Tableau Reports Q4 and Full Year 2017 Financial Results

SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tableau Software, Inc. (NYSE: DATA) today reported results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.

"Customers continued to embrace our subscription offerings in the fourth quarter with over half of our license bookings now recognized ratably," said Adam Selipsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tableau. "With the lower upfront cost and reduced risk that subscription licensing offers to customers, a record number of organizations are turning to Tableau as the mission-critical analytics platform for their data needs."

Full Year 2017 Financial Summary

• Total revenue was $877.1 million, up 6% year over year.
• Total annual recurring revenue was $596.2 million, up 45% year over year.
• Subscription annual recurring revenue was $195.5 million, up 235% year over year.
• Ratable license bookings were 41% of total license bookings, compared to 17% in 2016.
• Diluted GAAP net loss per share was $2.35; diluted non-GAAP net income per share was $0.27.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Summary

• Total revenue was $249.4 million, down 1% year over year.
• Ratable license bookings were 51% of total license bookings, compared to 20% in the fourth quarter of 2016.
• Diluted GAAP net loss per share was $0.52; diluted non-GAAP net income per share was $0.12.

Financial Results for the Full Year Ended December 31, 2017

Total revenue increased 6% to $877.1 million, up from $826.9 million in 2016. Total annual recurring revenue increased 45% to $596.2 million, up from $411.2 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016. Subscription annual recurring revenue increased 235% to $195.5 million, up from $58.4 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016.

GAAP operating loss for 2017 was $191.0 million, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $139.6 million for 2016. GAAP net loss for 2017 was $185.6 million, or $2.35 per diluted common share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $144.4 million, or $1.92 per diluted common share, for 2016.

Non-GAAP operating income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets, was $20.1 million for 2017, compared to a non-GAAP operating income of $46.5 million for 2016. Non-GAAP net income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets and non-GAAP income tax adjustments, was $22.7 million for 2017, or $0.27 per diluted common share, compared to a non-GAAP net income of $34.0 million, or $0.43 per diluted common share, for 2016. 

Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2017

Total revenue decreased 1% to $249.4 million, down from $250.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

GAAP operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $43.5 million, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $16.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $41.8 million, or $0.52 per diluted common share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $21.1 million, or $0.28 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Non-GAAP operating income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets, was $11.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to a non-GAAP operating income of $30.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. Non-GAAP net income, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets and non-GAAP income tax adjustments, was $10.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, or $0.12 per diluted common share, compared to a non-GAAP net income of $20.7 million, or $0.26 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2016. 

During the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017, Tableau repurchased 284,851 shares of the Company's outstanding Class A common stock for a total of $20.0 million. As of December 31, 2017, the Company was authorized to repurchase a remaining $100.0 million of its Class A common stock under the previously authorized repurchase program.

Recent Business Highlights

• Released Hyper, Tableau's new in-memory data engine technology that provides customers up to five times faster query speed and up to three times faster extract creation speed.
• Delivered Tableau Server on Linux with Tableau 10.5, which enables customers to combine Tableau's analytics platform with Linux's enterprise capabilities.
• Deloitte recently launched a first-of-its-kind embedded analytics solution for tax departments called Taxalytics. Taxalytics integrates financial data and uses Tableau analytics technology to create user-friendly, customizable analytics dashboards for tax and finance departments.

CFO Transition; Gerri Martin-Flickinger Appointed to Board of Directors

Tom Walker, Chief Financial Officer, has decided to step down permanently from the CFO position, and after more than 13 years of service, to take a six-month sabbatical from Tableau beginning in April. The Board has appointed Damon Fletcher, Senior Vice President of Finance, as Interim CFO, effective today. Mr. Walker will assist with transition responsibilities between now and the start of his sabbatical. The Company will conduct a thorough search for a permanent Chief Financial Officer, including consideration of internal and external candidates. Mr. Fletcher joined Tableau in January 2014 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Finance, a role that he has held since July 2016. Prior to joining Tableau, Mr. Fletcher worked as a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, beginning September 2002.

The Board also has appointed Gerri Martin-Flickinger as a new director. Ms. Martin-Flickinger is Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Starbucks, and prior to that was Chief Information Officer at Adobe. She brings to Tableau her expertise in enterprise technology requirements and experience at innovative tech companies.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

In conjunction with this announcement, Tableau will host a conference call at 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET) today to discuss Tableau's fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results, its outlook for the first quarter and full year 2018. A live audio webcast and replay of the call, together with detailed financial information, will be available in the Investor Relations section of Tableau's website at http://investors.tableau.com. The live call can be accessed by dialing (833) 241-7252 (U.S.) or (647) 689-4216 (outside the U.S.) and referencing passcode: 6567987. A replay of the call can also be accessed by dialing (800) 585-8367 (U.S.) or (416) 621-4642 (outside the U.S.), and referencing passcode: 6567987.

About Tableau

Tableau (NYSE: DATA) helps people see and understand data. Tableau helps anyone quickly analyze, visualize and share information. More than 70,000 customer accounts get rapid results with Tableau in the office and on-the-go. Hundreds of thousands of people have used Tableau Public to share data in their blogs and websites. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial.

