Samsara's Q2 2026 Earnings Call: Contradictions Emerge on Sales Cycles, AI Integration, and Customer Momentum

The above is the analysis of the conflicting points in this earnings call

Date of Call: September 4, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: $391M, up 30% YOY (31% in constant currency)
• Gross Margin: 78% non-GAAP, up 1 percentage point YOY
• Operating Margin: 15% non-GAAP, up 9 percentage points YOY

Guidance:

• Q3 FY26 revenue: $398M–$400M (up ~24% YOY; 23%–24% in constant currency)
• Q3 FY26 non-GAAP operating margin: 15%
• Q3 FY26 non-GAAP EPS: $0.11–$0.12
• FY26 revenue: $1.574B–$1.578B (up ~26% YOY)
• FY26 non-GAAP operating margin: 15%
• FY26 non-GAAP EPS: $0.45–$0.47
• Guidance based on FX rates as of August 2

Business Commentary:

* Revenue and Customer Growth: - Samsara reported revenue of $391 million for Q2 fiscal 2026, growing 30% year-on-year. - Growth was driven by strong performance across large enterprise customers, with 17 new $1 million+ ARR customers and approximately $1 billion ARR from $100K+ ARR customers contributing to 59% of total ARR.

• Product Innovation and AI Integration:
• Samsara's new products and features, such as asset maintenance, commercial navigation, and AI multicam, are contributing 8% of net new ACV.

• The company is leveraging AI to enhance core product experiences and identify new sources of value from the data on its platform.

• Operational Efficiency and Profitability:

• Non-GAAP operating margin increased to 15%, up 9 percentage points from the previous year.

• This was driven by increased operational efficiency and a focus on scaling the business, with non-GAAP gross margin at 78%.

• International Expansion:

• 15% of net new ACV in Q2 came from non-U.S. geographies, with Europe as the largest contributor.
• Investments in go-to-market resources and R&D have supported growth in these regions, with continued investment in global partners and features like Low Bridge Strikes in Europe.

Sentiment Analysis:

• Management reported Q2 revenue of $391M, up 30% YOY; ending ARR of $1.64B, up 30% YOY; a quarterly record 17 $1M+ ARR customer additions (>20% of ARR); non-GAAP operating margin of 15%, up 9 pts YOY; and noted all tariff-delayed large deals closed in Q2 with no further tariff impact.

Q&A:

• Question from Alex Zukin (Wolfe Research): Which new products from Beyond are seeing fastest traction and how should we think about net new ACV from them for the year?
  Response: Routing/commercial navigation, maintenance, and asset tags are resonating; adoption cycles take time, but early pilots are strong and new products contributed 8% of net new ACV.

• Question from Alex Zukin (Wolfe Research): What drove the Q2 net new ARR acceleration—macro, new products, or Q1 slippages—and how does that inform the H2 guide?
  Response: All tariff-impacted large deals slipped from Q1 closed in Q2, and strength was led by large-customer momentum (59% of ARR from $100K+ cohort; >20% from $1M+).

• Question from Matt Hedberg (RBC): How are you thinking about monetizing AI features—new pricing/packaging or primarily enhancing existing products?
  Response: AI is improving core product value and enabling new offerings; over time expect net-new AI-enabled products while existing products get better.

• Question from Matt Hedberg (RBC): Any color on economics/ROI for the Bonnie Plants asset tag deal?
  Response: Asset tags replaced manual/no-tech tracking to cut loss/theft and improved efficiency, while pulling through core telematics and safety—driving clear ROI uplift.

• Question from Chris Quintero (Morgan Stanley): What investments enabled momentum with larger customers and how do you streamline big deals?
  Response: Dedicated strategic account teams, robust implementation/change management, and enterprise-grade integrations/security supported record 17 $1M+ ARR adds.

• Question from Chris Quintero (Morgan Stanley): What unlocked accelerating European growth and how can that inform broader international execution?
  Response: Sustained GTM and R&D investment with region-specific features (e.g., Low Bridge Strikes) and lighthouse customers drove traction.

• Question from Michael Turin (Wells Fargo): Where do you play in AI infrastructure buildout and what are you seeing in public sector?
  Response: Construction, field services, and utilities are leaning in to meet compressed schedules safely; public sector is adopting to reduce costs with required security.

• Question from Jim Fish (Piper Sandler): What’s driving the surge in $1M+ ARR customers—mid-market consolidation or true large enterprise—and why now?
  Response: Most $1M+ ARR customers are large, complex enterprises increasingly landing with multiple products as innovation expands use cases.

