What happened

Shares of Veeva Systems (VEEV -0.71%) are making big gains in Thursday's daily trading session following better-than-expected earnings results. The healthcare software company's share price was up roughly 15% as of 10:30 a.m. ET, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Veeva published results for the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year, which ended April 30, after the market closed yesterday. The company recorded a profit of $0.91 per share on revenue of $526.3 million and beat the average analyst estimate's call for per-share earnings of $0.79 on sales of $515.86 million. 

So what

Veeva's revenue came in roughly 4% higher year over year in the first quarter. Subscription services revenue rose 3% compared to the prior-year period to hit $414.5 million, and sales for its professional-services-and-other segment climbed roughly 9% to hit $111.9 million.

While non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income for the period fell roughly 7% year over year to come in at $147.9 million, GAAP net income rose 31% compared to the prior-year period to reach $131.5 million. 

Now what

In addition to delivering better-than-expected Q1 results, Veeva also issued guidance that topped the market's expectations. The company is guiding for earnings between $1.12 per share and $1.13 per share on revenue between $580 million and $582 million in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the average analyst estimate had targeted per-share earnings of $1.07 on sales of $580.31 million. 

For the full-year period, management expects earnings per share of $4.59 on revenue between $2.36 billion and $2.37 billion. The profit target came in significantly ahead of Wall Street's call for earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $2.36 billion. 

VEEV PE Ratio (Forward) Chart

VEEV PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

On the heels of today's rally, Veeva Systems now trades at roughly 44 times this year's expected earnings. While the company has a growth-dependent valuation, its strong earnings performance in Q1 and impressive guidance suggest the business is heading in the right direction.