What happened
Guardant Health (GH 3.24%) shareholders had a fine Thursday, as the cancer-diagnostics company's stock saw a 10% pop. This was thanks to its latest quarterly earnings report, which delivered a pair of extremely pleasant upside surprises.
So what
Guardant Health's Q4 and full-year 2021 results, published after market hours Wednesday, revealed significant growth in several key metrics. Chief among these was revenue, which shot 38% higher year over year to $108 million. In sharp contrast, though, the company's non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss deepened to more than $70 million ($0.69 per share) from the year-ago shortfall that was just shy of $37 million.
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Despite the spread of red ink on the bottom line, Guardant Health came in well ahead of analyst estimates. On average, these were for just under $99 million in revenue and $1.15 per share for adjusted net loss.
The company quoted its co-CEO Helmy Eltoukhy as describing 2021 as a "transformative year." "Our commercial team continued to deliver strong growth during the fourth quarter with clinical volumes increasing 48% year over year," he said.
Now what
Guardant Health is obviously convinced it can keep that momentum going. It proffered 2022 revenue guidance of $460 million to $470 million. If it's met, it would represent growth of at least 23% over the 2021 tally.
While that doesn't quite meet the average analyst estimate of $471 million, it still indicates that the company's on a significant growth path. This, combined with the very convincing and surprising quarterly beats, bodes well for Guardant Health and is putting its stock in a very bullish light.