Tableau and Tableau Software are trademarks of Tableau Software, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains, and statements made during the above referenced conference call will contain, "forward-looking" statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including regarding the Company's continued transition to subscription and term licensing and its expected increase in demand for its products as a result of its subscription license pricing; continued product adoption, including strong subscription demand and annual recurring revenue growth; demand, adoption and deployment by enterprise customers, and the Company's ability to service, execute and grow that demand in the U.S. and globally; the willingness and ability of the Company's partners to sell its subscription licenses; the Company's research and development investments, costs, continued innovation and ability to timely release future products and features; the Company's leadership position in the sector and ability to address market opportunities as a visual analytics platform; the Company's expectations regarding future operating results, including revenues, expenses and net income or loss, and future performance of key metrics; and the Company's stock repurchase authorization and timing and ability to repurchase shares of the Company's Class A common stock under its stock repurchase program. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based on management's expectations as of the date of this press release and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include the following: customer demand for Tableau's products and services and customer response to its subscription pricing offerings; risks associated with anticipated growth in Tableau's business and addressable market; competitive factors, including new market entrants and changes in the competitive environment, pricing changes, sales cycle time and increased competition; Tableau's enterprise sales execution and expansion and further transition to subscription and term licensing; Tableau's ability to attract, integrate and retain qualified personnel; general economic and industry conditions, including expenditure trends for business analytics and productivity tools; new product introductions and Tableau's ability to develop and deliver innovative, secure and high-quality products; Tableau's ability to provide high-quality customer service and support offerings; risks associated with international expansion and operations; macroeconomic conditions; market conditions; and the possibility that the stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in additional documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Tableau's most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and could cause actual results to vary from expectations. All information provided in this release and in the conference call is as of the date hereof and Tableau undertakes no duty to update this information except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Tableau believes that the use of non-GAAP gross profit and gross margin, non-GAAP operating income (loss) and operating margin, non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) per basic and diluted common share and free cash flow is helpful to its investors. These measures, which are referred to as non-GAAP financial measures, are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. Non-GAAP gross profit is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets, each to the extent attributable to the cost of revenues, from gross profit. Non-GAAP gross margin is the ratio calculated by dividing non-GAAP gross profit by total revenues. Non-GAAP operating income (loss) is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets from operating income (loss). Non-GAAP operating margin is the ratio calculated by dividing non-GAAP operating income (loss) by total revenues. Non-GAAP net income (loss) is calculated by excluding stock-based compensation expense, expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets and non-GAAP income tax adjustments from net income (loss). Non-GAAP net income (loss) per basic and diluted common share is calculated by dividing non-GAAP net income (loss) by the basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding. Non-GAAP diluted weighted average shares outstanding includes the effect of dilutive shares in periods of non-GAAP net income.

Non-GAAP financial information is adjusted for a tax rate equal to Tableau's estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income over a three-year financial projection. This long-term rate is based on Tableau's estimated annual GAAP income tax rate forecast, adjusted to account for items excluded from GAAP income in calculating the non-GAAP financial measures. To determine this long-term non-GAAP tax rate, Tableau evaluates a three-year financial projection that excludes the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate takes into account other factors including Tableau's current operating structure, its existing tax positions in various jurisdictions and key legislation in major jurisdictions where Tableau operates. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate applied to each of the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was 30%. The long-term non-GAAP tax rate assumes the Company's deferred income tax assets will be realized based upon projected future taxable income excluding stock-based compensation expense. As of January 1, 2018, Tableau anticipates the long-term non-GAAP tax rate to be 20% due to the recent U.S. corporate tax legislation. Tableau may provide updates to this rate on an annual basis, or more frequently if material changes occur.

Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of equity instruments that can impact a company's non-cash expenses, Tableau believes that providing non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation expense allow for more meaningful comparisons between its operating results from period to period. The expense related to amortization of acquired intangible assets is dependent upon estimates and assumptions, which can vary significantly and are unique to each asset acquired; therefore, Tableau believes non-GAAP measures that adjust for the amortization of acquired intangible assets provides investors a consistent basis for comparison across accounting periods. All of these non-GAAP financial measures are important tools for financial and operational decision-making and for evaluating Tableau's own operating results over different periods of time.

Tableau calculates free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less net cash used in investing activities for purchases of property and equipment. Tableau considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by Tableau's business that can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in Tableau's business, making strategic acquisitions, repurchasing Tableau's common stock and strengthening Tableau's balance sheet. All of Tableau's non-GAAP financial measures are important tools for financial and operational decision-making and for evaluating Tableau's operating results over different periods of time.

Non-GAAP financial measures may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in Tableau's industry, as other companies in the industry may calculate non-GAAP financial results differently. In addition, there are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures because the non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies and exclude expenses that may have a material impact on Tableau's reported financial results. Further, stock-based compensation expense has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in Tableau's business and an important part of the compensation provided to its employees. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors should review the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures included below, and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate Tableau's business.

Tableau Software, Inc.
Trended Metrics

The following metrics are intended as a supplement to the financial statements found in this release and other information furnished or filed with the SEC. In the event of discrepancies between amounts in these tables and the Company's historical disclosures or financial statements, readers should rely on the Company's filings with the SEC and financial statements in the Company's most recent earnings release.

Tableau intends to periodically review and refine the definition, methodology and appropriateness of each of these supplemental metrics. As a result, metrics are subject to removal and/or change, and such changes could be material.

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