Banking software provider nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO) reported Q4 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 5.9% year on year to $149.7 million. Guidance for next quarter’s revenue was better than expected at $155.5 million at the midpoint, 1.6% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.37 per share was 72.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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nCino (NCNO) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $149.7 million vs analyst estimates of $147.8 million (5.9% year-on-year growth, 1.3% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.37 vs analyst estimates of $0.21 (72.2% beat)
- Adjusted Operating Income: $34.71 million vs analyst estimates of $33.13 million (23.2% margin, 4.8% beat)
- Revenue Guidance for Q1 CY2026 is $155.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $153 million
- Operating Margin: 1.9%, up from -4.1% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 8.3%, up from 3.2% in the previous quarter
- Billings: $206.6 million at quarter end, up 3.3% year on year
- Market Capitalization: $1.65 billion
“Fiscal 2026 was a landmark year for nCino, with both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year marking company records for gross ACV bookings, and we again exceeded financial guidance across all revenue and profitability metrics,” said Sean Desmond, Chief Executive Officer at nCino.
Company Overview
Born from the internal technology needs of a community bank in 2011, nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO) provides cloud-based software that helps financial institutions streamline client onboarding, loan origination, and account opening processes.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance can indicate its overall quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, nCino grew its sales at a solid 23.8% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth beat the average software company and shows its offerings resonate with customers.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within software, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. nCino’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 11.7% over the last two years was below its five-year trend. We’re wary when companies in the sector see decelerations in revenue growth, as it could signal changing consumer tastes aided by low switching costs. 
This quarter, nCino reported year-on-year revenue growth of 5.9%, and its $149.7 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 1.3%. Company management is currently guiding for a 7.9% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 7.4% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and indicates its products and services will see some demand headwinds.
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Billings
Billings is a non-GAAP metric that is often called “cash revenue” because it shows how much money the company has collected from customers in a certain period. This is different from revenue, which must be recognized in pieces over the length of a contract.
nCino’s billings came in at $206.6 million in Q4, and over the last four quarters, its growth was underwhelming as it averaged 10% year-on-year increases. This performance mirrored its total sales and suggests that increasing competition is causing challenges in acquiring/retaining customers. 
Customer Acquisition Efficiency
The customer acquisition cost (CAC) payback period represents the months required to recover the cost of acquiring a new customer. Essentially, it’s the break-even point for sales and marketing investments. A shorter CAC payback period is ideal, as it implies better returns on investment and business scalability.
nCino is extremely efficient at acquiring new customers, and its CAC payback period checked in at 20.9 months this quarter. The company’s rapid recovery of its customer acquisition costs means it can attempt to spur growth by increasing its sales and marketing investments. 
Key Takeaways from nCino’s Q4 Results
We were impressed by how significantly nCino blew past analysts’ billings expectations this quarter. We were also glad its revenue guidance for next quarter exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its revenue guidance for next year suggests growth will decelerate. Overall, we think this was still a solid quarter with some key areas of upside. The stock traded up 19.3% to $17.86 immediately after reporting.
Sure, nCino had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
