NEW YORK — December 1, 2025 — MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) surged in extended trading on Monday after the database software company posted fiscal third‑quarter 2026 results that comfortably beat Wall Street expectations and came with a sizable guidance hike for the rest of the year. Shares jumped roughly 15% after hours to around $380, near their 52‑week high, following the report. [1]
The quarter, which ended October 31, 2025, was the first major earnings test for new CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai, a longtime enterprise software executive who officially took the helm on November 10 after previously leading product and engineering at Cloudflare and holding senior roles at ServiceNow, EMC, Symantec and Oracle. [2]
Key takeaways from MongoDB’s Q3 2026 earnings
- Revenue beat and healthy growth:
Total revenue rose 19% year over year to $628.3 million, topping analyst expectations that clustered around $591–594 million and exceeding the high end of the company’s own prior guidance. [3] - Earnings far above forecasts:
Adjusted (non‑GAAP) earnings per share were $1.32, up about 14% from roughly $1.16 a year earlier and well ahead of consensus estimates near $0.79–$0.81. [4] - Atlas remains the growth engine:
Revenue from MongoDB Atlas, the company’s cloud database platform, grew about 30% year over year and accounted for roughly three‑quarters of total Q3 revenue, underscoring the company’s ongoing shift toward subscription cloud services. [5] - Guidance raised across the board:
Management now expects fiscal 2026 revenue of $2.43–$2.44 billion and non‑GAAP EPS of $4.76–$4.80, alongside Q4 revenue guidance of $665–$670 million and EPS of $1.44–$1.48 — all above earlier forecasts and ahead of prior Street revenue estimates for the January quarter near $626 million. [6] - Stronger cash generation:
Free cash flow climbed to about $140.1 million, roughly four times the level a year ago, as MongoDB ended the quarter with approximately $2.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short‑term investments and restricted cash. [7] - Stock reaction:
MDB shares jumped more than 15% after the release, trading around $380–381 in the after‑hours session versus a regular‑session close just under $329. The stock is now up more than 40% year‑to‑date. [8]
MongoDB earnings: Q3 2026 by the numbers
MongoDB’s third fiscal quarter of 2026 showed that the company is still growing solidly despite a choppy backdrop for enterprise software and AI‑related names.
Revenue and segment mix
- Total revenue: $628.3 million, up 19% year over year. [9]
- Subscription revenue: $609.1 million, also up 19%.
- Services revenue: $19.2 million, up 12%. [10]
The numbers reflect ongoing strength in Atlas and a still‑meaningful but slower‑growing professional services business that helps customers implement and optimize MongoDB deployments.
Atlas, which runs on public clouds like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, once again did the heavy lifting. Management reported that Atlas revenue increased about 30% year over year and made up roughly 75% of total sales, up from earlier years when on‑premises and license revenue were a larger slice of the business. [11]
Margins and profitability
On a GAAP basis, the company remains just shy of sustained profitability, but underlying margins continue to improve:
- GAAP gross profit: $449.1 million, for a 71% gross margin, down slightly from 74% a year earlier.
- Non‑GAAP gross profit: $466.2 million, a 74% non‑GAAP gross margin versus 77% in the prior‑year quarter. [12]
The modest gross‑margin compression reflects the growing weight of Atlas, which carries different infrastructure and hosting costs than traditional licenses.
Further down the income statement:
- GAAP loss from operations: $18.4 million, improved from a $27.9 million loss in the year‑earlier period.
- Non‑GAAP income from operations: $123.1 million, up from $101.5 million a year ago, translating to a 20% non‑GAAP operating margin (vs. 19% previously). [13]
At the bottom line:
- GAAP net loss: about $2.0 million, or $0.02 per share, narrowing from a $9.8 million loss in the prior‑year quarter. [14]
- Non‑GAAP net income: roughly $114.5 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, compared with non‑GAAP EPS around $1.16 a year before. [15]
Put simply, MongoDB is still GAAP‑unprofitable but is generating substantial adjusted profit and expanding operating margins even as it invests in AI features and go‑to‑market.
Cash, free cash flow and balance sheet
Free cash flow was another highlight:
- Operating cash flow: about $143.5 million in Q3, up sharply from $37.4 million in the year‑ago quarter.
- After modest capital expenditures and lease payments, free cash flow landed at approximately $140.1 million, up from around $34.6 million a year earlier. [16]
On the balance sheet, MongoDB reported:
- Cash and cash equivalents: roughly $834 million.
- Short‑term investments: about $1.47 billion. [17]
In total, the company is sitting on more than $2.3 billion of highly liquid assets, giving it ample room to keep investing in AI‑driven product development and potential acquisitions.
Atlas and AI workloads remain the growth engine
MongoDB has spent years positioning itself as a modern database platform for cloud‑native and AI‑powered applications, and that strategy is clearly centered on Atlas.
Management highlighted that existing customers are expanding their Atlas usage while net‑new customer additions remain strong, with total customers climbing above 62,500 as of October 31, 2025. [18]
Recent product and ecosystem developments reinforce that focus:
- MongoDB was recognized as a Leader for the fourth straight year in Gartner’s 2025 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Database Management Systems, underscoring its role in cloud data workloads. [19]
- The company rolled out search and vector search capabilities to its Community Edition and Enterprise Server products, making features that were previously Atlas‑only available for self‑managed deployments as well — a move aimed at strengthening MongoDB’s position as an all‑purpose data store for AI and search‑heavy applications. [20]
- MongoDB has deepened its partnership with Microsoft, including new AI development, security and governance integrations on Azure, and was named Microsoft’s 2025 U.S. Partner of the Year, further cementing its cloud and AI credentials. [21]
Analysts have increasingly framed MongoDB as a key data layer for generative AI and autonomous agents, pointing to its document model, native vector capabilities and strong traction with enterprises trying to modernize legacy applications. [22]
Guidance raised for Q4 and full fiscal 2026
The market’s most bullish reaction came not just from the Q3 beat, but from the guidance reset.
