Maker of operating system for banks nCino (NASDAQ:NCNO) announced better-than-expected results in the Q3 FY2023 quarter, with revenue up 50.3% year on year to $105.2 million. The company expects that next quarter's revenue would be around $104.5 million, which is the midpoint of the guidance range. That was in roughly line with analyst expectations. nCino made a GAAP loss of $22.6 million, down on its loss of $13.6 million, in the same quarter last year.
Is now the time to buy nCino? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
nCino (NCNO) Q3 FY2023 Highlights:
- Revenue: $105.2 million vs analyst estimates of $103.4 million (1.78% beat)
- EPS (non-GAAP): -$0.01 vs analyst estimates of -$0.02
- Revenue guidance for Q4 2023 is $104.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $105.2 million
- Free cash flow was negative $8.66 million, down from positive free cash flow of $4.86 million in previous quarter
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 59%, down from 61% same quarter last year
“Our team executed extremely well in the third quarter, again exceeding both top and bottom-line expectations,” said Pierre Naudé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of nCino.
Founded in 2011 in North Carolina, nCino (NASDAQ:NCNO) makes cloud-based operating systems for banks and provides that software as a service.
Consumers these days are accustomed to frictionless digital experiences from online shopping to ordering food or hailing a cab. Financial services firms are notoriously risk averse in adopting modern software, often lacking the resources or competency to develop the digital solutions in-house. That drives demand for software as a service platforms that allows banks and other finance institutions to offer the digital services without having to run or maintain them.
Sales Growth
As you can see below, nCino's revenue growth has been impressive over the last two years, growing from quarterly revenue of $54.2 million in Q3 FY2021, to $105.2 million.
This was another standout quarter with the revenue up a splendid 50.3% year on year. Quarter on quarter the revenue increased by $5.66 million in Q3, which was roughly in line with the Q2 2023 increase. This steady quarter-on-quarter growth shows the company is able to maintain a strong growth trajectory.
Guidance for the next quarter indicates nCino is expecting revenue to grow 39.4% year on year to $104.5 million, improving on the 32.4% year-over-year increase in revenue the company had recorded in the same quarter last year. Ahead of the earnings results the analysts covering the company were estimating sales to grow 26.7% over the next twelve months.
In volatile times like these we look for robust businesses with strong pricing power. Unknown to most investors, this company is one of the highest-quality software companies in the world, and their software products have been the default standard in critical industries for decades. The result is an impressive business that is up an incredible 18,152% since the IPO. You can find it on our platform for free.
Profitability
What makes the software as a service business so attractive is that once the software is developed, it typically shouldn't cost much to provide it as an ongoing service to customers. nCino's gross profit margin, an important metric measuring how much money there is left after paying for servers, licenses, technical support and other necessary running expenses was at 59% in Q3.
That means that for every $1 in revenue the company had $0.59 left to spend on developing new products, marketing & sales and the general administrative overhead. This would be considered a low gross margin for a SaaS company and we would like to see it start improving.
Key Takeaways from nCino's Q3 Results
Since it has still been burning cash over the last twelve months it is worth keeping an eye on nCino’s balance sheet, but we note that with a market capitalization of $2.76 billion and more than $106.4 million in cash, the company has the capacity to continue to prioritise growth over profitability.
We were impressed by the exceptional revenue growth nCino delivered this quarter. On the other hand, it was unfortunate to see that the revenue guidance for the next quarter missed analysts' expectations. Zooming out, we think this was still a decent, albeit mixed, quarter, showing the company is staying on target. The company is flat on the results and currently trades at $26.11 per share.
Should you invest in nCino right now? It is important that you take into account its valuation and business qualities, as well as what happened in the latest quarter. We look at that in our actionable report which you can read here, it's free.
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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.