What happened

Shares of Matterport (MTTR -1.28%) were down 10.7% as of 1:40 p.m. EDT Wednesday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after its slightly better-than-expected second-quarter 2023 results were overshadowed by light forward revenue guidance.

On the former, Matterport's quarterly revenue climbed 39% year over year to $39.6 million, near the high end of guidance and slightly above analysts' consensus estimates for $39.4 million. On the bottom line, that translated to an adjusted (non-GAAP) net loss of $0.07 per share, again near the upper end of guidance and beating expectations for a loss of $0.08 per share.

So what

Matterport Chairman and CEO RJ Pittman called execution in Q2 "pivotal for the company," noting that they achieved "record subscription and services revenue while doubling down on our efficiency initiatives to deliver step function productivity gains in the second half of 2023."

"Our strategic partnerships continue to drive pipeline, connect us to large industry ecosystems, open new technology distribution channels, and critically enhance our platform's functionality for customers," Pittman added. "By harnessing our extensive spatial data library, we expect our new AI solutions will generate breakthrough customer value and bolster our subscription revenue per account."

Indeed, Matterport's total subscribers climbed a healthy 34% year over year to 827,000, while spaces under management rose 31% to 10.5 million. Subscription revenue also grew 13% to $20.9 million, services revenue soared 113% to $10.7 million, and annualized recurring revenue (ARR) exiting the quarter was $83.5 million.

Now what

For the third quarter of 2023, however, Matterport expects revenue to be flat to up 5% year over year -- below consensus estimates for roughly 16% growth -- to a range of $38 million to $40 million, translating to an adjusted net loss of $0.07 to $0.05 (compared to estimates near the lower end of that range).

For the full year, Matterport expects revenue of $155 million to $159 million, or growth of 14% to 17% -- again missing Wall Street's expectations for 19.4% growth -- with an adjusted net loss per share of $0.28 to $0.24 (compared to estimates for a $0.25 per share loss).

Matterport management, for their part, did their best to spin the outlook, saying it's "driven by increasing focus on profitability and continuing revenue growth." But today, that focus on operating efficiency doesn't seem to matter to growth-hungry investors in this market, and shares are falling in response.