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Fastly, Inc.: Q4 FY2025 earnings call

What management said about Q4 FY2025, from the documents filed with the SEC on 11 February 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 7 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Fourth quarter revenue rose 23%: Fourth quarter revenue was $172.6 million, up from $140.6 million a year earlier. Full-year revenue was $624.0 million, up 15%. Source
  • Security revenue rose 32%: Security revenue was $35.4 million in the quarter, up from 30% growth in the third quarter. Full-year security revenue was $125.1 million, up 21%. Source
  • Remaining performance obligations rose 55%: Remaining performance obligations were $354 million at year end, up from $228 million a year earlier and from $268 million at the third quarter of 2025. Source
  • Net retention rate reached 110%: The last 12-month net retention rate increased to 110%, from 106% in the third quarter of 2025 and 104% in the second quarter. Source
  • Gross margin rose to 61.4%: GAAP gross margin was 61.4%, against 53.4% a year earlier. Full-year GAAP gross margin was 57.1%, against 54.4% in fiscal 2024. Source
  • Operating and free cash flow turned positive: Operating cash flow was $22.4 million, against $5.2 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was $8.6 million, against negative $7.9 million. Full-year free cash flow was $45.8 million. Source

“Our fourth quarter results mark an inflection in Fastly’s growth as we achieved record revenue, gross margin, and operating profit”

Kip Compton, CEO of Fastly

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Total revenue SourceQ1 2026$168.0 - $174.0 millionNew
Total revenue SourceFull year 2026$700.0 - $720.0 millionNew
Non-GAAP operating income SourceQ1 2026$14.0 - $18.0 millionNew
Non-GAAP operating income SourceFull year 2026$50.0 - $60.0 millionNew
Non-GAAP net income per share SourceQ1 2026$0.07 - $0.10New
Non-GAAP net income per share SourceFull year 2026$0.23 - $0.29New
Weighted average diluted shares (guidance assumption) SourceQ1 2026 and full year 2026175.4 million (Q1 2026); 179.0 million (full year 2026)New

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Guidance for Q1 2026 and full-year 2026 was given for total revenue, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP net income per share. Source
  • New: Gross proceeds of $180 million were raised from 0% convertible notes due 2030, and $149 million was used to repurchase notes due 2026. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Fourth quarter revenue rose 23%: Fourth quarter revenue was $172.6 million, up from $140.6 million a year earlier. Full-year revenue was $624.0 million, up 15%. Source
  • Full-year revenue rose 15%: Full-year revenue was $624.0 million, up from $543.7 million in fiscal 2024. Source
  • Net loss narrowed, non-GAAP profit reported: GAAP net loss was $15.5 million in the quarter, against $32.9 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income was $20.1 million, against a non-GAAP net loss of $2.4 million. Source

Revenue by product line

  • Network services revenue rose 19%: Network services revenue was $130.8 million in the quarter, up from 11% growth in the third quarter. Full-year network services revenue was $477.8 million, up 12%. Source
  • Security revenue rose 32%: Security revenue was $35.4 million in the quarter, up from 30% growth in the third quarter. Full-year security revenue was $125.1 million, up 21%. Source
  • Other revenue rose 78%: Other revenue, which includes Compute and Observability, was $6.4 million, up from 51% growth in the third quarter. Full-year other revenue was $21.1 million, up 64%. Source

“In 2025 we made significant progress on Fastly’s transformation and delivered great results.”

Kip Compton, CEO of Fastly

Customers, backlog and retention

  • Remaining performance obligations rose 55%: Remaining performance obligations were $354 million at year end, up from $228 million a year earlier and from $268 million at the third quarter of 2025. Source
  • Net retention rate reached 110%: The last 12-month net retention rate increased to 110%, from 106% in the third quarter of 2025 and 104% in the second quarter. Source
  • Enterprise customer count reached 628: Enterprise customers were 628, up 32 from a year earlier and up one from 627 in the third quarter. Source
  • Top ten customers grew faster than others: Top ten customers were 34% of revenue, up from 32%. Their revenue grew 28%, against 20% growth for customers outside the top ten. Source

Margins and operating costs

  • Gross margin rose to 61.4%: GAAP gross margin was 61.4%, against 53.4% a year earlier. Full-year GAAP gross margin was 57.1%, against 54.4% in fiscal 2024. Source
  • Non-GAAP gross margin rose from 62.8%: Non-GAAP gross margin was 64.0%, up from 62.8% in the third quarter of 2025 and 57.5% a year earlier. Source
  • GAAP operating loss narrowed: GAAP operating loss was $15.1 million, against $34.3 million a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating income was $21.2 million, against a $2.8 million loss. Source
  • Research and development expense rose: GAAP research and development expense was $41.6 million, against $32.7 million a year earlier. Full-year figure was $162.7 million. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased: Adjusted EBITDA was $35.0 million in the quarter, against $11.1 million a year earlier. Full-year adjusted EBITDA was $77.4 million. Source

“As we look toward 2026, we anticipate continued momentum, with AI as an increasing tailwind for our business.”

Kip Compton, CEO of Fastly

Cash flow and balance sheet

  • Operating and free cash flow turned positive: Operating cash flow was $22.4 million, against $5.2 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was $8.6 million, against negative $7.9 million. Full-year free cash flow was $45.8 million. Source
  • Cash and securities held at year end: Cash and cash equivalents were $180.6 million and current marketable securities were $181.2 million at December 31, 2025, against $286.2 million of cash a year earlier. Source
  • Capital expenditures held near prior year: Capital expenditures were $13.8 million in the quarter and $48.6 million for the year, against $51.4 million in fiscal 2024. Source

Product and platform launches

  • API Inventory added to security offering: API Inventory was added to the API Security offering. The Adaptive Threat Engine behind DDoS Protection was also enhanced to block short-lived attacks. Source
  • AI Assistant entered beta: AI Assistant is an in-console helper for less experienced developers, now in beta. Custom Dashboards and Alerts were extended to all customers by default. Source
  • Compute performance enhancements released: Compute updates included Early Hints for faster page loads and a beta C++ SDK for performance-critical applications. Source
  • Analyst recognition and industry study: Fastly was named a 2025 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for WAAP, and published an IDC study on application security programs. Source

Reporting basis and definitions

  • Non-GAAP excludes capitalized stock compensation amortization: From the quarter ended March 31, 2025, non-GAAP measures exclude amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation, and prior periods were recast on that basis. Source
  • RPO recast after third-quarter error: An error in RPO calculations for certain contracts with termination-for-convenience clauses was identified in the third quarter of 2025, and prior periods were recast. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA definition: Adjusted EBITDA excludes stock-based compensation, depreciation and other amortization, interest, income taxes and other listed items, and is reconciled to GAAP net loss. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Remaining performance obligations Source$353.8 million, up 55% year over year
Enterprise customers Source628, up 32 from the fourth quarter of 2024
LTM net retention rate Source110%, up from 106% in the third quarter of 2025
Top ten customers share of revenue Source34%, up from 32% a year earlier
Top ten customer revenue growth Source28% year over year, against 20% for customers outside the top ten

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Management said the net retention measure removes some of the volatility inherent in the company's usage-based business model. Source
  • Financial: A GAAP reconciliation of the 2026 non-GAAP guidance is not available without unreasonable effort, because future expenses are uncertain and could be material. 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.