Avalara Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

Fourth Quarter Total Revenue of $195.1 Million, up 35% year-over-year

Fiscal 2021 Total Revenue of $699.0 Million, up 40% year-over-year

Avalara, Inc. (NYSE: AVLR), a leading provider of tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

“For the full year we accelerated our topline, achieving revenue growth of 40% year-over-year, and we delivered our third consecutive year of positive operating and free cash flow,” said Scott McFarlane, Avalara co-founder and chief executive officer. “As we enter fiscal 2022, we are excited about the opportunity to leverage our growing scale, competitive moats, and ubiquity in the market to establish Avalara as the standard cloud platform for compliance. We believe we are in the early days of addressing a huge addressable market to automate compliance for businesses of all sizes.”

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Results

• Revenue: Total revenue was $195.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 35% from $144.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Subscription and returns revenue was $177.1 million, up 34% from $132.6 million in the same period last year. Professional services revenue was $18.0 million, up 48% from $12.2 million in the same period last year.
• Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit was $136.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing a 70% gross margin, compared to a GAAP gross profit of $104.2 million and a 72% gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP gross profit was $142.1 million, representing a 73% non-GAAP gross margin, compared to a non-GAAP gross profit of $107.7 million and a 74% non-GAAP gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Operating Loss: GAAP operating loss was $28.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $19.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP operating income was $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to non-GAAP operating loss of $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Net Loss: GAAP net loss was $35.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a GAAP net loss of $11.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP net loss was $5.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to non-GAAP net income of $8.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Net Loss per Share: GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share was $0.40 based on 87.0 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.13 based on 84.8 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP diluted net loss per share was $0.06 based on 87.0 million weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to a non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.09 based on 89.3 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• Deferred Revenue: Total deferred revenue was $283.0 million at December 31, 2021, up from $209.7 million at December 31, 2020. The current portion of deferred revenue was $280.8 million at December 31, 2021, up from $208.0 million at December 31, 2020.
• Cash: Net cash provided by operating activities was $25.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $31.6 million provided by operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2020. Free cash flow was $18.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to $28.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.5 billion at December 31, 2021, compared to $673.6 million at December 31, 2020.
• Calculated Billings: Calculated billings were $217.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to calculated billings of $167.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures have been provided in the tables included in this release.

Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

• Revenue: Total revenue was $699.0 million in fiscal year 2021, up 40% from $500.6 million in fiscal year 2020. Subscription and returns revenue was $633.1 million, up 36% from $465.8 million in the prior year. Professional services revenue was $65.9 million, up 90% from $34.7 million in the prior year.
• Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit was $494.1 million in fiscal year 2021, representing a 71% gross margin, compared to a GAAP gross profit of $357.5 million and a 71% gross margin in fiscal year 2020. Non-GAAP gross profit was $513.7 million in fiscal year 2021, representing a 73% non-GAAP gross margin, compared to a non-GAAP gross profit of $368.5 million and a 74% non-GAAP gross margin in fiscal year 2020.
• Operating Loss: GAAP operating loss was $106.6 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to a GAAP operating loss of $62.0 million in fiscal year 2020. Non-GAAP operating income was $5.5 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to a non-GAAP operating loss of $3.1 million in fiscal year 2020.
• Net Loss: GAAP net loss was $125.2 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to a GAAP net loss of $49.2 million in fiscal year 2020. Non-GAAP net loss was $13.2 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to a non-GAAP net income of $9.6 million in fiscal year 2020.
• Net Loss per Share: GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share was $1.45 based on 86.3 million weighted average shares outstanding in fiscal year 2021, compared to a GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share of $0.61 based on 81.0 million weighted average shares outstanding in fiscal year 2020. Non-GAAP diluted net loss per share was $0.15 based on 86.3 million weighted average shares outstanding in fiscal year 2021, compared to non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.11 based on 85.4 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding in fiscal year 2020.
• Cash: Net cash provided by operating activities was $34.1 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to $42.6 million provided by operating activities in fiscal year 2020. Free cash flow was $12.7 million in fiscal year 2021, compared to $34.0 million in fiscal year 2020.

Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures have been provided in the tables included in this release.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Highlights

• Key Metrics: During the second quarter of 2021, we revised our core customer calculation methodology to include revenue from our Streamlined Sales Tax solution (SST), which results in additional customers being included in reported core customers. During the second quarter of 2021, we also revised our net revenue retention rate calculation methodology to include revenue from SST that previously was not included, and to exclude professional services revenue, as these services tend to be more one-time in nature. We have included both the revised and legacy Key Metrics methodologies for core customers and net revenue retention in a table at the end of this release.
  
  Under the revised calculation methodology, we ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with approximately 18,270 core customers, up from approximately 17,400 core customers at the end of the previous quarter and approximately 15,020 in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing a 22% increase year-over-year.
  
  Under the revised calculation methodology, our net revenue retention rate was 116% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and has averaged 115% over the last four quarters.
• In 2021, Avalara was named a Leader in three IDC MarketScape reports covering tax automation solutions for small and mid-size businesses (SMB), enterprise, and value-added tax (VAT).
• In 2021, we launched our corporate sustainability site, highlighting our existing initiatives, and outlining the ongoing commitment to being a responsible employer and corporate leader in social, environmental, and governance programs.
• In 2021, we announced that the company’s cross-border compliance capabilities will power the new duty and import tax features of Shopify’s global commerce hub, Shopify Markets. We also announced Avalara Managed Tax Classification, Avalara Content Generation for POS, Avalara Shipping Verification, Avalara Vendor Exemption Management, Avalara Trade Treaty Support, and Avalara Trade Restrictions Management. Finally, we announced an array of new tax compliance automation products and services designed specifically for accountants.
• In 2021, we announced the appointment of Srinivas Tallapragada, Marcela Martin, and retired Lieutenant General Bruce Crawford to our board of directors. Tallapragada is president and chief engineering officer of Salesforce, the leader in customer relationship management, where he leads a global team responsible for building and managing the company’s products and platform. Martin is chief financial officer of Squarespace, the all-in-one website building platform, where she oversees the company’s finance and corporate development functions. Crawford is senior vice president for strategic development, growth, and sales at Jacobs, a leading technology-enabled solutions provider.
• In August 2021, we issued $977.5 million aggregate principal amount of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2026, which includes the exercise in full of the $127.5 million option granted to the initial purchasers of the notes in a private offering. We received net proceeds of $959.9 million, after deducting fees and expenses payable by the company. We used approximately $75.3 million of the net proceeds from the notes to pay the cost of the capped call transactions entered into in connection with the offering.
• In 2021, we closed the acquisitions of CrowdReason Limited Liability Company, Track1099 LLC, 3CE Technologies, Inc., DAVO Technologies LLC, and INPOSIA Solutions GmbH.

Financial Outlook

For the first quarter of 2022, the Company currently expects:

• Total revenue between $197 and $199 million.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between $9 and $11 million.

For the full year 2022, the Company currently expects:

• Total revenue between $854 and $859 million.
• Non-GAAP operating loss between $17 and $21 million.

Conference Call Information

Avalara will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (or 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) today, February 10, 2022, to discuss its financial results and business highlights. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (888) 660-6196 from the United States or (929) 203-1824 internationally with Conference ID 5816067. A live webcast of the call will also be available on the Avalara investor relations website at investor.avalara.com.

A telephone replay of the conference call will be available until 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, February 17, 2022, and a webcast replay will also be archived at investor.avalara.com. The telephone replay will be available by dialing (800) 770-2030 from the United States or (647) 362-9199 internationally with Conference ID 5816067.

About Avalara, Inc.

Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right. In partnership with leading ERP, accounting, ecommerce, and other financial management system providers, Avalara delivers cloud-based compliance solutions for various transaction taxes, including sales and use, VAT, GST, excise, communications, lodging, and other indirect tax types. Headquartered in Seattle, Avalara has offices across the U.S. and around the world in Brazil, Europe, and India. More information at www.avalara.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and the accompanying conference call contain forward-looking statements including, among others, statements about our financial outlook for the first quarter and full year 2022, our expectations for the integration of our acquisitions into our business, and expected growth opportunities and synergies arising from the acquisitions. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “likely,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms.

These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed or suggested by the forward-looking statements. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of our assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include risks associated with: our ability to sustain our revenue growth rate, to achieve or maintain profitability, and to effectively manage our anticipated growth; our ability to attract new customers on a cost-effective basis and the extent to which existing customers renew and upgrade their subscriptions; the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and any associated economic downturn on our business operations, results, and financial position; the timing of our introduction of new solutions or updates to existing solutions; our ability to successfully diversify our solutions by developing or introducing new solutions or acquiring and integrating additional businesses, products, services, or content; our ability to maintain and expand our strategic relationships with third parties; our ability to deliver our solutions to customers without disruption or delay; our exposure to liability from errors, delays, fraud, or system failures, which may not be covered by insurance; our ability to expand our international reach; and the risks described in the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and which should be read in conjunction with our financial results and forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, we have disclosed non-GAAP cost of revenue, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP research and development expense, non-GAAP sales and marketing expense, non-GAAP general and administrative expense, non-GAAP operating income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP basic net income (loss) per share, non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share, free cash flow, and calculated billings, which are all non-GAAP financial measures. We have provided tabular reconciliations of each non-GAAP financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure at the end of this release.

• We calculate non-GAAP cost of revenue, non-GAAP research and development expense, non-GAAP sales and marketing expense, and non-GAAP general and administrative expense as GAAP cost of revenue, GAAP research and development expense, GAAP sales and marketing expense, and GAAP general and administrative expense before stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquired intangible assets included in each of the expense categories.
• We calculate non-GAAP gross profit as GAAP gross profit before stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquired intangibles included in cost of revenue. We calculate non-GAAP gross margin as GAAP gross margin before the impact of stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquired intangibles included in cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue.
• We calculate non-GAAP operating income (loss) as GAAP operating loss before stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangibles, and goodwill impairments. We calculate non-GAAP net income (loss) as GAAP net loss before stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangibles, and goodwill impairments.
• We calculate non-GAAP basic net income (loss) per share as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by weighted average shares outstanding.
• We calculate non-GAAP diluted net income (loss) per share as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding includes weighted average shares outstanding plus the dilutive effect, if any, of outstanding common stock equivalents.
• We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less cash used for the purchases of property and equipment and capitalized software development costs.
• We define calculated billings as total revenue plus the changes in deferred revenue and contract liabilities in the period, excluding the acquisition date impact of deferred revenue and contract liabilities assumed in a business combination. Because we generally recognize subscription revenue ratably over the subscription term, calculated billings can be used to measure our subscription sales activity for a particular period, to compare subscription sales activity across particular periods, and as a potential indicator of future subscription revenue, the actual timing of which will be affected by several factors, including subscription start date and duration.

Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to understand and compare operating results across accounting periods, for internal budgeting and forecasting purposes, and to evaluate financial performance and liquidity. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our results, prospects, and liquidity period-over-period without the impact of certain items that do not directly correlate to our performance and that may vary significantly from period to period for reasons unrelated to our operating performance, as well as when comparing our financial results to those of other companies.

The company has not reconciled its expectations of non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures primarily because stock-based compensation expense cannot be reasonably calculated or predicted at this time. Accordingly, a reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort.

Our definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the definitions used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar metrics. Thus, our non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure and to view non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with the related GAAP financial measure.

Definitions of Key Business Metrics

We also use the key business metrics of core customers and net revenue retention rate.

