Salesforce beat the fiscal fourth quarter earnings estimates, but fell shy of expectations on guidance for the next quarter.
At 70 cents per share for the three months ending January, the cloud computing/software company’s adjusted earnings overshot analysts’ expectation of 55 cents per share (based on Refinitiv data). The earnings -per-share was more than double the year-ago quarter’s figure.
Revenue for the quarter increased +26% from the year-ago quarter to touch $3.60 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimate of $3.56 billion (based on Refinitiv data). Subscription and support revenues also climbed +26% year-over-year to $3.38 billion in the quarter.
Despite the better-than-expected results for the latest quarter, what probably led to Salesforce shares slumping during Monday’s extended trading was its forecast of 60 cents to 61 cents earnings-per-share on a revenue range of $3.67 billion to $3.68 for the fiscal first quarter – figures that are lower than the 63 cents earnings per share on $3.70 billion revenue that analysts had anticipated ((based on Refinitiv data).
Nevertheless, the company’s guidance for the full fiscal year 2020 is in line with analysts’ expectations. It projects adjusted earnings of $2.74 to $2.76 per share, while analysts’ expect $2.75 per share for the year. Revenue forecast of $15.95 billion to $16.05 billion is a range covering analysts’ prediction of $15.99 billion.
Salesforce stock was down -3.3% in after-hours trading Monday, following the earnings release. It had already dropped -3.66% during the main trading session that day.