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Dropbox, Inc.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 19 February 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Quarter revenue down 1.1 percent: Fourth quarter revenue was $636.2 million, down 1.1% year-over-year. Excluding FormSwift, revenue grew 0.4% year-over-year. Source
  • Full-year revenue down 1.1 percent: Full-year revenue was $2.521 billion, down 1.1%. Excluding FormSwift, revenue grew 0.2% for the year. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating margin rose 1.3 points: Non-GAAP operating margin was 38.2%, against 36.9% a year earlier. Source
  • Gross margin lower year-over-year: GAAP gross margin was 79.2%, against 81.2%. Non-GAAP gross margin was 80.8%, against 83.1%. Source
  • Quarter operating cash flow and unlevered FCF: Operating cash flow was $235.4 million and unlevered free cash flow was $250.5 million, against $213.8 million and $210.5 million. Source
  • Fourth-quarter share repurchases: The company repurchased about 14.4 million shares for $414.6 million in the quarter. Source

“We're strengthening our core FSS foundation while accelerating Dash - both as a standalone product and embedded across the core Dropbox experience.”

Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Revenue and total ARR are now also shown excluding FormSwift. The prior-quarter release did not present this view. Source

Fourth quarter and full-year results

  • Quarter revenue down 1.1 percent: Fourth quarter revenue was $636.2 million, down 1.1% year-over-year. Excluding FormSwift, revenue grew 0.4% year-over-year. Source
  • Full-year revenue down 1.1 percent: Full-year revenue was $2.521 billion, down 1.1%. Excluding FormSwift, revenue grew 0.2% for the year. Source
  • GAAP diluted EPS rose, non-GAAP fell: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.43, against $0.34. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.68, against $0.73 a year earlier. Source

Paying users and revenue per user

  • Quarter revenue per user lower: Average revenue per paying user was $139.68 in the fourth quarter, against $140.06 a year earlier. Source
  • Full-year revenue per user declined: Average revenue per paying user for fiscal 2025 was $138.91, against $140.23 for 2024. Source
  • Third-quarter paying user count: At the end of the third quarter, paying users were 18.07 million, against 18.24 million a year earlier.

“Last year, we began reshaping how we invest in and evolve the business, and we're starting to see results.”

Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Margins and costs

  • GAAP operating margin up year-over-year: GAAP operating margin was 25.5%, against 13.7%. The prior-year quarter included $47.2 million of workforce reduction expenses. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating margin rose 1.3 points: Non-GAAP operating margin was 38.2%, against 36.9% a year earlier. Source
  • Gross margin lower year-over-year: GAAP gross margin was 79.2%, against 81.2%. Non-GAAP gross margin was 80.8%, against 83.1%. Source
  • Third-quarter operating margin was higher: Third-quarter non-GAAP operating margin was 41.1%, against 36.2% in the same quarter of 2024.

Cash flow and shareholder returns

  • Quarter operating cash flow and unlevered FCF: Operating cash flow was $235.4 million and unlevered free cash flow was $250.5 million, against $213.8 million and $210.5 million. Source
  • Full-year cash flow higher: Full-year operating cash flow was $951.8 million and unlevered free cash flow was $1.016 billion, against $894.1 million and $871.6 million. Source
  • Fourth-quarter share repurchases: The company repurchased about 14.4 million shares for $414.6 million in the quarter. Source
  • Full-year share repurchases: For fiscal 2025, repurchases were about 60.4 million shares for $1.7 billion. Source
  • Cash and short-term investments rose: Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $1.038 billion, up from $925.3 million at the end of the third quarter. Source

Debt and balance sheet

  • Term loan borrowings in the quarter: The company drew $350.0 million on its term loan facility in the quarter and $500.0 million over the year. Source
  • Non-current term loan balance higher: The non-current term loan balance was $1,433.7 million at year-end, against $962.9 million a year earlier. Source
  • Convertible notes now shown as current: Convertible senior notes were $695.4 million current and $689.9 million non-current at year-end. Source
  • Stockholders' deficit widened: Total stockholders' deficit was $1,797.2 million at year-end, against $752.4 million a year earlier. Source

One-time items and lease payments

  • Real estate gain in the quarter: The company recorded a $3.9 million net gain on real estate assets in the quarter, from a lower liability for San Francisco headquarters common area costs. Source
  • Lease termination payments in 2025: Cash paid for the partial lease termination of the San Francisco headquarters was $36.0 million in 2025, against $14.9 million in 2024. Source
  • Workforce reduction payments lower: Workforce reduction payments were nil in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $13.2 million for 2025, against $52.1 million for 2024. Source

Dash and product investment

  • Self-serve Dash launched in third quarter: The company launched the self-serve version of Dash and its deep integration with Dropbox, giving new customers and the existing base access.
  • Early Dash customer response described: Management said early customer response to Dash has been positive, with continued improvement in retention and execution in the core business.
  • FormSwift investment cut at start of 2025: Investment in FormSwift was significantly reduced at the beginning of 2025. Source

Coming up, as management said on 19 February 2026

  • Dash adoption focus in 2026: Management said 2026 will build on the quarter's momentum by driving Dash engagement and adoption and investing in growth. Source
  • FormSwift wind-down by end of 2026: The company plans to wind down FormSwift operations by the end of 2026. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Total ARR Source$2.526 billion, down 1.9%
Paying users Source18.08 million
Paying businesses575,000

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Gross margin decreased because depreciation rose with the datacenter refresh cycle. Source
  • Financial: Non-GAAP net income declined on a higher tax provision and interest on the term loan facility entered in the fourth quarter of 2024. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Ahead: Management said the quarter exceeded the high end of revenue and operating margin guidance. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.