The stock market gained ground on Thursday morning, buoyed largely by excitement on the earnings front. Even though the broader global economy remains under serious pressure from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, investors are trying to look beyond lockdowns and other measures and see a brighter future. Just before 11 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 2.66%) was up 283 points to 23,947. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 2.51%) gained 34 points to 2,883, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.71%) picked up 87 points to 8,941.
Two stocks in particular had extremely good news for their shareholders that sent their stock prices soaring on Thursday. Peloton Interactive (PTON 7.89%) and Twilio (TWLO 2.67%) don't have a huge amount in common, but they've both done something that's been essential to their success during the coronavirus bear market: They've pivoted to provide must-have services that even people in lockdown have held in high regard during challenging times.
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Peloton's in the breakaway
Shares of Peloton Interactive were higher by 13% after the fitness equipment specialist reported its fiscal third-quarter financial results. Investors were pleased to see how well the company has done at serving those who've been kept home from gyms and fitness centers.
Peloton saw amazing growth in the number of people using its interactive classes, with subscribers to its Connected Fitness product nearly doubling to 886,000 and paid digital subscribers seeing a 64% jump year over year. That helped Peloton's sales climb 66%, and customers remained remarkably dedicated as the company posted its lowest monthly churn rate in four years.
Peloton also expects the good times to continue. Connected Fitness subscribers should jump above the 1 million mark by the end of the fiscal year, and Peloton expects revenue to jump as much as 90% for fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019 levels.
COVID-19 has presented some challenges for Peloton, including the disruption of its live studio productions and the fitness equipment maker's decision to stop shipping treadmills temporarily due to concerns about the health and safety of installers and customers. Nevertheless, by giving fitness fans a chance to stay in shape, Peloton has been able to capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic in a way that most other companies can only envy.
Twili-ohh!
Shares of Twilio did even better, rising 36% Thursday morning. The cloud communications platform specialist has seen a huge spike in demand from clients needing to stay in touch with their core customer bases, and Twilio has taken advantage of that demand to produce solid financial results.
Twilio has gotten a lot of support both from existing and new customers. In the first quarter, revenue jumped 57% from year-ago levels. CEO Jeff Lawson attributed the gains to enterprise clients working harder than ever to boost their digital presence, with a 23% rise in active customer accounts to more than 190,000. Twilio's dollar-based net expansion rate came in at 143%, showing that existing clients are spending more to add new features to the platform and take greater advantage of the tools that Twilio offers.
With current conditions likely to persist, Twilio has high hopes for the second quarter. It sees revenue climbing 33% to 35% year over year, and although it expects a small loss for the quarter, that was also the case for the first quarter -- and yet Twilio still managed to turn a modest profit on an adjusted basis.
In some ways, both Twilio and Peloton found themselves in the right place at the right time, as customers gravitated toward their respective business models. But it still takes bold action to grasp an opportunity when it comes, and both of these stocks have taught investors the right way to find success with growth stocks when it's at your fingertips.
