Stocks have been volatile this week, with all the uncertainty surrounding the global banking system having a significant impact on investor sentiment. From hour to hour, markets have been swinging wildly, and that was the case Thursday morning. After having spent much of the overnight period in positive territory, futures contracts on the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.80%) moved lower as of 8:30 a.m. ET.
Technology stocks have been hit hard during the bear market over the past year, but investors have increasingly looked for signs that the worst could be over for the hard-hit sector. Positive financial reports from promising tech stocks haven't always gotten a favorable reception from investors, but that wasn't the case on Thursday, as shareholders reacted favorably to good news from Adobe (ADBE -1.21%) and UiPath (PATH -3.12%). Read on to learn more about these two companies and how they were able to make their investors so pleased.
Adobe starts 2023 strong
Shares of Adobe rose more than 5% in premarket trading Thursday morning. The creative software giant reported fiscal first-quarter financial results for the period ending March 3 that gave investors a lot of confidence in where the company is headed.
Adobe's quarterly numbers maintained the software company's positive momentum. Revenue of $4.66 billion was up 9% year over year, driven by solid gains in the digital media segment and double-digit percentage growth in its document cloud products. Annualized recurring revenue from digital media jumped to $13.67 billion, and the smaller digital experience segment maintained an 11% growth rate. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.80 per share.
Investors also liked what Adobe projected for the rest of the year. The company now expects to earn $15.30 to $15.60 per share on an adjusted basis during fiscal 2023, and second-quarter revenue should inch higher sequentially to between $4.75 billion and $4.78 billion. Shareholders didn't seem fazed by earnings projections for $3.75 to $3.80 per share, even though that would imply flat to lower profit from first-quarter levels.
Like many tech stocks, Adobe shares have struggled in recent years, but the business has remained consistently impressive. Fundamentally, Adobe still has a lot going for it.
A UiPath to success
Doing even better, shares of UiPath rose 15% in premarket trading. The enterprise automation software specialist reported fiscal fourth-quarter financial results for the period ending Jan. 31 that showed how much potential it has to keep growing well into the future.
UiPath's numbers gave shareholders the good news they wanted to see. Revenue rose just 7% year over year to $308.5 million, but annualized recurring revenue was up 30% over the past 12 months to climb above the $1.2 billion mark. Dollar-based net retention rate remained strong at 123%, and UiPath maintained a solid gross margin level that helped lead to positive adjusted operating income and free cash flow.
UiPath also projected continued success in fiscal 2024. The company believes full-year revenue should be between $1.253 billion and $1.258 billion, with annualized recurring revenue climbing to between $1.425 billion and $1.43 billion. UiPath hopes to keep making progress in growing its adjusted operating income.
UiPath hasn't lived up to its potential since its 2021 initial public offering, but bullish investors hope it can get back on track. Today, shareholders believe that a recovery might well be in the cards sooner rather than later.
