What's happening: Shares of Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) rose 19.3% in July, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. As shown in the preceding chart, the bulk of this surge arrived near the end of the month, powered by strong sales in a fresh second-quarter report.
Why it's happening: In the second quarter, analysts expected earnings near $0.09 per share on $88.2 million in top-line sales. Ruckus met the earnings target exactly but passed Wall Street's revenue consensus on its way to a $92.2 million result.
According to press statements from Ruckus Wireless' management, the strong sales results rested about equally on all of the company's segments, whether divided by geographic areas or vertical target markets. The one common denominator between Ruckus' strongest deals was rapid market acceptance of next-generation 802.11ac routers.
These high-speed wireless hubs accounted for 71% of Ruckus' access point sales in the second quarter, up from 49% in the previous quarter and none at all in the year-ago period. This is a rather new product line, and Ruckus takes pride in having beaten its chief rivals to market with hardware in this promising category.
It's not all wine and roses for Ruckus investors, though. The stock surged higher in July but has effectively traded sideways so far in 2015. In the past four quarters, the company has missed more earnings and revenue estimates than it exceeded.
The 802.11ac line holds promise for solid growth in coming quarters, but Ruckus must make the most of this unique business advantage before other enterprise-class access point vendors start producing their own versions of this concept. After that, it's back to the usual sales tactics -- strong support and complete feature sets versus lower prices off the shelf -- and that's not a game the company has proved it can win with any consistency.
