EPS of $-1.29 decreased by 35.8% from previous year
Gross margin of 66.5%
Net income of -430.09M
"âOur AI data cloud helps customers get more value out of their data, innovate faster and remove friction from their business operations.â" - Sridhar Ramaswamy
Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) QQ1 2026 Results: AI Data Cloud Momentum, 25% Revenue Growth, and Expanding Margin Profile
Executive Summary
Snowflake delivered a robust start to FY2026 (QQ1), underscored by durable dataâdriven growth and meaningful AI product momentum. Revenue reached $1.042B, up 25.8% year over year, supported by continued strength in product offerings (Snowpark, Dynamic Tables) and expanding AI capabilities via Cortex. Remaining performance obligations (RPO) swelled to $6.7B, up 34% YoY, while net revenue retention (NRR) remained healthy at 124%, signaling strong crossâsell and retention among existing customers. Managementuparalleled this with an outsized emphasis on AI enablement and ecosystem collaboration (Iceberg, Snowflake connectors, Cortex, and OpenAI/Microsoft Azure partnership), signaling a strategic shift toward a more integrated, AIâready data platform. Margins remain modestly negative on a GAAP basis, but nonâGAAP metrics show improvement: nonâGAAP gross margin approximately 75%, nonâGAAP operating margin around 8â9%, and nonâGAAP adjusted free cash flow margin near 25%. The company also highlighted significant product momentum (125 new capabilities in the quarter, up 100% YoY) and a scalable goâtoâmarket (GTM) engine led by the new Chief Revenue Officer, Mike Gannon. The guidance for FY2026 contemplates continued strong topâline growth (revenue of ~$4.325B, +25% YoY) with improving but still elevated investment in growth initiatives, alongside a planned Investor Day on June 3. Overall, Snowflakeâs QQ1 results reinforce a thesis of durable, highâgrowth, and marginâexpanding opportunity driven by dataâfirst AI strategies and a broadened data lifecycle offering.
Key Performance Indicators
Revenue
1.04B
QoQ: 5.60% | YoY:25.75%
Gross Profit
693.29M
66.53% margin
QoQ: 6.07% | YoY:24.65%
Operating Income
-447.26M
QoQ: -15.67% | YoY:-28.31%
Net Income
-430.09M
QoQ: -31.34% | YoY:-35.68%
EPS
-1.29
QoQ: -30.30% | YoY:-35.79%
Revenue Trend
Margin Analysis
Key Insights
Revenue: $1.042B, +25.8% YoY, +5.6% QoQ (calculated from 1Q26 data).
Operating income (GAAP): -$447.3M; net income (GAAP): -$430.1M; EPS (GAAP): -$1.29.
Financial Highlights
- Revenue: $1.042B, +25.8% YoY, +5.6% QoQ (calculated from 1Q26 data).
- Product revenue: $997M, +26% YoY (28% YoY excluding leap year).
- Gross profit: $693.3M, gross margin 66.53% (YoY gross profit +24.65%).
- NonâGAAP product gross margin: 75.7%; nonâGAAP operating margin: 9.0% (YoY up ~442 bps).
- Operating income (GAAP): -$447.3M; net income (GAAP): -$430.1M; EPS (GAAP): -$1.29.
- Net revenue retention (NRR): 124%; Remaining performance obligations (RPO): $6.7B, +34% YoY.
- New customers: +451 net adds, +19% YoY.
- Cash and investments: $4.90B in cash, equivalents and investments; net cash position of approximately -$0.45B (net debt negative, i.e., net cash).
- Free cash flow (nonâGAAP): $183.4M; nonâGAAP FCF margin: ~25%.
- Share repurchases: $491M spent to repurchase 3.2M shares; $1.5B remaining on authorization.
- Outlook: Q2 product revenue guidance of $1.035Bâ$1.04B (+~25% YoY); FY2026 revenue guidance raised to $4.325B (+~25% YoY); nonâGAAP gross margin ~75%; nonâGAAP operating margin ~8%; nonâGAAP FCF margin ~25%.
