greeksoup/ stock research

Nutanix, Inc.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 25 November 2025: press release. Guidance figures: 1 raised, 1 lowered, 2 new, 2 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • ARR grew 18% year over year: Annual recurring revenue reached $2.28 billion, up from $1.94 billion a year earlier, on the updated ARR methodology. Source
  • Revenue rose 13% to $670.6 million: Revenue was $670.6 million, against $591.0 million a year earlier, with GAAP gross margin shown alongside. Source
  • Bookings slightly above expectations: Management said first-quarter bookings were slightly higher than expected. Source
  • Remaining performance obligations rose: Remaining performance obligations totaled $2.67 billion, against $2.12 billion a year earlier; $1.30 billion is current and $1.03 billion falls in 13-36 months. Source
  • Revenue timing shifted from first quarter: Late in the quarter, some revenue moved from the first quarter into later periods. Management expects revenue over time to be unchanged and has factored the shift into guidance. Source
  • Operating margin rose on GAAP basis: GAAP operating margin was 7.4%, up 280 basis points; non-GAAP operating margin was 19.7%, down 30 basis points. Source
  • Free cash flow rose to $174.5 million: Free cash flow was $174.5 million, against $151.9 million; operating cash flow was $196.8 million and purchases of property and equipment were $22.3 million. Source

“We saw solid demand for our cloud platform in our first quarter, with bookings that were slightly ahead of our expectations, ARR growth of 18% year-over-year, another healthy quarter of new logo additions, and solid free cash flow performance”

Rajiv Ramaswami, President and CEO of Nutanix

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Revenue SourceSecond quarter fiscal 2026$705 - $715 millionNew
Non-GAAP operating margin SourceSecond quarter fiscal 202620.5% to 21.5%New
Weighted average diluted shares SourceSecond quarter fiscal 2026Approximately 296 millionKept
Revenue SourceFiscal 2026$2.82 - $2.86 billionLowered from $2.90 - $2.94 billion
Non-GAAP operating margin SourceFiscal 202621% to 22%Kept
Free cash flow SourceFiscal 2026$800 - $840 millionRaised from $790 - $830 million

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance lowered: Full-year revenue guidance updated for the revenue shift from the first quarter. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year free cash flow guidance raised. Source
  • New guidance: Second-quarter guidance given for revenue, non-GAAP operating margin and diluted shares. Source
  • New: Support for Dell PowerStore announced. Source
  • New: Support for Azure Virtual Desktop announced; still under development. Source
  • New: Greg Lavender added to the board of directors. Source
  • New: ARR methodology updated from the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Source
  • Ended: Separate professional services and non-subscription product revenue lines ended. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • ARR grew 18% year over year: Annual recurring revenue reached $2.28 billion, up from $1.94 billion a year earlier, on the updated ARR methodology. Source
  • Revenue rose 13% to $670.6 million: Revenue was $670.6 million, against $591.0 million a year earlier, with GAAP gross margin shown alongside. Source
  • Subscription revenue grew to $637.8 million: Subscription revenue was $637.8 million against $560.7 million; professional services and other revenue was $32.7 million against $30.3 million. Source
  • Net income and diluted EPS rose: GAAP net income was $62.1 million against $29.9 million; GAAP diluted EPS was $0.21 against $0.10, and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.41. Source

Demand, bookings and revenue timing

  • Bookings slightly above expectations: Management said first-quarter bookings were slightly higher than expected. Source
  • Remaining performance obligations rose: Remaining performance obligations totaled $2.67 billion, against $2.12 billion a year earlier; $1.30 billion is current and $1.03 billion falls in 13-36 months. Source
  • Revenue timing shifted from first quarter: Late in the quarter, some revenue moved from the first quarter into later periods. Management expects revenue over time to be unchanged and has factored the shift into guidance. Source
  • Another quarter of new logos: Management cited another quarter of new logo additions in the first quarter. Source

“Underlying demand and our view of business fundamentals for Nutanix remain unchanged.”

