UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 or o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from ____ to ____ Commission File Number: 001-35925 TABLEAU SOFTWARE, INC. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 47-0945740 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification Number) 1621 North 34th Street Seattle, Washington 98103 (Address of principal executive offices and zip code) (206) 633-3400 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Each Class Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No o Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o Emerging growth company o If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x The aggregate market value of common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2018 , based on the closing price of $97.75 for shares of the Registrant's Class A common stock as reported by the New York Stock Exchange on June 29, 2018, was approximately $5.6 billion . The Registrant assumed a stockholder was an affiliate of the Registrant at June 30, 2018 if such stockholder (i) beneficially owned 10% or more of the Registrant's capital stock (on an as-converted basis), as determined based on public filings, and/or (ii) was an executive officer or director, or was affiliated with an executive officer or director of the Registrant, at June 30, 2018 . This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes. As of February 19, 2019 , there were 75,594,200 shares of the Registrant's Class A common stock and 10,491,943 shares of the Registrant's Class B common stock outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Information required in response to Part III of Form 10-K (Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) is hereby incorporated by reference to portions of the Registrant's Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held in 2019 . The Proxy Statement will be filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than 120 days after the end of the Registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 . TABLEAU SOFTWARE, INC. ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K For the Year Ended December 31, 2018 Table of Contents PART I Page Item 1. Business 4 Item 1A. Risk Factors 18 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 41 Item 2. Properties 41 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 41 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure 41 PART II Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholders Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Item 5. Securities 42 Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data 44 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 47 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 68 Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 69 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 105 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 105 Item 9B. Other Information 105 PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 106 Item 11. Executive Compensation 106 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 106 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence 106 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 106 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 107 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 109 Signatures 110 Table of Contents PART I. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements contained in this report other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our business strategy and plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "seek" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in the "Risk Factors" section of this report. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this report may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. We are under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this report or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations. As used in this report, the terms "Tableau," "Registrant," "Company," "we," "us" and "our" mean Tableau Software, Inc. and its subsidiaries unless the context indicates otherwise. Tableau and Tableau Software are trademarks of Tableau Software, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. ITEM 1. BUSINESS Overview Our mission is to help people see and understand data. Our software products put the power of data into the hands of everyday people, allowing a broad population of business users to engage with their data, ask questions, solve problems and create value. Based on innovative core technologies originally developed at Stanford University, our products dramatically reduce the complexity, inflexibility and expense associated with traditional business intelligence applications. Our software is designed for anyone with data and questions. We are democratizing the use of business analytics software by allowing people to access information, perform analysis and share results without assistance from technical specialists. By putting powerful, self-service analytical technology directly into the hands of people who make decisions with data, we seek to accelerate the pace of informed and intelligent decision-making. We believe this enables our customers to create better workplaces, with happier employees who are empowered to fully express their ingenuity and creativity. Our products are used by people of diverse skill levels across all kinds of organizations, including Fortune 500 corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, government agencies, universities, research institutions and non-profits.