Box Inc. came about as close to a $1 billion annual revenue run-rate as a company can get in the third quarter and executives promised to top it for the first time to wrap the year Wednesday.
Box
BOX,
reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $249.9 million, up 12% from $224 million a year ago. Earnings were $9.9 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $13.9 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were 31 cents a share.
Box offered fourth-quarter revenue guidance of between $255 million and $257 million. Analysts polled by FactSet are projecting $259.3 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 30 cents a share on revenue of $251.3 billion.
The results sent Box’s stock up a bit more than 1% in extended trading Wednesday after shares closed up 0.6% at $27.40 during the regular session.
Cloud software has faced a rocky road this year after being a Wall Street darling during the pandemic, when companies were quick to spend on any software that could help remote workers continue to be productive. Recently, software execs have said that customers are taking longer to lock down contracts or looking to cut their spending.
“The third quarter was very strong, but currency headwinds will flow into Q4 and the macroeconomic environment remains dynamic,” Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie told MarketWatch. “Still, our bottom-line remains strong and resilient” as more employees work anywhere and their employers put a premium on security and digital transformation, he added.
Shares of Box are up 5% this year, while the broader S&P 500 index
SPX,
is down 14%.
