What happened
Shares of New Relic (NEWR) jumped on Friday after the cloud software company reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results. New Relic beat analyst estimates across the board, and it provided guidance calling for double-digit growth in the first quarter. The stock was up about 11.4% at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
So what
New Relic reported fourth-quarter revenue of $159.7 million, up 21% year over year and about $6 million higher than the average analyst estimate. Annual recurring revenue reached $636 million at the end of the quarter, and the company recorded a dollar-based net expansion rate of 116%. The net expansion rate is down from 131% in the prior-year period, which could indicate that existing customers are pulling back.
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Non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share came in at $0.14, up from $0.13 in the prior-year period and $0.11 higher than analysts were expecting. The company lost $0.47 per share on a GAAP basis, worse than a $0.30 per-share loss in the fourth quarter of last year.
Now what
New Relic sees a slow down in the first quarter, but revenue is still expected to grow. The company expects first-quarter revenue between $158 million and $160 million, up between 12% and 13% year over year. Annualized recurring revenue is expected to grow by 13% to 14% year over year, and expected non-GAAP EPS is between a loss of $0.01 and a profit of $0.04.
While growth will be more sluggish in the months ahead, investors found enough good news to push up the stock.
