Zoom CEO Eric Yuan speaks before the Nasdaq opening ceremony in New York on April 18, 2019.
Kena Betancur | beautiful pictures
Launch Shares rose 8% in extended trading on Monday after the video chat company reported fourth-quarter financial results that beat analysts’ estimates and offered upbeat earnings guidance for the year.
Here’s how the company did it:
- income: According to Refinitiv, $1.22 per share, adjusted, compared with 81 cents as analysts expected.
- Revenue: $1.12 billion, compared with $1.10 billion as analysts expected, according to Refinitiv.
Zoom’s revenue grew 4% year-over-year in the quarter ended January 31, according to a report. declare. That’s a significant slowdown from the quadruple revenue Zoom enjoyed in 2020 and 2021, as consumers and businesses flock to video services during the Covid pandemic.
The company posted its first net loss since 2018 for the quarter, losing $104 million compared to net income of about $491 million in the same period a year earlier. The loss stemmed from the cost of stock-based compensation.
Zoom continued to face issues it had previously faced in fiscal year 2023 during the quarter, including scrutiny by executives before agreeing to pay the company for services, said the CEO. CEO Eric Yuan told analysts on a conference call.
Kelly Steckelberg, the company’s chief financial officer, said some organizations have reduced the number of places they buy Zoom’s software as part of broader cost reductions.
Growth will continue to slow this year. Zoom posted revenue between $4.435 billion and $4.455 billion, or 1.1% growth, while analysts expect revenue of $4.6 billion. The company said adjusted earnings per share would be between $4.11 and $4.18, well above the median estimate of $3.66.
For the first fiscal quarter, adjusted earnings will be 96 cents to 98 cents per share on revenue between $1.080 billion and $1.085 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had expected adjusted earnings per share of 84 cents and revenue of $1.11 billion.
Excluding the after-hours move, shares of Zoom are up 8% for the year, while the S&P 500 is up 3% over the same period.
During the fourth fiscal quarter, Zoom speak it will introduce email and calendar services, along with a virtual agent chatbot to handle customer service inquiries.
Earlier this month Zoom announced that it will cut 1,300 employees, representing 15% of its workforce. “As part of our restructuring, we are optimizing our go-to-market strategy to better support corporate customers and drive additional productivity,” said Steckelberg.
