Zendesk Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Zendesk Inc (ZEN) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Zendesk Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 1,588M vs 16,000M combined for its competitors (9.0% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+5.0% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs decelerating (-42.2%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Zendesk Inc generated 20.1% revenue growth year over year in Q3 2022, vs 90.3% for its competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its -14.2% net margin compares with -9.6% for the peer group.
- Peer revenue share: Zendesk Inc accounted for 15.3% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, down from 22.2% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.29M compares with $0.35M for the peer group (0.8x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
ZEN Sales vs. its Competitors, Q3 2022
Zendesk Inc reported revenue growth of 20.14 % year on year in Q3 2022, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 90.26 %.
With a net margin of -14.18 %, Zendesk Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (-9.59 %).
Zendesk Inc generated 15.28 % of the combined sales of its peer group, down from 22.22 % a year earlier.
API endpoints for this dataset
Zendesk Inc vs. its Competitors, Q3 2022
Revenue growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in Zendesk Inc reports; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Zendesk Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (3) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (5) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Zendesk Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Cloud Computing & Data Analytics industry grew revenue 8.1% year over year, combined, vs 20.1% for Zendesk Inc. Zendesk Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 0.27% to 0.30%, a gain of 0.03 percentage points.
Zendesk Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Group definitions: see Methodology: Performance Group Definitions.
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (12) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (3) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 0.00 % (0 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 25.00 % (2 of 8) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
ZEN Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
ZEN Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
ZEN Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaalco Energy Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Dropbox Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | Freshworks Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Gitlab Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 5 | Pagerduty Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Zendesk Inc's best-performing competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Publicly Traded Peers of Zendesk Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
 Zendesk Inc |
9,574.67 | 1,587.76 |
 Atlassian Corporation |
39,620.22 | 6,569.93 |
 Smartsheet Inc |
8,055.04 | 1,081.31 |
 Gitlab Inc |
7,976.28 | 1,054.46 |
 Dropbox Inc |
7,600.07 | 2,532.10 |
 Monday com Ltd |
4,089.82 | 1,232.00 |
| SUBTOTAL | 85,611.78 | 17,587.52 |
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Sources: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Zendesk Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Zendesk Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from Zendesk Inc reports and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Freshworks Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Nice Ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Sprinklr Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Monday com Ltd | Company report | 85% |
| Pagerduty Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Smartsheet Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Asana Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Zenvia Inc | Company report | 85% |
| Atlassian Corporation | Company report | 85% |
Company report basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Zendesk Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Zendesk Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Evercommerce Inc | Reportable 100.00 % |
| Vaalco Energy Inc | Gabon 67.92 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's reports (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
Zendesk Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | 9,575 | 287,014 | -51,153 |
| Atlassian Corporation | 39,620 | 493,943 | -4,047 |
| Smartsheet Inc | 8,055 | 324,717 | -2,598 |
| Gitlab Inc | 7,976 | 75,453 | -3,866 |
| Dropbox Inc | 7,600 | 1,198,344 | 209,560 |
| Monday com Ltd | 4,090 | 390,490 | 37,636 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 76,037 | 351,034 | 12,741 |
Zendesk Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent report. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | United States 50.82 % |
| Atlassian Corporation | United States 43.68 % |
| Smartsheet Inc | United States 85.22 % |
| Gitlab Inc | UNITED STATES 82.54 % |
| Dropbox Inc | United States 56.11 % |
| Freshworks Inc | North America 47.56 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's reports (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
Zendesk Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Cloud Computing & Data Analytics industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (258 companies). See the full Cloud Computing & Data Analytics industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 80.16 % | 39.82 % (avg) | +40.3 pp |
| Operating Margin | -16.16 % | industry median | -2.9 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | -12.71 % | 2.27 % (avg) | -15.0 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 0.45 % | 5.15 % (avg) | -4.7 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Zendesk Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Cloud Computing & Data Analytics industry average (258 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns. See the full Cloud Computing & Data Analytics industry valuation benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | - | 27.3x | - |
| EV / EBITDA | - | 13.9x | - |
| P/B | 25.2x | 3.9x | +21.3x |
| Return on Equity | -75.97 % | industry aggregate | -79.24 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -13.43 % | -0.40 % (avg) | -13.03 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Zendesk Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in company reports.| Metric | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 0.00 % | 49.45 % | 37.98 % | 39.08 % | 36.35 % | 26.11 % | 30.02 % |
| Operating Margin | -39.75 % | -33.44 % | -26.63 % | -23.04 % | -19.97 % | -15.14 % | -12.45 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -13.80 % | -17.35 % | -18.20 % | -10.79 % | -12.17 % | -8.64 % | -8.46 % |
| P/E | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Zendesk Inc's Strategic Group Map
Zendesk Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC are labeled. See Methodology: Strategic Group Map for how this chart is built.
