---
title: "Klaviyo made its AI agent free to every customer. Ten days later Goldman pulled its Buy"
description: "Goldman Sachs cut Klaviyo to Neutral on October 16 with a $20 target, saying it cannot see when AI agents and the company's other new bets will reach the profit line. Klaviyo had opened its Composer agent, backed by a SQL engine, to every customer free of charge on October 6."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Markets"
published: 2026-10-17T13:15:38.181Z
modified: 2026-10-17T13:15:38.181Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/klaviyo-made-its-ai-agent-free-to-every-customer-ten-days-later-goldman-pulled-its-buy
language: en
keywords: "Klaviyo, Analyst Ratings, AI Agents, Software, Guidance"
---

# Klaviyo made its AI agent free to every customer. Ten days later Goldman pulled its Buy

> Goldman Sachs cut Klaviyo to Neutral on October 16 with a $20 target, saying it cannot see when AI agents and the company's other new bets will reach the profit line. Klaviyo had opened its Composer agent, backed by a SQL engine, to every customer free of charge on October 6.

## A buy rating that barely outlived the summer

[Goldman Sachs](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/goldman-sachs) [pulled its Buy on Klaviyo on Friday, October 16](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/klaviyo-shares-fall-after-goldman-sachs-downgrade-ce785cdadf88f727) [1][2], ten days after the company [opened its AI agent to every customer for free](https://firebellymedia.co.uk/news/klaviyo-composer-ai-every-account/) [7]. Analyst Callie Valenti [cut the stock to Neutral and lowered her price target to $20 from $27](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/10/16/here-are-fridays-top-wall-street-analyst-research-calls-barrick-mining-brinker-international-constellation-energy-equifax-fox-corporation-jpmorgan-chase-klaviyo-toll-brothers-workday/) [1][2], ending a Buy held only since late June, the same month [Klaviyo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/klaviyo) launched its coordinated AI agents [1][3].

Klaviyo (KVYO), whose email and text marketing software serves roughly 196,000 merchants, most of them online stores [8], [closed at $17.08, down 5.58% on the day](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/goldman-upgrades-zeta-to-buy-cuts-klaviyo-on-visibility-gap-4954213) and 47.4% since January [4]. The same note flipped the pair: rival [Zeta Global](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/zeta-global), up 65% this year, went to Buy at a $45 target [5].

## Goldman cannot see when the new bets get paid

Valenti concedes agent adoption "has been encouraging" and says Goldman stays positive on the long-term opportunity [5]. Her industry conversations, though, find small businesses "more likely to experiment with AI or prioritize horizontal tools before adding new application spend," which could lengthen the monetization ramp for agents, its Service product and other newer releases [5]. Goldman now [models Klaviyo's 2027 revenue and EBIT 1% and 4% below consensus](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/goldman-upgrades-zeta-buy-cuts-134635046.html), with [Shopify](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/shopify) merchants still 78% of annual recurring revenue [5].

## Klaviyo's answer: hand the agent to everyone for free

Klaviyo's move runs the other way. Composer, its marketing agent, left preview on October 6 and opened to every account, free plan or paid, trade press reported [7]. Behind it sits a SQL engine that answers plain-English questions on customer data, and an MCP server, the connector that lets AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT work inside Klaviyo [7].

The profit bill was booked first: [guidance issued on August 5](https://trendandticker.com/markets/software/klaviyo-kvyo-goldman-downgrade-neutral-20-target) puts third-quarter revenue at $377 to $381 million, up 21.5 to 22.5%, with non-GAAP operating income, a company-adjusted profit measure, at $40 to $43 million [1]. That follows $50.9 million in the second quarter [1]. At the midpoints, revenue rises about 2.3% sequentially while profit falls about 18% [1].

*Chart: **The guide has revenue inching up while profit drops about 18%** Column chart comparing Klaviyo's second-quarter 2026 actuals with the midpoint of its third-quarter guidance: revenue of $370.6 million rising to about $379 million, non-GAAP operating income of $50.9 million falling to about $41.5 million.*

*Q2 2026 reported figures against the midpoints of the company's August 5, 2026 guidance for the third quarter ($377 to $381 million revenue; $40 to $43 million non-GAAP operating income). Source: Trend & Ticker, citing Klaviyo guidance and Q2 results. [1]*

## The slowdown the downgrade is made of

The cut lands on a three-year deceleration, from 47.5% growth in late 2023 to 26.4% in the second quarter [9], with the guide pointing lower still. That quarter was not weak: revenue of $370.6 million beat the $362.1 million consensus [4], free cash flow reached $82.9 million [1], and customers spending more than $50,000 a year grew 36% to 4,477 [1]. Research firm Benchmark had already cut to Hold on August 6, and 23 analysts still carry an average Buy with a $26.24 mean target [4].

*Chart: **Klaviyo's revenue growth has halved in three years, and its own Q3 guide takes it lower still** Line chart of Klaviyo's year-over-year revenue growth from the third quarter of 2023 through the second quarter of 2026, ending with the company's third-quarter 2026 guidance midpoint of 22%, marked as an estimate.*

*Year-over-year revenue growth per quarter, from Klaviyo's SEC filings; the final point is the midpoint of the company's August 5, 2026, guidance for the third quarter (21.5 to 22.5%). [9][1]*

## What the November 4 report has to prove

Part of Friday's damage was the tape: the upgraded Zeta fell 5.19% anyway, in a week the Nasdaq dropped 4.5%, its worst since late June [6]. And a $20 target on a stock trading at $17.08 still leaves room for the shares to rise, so the call amounts to waiting for results, not exiting [4]. Klaviyo [reports third-quarter results on November 4](https://investors.klaviyo.com/newsroom/news/default.aspx) [3][4]. Adoption is encouraging, Goldman concedes [5]. What Goldman cannot yet see is when any of it shows up as revenue.

## Takeaway

Goldman's downgrade is less about Klaviyo's products than about timing: adoption of the free Composer agent looks fine, but nothing in the numbers yet shows when free agents, a SQL engine and other bets turn into revenue and profit, and the Q3 guide points the other way.

## Sources

1. [Trend & Ticker, "Klaviyo (KVYO): Goldman downgrade to neutral, $20 target", 16 October 2026](https://trendandticker.com/markets/software/klaviyo-kvyo-goldman-downgrade-neutral-20-target)
2. [24/7 Wall St., "Here Are Friday's Top Wall Street Analyst Research Calls", 16 October 2026](https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/10/16/here-are-fridays-top-wall-street-analyst-research-calls-barrick-mining-brinker-international-constellation-energy-equifax-fox-corporation-jpmorgan-chase-klaviyo-toll-brothers-workday/)
3. [Klaviyo Investor Relations, newsroom (Q3 2026 results set for 4 November; AI agents launched 30 June 2026), retrieved 17 October 2026](https://investors.klaviyo.com/newsroom/news/default.aspx)
4. [MarketScreener, Klaviyo company page and "Klaviyo Shares Fall After Goldman Sachs Downgrade", 16 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/klaviyo-shares-fall-after-goldman-sachs-downgrade-ce785cdadf88f727)
5. [Investing.com via Yahoo Finance, "Goldman upgrades Zeta to Buy, cuts Klaviyo on visibility gap", 16 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/goldman-upgrades-zeta-buy-cuts-134635046.html)
6. [Investing.com, "Goldman upgrades Zeta to Buy, cuts Klaviyo on visibility gap" (market data page), 16 October 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/goldman-upgrades-zeta-to-buy-cuts-klaviyo-on-visibility-gap-4954213)
7. [Firebelly Media, "Klaviyo opens its Composer AI agent to every account, with SQL", 14 October 2026](https://firebellymedia.co.uk/news/klaviyo-composer-ai-every-account/)
8. [Wikipedia, "Klaviyo", retrieved 17 October 2026](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaviyo)
9. [Klaviyo, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 17 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001835830)


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Klaviyo made its AI agent free to every customer. Ten days later Goldman pulled its Buy — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/klaviyo-made-its-ai-agent-free-to-every-customer-ten-days-later-goldman-pulled-its-buy