What happened
The stock of enterprise data processing and analysis specialist Confluent (CFLT -1.90%) was riding high this week. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, its share price was up by slightly more than 15% week to date on Friday before market open. Investors were clearly impressed by the company's latest set of quarterly results.
So what
The fourth quarter of 2022 saw Confluent earn revenue of $169 million, which was a sturdy 41% higher year over year. Another improvement was recorded on the bottom line, where the company posted a non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss of $36.3 million, or $0.09 per share. In the same quarter of the previous year, that deficit was much steeper, at almost $50 million.
Both results were notably better than analyst expectations. On average, prognosticators tracking Confluent stock were anticipating a bit over $164 million in revenue for the quarter, and an adjusted net loss of $0.14 per share.
One major driver of that revenue improvement was the company's Confluent Cloud offering. The product drew $68 million in sales during the quarter, slightly more than double those of the year-ago quarter. Another very positive dynamic was the 35% growth in number of clients contributing more than $100,000 per year in recurring revenue.
Now what
Confluent's guidance also came in well above expectations. For the entirety of 2023, the company is forecasting that it will take in $760 million to $765 million in revenue and land at a net loss per share of $0.22 to $0.28. The average analyst projections for the two line items are $762 million on the top line and a deficit of $0.43 per share.
