Braze, Inc.

Braze is a leading cloud-based customer engagement platform that enables brands to build and maintain direct, meaningful relationships with their customers by leveraging rich, first-party context, composable intelligence, and continuous, personally relevant interactions across various channels. The company was founded in 2011 in response to the rise of the smartphone and the increasing digital connectivity, which has led to higher consumer expectations for personalized experiences. Braze's platform is designed to process first-party customer data in real-time, facilitating engagement campaigns and messaging that are relevant and personal. As of January 2026, Braze served 2,609 customers globally and enabled interactions with 8.0 billion monthly active users ¹ via customer apps, websites, and other digital interfaces, an increase from 7.2 billion ² in January 2025.

The core business model revolves around selling subscriptions to its customer engagement platform, with pricing largely based on the number of consumers customers reach and the volume of messages sent. This "land-and-expand" strategy allows Braze to grow within existing customers as they add new channels, purchase additional subscription products, implement new engagement strategies, or onboard new business units and geographies. The company also generates revenue from professional services, which include training and assistance for platform configuration and optimization.

Braze's platform is characterized by several competitive strengths, including composable intelligence embedded throughout the platform, a data streaming architecture that processes first-party data in real-time, a cross-channel approach enabling customer-centric experiences, global high performance at scale, rapid time to value across organizations, seamless real-time interoperability across the customer engagement technology stack, and deep customer engagement expertise supported by a highly engaged community. The platform leverages AI investments across its data activation, insights and segmentation, orchestration, personalization, and relevance capabilities.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of products categorized into BrazeAI, Braze Data Platform, Segmentation, Orchestration, Reporting and Analytics, Creativity and Relevance, and Cross-Channel Action. BrazeAI includes features like Decisioning Studio, Agent Console, Operator, Liquid Assistant, AI Copywriter, Personalized Variant, Item Recommendations, and Predictive Suite, all designed to enhance personalization and operational efficiency. The Braze Data Platform integrates customer data through SDKs, REST APIs, partner data integrations, data transformation, Cloud Data Ingestion, and Currents, enabling real-time data processing and export. Segmentation tools allow customers to define reusable consumer segments based on various data points, updated in real-time. Orchestration is primarily driven by Canvas, a no-code journey orchestration tool for designing multi-step, cross-channel messaging experiences, alongside Campaigns, Event and API Triggering, and Marketing Pressure Management. Reporting and Analytics features provide insights through Campaign and Canvas Analytics, Funnel and Retention Reports, Report Builder, Dashboards, and Query Builder. Creativity and Relevance tools include AI Content Generation and Quality Assurance, Content Management, Catalogs for relational data, Liquid Templating Language, Connected Content, and Intelligent Timing and Channel. Cross-Channel Action capabilities support in-product messaging (In-App and In-Browser Messages, Content Cards and Banners, Feature Flags, Landing Pages) and out-of-product messaging (Push Notifications, Email, SMS/MMS/RCS, Ad Network Integrations, WhatsApp, LINE, Webhooks, and Transactional Messaging).

For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, total revenue was $738.2 million ³, representing a 24.4% ⁴ increase from $593.4 million ⁵ in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2025. Cost of revenue increased by 32.4% ⁶ to $242.5 million ⁷ from $183.2 million ⁸ in the prior year. Gross profit for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, was $495.7 million ⁹, an increase of 20.8% ¹⁰ from $410.2 million ¹¹ in the previous fiscal year. The gross margin decreased by 2.0% ¹² to 67.1% ¹³ from 69.1% ¹⁴. Operating expenses totaled $640.4 million ¹⁵, up from $532.4 million ¹⁶. This resulted in a loss from operations of $144.8 million ¹⁷, compared to a loss of $122.2 million ¹⁸ in the prior year. Net loss for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, was $130.8 million ¹⁹, compared to $104.0 million ²⁰ in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2025. Diluted EPS was $(1.22) ²¹ for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, compared to $(1.02) ²² in the prior year. Net cash provided by operating activities was $71.4 million ²³, and non-GAAP free cash flow was $58.1 million ²⁴. As of January 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $124.3 million ²⁵, and marketable securities were $287.6 million ²⁶. Total current liabilities were $420.4 million ²⁷, and total liabilities were $489.6 million ²⁸. The company had an accumulated deficit of $718.1 million ²⁹.

Year-over-year, revenue growth was 24.4% ⁴, with approximately 65.5% ³⁰ of the increase attributable to existing customers and 34.5% ³¹ to new customers. The gross margin contraction to 67.1% ¹³ from 69.1% ¹⁴ was primarily due to acquisition-related operating costs, including personnel costs of the acquired workforce and amortization expense of acquired technology, in addition to increased costs related to the tech stack. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 15.8% ³² to $327.0 million ³³, research and development expenses increased by 24.8% ³⁴ to $167.1 million ³⁵, and general and administrative expenses increased by 26.0% ³⁶ to $146.3 million ³⁷. The dollar-based net retention rate for the trailing 12 months ended January 31, 2026, was 109% ³⁸ for all customers, down from 111% ³⁹ in the prior year, primarily due to customer turnover and renewals at lower subscription levels in the uncertain macroeconomic environment.

During the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, Braze completed the acquisition of OfferFit, Inc. on June 2, 2025, for a total adjusted preliminary purchase price consideration of $302.9 million ⁴⁰, consisting of $195.3 million ⁴¹ in cash payments and $107.6 million ⁴² in Class A common stock issuances. This acquisition was intended to deepen the integration of OfferFit’s multi-agent decisioning engine into Braze’s Customer Engagement Platform. The preliminary purchase price was allocated to intangible assets of $66.6 million ⁴³ and goodwill of $233.4 million ⁴⁴. The acquired intangible assets included developed technology of $56.7 million ⁴⁵, customer relationships of $9.0 million ⁴⁶, and trademarks of $0.9 million ⁴⁷. Additionally, on January 30, 2026, all outstanding shares of Class B common stock automatically converted into Class A common stock, eliminating the dual-class structure.

