What happened
Shares of Zuora (ZUO -0.31%) jumped as much as 24% higher on Friday following the company's release of impressive first-quarter results. As of 3 p.m. EDT, the stock had settled down slightly to a 21% gain.
So what
The maker and manager of tailor-made software-as-a-service applications saw first-quarter sales soar 60% year over year to land at $51.7 million. The company reported an adjusted net loss of $0.32 per share, compared to a $0.27-per-share loss in the year-ago period.
Your average analyst would have settled for a loss of $0.40 per share on sales near $49 million, so Zuora exceeded the Street's targets by a wide margin. Zuora's second-quarter guidance also ran ahead of the current analyst view across the board.
Image source: Zuora.
Now what
After today's jump, Zuora shares are trading above their closing prices from the IPO in April. That's a first. The company's laser-focused strategy of building, maintaining, and operating cloud-based software tools that help other companies run their business looks like a smart business plan. Some analysts expect Zuora to deliver extreme growth for years to come as this strategy matures, while others see it as a potential buyout target for larger tech companies with a hunger for cloud computing revenue.
It's no surprise to see Zuora's shares soaring (say that three times fast!) on this solid report and optimistic guidance.
