Stock market investors remained on edge Friday morning, but their worst fears about the immediate impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on global markets appeared not to come to pass, at least for now. After having been down more than 3% at times on Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.29%) ended sharply higher, and Nasdaq futures were up almost another 1% as of 8:45 a.m. ET Friday.
However, despite widespread gains among beaten-down Nasdaq growth stocks, there were still a couple of disappointments on the earnings front. Zscaler (ZS +1.50%) and Beyond Meat (BYND +3.31%) reported their latest financial results late Thursday, and both companies left their shareholders wishing for a rosier outlook for their respective businesses.
Zscaler gives back its gains
Shares of Zscaler fell more than 13% in premarket trading Friday. The move resulted in the cloud security specialist giving back all of its 10% gain from Thursday and then some, with investors reacting negatively to Zscaler's fiscal second-quarter financial report.
NASDAQ: ZS
Key Data Points
Zscaler's results showed ongoing growth at impressive levels. Revenue was higher by 63% year over year to $256 million, while calculated billings jumped 59% to $368 million. Sales growth rates accelerated to their best levels in three years, and Zscaler celebrated topping the $1 billion in its run rate for annualized sales. Adjusted net income rose 37% to $19.2 million for the quarter, producing adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share.
Yet shareholders seemed to want more from the company's financial outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year. Zscaler now sees fiscal 2022 revenue of $1.045 billion to $1.05 billion, with adjusted earnings of $0.54 to $0.56 per share. That would still imply strong annual growth rates of 56%, matching fiscal 2021's growth.
Nasdaq growth stock investors haven't been forgiving of even the slightest disappointment, but here, Zscaler seemed to get nearly everything right. Stock prices won't necessarily reflect business success in the short run, but the cloud security company's prospects still look bright for the future.
Image source: Getty Images.
Beyond Meat gets burned
Elsewhere, shares of Beyond Meat fell almost 11% in premarket trading Friday morning. The plant-based meat alternative company faced huge challenges that weighed on its fourth-quarter financial results.
Beyond Meat's numbers showed its latest difficulties. Quarterly revenue fell 15% year over year to $101 million, as net losses for the quarter widened to more than $80 million, or $1.27 per share. That closed a mixed year for the alternative meat provider, with annual revenue gains of 14% but net losses of $2.88 per share for 2021.
CEO Ethan Brown tried to put a positive spin on results, pointing to strong growth internationally and signs of recovery in Beyond Meat's U.S. foodservice distribution channel. However, its U.S. retail business suffered a 20% revenue drop in the quarter, with Brown attributing the decline to "a temporary disruption" in growth. Investments geared toward long-term growth weighed on short-term earnings results.
Beyond Meat also predicted that headwinds would continue well into 2022, with uncertainty about the pandemic and its potential impacts on consumer demand, supply chain logistics, and availability of workers. Even full-year revenue guidance of $560 million to $620 million -- which would be a rise of 21% to 32% from 2021 -- weren't enough to restore confidence in a stock that has fallen by more than 75% from its best levels back in 2019.
