Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) is trading lower on Friday as investors digest a fast-moving mix of catalysts: a fresh quarterly report that beat expectations but included margin and growth debate, an expanded $200 million strategic partnership with Anthropic, and a steady stream of Wall Street price-target updates that underscore how split sentiment can be even inside a “Strong Buy” consensus.
As of 18:10 UTC (1:10 p.m. ET) on Dec. 12, 2025, SNOW shares were at $218.84, down 0.76% on the day after trading between $215.24 and $222.37.
What’s moving Snowflake stock on Dec. 12, 2025?
Snowflake’s day-to-day trading is happening against two overlapping backdrops:
- Company-specific digestion after earnings. Snowflake’s latest quarter delivered strong top-line growth and raised full-year product revenue guidance, but the market has stayed sensitive to any sign that growth may not clear the “30%+” bar some investors want from premium-valued AI software names. Reuters reported that while Snowflake’s Q4 product revenue outlook beat analyst estimates, it still came in below some investors’ ambitions—pressuring the stock. [1]
- A broader “AI trade” mood shift in megacap tech. On Friday, Reuters highlighted a tech pullback tied to concerns about AI-related margins and spending after updates from companies like Broadcom and Oracle—an environment that can weigh on high-multiple software names even without Snowflake-specific headlines. [2]
Snowflake’s Q3 results: the numbers that matter for SNOW investors
Snowflake’s fiscal Q3 2026 results (reported Dec. 3) helped confirm that enterprise demand for data platforms remains durable—especially where data management and AI workloads intersect.
Key reported metrics (as summarized by Zacks via Nasdaq):
- Revenue:$1.21 billion, up 29% year over year [3]
- Product revenue:$1.16 billion (about 96% of total), up 29% year over year [4]
- Net revenue retention rate:125% [5]
- Customers:12,621, up 20% year over year [6]
- Customers with >$1M trailing-12-month product revenue:688 (up 29%) [7]
- Remaining performance obligations (RPO):$7.88 billion, up 37% year over year [8]
- Adjusted free cash flow:$136.4 million for the quarter [9]
Why these metrics matter for the stock:
- Product revenue and RPO are closely watched because they speak to consumption trends and future revenue visibility—two areas that can quickly re-rate a premium software stock.
- Net revenue retention at 125% signals that existing customers, on average, are expanding spend, but investors still debate whether expansion can re-accelerate back above 30% growth sustainably.
Guidance: Snowflake raised its full-year product revenue view—so why the volatility?
Snowflake issued guidance that, on paper, was constructive:
- Q4 fiscal 2026 product revenue:$1.195–$1.20 billion (about 27% year-over-year growth) [10]
- Full-year fiscal 2026 product revenue:$4.446 billion (about 28% year-over-year growth) [11]
- Full-year outlook (selected): product gross margin 75%, operating margin 9%, free cash flow margin 25% [12]
So why did SNOW sell off sharply after the report?
1) The “growth hurdle” problem
Reuters captured the core tension: guidance implied growth below the 30%+ level some investors were looking for, even though it exceeded analyst expectations. [13]
2) Discounting and deal timing can pull revenue forward—or push it out
Reuters also reported that Snowflake’s Q4 product revenue growth outlook was partly affected by discounts on large, long-term deals, with commentary implying those contracts don’t always translate into immediate revenue at the pace the market wants. [14]
3) Margins are now part of the AI story
Investopedia pointed to a key market fear: Snowflake’s operating margin guidance stepped down (with Q4 expected at 7%), which raised concerns that AI investment could compress profitability in the near term—even if it builds a stronger long-term platform. [15]
The Anthropic partnership: why Wall Street cares about a $200M AI deal
On Dec. 3, Anthropic announced a multi-year, $200 million expansion of its strategic partnership with Snowflake. The headline: making Claude models available inside Snowflake to 12,600+ global customers across Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Vertex AI, and Microsoft Azure, paired with a joint enterprise go-to-market motion focused on AI agents. [16]
This matters for SNOW stock for three reasons:
- Enterprise distribution: Snowflake wants to be the governed environment where enterprise data meets AI. Putting Claude closer to governed data is consistent with that strategy. [17]
- Agentic AI narrative: Anthropic described the next phase as focusing on “AI agents” that can handle multi-step analysis, aligning with Snowflake’s push into agent-style enterprise experiences. [18]
- Signal of seriousness: Reuters also highlighted the Anthropic partnership as part of Snowflake’s broader push to reinforce AI capabilities and partnerships (including with cloud ecosystems). [19]
Bottom line: the deal strengthens Snowflake’s “AI Data Cloud” story—but the stock market is still demanding proof that AI features translate into sustained consumption acceleration without eroding margins.
AI adoption inside Snowflake: early traction, but investors want durability
Two adoption datapoints have stood out in recent coverage:
- Reuters reported that Snowflake’s AI features engage 7,300+ businesses weekly, and that Snowflake Intelligence drew about 1,200 customers within roughly a month of launch. [20]
- That kind of early engagement supports the bull case that Snowflake’s AI tooling is more than marketing—but investors remain cautious about how quickly engagement converts into material product revenue growth.