Rukmini Sivaraman, CFO of Nutanix

Margins and costs

  • Gross margin rose on both measures: GAAP gross margin was 87.0%, up 100 basis points; non-GAAP gross margin was 88.0%, up 50 basis points. Source
  • Operating expenses rose on both bases: GAAP operating expenses were $533.8 million, up 11%; non-GAAP operating expenses were $458.0 million, up 15%. Source
  • Operating margin rose on GAAP basis: GAAP operating margin was 7.4%, up 280 basis points; non-GAAP operating margin was 19.7%, down 30 basis points. Source
  • Stock-based compensation fell: Stock-based compensation expense was $77.8 million, against $88.7 million a year earlier. Source

Cash flow and capital returns

  • Free cash flow rose to $174.5 million: Free cash flow was $174.5 million, against $151.9 million; operating cash flow was $196.8 million and purchases of property and equipment were $22.3 million. Source
  • Operating cash flow and deferred revenue: Deferred revenue added $37.5 million to operating cash flow, while accrued compensation and benefits was a $55.1 million use of cash. Source
  • Share repurchases and net share settlement: Repurchases of common stock were $50.2 million, against $20.1 million a year earlier; taxes paid on net share settlement were $89.2 million, against $79.3 million. Source
  • Cash and investments at quarter end: Cash and cash equivalents were $780.4 million and short-term investments $1.28 billion at October 31, 2025. Convertible senior notes, net, were $1.35 billion. Source
  • Stockholders' deficit narrowed: Total stockholders’ deficit was $668.6 million at October 31, 2025, against $694.5 million at July 31, 2025. Source

“However, late in the quarter, we saw some revenue shift from Q1 into future periods. We expect that the revenue over time remains unchanged,”

Rukmini Sivaraman, CFO of Nutanix

Partnerships, products and board

  • Dell PowerStore support due summer 2026: Nutanix Cloud Platform will support Dell PowerStore, with general availability coming in summer 2026, as part of an expanded Dell partnership. Source
  • Azure Virtual Desktop support in development: Support for Azure Virtual Desktop on the AHV hypervisor is under development; it will let organizations run the service on premises. Source
  • Gartner Leader for hybrid infrastructure: Nutanix was recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Distributed Hybrid Infrastructure. Source
  • Greg Lavender joins board: Greg Lavender, former CTO at Intel, was added to the board of directors effective September 17, 2025. Source

Reporting and metric changes

  • ARR methodology aligned to license availability: ARR methodology was updated from the first quarter of fiscal 2026 to align with when licenses are made available to customers. Source
  • Prior periods restated for ARR: Prior-period ARR amounts were updated to match the current methodology, so the year-over-year comparison uses restated figures. Source
  • Revenue presentation simplified: Professional services and other revenue is now one line; prior-year amounts were reclassified to match the current presentation. Source
  • Average contract duration unchanged: Average contract duration was 3.1 years, unchanged from a year earlier. Source

Coming up, as management said on 25 November 2025

  • Dell PowerStore general availability: Nutanix Cloud Platform support for Dell PowerStore is due with general availability in summer 2026. Source
  • Revenue shift expected to continue: Management expects the late-quarter revenue shift to continue and has factored it into second-quarter and full-year revenue guidance. Source
  • Azure Virtual Desktop support not yet dated: Support for Azure Virtual Desktop on AHV remains under development; the document gives no availability date. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Annual recurring revenue (ARR) Source$2.28 billion
Remaining performance obligations Source$2.67 billion
Total billings Source$708.1 million
Subscription revenue Source$637.8 million
Customers SourceMore than 29,000
Average contract duration Source3.1 years

Risks management discussed

  • Financial: Late-quarter revenue moved from the first quarter into later periods; management says this has been factored into guidance. Source
  • Operational: Azure Virtual Desktop support is not yet available and remains under development. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Ahead: Management said first-quarter bookings came in slightly above its expectations. Source
  • Not stated: Management expects revenue over time to remain unchanged despite the late-quarter shift. Source
  • Not stated: Management said underlying demand and its view of business fundamentals are unchanged. 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.