Here's Why Zoom Is a Fantastic Stock to Buy and Hold in 2021 and Beyond

Zoom Video Communications (ZM 0.30%) recently reported another strong quarter, but the stock is still down nearly 70% from its all-time high. In this segment of Backstage Pass, recorded on Dec. 1, Fool contributors Brian Withers and Rachel Warren discuss why the stock is still a great buy for long-term investors. 

Brian Withers: All righty, we're jumping onto Zoom Video Communications, ticker symbol Z-M. This company just continues to roll in solid business results. Total revenue grew 35% year over year to just above $1 billion for the quarter, and that exceeded the guidance that they had.

This was on back of strong demand for Zoom Webinars, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Phone. Zoom Phone had year-over-year revenue growth in the triple digits and reached 30 customers now with over 10,000 paid seats. The revenue growth was fueled by a healthy mix between new and existing customers. With existing customers accounting for a little more than a quarter of the incremental revenue, up from 19% a year ago.

Large customers -- really like this number: 94% increase year over year and ended the quarter with 2,500 customers generating more than $100,000 in trailing-12-month revenue. These 2,500 customers represent 22% of revenue, up from 18% last year.

Americas grew 30%. International, specifically Asia Pacific and EMEA [Europe, Middle East, Africa] revenue, grew 47% year over year to be approximately a third of the company's revenue, up from 31%. RPO, remaining performance obligations -- one of my favorite metrics for SaaS [software-as-a-service] companies, which is basically all of the contracts added up, all of the value added up to one big number, which is a good indication of future demand -- totaled $2.5 billion, up 51% year over year from $1.6 billion a year ago.

They expect to represent 67% of that over the next 12 months as compared with 72% last year. This is reflecting a shift toward longer-term plans. The company ended the quarter with $5.4 billion in cash equivalents and marketable securities. Wow.

The operating cash flow for the quarter: $395 million compared with $411 million in Q3 last year. They projected fourth-quarter growth at 19%. This company continues to execute at a high level, and I'll add, is more cheaply valued than ever before.

Rachel Warren: Brian I feel like you and I talk about Zoom a lot [laughter] because I think we both really love this stock, and I was so excited by its most recent quarter. A fellow Zoom enthusiast, and I think we both talked about this before. It's been frustrating to see share-price growth lag behind its business growth over the past year.

The company obviously saw this huge share-price appreciation in the earlier days of the pandemic, and that is a cool-down, one could say, in recent months. I personally believe it will right itself again. But I'm curious: Why do you think that Zoom shares have trailed the market so much over the past year despite its continued success and astronomical growth as a business?

Brian Withers: Yeah, we've talked about a number of companies that are executing really well and the market has just either pooh-poohed results or overplaying fears of slowing growth and whatnot. I think part of it is the company puts up -- this 35% growth, oh, by the way, was on top of a quarter last year of 369% growth.

Rachel Warren: No big deal. [laughter]

Brian Withers: Yeah. Seeing a 90% decrease in your rate of growth has got to be shocking to anyone. But 35% year-over-year growth -- and I think for the year they're going to put up 50% growth for the entire year -- is really, really solid.

I just look at this company. Now you take any comparison between now and prior to the coronavirus. Every single metric that the company [has] looks much better than it is today. I believe that hybrid work environments are here to stay, and Zoom is a critical part of enabling companies to do that in the future. So I'm sticking with my Zoom.

Rachel Warren: [laughter] Me, too.