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Twilio Inc.: Q1 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q1 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 30 April 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 4 raised, 6 new. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Revenue grew 20% year-over-year: Revenue was $1,406.9 million, up 20% year-over-year from $1,172.5 million a year earlier. Source
  • Net expansion rate rose to 114%: The metric compares quarterly revenue from a cohort of customer accounts with the same cohort a year earlier. It was 114% in the first quarter of 2026, against 107%. Source
  • Operating cash flow and free cash flow fell: Operating cash flow was $153.2 million, an 11% margin, against $191.0 million. Free cash flow was $132.3 million, a 9% margin, against $178.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Share repurchases totaled $253.4 million: Twilio repurchased $253.4 million of Class A common stock in the quarter. Cash paid for repurchases was $253.0 million, against $126.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Active Customer Accounts no longer key metric: Active Customer Accounts is no longer disclosed as a key metric. The last figure given was more than 402,000 as of December 31, 2025. Source

“Q1 was a milestone quarter for Twilio, marked by our highest revenue and gross profit growth rates in more than three years,”

Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Revenue Sourcesecond quarter of 2026 (quarter ended June 30, 2026)$1.420 to $1.430 billionNew
Reported revenue growth Sourcesecond quarter of 202615.5% to 16.5%New
Organic revenue growth Sourcesecond quarter of 202610% to 11%New
Non-GAAP income from operations Sourcesecond quarter of 2026$250 to $260 millionNew
Non-GAAP diluted EPS Sourcesecond quarter of 2026$1.27 to $1.32New
Non-GAAP weighted average diluted shares Sourcesecond quarter of 2026157 millionNew
Reported revenue growth Sourcefiscal year 202614% to 15%Raised from 11.5% to 12.5%
Organic revenue growth Sourcefiscal year 20269.5% to 10.5%Raised from 8% to 9%
Non-GAAP income from operations Sourcefiscal year 2026$1.08 billion to $1.10 billionRaised from $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion
Free cash flow Sourcefiscal year 2026$1.08 billion to $1.10 billionRaised from $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 reported revenue growth range raised to 14% to 15% from 11.5% to 12.5%. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 organic revenue growth range raised to 9.5% to 10.5% from 8% to 9%. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 non-GAAP income from operations range raised to $1.08 billion to $1.10 billion from $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion. Source
  • Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 free cash flow range raised to $1.08 billion to $1.10 billion from $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion. Source
  • New guidance: Second-quarter guidance initiated for revenue, non-GAAP income from operations and non-GAAP diluted EPS. Source
  • Guidance kept: Full-year non-GAAP gross profit growth expected to be similar to the organic revenue growth range, as in February. Source
  • Ended: Active Customer Accounts discontinued as a key metric beginning in the first quarter of 2026. Source
  • New: Free cash flow now excludes capitalized software development costs and purchases of long-lived assets; the February definition also excluded intangible assets. Source
  • New: DBNE definition revised to refer to customer accounts instead of Active Customer Accounts and Zipwhip accounts. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Revenue grew 20% year-over-year: Revenue was $1,406.9 million, up 20% year-over-year from $1,172.5 million a year earlier. Source
  • Gross profit grew 18% reported: GAAP gross profit was $684.2 million, up 18%. Non-GAAP gross profit was $697.5 million, up 16%, against $602.0 million a year earlier. Source
  • GAAP operating income rose 366%: GAAP income from operations was $107.7 million, against $23.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. Source
  • Diluted EPS rose to $0.57: GAAP diluted EPS was $0.57 on 157.8 million weighted average shares, against $0.12. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.50, against $1.14 on 161.8 million shares. Source

Organic growth and revenue base

  • A2P revenue excluded from organic: Organic revenue excludes $46.1 million of A2P revenue and $1.6 million of acquisition revenue. A2P fees are imposed by U.S. mobile carriers and passed to messaging customers at cost. Source
  • Organic revenue grew 16%: Organic revenue was $1,359.2 million, with growth of 16% year-over-year against the prior-year base. Source
  • Prior-year revenue base cited: For organic growth, the prior-year denominator equals reported revenue, which the company gave as $1.17 billion for the first quarter of 2025. Source

“Twilio’s performance is the result of a multi-year, companywide evolution that fundamentally transformed Twilio’s innovation velocity, GTM efficiency, and financial rigor and has led us to become a foundational infrastructure layer in the era of AI.”

Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio

Margins and operating costs

  • GAAP gross margin edged down: GAAP gross margin was 49%, against 50% a year earlier. Non-GAAP gross margin was 50%, against 51%. Source
  • Operating expenses rose $18.1 million: Total operating expenses were $576.6 million, against $558.5 million. Research and development was $262.2 million, sales and marketing $211.9 million and general and administrative $102.5 million. Source

Customers and net expansion

  • Net expansion rate rose to 114%: The metric compares quarterly revenue from a cohort of customer accounts with the same cohort a year earlier. It was 114% in the first quarter of 2026, against 107%. Source
  • New accounts of large customers pooled: When a customer organization generating more than 1% of quarterly revenue creates a new account, that account's revenue is included with the original account for the metric. Source
  • Acquired revenue enters metric later: Revenue from acquisitions does not enter the metric until the quarter after the one-year anniversary of the acquisition, unless closed on the first day of a quarter. Source

Cash flow and balance sheet

  • Operating cash flow and free cash flow fell: Operating cash flow was $153.2 million, an 11% margin, against $191.0 million. Free cash flow was $132.3 million, a 9% margin, against $178.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Accrued liabilities drove cash use: Accrued expenses and other current liabilities used $155.8 million, against $94.3 million a year earlier. Accounts receivable used $74.9 million, against a source of $8.5 million. Source
  • Cash, securities and debt balances: Cash and cash equivalents were $542.0 million and short-term marketable securities $1,804.3 million at March 31, 2026, against $682.3 million and $1,788.0 million at year-end. Long-term debt, net, was $992.7 million. Source

Capital returns to shareholders

  • Share repurchases totaled $253.4 million: Twilio repurchased $253.4 million of Class A common stock in the quarter. Cash paid for repurchases was $253.0 million, against $126.3 million a year earlier. Source
  • Remaining buyback authorization $892.0 million: About $1.1 billion has been repurchased under the $2.0 billion program, leaving $892.0 million available as of March 31, 2026. The program expires December 31, 2027. Source
  • Financing cash outflow grew: Net cash used in financing activities was $252.6 million, against $125.8 million a year earlier. Source

Metrics, definitions and headcount

  • Active Customer Accounts no longer key metric: Active Customer Accounts is no longer disclosed as a key metric. The last figure given was more than 402,000 as of December 31, 2025. Source
  • DBNE definition now refers to customer accounts: The DBNE definition now refers to customer accounts instead of Active Customer Accounts and Zipwhip accounts. Management said the methodology and historical DBNE figures are unchanged. Source
  • Free cash flow definition narrowed: Free cash flow now excludes capitalized software development costs and purchases of long-lived assets. The February 2026 definition also excluded purchases of intangible assets. Source
  • Headcount was 5,558 at quarter-end: The company had 5,558 employees at March 31, 2026, against 5,587 at December 31, 2025. Source

Coming up, as management said on 30 April 2026

  • Repurchase program runs to 2027: The $2.0 billion repurchase program is set to expire on December 31, 2027. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Net revenue retention (Dollar-Based Net Expansion Rate) Source114%

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Full-year 2026 revenue growth range raised to 14% to 15% from 11.5% to 12.5% previously stated. 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.