What happened
Shares of cloud communications specialist Twilio (TWLO +3.75%) soared 39% last month, driven primarily by a strong second-quarter earnings release on Aug. 6. As of the end of August, the stock was enjoying year-to-date gains of 242%.
So what
Twilio's second-quarter earnings report was the biggest catalyst for gains in August, after the company saw revenue jump 54% in the second quarter to $147.8 million, easily crushing the Street's forecast of $131 million in sales. That top line also beat the company's own guidance that it had issued in May, which called for $130 million in revenue at the midpoint. Twilio added nearly 3,400 active customer accounts in the second quarter, bringing its total to nearly 54,000.
Image source: Twilio.
Separately, Twilio also announced in August that it had hired Nils Puhlmann as chief trust and security officer. Puhlmann has over 20 years of cybersecurity experience.
Now what
Investors were also pleased that Twilio raised its full-year guidance. The company now expects total revenue of $585.5 million to $589.5 million for 2018, up from its prior forecast of $538 million to $544 million in full-year sales. That revised forecast now notably includes profitability: Twilio expects full-year non-GAAP net income of $0.02 to $0.04 per share, whereas it had previously expected to post an adjusted net loss of $0.07 to $0.10 for 2018.
