123% compared to 119% at the end of December 31, 2020.
- G2’s 2022 Best Software Awards ranked Amplitude as the #3 best software product overall and #5 best enterprise product. The G2 Winter 2022 Report also ranked Amplitude as the #1 Product Analytics solution for the sixth quarter in a row and #1 in Mobile Analytics.
- In November at re:Invent, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team announced Amplitude’s designation as an AI for Data Analytics (AIDA) solution, a set of solutions that leverage AWS artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) services to take the complexity out of AI-based insights.
Financial Outlook:
The first quarter and full year 2022 outlook information provided below are based on Amplitude’s current estimates and are not a guarantee of future performance. These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the “Forward-Looking Statements” section below for information on the factors that could cause Amplitude’s actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.
For the first quarter and full year 2022, the Company expects:
An outlook for GAAP loss from operations, GAAP operating margin, and GAAP net loss per share and a reconciliation of expected non-GAAP loss from operations to GAAP loss from operations, expected non-GAAP operating margin to GAAP operating margin, and expected non-GAAP net loss per share to GAAP net loss per share have not been provided as the quantification of certain items included in the calculation of GAAP loss from operations, GAAP operating margin, and GAAP net loss per share cannot be reasonably calculated or predicted at this time without unreasonable efforts. For example, the non-GAAP adjustment for stock-based compensation expense requires additional inputs such as the number and value of awards granted that are not currently ascertainable, and the non-GAAP adjustment for amortization of acquired intangible assets depends on the timing and value of intangible assets acquired that cannot be accurately forecasted.
Conference Call Information:
Amplitude will host a live video webcast to discuss its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as well as the financial outlook for its first quarter and full year 2022 today at 2:00 PM Pacific Time / 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Interested parties may access the webcast, earnings press release, and investor presentation on the events section of Amplitude’s investor relations website at investors.amplitude.com. A replay will be available in the same location a few hours after the conclusion of the live webcast.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains express and implied “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company’s financial outlook for the first quarter of 2022 and full year 2022, the Company’s growth strategy and business aspirations and its market position and market opportunity. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “would,” and “outlook,” or the negative version of those words or phrases or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact, and are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about the Company’s industry as well as certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. These statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results, performance, or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the statements, including risks related to: the Company’s limited operating history and rapid growth over the last several years, which makes it difficult to forecast the Company’s future results of operations; the Company’s history of losses; any decline in the Company’s customer retention or expansion of its commercial relationships with existing customers or an inability to attract new customers; expected fluctuations in the Company’s financial results, making it difficult to project future results; the Company’s focus on sales to larger organizations and potentially increased dependency on those relationships, which may increase the variability of the Company’s sales cycles and results of operations; downturns or upturns in new sales, which may not be immediately reflected in the Company’s results of operations and may be difficult to discern; unfavorable conditions in the Company’s industry or the global economy, or reductions in information technology spending, which could limit the Company’s ability to grow its business; the market for SaaS applications, which may develop more slowly than the Company expects or decline; the Company’s intellectual property rights, which may not protect its business or provide the Company with a competitive advantage; and evolving privacy and other data-related laws. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are or will be included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the reports and other documents that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
This press release includes financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing its financial results and believes they are useful to investors, as a supplement to GAAP measures, in evaluating the Company’s ongoing operational performance. The Company believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing the Company’s financial results with other companies in the industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. There are a number of limitations related to the use of non-GAAP financial measures versus comparable financial measures determined under U.S. GAAP. For example, other companies in the Company’s industry may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance. In addition, free cash flow does not reflect the Company’s future contractual commitments and the total increase or decrease of its cash balance for a given period.
Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included below in this press release. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures below.
Non-GAAP Gross Profit, Non-GAAP Gross Margin, Non-GAAP Operating Expenses, Non-GAAP Loss from Operations, Non-GAAP Operating Margin, Non-GAAP Net Loss, and Non-GAAP Loss per Share.
The Company defines these non-GAAP financial measures as their respective GAAP measures, excluding expenses related to stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and non-recurring costs, such as direct listing costs. The Company excludes stock-based compensation expense and related employer payroll taxes, which is a non-cash expense, from certain of its non-GAAP financial measures because it believes that excluding this item provides meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance. The Company excludes amortization of intangible assets, which is a non-cash expense, related to business combinations from certain of its non-GAAP financial measures because such expenses are related to business combinations and have no direct correlation to the operation of the Company’s business. Although the Company excludes these expenses from certain non-GAAP financial measures, the revenue from acquired companies subsequent to the date of acquisition is reflected in these measures and the acquired intangible assets contribute to the Company’s revenue generation. The Company excludes non-recurring costs from certain of its non-GAAP financial measures because such expenses do not repeat period over period and are not reflective of the ongoing operation of the Company’s business.
The Company uses non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP loss from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net loss and non-GAAP loss per share in conjunction with its traditional U.S. GAAP measures to evaluate the Company’s financial performance. The Company believes that these measures provide its management and investors consistency and comparability with its past financial performance and facilitates period-to-period comparisons of operations.
Free Cash Flow and Margin. The Company defines free cash flow as net cash used in operating activities, less cash used for purchases of property and equipment and capitalized internal-use software costs. The Company believes that free cash flow is a useful indicator of liquidity that provides its management, board of directors, and investors with information about its future ability to generate or use cash to enhance the strength of its balance sheet and further invest in its business and pursue potential strategic initiatives. Free cash flow margin is calculated as free cash flow divided by total revenue.
Definitions of Business Metrics
Dollar-based net retention rate
The Company calculates dollar-based net retention rate as of a period end by starting with the Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) from the cohort of all customers as of 12 months prior to such period-end (the “Prior Period ARR”). The Company then calculates the ARR from these same customers as of the current period-end (the “Current Period ARR”). Current Period ARR includes any expansion and is net of contraction or attrition over the last 12 months, but excludes ARR from new customers as well as any overage charges in the current period. The Company then divides the total Current Period ARR by the total Prior Period ARR to arrive at the point-in-time dollar-based net retention rate. The Company then calculates the weighted-average of the trailing 12-month point-in-time dollar-based net retention rates, to arrive at the dollar-based net retention rate.
The Company defines ARR as the annual recurring revenue of subscription agreements at a point in time based on the terms of customers’ contracts. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue, and does not represent the Company’s U.S. GAAP revenue on an annualized basis, as it is an operating metric that can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates.