---
title: "monday.com guides Q4 growth down to about 14% after a record 24% operating margin"
description: "The Tel Aviv work-management company printed a record 24% non-GAAP operating margin and $36 million of AI ARR, then guided fourth-quarter growth to about 14%, the first quantified cost of an AI-first pivot that cut a fifth of its staff in July. It lands in a software cohort the market has already repriced for slowing seat growth."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Applications"
published: 2026-11-09T17:50:29.958Z
modified: 2026-11-09T17:50:29.958Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/monday-com-guides-q4-growth-down-to-about-14-after-a-record-24-operating-margin
language: en
keywords: "Earnings, Software, AI, Guidance, Layoffs"
---

# monday.com guides Q4 growth down to about 14% after a record 24% operating margin

> The Tel Aviv work-management company printed a record 24% non-GAAP operating margin and $36 million of AI ARR, then guided fourth-quarter growth to about 14%, the first quantified cost of an AI-first pivot that cut a fifth of its staff in July. It lands in a software cohort the market has already repriced for slowing seat growth.

## The record and the warning came in one filing

[monday.com](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/monday-com) (Nasdaq: MNDY), the Tel Aviv work-management platform, [reported third-quarter revenue of $377.5 million, up 19% year over year](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1845338/000117891326005085/0001178913-26-005085-index.htm), with record non-GAAP operating income of $89.4 million at a 24% margin, up from 15% a year earlier [1]. Adjusted earnings of $2.14 a share beat the $1.37 consensus by more than half [2].

Then the guide: fourth-quarter revenue of $380 million to $382 million, about 14% growth, with margin back down to about 18% and a currency drag of 100 to 200 basis points [1]. [The midpoint sat under the $385.65 million consensus](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4668906-monday-com-shares-sink-as-weak-guidance-overshadows-q3-results) [5]. Shares fell nearly 6% to $82.70, a $3.72 billion market value, after dropping as much as 7.3% in early trading [5][3]. Growth has halved in three years, from 38% in late 2023 [10].

*Chart: **monday.com's revenue growth has halved in three years, to a guided 14%** Line chart of monday.com year-over-year revenue growth from Q3 2023 to Q4 2026 guidance*

*Year-over-year growth in quarterly revenue, percent. The Q4 2026 point is management guidance of $380 to $382 million, about 14% growth. Historical growth rates computed from monday.com's SEC filings. [1][4][10]*

## The pivot has an itemized bill

On July 22 the company [cut about 20% of its workforce, just over 600 people](https://www.fastcompany.com/91578531/monday-com-layoffs-today-hundreds-jobs-slashed-new-ai-era), for what its filing called a leaner operating model serving an AI-driven strategy [6]. The quarter carried $10.0 million of restructuring charges, $31.4 million year to date [1]. Operating cash flow of $20.4 million less $4.6 million of capital spending left free cash flow of $15.8 million; a $47.2 million add-back for restructuring payments produced adjusted free cash flow of $63.0 million, down from $92.3 million a year ago [1].

Co-founder and co-CEO [Eran Zinman](https://theinference.org/markets/people/eran-zinman) insisted the cuts were "not made to reduce costs or replace people with AI" [6]; he and co-founder [Roy Mann](https://theinference.org/markets/people/roy-mann), his fellow co-CEO, now concede "near-term operational headwinds" [1]. Retention slipped to 108%, from 113% a quarter earlier [4].

## Seats stall while the biggest accounts run

Seat growth is where the strain shows. Customers with more than ten users grew 5%, to 65,965 [1]. The enterprise tiers compound: customers above $50,000 in annual recurring revenue grew 26%, above $100,000, 33%, and above $500,000, 58%, with the largest deployment at more than 87,000 seats [1]. The AI line, credits, agents and other AI products, reached $36 million of annual recurring revenue, about 2.4% of the annualized base, and agents passed six million interactions [1].

*Chart: **Seat growth stalls at 5% while half-million-dollar accounts grow 58%** Bar chart of monday.com paid customer growth by tier: 10+ users up 5%, $50K+ up 26%, $100K+ up 33%, $500K+ up 58%*

*Year-over-year growth in paid customers by tier, percent, as of September 30, 2026. Source: monday.com Q3 2026 Form 6-K. [1]*

## The bear case is priced next door

[HubSpot](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/hubspot), the marketing-and-sales software maker, [cut about 660 jobs in early October](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/hubspot-reaffirms-2026-guidance-cuts-190000935.html) and guided fourth-quarter revenue 1.9% below estimates [7][8]. [ZoomInfo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/zoominfo), the contact-data provider, [saw revenue shrink 2.9% last quarter](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/zoominfo-nasdaq-gtm-q3-2026-212811387.html) and trades at a $1.23 billion market value, roughly one times annualized sales [9].

monday.com's counter is real: 108% retention, booked future revenue up 27% to $946 million, record margins [1]. Customers pay for seats today and credits tomorrow; shareholders fund the gap between the two, here with $735 million of buybacks since January against $869.6 million of remaining cash [1]. The Q4 print in early 2027 is the tell: whether AI revenue compounds from $36 million, or whether 14% is simply where seat growth now lives [1].

## Takeaway

monday.com's July pivot bought a record 24% operating margin and cost growth: Q4 guides to about 14% with margin back to 18%, and the early-2027 print tells whether $36 million of AI ARR compounds fast enough to cover the seats it shed.

## Sources

1. [monday.com Ltd., Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1: Third Quarter 2026 Results press release, 9 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1845338/000117891326005085/0001178913-26-005085-index.htm)
2. [24/7 Wall St., monday.com Q3 2026: Big Earnings Beat, but AI Pivot Dims Q4, 9 November 2026](https://247wallst.com/cards/monday-com-q3-2026-earnings-mndy-01m7035jtwjdd2fhxpwd7skee4)
3. [InvestorsHub via MSN, Monday.com shares fall 7.3% despite Q3 earnings beat as revenue outlook signals slower growth, 9 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/monday-com-shares-fall-7-3-despite-q3-earnings-beat-as-revenue-outlook-signals-slower-growth/ar-AA2h4fcR)
4. [StockStory via MSN, Monday.com's (NASDAQ:MNDY) Q3 2026 sales top estimates but stock drops, 9 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/mondaycom-s-nasdaqmndy-q3-2026-sales-top-estimates-but-stock-drops/ar-AA2h49oN)
5. [Seeking Alpha, Monday.com shares sink as weak guidance overshadows Q3 results, 9 November 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4668906-monday-com-shares-sink-as-weak-guidance-overshadows-q3-results)
6. [Fast Company, Monday.com layoffs: Hundreds of jobs slashed as work platform proclaims its embrace of 'the new AI era', 23 July 2026](https://www.fastcompany.com/91578531/monday-com-layoffs-today-hundreds-jobs-slashed-new-ai-era)
7. [Proactive Investors via Yahoo Finance, HubSpot reaffirms 2026 guidance as it cuts about 7% of workforce, 6 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/hubspot-reaffirms-2026-guidance-cuts-190000935.html)
8. [StockStory via MSN, HUBS Q3 2026 deep dive: AI-driven transformation faces slower customer growth and cautious outlook, 4 November 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/hubs-q3-2026-deep-dive-ai-driven-transformation-faces-slower-customer-growth-and-cautious-outlook/ar-AA2gNPRT)
9. [StockStory via Yahoo Finance, ZoomInfo's (NASDAQ:GTM) Q3 2026 sales top estimates, quarterly revenue guidance slightly exceeds expectations, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/zoominfo-nasdaq-gtm-q3-2026-212811387.html)
10. [monday.com, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 9 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001845338)


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monday.com guides Q4 growth down to about 14% after a record 24% operating margin — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/monday-com-guides-q4-growth-down-to-about-14-after-a-record-24-operating-margin