• Question from Matt Bullock (BofA): How have tariff-related customer conversations evolved—are we past the disruption?
  Response: Customers have adapted to persistent tariffs, focusing on extending asset lifespans and optimizing utilization—areas Samsara’s maintenance and asset tools address.

• Question from Matt Bullock (BofA): What drove the enterprise beat—capacity vs. productivity?
  Response: Balanced capacity adds with higher sales productivity fueled by new products; plan to keep investing in capacity in H2.

• Question from Kirk Materne (Evercore): How do you ensure newer products get proper sales focus given a broader portfolio?
  Response: Lead with platform value via generalist AEs supported by SEs/specialists and targeted spiffs, aligning to customer operational needs.

• Question from Kirk Materne (Evercore): Are integrations a checkbox or a competitive differentiator?
  Response: Deep, bidirectional integrations across OEMs, fuel, insurance, and payroll are a key differentiator, not just table stakes.

• Question from Jessica (Raymond James): International growth vs. domestic—any structural or competitive/pricing dynamics?
  Response: Competitors are steady and often discount, but Samsara’s platform ROI wins; customers prioritize value over lowest price.

• Question from Dan Jester (BMO): What’s the value and moat from the pre-delivery installation program with OEMs?
  Response: Pre-install eliminates fleet refresh friction, delivers day-one readiness across dispersed locations, and is scaling with more OEM partners.

• Question from Dan Jester (BMO): Any changes in SMB/mid-market behavior?
  Response: Performance was balanced; $100K+ mix rose to 59% from 58%, implying mid-market remained healthy alongside large-customer strength.

• Question from Dylan Becker (William Blair): What drove Q2 revenue outperformance vs. guidance?
  Response: Conservative guide plus strong bookings linearity and Q1 slip-ins closing early in Q2; no similar slip-in dynamic heading into Q3.

• Question from Dylan Becker (William Blair): Is AI lowering build costs and boosting enterprise receptivity to multi-product adoption?
  Response: AI unlocks insights from vast data, accelerating innovation and co-developed solutions with enterprises, driving multi-product uptake.

• Question from Derek Wood (TD Cowen): How have asset tags performed vs. expectations and can they move the growth needle?
  Response: They address a large greenfield need; awareness is rising and large deals (e.g., 15,000 tags at Bonnie Plants) are ramping.

• Question from Derek Wood (TD Cowen): Was asset tags the largest part of the 8% net new ACV from new products?
  Response: Contribution was diversified—asset tags were strong alongside commercial navigation, workflows, and maintenance.

• Question from Junaid (Truist): How are you balancing growth and profitability going forward?
  Response: Maintaining a Rule of 40+ mindset—investing to grow while holding non-GAAP operating margin at 15%.

• Question from Junaid (Truist): What’s behind gross margin strength and is it sustainable?
  Response: Gross margin improved to 78% via supply chain/cloud/support efficiencies; expect more leverage from OpEx than further gross margin expansion.

• Question from Matt (Goldman Sachs): Did the new products’ early momentum exceed expectations and how does that shape outlook?
  Response: Design partners scaled early, driving strong starts; expect multi-quarter ramps with continued feature investment.

• Question from Andrew DeGasperi (BMO): Net adds of $100K+ customers slowed—what’s the context?
  Response: Focus is on ARR scale/mix—$100K+ cohort at ~$1B ARR up 35% YOY and 59% of total; record 17 $1M+ ARR adds.

• Question from Andrew DeGasperi (BMO): How should we think about R&D intensity and leverage?
  Response: R&D remains a priority to drive AI and rapid product velocity; don’t expect a material percentage reduction.

• Question from Mark Schappel (Loop Capital): How have you adapted the sales process for a larger product set?
  Response: Lead with safety/telematics and a platform demo, then tailor expansion to operational pain points like maintenance or navigation.

• Question from Mark Schappel (Loop Capital): What’s the hiring plan for the rest of the year?
  Response: Continuing to add headcount at a slower growth rate than the prior two years; on plan to keep hiring in H2.

• Question from Ella Smith (J.P. Morgan): Are you increasingly landing new customers with non-fleet solutions?
  Response: Yes—more new logos start with multiple products beyond fleet; many top new logos adopted 3+ products initially.

• Question from Ella Smith (J.P. Morgan): Why is construction strong despite weak macro data?
  Response: High asset/labor intensity and low digitization create large efficiency gains; greenfield adoption is driving demand.