What happened
JFrog (FROG 1.61%) shareholders beat a declining market this week. The software development services provider's stock rose 10% through Thursday trading compared to a 2.6% drop in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Its shares are still in negative territory for the year, though, down 4% so far in 2023.
This week's rally was sparked by good news on the earnings front.
So what
In a Q1 earnings report on Wednesday, JFrog reported sales of $80 million, translating into a 25% increase from the prior-year period. That growth result edged past management's February forecast thanks to solid demand for cloud software spending. The company also beat expectations about profitability. "We're excited about the continued growing demand for our solutions," CEO Shlomi Ben Haim said in a statement.
Digging deeper into the results reveals other positive signs, including the fact that most existing customers renewed their contracts at higher rates. JFrog's net dollar retention rate was 124%, in fact. The company also found success in landing larger contracts, which management defines as those having at least a $1 million annual revenue level.
Now what
JFrog's short-term outlook calls for a continuation of the generally positive trends that investors saw this past quarter. Revenue should land at about $83 million in fiscal Q2, up 25% year over year. JFrog is expecting modest levels of profitability on a non-GAAP (adjusted) basis as well. Executives also lifted their wider 2023 outlook slightly to call for sales of between $341 million and $345 million. The prior outlook range was between $340 million and $344 million.
These forecasts are all subject to change, especially along with shifting economic growth trends. But as of early May, JFrog appears to be on a stronger sales path. It makes sense that investors would respond to that news by pushing the stock higher this week.
