Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH), a leading software company empowering businesses to delight their customers and employees, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.
“Freshworks capped off a strong finish to the year with revenue growing 30% on a constant currency basis in Q4,” said Girish Mathrubootham, CEO and Founder of Freshworks. “Despite macroeconomic uncertainty throughout the year, I am pleased with our focus on product innovation, expansion and new business which drove revenue growth and improved cash flow. We will continue this focus into 2023.”
Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Summary Results
- Revenue: Total revenue was $133.2 million, representing growth of 26% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 and 30% adjusting for constant currency.
- GAAP (Loss) from Operations: GAAP (loss) from operations was $(60.6) million, compared to $(56.4) million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Non-GAAP (Loss) from Operations: Non-GAAP (loss) from operations was $(2.8) million, compared to $(10.7) million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- GAAP Net (Loss) Per Share: GAAP basic and diluted net (loss) per share was $(0.19) based on 288.5 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $(0.28) based on 269.5 million weighted-average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Per Share: Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income (loss) per share was $0.01 based on 292.2 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $(0.06) based on 269.5 million weighted-average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities: Net cash provided by operating activities was $7.2 million, compared to $4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow was $4.0 million, compared to $2.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Full Year 2022 Financial Summary Results
- Revenue: Total revenue was $498.0 million, representing growth of 34% compared to 2021 and 37% adjusting for constant currency.
- GAAP (Loss) from Operations: GAAP (loss) from operations was $(233.4) million, compared to $(204.8) million in 2021.
- Non-GAAP (Loss) from Operations: Non-GAAP (loss) from operations was $(22.3) million, compared to $(18.3) million in 2021.
- GAAP Net (Loss) Per Share: GAAP basic and diluted net (loss) per share was $(0.82) based on 284.6 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $(21.73) based on 130.7 million weighted-average shares outstanding in 2021.
- Non-GAAP Net (Loss) Per Share: Non-GAAP basic and diluted net (loss) per share was $(0.07) based on 284.6 million weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $(0.21) based on 130.7 million weighted-average shares outstanding in 2021.
- Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Operating Activities: Net cash (used in) operating activities was $(2.5) million, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $11.5 million in 2021.
- Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow was $(14.8) million, compared to $2.3 million in 2021.
A description of non-GAAP financial measures is contained in the section titled “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is contained in the tables below.
Fourth Quarter Key Metrics and Recent Business Highlights
- Number of customers contributing more than $5,000 in ARR was 17,722, an increase of 20% year-over-year and 21% adjusting for constant currency.
- Net dollar retention rate was 108%, and 110% adjusting for constant currency, compared to 107% in the third quarter of 2022 and 114% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Welcomed new customers to the Freshworks community including: The San Francisco 49ers, Addison Lee, Finchoice, Mahindra, Supara, St. Marche, Yulu Bikes and more.
- Announced the appointment of Jason Loomis as Chief Information Security Officer.
- Named one of The Best Places to Work in 2023 in San Francisco and Colorado by BuiltIn.
- Freshdesk and Freshservice won TrustRadius Awards for Best Value for the Price and Best Feature Set.
Financial Outlook
We are providing estimates for the first quarter and full year 2023 based on current market conditions and expectations. The revenue growth rates are adjusted for constant currency to provide better visibility into the underlying business trends. We emphasize that these estimates are subject to various important cautionary factors referenced in the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” below.
For the first quarter and full year 2023, we currently expect the following results:
| ($ in millions, except per share data) | First Quarter 2023 | Full Year 2023 |
| Revenue(1) | $133.0 – $135.0 | $575.0 – $590.0 |
| Year-over-year growth | 16% – 18% | 15% – 18% |
| Adjusting for constant currency(2) | 19% – 21% | 16% – 19% |
| Non-GAAP loss from operations(1) | ($9.0) – ($7.0) | ($14.0) – ($6.0) |
| Non-GAAP net loss per share(3) | ($0.03) – ($0.01) | ($0.01) – $0.03 |
(1) Revenue and non-GAAP loss from operations are based on exchange rates as of February 3, 2023 for currencies other than USD.
(2) Revenue growth rates adjusted for constant currency are based on average exchange rates in effect during the comparison period for currencies other than USD. See the section entitled “Explanation of non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the table entitled “Reconciliation of Selected GAAP Measures to non‑GAAP Measures” for a reconciliation of GAAP to non‑GAAP measures.
(3) Non-GAAP net loss per share was estimated assuming 290.2 million and 293.8 million weighted-average shares outstanding for the first quarter and full year 2023, respectively.
These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the “Forward-Looking Statements” safe harbor section below for information on the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.
