Snowflake Inc shares shed over 20% in pre-market trading after the data cloud firm unveiled the surprise departure of its chief executive alongside results on Wednesday.
Frank Slootman retired from the company "effective immediately”, Snowflake said in an after-hours update, with insider Sridhar Ramaswamy stepping in as replacement.
“My focus will be on accelerating our ability to bring innovation to our customers and partners,” Ramaswamy, who was previously Snowflake’s artificial intelligence (AI) senior vice president, said.
“We have an enormous opportunity ahead to help all customers leverage AI to deliver massive business value.”
Snowflake separately revealed fourth-quarter results, with net losses narrowing from US$207.2 million to US$169.9 million, or US$0.64 a share, against US$0.51 last year.
This came as revenue jumped 30% to US$774.7 million and outdid analysts’ expectations for US$760 million.
“We are successfully campaigning the largest enterprises globally, as more companies and institutions make Snowflake’s data cloud the platform of their AI and data strategy,” outgoing boss Slootman said.
However, the company’s projected product revenue of between US$745 million and US$750 million for the ongoing first quarter disappointed, with analysts expecting US$759 million.
Shares fell 22.9% to US$177.38 in pre-market trading.