Core Customers

We believe core customers is a key indicator of our market penetration, growth, and potential future revenue. We use core customers as a metric to focus our customer count reporting on our primary target market segment. We define a core customer as:

• a unique account identifier in our primary U.S. billing systems (multiple companies or divisions within a single consolidated enterprise that each have a separate unique account identifier are each treated as separate customers);
• that is active as of the measurement date; and
• for which we have recognized, as of the measurement date, greater than $3,000 in total revenue during the previous 12 months.

Currently, our core customer count includes only customers with unique account identifiers in our primary U.S. billing systems and does not include customers that subscribe to our solutions through our international subsidiaries and certain legacy and acquired billing systems that have not yet been integrated into our primary U.S. billing systems (e.g., recent acquisitions and our lodging tax compliance solution). As we increase our international operations and sales in future periods, we may add customers billed from our international subsidiaries to the core customer metric.

We revised our core customer calculation methodology during the second quarter of 2021. Under the prior methodology, revenue from SST was not included in our calculation of total revenue during the previous 12 months. This meant customers that would have otherwise met the definition of a core customer, with inclusion of attributable SST revenue, were excluded from our core customer count as well as our disclosures on the percentage of total revenue attributable to core customers. The revised methodology for core customers includes revenue from SST.

We believe this change improves the usefulness of this key business metric, which is to measure both the growth of existing customers into core customers and the acquisition of new customers of a certain size.

We also have a substantial number of customers of various sizes that do not meet the revenue threshold to be considered a core customer. Many of these customers are in the emerging and small business segment of the marketplace, which represents strategic value and a growth opportunity for us. Customers who do not meet the revenue threshold to be considered a core customer provide us with market share and awareness, and we anticipate that some may grow into core customers. In addition, we have numerous enterprise-level customers that only utilize our services for small segments of their business, providing opportunities over time for us to extend our relationship and make them core customers.

In addition to customers with whom we have a direct relationship, some of our customers are business application publishers (including ecommerce platforms) that include automated tax determination powered by Avalara. While those platform providers may be core customers to Avalara, their end-user customers generally are not.

Net Revenue Retention Rate

We believe that our net revenue retention rate provides insight into our ability to retain and grow revenue from our customers, as well as their potential long-term value to us. We also believe it reflects the stability of our revenue base, which is one of our core competitive strengths. We calculate our net revenue retention rate by dividing (a) total subscription and returns revenue in the current quarter from any billing accounts that generated revenue during the corresponding quarter of the prior year by (b) total subscription and returns revenue in such corresponding quarter from those same billing accounts. This calculation includes changes during the period for such billing accounts, such as additional solutions purchased, changes in pricing and transaction volume, and terminations, but does not reflect revenue for new billing accounts added during the one-year period.

Our net revenue retention rate includes only customers with unique account identifiers in our primary U.S. billing systems and does not include customers who subscribe to our solutions through our international subsidiaries or certain legacy and acquired billing systems that have not been integrated into our primary U.S. billing systems.

During the second quarter of 2021, we revised our net revenue retention rate calculation methodology. Under the prior methodology, revenue from SST was not included in our reported net revenue retention rate. This meant that revenue expansion from existing customers adopting our SST solution was not included, while revenue contraction from customers replacing one or more of Avalara’s other solutions with SST was included. The revised calculation methodology for net revenue retention rate includes revenue from SST. In addition, professional services revenue is no longer included in the revised calculation methodology, as these services tend to be more one-time in nature.

We believe these changes improve the usefulness of this key business metric, which is to measure our ability to retain and grow revenue from existing customers over time.

Reported Consolidated Results

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UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

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UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

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UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

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UNAUDITED PRESENTATION AND RECONCILIATION TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

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The following schedules reflect our non-GAAP financial measures and reconcile our non-GAAP financial measures to the related GAAP financial measures:

Summary of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

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UNAUDITED PRESENTATION OF CALCULATED BILLINGS AND RECONCILIATION TO REVENUE