Zendesk Inc's trailing-12-month revenue growth of 27.4% and operating margin of -16.2% compares with an average of 24.7% growth and -14.0% margin across its 8 closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC -- Zendesk Inc sits above that peer average on growth and below it on margin.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Zendesk Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Barriers to Entry | Lower than typical for the industry | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 0.45 % vs industry average 5.15 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
Note: see Methodology: Porter's Five Forces. Supplier power and buyer power are covered on Zendesk Inc's dedicated Suppliers and Customers pages, not here.
Zendesk Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
See Methodology: GE/McKinsey Matrix for how the two axes are built.
Zendesk Inc falls in the Low attractiveness / Medium strength cell: Harvest.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Zendesk Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+5.0% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
Weaknesses
- Return on equity 79.2 points below the industry aggregate.
Opportunities
No rule matched.
Threats
- Tracked peer group's revenue run-rate is broadly decelerating (-42.2% annualized).
Methodology: see Methodology: SWOT Analysis.
Zendesk Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | 0.60 | 1.66 | 3.34 |
| Atlassian Corporation | 0.56 | 0.98 | 0.85 |
| Smartsheet Inc | 0.54 | 1.43 | - |
| Gitlab Inc | 0.40 | 2.54 | - |
| Dropbox Inc | 0.64 | 0.81 | - |
| Monday com Ltd | 1.64 | 2.50 | - |
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Zendesk Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | Q3 2022 | +20.1 % | - |
| Atlassian Corporation | Q2 2026 | +27.6 % | - |
| Smartsheet Inc | Q3 2024 | +16.4 % | - |
| Gitlab Inc | Q2 2026 | +21.6 % | - |
| Dropbox Inc | Q2 2026 | +1.0 % | -23.7 % |
| Monday com Ltd | Q4 2025 | +26.7 % | +266.8 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | +19.9 % | +35,817.0 % |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Zendesk Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | Q3 2022 | +13.2 % | - |
| Atlassian Corporation | Q2 2026 | +1.5 % | -8.6 % |
| Smartsheet Inc | Q3 2024 | +12.8 % | -56.0 % |
| Gitlab Inc | Q2 2026 | +63.0 % | -92.7 % |
| Dropbox Inc | Q2 2026 | +1.6 % | +230.0 % |
| Monday com Ltd | Q4 2025 | +28.4 % | +67.0 % |
Zendesk Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | - | - | - |
| Atlassian Corporation | - | - | - |
| Smartsheet Inc | - | - | - |
| Gitlab Inc | - | - | - |
| Dropbox Inc | 15.40% | 33.13% | - |
| Monday com Ltd | 5.64% | 8.33% | 9.52% |
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Zendesk Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Inc | - | 6.03 |
| Atlassian Corporation | - | 6.03 |
| Smartsheet Inc | - | 7.45 |
| Gitlab Inc | - | 7.56 |
| Dropbox Inc | 18.93 | 3.00 |
| Monday com Ltd | 34.39 | 3.32 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 287.51 | 4.87 |
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.