We have not reconciled our estimates for non-GAAP loss from operations to GAAP loss from operations or non-GAAP net loss per share to GAAP net loss per share due to the uncertainty and potential variability of expenses that may be incurred in the future. Accordingly, a reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort. We have provided a reconciliation of other GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures in the financial statement tables for our fourth quarter and full year 2022 non-GAAP results included in this press release.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
We will host a conference call for investors on February 7, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the company’s financial results and business highlights. Investors are invited to listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call by visiting the investor relations website at ir.freshworks.com. A replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the call on the Freshworks Investor Relations website and will be available for twelve months thereafter.
Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying tables contain non-GAAP financial measures, including revenue and revenue growth rates adjusted for constant currency, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP sales and marketing expense, non-GAAP research and development expense, non-GAAP general and administrative expense, non-GAAP loss from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net loss per share, non-GAAP net loss attributable to common stockholders, and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP.
We adjust revenue and related growth rates for constant currency to provide a framework for assessing business performance excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current period results for currencies other than USD are converted into USD at the average exchange rates in effect during the comparison period (for Q4 2021, the average exchange rates in effect for our major currencies were 1 USD to 1.14 EUR and 1 USD to 1.35 GBP), rather than the actual average exchange rates in effect during the current period (for Q4 2022, the average exchange rates in effect for our major currencies were 1 USD to 1.02 EUR and 1 USD to 1.17 GBP).
We use these non-GAAP measures in conjunction with GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies and to communicate with our board of directors concerning our financial performance. We believe these non-GAAP measures provide investors consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitate period-to-period comparisons of our operating results. We believe these non-GAAP measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry, as they generally eliminate the effects of certain items that may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.
Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. The non-GAAP measures we use may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP items excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures.
We exclude the following items from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures, including the related income tax effect of these adjustments:
- Stock-based compensation expense. We exclude stock-based compensation, which is a non-cash expense, from certain of our non-GAAP financial measures because we believe that excluding this expense provides meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance. In particular, stock-based compensation expense is not comparable across companies given the variety of valuation methodologies and assumptions.
- Employer payroll taxes on employee stock transactions. We exclude the amount of employer payroll taxes on equity awards from certain of our non-GAAP financial measures because they are dependent on our stock price at the time of vesting or exercise and other factors that are beyond our control and do not believe these expenses have a direct correlation to the operation of our business.
- Amortization of acquired intangibles. We exclude amortization of acquired intangibles, which is a non-cash expense, from certain of our non-GAAP financial measures. Our expenses for amortization of acquired intangibles are inconsistent in amount and frequency because they are significantly affected by the timing, size of acquisitions, and the allocation of purchase price. We exclude these amortization expenses because we do not believe these expenses have a direct correlation to the operation of our business.
- Gain on sale of non-marketable equity investments. We exclude gains on sale of non-marketable equity investments from certain of our non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they are unrelated to our ongoing operating performance and are not expected to recur in our continuing operating results.
We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities, less purchases of property and equipment and capitalized internal-use software. We believe that free cash flow is a useful indicator of liquidity as it measures our ability to generate cash from our core operations after purchases of property and equipment. Free cash flow is a measure to determine, among other things, cash available for strategic initiatives, including further investments in our business and potential acquisitions of businesses.
Operating Metrics
Number of Customers Contributing More Than $5,000 in ARR. We define ARR as the sum total of the revenue we would contractually expect to recognize over the next 12 months from all customers at a point in time, assuming no increases, reductions or cancellations in their subscriptions. We define our total customers contributing more than $5,000 in ARR as of a particular date as the number of business entities or individuals, represented by a unique domain or a unique email address, with one or more paid subscriptions to one or more of our products that contributed more than $5,000 in ARR.
Net Dollar Retention Rate. To calculate net dollar retention rate as of a given date, we first determine Entering ARR, which is ARR from the population of our customers as of 12 months prior to the end of the reporting period. We then calculate the Ending ARR from the same set of customers as of the end of the reporting period. We then divide the Ending ARR by the Entering ARR to arrive at our net dollar retention rate. Ending ARR includes upsells, cross-sells, and renewals during the measurement period and is net of any contraction or attrition over this period.
We also adjust the above operating metrics and related growth rates for constant currency to provide a framework for assessing our business performance excluding the effects of foreign currency rates fluctuations. To present this information, the Ending ARR of the current period in currencies other than USD is converted into USD at the exchange rates in effect at the end of the comparison period (for Q4 2021, the period end exchange rates in effect for our major currencies were 1 USD to 1.13 EUR and 1 USD to 1.35 GBP), rather than the actual exchange rates in effect at the end of the current period (for Q4 2022, the period end exchange rates in effect for our major currencies were 1 USD to 1.07 EUR and 1 USD to 1.21 GBP).
