Marketing analytics software Semrush (NYSE:SEMR) reported results ahead of analyst expectations in the Q3 FY2022 quarter, with revenue up 33.5% year on year to $65.7 million. The company expects that next quarter's revenue would be around $67.5 million, which is the midpoint of the guidance range. That was in roughly line with analyst expectations. SEMrush made a GAAP loss of $9.09 million, down on its loss of $615 thousand, in the same quarter last year.
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SEMrush (SEMR) Q3 FY2022 Highlights:
- Revenue: $65.7 million vs analyst estimates of $63.9 million (2.84% beat)
- EPS: -$0.06 vs analyst estimates of -$0.09 (34.4% beat)
- Revenue guidance for Q4 2022 is $67.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $68.1 million
- Free cash flow was negative $2.29 million, compared to negative free cash flow of $9.86 million in previous quarter
- Net Revenue Retention Rate: 122%, down from 125% previous quarter
- Customers: 94,000, up from 91,000 in previous quarter
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 81.1%, up from 76.9% same quarter last year
Started by Oleg Shchegolev while still in university, Semrush (NYSE:SEMR) is a software as a service platform that helps companies optimize their search engine and content marketing efforts.
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Sales Growth
As you can see below, SEMrush's revenue growth has been impressive over the last two years, growing from quarterly revenue of $32.1 million in Q3 FY2020, to $65.7 million.
And unsurprisingly, this was another great quarter for SEMrush with revenue up 33.5% year on year. But the growth did slow down compared to last quarter, as the revenue increased by just $3.18 million in Q3, compared to $5.48 million in Q2 2022. We'd like to see revenue increase by a greater amount each quarter, but a one-off fluctuation is usually not concerning.
Guidance for the next quarter indicates SEMrush is expecting revenue to grow 25.5% year on year to $67.5 million, slowing down from the 47.4% 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 24.5% over the next twelve months.
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Customer Growth
You can see below that SEMrush reported 94,000 customers at the end of the quarter, an increase of 3,000 on last quarter. That is a little slower customer growth than what we are used to seeing lately, suggesting that the customer acquisition momentum is slowing a little bit.
Key Takeaways from SEMrush's Q3 Results
With a market capitalization of $1.62 billion SEMrush is among smaller companies, but its more than $246.5 million in cash and the fact it is operating close to free cash flow break-even put it in a robust financial position to invest in growth.
It was good to see SEMrush deliver strong revenue growth this quarter and maintain robust gross margin. On the other hand, there was a slowdown in customer growth and cash burn increased. Overall, it seems to us that this was a mixed quarter for SEMrush. The company is flat on the results and currently trades at $11.49 per share.
Should you invest in SEMrush 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.