Income Statement
Metric
Value
YoY Change
QoQ Change
Revenue
1.04B
25.75%
5.60%
Gross Profit
693.29M
24.65%
6.07%
Operating Income
-447.26M
-28.31%
-15.67%
Net Income
-430.09M
-35.68%
-31.34%
EPS
-1.29
-35.79%
-30.30%
Key Financial Ratios
Net Income vs. Revenue
Expense Breakdown
Management Commentary
Key management takeaways from the earnings call:
- Strategic AI momentum and platform breadth: Sridhar Ramaswamy emphasized that Snowflakeâs AI data cloud is a core driver of value, with Cortex transforming from nascent to foundational, and a 5,200+ weekly active account base. He noted the move to make AI an integrated part of customer data workflows (not a separate SKU), citing use cases like AI assistants, chatbots on documents, and multiâsource data disambiguation. Quote: âOur AI data cloud helps customers get more value out of their data, innovate faster and remove friction from their business operations.â and âCortex AI has gone from a nascent product area to a foundational pillar of enterprise AI strategies for customers around the world.â
- Product and dataâfabric momentum: Sridhar highlighted the acceleration of product introductions (125 capabilities in Q1, up 100% YoY) and the expansion of open formats with Apache Iceberg, reflecting a move toward a more open, flexible data architecture. Quote: âWe have brought over 125 product capabilities to market, a 100% increase over what we delivered in Q1 of last year.â and âWe are seeing strong adoption of open data formats, especially Apache Iceberg.â
- GTM and partnerships: The company stressed the refreshed GTM discipline under CRO Mike Gannon and strengthened ecosystem partnerships (Azure hosting of OpenAI models, Datavolo connectors, Snowflake/Iceberg, and government sector expansion). Quote: âUnder the leadership of our new Chief Revenue Officer, we have renewed focus and rigor across our goâtoâmarket.â and âexpanded partnership with Microsoft to host OpenAI models on Microsoft Azure.â
- Customer wins and usage trends: On the demand side, Snowflake highlighted large new logos and notable customer deployments (e.g., Kraft Heinz internal AI, Siemens collaboration) and robust customer adoption of Cortex in production environments. Quote: âWe added 451 net new customers in Q1, growing 19% year over year.â and examples like Kraft Heinz and Siemens demonstrating AI adoption.
- Outlook and capital allocation: Mike Scarpelli outlined the Q2 revenue guide and FY2026 uplift, with a note on seasonality of free cash flow due to large Q4/lateâyear bookings and Q2 Summit spend. Quote: âWe expect Q2 product revenue between $1.035 billion and $1.04 billion, representing 25% yearâoverâyear growth.â and âFY 2026, we are increasing our revenue guidance to $4.325 billion, representing 25% yearâoverâyear growth.â
âOur AI data cloud helps customers get more value out of their data, innovate faster and remove friction from their business operations.â
â Sridhar Ramaswamy
âCortex AI has gone from a nascent product area to a foundational pillar of enterprise AI strategies for customers around the world.â
â Sridhar Ramaswamy
Forward Guidance
Snowflakeâs nearâterm outlook remains constructive, anchored by a durable, dataâdriven growth trajectory and ongoing AI enablement. Key explicit guidance includes:
- Q2 product revenue outlook: $1.035Bâ$1.04B, approx. 25% YoY growth; nonâGAAP operating margin around 8%;
- FY2026 revenue target raised to $4.325B, about 25% YoY growth; nonâGAAP gross margin ~75%, nonâGAAP operating margin ~8%, nonâGAAP adjusted FCF margin ~25%;
- Investment Day on June 3 with strategic updates expected on product roadmaps, ecosystem partnerships, and goâtoâmarket priorities.
From a qualitative stance, Snowflakeâs emphasis on Cortex acceleration, Iceberg/open data formats, and âendâtoâend data journeyâ positioning supports a bull case for sustainable revenue growth aided by higher mix of dataâintensive AI workloads and data sharing. However, investors should monitor:
- The pace of Cortex monetization and AI adoption against overall spend on data platforms;
- The durability of gross margins as product mix shifts toward AI features and data services;
- The cadence of large customer bookings and potential longer sales cycles in government/public sector offerings;
- The realization of operating leverage given continued investment in GTM, R&D, and platform expansion.
Overall, the forward trajectory hinges on continued expansion of ARR via highâquality new logos, strong crossâsell into existing customers (NRR of 124%), and the successful monetization of Cortex/AI capabilities within a broader data lifecycle platform.
