Box Raises Fiscal 2027 Revenue Outlook to About $1.29 Billion After Billings Climb 17%

by Priya Raghunathan · August 26, 2026

Mid-Cap Companies Reporter, The SmallCap Signal

Box, the enterprise content management company, reported fiscal second-quarter results after Tuesday's close and lifted its outlook for the full fiscal year, according to the earnings release issued at 4:05 p.m. ET on Aug. 25.

Revenue for the quarter ended July 31 was $321.1 million, up 9% year over year and 11% in constant currency, the company said. GAAP operating margin was 10.2% and non-GAAP operating margin was 29.4%. GAAP diluted earnings per share came to $0.09, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.40.

The forward-looking measures moved faster than the reported revenue line. Billings, which capture amounts invoiced in the period and therefore lead revenue, were $309.5 million, up 17% as reported and 16% in constant currency. Remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue Box has not yet recognized, stood at $1.7 billion, up 15% as reported and 17% in constant currency.

Net retention rate, a measure of how much more existing customers spend versus a year earlier, improved to 106%. Reporting on the earnings call, BigGo Finance said that figure came in above the 105% the company had guided to and that the $0.40 of non-GAAP earnings per share exceeded a $0.39 guide, with operating margin up 90 basis points.

Cash generation improved more sharply than the top line. Operating cash flow rose 54% to $70.8 million and non-GAAP free cash flow rose 67% to $59.7 million. Box ended the quarter with $342.9 million in cash.

The company continued to return capital while it did so. Box repurchased 2.6 million shares for approximately $66 million during the quarter and said $378 million remained available under its buyback authorization.

Chief executive Aaron Levie said in the release that "Box delivered exceptional second quarter results, continuing our strong momentum accelerated by the rapid adoption of Enterprise Advanced." Chief financial officer Dylan Smith said that "Net retention rate improved to 106%, and Enterprise Advanced continues to be a key driver of growth, with revenue in constant currency accelerating for a fifth quarter in a row."

Enterprise Advanced is the higher-priced tier Box has been steering customers toward, packaging its artificial intelligence and workflow features. Management credits its adoption for the quarter's momentum. The gap between 9% reported revenue growth and 17% billings growth reflects the ordinary mechanics of subscription accounting: seat and tier upgrades signed in a quarter show up in invoiced amounts first and in recognized revenue over the following year. That reading is this publication's, not a company statement.

For the current fiscal third quarter, Box guided to revenue of approximately $329 million, up 9% and 11% in constant currency, with a non-GAAP operating margin of about 28.0% and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of roughly $0.39.

For the full fiscal year 2027, the company guided to revenue of approximately $1.290 billion, up 10% and 11% in constant currency, GAAP operating margin of 9.5%, non-GAAP operating margin of 28.0% and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of approximately $1.54. BigGo Finance reported that the full-year revenue outlook represents a $10 million increase over the company's prior guidance.

On the call, according to BigGo Finance's account, Levie cited a multinational investment bank migrating off legacy servers onto Box, a large federal agency expanding its deployment fourfold, and a state motor vehicle department upgrading with AI capabilities. Those customer references come from management commentary rather than from the disclosed financial statements.

Management also flagged a cost the AI push is carrying with it. BigGo Finance reported that executives attributed gross margin pressure to AI infrastructure capacity constraints, with fourth-quarter gross margin expected near 80%. For a software business that has spent years demonstrating margin expansion, the cost of serving inference workloads is the variable to watch in subsequent quarters, and it is a company-stated expectation rather than a reported result.

The non-GAAP measures Box highlights exclude items such as stock-based compensation and are not a substitute for the GAAP figures; the 10.2% GAAP operating margin and $0.09 of GAAP diluted earnings per share are the GAAP equivalents of the 29.4% and $0.40 the company leads with. These are unaudited quarterly results.

The results landed after a firm session on Tuesday, Aug. 25, when the Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,151.30, up 171.11 points or 0.66%, and the S&P 500 closed at 7,677.28, up 24.42 points or 0.32%. U.S. markets were open at the time of writing and no closing prices for Wednesday's session were available.