Wall Street got impatient with CyberSource's (NASDAQ:CYBS) earnings release late last week, sending shares down 13%. The company's efforts to build its BidPay system have yet to gain traction, and the investments are dragging on the bottom line.
CyberSource's fiscal second-quarter revenues surged 39% to $22.9 million and net income fell from $790,000 or $0.02 per share to $160,000 or break-even. The company's platform facilitated 269.2 million payment transactions, which was a 35% increase over the same period a year ago.
The company also added 2,100 new customers such as Craigslist, JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), Kroger (NYSE:KR), and Timberland Switzerland (NYSE:TBL). There are now more than 20,000 customers.
Last month, CyberSource agreed to shell out $565 million to purchase Authorize.Net (NASDAQ:ANET). There was no discussion on the deal, because the proxy statement has yet to be released.
But the deal is expected to result in $4 million to $6 million in cost savings. It will also expand CyberSource's presence into the small business market. Authorize.Net has 175,000 customers and agreements with about 2,500 resellers.
What about BidPay? It's become a financial drain. Yet the company is trying to be the No. 2 player against eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) PayPal, which has a stranglehold on the lucrative person-to-person payments market.
On the earnings conference call, CyberSource's management was still upbeat and thinks the BidBay service is poised for growth. There are new technology features and it looks like there are some strategic deals in the works. The Authorize.Net customer base should also be a cross-sell opportunity.
I'm still bullish on CyberSource. Its deal for Authorize.Net should help sustain the company's growth ramp, and I think the BidPay service is attacking a big market opportunity. So while Wall Street is getting antsy, the recent fall in the stock price may be an opportunity for long-term investors.
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Fool contributor Tom Taulli, author of The Complete M&A Handbook, does not own shares mentioned in this article.
