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Datadog, Inc.: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 4 November 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 3 raised, 1 lowered, 3 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue grew 35% year over year: Revenue of $1.20 billion rose from $885.7 million a year earlier. Nine-month revenue was $3.32 billion, against $2.47 billion. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating income rose to $334 million: Non-GAAP operating income was $334.3 million, up from $207.4 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating margin was 28%, against 23%. Source
  • Diluted EPS rose on both bases: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.32, against $0.10 a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.81, against $0.55. Source
  • Customers with $100,000+ ARR reached 4,860: Customers with ARR of $100,000 or more numbered about 4,860, up 20% from about 4,060 a year earlier. The count was about 4,720 at June 30. Source
  • Scout 1.0 launched as first specialized model: Scout 1.0 is the AI Research team's first specialized model for investigating production issues. It is in Preview and now powers Bits Investigation, at a fraction of frontier-model inference cost. Source
  • Free cash flow reached $251 million: Free cash flow was $250.6 million, a 21% margin, against $214.0 million a year earlier and $278.7 million in the second quarter. Source
  • Full-year revenue and profit ranges raised: Management gave guidance as of November 4, raising full-year 2026 revenue, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP EPS ranges, and adding a fourth-quarter range. Source

“Datadog delivered a strong third quarter, with 35% year-over-year revenue growth, $290 million in operating cash flow, and $251 million in free cash flow,”

Olivier Pomel, co-founder and CEO of Datadog

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Revenue SourceFourth quarter 2026$1.19 billion to $1.20 billionNew
Non-GAAP operating income SourceFourth quarter 2026$280 million to $290 millionNew
Non-GAAP net income per share SourceFourth quarter 2026$0.69 to $0.71, on about 379 million diluted sharesNew
Revenue SourceFull year 2026$4.515 billion to $4.525 billionRaised from $4.45 billion to $4.47 billion
Non-GAAP operating income SourceFull year 2026$1.095 billion to $1.105 billionRaised from $1.01 billion to $1.03 billion
Non-GAAP net income per share SourceFull year 2026$2.73 to $2.75Raised from $2.50 to $2.54
Weighted average diluted shares SourceFull year 2026about 375 millionLowered from about 376 million

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 revenue, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP EPS ranges raised. Source
  • New: Scout 1.0 launched as Datadog's first specialized model, now powering Bits Investigation. Source

Results and profitability

  • Revenue grew 35% year over year: Revenue of $1.20 billion rose from $885.7 million a year earlier. Nine-month revenue was $3.32 billion, against $2.47 billion. Source
  • GAAP operating income turned positive: GAAP operating income was $74.7 million, against a loss of $5.8 million a year earlier. GAAP net income was $118.3 million. Source
  • Non-GAAP operating income rose to $334 million: Non-GAAP operating income was $334.3 million, up from $207.4 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating margin was 28%, against 23%. Source
  • Diluted EPS rose on both bases: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.32, against $0.10 a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.81, against $0.55. Source

Customers and adoption

  • Customers with $100,000+ ARR reached 4,860: Customers with ARR of $100,000 or more numbered about 4,860, up 20% from about 4,060 a year earlier. The count was about 4,720 at June 30. Source
  • Revenue growth edged down from second quarter: Revenue growth of 35% compares with 36% reported for the second quarter.
  • AI adoption cited across customer base: CEO cited customer adoption across the platform as customers scale digital operations and their use of AI. Source

“We are innovating rapidly, including developing specialized AI models through our AI Research team, to help customers manage growing complexity and move towards autonomous operations.”

Olivier Pomel, co-founder and CEO of Datadog

Products and AI research

  • Scout 1.0 launched as first specialized model: Scout 1.0 is the AI Research team's first specialized model for investigating production issues. It is in Preview and now powers Bits Investigation, at a fraction of frontier-model inference cost. Source
  • Analyst recognition from Forrester and Gartner: Forrester named the company a Leader in its 2026 AIOps Platforms Wave for a second consecutive year. Gartner cited it in its 2026 AI Vendor Race report for observability platforms. Source
  • Scout enables more frequent investigations: Management said the lower cost allows more frequent and earlier investigations, which it expects to reduce on-call burden. Source

Costs and margins

  • Gross margins held near 80%: GAAP gross margin was 80% and non-GAAP gross margin 81%, unchanged from a year earlier. Source
  • Research and development remained largest cost: Non-GAAP R&D was $331.7 million, against $269.5 million a year earlier, the largest non-GAAP operating expense line. Source
  • Sales and marketing and G&A increased: Non-GAAP sales and marketing was $251.1 million, against $195.5 million. Non-GAAP G&A was $54.7 million, against $46.5 million. Source
  • Stock-based compensation rose year over year: Stock-based compensation was $237.2 million, against $200.6 million, and is excluded from non-GAAP results. Source

Cash flow and balance sheet

  • Free cash flow reached $251 million: Free cash flow was $250.6 million, a 21% margin, against $214.0 million a year earlier and $278.7 million in the second quarter. Source
  • Operating cash flow was $290 million: Operating cash flow was $290.0 million, against $251.5 million a year earlier. Nine-month operating cash flow was $940.4 million. Source
  • Cash and securities total $5.2 billion: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $5.2 billion at September 30, up from $5.0 billion at June 30. Source
  • Current deferred revenue declined in quarter: Current deferred revenue was $1,235.1 million at September 30, against $1,286.7 million at June 30. Accounts receivable were $794.0 million. Source

Share count and equity

  • Diluted share count rose: Weighted average diluted shares were 375.0 million, against 362.0 million a year earlier. Source
  • Convertible notes carried at $986.6 million: Non-current convertible senior notes, net, were $986.6 million at September 30, against $983.4 million at December 31, 2025. Source
  • Employee stock purchase plan proceeds rose: Employee stock purchase plan proceeds were $39.1 million in the nine months, against $28.6 million a year earlier. Source

Investment and acquisitions

  • Acquisition cash outlays in nine months: Cash paid for acquisitions was $115.6 million in the nine months, of which $3.3 million was in the quarter. Goodwill rose to $706.6 million from $530.6 million. Source
  • Capitalized software spending increased: Capitalized software development costs were $28.4 million in the quarter, against $20.7 million. Purchases of property and equipment were $10.9 million. Source

Guidance and reconciliation

  • Full-year revenue and profit ranges raised: Management gave guidance as of November 4, raising full-year 2026 revenue, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP EPS ranges, and adding a fourth-quarter range. Source
  • Non-GAAP guidance not reconciled to GAAP: Management said reconciling items such as stock-based compensation are uncertain, so its guidance is not reconciled to GAAP. Source
  • Third-quarter revenue above prior range: Third-quarter revenue of $1.197 billion compared with the August guidance range of $1.135 billion to $1.145 billion.

Coming up, as management said on 4 November 2026

  • Form 10-Q for third quarter to follow: Further detail is to come in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Customers with ARR of $100,000 or more Sourceabout 4,860
Growth in customers with ARR of $100,000 or more Source20% year over year

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Management said the reconciling items could be material to GAAP results, which are not provided for 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.