CFOs take ownership as cloud becomes a financial risk factor

New research shows cloud infrastructure spend now averages nearly 10% of revenue, with 89% of CFOs reporting direct profit erosion and 97% implementing formal governance.

BOSTON and LONDON, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Capital today released new research showing that cloud infrastructure has become one of the largest and most volatile operating costs for start-ups and growth-stage technology companies. As spend accelerates and unpredictability rises, CFOs are asserting direct control over cloud governance and re-engineering how cloud decisions are made.

The insights, based on responses from 100 CFOs and senior finance leaders across US and UK SaaS and technology companies, were outlined in a report titled: 'The Cost of Compute: What 100 CFOs Reveal About Cloud Infrastructure's Impact on the P&L' and revealed a sector feeling the financial weight of cloud dependence:

• Cloud spend now averages 10% of revenue
• Nearly one-quarter report cloud consuming 13–20%+ of revenue
• Cloud is now the second-highest operating cost after headcount
• AI and ML already account for 22% of cloud spend
• 89% say rising cloud costs have eroded profitability
• 97% have formalized cloud governance policies

A structural shift is underway. Historically owned by Engineering, cloud cost management is now moving into Finance as spend scales to 6 - 12% of revenue for SaaS companies and up to 30 - 40% for AI-native businesses. Finance involvement is proving transformative: forecast predictability doubles, visibility improves, and margin performance strengthens. Cloud Capital believes this gap is structural, not incidental.

Edward Barrow, CEO and Co-Founder of Cloud Capital, said:
"CFOs report month-to-month cloud variability of 5 - 10% as standard. A volatility that would be unacceptable in any other major expense. Cloud's financial unpredictability is disproportionate to its size. That's the tension driving CFOs to impose tighter governance and take ownership."

Improving forecast accuracy (44%) tops CFO priorities heading into 2026. Yet AI is reshaping financial planning: with AI workloads already representing 22% of cloud spend, 72% of CFOs say they would accept short-term margin compression for AI features that accelerate user growth, signaling a willingness to trade near-term operating margin for long-term competitive advantage.

Barrow continued:
"Cloud infrastructure is now central to business performance which means Finance must be central to cloud control. Our research shows a maturity gap between cloud adoption and financial governance. The next frontier is agile, data-driven control systems that allow CFOs to balance innovation with predictability."

Additional findings reinforce the pressure on Finance teams:

• 71% re-forecast cloud costs at least quarterly
• 80% increased cloud spend in the past 12 months
• Only 26% say cloud spend aligns closely with forecasts
• 62% have fully implemented governance policies

Barrow concluded:
"We are addressing one of the digital economy's most costly inefficiencies: the mismanagement of cloud infrastructure. With a $294B market growing rapidly, and AI pushing cloud spend even higher, companies need financial systems built for this new era."

Research Methodology:
This research was conducted online by Sapio Research in October 2025 using an email invitation and an online survey. The research was made up of 100 responses from CFO and senior finance decision makers within start-up SaaS and technology companies between 50-1000 employees based in the UK and US.

Other sources:
1Cloud Capital Own Research

About Cloud Capital
Cloud Capital is the first platform purpose-built to help CFOs forecast and save on cloud infrastructure spend without disrupting engineering. Headquartered in the US, Cloud Capital supports companies across North America and Europe.

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