What happened
Zoom (ZM 1.11%) stock outpaced a declining market last month. Shares rose 10% in January compared to a 1% drop in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
That increase followed market-thumping returns for for the video communications specialist in 2020.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Zoom didn't announce any operating results in January, but the company issued two updates that investors cheered. Its Zoom Phone product has crossed 1 million sales as more enterprises hunt for communications solutions, for one. The company also had a successful stock offering that raised roughly $2 billion for the business.
Now what
CEO Eric Yuan and his team will discuss their plans to put that cash to work on growth initiatives when Zoom announces its fourth-quarter results, likely in early March. Investors are expecting to hear good news on the sales and profit fronts in that report, too, thanks to continued social distancing efforts related to the pandemic.
Specifically, most Wall Street pros are predicting Zoom will see a sales increase of over 300%, to $812 million, in Q4 as earnings improve to $0.79 per share from $0.15 per share a year ago. The company's biggest challenge today is ensuring that it can take full advantage of all the new usage its platform has attracted long after the COVID-19 threat has faded.