Valuation check: why SNOW’s multiple keeps the debate heated
High expectations create a high bar. Investing.com noted Snowflake trading at roughly 165x estimated earnings for the next 12 months, versus lower multiples cited for peers like Datadog and MongoDB. [21]
That valuation gap doesn’t automatically mean SNOW is “too expensive”—it often reflects the market pricing in:
- a long runway for consumption-based growth,
- strategic positioning as an enterprise AI data layer,
- improving operating leverage over time.
But it does mean any deceleration in growth or margin pressure can trigger outsized drawdowns.
Analyst forecasts and price targets: where Wall Street sees SNOW in 12 months
Despite the post-earnings volatility, aggregated analyst targets still imply upside from today’s ~$219 level.
Here’s how major trackers currently summarize Street expectations:
- MarketBeat: average price target $274.78 (based on 43 analysts), with a range of $210–$325 [22]
- StockAnalysis: average price target $268.51, consensus rating “Strong Buy,” range $185–$325 [23]
- TipRanks: average price target $288.53 (33 analysts in the past 3 months), range $237–$325 [24]
Recent analyst note highlights
Investing.com summarized several post-earnings moves, including price-target raises tied to Snowflake’s AI momentum and product revenue performance (examples cited: Goldman Sachs to $275; KeyBanc to $285; RBC reiterated Outperform with a $300 target). [25]
Meanwhile, some firms have kept bullish ratings while trimming targets—MarketBeat reported Citigroup lowered its target from $310 to $300 while maintaining a Buy rating earlier this week. [26]
Takeaway: the Street is largely positive on direction, but there’s meaningful dispersion—often a sign that investors are still debating how fast AI monetization shows up in reported numbers.
Insider activity: what recent Form 4 headlines mean (and don’t mean)
Snowflake has also appeared in routine insider-transaction headlines this week, including small planned sales and larger sales by directors/officers:
- A Reuters/Refinitiv note via TradingView reported EVP Christian Kleinerman disclosed activity including a planned sale (548 shares) and share surrender events. [27]
- StockTitan summarized a director sale as being conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (a common pre-arranged selling framework). [28]
Important context for readers: Form 4 sales can be driven by tax obligations, diversification, or preset plans. They can add to negative sentiment during a pullback, but they are not, on their own, a definitive signal about company fundamentals.
A smaller but “current” product headline on Dec. 12: ongoing platform updates
Snowflake’s product cadence continues alongside the earnings and partnership headlines. Snowflake’s documentation release notes show a December 12, 2025 feature update, including private connectivity for internal stages on Google Cloud (general availability). [29]
This isn’t usually a day-trading catalyst for the stock, but steady platform shipping helps support the longer-term narrative that Snowflake is expanding beyond a classic cloud data warehouse into a broader data-and-AI control plane.
SNOW stock outlook: key bullish catalysts vs. the biggest risks
Bullish catalysts investors are watching
- AI distribution and credibility via major partnerships (Anthropic/Claude access across major clouds) [30]
- Consumption re-acceleration: investors want evidence that AI features drive higher usage and larger workloads [31]
- Backlog/visibility: strong RPO growth suggests healthy demand pipelines [32]
- Free cash flow discipline: management maintained a full-year 25% FCF margin outlook [33]
Key risks that can keep SNOW volatile
- Margin pressure from AI investments (a concern highlighted after Q4 margin guidance) [34]
- Discounting on large deals and how quickly those deals convert into near-term recognized revenue [35]
- Valuation sensitivity: premium multiples can amplify drawdowns during broader “AI trade” shakeouts [36]
What to watch next: the dates and datapoints that could set the next trend
Investors will likely focus on three upcoming signposts:
- Q4 (fiscal 2026) earnings timing: several market calendars point to late February 2026 (estimated), though listings vary by source. [37]
- Progress on AI monetization: whether weekly AI-feature usage and early Snowflake Intelligence adoption translate into expanding consumption and better-than-feared margin trajectories. [38]
- Macro sentiment around AI spending and margins: broader market reactions to AI capex and profitability pressures (like those flagged in Reuters’ Dec. 12 market coverage) can spill over into SNOW’s multiple. [39]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.nasdaq.com, 4. www.nasdaq.com, 5. www.nasdaq.com, 6. www.nasdaq.com, 7. www.nasdaq.com, 8. www.nasdaq.com, 9. www.nasdaq.com, 10. www.nasdaq.com, 11. www.nasdaq.com, 12. www.nasdaq.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.investopedia.com, 16. www.anthropic.com, 17. www.anthropic.com, 18. www.anthropic.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. www.marketbeat.com, 23. stockanalysis.com, 24. www.tipranks.com, 25. www.investing.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com, 27. www.tradingview.com, 28. www.stocktitan.net, 29. docs.snowflake.com, 30. www.anthropic.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.nasdaq.com, 33. www.nasdaq.com, 34. www.investopedia.com, 35. www.reuters.com, 36. www.investing.com, 37. www.marketbeat.com, 38. www.reuters.com, 39. www.reuters.com
