What happened

Shares of Avid Technology (AVID) rose on Thursday after the technology provider to the media and entertainment industry reported its third-quarter results. While revenue was down a bit from the same period last year, sales improved from the second quarter and were ahead of analyst expectations. The stock was up about 11% at 11:25 a.m. EDT.

So what

Avid reported third-quarter revenue of $90.4 million, down 3.2% year over year but about $6.8 million higher than the average analyst estimate. Revenue was up about 14% from the second quarter.

A rising chart.

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Revenue from subscriptions soared 74% year over year to $17.9 million, while revenue from subscriptions and maintenance together jumped 11.6% to $48.7 million. The number of paid cloud-enabled software subscriptions reached 269,000 at the end of the quarter, up 58% year over year.

The bottom line also beat expectations, with Avid reporting adjusted earnings per share of $0.27. That's up from $0.10 in the prior-year period and $0.13 higher than the average estimate. Free cash flow turned positive, coming in at $15.5 million for the quarter.

Now what

Avid's customers are exposed to the pandemic, but the company is now starting to see the beginning of a demand turnaround in its non-recurring business. At the same time, the subscription portion of the business continues to grow swiftly, partially offsetting non-subscription weakness.

Including Thursday's gain, shares of Avid are up about 9% so far this year.