Competitive Position
Company
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
Return on Equity
P/E Ratio
SNOW Focus
66.53%
N/A
N/A
N/A
AI
59.80%
-83.20%
-7.18%
-13.30%
SHOP
49.50%
8.60%
-6.17%
-45.34%
WDAY
75.40%
2.93%
1.31%
151.21%
INTU
74.90%
8.25%
1.09%
216.86%
Gross Profit Margin
Operating Profit Margin
Return on Equity
P/E Ratio Comparison
Investment Outlook
Snowflakeâs QQ1 2026 results reinforce a strategic thesis built around AIâenabled data platforms. The combination of 25% revenue growth, healthy gross margins, and improving nonâGAAP profitability signals an improving path to operating leverage as scale increases. The companyâs dataâcloud advantages (RPO growth, high NRR, Cortex adoption, Iceberg/open formats) position Snowflake to monetize AI workloads across a broad set of industries. The elevated RPO provides revenue visibility, while a robust cash position supports ongoing investments and opportunistic capital allocation (e.g., share repurchases). The nearâterm risk is the transition from heavy investment to sustained profitability, and the external risk of competition from hyperscalers and Databricks. Monitoring key indicators such as ARR growth, Cortex monetization cadence, GM trajectory (FFCF margins), and government/Public Sector pipelinewill be crucial. If Snowflake maintains its AI/dataâfabric leadership and successfully monetizes Cortex while expanding GTM efficiency, the stock could sustain a multiâyear growth and margin expansion trajectory, potentially reaching higher revenue milestones as outlined in its longâterm plan.
Key Investment Factors
Growth Potential
High potential from AI data cloud (Cortex) and data lifecycle expansion (ingestion to insight) with large addressable market in enterprise AI, public sector, and manufacturing. 4Q26/annual guidance imply midâteens to highâteens annual growth potential in revenue mix as AI workloads scale.
Profitability Risk
GAAP profitability remains negative with ongoing investment; macroeconomic sensitivity to large bookings cycles; competition from hyperscalers and Databricks; execution risk in scaling the AI/GT M initiatives. Customer concentration risk exists with large multiâyear deals reflected in quarterly bookings.
Financial Position
Solid liquidity with ~$4.9B in cash and investments; net debt negative (~$0.45B). Strong balance sheet supports R&D/GT M investments and potential continued buybacks; RPO of $6.7B provides revenue visibility and durability.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Large, fastâgrowing ARR base with 6.7B+ RPO and 124% NRR.
Leading data cloud platform with endâtoâend data lifecycle (ingestâinsight) and AI readiness.
Strong product momentum (125 capabilities in Q1; 100% YoY increase) and open data formats (Apache Iceberg).
Robust Cortex AI ecosystem (5,200+ weekly users) and momentum across AI use cases (R&D, manufacturing, healthcare).
Solid balance sheet: ~$4.9B liquidity; net cash position; capacity for strategic investments and buybacks.
Expanding GTM effectiveness under CRO with stronger salesâengineering synergy and AI solution motions.
Weaknesses
GAAP profitability remains negative; reliance on continued growth investments in marginâexpansion path.
Q2/Q4 seasonality due to large bookings and Summit spend can impact shortâterm margins.
High SBC (stock-based compensation) contributing to nonâGAAP vs GAAP performance gap.
Opportunities
AIâfirst data platform expansion: Cortex, Snowpark, Iceberg and data sharing across ecosystems (Azure, OpenAI integration).
Public sector expansion (Snowflake Public Sector Inc.; DoD provisional authorization) creating large incremental addressable market.
Crossâindustry data optimization (Siemens, Kraft Heinz, Samsung Ads) enabling AI workflows and agentic AI applications.
Greater adoption of unstructured data capabilities and data clean rooms (Dentsu, CloudZero) improving monetization risk profile.
Threats
Intense competitive landscape from hyperscalers (Azure, AWS, Google) and Databricks; potential price/GM compression if competition intensifies.
Macro volatility affecting large enterprise spend and renewal cycles; potential procurement delays in government sectors.
Execution risk in scaling GTM and partner ecosystem without sacrificing unit economics.