The Snowflake Inc logo is displayed at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on February 28, 2024. Snowflake, a cloud computing-based data company, offers cloud-based storage and analytics services.
Joan Cros | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Snowflake (SNOW) has filed an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week following an incident where its Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Mike Gannon, shared unauthorized financial guidance during a street interview on Instagram. The disclosure underscores the tightrope public companies walk as they navigate the age of social media, particularly regarding sensitive financial information.
The company’s filing explicitly stated that Gannon is not a “designated spokesperson authorized to disclose financial information” according to Snowflake’s Corporate Disclosure Policy. The company emphasized that investors should disregard the unofficial guidance.
The now widely-viewed video, posted by the Instagram account “theschoolofhardknockz,” features host James Dumoulin soliciting financial advice from Gannon and inquiring about Snowflake’s revenue trajectory.
“So we’re going to exit this year probably just over about $4.5 billion,” Gannon stated in the video. “We’re getting to $10 billion in a couple of years.” As of now, the video has garnered significant traction with 2.5 million views.
Gannon, who assumed the CRO role in March, acknowledged his familiarity with “theschoolofhardknockz” and commended Dumoulin’s success. The account, boasting a substantial 7.6 million followers, typically features interviews with high-profile figures, including athletes and CEOs, offering business insights.
In its SEC filing, Snowflake reaffirmed its previously issued guidance for the third quarter and the full fiscal year 2026, initially released in late August. This guidance projects $4.395 billion in revenue for the full year, marginally lower than Gannon’s impromptu estimate. The company was quick to reiterate that its third-quarter earnings release will adhere to standard practices and that its guidance philosophy remains unchanged.
This incident raises questions about the potential market impact of unauthorized disclosures, even seemingly casual ones. While Snowflake’s stock has enjoyed a strong year, up nearly 70% year-to-date, the company’s decisive action to distance itself from Gannon’s comments suggest it is taking every precaution to avoid investor confusion and potential regulatory scrutiny. Financial analysts are likely going to assess how this incident could affect Snowflake’s market valuation in the short term, while longer-term implications may be limited unless this type of situation repeats itself in the future. The market’s reaction is also likely to be tempered by the fact that Snowflake immediately clarified that the earlier projections did not align with official ones.
