What happened

Shares of SVMK (MNTV) -- the provider of SurveyMonkey surveying software and other solutions for enabling organizations to engage with customers -- fell as much as 19.1% on Friday. As of 11:45 EST, however, the stock was down 16.2%.

The growth stock's decline comes despite the company reporting strong fourth-quarter revenue. Investors may be disappointed in management's revenue outlook, which was below analysts' average forecast.

A chart showing a stock price falling.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

SVMK reported fourth-quarter revenue of $101.0 million, up 20% year over year. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $100.6 million. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.03, ahead of a loss per share of $0.02 in the year-ago quarter.

"Our Q4 book of business remained strong with more than 500 new enterprise customers," CEO Zander Lurie said in the fourth-quarter earnings release.

The likely reason shares are trading lower on Friday is that first-quarter revenue guidance easily missed the analysts' view. Management said it expects revenue between $99.5 million and $101.5 million in the year's first quarter, below an average analyst forecast of $104.9 million. 

Now what

Despite SVMK's worse-than-expected revenue guidance, management is optimistic. Lurie noted that the company is "confident we can move further upmarket in 2021 through continued product innovation that helps even more enterprises turn feedback into action."

For the full year 2021, management expects revenue between $436 million and $443 million. Revenue in 2020 was $376 million.