Software Industry Key Financial Data 2023
The following analysis considers the 234 major publicly listed software companies with a market capitalisation above $1 billion. The numbers in the tables are expressed in millions of dollars except for percentages and ratios.
For a comprehensive forward looking analysis of the software industry and 2024 outlook check this post.
| Number | 234 |
| Expected Growth Rate | 14,07% |
| Financials 2023 | |
| Total Revenues | $ 635.157,00 |
| Operating Income | $ 160.548,00 |
| Free Cash Flows Firm | $ 51.788,01 |
| Effective Tax Rate | 6,01% |
| 10Y Median Operating Ratios | |
| Revenues Growth | 11,7% |
| Gross Margin | 67,4% |
| Operating Margin | 22,3% |
| Reinvestment Margin | 18,4% |
| ROIC | 22,0% |
| Sales to IC | 0,76 |
| Solvency Ratios | |
| Debt to EV | 2,4% |
| Debt to Equity | 15,0% |
| Interest Coverage | 0,56 |
| Rating | C2/C |
| Spread | 17,50% |
| Beta | |
| Unlevered Beta 2 y | 1,13 |
| Unlevered Beta 5 y | 0,85 |
In 2023 the software industry generated $635.2 billion in revenues, an increase of 11.7% from the $568.6 billion of 2022.
Over the past 10 years, the median growth rate in revenues for the software industry has been 11.7%.
| Year | Total Revenues |
| 2023 | 635.157 |
| 2022 | 568.567 |
| 2021 | 498.727 |
| 2020 | 428.603 |
| 2019 | 378.425 |
| 2018 | 323.616 |
| 2017 | 289.731 |
| 2016 | 266.770 |
| 2015 | 259.124 |
| 2014 | 246.722 |
| 2013 | 235.340 |
| 2012 | 231.027 |
Overall, the software industry registered an operating income of $160.5 billion in 2023. Regarding profitability, the 10-year median gross margin is 67.4%, while the 10-year median operating margin is equal to 22.3%.
| Year | Operating Income |
| 2023 | 160.548 |
| 2022 | 124.138 |
| 2021 | 114.253 |
| 2020 | 94.459 |
| 2019 | 82.323 |
| 2018 | 71.982 |
| 2017 | 63.504 |
| 2016 | 59.802 |
| 2015 | 60.314 |
| 2014 | 58.305 |
| 2013 | 61.516 |
| 2012 | 64.072 |
The total free cash flows to the firm for the software industry were $51.8 billion in 2023.
Moving on to efficiency ratios, the software industry’s 10-year median return on invested capital (ROIC) is 22%, while the 10-year median sales to invested capital is equal to 0.76.
The 10-year median reinvestment margin for the software industry – expressed as total reinvestments in net capital expenditures, acquisitions, and R&D divided by total revenues – is 18.4%.
Multiplying the reinvestment margin, which shows how much software companies have invested over the past years, by the sales to invested capital ratio, showing how efficiently software companies have invested, we can calculate the expected growth rate in revenues for the software industry, equal to 14.07%.
Check out this post for a detailed explanation of how to calculate future revenue growth rates.
| Median Expected Growth Rate | ||
| 14,07% | ||
| Year | Reinvestment Margin | Sales To IC |
| 2023 | 23,10% | 0,65 |
| 2022 | 20,53% | 0,64 |
| 2021 | 18,45% | 0,70 |
| 2020 | 14,01% | 0,71 |
| 2019 | 18,44% | 0,74 |
| 2018 | 14,22% | 0,69 |
| 2017 | 27,68% | 0,82 |
| 2016 | 13,16% | 0,81 |
| 2015 | 15,98% | 0,90 |
| 2014 | 22,12% | 0,99 |
| 2013 | 16,19% | 1,12 |
As regards solvency ratios, the debt-to-enterprise value ratio for the software industry is 2.4%, while the debt-to-equity ratio is 15%.
The interest coverage ratio instead, showing how much the operating income covers interest expenses, is critically low at 0.56, which would translate into a credit rating for the software industry equal to C2/C based on Moody’s rating standards.
Finally, the unlevered beta of the software industry – which is the beta depurated by the debt leverage – has been 1.13 for the past 2 years, and 0.85 for the past 5 years.
However, the beta is only one of the required inputs to calculate the appropriate discount rate for company valuation. Check out this page where you can find the equity risk premium for different markets needed to calculate the required cost of equity.