Braze anticipates continued growth by expanding its customer base in existing strong verticals such as retail and consumer goods, media and entertainment, gaming, sports, restaurants and on-demand services, healthcare and life sciences, technology, and financial services, while also increasing its presence in underrepresented verticals. The company plans to capitalize on industries undergoing digital transformation and those with accelerating direct-to-consumer relationships to drive further adoption of its technology.

A significant growth vector is the expansion within the existing customer base. Braze expects to achieve this by encouraging customers to add new channels, purchase additional subscription products, implement new engagement strategies, and onboard new business units and geographies. The company's pricing model, based on the number of consumers reached and message volume, naturally leads to growth as customers expand their operations. Furthermore, as customers become more digitally sophisticated, Braze anticipates increased investment in decisioning, agentic, data streaming, and data management capabilities. The company also sees opportunities to broaden platform usage beyond traditional marketing teams, as marketers become more technically adept, technologists collaborate more closely with marketing, and data scientists gain influence within organizations. Penetrating new brands and geographies within existing multinational conglomerates is another key aspect of this expansion strategy.

Geographic expansion is another principal component of Braze's growth strategy. The company aims to continue expanding its presence in international markets where it currently operates and to enter new, unpenetrated markets. Currently, Braze has operational footprints across North America, South America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the Middle East, and has expanded its infrastructure to offer hosting in the United States, the European Union, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia.

Braze is committed to sustaining innovation and technology leadership through continued investment in research and development. This includes enhancing its AI capabilities to improve customer data analysis and actionability, and expanding channel offerings. The company's market-driven product development approach is expected to maximize the return on new feature development and channel expansion, providing new avenues for growth and differentiated outcomes for customers. Braze plans to continue investing in building additional products that expand its capabilities and facilitate the extension of its platform to new channels and use cases.

The company also plans to increase and strengthen its partnerships. This involves continued investment in direct integrations with technology partners that augment its core offering with complementary solutions, such as data augmentation and enrichment, analytics, and channel extensions. Braze has also invested in and will continue to expand relationships with solution partners, marketing agencies, consultancies, and global system integrators to generate new customer referrals.

Braze anticipates that its operating expenses will increase in absolute dollars in future periods as it continues to invest in its technology infrastructure, operations, sales and marketing organization, platform development, potential acquisitions or strategic investments, international expansion, and general administration. However, general and administrative expenses are expected to decrease as a percentage of revenue over the long term, as the company focuses on scaling internal support functions.

The company believes its current cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $415.9 million ⁴⁸ as of January 31, 2026, will be sufficient to meet its working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. Its most significant funding requirements are employee compensation, related taxes and benefits, non-cancelable purchase commitments, and operating lease obligations, with purchase commitments primarily related to cloud hosting, infrastructure, and other software-based services due over the next three years.

Braze faces several material risks, including those stemming from unstable market and economic conditions, which may lead to diminished liquidity, declines in consumer confidence, increased inflation, and higher interest rates, potentially making debt or equity financing more difficult or costly. Such conditions could also reduce demand for Braze's products and services, extend sales cycles, and increase bad debt expense. Intense competition from well-established companies like Adobe, Salesforce, Iterable, and Klaviyo, many of whom have greater financial and marketing resources, poses a significant threat, potentially leading to pricing pressure, loss of market share, or reduced revenue and gross margins. The company's dependence on a single platform means that any decline in demand, failure to achieve market acceptance, or emergence of superior competing technologies, including AI, could severely impact results. Furthermore, reliance on third-party cloud infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services and Rackspace, and mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS, exposes Braze to risks of service disruptions, policy changes, or capacity limitations, which could harm its reputation and operations. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in its platform introduces risks of flawed algorithms, bias, inaccurate outputs, and potential legal or reputational harm, especially with evolving regulatory scrutiny like the EU AI Act. Stringent and changing privacy, data security, and data protection laws, including the CCPA and GDPR, impose complex compliance obligations and significant penalties for non-compliance, potentially restricting data transfers and increasing operational costs. Security breaches or unauthorized access to data, whether from internal errors, cyberattacks, or vulnerabilities in third-party systems, could lead to reputational damage, reduced demand, and substantial liabilities. The company has identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting related to Information Technology General Controls (ITGCs) in user access and program change management, which, if not remediated, could impair the accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting. International expansion exposes Braze to risks from political and economic instability, currency fluctuations, differing labor regulations, and difficulties in enforcing intellectual property rights.

Management's message to shareholders emphasizes Braze's vision to forge vibrant connections between people and brands, fueled by community and technology. They highlight the company's role as a leading customer engagement platform, empowering brands to "Be Absolutely Engaging" by leveraging first-party context, composable intelligence, and continuous, personally relevant interactions across channels. Management explicitly states that the company generated revenue of $738.2 million ³ for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, and experienced a net loss of $130.8 million ¹⁹ for the same period. They also note net cash provided by operating activities of $71.4 million ²³ and non-GAAP free cash flow of $58.1 million ²⁴. Three strategic priorities are emphasized for the period ahead: first, acquiring new customers by expanding in strong verticals and capitalizing on digital transformation; second, expanding within the existing customer base by increasing channel adoption, messaging volume, and investment in advanced capabilities like decisioning and data management; and third, expanding technology leadership through continued investment in research and development, particularly in AI capabilities, and broadening channel offerings.