A data analytics dashboard for a manufacturing operation. Image source: Qlik.

Qlik Technologies (QLIK) reported its first-quarter 2016 earnings after the market closed on Thursday. The data analytics software company reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 15%, and 18% in constant currency, while adjusted earnings per share were unchanged from the year-ago period. The company edged up its full-year 2016 guidance on Q1 results that exceeded its expectations. 

Qlik's stock rose 4.8% in after-hours trading on Thursday. This rise can be attributed to revenue and adjusted earnings exceeding analysts' estimates, as well as the company's guidance. 

The stock was down 14.8% for the one-year period through Thursday. It has struggled since hitting an all-time high in August, however, it's made a considerable comeback since mid-February when the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. Part of this rebound can be attributed to activist-investor hedge fund Elliot Management buying an 8.88% stake in the company in early March.

Qlik's key quarterly numbers

Metric

Q1 2016

Q1 2015

Growth (YoY)

Revenue

$138.0 million

$120.3 million

15% (18% in constant currency)

Operating income (GAAP)

$(24.8) million

$(24.1) million

(3)%

Operating income (adjusted)

$(12.3) million

$(13.5) million

8.9%

Earnings per share (GAAP)

$(0.29)

$(0.33)

12.1%

Earnings per share (adjusted)

$(0.9)

$(0.9)

0%

Data source: Qlik.

Qlik's revenue and adjusted EPS solidly beat the $134.4 million and negative $0.12, respectively, that analysts were expecting. Long-term investors shouldn't pay too much heed to Wall Street estimates, as analysts are very short-term-focused. However, expectations help explain market reactions, so they can be worth knowing. 

More importantly, the company exceeded its internal revenue and earnings guidance. It had expected an adjusted EPS loss in the range of $0.14 to $0.12 on revenue of $132 million to $136 million. 

What happened with Qlik this quarter?

  • Licensing revenue increased 9% year over year, or 12% in constant currency, to $59.8 million.
  • The company's pipeline, as reflected by its licensing activity, continues to look healthy. Qlik completed 98 deals with license and first-year maintenance of more than $100,000 in the quarter. Of those, 38 deals brought in more than $250,000, and five brought in more than $1 million. This compares to the 88 deals for more than $100,000, including 17 for more than $250,000, and three for more than $1 million, in the prior-year period.
  • It generated 74% of license and first-year maintenance billings from existing customers, compared to 66% in the prior-year period. This likely reflects customer satisfaction. Another plus is that it's usually less costly for companies to sell to existing customers than to obtain new ones. Obtaining new customers, of course, is also critical to fuel continued long-term growth. 
  • Geographical revenue performance in constant currency was as follows: The Americas increased 21% over the prior-year period; Europe increased 11%; and rest of the world rose 36%, a nice jump, as weakness in Asia Pacific has recently been dragging this result down.

What management had to say
Said Qlik CEO Lars Bjork in the company press release:

We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter. Our balanced business model and continued momentum with Qlik Sense® enabled us to deliver total revenue and non-GAAP operating results that exceeded the high-end of our first quarter guidance ranges. We are capitalizing on our growing market opportunity and the rising awareness for analytics and self-service visualization across all the customer segments we serve.

Looking forward 
Qlik established Q2 guidance and increased its 2016 revenue and earnings guidance range set last quarter.

Q2 guidance:

Metric

Q2 2016 Guidance 

Q2 2015 Result 

Projected Growth (YoY)

Revenue

$164 million to $168 million

 $145.8 million 12% to 15% (13% to 16% in constant currency)

Earnings per share (adjusted)

$0.01 to $0.03

$(0.01)

 N/A

Data source: Qlik.

Full-year 2016 guidance:

Metric

FY 2016 Guidance 

2015 Result 

Projected Growth (YoY)

Revenue

$704 million to $714 million

 $612.7 million 15% to 17% (reported and constant-currency basis)

Earnings per share (adjusted)

$0.42 to $0.45

 $0.23 83% to 96%

Data source: Qlik.

Original guidance was for EPS of $0.41 to $0.44 on revenue of $695 million to $705 million. Going into earnings, analysts were projecting that Qlik would earn $0.42 per share on revenue of $698.8 million in 2016. So, the lower end of the company's revenue range expectation exceeds analysts' estimates, while the low end of its earnings expectation range matches the consensus.

In short, Qlik posted results that suggest it's on target to deliver strong full-year 2016 results.