Braze Inc (BRZE)

Business Description

Braze, Inc. (BRZE) is a leading customer engagement platform that enables brands to create personalized, contextually relevant interactions with their customers across multiple channels. The company empowers businesses to process customer data in real time, orchestrate marketing campaigns, and optimize customer engagement strategies. Braze generates revenue primarily through subscription services and also offers professional services to support customer onboarding and platform utilization.

Subscription Services - Provides access to the customer engagement platform, including features for real-time data processing, marketing campaign orchestration, and customer support. Pricing is based on messaging volumes, monthly active users, platform access, and add-on products.
Professional Services and Other - Offers training, onboarding, platform configuration, and feature optimization services to help customers maximize the value of the platform. Includes premium services such as email deliverability support and dedicated technical support staff.

Key Metrics

View all financials →

Leadership

Name	Position	External Roles	Short Bio
William Magnuson ExecutiveBoard	CEO and Chairman of the Board	None	CEO since December 2016, joined Braze in July 2011 as CTO. Holds MEng and B.S. from MIT. Played a key role in Braze's growth to 2,044 customers and 6.2 billion monthly active users.
Isabelle Winkles Executive	CFO	None	CFO since January 2020. Previously VP of Finance at Cognizant and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Holds an MBA from Harvard and a B.S. from MIT.
Jerry Schorn Executive	VP of Sales for Americas	None	VP of Sales for Americas since February 2025. Leads sales efforts in the Americas region.
Jesse Hoobler Executive	SVP of Customer Experience	None	SVP of Customer Experience since February 2025. Leads the unified post-sales Customer Experience team.
Jonathan Hyman Executive	CTO	None	CTO since December 2016, joined Braze in July 2011 as CIO. Focuses on expanding Braze's infrastructure and global presence. Holds an A.B. in Computer Science from Harvard.	View Report →
Susan Wiseman Executive	General Counsel and Secretary	None	General Counsel and Secretary since January 2016. Previously Managing Counsel at Salesforce. Holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and a B.S. from Northwestern.
David Obstler Board	Director	CFO of Datadog	Director since May 2021. Extensive financial expertise with prior CFO roles at TravelClick, OpenLink, and MSCI. Holds an MBA from Harvard and a B.A. from Yale.
Fernando Machado Board	Director	Global CMO at The Not Company, Senior Advisor at Garnett Station Partners	Director since April 2023. Former CMO at Activision Blizzard and Restaurant Brands International. Known for award-winning marketing campaigns. Holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UNICAMP.
Neeraj Agrawal Board	Director	General Partner at Battery Ventures, Director at Sprinklr and Amplitude	Director since April 2016. Extensive experience in venture capital and software industries. Serves on multiple boards. Holds an MBA from Harvard and a B.A. from Dartmouth.
Phillip Fernandez Board	Director	None	Director since May 2019. Co-founder and former CEO of Marketo. Extensive experience in marketing software and database systems. Holds a B.A. in History from Stanford.
Tara Walpert Levy Board	Director	VP, Americas for YouTube; Director at Bloomin’ Brands	Director since January 2020. Extensive experience in technology and advertising. Holds an MBA and a B.A. from Harvard.
Yvonne Wassenaar Board	Director	Director at Arista Networks, Forrester Research, JFrog, and Rubrik	Director since June 2024. Former CEO of Puppet and Airware. Extensive experience in scaling enterprise software companies. Holds a B.A. from UCLA and an MBA from UCLA Anderson.

Questions to Ask Management

You indicated that dollar-based net retention rate is under pressure and expected to decline to around 110% by year-end. Given the ongoing challenges, do you anticipate net retention rates could drop below 110%, and what strategies are you implementing to stabilize or improve this metric?
Despite a reacceleration in bookings and billings this quarter , your Q4 guidance suggests growth will decelerate. Can you clarify whether any timing benefits or one-time factors influenced the bookings performance, and how should we interpret this discrepancy in growth rates?
The SMB sector remains challenged, and you've reduced sales capacity in this category. How do you plan to address the ongoing difficulties in the small company ecosystem, and what are your expectations for growth in this segment going forward?
You've mentioned that the legacy vendor replacement cycle has been difficult to catalyze due to cost-saving priorities of businesses. Given this environment, what makes you confident that the replacement cycle will accelerate in the next 12 to 24 months, and how are you positioning Braze to capitalize on these opportunities?
Operating income was impacted this quarter by seasonal event costs, such as the Forge customer event , and you stated the importance of balancing growth with profitability. With ongoing investment needs and market challenges, how do you plan to sustain profitability while achieving your long-term growth targets?

Recent Mergers & Acquisitions

Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.

Company	Year	Details
North Star Y, Pty Ltd	2023	Completed acquisition where Braze paid approximately $28.4 million (via cash, Braze Class A common stock, and contingent consideration) to gain a direct market presence and local expertise in Australia and New Zealand; the deal included earn-out arrangements based on revenue performance, allocations to intangible assets and goodwill, as well as indemnification and working capital holdbacks.