What happened
Shares of ServiceNow (NOW -4.03%) were volatile today after the company reported its first-quarter results. The cloud-based operations management company beat analysts' average revenue and earnings estimates in the quarter, but investors were unsure how they felt about the stock today.
ServiceNow shares initially fell by 5.8% this morning and are down by 2.1% as of 10:41 a.m. ET.
So what
The company reported non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $2.37 -- which was up significantly from $1.73 in the year-ago quarter and outpaced Wall Street's average estimate of $2.04. The company's quarterly revenue of $2.09 billion was up 22% from the year-ago quarter and beat analysts' consensus estimate of $2.08 billion.
ServiceNow said that it exceeded its guidance for the quarter, resulting in the company raising its subscription revenue guidance for 2023 to about $8.5 billion, which would be an increase of 23% from 2022.
"In Q1 we saw resilient demand as ServiceNow delivers the productivity improvements enterprises are looking for in the current macro environment," ServiceNow CFO Gina Mastantuono said in a press release.
Another highlight from the quarter was the fact that ServiceNow increased its customer count by 20% year over year and now has 1,682 total customers.
Now what
It's a bit surprising to see ServiceNow's stock sliding today in light of the company's strong first-quarter results. The company's share price has gained 14% year to date, so it's possible that some investors are thinking that the company's gains were already baked into its share price leading up to the quarterly results.
For now, it appears that ServiceNow is weathering a difficult environment well and still experiencing significant growth.
