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What is net revenue retention? NRR, with real US companies

Net revenue retention compares what last year's customers pay now with what they paid a year earlier. How it is worked out and where to find it in a 10-K.

By · Checked against filings: , 1 min read. Editorial policy. Corrections

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What does net revenue retention mean?

Net revenue retention (NRR) shows how a company's recurring revenue from one group of customers changed over a year. The group is the customers it already had a year earlier.[S2] Customers who left stay in and count as zero.[S3] New customers are left out.

How is net revenue retention worked out?

Take the recurring revenue from last year's customers now. Divide it by what the same customers paid a year earlier, then times 100.[S2]

Each company sets its own details. Autodesk compares one quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.[S2] Snowflake compares two 12-month periods of product revenue.[S3] HubSpot uses monthly contracted subscription fees at fixed exchange rates.[S4]

Where do you find it in a 10-K or 10-Q?

It is not in the financial statements. Companies that report it list it among their key metrics in management's discussion and analysis.[S3][S4] That is 10-K Item 7, or 10-Q Part I, Item 2.[S5][S6] SEC guidance expects a clear definition, how it is calculated, and why it is useful.[S1]

What does net revenue retention leave out?

  • New customers, by design.[S2]
  • Revenue outside the company's chosen base: Snowflake uses product revenue only, without professional services.[S3]
  • A like-for-like comparison: companies pick different periods and revenue bases, and Autodesk gives a range, not one figure.[S2][S4]

See it in real companies

A related number at companies on Cityfort: Annual recurring revenue (ARR), as the company measures it

It compares what last year's customers pay now with a year earlier. No Cityfort stock page shows it yet (the Anthropic and Entrata IPO pages quote it from their filings); ARR is the nearest measure the stock pages carry.

6 companies on Cityfort, listed A–Z (not ranked).

Adobe
$27.5BAug 28, 2026 · Total Adobe ARR, the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: Remaining performance obligations, Aug 28, 2026, $22.2B · source S6
Cisco
$32.1BJul 25, 2026 · Annualized recurring revenue (ARR), the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: Remaining performance obligations, Jul 25, 2026, $46.7B · source S1
CrowdStrike
$5.8BJul 31, 2026 · Ending ARR, the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: Remaining performance obligations, Jul 31, 2026, $10.7B · source S5
IBM
$24.9BSep 30, 2026 · Software annual recurring revenue, the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: Software revenue, Q3 FY2026, $7.8B · source S7, S12
Nebius
3 US$ billionJun 2026 · Annualized run-rate revenue (ARR), the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: AI cloud revenue, Q2 FY2026, $575M · source S8
Salesforce
$3.9BJul 31, 2026 · Agentforce and Data 360 ARR (about, as Salesforce states it), the company's own measure; nearest GAAP figure: Data 360, Headless Platform, and Other subscription revenue, Q2 FY2027, $3.6B · source S6, S32

From each company's filings, as cited on its Cityfort stock page. These figures change when a stock page is updated.

Questions people ask

Is net revenue retention the same as customer retention?
No. A customer count treats every customer the same. Net revenue retention follows dollars: a customer who leaves counts as zero revenue, and customers who spend more can make up for it.[S3]
Is net revenue retention a GAAP number?
No. It is a company's own operating metric, not a line in the financial statements. SEC guidance expects a company to define it, say how it is calculated, and explain why it is useful.[S1][S2]
Can a company change how it calculates net revenue retention?
Yes. SEC guidance says the company should consider disclosing, where material, how the calculation changed, why, and the effect. HubSpot changed its calculation in 2025 and showed its earlier figures under the old method too.[S1][S4]
Why does the name differ from company to company?
Each company names its own metric. Snowflake calls it a dollar-based net revenue retention rate; Autodesk calls it net revenue retention rate, or NR3.[S2][S3]

Sources

  1. S1Commission Guidance on Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (key performance indicators and metrics), Release No. 33-10751, Jan 30, 2020 · U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionTier 1: company or exchange filing · Jan 30, 2020
  2. S2Autodesk, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (ended Jan 31, 2026): Item 1 definitions (Net Revenue Retention Rate, Recurring Revenue) and Item 7 (Recurring Revenue and Net Revenue Retention Rate) · Autodesk, Inc. (SEC EDGAR)Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 3, 2026
  3. S3Snowflake Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (ended Jan 31, 2026): Item 7, Key Business Metrics (Net Revenue Retention Rate) · Snowflake Inc. (SEC EDGAR)Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 20, 2026
  4. S4HubSpot, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended Dec 31, 2025: Item 7, Key Business Metrics (Net Revenue Retention) · HubSpot, Inc. (SEC EDGAR)Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 11, 2026
  5. S5Investor Bulletin: How to Read a 10-K, September 2011 (Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis) · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and AdvocacyTier 1: company or exchange filing · Sep 1, 2011
  6. S6Form 10-Q, Part I, Item 2 (Management's Discussion and Analysis) (form version SEC 1296, 02-25) · U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionTier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 1, 2025

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