Fourth‑quarter outlook
For the fiscal fourth quarter ending January 31, 2026, MongoDB now expects: [23]
- Revenue: $665–$670 million
- Non‑GAAP income from operations: $139–$143 million
- Non‑GAAP EPS: $1.44–$1.48
That revenue range implies roughly 22% year‑over‑year growth at the midpoint compared with Q4 fiscal 2025 revenue of $548.4 million. [24]
Several data providers had pegged Street expectations around $626 million in Q4 revenue; the midpoint of MongoDB’s new guide is therefore materially higher, signaling confidence that Atlas consumption and AI workloads will remain robust into early 2026. [25]
Full‑year fiscal 2026 guidance
For the full fiscal year 2026, MongoDB now projects: [26]
- Revenue: $2.434–$2.439 billion
- Non‑GAAP income from operations: $436.4–$440.4 million
- Non‑GAAP EPS: $4.76–$4.80
That represents a substantial upgrade from the company’s earlier fiscal‑year outlook, which had called for revenue of $2.34–$2.36 billion and non‑GAAP EPS of $3.64–$3.73 following its stellar Q2 report. TS2 Tech+1
The implication: MongoDB now expects faster revenue growth and significantly higher profitability than it did just a few months ago, even as it invests heavily in AI‑centric features and partnerships.
New CEO CJ Desai’s first big test
Monday’s report also serves as a debut scorecard for CJ Desai, who stepped into the CEO role in November after an 11‑year run by Dev Ittycheria, the executive who led MongoDB from open‑source project to mainstream enterprise platform and through its 2017 IPO. [27]
Desai brings more than two decades of cloud and infrastructure experience from previous senior posts at Cloudflare, ServiceNow, EMC and Symantec. [28]
In commentary around the earnings release, he emphasized three themes picked up across multiple reports: [29]
- Atlas momentum: The company continues to see customers shift mission‑critical workloads to Atlas, with AI‑related workloads becoming a growing contributor.
- Profitable growth: Desai highlighted meaningful margin outperformance in Q3 and reiterated a focus on balancing top‑line expansion with disciplined spending.
- AI positioning: MongoDB is framing itself as a foundational data platform for the AI era, pointing to its vector search capabilities, cloud partnerships and the integration of acquisitions like Voyage AI earlier in 2025. [30]
So far, Wall Street appears comfortable with the transition: most recent analyst notes ahead of the print stayed bullish on MongoDB’s AI story and welcomed Desai’s background as a good fit for the next growth phase. TS2 Tech+2Investopedia+2
Wall Street reaction and MDB stock performance
The market’s verdict was swift. In extended trading after the release, MDB stock jumped more than 15% to around $380–381, from a regular‑session close just below $329. [31]
Other data points from the tape and the Street:
- Near 52‑week highs: The after‑hours price leaves the stock just shy of its recent high around $385. [32]
- Big year‑to‑date rally: MDB is now up roughly 40%+ in 2025, recovering from a steep drawdown earlier in the year tied to concerns about software valuations and AI spending cycles. [33]
- Broadly bullish analyst stance: Recent data show over 20 buy‑equivalent ratings and no sell ratings, with a median 12‑month price target around $375–$385 and a number of firms — including Citigroup, BMO, DA Davidson and RBC — carrying targets of $400 or higher. [34]
At the same time, valuation remains a talking point. Several analyses ahead of earnings pegged MongoDB’s enterprise‑value‑to‑sales multiple around the low‑teens, a premium even among high‑growth software peers, meaning the stock has limited room for disappointment if growth or margins falter. TS2 Tech+1
What to watch next
After a noisy few years of multiple expansion, multiple compression and big post‑earnings swings, Monday’s report resets the narrative around MongoDB heading into 2026. Key issues investors and analysts are likely to watch from here include: TS2 Tech+2Stock Titan+2
- Atlas growth trajectory
Whether Atlas can sustain high‑20s to low‑30s percentage growth as it becomes an ever larger share of revenue — and how much of that growth comes explicitly from AI application workloads. - Margin durability
MongoDB has now delivered several quarters of strong non‑GAAP margins. The market will be watching to see if operating leverage continues even as the company spends on AI features, cloud partnerships and go‑to‑market. - Adoption of new AI capabilities
Uptake of vector search, AI‑friendly integrations with partners like Microsoft and the impact of recent AI‑related acquisitions could determine how durable MongoDB’s AI narrative really is. - Execution under new leadership
Desai’s first earnings beat buys him goodwill, but investors will look for consistent execution, clear long‑term targets and evidence that the leadership transition does not disrupt product or sales momentum. - Macro and IT‑spending environment
As with other enterprise software names, a slowdown in corporate IT budgets or lengthening deal cycles could pressure Atlas consumption and weigh on MongoDB’s ability to keep beating and raising.
For now, though, MongoDB’s Q3 2026 report checks nearly every box: accelerating cloud growth, a decisive guidance raise and a strong first outing for a new CEO — all of which explain why MDB is suddenly one of the brightest spots in an otherwise cautious start to December’s trading.
Note: All figures and stock prices are as of December 1, 2025, and may change. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
References
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