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Elastic: Elastic's Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations with Strong Revenue Growth

Elastic delivered an outstanding Q3, with total revenue growth of 18% to $450 million and a non-GAAP operating margin of 18.6%. Sales-led subscription revenue grew 21% to $376 million, driven by strong demand from large companies and AI-native businesses. The company's EPS came out at $0.07336, significantly lower than estimates of $0.64. Adjusted free cash flow was approximately $54 million, representing a 12% margin.

ESTC

USD 52.07

-15.44%

A-Score: 3.8/10

Publication date: February 27, 2026

Author: Analystock.ai

πŸ“‹ Highlights
  • Total Revenue Growth: 18% to $450 million, exceeding guidance with 18.6% non-GAAP operating margin.
  • Sales-Led Subscription Revenue: 21% growth to $376 million, driven by AI adoption and large customer commitments.
  • CRPO Milestone: Crossed $1 billion for the first time, up 19% to $1.06 billion, with RPO growing 22% (best in two years).
  • AI-Driven Expansion: 3,000+ AI customers, including 2,700 using Elastic Cloud as a vector database, and 30% growth in $1M+ annual commitments.
  • Shareholder Returns: Returned $186 million via buybacks (60% of $500M program), with $54 million adjusted free cash flow (12% margin).

Key Drivers of Growth

The number of customers with an annual contract value (ACV) of $100,000 or greater exceeded 1,660, growing 14%. Current remaining performance obligations (CRPO) crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time, growing 19% to $1.06 billion. Elastic's AI capabilities are driving growth, with over 3,000 AI customers, including more than 2,700 on Elastic Cloud using it as a vector database. As Navam Welihinda, CFO, highlighted, the company's strong execution, consumption trends, and customer commitments support future growth.

Valuation Metrics

Elastic's current valuation metrics indicate a P/S Ratio of 3.27 and an EV/EBITDA of 62.87. With analysts estimating next year's revenue growth at 13.5%, the company's current valuation appears to be pricing in a significant growth premium. The Free Cash Flow Yield is 4.68%, which may be attractive to income investors.

AI and Growth Prospects

Elastic sees AI as a key driver of growth, with a focus on penetration of AI within its customer base. The company's context engineering platform provides a critical part of the infrastructure for AI applications, with capabilities including vector search, hybrid search, and agent builder. The recent CISA win for SIEM as a service is expected to drive growth for multiple quarters, and the company feels confident about exceeding its midterm growth guide of 20%.

Operational Highlights

Cloud revenue grew 27% year-over-year, with strong commitments and performance on sales-led subscription revenue. The number of agents and AI services in production has increased, with a broadening of use cases beyond search-related workflows to security and observability workflows. Elastic charges customers based on consumption, with pricing based on compute, storage, and tokens for LLM-related activities.

Guidance and Outlook

For Q4, Elastic expects total revenue of $445-447 million and sales-led subscription revenue of $371-373 million. For the full year, total revenue is expected to be $1.734-1.736 billion, with sales-led subscription revenue of $1.434-1.436 billion and non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 16.3%. The company's guidance suggests a continued strong growth trajectory, driven by AI and cloud revenue growth.

Elastic's A-Score